oi? THE AMERICAN JOURNAL & ergs die Stith gait , as ry; A yy al OF ve é ~} SCIENCE AND ARTS. CONDUCTED BY BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, M.D. LL.D. Prof. Chem., Min., &c, in Yale Coll. ; Cor. Mem. Soc. Arts, Man. and Com., Cor. Mem. Met. i and of the Archzological Soc., Athens, Greece; Lit. and Hist. Soc., Quebec; Mem. of various Lit. and Scien. ps in the U. States. AIDED BY BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, Jr., A.B. Assistant in the department of Chemistry, Mineralogy and Geology in Yale College; Cor. a of the Meteorological Soc., London; Sec. of the Yale Nat. Hist. Soc.; Mem. of the Con cad. of Arts and Sci.; Cor- Mem. of the Lyceum of Natural History, New York; of the Boston Society of Natural History, &e. VOL. XXXVIII.—APRIL, 1840. NEW HAVEN: Sold by A. H. MALTBY and B. & W. NOYES.—Philadelphia, CAREY & HART and J. 8. LITTELL.—Baltimore, Md., N. HICKMAN.—New York, CARVILL & Co., No. 108 Broadway, and G. S. SILLIMAN, No. 44 Wil- liam St.—Boston, C. C. LITTLE & Co.—London, JAMES S. HODSON, No. 112 Fleet St., and WILEY & PUTNAM, 35 Paternoster Row.—Paris, J. B. BAILLIERE, Libraire, Rue de L’Ecole-de-Médecine, No. 13 bis.—Ham- burgh, Messrs. NESTLER & MELLE. JUL 27 1939 CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXVIII. NUMBER I. Art. I. A letter to Prof. Faraday, on certain Theoretical pees ions; by Prof. R. Hare, M.D.,— - II. Analysis of Sea Water as it exists in the English Chan- nel near Brighton; by G. Scuwe:tzer, M. D., - III. On the Halo or Fringe which surrounds all Bodies ; ed Mrs. Mary GrirFitTH, - - IV. On the use of the Galvanic Battery in — y Hamitton K. G. Morcan, V. On the Tails of Comets; by Wrntram Sicisniets: - VI. A Gissi or Kissi Vocabulary ; by Prof. J. W. Gisss, VII. A Vai or Vey Vocabulary; by the Same, - - VIL. A Mendi Vocabulary; by the Same, - IX. Vegetable Organography and Physiology, or og For- mation and Vital Functions of Plants; by Horace Green, M. D., - - - - X. Practical Remarks on Gems, especially on some of ei found in the United States; by THomas Taper, - XI. On the Connexion between the theory of the Earth and the Secular Variations of the re Needle; ay Prof. Joun H. Laturop, - XII. Notices of Tornadoes, &c.; by Prof. R. Sisco M. D., XIII. On the Silurian System, wits a Table of the Strata and Characteristic Fossils; by T. A. Conran, - XIV. Abstract of the Proceedings of the Ninth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, XV. Account of a Journey to the Céteau des Prairies, with a description of the Red Pipe Stone quarry and Granite Bowlders found there; by Mr. Georce Catuin, - XVI. Auroras and Sunset, - “ “ 5 _ iv CONTENTS. MISCELLANIES.—DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. Page. 1. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, ~ 153 2. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, - 193 3. Reports on the Shells and Minerals presented by Dr. Brinek- erhoff to the New York Lyceum of Natural History, - 198 4. Further account of the Shooting Stars of Aug. 9 and 10, 1839, 203 5, 6. British Antarctic Expedition—Compound Electro-Magnet, 204 7, 8. Exchanges of American Shells and Insects—The poaitsd Magazine and Steam Navigation Journal, 9, 10. To remove Carbonic Acid Gas from pte es. The Katakekaumene, - - - . - 206 NUMBER II. Art. I. Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. On Elec- tro-Dynamic Induction ; by Prof. Josrrpu Henry, Analysis of a Chromic Iron Ore, first observed by R. C. Taylor, Esq., at Mahobal, near Gibara, Island of Cuba; by James C. Boor and M. Carry Lea, - . Remarks upon some of the probable effects of a Re- sisting Medium; by Prof. Tuomas H. Perry, 246 Description and Analysis of a Meteoric mass, found in Tennessee, composed of Metallic Iron, Graphite, Hy- droxide of Ironand Pyrites; by Prof. G. Troost, M. D., 250 Notice of Tracks of Animals in Variegated Sandstone at Pélzig, between Ronneburg and Seana ss Hr. Dr. B. Corra, . Observations on the hs ae Borealis of Sept. = 1839; communicated by Epwarp C. Herrick, . Abstracts of Meteorological Observations mkthc at St. Johns, NewfoundJand, and at Canton, in China: with some Notice of the Half Yearly Inequalities of At- mospheric re which appear in these Obser- vations ; by C. Reprievp, - VIII. Abstract of a Meteorological Journal for the year 1839, kept at Marietta, Ohio, Lat. 39° 25’ N., and Lon. 4° 23 W. of Washington City; by S. P. Hizpretn, M. D., 273 IX. Deseription of a New Pobpenetts eae: by ILLIAM Gwynn Jones, - - - Lomi = oe = - _ ” < — < i Cane eee PRA eee ai ES Oe CONTENTS. X. Some account of Irnret Town’s improvement in the 7 construction and practical execution of es for Roads, Railroads, and Aqueducts, - XI. Description of an Economical Apparatus fat Solidity- ing Carbonic Acid, recently constructed at the Wes- leyan University, Middletown, Conn.; by Prof. Joun JOHNSTON, <- XIL. Observations made at onan, China, on tha Shooting Stars of the 10th and 11th of August, 1839, in a letter from Rev. Peter Parxer, M. D. of Canton, to E. C. HeErRIck, - - - - - - XIII. Remarks chiefly on the Synonymy of several North American Plants of the Orchis Tribe; by Asa Gray, McD.” « . - - - - - . . XIV. Account of the Capture and Death of a large Alligator, XV. Synopsis of a Meteorological Journal, kept in the city of New York for the years 1838 and 1839, including also the mean results of the last seven _— - by Ww. C. RepFie.p, XVI. Notice of a Manual 2 Chemiaty : by Prof Yoni W. Wesster, M.D., - XVII. Engraving and SScasiiilincs of an encentin for ‘the Decomposition and Recomposition of Water, employ- ed in the Laboratory of the Medical Department of «the University of Penn.; by Prof. R. Hare, M. D., XVIII. Improved Process for io Potassium ; as Prof. Rozert Hare, M.D. - XIX. Engraving and Description of a Baas Multiplier, or one in which one or more Needles are made to revolve by a Galvanic Current; by Prof. R. Hare, M.D., - . Crania Americana; or a comparative view of the Skulls of various Aboriginal Nations of North and South America; to which is prefixed an Essay on the Varie- ties of the Human Species, illustrated by seventy eight plates and a colored map ; afc Prof. SamueL GeorGE Morton, M.D.,_ - - . - - . x 4 MISCELLANIES.— DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. 1. Aurora Borealis of September 3, 1839, —- a 2. Meteoric Observations in November and eee 1839, vi CONTENTS. 3, 4, 5. New Edition of Eaton’s Manual of notanyr-sioxpeth mental Researches in Electricity—A New Comet, - 6, 7. Reports on the Fishes, Meniiles and Birds of esas. setts—Telescopes, - 8, 9. Interesting iiupreie Obes ctayioen eth ets cece et Magnetiques faites dans l’etendue de l’Empire de Russie redigees et publiees aux frais du Gouvernement, —- - 10. On the geognostic heaies of the ce or Basilosau- rus of Harlan, - ‘ 11. Professor Johnson’s Rislgens of Kaineetla und Iron Ore, 12, 13. Parasite of the eggs of the Elm-tree Moth—Great Earth- quakes in Burmah, - * a 14. Progress of the U.S. Exposing Expedition, - - : 15. The Twilight Bow, - * « 16. Lectures on Phrenology, " “ 17. Proceedings of the Boston Society of case) ae, - 18. Proceedings of the American kites Society, - 19. Ehrenberg on Infusoria, - se Ae Page. 378 ERRATA. P. 38, 1. 30, for connection, read correction. P. 39,1. 35, for these, read those. P. 50, 1. 17, for extracting, read extorting. P. 52, 1. 27, for found, read formed. P. 92, 93, where Gnatho don n occurs, the spediGe name should be in the masculine gen- der; as Gnathodon flezuosus, for Gnathodon flexuosa. P. 198, 1. 19, for crystals of crenic acid, read crystals supposed to be crenates. P. 205, 1. 38, for C. S. Ward, read C. J. Ward, NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS AND AGENTS. The Editors will pay one dollar in cash for each Number of the Anerican Journal of Science, named below. If preferred, they will cred them to the account of any subscriber at the rate at which re- cent immbers are charged; or they will give in exchange such other nity bers as may be desired, and of which they have a supply. If any No.js sent by mail, the word RETURNED must be put on the envelope. ‘he Nos. wanted are of Vol. V. XI. XIIi. XIV. XVI. XVIi. XXII. XXVIII. Number A= 48,9: 4,3. %, 2%. 1,2. 1, 2%, 1,%: Entire No. 12. 24. 97,98. 29,30. 33,34. 35,36. 45, 46. 55, 56. Our agents and kiends are requested to make search for the above and forward them P\mptly to us. New Haven, Oct. 1, 183, ic} Several complet\ ts, both bound and in Nos., are stil] on hand for sale. > 2s € z att tik AR AA: est li tema Eg : : eg Pee SCIENCE AND ARTS. Soxpeuuas BY oan = AS BENJAMIN. SILLIMAN, M. D. "ha. De: Prof. Chem. "iin, & ~ att Yale ColL5 Cor. Mem. Soc. ‘iy agit = ata Siok — gg a ce and For. Mask: Geol. ae +5 Lon: Neo. ne and For. A ; Geo ee don; Mem . Soc., and Ho in. arid & staaie t an ms re Wiis, Phra resden ; Nat. Hist. Soc., re alle; Lo iy 4, savarin; Imp. Agric. Soc., 3 . Aerie Mose. oes Wat. Hist. Soe, Belts Bs os iL sai ic toc, Bristol, E Me am. Ro oy. Stissex Ins Sey Rng: Cor. Mem.-of the Nat. His Soe, and of = Are tiniclonits al Sec, 2 Athens, Greece ; ip Hist. Soc., fuebec; Mem. of various Lit. ne ee y are Soc. the. U.. States. © AIDED. BY “BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, Ia, A.B. Assistant in the department of Chen mtr Minera logy amd Geo ogy in’ Yale College; Cor. Mem: of the Meteorological Soc, a 3 of the — Nat. Hi gi ; Mem. of the Conn. lead. pe: Aris and Sci; nga of the Lyceur iral History, New York; of the =e ston na of Mace oe oc, “VOL. XXXVIH.—No. 1.—JANUARY, 1840. FOR OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, AND DECEMBER, 1839, Py HAVEN: Sold te “He MALTPY and 8. & W. NOYES.—Phita < HART and Js. errr. — Baltimore, Mi., ata CARVILL cea No. 108 Broadway, and G. is ary St.—Bosto LIT ELE & = since een te aad ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO CORRESPONDENTS, FRIENDS AND STRANGERS, Remarks.—This method of acknowledgment has been adopt- ed, because it is not always practicable to write letters, where they might be reasonably expected; and still more difficult is it to prepare and insert in this Journal, notices of all the books, pamph- lets, &c., which are kindly presented, even in cases, where such no- tices, critical or commendatory, would be appropriate ; for it is often equally impossible to command the time requisite to frame them, or even to read the works; still, judicious remarks, from other hands, would | usually find both acceptance and insertion. In public, it is rarely proper to advert to personal concerns ; to excuse, for instance, any apparent neglect of courtesy, by pleading the unintermitting pressure of labor, and the numerous calls of our fellow-men for information, advice, or assistance, in lines of duty, with which they presume us to be acquainted. The apology implied i in this remark, i drawn from us, that we may > the civilities of many respectable persons, au- thors, aoe publishers, and others, both at home and abroad. It is still our endeavor to reply to all letters which appear to require an answer ; although, as a substitute, many acknowledgments are made in these pages, which as sometimes be, in part, retrospective.— Eds. SCIENCE.—FOREIGN. First Annual Report of the Natural History Society of Dublin, Ireland, 1838, From the Society. An Address delivered at the 7th Annual Meeting of the Geol. Soc. of Dublin; by J. E. Portlock, F.R.S.G.S. Dublin, 1838. Journal of the. al Society 1837. From the Society. — ee. Reports of the Council of the Belfast em History Society for 1837, 1838. From the agen of Dublin, Vol. I, Part III, * 2 A Review of Mr. Lyell’s Elements of Geology, with observations on the progress of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth. From Dr Wm. H. Fitton, the Author. Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, session of 1839. From the Institution. Tracts on Docks and Commerce, printed between 1793 and 1810, with an Introduction, Memoir and Miscellaneous Pieces; by Wm. Vaughan, Esq., F.R.S. London, 1839. From the Author. Proceedings of the Geol. Society of London. Nos. 1, 2, 4 to 8, 18 to 22, 28 to 47. From the Council of the Society. Popular Lectures on Geology ; by K. C. Von Leonhard ; with Engravings. Translated from the German, by J. G. Morris, A. M., and edited by Prof. F. Hall, M. D. Baltimore, Md., N. Hickman. From the Translators and Publishers. - On the older stratified rocks of North Devon, with remarks by Thomas Weaver, Esq., F. R.S., &c. From the Author. Experimental Researches in Electricity, series 1 to 14; also 15 series; by Michael Faraday, D.C. L.,F.R.S. From the Author. An Account of Experiments with a constant Voltaic Battery ; by Mr. O. V. Walker. London, 1838. From William Sturgeon, Esq- Experimental and Theoretical Researches in Electricity ; first and second Memoirs; by William Sturgeon, Esq. From the. Author. » London, 1837-38. 4 | ~ Proceedings of the Botanical Society of London, from July, 1836, — to Nov. 1838, with plates. London, 1839. From the: Society- Also Hist. and objects of the Society, several copies. : Société de Géographie réglement. From W. W. White. " The Lancet. London. Vol. II, No. 15, June, 1839, with a no- — tice of the Mantellian Museum. From Dr. Mantell. j Some account of the Art of Photogenic Drawing; by Henry — Fox Talbot, Esq., F. R.S. London, 1839. From the Author. Transactions of the Meteorological Society of London. 183% Vol. I. From the Society. Orchidez in the collection of Conrad Loddiges & Sons, Hack- ney, near London. From Prof. C. U. Shepard. a ‘Catalogue of Plants and Shrubs in the Botanical Collection of 4 Loddiges & Sons. From C. U. Shepard. . 3 Catalogue of Mathematical and Optical Instruments, made by John Braham, Bristol, Eng. From the Same. Outlines of the Science of Magnetism, &c.; by John Braham, Bristol, Eng. From the Same. Bristol Institution, 13th Annual Meeting, 1836. From the Insti- tution. SCIENCE.—DOMESTIC. Bear Valley Coal Basin Illustrated, (a map,) for the Yale Natu- ral History Society. Remarks on Mr. Espy’s Theory of Centripetal Storms; by and from W. C. Redfield. Also, a copy for the Yale Nat. Hist. Soc. Lyell’s Elements of Geology ; 1st American Edition. From the Publishers, Kay & Brothers, Phil. Descriptive Catalogue of North American Insects belonging to the Linnzan Genus Spuiyx, in the Cabinet of T. W. Harris, M. D., Librarian of Harvard University. From the Author ;—two copies, one for the Library of the Yale Nat. Hist. Soc., and the other for the Library of Yale College. Boston Journal of Natural History ; containin and com- munications read before the Boston Society of ne pers et sig II, Nos. 3 and 4. Boston, 1839. From the Society. Reports on the Fishes, Birds and Reptiles of Massachusetts ; by the Commissioners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of the State. Boston, 1839. From D. Humphreys Storer, M. D., one of the Commissioners. American Almanac for 1840. From its Conductor, J. E. pes cester, Esq. An Address on the Utility of Astronomy, delivered before the Young Men’s Society, Lynchburg, Va. é A Treatise on the Evolution of Powers, Simple and Mixed; Diss Jacob S. Davis, Teacher. From the Author. Report of the Committee on the Solar Eclipse of May 14 and 15, 1836. Read July 19, 1839, before the Am. Phil. Soc., Phil. By and from Sears C. Walker, Esq. Animal Mechanism and Physiology; by John Griseom, M. D. From the Author. — MISCELLANEOUS.—FOREIGN. The Publishers’ Circular. London, several parts. Nos. 47, 49, 50. Sept. and Oct. 1839. From Wiley & Putnam. ~ Bible Stories from the Old and New Testament. From the Au- | thor, Rev. Samuel Wood. London, 1932. Meeting of the British Association at Newcastle. Report of the — Local Secretaries ; by Prof. J. F. W. Johnston. From the Author. The Meteorologist and Almanac for 1839. London; by J. W. Limmonite. From Mr. W. W. White. Bent’s Monthly Literary Advertiser. London, August 10, 1839. Nos. 417 and 419. Oct. 10, 1839. MISCELLANEOUS.—DOMESTIC. Address of S. P. Hildreth, M. D., before the Medical Convention of Ohio. Cleveland, May, 1839. Twenty-third Annual Report of the geuctinsn Bible Society. New York, 1839, From the Society. _ Laws of the University of Ga. Proceedings of the Session of Ritadrey Tabernacle against Lewis Tappan. New York, 1839. A Centurial Sermon, delivered March 29, 1839; by Rev. stg Thomas P. Davies, late of Green’s Farms. New Haven, 1839. From Mr. Davies. ‘ ek The Tusculan Questions of Cicero, in five books, 8vo. Boston, 1839. Translated by G. A. Otis, Esq. From the Translator. { Memoir of Nathaniel Bowditch ; (Mécanique Céleste) by his son, — : N. 1. Bowditch, Esq. Boston, 1839. From the Biographer. Also _ a copy for Yale Coll. Library. + Pres. Clap’s Defence of the Doctrines of the New England 4 Churches. : Prospectus of the Faculty of Physic of the University of Mort a Jand, for the Session of 1839-40, i A Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Dartmouth otic . me 839-40. From Prof. O. P. Hubbard. tiko nikon ; by and from C, S. Rafinesque. Veigmasics and Colleges, and Ancient Mona-— | by C.S. ares Philadelphiey ze eee se na 5 A Catalogue of English Books imported by Wiley & Putnam. Lond. and N. Y. From W.& Report of the Committee sppbinted to enquire into the condition * of the New Haven Burying Ground, and propose a plan for improve-_ ment. New Haven, 1839. From A. N. Skinner, Esq. 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P. I. Sparrord, A.M. Raleigh, 1839. = Catalogue of Historical, Theological and Embellished Books sold at auction in N. Y., Oct. 18, 1839; by and from Bangs, Richards & Platt. : Poems by William Thompson Bacon. New Haven, B. & W._ Noyes. From the Author. Annual Report of the Trustees and Visitors of the Const’ Schools of — from E. P. Langdon, Esq. $s NEWSPAPERS.—FOREIGN. The Liverpool Journal of Oct. 12th, containing an account of a new mode of transferring and copying copper-plate and other En- gravings by Voltaic panting EF F 6 Port of Spain Gazette, with a notice of Yale Coll. Med. Institu- tion. July 5, 1839. The Atheneum Journal, Nos. 619, 620 and 621, for Sept. 7th, 14th and 2ist, containing Reports of the recent Meeting of the British Association. From Rev. S. Wood, Canterbury, England. NEWSPAPERS.—DOMESTIC. Weekly True American. New Orleans. Several Nos. Troy Weekly Post. Aug. ’°39—Economy of Fuel. Youth’s Companion. Boston, April, 1839. Two Nos. Miner’s Journal, and Pottsville General Advertiser. Sat. Oct. 26, 1839, Louisville Price Current of Sept. 28, 1839, with Advt. of Lous isville Med. School. Chicago American of Sept. 13, 1839, with Notice, by Mr. T. Bisanett,. of the Aurora Borealis seen at Ottawa, Sept 3d. From Mr. B New York Journal of Commerce, Sept. 2d, 1839. Philadelphia Public Ledger of several dates. i Litchfield Enquirer, Sept. 12, 1839. Account of Meteors on — _ the 10th of August. ; Hartford Daily Courant of Aug. 29, 1839, with a Table of the — Time of Flowering of various Plants in Indiana. . ‘ Towa Territorial Gazette of Aug. 17, 1839. - Le Courier des Etats-Unis Semdi 21 Septembre, 1839. PT CONTENTS. Art. I. A letter to Prof. Faraday, on certain Theoretical sie’ ions; by Prof. R. Hare, M.D.,~— - - II. Analysis of Sea Water as it exists in the English Chan- nel near Brighton; by G. Scuweirzer, M. D., III. On the Halo or Fringe which surrounds all Bodies ; by Mrs. Mary GrirritH, IV. On the use of the Gules Batery in Bien: y Hamitton K. G. Morean, V. On the Tails of Comets; by Wiis Micgattx: : VI. A Gissi or Kissi Vocabulary ; by Prof. J. W. age VIL. A Vai or Vey Vocabulary; by the Same, - VIII. A Mendi Vocabulary; by the Same, - IX. Vegetable Organography and Physiology, or the For- mation and Vital Functions of Plants; v Horace GREEN, ey - = a X. Practical Rediaks on Gems, kepisetclty on some of those found in the United States; by Tuomas Taper, - XI. On the Connexion between the theory of the Earth and the Secular Variations of the Magnetic a by Prof. Joun H. Laturop, - - XII. Notices of Tornadoes, &c.; by Prof. R. Hass; M. D., XIII. On the Silurian System, with a Table of the Strata and Characteristic Fossils; by T. A. Conran, - _XIV. Abstract of the Proceedings of the Ninth Meeting of thie British Association for the Advancement of Science, XV. Account of a Journey to the Coteau des Prairies, with a description of the Red Pipe Stone quarry and Granite - Bowlders found there; by Mr. GeorcrE CaTLin, - XVI. Auroras and Sunset, - - - - - MISCELLANIES.—DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. 1. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 2. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, - Page. REARS 8B w rs © -§ CONTENTS. | Page. 3. Reports on the Shells and Minerals presented by Dr. Brinck- erhoff to the New York Lyceum of Natural History, - 194 4. Further account of the Shooting Stars of Aug. 9 and 10, 1839, 203 — _ 5,6. British Antarctic Expedition—Compound Electro-Magnet, 204 } 7, 8. Exchanges of American Shells and Insects—The ses Magazine and Steam Navigation Journal, F 9, 10. To remove Carbonic Acid Gas from =. &e—The : Katakekaumene, - - - - 4 4 of ? ? Sarita P. 38, 1. 30, for r connection, , read dgrrection. P, 39, 1. 35, for these, read those. P. 50, 1. 17, for extracting, read extorting. P52, 1. 27, for fosmid, read formed. NOTICE TO SURICR BER AND AGENTS. The Editors will pay one ‘dollar in ‘ah for each Number of the American Journal of Science, named below. If preferred, they will credit them to the account of any subscriber at the rate at which re- cent numbers are charged; or they will give in exchange such aq other numbers as may be desired, and of which they have a supp * a eee se esciinis a tcuoe. The Nos. reseed are of Vol. Y. wold HB, «2 oc AIV. eV ae a XXVIL Number 2 1. 12 1,2 °» 1,2. 1,2. 9 Entire No.12. 24. 27,98, 29,30. 33, 34. is A - ie 55, 56. Our agents and friends are requested to make search for the shore and forward them promptly to us. New Haven, Oct. 1, 1839. : 3} Several apes sets, both bound and in Nos., are sill ae | hand for tele ¥ . 4 ae i oe THE AMERICAN, + + . ; - - JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, &c. Art. I.—A letter to Prof. Faraday,on certain Theoretical Opin- ions ; by R. Hare, M D., Professor of ‘Chemistry 3 in 4 versity of Pennsylvania.* _ ~ Sie oer: é Arent, have been indebted to your kindness for several in electricity, which I 2d prac with the ereatest degree of interest. You must be too well aware of the height at which you stand, in the estimation of men of science, to doubt that I enter- tain with diffidence, any opinion in opposition to yours. Imay say of you as in a former instance of Berzelius, that you oceupy an elevation inaccessible to unjustifiable criticism. Under these circumstances, I hope that I may, from you, experience the can- dor and kindness which were displayed by the great Swedish chemist in his reply to my strictures on his nomenclature. . Iam unable to reconcile the language which you hold in para- graph 1615, with the fundamental position taken in 1155. Agree- ably to the latter, you believe ordinary induction to be the action of contiguous particles, consisting of a species of beneed instead * To the Editors of he American Journal of Science and Arts,—GeNnTLEMEN: I avail myself of the medium of your Journal to address to the celebrated Faraday, a letter on the subject of certain hypothetical inferences which he from his late ingenious experimental researches. Vol. xxxvimt, No. 1.—Oct.—Jan. 1 sigs Mo. Bot. Garden, tances.” Agreeably to the former, you conceive that ‘* assuming _ that a perfect vacnum was to intervene in the course of the line 2 A letter to Prof. Faraday. of being an action of either particles or masses at “ sensible dis- — of inductive action, it does not follow from this theory that the line of particles on-opposite sides of such a vacuum would not act upon each other.” Again, supposing ‘it possible for a positively electrified particle to be in the centre of a vacuum an inch in di- ameter, nothing in my present view forbids that the particle. E should act at a distance of half an inch on all the particles — : the disk of the inner superficies of the bounding sphere.” Laying these quotations before you for reconsideration, I bog 4 leave to inquire how a positively excited particle, situated as above described, can react “inductrically” with any particles in the super- ficies of the surrounding sphere, if this species of reaction require that the particles between which it takes place be contiguous. ' Moreover if induction be not “an action either of particles or — Pek te Mia aig ie aad Eb £ < _ Masses at sensible distances,” how can a particle situated as above _ described, “act at the distance of half an inch on all the — PS forming the disk of the inner superficies of the bounding sphere?” * + ae ed e = a its vicinity. What i is a sensible distance, if half an inch is not? 4 .. How can the force thus exercised obey the “well known law i ‘of the squares of the distances,” if as you state (1375) the rare — faction of the air does not alter the intensity of the inductive ac — _ tion? In proportion as the air is rarefied, do not its pean be- come more remote ? ‘ ~ Can the ponderable particles of a gas be deemed contiguous in _the true sense of this word, under any circumstances? A it : may be well here to observe, that admitting induction to arise from an affection of intervening ponderable atoms, it is difficult to com — ceive that the intensity of this affection will be inversely as the number as alleged by you. No such law holds good in the com munication of heat. The air in contact with a surface at a con stant elevation of temperature, such for instance as might supported by boiling water, would not become hotter by beiNg — rarefied, and consequently could not become more efficacious i the conduction of heat from the heated surface to a colder one in As soon as I commenced the perusal of your researches on this nl subject, it occurred to me that the passage of electricity throug a vacuum, or a highly rarefied medium, as demonstrated by val A letter to Prof. Faraday. — 3 ous experiments, and especially those of Davy, was inconsistent with the idea that ponderable matter could be a necessary the process of electrical induction. I therefore inferred ‘that your efforts would be primarily directed to a re-examination ot that question. If induction, in acting through a vacuum, ee propagated in right lines, may not the curvilinear direction which it pursues, when passing through “dialectrics,” be ascribed to the modifying influence which they exert? If, as you concede, electrified particles on opposite sides of a vacuum can act upon each other, wherefore is the received theory of the mode in which the excited surface of a Leyden jar induces in the opposite surface, a contrary state, objectionable ? As the theory which you have proposed, gives great importance - to the idea of polarity, I regret that you have not defined the meaning which you attach to this word. As you designate that to which you refer, as a “‘species of polarity,” it is presumable. that you have conceived of several kinds with which ponderable atoms may be endowed. I find’ it difficult to conceive of any _ kind which may be capable of as many degrees of intensity as the be, known phenomena of electricity require ; especially acco he to your opinion that the only difference between the fluid evolved by galvanic apparatus and that evolved by friction, is due to op- a: posite extremes in quantity and intensity ; the intensity of elec- trical excitement producible by the one, being almost infinitely | + greater than that which can be produced by the other. What — - state of the poles can constitute quantity—what other state inten- ~ sity, the same matter being capable of either electricity, as is well __ known to be the fact? Would it not be well to consider how, consistently with any conceivable polarization, and without the © assistance of some imponderable matter, any great difference of intensity in inductive power, can be create When by friction the surface is polarized so that particles are brought into a state of constraint from which they endeavor to return to their natural state, if nothing be superadded to them, it must be supposed that they have poles capable of existing in two different positions. In one of these positions, dissimilar poles co- inciding, are neutralized; while in the other position, they are - more remote, and consequently capable of acting upon other mat- eg “ But I am unable to imagine any change which can admit of gradations of intensity, increasing with remoteness. I cannot figure to myself any reaction which increase of distance would not lessen. Much less can I conceive that such extremes of in- — tensity can be thus created, as those of which you consider the — _ existence as demonstrated. It may be suggested that the change of polarity produced in particles by electrical inductions, may _ arise from the forced approximation of reciprocally repellent poles, so that the intensity of the inductive force, and of their effort to return to their previous situation, may be susceptible of the gra- dation which your electrical doctrines require. But could the existence of such a repellent force be consistent with the mutual — cohesion which appears almost universally to be a property of pon- — derable particles? I am aware that, agreeably to the ingenious hy- | pothesis of Mossotti, repulsion is an inherent property of the parti- — cles which we call ponderable ; but then he assumes the existence of an imponderable fluid to account for cohesion; and for the _ necessity of such a fluid to account for induction it is my ultimate object to contend. I would suggest that it can hardly be expe dient to ascribe the phenomena of electricity to the polarization of 7 ponderable particles, unless it can be shown that if admitted, — 4 it would be competent to produce all the known varieties of elec tric excitement, whether as to its nature or energy. i. __. If Lcomprehend your theory, the opposite electrical state ines ag on one side of a coated pane, when the other is directly we" ye ay arises from an affection of the intervening vitreous _ particles, by which a certain polar state caused on one side of the pane, induces an opposite state on the other side. Each vit — reous particle having its poles severally in opposite states, they are arranged as magnetized iron filings in lines ; so that altern opposite poles are presented in such a manner that all of one ki are exposed at one surface, and all of the other kind at the ot surface. Agreeably to this or any other imaginable view of the subject, I cannot avoid considering it inevitable that each pa must have at least two poles. It seems to me that the idea polarity requires that there shall be in any body gfe ih t two opposite poles. Hence you correctly allege that agree to your views it is impossible to charge a portion of matter one electric force without the other. (See par. 1177.) ‘Bat if this be true, how can there be a “positively excited parti A _ Aletter to Prof. Faraday. : : Re CS A letter to Prof. Faraday. an , & (See par. 1616.) Must not every particle be excited inedavely, if it be excited positively? Must it not have a negative, as well as a positive pole? ‘ I cannot agree with you in the idea that consistently with the theory which ascribes the phenomena of electricity to one fluid, there can ever be an isolated existence either of the positive or negative state. Agreeably to this theory, any excited space, whether minus or plus, must have an adjoining space relatively in a different state. Between the phenomena of positive and negative excitement there will be no other distinction than that arising from the direction in which the fluid will endeavor to move. If the excited space be positive, it must strive to flow outward ; if negative, it will strive to flow inward. When suffi- ciently intense, the direction will be shown by the greater length of the spark, when passing from a small ball to a large one. It is always longer when the small ball is positive, and the large one negative, than when their positions are reversed.* But for any current it is no less necessary that the pressure should be on one side comparatively minus, than that on the other side, it should be .. plus; and this state of the forces must exist whether the current originates from a 2 hinting before, or from pressure behind. One current cannot differ essé tially from another, however they may be produced. — In paragraph 1330, I have been struck with the following query, ‘‘ What then is to separate the principle of these extremes, perfect conduction and perfect insulation, from each other; since © the moment we leave the smallest degree of perfection at either extremity, we involve the element of perfection at the opposite ends?” Might not this query be made with as much reason in the case of motion and rest, between the extremes of which there is an infinity of gradations? If we are not to confound motion with rest, because in proportion as the former is retarded, it differs oe the latter; wherefore should we confound insulation with conduction, because in proportion as the one is less eee, it becomes less remote from the other? In any case of the intermixture of opposite Be may it not be said in the language which you employ “the moment we my Essay on the causes of the div ersity in the length of the sparks, erro- ’ : owl; distinguished as positive and negative, in vol. v, American Philosophical - ‘Fransaetions. 6 A letter to Prof. Faraday. ‘ leave the element of perfection at one extremity, we involve the | element of perfection at the opposite.” Might it not be said of : light and darkness, or of opaqueness and translucency; in which | ease to resort to your language again, it might be added “espe cially as we have not in nature, a case of perfection at one ex-— | APeremity or the other.” But if there be not in nature, any two - 4 bodies of which one possesses the property of perfectly resisting — 4 the passage of electricity, while the other is endowed with the — faculty of permitting its passage without any resistance ; does this _ affect the propriety of considering the qualities of insulation and conduction in the abstract, as perfectly distinct, and inferring that _ so far as matter may be endowed with the one property, it must — be wanting in the other? Have you ever known electricity to pass through a pane of 4 sound glass? My knowledge and experience create an impres- — sion that a coated pane is never discharged through the glass ul- y less it be cracked or perforated. That the property by which glass resists the passage of electricity, can be confounded with — _ that which enables a metallic wire to permit of its transfer, agree- ably to Wheatstone’s experiments, with a velocity greater than that of the solar rays, is to my mind inconceivable. : . You infer that the residual charge of a battery arises from the partial penetration of the glass by the opposite excitements. But — if glass be penetrable by electricity, why does it not pass throug | - it without a fracture or perforation ? a According to your doctrine, induction consists “in a forced state of polarization in contiguous rows of the particles of the glass” (1300); and since this is propagated from one side to the other, it must of course exist equally at all depths. Yet the penetration suggested. by you, supposes a collateral affection ‘ the same kind, extending only toa limited depth. Is this © sistent? Is it not more reasonable to suppose that the air in t vicinity of the coating gradually relinquishes to it a portion free electricity, conveyed into it by what you call ‘“ convection The coating being equally in contact with the air and gl appears to me more easy to conceive that the air might be trated by the excitement, than the glass. In paragraph 1300, I observe the following statement: “ a Leyden Jar is charged, the particles of the glass are EN io oso mereress condition —— clecti Siu hake A letter to Prof. Faraday. 7 the charging apparatus. Discharge is the return of the parti- cles to their natural state, from their state of tension, whenever the two electric forces are allowed to be disposed of in some other direction.” As you have not previously mentioned any particu- lar direction in which the forces are exercised during the preva- lence of this constrained condition, Iam at a loss as to what — meaning I am to attach to the words “some other direction.” The word some, would lead to the idea that there was an uncer- tainty respecting the direction in which the forces might be dis- posed of; whereas it appears to me that the only direction in which they can operate, must be the seeaie of that by which they have been induced. The electrified particles can only “ return to their natural state” by retracing the path by which they departed from it. I would : t that for the words “to be disposed of in some other di- rection,” it would be better to substitute the erent * to com- pensate each other by an adequate communication.” Agreeably to the explanation of the phenomenon of coated electrics afforded in the paragraph above quoted (1300), by what _ process can it be conceived that the opposite polarization of the surfaces can be neutralized by conduction through a metallic wire? If I understand your hypothesis correctly, the process which the polarization of one of the vitreous surfaces in a | produces an opposite polarization in the other, is precisely the same as that by which the electricity applied to one end of the wire extends itself to the other en I cannot conceive how two processes severally producing re- sults so diametrically opposite as insulation and conduction, can be the same. By the former, a derangement of the electric equilibrium may be permanently sustained, while by the other, all derangement is counteracted with a rapidity almost infinite. But if the opposite charges are dependent upon a polarity indu- ced in contiguous atoms of the glass, which endures so long as no communication ensues between the surfaces; by what con- ceivable process can a perfect conductor cause a discharge to _ take place, with a velocity at least as great as that of the solar light? Is it conceivable that all the lines of “ contra-induction”’ or depolarization can concentrate themselves upon the wire from . each surface so as to produce therein an intensity of polarization Ct to the concentration ; and that the opposite ey “ey : Ae - $f > Ih he ri a Pio eo | : -= * & ei us * 8 : A letter to Prof. Faraday. resulting from the polarization are thus reciprocally compensa- ? I must confess, such a concentration of such forces or states, is to me difficult to reconcile with the conception that it is at all to be ascribed to the action of rows of contiguous pon- derable particles. e. Does not your hypothesis require that the metallic particles, at opposite ends of the wire, shall in the first instance be subjected to the same polarization as the excited particles of the glass; and that the opposite polarizations, transmitted to some intervening point, should thus be mutually destroyed, the one by the other? But if discharge involves a return to the same state in vitreous particles, the same must be true in those of the metallic wire. — Wherefore then are these dissipated, when the discharge is suffi- ciently powerful? Their dissipation must take place either while they are in the state of being polarized, or in that of re- turning to their natural state. But if it happen when in the first mentioned state, the conductor must be destroyed before the opposite polarization upon the surfaces can be neutralized by its intervention. But if not dissipated in the act of being polarized, is it reasonable to suppose that the metallic particles can be -sundered by returning to their natural state of depolarization? _ Supposing that ordinary electrical induction could be satisfac- torily ascribed to the reaction of ponderable particles, it cannot, it seems to me, be pretended that magnetic and electro-magnetic induction is referable to this species of reaction. It will be admitted that the Faradian currents do not for their production require intervening ponderable atoms. From a note subjoined to page 37 of your pamphlet, it appears that “ on the question of the existence of one or more imponder- able fluids as the cause of electrical phenomena, it has not been your intention to decide.” I should be much gratified if any of the strictures in which [ have been so bold as to indulge, should contribute to influence your ultimate decision. It appears to me that there has been an undue disposition to burden the matter, usually regarded as such, with more duties than it can perform. Although it is only uals the properties oby matter that we have a direct acquaintance, and the existence of matter rests upon a theoretic inference that since we perceive ve properties, there must be material particles to which those prop- erties belong ; yet there is no conviction which the mass of mall- bain 2 pe. tae = t % a > EE I pte (nce yee py Sy aetit- eh pS te a eee Fee ee 4 Gare i> 2 7/ ert Rn A letter to Prof. Faraday. 9 kind entertain with more firmness than that of the existence of matter in that ponderable form, in which it is instinctively recog- nized by people of common sense. Not perceiving that this con- viction can only be supported as a theoretic deduction from our perception of the properties; there is a reluctance to admit the. existence of other matter, which has not in its favor the same — instinctive conception, although theoretically similar reasoning would apply. But if one kind of matter be admitted to exist _ because we perceive properties, the existence of which cannot be otherwise explained, are we not warranted, if we notice more “properties than can reasonably be assigned to one kind of mat- ter, to assume the existence of another kind of matter? Independently of the considerations which have heretofore led some philosophers to suppose that we are surrounded by an ocean of electric matter, which by its redundancy or deficiency ‘is capable of producing the phenomena of mechanical electricity, it has appeared to me inconceivable that the phenomena of gal- vanism and electro-magnetism, latterly brought into view, can be satisfactorily explained without supposing the agency of an inter- vening imponderable medium by whose subserviency the induc- tive influence of currents or magnets is propagated. If in that wonderful reciprocal reaction between masses and particles, to which I have alluded, the polarization of condensed or accumu- lated portions of intervening imponderable matter, can be brought in as a link to connect the otherwise imperfect chain of causes; it would appear to me a most important instrument in lifting the curtain which at present hides from our intellectual vision, this highly important mechanism of nature. Having devised so many ingenious experiments tending to show that the received ideas of electrical induction are inadequate to explain the phenomena without supposing a modifying influ- ence in intervening ponderable matter, should there prove to be cases in which the results cannot be satisfactorily explained by ascribing them to ponderable particles, [ hope that you may be | induced to review the whole ground, in order to determine | whether the part to be assigned to contiguous ponderable parti- cles, be not secondary to that performed by the imponderable ae. Tageiples by which they are surrounded. Fe ut if galvanic phenomena be due to ponderable matter, evi- dently that matter must be in a state of combination. To 2 on xxxviu, No. 1.—Oct.—Dec. 1839. 2 ar eas i . fag Fits ~ » 10 A letter to Prof. Faraday. what other cause than an intense affinity between it and the metallic particles with which it is associated, can its confinement be ascribed consistently with your estimate of the enormous - quantity which exists in metals? If “a grain of water, or a grain zine, contain as much of the electric fluid as would supply ~ eight hundred thousand charges of a battery containing a coated surface of fifteen hundred square inches,” how intense must be the attraction by which this matter is confined? In such eases ~ may not the material cause of electricity be considered as latent sq agreeably to the suggestion of CErsted, the founder of electro- t magnetism. It is in combination with matter, and only capable of producing the appropriate effects of voltaic currents when in act of transfer from combination with one atom to another; this transfer being at once an effect and a cause of chemical decomipe f sition, as you have demonstrated. 2 If polarization in any form, can be conceived to admit of the © requisite gradations of intensity, which the phenomena seem to — demand ; would it not be more reasonable to suppose that it ope- rates bg means of an imponderable fluid existing throughout alt space, however devoid of other matter? May not an electric cur- ‘rent, so called, be a progressive polarization of rows of the electric particles, the polarity being produced at one end and destroyed at the other incessantly, as I understood you to suggest in the case of contiguous ponderable atoms. When the electric particles within different wires are polarized in the same tangential direction, the opposite poles being in prox- imity, there will be attraction. When the currents of polariza- tion move oppositely, similar poles coinciding, there will be repulsion. The phenomena require that the magnetized or polar- ized particles should be arranged as tangents to the circumference, not as radii to the axis. Moreover, the progressive movement must be propagated in spiral lines in order to account for rotary influence. Between a wire which is the mean of a galvanic discharge and another not making a part of a circuit, the electric matter which intervenes may, by undergoing a polarization, become the medium of producing a progressive polarization in the second wire moving in a direction opposite to that in the inducing wire; or in other words an electrical current of the species called Faradian may Bs generated. 4 es oa . A letter to Prof. Faraday. 11 . By progressive polarization in a wire, may not stationary polar ization, or magnetism be created; and reciprocally by pane 3 polity may not progressive polarization be excited? am . Might not the difficulty, above suggested, of the incompetency. 4 of any imaginable polarization to produce all the varieties of elec- trical excitement which facts require for explanation, be oh mounted by supposing intensity to result from an acenmulation - _.. Of free electric polarized particles, and quantity from a still greater ~ accumulation of such particles, polarized in a latent state or in . -ehemical combination ? _._. There are it would seem many indications in favor of the idea a that electric excitement may be due to a forced polarity, but in endeavoring to define the state thus designated, or to explain by _ means of it the diversities of electrical charges, currents and ef- ' fects, I have always felt the incompetency of any hypothesis ‘which I could imagine. How are we to explain the insensibility of a gold leaf electroscope, to a galvanized wire, or the indiffer- ence of a magnetic needle to the most intensely electrified sur- faces? | Possibly the Franklinian hypothesis may be combined with that above suggested, so that an electrical current may be constituted of an imponderable fluid in a state of polarization, the two elec- tricities being the consequence of the position of the poles, or _their presentation. Positive electricity may be the result of an | accumulation of electric particles, presenting poles of one kind ; | negative, from a like accumulation of the same matter with a presentation of the opposite poles, inducing of course an oppo- | site polarity. 'The condensation of the electric matter, within bs ponderable matter, may vary in obedience to a property analogous E to that which determines the capacity for heat, and the differ- ent influence of dialectrics upon the process of electrical induc- tion may arise from this source of variation. | With the highest esteem, I am sore truly, Rosert Hare. a 12 Analysis of Sea Water. | : ' Arr. I].—Analysis. of Sea Water as it evists in the English _ Channel near Brighton ; by G. Scuweirzer, M. D.* Bios unaware of the existence of a correct analysis of sea- Pr as it exists in the British Channel, particularly with refer- ence to the quantity of iodine and becumann it contains, I have — ~ undertaken at the request of several friends to analyze it. It is— ‘a - not my intention to enter into the minutize of the process em- ‘ployed, particularly as I have on a former occasion, in a small — mphlet entitled “ An Analysis of the Congress Spring of Sara- toga in America,” published in March, 1838, given a detailed 4 account of the mode I adopt in analyzing mineral waters. ‘The chief object I have in view in the present communication is, to ~ explain the method I have employed in ascertaining the propor-. — tion of iodine and bromine contained in a given quantity of sea- water. But before I enter upon the subject, it may not be out of | place to show how far tests act upon iodine when in connexion — with an alkali, and ina solution also containing bromides and © _ From experiment I have ascertained that a minute quantity of iodine in distilled water, equal to no more than 1,500,000th part — of the whole, will be distinctly indicated when mixed wie ¢ starch, dilute sulphuric acid, and chlorine. or the production of such delicate reaction, I add to every : ‘500 grains of fluid one drop of diluted sulphuric acid, a small — quantity of paste of potato starch, and two drops of a weak so- lution of chlorine, consisting of one part of a saturated solution diluted with 20 to 25 times its volume of distilled water. The . solution gives no indication of the presence of iodine in the fluid ~ until a sufficient time has been allowed for the separation of the — starch, when a decided pink hue will be visible on the surface at the precipitate if iodine be present. It has been supposed that the substitution of pink for blue in the iodide of starch produced; arises from the presence of bromine; but this I have ascertained is not correct, as it depends ontixely: on the minute quantity of the precipitate acted upon by free chlorine or bromine. The lowing experiment will prove this fact. In order to aacertaly: WY the a a 3 ‘ aed the Lond. and ~~ Phil. _ for July, 1839; Semana: by , the : bs a Sees aac eo av % Analysis of Sea Water. 13 delicacy of electrolytic tests of iodine, a current of electricity produced by voltaic induction was passed through a suitable glass tube, filled with 300 grains of distilled water containing sae'saath part of its weight of iodide of potassium and a small quantity of starch, but no action was observed until a few drops of nitric acid were added, which assisting the electric current, developed, after a few brisk revolutions of the coils of the mag-. net, the blue color of the iodide of starch. Even a current of” electricity from a single constant galvanic battery passed through = the same glass tube, in which the proportion of iodide of potas- : sium was only one millionth part of the weight of the water, indicated the presence of iodine by a pure blue speck of iodide of starch at the anode or negative extremity of the electric cir- cuit. When iodide of potassium diluted in the same manner - was properly treated with starch, sulphuric acid, and _ chlorine, the blue iodide of starch likewise became visible, but the small- est additional proportion of chlorine occasioned a pinkish sedi- ment. ‘The presence of chlorides and bromides, however, does not interfere with the action of the electric current upon traces of iodine ; for a solution of salts containing, in 500 grains of water, 100 grains of chloride of sodium, 10 grains of bromide of sodium, and the five hundred: thousandth part of iodide of potassium, gave a deposit of iodide of starch of a dark pinkish color. A concentrated solution of bromide of sodium, contain- ing the millionth part of iodide of potassium, also gave by the action of the electric current a slightly pinkish deposit. It is always necessary, when we wish to detect by means of chlorine minute quantities of an iodide, to employ the chlorine in a very diluted state, as when in excess it forms a soluble chloride of iodine which will not act on starch. The sulphates and chlorides present in salt waters do not in- terfere with the delicacy of the starch test; on the contrary a — concentrated solution of the chlorides will how the presence of one millionth part of iodide of potassium more distinctly than an equal volume of distilled-water. This appears to arise from the iodide being a little soluble in pure water. I thought at first that a trace of an iodide might be contained in the common chloride of sodium, and thus cause a deeper tinge of blue color ; but by employing a chloride of sodium prepared from pure hydrochloric acid and pure soda, I found the same degree of increased reaction. y ie . 14 Analysis of Sea Water. The iodide of starch will likewise keep unchanged much longer in a solution of chlorides exposed to light and air than in pure water. The bromides when present in large quantity interfere with the delicate reaction upon traces of iodine, but when the quan- tity of iodine is not too small the reaction is very distinct, as a small proportion of free bromine will, like chlorine, decompose the iodide, and produce the slnaciadtescinede reaction. _ After these experiments I tested fresh sea-water for idatowd in * the manner before described, but did not obtain the slightest in- dication of it. Inow added one millionth part of the iodide of potassium, and the color produced by the test did not differ in ~ the slightest degree from a solution of chlorides of the same spe- cific gravity as sea-water, treated in the same manner, and from this I immediately inferred, that iodine, if pera. in sea-water, must be so in very minute quantity. I took 73 pounds troy of sea-water, and boiled with a quan- tity of caustic potash, sufficient to precipitate the alkaline earth, and after filtration evaporated the fluid to four ounces. On test- ing a small quantity of this concentrated water, no iodine was to be detected, and it was found on adding a minute quantity of an iodide that the presence of bromides in comparatively large quan- tity interfered with the test. But although these results appear- ed to negative the presence of iodine, I felt convinced it must exist in sea-water, being present in so many sea plants and animals. Sarphate, in his “ Commentatio de Iodio,” 1835, Leiden (a . treatise which received the prize), states that he could detect no ¥. ; iodine in the sea-water near the Dutch coast. Professor Charles Daubeny likewise mentions, in his “ Memoir on the occurrence of iodine and bromine in certain mineral waters of South Brit- ain, May, 1838,” that he could not detect iodine in the residuum of sea-water taken from the English Channel near Cowes, after having reduced ten gallons to less than half an ounce. To proceed with my experiment, I freed three ounces as much as possible from the chlorides by crystallization, having first care- fully neutralized the a eoliition, with hydrochloric acid. The re- duu | raporated to dryness, ignited, and treated with alecholic fluid was afterwards evapo- ssolved in a few drams of water; ‘| bE a ty ade ie st gt Pere OE ae * Analysis of Sea Water. 15 when the before-mentioned test readily indicated a slight trace of iodine. With respect to the quantity of iodine in sea-water, it is evi- dently very minute, 174 pounds troy not containing one grain. This is remarkable when we consider the comparatively large quantity of iodine and bromine present in sea plants and animals, hence we must conclude that these principles are conemniigie "_ by vital action. ine, when present in fluids, j is easily detected by chléring, ‘ which produces a yellow color. If present in very minute quan- tity the fluid must first be concentrated. But when iodine is present we cannot apply this test, as bromides and iodides are _ both decomposed by it; and we cannot separate them, even by means of ether, as iodine is soluble in that menstruum, and also "possesses greater coloring properties than bromine. From these causes this test is useless when iodine is present, and is only cer- tain when we are previously assured of the absence of that sub- stance. The following process for the separation of iodine, chlorine, and bromine in fluids containing these substances in very small quantities has given me satisfactory results, as I had anticipated by previous experiment. The fluid while boiling was mixed with a sufficient proportion of caustic potash ; my object in this was to decompose the earthy salts, and at the same time prevent the iodine and bromine from being dissipated by heat. The fil- tered fluid was then evaporated to dryness and ignited, and the resulting mass, after having been dissolved, concentrated, and neutralized with hydrochloric acid, was carefully mixed, drop by drop, with an ammoniacal solution of chloride of silver pre- ared by mixing one part of a saturated solution of recently pre- cipitated chloride of silver in ammonia with one of liquid am- monia (sp. grav. 0-935) and two parts of water. If to a concen- trated solution of chloride of sodium containing one thirtieth part of a bromide, we add a few drops of this ammoniacal solu- tion of chloride of silver, the solution will remain clear ; but if the most minute particle: of an iodide be present, it will be ren- dered turbid. To the fluid under examination t paoed grodcally, drop by drop, the solution of ammoniacal chloride of silver, leaving time between each successive addition eee, pee of iodide of oy x“ ek ya . + aie <3 * : ts ea ee an 4 inde S,, ES Sy Analysis of Sea Water. silver to subside. It is well when bromides are present to keep the vessel closed during the process, otherwise it is of no impor- tance. The iodide of silver collected upon a small filter was first washed with a little diluted ammonia, and afterwards with a few drops of diluted hydrochloric acid to dissolve any earthy substance which the precipitate might contain, and ultimately with pure water. The filter with the precipitate was dried and ignited. This © experiment, repeatedly performed, yielded the most satisfactory . results. It requires time, but this is more than balanced by its accuracy. Thus, for instance, I obtained by the analysis of the Congress spring of Saratoga, from 100,000 grs. of the water, 012164 gr. of iodide of silver, representing in 1000 grs. of the mineral water, 0:00067 gr. of iodine. ammoniacal fluid, separated from the iodide of silver, was cipitate was obtained, consisting of bromide of silver, which was added to that subsequently obtained. This precipitate was form- ed by the solution of the chloride of silver, more of which was added than was required for the separation of the iodine. That carefully evaporated to expel the ammonia, whereby a small pre- : this minute precipitate consisted of bromide of silver, was — proved by heating it in a test tube with concentrated sulphuric — acid, whereby it became of a delicate yellow color; whereas chloride of silver would have remained white, and iodide of sil- ver would have obtained a brown color by parting with its iodine. A small portion of the fluid may now be examined for bro- — mine, and, when present, the following process may be adopted, which is the same I employed for the separation of bromine in sea-water and brine-springs, where the quantity of chlorides is — comparatively very large. The concentrated solution freed from the iodine was introduced into a glass ball, having at its lower end a glass tube, and at its upper an aperture closed by a glass stopper. A concentrated aqueous solution of chlorine was added as long as any sensible yellowness was caused by its addition. The fluid was then agitated with pure ether ; and after this had collected on the surface, carrying with it the bromine and ehlo- bee the water was allowed to flow off through the tube below, — efu Eesinulation. the ether could then be freed from ee ae ee ee sisi Analysis of Sea Water. 17 should ’still remain in it. The ether was directly introduced into a glass bottle, containing a solution of caustic potash fully suffi- cient to discolor the ether, when after evaporation and ignition it was dissolved in water, and carefully neutralized with hydro- chlorie acid. The concentrated solution was mixed with a few - drops of an ammoniacal solution of chloride of silver prepared thus: one part of a concentrated solution of chloride of silver in ammonia, mixed with one part of ammonia and one part of wa- ter. A few drops of this mixture produced no turbidness in a solution of chloride of sodium, but indicated a very minute quan- tity of bromine. When no further turbidness was produced by an additional drop of this ammoniacal solution of the chloride of silver, the fluid under treatment, which was kept in an open ves- sel, was heated in a sand-bath until the ammonia was almost ~ evaporated. - A few drops of the test were again added, until it no longer produced turbidness, when the glass vessel was again placed in a sand-bath, until the fluid, after having been heated, gave no further indication of bromine; it was then tested again” with chlorine. When the proportion of the chlorides to the bro- mides is not too large, scarcely a faint yellowness will be produ- ced; if, however, it is, the bromine must again be separated by chlorine and ether, and the before-mentioned process repeated, when the last traces of bromine will be separated as bromide of silver, which is to be treated like the iodide of silver before it is weighed. In this manner I have been able to detect the smallest proportion of an iodide and bromide when accompanied by a great quantity of chlorides, and have also been enabled to separate them and to ascertain their respective quantities. Should the quantity of iodine be much larger than that of bromine, it would be requisite to evaporate a little of the ammonia; and al- though the addition of the ammoniacal solution of chloride of Silver, employed as a test for iodine, no longer produces turbid- ness, it is still necessary to add another drop of the precipitating fluid, in order to ensure the separation of every trace of iodine. This is the more important, as the iodide of silver is not entirely insoluble in ammonia ; and although the quantity dissolved might be exceedingly minute, still this repetition is necessary in an ac- curate analysis. ‘The same precaution must be observed in the - separation of bromine, as bromide of silver is to some extent a soluble in ammonia, for it is obvious, that by the addition of the © Vol. xxxvi1, No. 1.—Oct.—Dec. 1839. ~ 3 ee duly ic ipbictea haaSe 18 Analysis of Sea Water. ammoniacal precipitant for every portion of bromide of sodium . or potassium, an equivalent of bromide of silver and chloride of — sodium or potassium will be formed, and the corresponding quan- | tity of ammonia, which kept the chloride of silver in solution, will be free and act upon the bromide of silver; but by observ- ing the before-mentioned precaution, every error of that kind will be avoided. Should a fluid contain iodides and bromides without chlorides, and not in too small a proportion, a very good method of ascertaining their respective quantities is to precipl- tate them at once with nitrate of silver, and to heat the dry pre- cipitate in an atmosphere of bromine. I have found, when jodie of silver is melted in an atmosphere of bromine, it is entirely — changed into a bromide; and from the difference of the weight - E between the mixture of ledide and bromide of silver, and that of — the whole bromide of silver, the respective quantities of iodine — k, and bromine may be ascertained. Thus the quantity of iodine _ (or bromine) stands in proportion to the difference of the weight, _ as the atomic weight of iodine (or bromine) is to the difference of their atomic weights. Hence it would only be required for . the quantity of iodine to multiply the given difference of the — _ weight by 2.627, and for that of bromine to multiply it by 1.627. Professor H. Rose, of Berlin, applies a similar method for the sep- — aration of iodine from chlorine.—(Poggendorff’s Ann. 1834, No. — 37, pp. 583, 584.) ot I may appear to have dwelt long upon this subject, but the ime 4 portance into which brine-springs have arisen on account of their + powerful components, iodine and bromine, has induced me to ex-_ A 4 amine the matter closely, as i it may be of consequence to the med- ical profi ession se know the =e quantity of these valuable sue : stances, ee, ; 3 I have bitty to add, that the quantity of chlorine in — : was ascertained by means of nitrate of silver, deducting from it that proportion of bromine which. had been found according t0 — the foregoing method, The quantity of sulphuric acid was — _ found by chloride of barium, the water having previously bee? t : with a little nitric acid. Another portion of the water ies 4 ia es Me se 4 OF Eye 6 of the weight between this and the formet amount of carbonate of barytes, from hie of carbonic acid gas was com atl Ex Eee ee eee = : Analysis of Sea Water. 49 its quantity was likewise ascertained after the distribution of the acids amongst the bases, when the surplus of the lime or of one of the other bases must have been united to carbonic acid. The quantity obtained by analysis was a little less than the last, ow- ing to the carbonate of barytes not being entirely insoluble in water during lixiviation. Lime was separated by oxalate of am- — monia, the water having been previously mixed with a proper quantity of chloride of ammonium. After the separation of lime, magnesia was precipitated by the addition of ammonia and phos- phate of ammonia. The precipitate was washed with water containing 10 per cent. __ of ammonia, whereby the solution of the precipitate was preven- _ ted. After the sea-water had been freed from the earthy chlo- rides and sulphates by hydrate of barytes and carbonate of am- monia, it was evaporated to dryness, and the residue heated to redness, and weighed. The alkaline chlorides were dissolved in water mixed with perchloride of platinum, and evaporated to dry- ness. ‘The residue digested with spirits of wine containing 60° per cent. alcohol, left potassio-chloride of platinum, which was dried, weighed, and computed as chloride of potassium. The ~ surplus of the total amount of the alkaline chlorides will give the _ precise quantity of the chloride of sodium. The equivalent numbers have been computed according to the tables which H. Rose has affixed to his Handbuch der Analy- tischen Chemie, Zweiter Band. I subjoin by way of comparison an 1 analysis of the Mediterra- _nean by Laurens. (Journal de Pharmacie, ami, 93.) . Sea-water of the British Channel. Of the Mediterranean. zrains. rains Water, - <-° = “<= 42. O64 743720 - + = 959-26 Chloride of sodium, - -. 27:05948 - - - 27-22 : — of potassium, =e 076362 4 = - - .*001 nesium, - 366658 - - - 614 ——__—_ of mag Bromide of magnesium, - 002929 = Sulphate of magnesia, == of lime, age Sainte oflime, - - - 1000,00000-. the + AY a ke & . fe oh he ss ak Gee th : a a * Es ‘as ae s oy he 20 Analysis of Sea Water. When these analyses are compared, it will be found that the Channel water contains 9 times as much lime as the Mediterra- nean, but this can be accounted for, as the water flows over a bed of chalk. The Mediterranean again has twice as much magnesia and sulphuric aci ~ We also find that the English Channel contains in 1000 grains water, 35°25628 grains of anhydrous ingredients; which amount corresponds very nearly to 35 grains, or 35-1 grains, obtained from several experiments, when 1000 grains were evaporated in a pla- } tina crucible, mixed with a little chloride of ammonium, to pre- : TI eee * vent as much as possible the decomposition of the earthly chlo-~ rides, and the residue carefully ignited, in order to volatilize the chloride of ammonium, where, however, a dissipation of hydro- chloric acid had taken saints ' | te Sometimes I found faint traces of oxide of iron, when the con- - eentrated water was mixed with sulphocyanuret of potassium, 3 ar sularly after boisterous weather ; I found the same in respect | ‘to organic matter. The sea-water taken on a fair and calm day, : j when very transparent, did not yield the slightest indication of — _ extractive matter when evaporated and ignited. A small quan- 2 tity of free carbonic acid gas has been likewise found; and also” extremely minute traces of chloride of ammonium were detected, when about 5 pounds of sea-water were evaporated ina water- cae bath. to nearly half. an ounce, which, mixed with caustic soda >. e toa ee rod wetted — mph Cy,4 acid. — or eee ee a ee gees a $. ve e sea-water: t . Jane, from the surface, six mil e bh . The weather was fair, the sea calm a and extremely transparent. 7 *. specific” weight ‘was at 60° Fahr. 1-0274. Another portion be ~ tained by a proper apparatus from the very bottom of the sea, 10 i " . fathoms deep, was of the same specific gravity, and likewise that taken almost close to the shore. In the month of July, after @ © > as rainy day, the sea-water taken four miles from t the shore, — < Fahr. paiecisc gravity of 10274; ata distance of 2 2 “2a ; and close to the shore, 1-0268. It was exami . = 3 t, the weather being fair and warm, wits * or . - ud + | Analysis of Sea Waiter. Qa] the specific gravity amounted to 1-0274. This ap to be the greatest weight. When weighed in fair weather in December, it was almost 1:0271; after rain I found it to be 1:0267. These variations will of course depend entirely on the state of the weather. If the atmosphere be bright, and no heavy rain has lately fallen, the water will have, even close to the shore, the same specific weight as out at sea, but after rain it is obvious that the sea-water to the shore will be most diluted. It is therefore indispensable that the sea-water for examination should be taken at a distance of several miles, that its specific weight should be ascertained, and that the analysis should be performed from one and the same dip. i t I cannot conclude this paper without drawing the attention of medical men to the importance which the brine-springs on the Continent have lately acquired, as, for instance, the springs near | Kissingen, | the Adelheids-quelle, near Heilbroun, and above all, the springs of Kreugnach, which have been found highly bene- ficial in scrofulous diseases when internally administered, their action being dependent entirely c on the chlorides, iodides, and bro- . ' mides they contain. Sea-water would afford similar advantages . for bathing, and when evaporated to dryness, the residue might ., be kept i in earthen vessels, and thus be conveyed to any distance ; ae and as its constituents are very soluble, sea-water in perfection : t be procured at any. place. The evaporation of sea-water ‘ a ata be performed with sain anc ‘the ingredi en ts s kept oh chem- a su _ ists. One great advantage wou k ' that sea-water could be had fay egre — é 7 * O'~ ‘1 the practitioner might when from.40 to:20, ! the atu ul [for — ra =: a -. 1. It is well known, that around and adhering to all arta & wh vhich are to convey impressions of this opacity radiate from the — 22 On the Halo seen around ail Bodies. > si “ ie. 4 Art. Ill.—On the Halo or Fringe which surrounds all Bodies ; 4 by Mrs. Mary Grirriru, of New York. (Communicated for — _ this Journal.) 4 , there i is a halo of Aowai-tinespnant light, seen only, however, when the object for experiment is in a certain position with regard to” the eye and the light which falls on it. This halo is not de- pendent on any peculiarity of color or material, for it encompasses 4 every object in nature, whether it belong to the animal, vegeta- ble, or mineral kingdom; whether it be square or round, black or — white, opaque or transparent, solid or fluid. : 2. If a small or large glass globe, either solid or filled with a — fluid, be held near the eye, this halo will be seen on the circum- _ ference, and will always follow the curvature of the glass which- _ ever way it may be turned. ; 4 3. Within this halo, at irregular intervals,‘ are certain faintly marked lines, some of which are of a dark gray and others of a_ whiter shade than the main color of the halo itself. These lines are always of the same density and color, but not always at the © same distance apart. 4. Whatever is the size, shape, color or opacity of the object a provided it be close to the eye, and that the other eye is shut, the diameter is always the same. But while looking at it, if nia closed eye opens suddenly, the diameter will contract, its illumi- nation will be brighter, and it will expand again as soon as the dis- Pi engaged « eye closes. A et es eae the same sbi in aa ee liameter of a pin-ho 5. This halo, therefore, is attached to all surfaces, and from its initonaaey and constant presence it may be fairly inferred, that it — belongs to the constitution of surfaces, It is not dependent either on the refraction or inflection of light, (which is supposed to pr os ceed from the surface on which it rests,) but light is refracted poocen and across this halo, and also by transparent media when asses through them. When the halo rests on an opaque sub- ad nce, whether the surface be polished or not, all the rays of lige a al . It is sui generis, and is independent of the quality ot q property of te body to which it aes and although it is s only a ae “ i; 4 & es me * Se rs re aE a ad On the Halo seen around all Bodies. 23 the agent through which light is effective, yet it possesses a pro- perty which light has not, for it covers the surfaces of black colored bodies, whereas light is decomposed by them. _ It differs likewise from the magnetic and electric fluid, for with the same property of adhesiveness which they possess, it is visible and is not confined to a peculiar set of objects. by 6. Light renders this halo perceptible, according to the : same laws which allows us to perceive all other external objects ; “and we are not to infer that when it is not visible it does not exist. 7. This gauzy, misty nebula, when it encompasses lenses or - small apertures, has hitherto been designated by the name of frin- ges. ‘Ihe phenomena of the interference of light and of the po- larization of light, arise from the peculiar properties which this 0 possesses. } 8. Apparently it is only perceptible on the edge of those bodies which are close to the eye in experiment, but in reality it surrounds and covers every part of the surface. Ifa card be held edgewise, close to the eye, the halo, with its lines, will be found to occupy the whole extent of plane surface. It is as diaphanous, and as permeable to light when it extends over the whole surface, as it ison a round or sharp edge. __ 9. The lines within this halo are not the result of any refrac- tive or inflective process of light between the eyelashes or among the humors of the eye. That the eyelashes do not in any way contribute to their formation can be satisfactorily proved, for on looking at the halo on the edge of a bright. object, if we draw aside, with our finger, the upper or lower. lid, ‘the shadow of the eyelashes will be seen to move regularl across the lines without producing the least disturbance or alteration in their position. That they do not proceed ‘from the difference in the refractive : powers of the humor can also be proved, for they are seen when & ~ “the halo is represented through a lens and is thtown on a screen. BOs But there i is still another proof that the different | densities of the - humors do not produce them. If weshold a a steel needle or an , bright: object horizontally and close th ls so as-only to ad- -* mita small cone of light, and then sudd enly open them, we shall | still perceive the lines within the halo, although the fluid which lubricates the conjunctiva, by the contraction of the lids, has ac- cumulated in a ridge. We shall see the lines likewise very dis- tinetly, although the aqueous humor is very perceptible. ang J in 3 ee. 4 me 24 On the Halo seen around all Bodies. constant motion. ‘That the conjunctival fluid is pushed together so as to form a ridge, can be proved by looking at the clear sky, or a candle, through a small pin-hole inaeard. On closing the lids slowly and then suddenly opening them, this ridge will be seen on the enlarged diameter of the pin-hole. 10. I have stated in section 4th, that the halo is always of the same density and diameter at a cortaie point of view, and that on opening the closed eye it will suddenly contract, and that the — light diverging from it, will be much brighter. This contraction _ and expansion is not confined to those halos which adhere to. 4 edges, or to a plane surface, for all narrow slits, all small circular — holes, contract and expand under similar circumstances. 11. Light falls on the halo precisely as it does on a bright a brass ball. It is well known that if we breathe on the ball and _ pass the hand over it horizontally, the light from a self-luminous body will fall on it vertically. If the hand is passed over it ver- — tically, the light will fall horizontally. This phenomenon does — not arise from the presence of moisture, for the same thing occurs whether we breathe on the ball or not, although then not so per- ceptible. There are always inequalities even on the smoothest sur= face on which light would glance, but the peculiar feature of a — beam of light is more clearly defined when the hand is passed — over a moist surface; the ridges are then formed more distinctly. 12. The cause of the formation of the ridges must be very _ obvious ; the hand i in passing across the ball, cannot come in con- tact with every part of the surface ; a number of elevations or ridges therefore will arise parallel to the motion of the hand, and it is across these ridges, at right angles, that light falls. 13. But on account of the sphericity of the ball, the beam of — light will be of very narrow diameter, as it can only glance over a very circumscribed area, which area, however, is the prominetify = point of the ball. ie | 14. The halo siocdinpnnine every one of the ridges following ‘ these elevations and depressions. It is always parallel to every plane or curved surface and edge, and the lines intersect each — other at every angular point and anand every curve or sphere without interfering. ‘ 15. If it be a plane surface on which we breathe, and seed hand i is passed over it vertically, the light will glance across the whole mass of ridges in a horizontal direction. A contrary ac- iait * “: “a a ees : Fe hid ae ah ‘4 On the Halo seen around all Bodies. 25 tion will cause the beam of light to strike the mass of ridges vertically. 16. Therefore, if the object have a plane surface, the vertical lines within the halo will occupy the whole extent of vertical surface: I speak now of a square of glass, or any other object with a plane surface and standing in an erect position; the horizontal lines will occupy the whole of the horizontal surfac and thus cross each other at right angles at every corner. “ 4 0ETs Consequently, if the plane surface of any object lies hori- . -zontally and the rays of light fall on it vertically, both the hori- ~ zontal and vertical lines will be illuminated and the center of the plane will be the focus of illumination, the diameter of which .* _ will be greater than if the surface were spherical. But though 2 the space of luminous contact will be of larger diameter than if the rays fell on a curve or sphere, yet the concentration will be less dense, and of course less powerful. 18. On a globular surface the action of the halo is the same, only that, from the sphericity of the globe, the lines can never cross at right angles. 19. Taking into consideration all the peculiarities and anoma- lies which these halos exhibit, it must lead to the conclusion, that rays of light which issue from a polished opake or transparent surface, are not immediately reflected from that surface, but from the halo itself. It was the opinion of many excellent philoso- phers that light was not reflected from the surface of a body, but that it “acted at a distance,” there being several phenomena in- cident to light which could not be accounted for on any other hypothesis. They never detected the agency of this nebula or halo, nor will the men of science at the present day be the first to investigate the proofs of the existence of so powerful an agent. 0. I observed that the lines of the halo intersect each other ; the interstices between their intersections are foei whence re- . flected rays issue. Rays of light diverge from these interstitial foci in all directions, so that let us stand in what position we may, with regard to the object on which the halo rests, a pencil of rays always converges to the axis of our own eye. — -21. This halo, therefore, is the medium through which light acts, both near and at a distance. 22. Besides being the true reflecting medium, it has the prop- erty of acting on another halo in a specific manner, either when near or at a distance. Vol. xxxvu1, No. 1—Oct.—Dec. 1839. 4 26 On the Halo seen around all Bodies. 23. It acts upon the surface of another halo—more perceptible when they are near together—in consequence of a singular and | wonderful property which it possesses. Jt is lenticular in the direction of its parallelism with the edge of the body on which it rests! If weturna piece of glass, steel, or pasteboard, edgewise, we shall find that the lines of the halo are parallel to this edge, as edge it may be called, for it presents no more extent of surface than if it were an edge of only a line in diameter. If we turn — the edge so as to let it lie horizontally, still the line will be par- _ allel tothe edge, and the interstices will preserve their lenticular i property—the halo, therefore, on every edge is always lentiodlan§ “4 in the direction of its lines. | 24. If we hold a card in each hand, one near the eye and tial D other at a little distance from it, and then move them in a ho- — rizontal direction, so near as to shut out the light between them, the halo on the one card will appear to- swell out to meet the other. — 25. Ona superficial view of this phenomenon we might be led — to adopt the explanation given of it by Mr. Melville. Inthe En- — cyclopedia Perthensis of 1816, page 412, fig. 9, plate 257, he has — given his theory, with a diagram. When we become convinced ae of the fact, that the interstices between the lines of every halo are constituted like lenses—being lenticular according to the parallel- ism of the lines with the edge or surface of the body on which it~ rests—we shall no longer be at a loss for the true theory of the swelling out of the edges of bodies to meet one another. — 26. What I mean by lenticularity according to the parallelism of the halo with the edges of bodies, is this:—If the shadow of an object near the eye, is thrown on an object a few inches dis- tant from it, and we move either of them to the right or left, the shadow of the one nearest to the eye will rest on the other and: move ina direction contrary to the one we give it. 27. Therefore, if a pin is held near the eye, and another is at @ little distance from it, the shadow of the former will be plain seen ou the halo of the matte moving contrarily to the motion y of this parallelism the shadow, though it has one nition’ m ment—whieh j is a reverse movement—is seen in an erect posit But I must observe here that this applies only to the body, oF shaft of the pin, as the head, for reasons hereafter to be explai i not = its shadow on pecs lens of a halo. Ea a On the Halo seen around all Bodies. Q7 28. This elongated lens does not, like a round one, give an in- verted image of the pin; é only reverses the movements. If a slit is cut in a card with a sharp knife, and we look through it ata candle or at the clear sky, it will be perceived that the halo is present there also, and that its lines are parallel with the slit. On moving a pin between the eye and the slit, the shadow of the pin will be seen on it, but its movement will be the reverse of the true one. In this experiment, as in the preceding one, the shadow of the body of the pin is erect, and there is no representation of | head. 29. This contrary motion of object and eeiitende-shie lenticu- _ larity—does not belong exclusively to the overlapping of halos and to narrow slits, for I have ascertained beyond a doubt, that this nebula or halo, which exists on the edges of a// bodies, pos- sesses this singular power likewise. Even on the edges of our fingers, and between the fingers, as may be ascertained by holding up our hand before a candle, and moving a pin between the eye and the finger, the halo there seen is an elongated lens, possessing one lenticular movement. 30. But there is a great difference between the halos attached to the edges and surfaces of bodies, and those belonging to small circular apertures. ‘The circularity, by making the rays of light from all the foci of the interstices of the halo converge to one focus, and thence radiate, reverses both the image and the movements. This circular opening—a pin-hole for instance—is then a true lens, with anterior and posterior convex surfaces, the convexity of which gives the halo its lenticular or magnifying power. 31. In whatever manner the lines of this leriticolar halo are produced—whether owing to refraction, reflexion, or whether it be multiplication of outline—the fact is certain ‘that they do exist, and that the halo in which they are seen is‘a true lens. Turn a glass globe which way we will, this ‘halo is: ‘always parallel to the aa of the surface, and yet the globe has*no edge, nor in , is there an edge to any round body, such as a pin or a pen- ‘p as it appears when close to the eye. 22 ‘The halo is of a certain depth, and ahwnye: retains its diam- = and character, for the dines are forever parallel and the inter- “ stices lenticular. Although we are certain from every variety of careful experiment, that the lines cross each other in every direc- tion, yet after the manner of rays of light, only those lines are vis- rte aid “ty, * 28 On the Halo seen around all Bodies. ible that follow the edge or surface of the body on which the halo rests. Such is the nature of this extraordinary power, that no confusion arises from this crossing of the lines, for as I have fre- quently observed, only those are seen which are parallel to the edge whether the object on which they rest is in a vertical or horizontal position. 33. It is not the external surface alone on which the halo rests; all the inner and outer circumferences of flat bodies, and of all round or irregularly shaped apertures, are edged and lined by this diaphanous, lenticular halo. There is no opening so small, nor any so large, that is not edged with it; but its peculiar character as a perfect lens, is to be found only when the aperture is ofa _ certain diameter. Its own diameter being limited, it becomes ne- cessary that the aperture shall be of such a size as to allow the halo to fill it up completely, which it could not do if the aperture were too large. 34. The rays that proceed from this isla, when it lines an | aperture, converge to a focus nearer or farther from this aperture according to its size, and according to its distance from the eye, _ It is from this focus that an image of the sun—as it is called—is seen, which image is either thrown on the floor from the hole in _ the window shutter of a dark room, or on the ground under trees, The same spot of bright light is projected on the wall from the slats of a window blind, at sun-rise, or sun-set—that is, if the slats are near together, or if there be acrack in one of them. _ When the points of contact of these slats or cracks, are close to one another, the interstices between the points become lenses, and from these focal points small dense circles of light are seen. In cutting a slit i in a oud we press the knife on it unequally— making a feebler inc ‘every half inch—on looking through — the slit we shall perceive that it i is composed of circular halos, in- stead of a long line of misty light, as is always the case when the pressure of the knife i is equal, and the slit is of the same diameter — . It has frequently been asked, why the circular spots of light a trees have that perfect regularity of outline, when the open- ing between the leaves are generally angular. I have~ already said that they are not the representatives of the apertures, but of ‘ the condensation of light at each focal point. It is the divergent — this focus that throw the shadows of lenses, such as ae 4 * i On the Halo seen around all Bodies. 29 seen under the trees, and such as appear on a screen or wall, in a dark room, when the light comes from a sraall hole in the shutter. 36. We often see under trees, openings of large size and irreg- ular shape; on examination it will be found that they proceed from the spaces between leaves that do not hang in dense masses like those in the centre. 'These open, irregular spots have their inner circumference edged with a rim of smoky light, thus ma- king manifest the influence, or rather presence of the halo, for this dull light is the representative of it. If we could trace the small dense, circular spots to their origin, at the top of the tree, we should find that they proceeded from openings as large and irreg- ular as those which are reflected from the thinly scattered leaves nearer the outer circumference of the tree. Before the light from an irregular opening at the ¢op can reach the ground, it will be intersected by portions of innumerable leaves which lie in its course, until, at last, the aperture through which it makes its final - passage is so small in size as nearly to admit of a continuity of halo. Therefore, let the outline of an aperture be what it may; provided it be not of so large a diameter as to prevent the micro- scopic, or lenticular action of the halo; the rays of light will con- verge to a point, the central rays “ which will throw on the ground or floor, a dense round mass of light, such as is called an image of the sun, and the divergent rays will throw an inverted image or shadow on the screen or wall. That some of the dense light spots are of an oblong form is owing to the obliquity of the sun’s rays, or to the oblique a of the apertures with regard to the rays. 37. The halos of two objects of ES will be of double density when they overlap » one another. This experi- ment can be made by bringing them. together with their edges perfectly parallel. The halos of three or four pins when placed behind one another, will be so dense, that. objects beyond them will appear very indistinct, whereas through one halo every thing is acct rately seen, two dimly, through five or six, not at 38. ‘Light, like all other matter, is less permeable as it becomes more dense. When it is concentrated, the feebler rays which * emanate, or are reflected from objects behind it, are lost in the intensity of the mass through which they seem to pass in order to reach our eye. The concentrated density of light is the true 30 On the Halo seen around ail Bodies. cause of our not seeing objects through it. The continued action of light destroys certain combinations which develop colors, and thus decomposes them ; but light has no such annihilating power as Newton assigned to it. It is the opacity of accumulation which hides colored bodies from our sight; light has no power to decompose or annihilate instanter ; on the contrary, there are certain qualities in the black principle which annihilates light itself. 39. There is an experiment of painting the different colors on the periphery of a wheel, and it has become a settled question in optics that these colors all blend into a white mass as soon as the wheel is in rapid motion. It is known that the duration of im- pression, on the organs of vision, are very limited; we cannot wonder therefore, that the feeble rays of light which are to give an impression of the colored patches on the wheel, should fail in doing so. As the rapidity of motion prevents the duration of impression of the feebler rays of colored objects, nothing remains perceptible to vision but the dense mass of light from the whole circumference of the wheel. AQ. If on one side of a card—as in the beautiful experiments of Dr. Paris—we paint a head, and on the other side a body, by making the card turn rapidly, the head appears to be attached to — the body. The feeble rays proceeding from that edge or line of the circumference which passes before the eye at every half rev- olution, are lost in the mass of light which is reflected from the — colored and white portions of the card. But if the card be made to turn very rapidly, even the figures are hidden, because, as has been observed, the duration of impression is very limited. Al. A pin-hole at a little distance appears very small, but the aperture increases as the distance decreases. It is only when the pin-hole is close to the eye, that the true magnifying or lenticular power of the halo is recognized. It will be then perceived that it completely occupies the whole opening, and that objects which are held between the eye and the pin-hole, will all be inverted, not only inverted both as to position and movement, but also pos sessing a much larger outline than the objects themselves. ‘This aperture, therefore, is a lens whose magnifying power is accord- _ ing to the size of the aperture and its distance from the eye. 42. On looking through the halo as it fills up the pin-hole, we shall perceive that objects beyond it are very igus “y= ee eS a PETRI ase: ee eee ee ee ee enn oe i On: the'Hale-seon eroumtill Bodie. 31 they appear in their true place, though not always of their true size, for this depends on the diameter of the pin-hole. There is however another very important circumstance which contributes to the erect position of external objects—the axis of the pin-hole and our eye are strictly parallel, and all the rays which pass through the centre of this axis carry an erect impression of the object whence they emanate. 43. I observed above that when the pin-hole is near the eye, its lenticular property is apparent. If we hold a pin between the eye and the pin-hole, the pin will be inverted. The reason of this is obvious, for according to the 23d section, the halo is len- ticular in the direction of its parallelism with the edge or surface of the body on which it rests. If the pin-hole were oblong, or if the aperture were a long slit instead of a round hole, the sha- dow of any slender object before the eye would remain the same as to position, but be reversed as to movements. But the pin- hole being a perfect lens—for it is completely filled by the halo— any shadow cast on its surface will be reversed both in position and movement. ‘The character of these halos never varies; they act upon one another in a sensible manner and always produce the same results. s> 44. Should a doubt remain as to the lenticularity of this halo on the pin-hole, we have only to observe the figure which ap- pears on its surface. On looking steadily at the pin-hole we shall perceive that the rays of light from a candle, and which are brought to a focus on the lens of our own eye, give to the cere- bral organs of vision an exact representation of all specks, flaws, spots, and movements of fluids which actually exist within the eyeball. I say cerebral organs, because a true knowledge of vis- ion must convince us that the figure which appears to be in the pin-hole cannot by any possibility be painted or impressed ¢here, and if not there, certainly not on any part of the interior of the eyeball. The very circumstance of being able to see any part of the interior of our own eye should settle the question of the seat of vision, and prove that the eyeball and its internal appara- tus are merely for the purpose of transmitting rays of light and not images; that the images which are the result of these rays, are impressed on the cerebral organs with the first touch of light on the elastic machinery of the eye, and never come to a focus _ on the retina or on any other part of the interior of the eyeball. _ But I have pursued this branch of the subject elsewhere. coed ae eae 32 On the Halo seen around all Bodies. 45. The lenticular character of the halo is indisputable, and every experiment will the more fully establish the fact. Jt is a - true reflecting and magnifying medium, and it is entirely owing to this circumstance that a conver lens of glass possesses its mag- nifying power. The mere substance or material of glass is only necessary or accessory to the production of lenticular phenomena in consequence of its capability of curvature and extension. 46. Therefore, beyond a certain point a halo cannot maintain its continuity, unless it have a solid or fluid medium on which it can expand and keep its particles in contact. Nor can its ulti- mate magnifying power be developed unless the material in which it rests is conver, for being convex itself it requires a continued extension of convex surface if greater magnifying power is re- quired. An aperture which is of twice the diameter of the halo will have an open space in the center free from it. This center, therefore, is no lens, but if we put a convex glass in the aperture, the halo then has a conducting medium, and can spread itself, or rather connect itself with the halo on the glass, and thus exhibit all the powers of a lens. 47. It is the continuity of the halo throughout all the space of a small circular aperture which gives the aperture, or the convex — glass within it, the character of alens. In consequence of this continuity, lenses can be built up of many pieces, and of course — there is no limit to their diameter. Converity being the sole re — quisite for a magnifying power, it is immaterial whether the lens | be of solid glass, or whether the two convex surfaces be of the © thinnest glass, cemented at the circumference and the hollow — space filled with a fluid. If the lens be built up of many pieces, — the blocks should all run parallel with the axis of the glass and — the central block should be of one piece throughout its axis, 80 — that there may be no interruption of the rays of light through it. It is of no consequence how narrow the diameter of the block — may be, for the rays which are to give impressions of external objects converge to a minute point on the apex of this block and — pass in a straight line to the apex of the axis of our own eye: the present theory among philosophers is that the rays cross each other in the centre of the lens, but this is an error which will | pons ae] * i eae a oe. Use of the Galvanic Battery in Blasting. 33 Art. IV.—On the use of the Galvanic eon, in Blasting ; by Hamiuron K. G. Mor To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Journal, (Lond ) Johnstone Castle, Wexford, May 24, 1839. G'entlemen—I Bre to trespass on your time by this letter on the use of the galvanic battery, instead of the fuze in blasting. The papers have given short descriptions of the experiments made at Chatham, but all the details were not given. I com- menced my experiments on blocks of the old trees that were blown down by the late storm. I first prepared an igniting car- tridge by joining two pieces of clean copper wire to the extremi- ties of a steel wire taken from the scratch brush, such as is made use of by gun-makers; this steel wire is fastened to the copper wires by waxed silk ; the length of steel wire to be deflagrated is one-fourth of an inch; a piece of very slight wood is spliced to both copper wires to protect the steel wire from any accident—it makes the whole strong and more convenient to be introduced into the small cartridge, which is either a quill or a small paper tube. They are filled with fine powder, and made air and water- tight, to prevent the powder from getting damp and rusting the steel wire; a second small piece of wood is then fastened to this ‘small cartridge and the copper wires; one of the wires is bent _ over this piece of wood and brought up at an angle with the other upright wire. This is my exploding cartridge: it cannot be easily put out of order. The wires of the cartridge have only _to be made bright before they are fastened, by twisting them round the positive and negative wires of the battery. I always place the cartridge deep in the hole made to receive the powder, in order that the pressure from the turnpeg may be taken off by the quantity of powder above it. The wire I made use of is the common copper-bell wire. The battery is the old Wedgwood trough, with 4-inch plates, double coppers. I prevent the zinc plates from touching the copper by small pegs of wood passed through the four corners. Wooden troughs with movable divisions were tried, but not with any good result. A wooden trough with the plates in a frame of wood, with varnished paper between the copper, was tried, but ‘i 8 i pomntrena trough far surpassed them. My first experiment Pi 5 }. xxxvin, No. 1.—Oct.-Dec. 1839. _ 34 Use of the Galvanic Battery in Blasting. was blasting single blocks; the effect was ‘much better than wha the fuze was used, in consequence of the clay being more firmly ~ 4 driven round the wires than it would be round the larger surface — of the fuze. @2ndly, I selected two large blocks nearly in line; the first block was 43 feet from the battery; the second block — 113 feet from the battery, and the blocks consequently were 70 _ feet from each other. On dipping the plates, the explosions took | place in quick succession; the battery consisted of 30 pairs of 4-inch plates. 3rdly, I wished to try the effect of a simultaneous explosion of two blasts on a very large. block firmly tied together by rivets. ‘The positive wires of each cartridge were fastened to the positive connecting wire, and in like manner the negative wire. The effects of this simultaneous explosion were very | good; the exciting liquor being weak, the connecting wires were shortened to 98 feet. Ath, To amuse some friends, I exploded, © some powder in one of the youd depth 10 feet; length of wire 210 feet; 40 pairs of plates, with old exciting Sener :—the ex- periment succeeded to the delight of all; a large eel was killed by the blow-up. Ihave no doubt but wild fowl will yet be killed by means of shells placed at low water on the banks where they feed ; and by means of long connecting wires, the shells can be made to explode simultaneously among the birds. 1 find that 10 pairs of 4-inch plates free from oxide and charged with the following exciting liquor—water, 64 quarts; sulph acid of commerce, 44 ounces; nitrous acid, 44 ounces ; will igni t powder with a wire LOL feet long. 20 pairs of plates ignited. pow der at the distance of 353 feet. I tried to repeat this experim but did not succeed, though the plates were only three times i ime. mersed in the acid, nak only for about two seconds each time: «1 tried the same battery at 268 feet, and did not succeed. The — plates were then well washed, and fresh exciting liquor made : the experiment again failed ; the plates were quite inactive. The next day I tried the saine plates and the same exciting liquor, and succeeded at 268 feet. From this it seems impossible to say how many pairs of plates would be required to produce uniform effects at long distances. I suspect that the zine plates do not act Se in producing the electricity, which causes this variation. have liked very much to have tried the conducting fe of different sized wires, but had not an apponnlttes oe getting them here, ; rs On the Tails of Comets. 35 ae * SNot having seen any notice of this novel ae safe method of ee. lasting in your excellent journal, induced me to send you these _ few remarks. I believe [am the first in Ireland that applied the galvanic bat- tery. instead of the fuze in blasting. Art. V.—On the Tails of Comets; by Wiuutam Mircnety, of Nantucket, Mass. Tere is perhaps no department of astrenieniiinel science, con- nected with the solar system, of a nature more interesting than _ that of Comets, and certainly no one which has so nearly defied the researches and the reasonings of the astronomer. Aside from these bodies, if such they may be called, the greater and the lesser lights have been subjected to rigorous weight and measure, and the solar system is emphatically the beaten way of the as- tronomer. Comets however have presented difficulties so insu- perable, that in latter times the subject seems to have been nearly abandoned in despair; and armed as the present age may be agi the horrors of superstition, a cometary appearance as im- “posing as that of 1680, or even of the less threatening aspect of ’ that of 1744, would create no small degree of uneasiness in some Bee, hearts of the stoutest mould. When Dr. Olbers announced that _ a portion of the earth’s orbit would be involved in the nebulous atmosphere of Biela’s comet in 1832, one half at least of the oa civilized | world quaked with fear. Notwithstanding the alluring Promise held out to the modern student by the glories of siderial . 48tronomy, nothing can justify a neglect of phenomena which, by a close investigation, might result in contributing so much to the tranquillity of the world. Impressed forcibly in my youth by the beautiful appearance of the comet of 1807, and, at a riper age, with those of 1811, 1819, 1825, and 1835, visible to the naked eye, and with others, seen at various periods by telescopic aid, I have been led frequently to reflect on the probable nature and physical properties of these erratic objects, and especially on that distinguishing appendage which by common consent is denom- inated the tail. In looking over the history of comets, aud no- ting the explanation of the trains (with which they are for the 36 On the Tails of Comets. most part attended) as given by many distinguished astronomers, at periods very remote from each other, I am constrained to ac- — knowledge, high as the authority unquestionably is, that no one has afforded to my mind the slightest satisfaction. Notwith- standing the great number of writers on this subject and the di- versity of opinions that have been promulgated, there appears to have been only two prevailing theories. The more ancient of these supposed the tails to be formed by the lighter parts being thrown off by the resistance of the ether through which the — comet passed. The modern and the more generally prevailing — theory is, that these particles are driven off by the impulsive ke force of the sun’s rays. In each of these theories, the tails are supposed to consist of matter. With regard to the former theo- ry, the simple, fact that the tail precedes the comet in its course through a portion ef its elliptical journey, is a sufficient refuta-_ tion; and to afford weight or plausibility to the latter, it is neces- sary to assume that the sun “blows heat and cold with the same breath’”—in other words, that it attracts and repels with the same modus operandi. If we have no evidence of a repulsive force in the sun, to say nothing of a force sufficient to repel the © lighter particles of these bodies to a distance from the head of the comet, equal to and sometimes exceeding a hundred millions” of miles, this theory, to say the least of it, is labored and unsat- isfactory. The length of these trains is far from being exagger- _ ated. Referring to my minutes of the late return of Halley’s _ comet, I find that, at one period, the tail, by direct vision, sub-— tended an angle of twenty degrees, and on some occasions, by _ _ oblique vision, more than forty degrees. The tail of the comet = of 1689 is oid to exceed sixty eight degrees, and that of the comet of 1680, ninety degrees. Making a proper allowance for the faintness of the extremity of the tail, and the obstruction of the view by the atmosphere of the earth, it is by no means un- safe to conclude that many of them extend some hundreds of mil- lions of miles from the nucleus of the comet. In view then of the last mentioned theory, it is by no means a matter of surprise that Newton, and with him La Place and Sir J. Herschel, should entertain the opinion that the more re- mote particles could never be recalled by the gravitation of the — nucleus, and that portions of the tails were at each revolution scattered in space, and hence that comets were continually — wasting. f as : eo % *j" On the Tails of Comets. 37 Arago, in speaking of the then anticipated return of Halley’s comet in 1835, makes the following remark: “It appears proba- ble that in describing their immense orbits, comets at each revo- lution, dissipate in space all the matter which when they are near the perihelion, is detached from the envelop forming the tail ; it is therefore very possible that in time some of them may be en- tirely dissipated.” But these views were not confirmed by the appearance of Halley’s comet in 1835, and Arago has with a very becoming candor promptly acknowledged this fact. “If _ the reader,” says he, “will take the trouble to compare what I * te record of the comet of 1835 with the circumstances of its former apparition, he certainly will not find in this collection of phenom- ena the proof that Halley’s comet is gradually diminishing. I will even say that if, in a matter so delicate, observations made at very different periods of the year, will authorize any positive deduction, that which would most distinctly result from the two passages of 1759 and 1835, would be that the comet had increas- ed in size during that interval. I ought to seize with more ea- gerness, this occasion to combat an error extensively accredited, (a belief in the constant wasting away of comets, ) because I be- lieve Ihave somewhat senteiented to its dissemination.” The truth is, as I apprehend, that the data on which this conjecture was based, are r otobeuty false,and the tails of comets, _if the subject is properly investigated, will not be found to con- sist of matter at all that has the least connection with the comet, _ but formed by the sun’s rays slightly refracted by the nucleus in : traversing the envelop of the comet, and uniting in an infinite — < & number of points beyond it, throwing a stronger than ordinary light on the ethereal medium, near to or more remote from the comet, as the ray fromits relative position and direction is more or less refracted. It is not important to the truth of this hypothesis whether the nucleus be a solid mass or not, so that it be more dense than the surrounding nebulosity, nor yet that the tail be projected in an ex- act line with the radius vector of the sun and comet, so that it be nearly so. It is however important to its truth that an ethereal medium should exist, otherwise the reflection of these points of light would be impossible ; also that the comet should assume the tail as it approaches the sun, and that it should progressively in- crease in length and brilliancy, the light of the sun increasing in 38 On the Tails of Comets. the proportion of the square of the diminution of distance, —~ again that the tail should have a cylindrical and hollow appear- ance, the rays of light being at least partially obstructed by the nu- cleus; moreover, that the tail should be curved, by the necessary affott of aberration. I apprehend it will be acknowledged that the weight of testimony is decidedly favorable to the fact that the nu- clei of comets, though they generally resemble planets in form and brilliancy, may not be solid or opaque, inasmuch as some are wn- t ; questionably oa and the quantity of matter in all is ex- ~ ceedingly inconsiderable Professor Struve saw a ested of the eleventh magnitude through - ‘ag the Encke comet; Sir William Herschel noticed one of the sixth magnitude through the centre of the comet of 1795; and _ his illustrious son, in a memoir communicated to the Royal As- tronomical Society, mentions that he saw a cluster of stars of the sixteenth magnitude very near the centre of Biela’s comet. Not- withstanding this tenuity, an increased density may always be noticed toward the centre of the head, except ina few small ‘comets unaccompanied with trains. ai ae Astronomers of all ages seem to have been inclined toa baie in an ethereal medium, and the present one has afforded a conclu a sive evidence of its existence, in its effect upon the duration of — the revolution of the Encke comet. Professor Encke in -a-dis- 4 sertation on this subject, after giving the minutiz of his observa-_— tions, very modestly remarks—“ If I may be permitted to express _ my opinion on a subject which for twelve years has inceaeail occupied me, in treating which I have avoided no method, now : ever circuitous, no kind of verification, in order to reach the tr # so far as it lay in my power; Ican not consider it otherwise than completely established, that an extraordinary connection is neces- sary for Pon’s* comet, and equally certain that the principal part of it consists in an increase of the mean motion proportionate to the time.” Professor Airy, in an appendix to a translation © Encke’s memoir, adds—“I can not but express my belief that the principal point of the theory, namely, an effect exactly sim- ilar to that which a resisting medium would produce, is ean! established by the reasoning of Professor Encke.” Arago, 10 “=. of the discrepancy between the result of calculation and © epee vate ? ee * Called by others Encke’s comet. On the Tails f Comet 39 _ observation on the period ‘abthe Encke comet, states unhesitating- ‘ly that the cause “can be nothing but the resistance of the ether.” And Dr. Bowditch, distinguished as he was for cautiousness, ful- ly recognized the effect of an ethereal medium, in the translation of the Mécanique Céleste. The fact however that Halley’s comet at its late return reached its perihelion Jager rather than earlier than the calculated time, independent of an allowance for a resisting medium, seems to have created some doubts in refer- ence to the doctrine of resistance; but of the three comets whose periods are certainly known, those of Biela and Encke only can 5 ___ be relied on as indicating resistance, inasmuch as that of Halley __ has its aphelion in a region beyond the scan of human power, and the influence of planetary bodies which may exist there, is now and will perhaps forever remain unknown to us. These facts 7 then, and the concurring opinions of the high authority above quoted, render it nearly unquestionable that there is diffused through the celestial regions an ethereal and exceedingly elastic | medium ; nor would it be unreasonable to suppose that this very medium conssisabeh the solar atmosphere, of which the zodiacal e legit may be a denser region. . », - ~ When an opportunity is offered to sania a comet remote from Es iit, sun, it is generally found to be unaccompanied with a tail ; but as it approaches, the tail begins to appear, and its length and “brilliancy increase, till it reaches the perihelion of its orbit, and ._ byan illusion, sometimes beyond this point. Although there is degree of diversity in the form of the tails of different com- ets, yet they generally consist of two streams of light, not abso- lately, distinct from each other. In other words, the borders of the ‘tal are brightest, plainly indicating a hollowness, the line of vis- -- lon necessarily meeting with a greater number of luminous points on the edges than through the middle. Can any explanation of : this hollowness be given, more simple and philosophical, than that the rays of the sun’s light are more obstructed by the denser than the rarer portions of the comet? That there is, in these tails, which acquire a ectsidua ae. length, a slight curve, concave to that portion of the orbit which the comet | has left, there is ample testimony. _ Now as light is progressive, j ~. _* @ portion of time must elapse while the rays of light are passing from the head of the comet to their point of union, and during this period the comet moves onward in its course, and the wants necessarily is a a gentle or slight curve in the tail, the effect being AO On the Tails of Comets. F greater or less in proportion as the union of rays is more or less _ a distant from the comet. It is manifest that if a ray of lightcould’ be traced during its entire course from the sun to a planet, it would present a similar phenomenon, equal in degree if the motion of — the planet were swift as that of acomet. The comets of Biela 4 and Encke have no tails, nor is there, strictly speaking, a nucleus * in either. That of Encke, during the long period in 1828, when _ its position was so favorable to observation, had the appearance of a mere film of vapor, nearly circular but not well defined, and no central, stellar point could be detected with the telescopic power — which T employed on that occasion. In fact, all the phenomena of the tails of comets appear to be so well clea by this theory that I can not doubt its truth, although nothing like demonstration accompanies it. There are indeed optical difficulties which I have been unable to overcome: no one however which may not be fairly attributed to our ignorance of the particular physical constitution of these bodies. It is no small confirmation of the truth of this explanation of the tails of comets, that there is not the slightest evidence, worthy of confidence, that the earth which we inhabit has ever been sensibly affected by a visitation from these enormous appendages, while the chance of collision between _ the earth and the nucleus of a comet, properly so ealled, is ex- ceedingly small; yet when we reflect upon the number of comets belonging to our system, the hundreds that range within the earth’s orbit, that their paths have every possible inclination to the ecliptic, that these immensely extended trains, projected in a direction from the sun, describe an inconceivable sweep when | they are encompassing the sun in the region of their perihelion ;— . I say in view of these circumstances, it is difficult to avoid the conjecture, nay, it is exceedingly probable that these appendages, in very many instances, have brushed across the surface of our planet, harmlessly and unperceived. I submit this theory (if indeed it is entitled to that name) to the consideration of the scientific, having no point to gain, 00 wish to gratify, but the promotion of science and the progress of truth, and if insuperable objections to it are raised, and my rea soning should prove fallacious, there will be at least one valuable — result, that of showing what the tails of comets are not; more- over, it —_ be the humble means of exciting further inquiry 02 this inte: topic. Nantucket, 10th mo., Ist, 1839. Bits ae a 4 Seat PSS ee FS ET Oe Pee tee ee ee ee * —™ A Gissi or Kissi Vocabulary. rT e ests, Art. VI.—A Gissi or Kissi Vocabulary ; by Prof. J. W. Gress. Tur following list of Gis-si words and phrases is taken from the mouth of John Ferry, an African, who was born at Slan-go-lo, a town of Yom-bu, in the Gis-si country, and is now resident in New-York. He was brought from his native country about the year 1821 or 1822, at the age of 11 or 12, but has often conversed with Gis-si people since that period. ndo-a _ Vol. xxxvn1, No. 1.—Oct.—Dec. 1839. His mother 6 One pe-le ing su-lo Two mi-ting Slave kel-ling Three nga Name di-u-lang Four hi-o-lu People won-da : Five ngwai-nu Village son-da-kol-lo Six gnom-pum own tshe Seven gnom-me-u Country ka-leng Eight om-ma ood ken-daw Nine gnom-ma-hi-ol Bad wawn-du Ten to ig o-ben-du Twenty bi-din Little pom-bo Thirty bil-li-a Old yu Forty bil-li-hi-ol Young pom-bo One hundred kem-me pe-le Old pan-du d bul-leng New son-ne air yin-de White him-bu Ear ni-leng Black ti-gni Eye hol-leng Strong ken-du Nose mi-lin-do ick na Mouth On- I ya Lip tshaw-tshawn Thou nom Tooth tshin-dong He dn-du Tongue di-e-mo-leng She din-du * Hand We na Foot eng- Ye in-da Sun pa-ra-leng They in-da Moon pan gwi My hand ba-nu Heaven ha-la My foot beng-gu-nu ire in-ding Thy foot beng-gu-nom-do Water men-dang foot beng-gu-ndaw God ; ha-la ma-la-ka, i.e. |Our foot beng-gu-na heaven king, our foot beng-gu-in-da Man la-gna-gnaw eir foot beng-gu-i won-na-lan-no My father — — } wain-du Thy father fo-gna-nom-do Child tu-a-le-bo His father fo-gna-ndaw Father a My mother ka-la-nu ka-la Thy mother ka-la-nom-do Mother ka-la-ndaw il “+ . : 4 iad ~ © ie an 42 A Gissi or Kissi Vocabulary. 5 : Her mother ka-la-ndaw One man la-gna-gnaw pe-le Our mother ka-la-na Two men lang-ba gning : Your mother ka-la-in-da Three men lang-ba a } Their mother ka-la-in-da Four men lang-ba hi-ol [ IT eat _yai-di-e Five men lang-ba ngwai-nu : Thou eatest nom a-di-e A good man Ja-gna-gnaw ken-daw dn-du a-di-e A bad man la-gna-gnaw wawn-du We eat na i-di-e A white man la-gna-gnaw him-bu . Ye eat in-da a-di-e A black man la-gna-gnaw ti-gni They eat in-da a-di-e ‘ ha-la-ma-la-ka tshu- A king su-lo sod Taven ee ; le lang- Kings su-l = ign tshu-le ha- | Close by the king su-lo-li-ko Men love God ~ j a A man a-gna-gnaw Give to me yon-ge-a i Men _ Tang-ba F The Kissi numerals, according to Dr. Prichard, are, 1. pi-li, 2." i miu, 3. nga, 4. i-6l, 5. ngue-nu, 6. ngom-pum, 7. ngom-mi-u, 8. ngom-mag, 9. ngue-nu-iol, 10. to.—Researches into the Physi- cal History of Mankind. Lond. 1837. Vol. II. p. 99. e. Dr. Prichard also says: “ The Kissi are a people of whom we know nothing, except that they inhabit the mountainous country about the sources of the Niger, to the southward of Sulimana and | Sangara.”— Researches, Vol. IL. p. 75. I add from my informant. hi The Gis-si country is bounded on the south by the Men-dicoun- try and on the west by Kon-no. at The Gis-si people constitute three — one, the capital of which is close to Kon-no; the second, the capital of which is Kwin-de-hu ; the third, the capital of which is Yen-gi-ma. The princi pi towns in the Gis-si country are T'e-i-du, Dwa-va, _ Slan-go-lo, Yen-gi-ma, Kwan-go, Dzhim-ba-u, Boin-gba-da or A Zon-gi-a-ma, Kom-man-du, Di-gwi-na, Ban-do-ning, Ton-gi, Sai- i-du, Du-gau- “nid aw in-de-tre, Kon-dzhu, Dzho-po-a-hu, Tshe- — ; son-ne, i.e. new town, Dzham-ba-u, Ta-ku-lo, Su-a-du, Yaw- — baw-du, Den-go-ben-gu, De-hu-ma, ete. : The principal rivers are (1.) Ma-ku-na, which flows by Slan- go-lo and Dzham-ba-u in the Gis-si country, by Kwan-go and Yen-gi-ma, now in Gis-si, formerly in the Men-di country, and thence into the Men-di country; (2.) Me-li, which flows by Di gwi-na and Yaw-baw- -du, and thence to the Kon-no country; i and (3. se. = + 2 * + | A Vai or Vey Vocabulary. , * : me 43 Art. VIL—A Vai or Vey Vocabulary ; by the Same. Tue following list of Vai words and phrases is taken from the mouth of John Ferry, who is mentioned in the preceding article, and who lived about one year in the Vai country. fil-la-ban-di meat ban-di an-di handed don-do u- ding-di-gne fa man-dzha dzhong mo- i-nu a-nu na man-dzha mo-a man-dzha i-nu-man-dzha * one man-dzha ~ man-dzha don-do man-dzha fil-la man-dzha sa-kwa a _ to king Fiiivta: Dam-ba-ru, close to Zalu, subject to aa + Furlicka-va. ¥» eis ‘ “ss A Mendi Vocabulary. One man kai don-do ' People eat moi-nu-a dong : Two men ka-ve fil-la kai bel-le Three men ka-ye sa-kwa = tid a-gni ; Hands bu-le-nu- ==———~*=«S Goto meen ka-ye-nu a-gni - eet king kai a-ma-gni ; Leaves dzham-ba-e-nu eee he 1 kai ams : ; Men ka-ye-nu A white man kai be-ma Women mu-she-nu A black man kai vi-ma at Children di-gne-nu God loves men — ga-lum-ba-a ka-ye di-a ; Kings man-dzha-e-nu Men love God _ ka-ye-a ga-lum-ba di-a Slaves dzhong-e-nu What is your name? i to a-le \ Names _ to e-nu Give to me in-ko > Teat na dong A Vai man Vai mo : Thou eatest ya dong Vai men Vai moi-nu [ a dong Mendi people Hu-lo moi-nu j She eats a dong In the house ki-gne-lo We eat mo-a dong In my house na ki-gne-lo They eat a-nu-a dong In thy house i ki-gne-lo ’ According to Ashmun, the Fey or Vey people extend from the Gallinas river to Grand Cape Mount, a distance of fifty miles along | the coast, and from twenty-five to thirty miles into the interior. Afr. Repos. IIT. 259. 1 According to my informant, the Vai country constitutes two | kingdoms, of which Ma-nu and! Gen-du-ma are the capitals. i 1 The principal towns in the Vai country are, Manu, not far from the sea, the residence of king Fu-li-ka-va; Gen-du- -ma, three or ) four miles from a river, and nine or ten fie the sea, the residence © * of king Sha-ka; Zalu, about twenty miles from the sea, niin to king” Fo-li- ka-va; Dzhu-ling, near the sea, subject to ki # ka; Ho-wil-li, twenty or thirty miles from the sea, subje art : Bai Art. VIIL—A Mendi Vocabulary ; by the Same. Tue following list of Mendi words and phrases is taken from the mouths of James Covey and Charles Pratt, native Africans. The former was born at Go-raun, by the river Mo-a, in the Men- di country ; brought from his native country by Africans to Bul- lom, and sold there to the Spaniards ; recaptured by the English; i taught, to read and write English in the English schools at Sierra e5 and is now a sailor on board the British brig of war Buz- 5 Res Re on ‘A Mendi V aes a ee : 45 The latter was born at Sierra Leone of Men-di patents, and is now a cook on board the above mentioned vessel. ? One e-ta Open land Two fe-le Green wood Three sau-wa Dry wood Four a- Grass ; Five do-lu or lo-lu Leaf Six we-ta Island Seven waw-fe--la Small island Eight wai-ya-gba Nine ta-u Bird Ten pu Fish Twenty pu fe-le Baboon Thirty pu sau-wa ae ' Forty pu na-ni aged fe All gbe-le 08 "4 Half eins Elephant oat seg ngwi ee pig 4 oo la-wai or ta-wai ktscee ; ond f the h yeh : _ |Leopard : al of the head — yim-boi Male leopard ) _ » Eye” u-ma , Eyebrow ngau-ma bi-ka ntonke be # Noses 3 “~ |Male monkey — 5 oa MOT nda Sctiale nillnkke _ ?\ Bip nda-gu-lu Mouse "r . see SFooth gong-gol-lu sit Bo : me Tongue ~ Hand lo-kwi | Arm kwi bea Foot _ gaw-we = ; 2 Leg gaw-we Great God s ‘ Man mes cli Great man y Suntise fu-li gwa Young man : Sunset fu-li gu-la sities Morning ss Evening 4 Night Moon Star . Wind Fire ee v8 Water ain Rain water er Pad een g§ha-pu ~ (Young woman sessile ‘ather ke dzho-po-a ngu-li ting -hu — ti-wu-li-hdng ngwaw-ni kaw-] kaw-li hin-ne Sergey leopard kaw-liha-le vty cand menkey kes = Sheep rae " English bird (duck) pU-ngWwaw-nl nei % ndzhi do-le ae -ge hin-du ig-ge ya-ha-lu 46 “Woman Slave se Tobacco Pipe Tobacco snuff Knife Ship ‘Englishman People Town Village Country White “ True False Beautiful Male Female aA “eaharr nduo gna-ha * nda nga-le & Ee z kol-le or kor-re ndau-e-re -yan-din-go | gaw-lawng-gaw wa § ku-lo-paw-te ka-lon-go A Mendi Vocabulary. di Open ndau Shut baw-lu And ke If na e-he se { um-hu j No bi-le Who? yi-le ~ % My ¢ What? be-gbe sei ha Where? min-du e When? mi-gbi This dzhi Here bin-du Now san-gi That na There mi-lan-du - Then san-gi I gna Thou bi-a He ta 4 She ta aS We mo-a ; Ye wa = ‘ They ti- # z a I my gna be-kpe - aa >| Thouthyself bi-abibe-kpe =~ = .|He himself ta-ngi be-kpe ae We ourselves mo-a mu be-kpe Ye yourselves wawu be-kpe i= 4, They themselves ti-a ti be-kpe 3 Thy head i-gwi : Thy forehead _ bi-la-wai or bi-ta-wai % Thy ear ji-wo-li a My eye gna-gau-ma Thy eye bi-gau-ma His eye ta-ngi-gau-ma er eye gi-gau-ma Thy eyebrow __ bi-gau-ma-bi-ka hy mouth i-da Thy lip bi-da-gu-lu Thy hand bi-lo-kwi Thy arm bi-lo-kwi ; Thy foot bi-gaw-we Thy back bi-wu-ma My father gna-ke Thy father bi-ke His father ta-ngi-ke or ngi-ke A Med Vb Her father —— or ngi-ke i n “ta-mo yi-ra Our father o-ke - Two men ta-moi fe-le Your father oaks Three men - ta-moi sau-wa Their father i-ke All men - ta-moi gbe-le A good man ta-mo yan-din-go A bad man ta-mo e-yan-din-ne A white man ~_ ta-mo ko-lin-go ta-mo te-yin- A black man fink pat tA rae. ae gna gi-me ™ Thou eatest bi-a bi-me He eats ta e-me ~ |Weeat mo-a mu-me e eat wa wu-me They eat ti-a ti-me [sleep a gi-yi Thou sleepest _bi-a bi-yi He sleeps a i-yi Shesleeps - _ tai-yi We sleep mo-a mu-yi Ye sleep wa wo-yi They sleep ti-a ti-yi ake gua gi-pi-li Thou makest bi-a bi-pi-li e mak ta e-pi-li We make mo-a mu-pi-li Ye make — wa wo-pi-li ot, They ti-a ti-pi-li ‘ Tisir knife Thou drinkest _ bi-a bi-gbaw-li ‘ Thou standest __bi-a bi-lo _ This book kol-le dzhi Thou walkest __ bi-a bi-dzhi-a These books kol-le dzhi Thou comest _bi-a bi-wa That book kol-le na hose books kol-le na I have eaten gna gi-we-la a-me-la What book? kol-le gbe Thou hast eaten biabi-we-laa-me-la | What books 2? kol-le gbe He has eaten ta e-we-la a-me-la Any book kol-le gbe-le We haveeaten mo-a mu-we-laa-me-la 2S : Ye have eaten wa wu-we-laa-me-la One ship den-de yi-ra \They have eaten ti-a ti-we-la a-me-la This book is mine le dzhi gna wo mi-na kol-le dzhi bi wo mi-na This book is theirs kol-le dzhi ti wo mi-na : a ba-la b Tam your friend {ene ba-la jor a bi-a T am his friend gna ba-la law a gi-e 48 A Mendi Vocabulary. I go to Africa gna gi-ya Men-di I come from Africa . gna gi-hi-ya Men-di God sees me ge-waw e gna te Isee God gna gi ge-waw lo- God sees good men ge-waw e ta-moi aoe -din-go lo-a e-waw e ta-moi e-yan-din-ne lo-a Gia eees HEF tiem Poss e ta-moi ce aa lo-a Shu-ma Kim-bo gan-law Shu-ma Kim-bo de-wi-a Shuma knows Kimbo Shuma strikes Kimbo Kimbo strikes Shuma Kim-bo Shu-ma de-wi-a What do you call thisin Mendi? ba-ye dzhi lo-li Men-di _ -a hung? Did I say it right ? gna gin- -de donk -din- -Z0 I will not gna gi-ru-ma-n : Thank you bi si-a tng Je Have mercy on me gi-la-ba-rung oe fo Good bye mu-ngen-da-he. ei : Some of the principal towns in the Men-di country, according to Covey and Pratt, are Dzha-e-ve-fu-lu, Go-raun or Go-la-hiing, Bai-ma, Se-bi-ma, Si-ma-~bu, Gna-ya-hung, Gong-a-bu, Bom-barli, Fo-la, Fu-la-wa, Ben-de-bu, and Ben-der-ri. The principal rivers are (1.) Mo-a, which runs into the Vai country ; (2.) Sewa, which runs into the Bullom country ; (3.) Ma-wu-a, which comes from Gissi, where it is called Ma-ku-na, and joins the Mo-a; (4.) Ma-le, which flows by Dzho-po-a, and joins the Mo-a; (5.) T’a-yem-ma, which joins the Sewa; (6.) Ke- ya, which comes from Gola, and joins the Ma-wu-a. Prayer composed for the use of the Mendi prisoners at New Ha- ven, by their teachers, and translated into Mendi, by 7s Covey. O Ge-waw wa, bi-a-bi yan-din-go ; bi-a-bi ha-ni gbe-le ba-te- ni; bi-a-bi fu-li ba-te-ni; bi-a-bi nga-li ba-te-ni ; bi-a-bi tam-bi-le- * pr ba-te-ni; bi-a-bi ngi-yi ba-te-ni; ke ndzha wa; bi-a-bi dzha-te ba-te-ni, ke ‘pacli, ke gnwaw-ni, ke nwu-a, ke nin-ga wu-lo-a. Ge-waw, bi-a-bi hin-da gbe-le ; bi-a-bi ta-moi si-na ti-gbe-le lo-a; bi-a-bi gna lo-a; bi-a-bi gna di lo-a; bi-a-bi gna lo-a, ki-@ fu-li a-gu-a; bi-a-bi gna lo-a gbin-di; bi-a-bi gi-li-la hin-de gbl gna-ga ka-la. O Ge-waw, bi-a-bi gna gaw ko-la, gna-gi si-a-gwa bi-ma; bi gha gaw me-he gi me ke gi gbaw-li, gi si-a-gwa bi-ma. Gna di ei ha, gna di a-lo-law ku-na-faw. Gna di ba-te yan-din-g0- Gna-gi bi maw-li, bi gna-ma hum-gbi. Gna-gi bi maw-li, bi gn daw-wung yan-din-go. Gna-gi hin-da yam-mo wi-li-a. Ma-nu gna-ma. Gi bi-ma ni-ni-a. Ki-a nga ha, bi gna di we, bi di-la hin-da bi-gbe; Ge-waw wa ndui wa. Amen. 7 if . Vegetable Organography and Physiology. 49 Arr. IX.— — Vegetable aay and ited yf , or the Formation and Vital Functions of Plants ;* by Horace Green, M. D., of New York. Tue study of the structure of vegetables and of the phenomena of vegetable life—a study embracing a wide and an interesting field for observation—has been very generally neglected in this country. ‘The naturalist who has sought amidst the flowers and foliage, and other external forms of plants, for characters to enable im to-arrange and classify these plants, has rarely directed his inquiries to their anatomical structure, or been aware of the diver- ' sified, yet beautiful phenomena manifested in the operation of _ their vital functions. The near approximation of the two king- doms of organized matter, (the animal and vegetable,) to each other, and the striking analogy which exists in the laws govern- ing the development of each, renders the study of vegetable anat- omy highly interesting, and in some degree, important to the an- imal physiologist. Some of the most eminent naturalists allow, that in their structure, the two kingdoms present us with no diag- - nostic mark by which we can separate the lower and most ap- proximated groups of both from each other. In the phenomena exhibited by their vital functions, the analogy is equally striking. “From the most simple vegetable up to the polypus, from the ‘Most simple polypus through all the ascending scale of being up . toman, the characters of life are nealy the same.’’} Fan the researches of various eminent physiologists, it appears that all vegetable matter, when traced to its primary tissue, ori- ginates in a simple cell of inconceivable minuteness ; and that, in this respect, there is identity of structure in animals and vegeta- bles; for it is now generally allowed, by animal physiologists, that all animal tissues, however varied in form, have their origin, also, in a cellular structure. ‘s The aid which has been derived from the study of comparative anatomy, has enabled the physiologist to make many interesting discoveries, and to settle many disputed questions, connected with the structure and functions of the human system; and such ad- paper was read before the New York ®. B. K. reel July 24th, i and the pion of it authorized, by a vote of that Society, as a part of its Transacti t Animal mal Physiology, Part I, page 20. bes xxxvi1, No. 1.—Oct. Dec: 1839. 7 ‘a ; ar. wmw2d fn ew denw . 50 Vegetable Organography and Physiology. | vances have been made in the study of vegetable anatomy and physiology, by the labors of De Candolle, Dutrochet, Lindley, and, more recently, the interesting inquiries of Carpenter, as to lead to the belief, that the day is not distant when the naturalist will discover, from the study of vegetable life, an explanation of the cause of many of those phenomena which have, hitherto, baffled the inquiries of the animal physiologist. Already the re- mark made by Cuvier, on the various forms and vital functions of animals, may, with equal fitness be applied to those of the vege- table kingdom ; that they “are so many kinds of experiments ready prepared by nature, who adds to, or deducts from each of them, different parts, just as we might wish to do in our own ~ laboratories, showing us herself, at the same time, their various re- sults.” This is, indeed, the only true method of studying phys- — iology: to listen to the language of nature, as she spontaneously _ reveals her secrets, is far preferable to the inquisitorial method * +! extracting them from her, by cruel experiments. + | ut before we undertake a description of the organs of — or of their functions, or attempt to trace the analogy which ex- ists between the two kingdoms, vegetable and animal, it will be necessary to make a few brief inquiries into the nature of the primary tissues, which enter into the structure of the vegetable formations. The primary tissues, or elementary organs of all plants, ee three in number; the cellular tissue, the woody fibre, and the vas-_ cular tissue, or spiral vessels. To these is sometimes added another tissue, denominated ducts. Late inquiries, however, have — shown these ducts to be a variety in the form of the spiral vessels, and to be identified with them. The cellular tissue enters into the composition of all vegetables. It is composed of minute, transparent vesicles, or cells, the sides of which are adherent to each other. These vesicles are exceed- ingly minute ; varying in size, in different plants, from the 30th _ to the 1000th part of an inch. They generally contain an elabo- rated fluid, which circulates freely, in all directions, through the vegetable membrane that forms the sides of these cells. But the ium by which this circulation is earried on, has, for a long © time, engaged the inquiries of vegetable physiologists. ‘The cells do not communicate by any appreciable pores or fissures. Notli- ing of the kind has ever yet been discovered, although they havé : ; ] 4 * id e BASS Laem emer pee Saw Vegetable Organography and Physiology. 51 been subjected to the most powerful microscopic observation. They possess another wonderful faculty, which is a self- -produc- tive quality. Hach vesicle is capable of generating many others within itself. The woody fibre differs from the cellular tissue, in having its vesicles considerably elongated and pointed or wedge-form at their extremities. 'The sides of the woody fibres possess a much greater tenuity, and are more firm and elastic than the cellular tissues. Collected into parallel bundles, and wedged together by means of their pointed extremities, they afford strength and support to the vegetable fabric, and have, therefore, been denominated the “skeleton of the plant.” The ascending sap is transmitted through these vessels, yet, like the vesicles of the cellular tissue, they have no visible pores. » The spiral vessels, like the woody fibre, appear to have origi- hated from the simple cell. Like the former, too, they are elon- gated tubes; but they possess within their tube, a spiral, woody fibre, whose coil seems destined to preserve the integrity of their calibre. The office of the spiral vessels is not fully known; but as they very generally contain air, and, with the exception of the — roots, pervade almost every part of the vegetable system, their | function is, undoubtedly, connected with the respiration of the — 7 plant. “A very curious analogy to this structure,” says Mr. Car- - penter, “is exhibited in the trachee, or air tubes of insects, which ramify by minute subdivisions through the whole of their bodies. These tubes are formed, like the spiral vessels of plants, of an ex- ternal membrane, distended by spiral fibre, which is coiled with the most beautiful regularity.”* ‘ The ducts, which have been spoken of as being a modifica- tion of the spiral vessels, differ from the latter, in having no coiled fibre within their canal. Their sides are transparent, and are studded with minute dots, which give to them the appearance of * perforations. Like the preceding tissues, however, they are des- titute of all visible pores or openings. By some physiologists it is supposed that the dotted ducts serve to convey sap along the Stem of the plant; others regard their functions, like the spiral Vessels, to be connected with the respiratory system. * Principles of General and Comparative Physiology, by Wm. B. Carpenter. a j *: 2 = . Wie 4 52 Vegetable Organography and Physiology. These four primary tissues, constitute the only elementary or gans which enter into the structure of vegetable formations. There are other organs connected with the phenomena of veget- able life, but they are composed of some one of these elementary ssties. Of all the elementary organs which enter into the composition of plants, the cellular tissue is the most abundant. © It is the basis of all vegetable structure, and is the only tissue that is universally esent. ‘The other forins sometimes entirely disappear, or are never developed. The first natural division of all plants i is into two grand clacoell arranged according to the presence or absence of one of these pri- mary tissues, viz. the spiral vessels. It has been ascertained that all flower-bearing plants, or those which are propagated by means of sexual organs, have spiral vessels; whilst those vegetables which have no flowers are destitute of spiral vessels.* ‘The first class is denominated vasculares ; the latter cellulares. . Under the head of cellular plants are included the numerous tribes of Ferns, Mosses, and Lichens; vegetables which, to the unini- tiated observer, may appear of little importance in the operations of nature. Yet, without their aid, many parts of our globe, which are now teeming with vegetation and life, must have remained barren and uninhabited wastes. Some of the tribes of cellulares, as the mosses and lichens, of which there are several thousand ‘species, may be deemed the pioneers in vegetation. They are found where no other forms of vegetable life can exist. Attached to the bare rocks of newly found countries, and islands in the ocean ; springing into life on the surface of the encrusted lava, they vegetate and decay ; and thus, by depositing the remains of sticcessive generations, gradually prepare these barren surfaces for higher grades of vegetable life. “ How they find their way to such places,” says Dr. Lindley, “and under what laws they are created, are mysteries that human ingenuity has not succeeded in unveiling.” Both the anatomy and the physiology of vascular plants are better understood than the growth and functions of cellulares- The organs of the circulating system, also, and the course of the nia? in vaseulares are now very well known, whilst much doubt ee aes sn stseinmiamentee SIGS * Introduction: to the Natural System of Botany, by J. Lindley, &c. p. 16. © eS geen * - ee i a a % , Seals Organography and Physiology. 53 “still éxists in regard to the structure and functions of these organs in cellular plants. We shall therefore select a subdivision of the former class of plants, in describing the anatomy of their organs, and in tracing the analogy which exists between the vegetable and animal kingdoms. Naturalists have discovered that there are two orders of plants belonging to vasculares, which are widely different in their ana- tomical structure, and in the laws which govern their develop- ment. These divisions have been termed endogenous and exo- genous. Endogenous plants are cylindrical, and are destitute of bark. Their development is by an annular deposition of new ligneous matter within the cylinder. The palm, the cane, corn, and the Various grasses, are examples of endogenous plants. Hxogene compose a much larger, and a more interesting class. ‘They in- clude all the trees of our forests, for the protection of whose exter- nal surface nature has provided a bark. The reason for this pro- vision will appear, when it is known that the growth of trees de- pends upon a deposition of new aia apan the outside of the wood, and between it and the gs All exogenous plants, of which a the oak, the elm, the pine, the beach, &c. are examples, are com of parts; the medulla or pith, the medullary sheath, the woud; bark, and the medullary rays. It has been said that only four primary tissues enter into shat organization of vegetable structure, viz. the cellular tissue, the woody fibre, the spiral vessels, and the ducts. The pith, which is the central portion of the plant, is composed of vesicles of the cellular tissue; neither spiral vessels or woody fibre enter into its composition. The vesicles of the medulla are slightly bound together; and their walls, according to the opinion of some phys- iologists, are covered with minute globular bodies, which are re- garded as the nervous organs of the plant.* No part of the ascending sap passes through the pith; | cells are filled with an elaborated, nutrient fluid, which Sar disseminated in spring-time, serves to nourish the early buds, until they are sufficiently developed to procure nourishment for them- selves. How far the pith may be considered as the special seat ESE EPS MI ME De * Recherch. Anat. et Physiol. sur Ja Struct. &c. ie * Pe * + yo call 54 Vegetable Organography and Physiology. oe. 7 of vegetable life, and analogous to the nervous system in astral is still an interesting question for the vegetable physiologist. Immediately surrounding the pith is the medullary sheath. Whilst the former is composed of cellular tissue, the latter consists of spiral vessels and ducts. The office of the medullary sheath is not well understood. Lindley, who believed it to be in direct communication with the leaf-buds, and the veins of the leaves, supposed that it was the medium through which the ascending sap is transmitted to the leaves. Dutrochet and some other phys- iologists are of the opinion that the office of circulating the as- cending sap is confined to the lymphatic tubes of the woody fibre, and that the spiral vessels of the medullary sheath belong to the function of respiration. As these vessels are found almost invaria- bly to contain air; and, moreover, have direct communication with the leaves, which are in fact the lungs of the plant, it is _more than probable that the opinion of Dutrochet is correct. ¢ _ Deposited in concentric layers around the medullary sheath, and lying immediately upon it, is the wood. It is composed of cellular tissue, woody fibre, and ducts. Each year a distinct layer _is deposited. ‘The concentric layer of the first year, or the one ~ lying i in immediate contact with the medullary sheath, consists of woody fibre and ducts ; but each succeeding layer has an interior membrane of cellular tissue, (the same tissue of which the pith is _ ot Eaxaponed, ) and an extemal stratum of woody fibre and ducts. ‘wood is usually subdivided into the denser portion, which _ is called gnum ; and external to this, a softer portion called a+ - burnum. The former consists of the internal avon surrounding the me- dullary sheath, which being fully formed, have ceased to afford a passage for the circulating fluid. It is aba called heart-wood. External to this is the softer wood, called the alburnum ; whie is also deposited in concentric rings, between the true weal and the bark. It is through this part of the plant, the alburnum, that the fluid drawn from the earth, the ascending sap, is principally transmitted. he bark is composed of the same elementary tl a that enter into the composition of the wood, viz. cellular tis- sue, woody fibre and ducts ; but whilst the layers of wood con- in - sist ‘of an interior stratum of cellular tissue, and an outer stratum of woody fibre and ducts, those of the bark are reversed: they a composed of a layer of woody fibre and ducts inside, and of cellu- Sa a Se ee eS ee a eg Aon al + eee * ete e* Bee. Vegetable Organography and Physiology. 55 ae ne. ‘= Jar tissue outside. The bark is also subdivided into three parts ; the inner portion is called the liber ; surrounding this is the cel- lular envelop, and external to all, the epidermis. It is through the liber, the inner portion of the bark, that the principal part of the descending sap is carried, after it has undergone those chemi- cal changes, in its circulation through the leaves, that qualify it for giving support and nourishment to the different parts of the plant. On making a horizontal section of the trunk, or branch of an exogenous tree, radii of cellular tissue are seen extending from the centre to the circumference of the wood. These vessels are denominated the medullary rays. Having their origin in the medullary sheath, and consisting of the same elementary tissue With the pith, projections of which pass through the sheath into the medullary rays, they serve to connect this central system of the plant with its circumference. The medullary rays perform a very important function in the — economy of vegetable growth. That peculiar secretion which is eflused in the spring of the year, between the wood and the bark, - and which separates the alburnum from the liber, is pot these medullary radii. This viscid secretion, whe Saasaiiand red, i supposed to constitute the cellular portion of each concentric layer. Whilst this deposition is going on, a fibrous’ ae descending from the expanding buds, and by its adhesion to the _ first deposit from the medullary rays, constitutes the outer stra- tum of woody fibre and ducts of the new layer. Thus it will | be seen, that a triple and diverse circulation is carried on, in ex- — * * ogenous plants, at the same time. During the vernal season, whilst the lymphatic sap is ascending in the greatest quantity, and the elaborated fluid, having undergone the necessary chan- ges, in its circulation through the leaves, is descending and de- positing its nutritious particles in the different parts of the plant, this transverse current is percolating through the horizontal radii, to deposit, on the exterior surface of the alburnum, a new layer of vegetable growth. It would be interesting to trace minutely the course of the Vegetable circulation, and to investigate the agency or powers by which this circulation is sustained. But the limits orginally de- signed for this paper will not allow of this extended inquiry. We > 56 Vegetable Organography and Physiolegy.. can only glance briefly at the course of the sap, and weit the changes which take place in this fluid, in its circulation through the vegetable system. De Candolle discovered that the roots of exogenous plants were terminated by small organic bodies, composed of cellular tissue and woody fibre, enclosing in their centre a minute bundle of ducts. These bodies, which are termed spongioles, possess the power of absorbing fluids from the earth with wonderful rapidity. This power has been denominated endosmose, by Dutrochet, who dis- covered, by some ingenious experiments, that the accumulation of a fluid in organic cavities, like the cells of plants, imparted to those bodies a vital principle by which their cavities were alter- nately emptied and replenished. It is a law of this “ physico-or- ganic action” that the denser fluid always attracts the rarer ; and as the cells of plants are always filled with a matter of a denser consistence than water, this fluid, which always surrounds the roots of trees, is drawn up by the spongioles with great rapidity. This action possesses the property of rendering turgid the con- tents of these cavities, when once imbibed, so that a constant en- dosmose is kept up. Professor Daubeny, by some curious expe- riments, demonstrated that the roots of plants possess the power of selecting such materials as are required for their nourishment _and growth, and of rejecting matter whose introduction into theit tissues would prove deleterious to the plant. - In almost all plants, however, the ascending sap is found to be nearly uniform in its — composition ; consisting of water, holding in solution various mineral substances, with atmospheric air. Having once entered the spongioles, the sap is conveyed along in its vertical current rom one vesicle to another by this endosmometric property of the tissues of the plant, until it arrives at the leaves, where by its exposure to the atmospheric air it undergoes a chemical change; which prepares it to afford vitality and nourishment to the plant. This process is considered by physiologists as strictly analagous to the respiration of animals. The phenomena connected with the respiration of a _ the changes produced upon atmospheric air by vegetables, ate _ highly curious and interesting. It was ascertained many years 0, by Bonnet, Priestley, and others, that healthy plants exposed to min light, were constantly evolving oxygen gas. But the : Vegetable Organography and Physiology. 57 manner in which this gas was produced, whether it was genera- ted by the plant or taken from the atmospheric air and afterwards discharged, remained an unsettled question until the experiments of Sennebier, De Candolle, and other vegetable physiologists, pro- ved that in this process are involved some of the most important laws of vegetable life. By the experiments of these philosophers it was proved that during the night oxygen is absorbed by the leaves of the plant, which combining with the carbon previously brought up from the earth in the ascending sap, is converted into carbonic acid. On the return of solar light, a decomposition takes place; the oxygen is evolved, and the carbon is retained for the nourishment of the plant. “It is evident,” says Roget, “ that the object of the whole process is to obtain carbon, in that precise state of disintegration to which it is reduced at the moment of its sep- aration from carbonic acid, by the action of solar light, on the green substance of the leaves; for it is in this precise state alone that it is available in promoting the nourishment of the plant, and hot in the crude condition in which it exists when it is pumped up from the earth eh with the water which conveys it into the interior of the plan The amount of ae given off in the day, is much great- er than the quantity which is absorbed during the night. Much of the carbonic acid of the atmosphere is also decomposed by — the leaves of plants; the carbon is retained, and the oxygen is evolved. Hence it is that the growth of healthy plants exercises’ a purifying influence upon the surrounding atmosphere, and beau- tifully adapts it to the respiration of animals. Besides this decomposition of carbonic acid, various other chem- ical changes are wrought upon the sap, and the materials contain- ed in the sap, in their circulation through the leaves. A part of the water is decomposed, and by the various combination of its elements with the different mineral substances which it held in solution, those vegetable products are formed which are suited for the further growth and development of the plant. Thus will be Seen the beautiful and perfect analogy which exists between the circulation in vegetables and animals. The ascending sap, like the venous blood in its circulation through the lungs, having been a me Se * Animal and Veaulile Physiol. Vol. I, a 31. Vol. xxxvit, No. 1.—Oct.—Dec. 1839 8 * * 3 58 Vegetable Organography and Physiology. renovated in passing through the leaves, by its combinations with atmospheric air, returns, and, like the arterial fluid, penetrates ev- ery part of the vegetable fabric, and deposits in each tissue its appropriate nourishment. In glancing thus briefly at the organisms and functions of ani- mals and vegetables, it will be seen that there is identity of struc- ture and unity of function existing, throughout, between the two kingdoms. ‘ Perhaps,” says Professor Henslow, “until the con- trary shall have been proved, we may consider the addition of sensibility to the living principle, as the characteristic property of animals.” But as he defines this characteristic property of an- imals to be “a quality by which the individual is rendered con- scious of its existence, or of its wants, and by which it is indu- ced to satisfy those wants by some act of volition,’’* we are in- clined to the belief, however difficult it may be to demonstrate it, that a quality strictly analogous, in its a: to this property in animals, belongs to vegetables ! _ During a residence of several years in the country, we have “watched the growth and studied the habits of some of the ex- ogenous plants, with the highest interest; and it is our intention to close this paper with some observations made upon one of the most common specimens of exogenous trees. _ Itis well known to botanists that some species of plants attach themselves, apparently from choice, to barren surfaces, and veg- etate with surprising vigor. They even possess the power of ex- cavating crevices for the attachment of their roots in the calcare- ous rocks to which they fasten themselves. This is the case with some tribes of lichen. Possessing the power of secreting an aci from their roots, which acts upon the carbonate of lime, they are thus enabled gradually to imbed themselves into the surface of the rock itself Some trees, also, of the exogenous class, as the Ulmus Americana, or common elm of this country, not only flout ish best in mountainous regions, and where the soil is thin, but they are often seen growing upon the limestone ledges, where but little soil is found for the attachment of their roots. One of _ these trees had sprung up, and had attained some magnitude, 0? : = thinly soil-clad surface, and near the edge of a broad calee * Principles, page 8. + Roget, page 39, et seq. nh et ae « ae + as — Vegetable Organography and Physiology. 59 reous rock. From one side of the base of the tree the rock grad- ually sloped off towards the earth, into the soil of which the roots of the elm had imbedded themselves. On the opposite side, and within a few feet of the tree, the rock was abruptly broken off by a perpendicular descent of many feet. Over this edge of the bare rock a large root of the elm had crept, and when first seen by the writer, several years ago, was apparently seeking to hide itself in the soil below; but a distance of several feet still inter- vened between the root and the earth. This singular and un- natural position of the root attracted our attention at the time, and being in the vicinity of the tree two or three years afterwards, . We visited it, and found that this wandering root had literally retraced its steps. It had actually bent directly back upon itself, and passing by the tree, had buried itself in the earth, along with its fellows, on the side opposite from where it sprang. Here cer- tainly a “want” existed, and although we cannot, in strict phi- losophy, accord to vegetables the power of “volition,” yet this Want was satisfied by an act, or quality, analogous to the act of F, ; Volition in animals.* In another instance, this quality, or vital principle, was mani- fested in a still more striking manner. About fifteen years ago, upon the top of an immense bowlder of limestone, some ten or twelve feet in diameter, a sapling elm was found growing. The stone was but slightly imbedded in the earth; several of its sides Were raised from four to six feet above its snitacies but the top of the rock was rough with crevices, and its surface, which was sloping off, on one side to the earth, was covered with a thin mould. From this mould, the tree had sprung up, and having thrust its roots into the crevices of the rock, it had succeeded in reaching the height of some twelve or fifteen feet. But about this period, the roots on one side became loosened from their attachment, and the tree gradually declined to the opposite side, ** Plants,” says Hugo Reid, in an attempt to draw a line between the sage ies vegetable kingdoms, “ have no consciousness of existence, no experience any wants, no power of selecting food.”’ (Science of eenge’f page 16.) Yet this same author afterwards says: “ Carbon, it is well known absolutely necessary for the support, and growth of vegetables, and when this element is not to be found i in the soil, they can extract it from the atmosphere, and assimilate it to their The Science of Botany ; by Hugo Reid, p. 53. + « ess? : az 60 Vegetable Organography and. Physiology. until its body was in a parallel line with the earth. The roots on the opposite side, having obtained a firmer hold, afforded suffi- cient nourishment to sustain the plant; although they could not, alone, retain it in its vertical position. In this condition of things, the tree, as if ‘conscious of its wants,” adopted (if the term may be used ) an ingenious process, in order to regain its former upright position. One of the most vigorous of the detached roots, sent out a branch from its side, which passing round a projection of the rock, again united with the parent stalk, and thus formeda perfect loop around this projection, which gave to the root an immovable attachment. — The tree now began to recover from its bent position. Obeying the natural tendency of all plants to grow erect; and sustained by t this root, which increased with unwonted vigor: in a few years, ‘it had entirely regained its ver tical position ; elevated, a no one could doubt, who saw it, by . « he atd oi he foot hich had formed this singular attachment. But this was not the only power exhibited by this remarkable tree. After its elevation it flourished vigorously for several y Some _ of its roots had traced the sloping side of the rock to the earth, and were buried in the soil below. Others, having imbedded _ themselves in its furrows, had completely filled these crevices with vegetable matter. The tree still continuing to grow, concentric _ layers of vegetable matter were annually deposited between the - alburnum and liber, until by the force of vegetable growth alone, the rock was split, from top to bottom, into three nearly equal di- visions, and branches of the roots were soon found, extending down, through the divisions into the earth below. On visiting the tree, a few months since, to take a drawing of it, we found that it had attained an altitude of fifty feet, and was four anda half feet in circumference at its base. Having overcome obsta- cles which do not ordinarily impede vegetable growth, by the '. manifestation of a principle, and a power, not ordinarily developed _ in vegetation, it was towering upwards, and stretching its branch- es about as if ambitious to take its place among the loftiest trees of the forest. As no trace of a nervous system has, as yet, been discovered _ an vegetables, the spontaneous motions which they occasionally _ exhibit, and the various changes produced by their functions, are generally referred, by naturalists, to the organic versitile eS ll RR nt ete as Sn eet te + - <3" PES. Practical Remarks on Gtems. 61 vital energies of vegetation, The process of nutrition, secretion, and the circulation—processes, which are “highly complex, and elaborate in plants,” and which are influenced by a nervous agen- cy in animals—are carried on in vegetables by some power, or agency, as yet, imperfectly understood ; but which, in its nature and results, is strictly analogous to-the emigitiia system of nerves in animals. We would not, however, be understood to express the — that plants, either possess the power of volition, or, that th vital movements are actually influenced by a nervous roti This is not our belief. But we have long. been. of the opinion, that there are vital energies, or prope perties, developed in the — growth of vegetables, which are influence d by laws, that, as yet, are imperfectly understood ;—laws which cannot be explained aan any of the known phenomena of organic chemistry. This subject still offers a wide and an interesting field for in- vestigation. “On man,” says a late elegant philosopher, “ has been conferred the high privilege of interpreting the characters of the book of nature, and of deriving from their contemplation, — those ideas of. grvideur and sublimity, and those emotions of admiration and of gratitude, which elevate and refine the sole | and transport it into regions of pure and more eing. es and flowers Are social and aavee and he Who oft communeth in their language pure ; Roaming among them, at the cool of day, Shall find like him who Eden’s garden drest, His Maker there to teach his listening heart! » Arr. X.—Practical oads on Gems, especially on some of those found in the United States ; in a letter addressed _ to G. 5 A. Lee, M. D., and by him communicated for insertion ‘in this Journal; by Tudiies TaBER, a srapiinsh Jeweller. | Dear Sir,—The following remarks relate principally to the Second class of Gems, of which many localities in our own and neighboring states furnish no despicable supply. [have received ~ .% number of choice specimens from Chester County, Penn., - sp * 3 ” ~o es 4% 62 Practical Remarks on Gems. < oa which locality and its vicinity may be said literally to abound with those [am about to enumerate; many of them, which I have had cut and polished, would not suffer in comparison, with © some of the highly prized European and Asiatic gems—produc- tions of the same family. - Among these may be named the Chrysoprase, Amethyst, Gaanecurm; White Crystal, Brown Crystal, Precious Garnet, Chalcedony, Jasper, Corundum, Hypersthene, Red Oxide of Titanium, Sphene, (to which this is nearly allied,) and Spinelle, together with the Beryl, saneiaey: me Jade ,—the last three now fallen into disuse: hens 1% * 1. Chrysoprase is a very prety pie class gem of a delicate pea or apple green color, a good deal thought of by the jewellers, _ and used by them in every form, from the humble stomacher pin ~ to the peerless: Sara sid Koti It looks however to best ad- ee, the dead yellow of which forms a ras with h its bright and ag sreeable green. Having a vitreous lustre, and | hardness like quartz, it is in frequent requi- _ Sition for signets and the the? the demand varying with the ~ fashion ; but it is at all times considered a valuable stone. It is Gientioned in Revelations as the tenth foundation stone of the heavenly Jerusalem. In some of the European countries it is worn as an amulet, and is like all other beautiful ci suc- cessfully imitated. The Amethyst, ( Violet Quartz.) This was worn by the an- cients as an amulet against intoxication. It varies in shade from a delicate pink or lilac, to a deep purple, sometimes approaching to a dark blue ; the latter is called “ oriental,’”’* notwithstanding its being frequently found in northern Europe, and in many parts of Germany. Some call this stone “sapphire,” but sapphire is much harder and certainly a far greater rarity. Amethyst I believe to be the softest of the quartz family, hav- ing found when setting this stone with a hard or ordinary file, and subsequently polishing the setting with rotten stone on threads, the facets considerably grubbed or rounded. This is also used by the jewellers in every form that taste or fancy dic was at first a geographical epithet, but is now used as a term of ex Oriental -cellence.—Eps, NAR EEE oe ene em ’ odiiniieataettaanemnananen aad RRR = SAR Se Seep ee Pe ee ee ew . Practical Remarks on Gems. 63 * * tates,—from the modest pin, to the ducal coronet, and impe- rial crown. It is well adapted for seal engraving, and on it coats of arms, crests, cyphers, &c. appear to great advantage. There are said to be in many of the European museums, some very fine cameos and intaglios, which have been cut on this stone. It forms a pretty connecting link between the pink topaz and the deep rich maroon of the carbuncle. Sunlight and heat are very injurious to its beauty, by causing it to fade, appa- rently extracting its color, and diminishing its lustre, as ex- posure for any ‘length of time in’ a window has fully proved. This stone too is mentioned in -and was appointed in = Exodus for the ninth stone or third in the thi v of the phot priest’s breastplate. It is also freq ) up of posy or acrostic jewelry, as 66 Practical Remarks on Gems. emery paper ; it is also used extensively for the polishing of eut- lery, and even of some of the gems. It occurs in long six-sided crystals, and in other forms in which the original crystals are so abraded that their form cannot be distinguished; in color it is very dull, sometimes of an indefinable brown, green, red and ray. 10. Hypersthene, is the very opposite of corundum in consis- tency, being as soft as the other is hard ; neither is it so useful, though it is said sometimes to have figured in jewelry. It must” have made a very uninteresting appearance, as it bears but an in- different polish. Its color is greenish black or brown; it is very abundant on the banks of the Brandywine, althongh of a very poor kind ; but I have just seen some beautiful specimens from Massa- . sieoenta: Although it appears | to be in some repute with the + French, for jewelry, it is plone unknown to North American jewellers. ll. Red Oride of nkian, is used by the dentists to impart a tinge of color to their porcelain or incorruptible teeth which ren- ders them more natural in their appearance. The color of this is a copper red, approaching to brown, of metallic lustre, and when found together with quartz, its appearance is very beautiful, sometimes passing through the erystals in minute hair-like fibres.* 12. Sphene, (Calcareous Oxide of Titanium.) Is but a vati- ety of the preceding, and embraces such a range of form and color as to render it difficult of recognition, except to those well versed in the study. It is of a lustre Jess metallic than the above ; it is opake and much harder; it may easily be mistaken for the brown, * garnet, which however is of greater tenacity and different struc- ture. - 13. Spinelle. In color it is either red, brown or black with all their intermediate shades and modifications; it is found in granu- lar and angular fragments, and octahedral crystals; those of @ crimson color are much xeed 3 in fine jewelry under the name of spinelle ruby, as also the rose-red or pink, which is styled the Ba- las ruby; that of a violet color, closely resembles the Almandine garnet, and is known as the Almandine ruby. ‘There are othel ial _ Varieties, such as the orangine or rubicelle. * The rulite of Middletown, in Connecticut, forms a most beautiful gem. It has recently been gee out by Prof. C. U. Shepard, from London, polished 4” wf Eps, : set, and almost rivals the fib ia io tame seat Practical Remarks on Gems. 67 14. Beryl, is in our times but little esteemed for jewelry ; it is of a very faulty or feathery nature, of a whitish, bluish, and yel- lowish or sea green color, rather dull, yet of vitreous Lnatre; feebly Scratches quartz, and readily yields to the topaz; it is translucent but seldom transparent. Crystals of this stone have been found in Chester Co., and other places, upwards of six and even eight inches in diameter. It is frequently mentioned in Seripture ; it _ is an inferior variety of the emerald, which greatly exceeds it in * beauty, Beryl is found in very many places in the United States, “yee in some localities passes into the emerald, as in Maine, in . Massachusetts, and at Hadda aot 15. Zircon. This like the precedir as greatly depreciated in estimation ; it is much harder than. is of a resinous lus- tre, and varies in external appearance and color, being sometimes yellowish brown, reddish green, &c. It sometimes appears as though scales of mica were intermixed. It was in much more esteem formerly than now as a gem, ‘particularly the wena sit call- ed hyacinth, which was worn in mourning apparel. 16. Jade is now a dead letter in the arts, and only to be met With in the cabinet of the mineralogist ; there is a kind however, found in Turkey and used by the natives for dagger and scim- etar handles, upon which various devices are carved; there is a great discrepancy of opinion at the present day as to what jade really is, that known to the jewellers by this name is a shining white opake mineral, and only very occasionally used by them _in. motto jewelry.t Whether the native productions of the Uni- ted States will prove a source of international profit remains to be ascertained. There is one serious difficulty in the great dif- ference in the cost of labor between this country and Europe. Lapidaries are at present but few in number, some of whom import polished specimens and even metal jewelry for the very purpose of breaking up and remodeling them. Stones ready cut for jewelry, may be imported from Germany, at one quarter the cost of polishing specimens furnished in New York. It is also - true that the facilities are not so great here for their manufacture ; there is a want of enterprise in this branch of the arts; but the * In New Hampshire crystals are found of a foot or more in diameter, and Weighing 100 to 200 pounds.—Eps t The Jade of the South Seas is ion of a deep leek green.—Eps. * 68 Connexion between the Theory of the Earth and the investment of but a comparatively small capital would soon give it another complexion. We have as much water power here as _ they can possibly have in Oberstein or Bohemia, which are the grand marts of Europe. Remarks.—We are happy to become acquainted with the ex- perience of a sensible practical man like Mr. Taber, and to learn | from him the state of this comparatively infant branch of manu- facture among us, and especially in New York. a We should be gratified to receive similar communications Pie | our other large cities, and especially from Philadelphia, where we | suppose that all the arts relating to gems are farther advanced than ~__ any where else in this country. Mr. Taber does not mention the | incomparably fine tourmalines of Paris, Maine—some of which as polished in London, and now in the hands of Prof. Charles U. 4) Shepard, of this place, almost rival the ruby and the emerald in | color and beauty, and far exceed them in size. They are we believe without a parallel in the world.* The fine spinelles and other remarkable minerals of Orange Co., New York, and of the neighboring parts of New Jersey, as well as the splendid transpa- rent and perfect beryls of Haddam, recently brought to light by Prof. Johnston, of the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Con- necticut, some of them being little inferior in beauty to the eme- rald, asl far surpassing it in size, we suppose are unknown toour elec, —Eds. Art. XI.—On the Connexion between the Theory of the Earth and the Secular Variations of the Magnetic Needle; by Joun — H. Larturop, Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, | Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y. (Communicated for this Journal.) In the course of some geological speculations I recently had occasion to make, with a view to the application of the prevail- ing théory of the earth to the solution of some physical problems, I was led to consider its bearing on the phenomena of terrestrial ee = > ‘The information secnived by the recent return of Prof. Shepard from London, — places this beyonda doubt. Nov. 13, 1839. Se 2 . “ ’ Secular Variations of the Magnetic Needle. 69 By the theory of the earth, I mean that theory which supposes the present condition of our globe to be the result of a primitive solution of its materials by caloric and a subsequent cooling pro- cess; by far the greater portion of the earth being still in a state of tision, with an external solid crust of some forty or fifty miles in thickriess: With the direct evidence of the truth of this theory, the read- ers of the Journal of Science are of course well acquainted. ~ Passing by this direct evidence, and the other numerous and satisfactory applications of the theory to the solution of physical problems, [ propose in this paper to confine my remarks to the bearings of the theory on the — connected with the Variation of the declination of the needle. — a ‘he observations of two or three centuries oat derieallvets, _ asis well known, the gradual westerly motion of the line of no '. declination, at a rate which if uniform will complete an entire * revolution in about seven hundred years. The variations in the position of the horizontal and dipping needles at any point on the earth’s surface, are doubtless dependent on the same physical canses, and have a like period. Without going at all into the question of the mature of the magnetic forces, it isa truth which we may take for granted in the outset, that the position of the magnetic line at any place, (that is, the position of the magnetic needle freely suspended by its centre of gravity,) is the result of the combined action of all the magnetic forces in the mass of the earth, whatever the nature of these forces‘may be. This combined action may on familiar dynamical principles be resolved into the two sets of magnetic forces, namely, those contained in the solid crust of the earth, and those exerted by the internal fluid mass. Considering the former set by themselves, the needle freely suspended would take the direction of the resultant (A) of all the magnetic influ- ences in the solid crust. Considering the latter set by them- selves, the needle would take the direction of the resultant ( B) of all the magnetic influences in the internal fluid‘mass. The actual position of the dipping needle at any given time and place, is in the direction of the diagonal between these two resultants. Now adopting for the present as true, the hypothesis that the internal fluid mass has in reference to the external crust a west- erly revolution once in about 700 years, it would seem that all 70 Connexion between the Theory of the Earth and the the observed consequences relative to the secular motions of the needle must of necessity follow. For the resultant (A) relative- ly to the observer at any place being a fixed line, the resultant (B) is movable, partaking as it must do of the westerly motion of the internal mass. If then we describe a vertical circle through the place of observation in the direction of the resultant (A) the plane of this magnetic vertical is fixed, and twice during each revolution of the fluid mass must the resultant (B) be found in this plane. Commencing with its higher position in this plane, it will pass westerly to its greatest elongation, thence east- erly to its lower conjunction with the magnetic vertical, thence — to its greatest easterly elongation, thence westerly to its original _ position. Itis obvious that the needle freely suspended by its ceutre of gravity, taking the direction of the diagonal between the two resultants, will follow these motions of the resultant (B). Leaving the magnetic vertical at its minimum dip, passing to its greatest westerly declination, thence in its easterly progress pass- ing said vertical at its maximum dip to its greatest declination on the other side, thence to the place of beginning. The pole of the dipping needle would thus describe a curve returning into itself, with a period equal to that of the supposed westerly rev- olution of the internal mass, and the secular motions of the ho- rizontal needle in its are of declination would have the same period. : It is obvious that if the magnetic. poles of the external crust and of the internal fluid mass, were coincident with the pole of revolution, there would be no departure of the dipping or the ho- rizontal needle from the plane of the meridian. As this coinci- dence does not exist in fact, the position of the magnetic pole of — the solid crust will be determined by the intersection of magneti¢ verticals for different places, the position of such vertical at any place being determined by passing its plane through the needle when its dip is at a maximum or minimum. One only of these verticals will pass through the poles of revolution and coincide with a terrestrial meridian; and of course in all places situated on this meridian, the dip of the needle will be at a maximum oF a minimum when the direction of the needle is due north and south. In all other places on the earth’s surface, there will be an easterly or westerly declination of the needle when the dip is at a maximum or minimum. a * « Secular Variations of the Magnetic Needle. 71 : Thus admitting a westerly revolution of the internal fluid mass, results analogous to observed magnetic phenomena would seem of necessity to follow. The question then returns upon us—Does the theory of the earth require, as a necessary — consequence, a westerly revolution of the internal fused mas It is a fact noticed by La Place, and indeed one of easy de- monstration, that on the supposition of a gradual cooling process and a consequent diminution of the earth’s radius by contraction, the diurnal revolutions of the “earth would gradually become _ more rapid, that is, the length of our day would be gradually diminishing. Every particle of a revolving sphere, on falling “towards the axis by a general contraction, tends, by preserving its absolute velocity, to a more rapid angular motion, and the pe- riod of revolution for the whole mass must be inevitably dimin- ishing. In the case of the earth, it is true that astronomy has not detected any change in the length of our day—a fact by no means incompatible with the existence of such a change; for in the first place the extreme accuracy which now marks astronom- ical observations is comparatively of modern date ; and secondly it is stated as the result of calculation that a contraction of the radius of the internal fused mass of one twenty fifth of an inch in a century would be sufficient to account for all the results of volcanic action at the present age of the world. 'That astronomy has been unable to detect the minute acceleration of the diurnal motion which has accrued since men began to converse with the stars on the plains of Chaldea, constitutes therefore no valid ob- jection to the truth of a geological theory involving such a result. Improved methods, exact and long continued observations, will doubtless make astronomy a competent witness on this point in time to come. If the theory of the earth be true, it must be ad- mitted as a necessary physical consequence, that the length of the day is diminishing ; though the decrement at this age of the world may be inappreciable from century to century, and the records of astronomical science may as yet furnish no evidence of the fact of such diminution. But this tendency to increased angular motion arising ‘from contraction, must obviously be greatest in those portions of the Mass of the earth which have contracted most, and least in those parts which have contracted least. Now the earth having been, * * 72 Connexion between the Theory of the Earth, Se. on the principles of the theory, subjected to a gradual cooling process, it is quite manifest that the contracting influences have had their principal seat of action on and near the surface, while in the interior their operation has been comparatively feeble. We seem therefore to be shut up to the conclusion, that the mo- tion of the solid crust about the axis has been more accelerated by the cooling and contracting processes than that of the internal fused mass—that the angular velocity of the former is more rapid than that of the latter—that the latter as a whole is gradually falling back of the former. In other words, considering the solid crust as fixed relatively to the observer, there is a gradual west- erly revolution of the internal fused mass. Thus admitting the prevailing theory of the earth, we infer, as a necessary physical consequence, a westerly revolution of the internal mass; and admitting the western revolution of the in- ternal mass, the observed secular motions of the horizontal and dipping needles would seem of necessity to follow. In looking back on the attempts which have been made to as- sign the physical causes of the variation of the declination of the needle, it is curious to remark how completely the theory un- der consideration embodies the hypothesis of Halley; who supposed the earth to have four magnetic poles, two fixed and two movable. Regarding the resultant of the magnetic forces of the solid crust as indicating the two fixed poles, we have the two movable poles of Halley indicated by the resultant of the mag- netic forces of the internal fluid mass. The hypothesis of Halley may well be set down as an instance of that grasp of mind with which “men before their time” seize upon truths, which it may require centuries of investigation fully to develop and demon- strate. It will be observed that in this paper I have confined my re- marks to the connexion between the theory of the earth and the ‘secular motions of the magnetic line. I propose to make the bearing of the theory on the subordinate oscillations of the needle the subject of a future communication. _ Hamilton College, Sept. 1839. | # Notices of Tornadoes, §c. 73 Arr. XII.—Notices of Tornadoes, §c. ; by Rosert Hare, M. D., Professor of Chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania. ~ L. Account of a Tornado, which passed over Providence, and the Village of Somerset, R. I., in August, 1838.* I propose to lay before the Society, for a place in their Trans- actions, an account of a tornado which occurred in the state of Rhode Island, towards the end of August last. This phetomeison was first observed near Providence, over the south-western suburbs of which it passed in a course generally from west by north, to south by east. Only a few days su guently I visited some of the most remarkable scenes of its rava- £es. The characteristics of this tornado, from all that I could see or hear, are quite similar to those of the tornado which occurred at New Brunswick, N. J. in June, 1835, and to which I referred in my paper upon the causes of peindaons and water-spouts, published in the sixth volume of the Society’s Transactions. This recent tornado was advantageously seen by J. L. Tilling- hast, Esq. from a window of his mansion, which is so situated, on the brow of a hill on the eastern side of the city of Providence, as to afford an unobstructed view of the country opposite. Mr. Tillinghast alledges that his attention was at first attracted by see- ing to the westward a huge inverted cone, of extremely dark va- por, which extended from the clouds to the earth. In the contor- tions and spiral movements of its lower extremity, this cone was Conceived to resemble the proboscis of an enormous elephant, moving about in search of food. Sometimes it was elongated so as to reach the ground; at others it skipped over the intervening Space without touching it; but at each contact with the terres- trial surface or bodies resting thereon, a cloud of dust intermin- _ gled with their fragments, was seen to rise within the vortex. To those who were sufficiently near to the meteor, a fearful explana- tion of these appearances was simultaneously evident. Ponds_ Were partially exhausted. ‘Trees uprooted or deprived of their leaves or branches. ~ Houses were unroofed, or uplifted and then ashed to pieces. Farms were robbed of their grain, potatoes, Ragen ne ee * From the Transactions of the prees: sheontienl Society. Vol. xxxyvim1, No. 1.—Oct.—Dec. 1839. 74 Notices of Tornadoes, §c. fruit trees or poultry : nor were human beings secure from being carried aloft, and more or less injured by subsequent descent. It was alledged that at Somerset two women were carried from a wagon over a wall, into an adjoining field. Within the same village a cellar door frame, with its doors bolted, was lifted, and then deposited on one éide of its previous position ; although sit- uated to windward of the mansion to which it belonged. This result was the more striking, because, in consequence of their pre- senting an inclined plane to the blast, the doors and their frames would have been pressed more firmly upon their foundation by an ordinary wind. In consequence of the same dilatation of the air within the house, which lifted the cellar door, the weather- boarding on the leeward side was burst open, while that to the windward was undisturbed. ; About four o’clock on the afternoon during which this tornado _ passed near Providence, there was heard at the farm at which I resided, twenty-five miles south of Providence and about fifteen miles from Somerset, the loudest thunder which I ever experien- ced. It made the house in which I was tremble sensibly. I have received from an estimable friend, Mr. Allen, a most in- teresting account of this tornado, which passed over the river, and there produced the appearance of a water-spout,.while he was sufficiently near for accurate observation. In one respect his narrative tends to justify my opinion, that the exciting cause of tornadoes is electrical attraction. In two. instances in which flashes of lightning proceeded from the water, Mr. Allen remarked that the effervescence produced by the tornado in the water very perceptibly subsided.* Extract from a Letter written by Zachariah Allen, Esq., Providence. “It was about three o’clock, P. M., during a violent showel; that I observed a peculiarly black loud to form in the midst of light, fleecy clouds, and to assume a portentous appearance in the +. » heavens, having along, dark, tapering cone of vapor extending - it to the surface of the earth. The form of this black cloud, — es re a ane 1 of the cone of vapor depending from it, so nearly resembled eS a3 oe * See Essay on the Cause of Tornadoes or Water-spouts in sixth vol. America “4 Philosophical Transactions, or in Silliman’s Journal, vol. 32, for 1837. ‘e « zt Sa *~ * +. ae Notices of Tornadoes, §c. 75 ‘ the engraved pictures of ‘water spouts’ above the ocean, which I had frequently seen, that I should have come speedily to the con- clusion that one of these ‘water spouts’ was approaching, had I not been aware that this phenomenon occupied a space in the heavens directly over a dry plain of land. Whilst attentively watching the progress of the cloud, with its portentous dark cone trailing its point in contact with the surface of the earth, I noti- ced numerous black specks, resembling flocks of blackbirds on the wing, diverging from the under surface of the clouds, at a great elevation in the air, and falling to the ground. Among these were some objects of larger size, which I could discern to be fragments of boards, sailing off obliquely in their descent. This alarming indication left no room for doubt that a violent tor- ~ hado was fast approaching, and that these distant, dark specks were fragments of shingles and boards uplifted high in the air, and left to fall, from the outer edge of the black conical cloud. This fear- ful appearance was repeatedly exhibited, as often as the tornado passed over buildings. “The whirlwind soon swept towards an extensive range of buildings, within a few yards of me, the roof of which appeared to open at the top, and to be uplifted fora moment. The whole fabric.then sunk into a confused mass of moving rubbish, and be- - came indistinctly visible amid the cloud that overspread it, as with a mantle of mist. “ The destructive force of the tornado now became not only apparent to the eye, but also fearfully terrific, from the deafening crash of breaking boards and timbers, startling the amazed spec- tator in alarm for his personal safety, amid the roar of the whirl- wind, and the shattered fragments flying like deadly missiles near him. At one instant, when the point of the dark cone of cloud passed over the prostrate wreck of the building, the fragments Seemed to be upheaved, as if by the explosion of gunpowder, and I actually became intensely excited with the fear that the .Moving mass might direct its march towards the open area of the yard, to which I had resorted, after sheadonins a building in which I had previously found shelter. “ Fortunately the course of the tornado was not over the build- ing used as a depot by the Stonington Rail-road Company in Prov- idence, where there was a numerous assemblage of passengers ~~ awaiting the departure of the cars ; otherwise several lives might «|. ave been lost. = & “ae 3 ie: 76 Notices of Tornadoes, &c. ~ “The most interesting appearance was exhibited when the tor- nado left the shore, and struck the surface of the adjacent river. Being within a few yards of this spot, I had an opportunity of accurately noting the effects produced on the surface of the ater. “'The circle formed by the tornado on the foaming water was about three hundred feet in diameter. Within this circle the water appeared to be in commotion, like that in a huge boiling cauldron ; and misty vapors, resembling steam, rapidly arose from the surface, and entering the whirling vortex, at times veiled from sight the centre of the circle, and the lower extremity of the overhanging cone of dark vapor. Amid all the agitation of the water and the air about it, this cone continued unbroken, although it swerved and swung around, with a movement resembling that of the trunk of an elephant whilst that animal is in the act of depressing it to the ground to pick up some minute object. In truth, the tapering form, as well as the vibrating movements of the extremity of this cone of vapor, bore a striking resemblance to those of the trunk of that great animal. ‘Whilst passing off over the water, a distant view of the cloud might have induced the spectator to compare its form to that of a huge umbrella suspended in the heavens, with the column of vapor representing the handle, descending and dipping into the foam of the billows. 'The waves heaved and swelled, whenever the point of this cone passed over them, apparently as if some magical spell were acting upon them by the effect of enchant- ment. Twice I noticed a gleam of lightning, or of electric fluid, to dart through the column of vapor, which served as a conductor for it to ascend from the water to the cloud. After the flash the foam of the water seemed immediately to diminish for a moment, as if the discharge of the electric fluid had served to calm the e&- citement on its agitated surface. “ The progress of the tornado was nearly in a straight line, fol lowing the direction of the wind, with a velocity of perhaps eight. or ten miles per hour. I felt no extraordinary gust of wind; but noticed that the breeze d to blow uninterruptedly from the same quarter from which it _aaaees sos the tornado occurred. _ “ Near as I was to the exterior edge of the circle of the tornado, ‘~ ¢ LL i a Notices of Tornadoes, &c. J 77 “T also particularly observed that there was no perceptible in- crease of temperature of the air adjacent to the edge of the whirl- wind, which might have caused an ascending current by a rare- fiction of a portion of the atmosphere. After passing over the sheet of water, and gaining the shore, I observed the shingles and fragments of a barn to be elevated and dispersed high in the air; and the dark cloud continued to maintan the same appear- ance which it at first presented, until it passed away beyond the - Scope of a distinct vision of its misty outlines. “The above imperfect sketch can convey to your mind only a feeble impression of this exciting scene, which in passing before me excited just enough of terror to impart to the spectacle the most awful sense of the power, sublimity and grandeur of the Almighty, as described in the glowing words of the Psalmist. ‘He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet; and he did fly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.’ ” Il. At Chatenay, near Paris. ‘To the Eaitors of the National Gazette. Messrs. Editors—You had published a memoir on “tornadoes by a distinguished foreigner, irsted. Conceiving the impression conveyed by that article less worthy of consideration than those which had been presented in a memoir which I had previously published, I hope that I shall be considered as having had a sufii- cient incentive for endeavoring through the same channel to cor- tect the erroneous impressions which that memoir was in my opinion of a nature to produce. In my letter to you of the 26th ult. it was stated that I con- sidered tornadoes as the consequence of an electrical discharge superseding the more ordinary medium of lightning. From an _ article which has since met my attention in the Journal des Debats, published on the 17thof July at Paris, it appears that a tremen- dous tornado occurred about the last of the preceding June in the Vicinity of that metropolis. The losers applied for indemnity to certain insurers, who objected to pay on the plea that the policies Were against thunder storms not against tornadoes. This led to | ‘an application to the celebrated Arago, who referred the case to another savant, Peltier. * ¥ 78 ) Notices of Tornadoes, §. From the report of Peltier, of which I subjoin a translation, it will be seen that, excepting his neglect of the co-operative influ- ence of the elasticity of the air, he sanctions my opinion that a tornado is the effect of an electrical discharge. “ Yesterday,” says Peltier, “I visited the commune of Chate- nay in the canton of Ecouen, department of Seine and Oise, and ‘investigated the disasters experienced inthe month of June last, froma tornado which first originated over the valley of Fontenay des Louvres. At present I can give only a summary account of this wonderful phenomenon. “ Early in the morning a thunder cloud arose to the south of Chatenay, and moved at about ten o’clock over the valley between the hills of Chatenay and those of Ecouen. 'The cloud having ex- tended itself over the valley, appeared stationary and about to pass away to the west. Some thunder was heard but nothing remarka- ble was noticed, when about midday a second thunder storm com- ing also from the south and moving with rapidity advanced towards the same plain of Chatenay. Having arrived at the extremity of the plain above Fontenay, opposite to the first mentioned thunder cloud, which occupied a higher part of the atmosphere, it stopped at a little distance, leaving spectators for some moments uncertain as to the direction which it would ultimately take. That two thunder clouds should thus keep each other at a distance, led to the i impression that being charged with the same electricity, they y repellent, and that a conflict would ensue in which the terrestrial surface would play an important part. to this time there had been thunder continually rumbling within the second thunder cloud, when suddenly an under portion of this clond descending and entering into communication with the earth, the thunder ceased. A prodigious attractive power was exerted *I had presented copies of the pamphlet containing my memoir to M. Arago and several other members of the Institute. In a subsequent conversation he referred to some of the suggestions which it contained. As it conveyed a view of the ques tion decisively favorable to the claimants, it may be inferred that it must have heen alluded to by Arage and thus have become the source of Peltier’s impressions. It may therefore be anticipated that due acknowledgment will be hereafter made by him when he realizes his promise of making a more elaborate report on the tor et nap of. aesting may. Before entering ‘Spon the ing by which I sustained my b words: ‘ After maturely idering a the facta Lam led to. suggest that a tornado is the effect of an electrified current % air seding the more means of discharge between the earth and ae those vivid sparks which we call lightning. * i fa = 1 * Notices of Tornadoes, §c. 79 forthwith, all the dust and other light bodies which covered the surface of the earth mounted towards the apex of the cone formed bythecloud. A rumbling thunder was continually heard. Small clouds wheeled about the inverted cone rising and descending with rapidity. An intelligent spectator, M. Dutour, who was admi- rably placed for observation, saw the column formed by the tor- nado terminated at its lower extremity by a cap of fire ; while this Was not seen by a shepherd, Oliver, who was on the very spot, but enveloped in a cloud of dust. “'T’o the southeast of the tornado, on the side exposed to it, the trees were shattered, while those on the other side of it srenarved* their sap and vores: The portion attacked appeared to have experienced a radical change, while the rest were not affected. The tornado having descended into the valley at the extremity of Fontenay, approached some trees situated along the bed of a rivulet, which was without water though moist. After having there bro- ken and uprooted every tree which it encountered, it crossed the valley and advanced towards some other trees, which it also de- stroyed. In the next place, hesitating a few moments as if un- certain as to its route, it halted immediately under the first men- tioned thunder cloud. This although previously stationary, now began as if repelled bythe tornado, to retreat towards the valley to the west of Chatenay. The tornado after stopping as I have described, would infallibly on its part, have moved on towards the west to a wood in that direction, if the other thunder cloud had not prevented it by its repulsion. Finally it advanced tothe _. _park of the castle of Chatenay, overthrowing every thing in its | path. On entering this park, which is at the summit of a hill, it desolated one of the most agreeable residences in the neighborhood of Paris. All the finest trees were uprooted, the youngest only, which were without the tornado, having escaped. The walls were thrown down, the roofs and chimneys of the castle and farm- house carried away, and branches, tiles and other movable bodies, Were thrown to a distance of more than five hundred yards. Descending the hill towards the north, the tornado stopped over a pond, killed the fish, overthrew the trees, withering their leaves, and then proceeded slowly along an avenue of willows, the roots of which entered the water, and being during this part of its progress much diminished in size and force, it proceeded slowly ‘Over a plain, and finally at the distance of more than a thousand 80. — Notices of Tornadoes, §e. yards from Chatenay, divided into two parts, one of which disap- peared in the clouds, the other in the ground. “Tn this hasty account I have, with the intention of returning to this portion of the subject, cauited to speak particularly of its effect upon trees. All those which came within the influence of the tornado, presented the same aspect; their sap was vaporized, and their ligneous fibres had become as dry asif kept for forty eight hours in a furnace heated to ninety degrees above the boiling point. Evidently there was a great mass of vapor instantaneously formed, which could only make its escape by bursting the tree in every — direction ; and as wood has less cohesion in a horizontal longitu- dinal than in a transverse direction, these trees were all, throughout one portion of their trunk, cloven into laths. Many trees attest, by their condition, that they served as conductors to continual discharges of electricity, and that the high temperature produced by this passage of the electric fluid, instantly vaporized all the moisture which they contained, and that this instantaneous va- porization burst all the trees open in the direction of their length, until the wood, dried up and split, had become unable to resist the force of the wind which accompanied the tornado. In con- templating the rise and progress of this phenomenon, we see the conversion of an ordinary thunder gust into a tornado ;* we be hold two masses of clouds opposed to each other, of which the upper one, in consequence of the repulsion of the similar electri- cities with which both are charged, repelling the lower towards the ground, the clouds of the latter descending and communi- cating with the earth by clouds of dust and by the trees. This © communication once formed, the thunder immediately ceases, and the discharges of electricity take place by means of the cloud: which have thus descended, and the trees. These trees, tra versed by the electricity, have their temperature, in consequence, raised to such a point that their sap is vaporized, and their fibres sundered by its effort to escape. Flashes and fiery balls and sparks accompanying the tornado, a smell of sulphur remains for several days in the houses, in which the curtains are found dis colored. Every thing proves that the tornado is nothing else than a conductor formed of the qonds, which serves as a 2 ae * See 5th vol. of the American Philosopliical Tratisactions, or Silliman’s Jout- nal for 1837, ‘vol. 32, page 154. Py * a, - Sedes lightning by affording a conducting communication between - wee Notices of Tornadoes, §c. 81 for a continual discharge of electricity from those above, and that the difference between an ordinary thunder storm and one ac- companied by a tornado, consists in the presence of a conductor of clouds, which seem to maintain the combat between the up- per portion of the tornado and the ground beneath. At Chatenay this conductor was formed by the influence of an upper thunder cloud, which forced the lower portion of an inferior thunder cloud to descend and come into contact with the terrestrial surface.” Peltier concurs with me in the opinion that the tornado super- the terrestrial surface and thunder cloud: but he conceives that the cloud by its descent becomes the conductor through which the electric discharge is accomplished: whereas agreeably to the explanation which I suggested, a vertical blast of air and every body carried aloft contributes to form the means of communication. Agreeably to this suggestion the electric fluid does not pass conduction, but “convection,” as explained in my letter of the 26th ult. That the idea of the Parisian savant that the cloud acts as a conductor is untenable, must be evident, since the light matter of which a cloud is constituted could not be stationary be- tween the earth and sky in opposition to that upward aerial cur- rent of which the violence is proved to be sufficient to elevate not only water, but other bodies specifically much heavier than this liquid. So much of the narrative of Peltier as relates to the repulsion between the thunder clouds, is inconsistent with any other facts on record respecting tornadoes which have come within my knowledge. It should be recollected that this part of the story does not depend upon the observation of the author, and may be due to the imagination of the witnesses whom he examined. The most important part of his evidence is that respecting the effect upon the trees, which appears to me to. demonstrate that they were the medium of a tremendous electrical current. In my memoir I noticed the injury done to the leaves of trees, and stated my conviction that “(as it was inconceivable that me- chanical laceration could have thus extended itself equally among the foliage, a surmise may be warranted that the change was effected by electricity associated with the tornado.” Vol. xxxyur, No. 1.—Oct.-Dec. 1839. 11 Ye 82. ie Notices of Tornadoes, &c. Ill.—On Tornadoes, and Girsted’s Memoirs respecting them. , To the Editors of the National Gazette. _ Dear Sirs,—I believe it is generally admitted by electricians that the enormous discharges of the electric fluid, which, during f ‘thunder gusts, take place in the form of lightning, are the conse- quence of the opposite electrical states of an immense stratum of the atmosphere coated by the thunder clouds, and a corresponding portion of the terrestrial surface. In a memoir published in the _ 5th volume of the American Philosophical Transactions, repub- ~ lished in Silliman’s Journal, vol. 32, for 1837, I had endeavored to show that the tornado was the consequence of the same causes producing in lieu of lightning, an electrical discharge by a verti- cal blast of air, and the upward motion of electrified bodies. In your Gazette of the 30th ult., you have republished an article by the celebrated C&rsted, in which it is alledged that tornadoes or water-spouts cannot be caused by electricity, because there is no evidence proving that persons exposed to them have experienced electrical shocks. 'T'o me it appears evident that the scientific author confounds the different processes of discharge to which I have alluded, the one occurring in thunder gusts, the other in tornadoes ; also that he has forgotten that a shock can be given neither by a blast of electrified air, nor by a continuous electrical current, a transient interruption of the circuit being indispensable to the production of the slightest sensation of that nature. If a person, having a conducting communication between one of his hands and a charged surface of a well insulated battery, hold in — the other hand ie sieteieas wire, the battery will be ‘discharged through him and through the wire, producing a blast of electri- fied air from the point, without his experiencing any shock ; nei- ther would a shock be given to any person by exposure to the f blast thus produced. This form of electrical discharge to which I ascribe tornadoes, in which electricity is conveyed from one surface to another by the motion of air or other movable bodies intervening, is by Fat aday designated as “ convection,” from the Latin “conveho,” t0 carry along with. In the comparatively minute experiments of electricians, the of convective discharge, is exemplified not only by the electrified aerial blast, but likewise by the play of pith balls, the 4] Notices of Tornadoes, §c. jy » 83 dance of puppets, or the vibration of a pendulum, or bell clapper. The passage of sparks is found to arrest or to check such move- ments, aud in like manner the passage of lightning has been ob- - served to mitigate the vertical force of a tornado. While a meteor of this kind, which passed over Providence last year, was crossing the river, the water, within an area of about three hundred feet in diameter, was found to rise up in a” foam, as if boiling. Meanwhile two successive flashes of light~ hing occurring, the foam was observed to subside after each flash. It is thus proved that a discharge by lightning, is inconsistent with the discharge by convection, and that so far as one ensues, the other is impeded. In an account of a tremendous storm of the kind of which I have been treating, published in Silliman’s Journal for July last, it is mentioned that at its commencement it was only a violent thunder gust. This is quite consistent with the experience ac- quired by means of our miniature experiments, in which a dis- charge by sparks may be succeeded by a discharge by convection, or Vice versa; or they may prevail alternately. In one case the electric fluid passes in the gigantic sparks called lightning, in the other it is conveyed by a blast of electrified air. In the former case, animals are subjected to deleterious shocks, while in the latter no other injury is sustained than such as results from col- lision with the air, or other ponderable bodies. In the case of the tornado, the vertical blast is accelerated by the difference between the pressure of the air at the earth’s sur- face, and at the altitude to which the blast extends. Should this be a mile there would be a difference nearly of one hundred and forty four pounds per square foot. During the tremendous gale which prevailed-at Liverpool last winter, the greatest pressure of the wind was estimated at only thirty pounds per square foot. So far as the ingenious inferences and observations of Mr. Espy, as to the buoyancy resulting from a transfer of heat from aqueous vapor to air hold good, the vertical force so alledged to arise, will co-operate to aid the influence of electric discharges by con- Vection. The distinguished author of the memoir alluded to at the out- set of this communication, conceives that were electricity the cause of tornadoes, the magnetic needle should be disturbed by them ; and without advancing any proof that such disturbance ee. 84 Notices of Tornadoes, &e. does not take place, founds thus an objection to electrical agency. I conceive that it would be unreasonable to expect a magnetic needle to be affected by an electrified blast of air if protected from its mechanical force. It has been shown by Faraday that without peculiar manage- ment, tending to prolong the reaction, the most delicately sus- pended needle cannot be made to diverge in obedience to the most powerful discharges of mechanical electricity. An electri- — cal spark may impart a feeble magnetism, but is too rapid and transient, to affect a needle. Moreover, when a needle is at right angles to an electric current which would be quite competent to influence it if parallel to it, there can be no consequent move- ment, since the current tends to keep it in that relative position. The direction of every electrical discharge inducing a tornado must necessarily be nearly at right angles to the needle, since it must be vertical, while the needle is necessarily berinontal when so supported as to traverse with facility I do not perceive any facts or ip ee in “the article by (Ersted, which are competent to render the phenomenon of which he treats more intelligible than it was rendered by the accurate sur- & es vey and examination of the track of the New Brunswick tornado, — by Pres. A. D. Bache, and Mr. Espy, in connexion with the accounts published by other witnesses of aes and other similar meteors. It seems to be admitted on all a ae orte Pias certain space there is a rarefaction of air tending to burst or unroof houses; that the upward blast consequent to this rarefaction, carries up all movable bodies to a greater or less elevation ; and that an afflux of air ensues from all quarters to supply the vacuity which the ver- tical current has a tendency to produce. Trees within the rare- fied area are uprooted and sometimes carried aloft, but on either side of it, or in front, or in the rear, are rostrata in a direction almost always bearing towards a point which during some patt of the time in which the meteor has endured has been under the axis of the column which it formed. It appears to me that all the well authenticated characteristics enumerated by Girsted, are referable to the view of the case thus presented. This distinduisheed author assumes that there is 4 whirling motion, although between American observers, this isa debated question. It seems in the highest degree probable that race settles seme ila a Notices of Tornadoes, §c. 85 gyration does take place occasionally, if not usually, since in the case of liquids rushing into a vacuity, a whirlpool is very apt to ensue. But as slight causes will in such cases either induce or arrest the circular motion, such movements may be contingent. It would however appear probable that when gyration does exist, it may, by the consequent generation of a centrifugal force, tend to promote or sustain the rarefaction and thus contribute to aug- ment the force, or prolong the duration of a tornado. From observations made upon the track of the recent tornado at New Haven, I am led to surmise that there was more than one axis of gyration and vertical force. I conceive that in conse- quence of the diversities in the nature of the bodies or the soil, there was a more copious emission of electricity from some parts of the rarefied area than others. In two instances wagons with iron wheel tires and axles, were especially the objects of the rage of the elements. T'rees equally exposed were unequally affected, some being carried aloft, while others were left standing. The area of a tornado track may be more analogous to a rough surface than a point, and the electricity may from its well own habi- tudes, be given off only from such bodies as are from their shape or nature most favorable to its evolution. Since these inferences were made, I have observed in Reid’s work upon storms, that similar impressions were created by facts observed during a hurricane at Mauritius, in 1824. It was re- marked that narrow, tall and decayed buildings, ready to tumble into ruins, escaped at but little distance from new houses, which were overturned or torn into pieces. It was inferred there were local whirlwinds, subjecting some localities to greater violence than others in the vicinity. In the case of other hurricanes sim- ilar facts have been noticed. It may be expedient here to subjoin, that I consider a hurricane as essentially a tornado, in which an electric discharge by “ con- vection,” associated with discharges in the form of lightning, takes place from a comparatively much larger surface. In the case of the hurricane, however, the area of the track is so much more extensive, that the height of the vertical column to the diameter of the base being proportionably less, there is necessarily a modi- fication of the phenomena, which prevents the resemblance from being perceived. -In the case of the hurricane, the column is too broad to come within the scope of a human eye. 86 On the Silurian System. So much has lately been presented to the public, either through the newspapers, journals, or lectures, which I consider demon- _ strably incorrect, that 1 can hardly, consistently with my love of true science, remain an inactive observer of the consequent per- “version of the public mind. Unfortunately it is difficult if not ‘impossible to discuss such subjects without a resort to language _and ideas, which are too technical and abstruse for persons who _ have not made chemistry and electricity an object of study. oe have however prepared a series of essays, in which the causes of » storms are stated, agreeably to my view of this important branch | : « ‘meteorology. Arr. XIIL—On the Silurian System, with a oaks 2S the Strata and Ch varacteristic Fossils ; 2 'T. A. Conra Tur geological structure of thet Ti tory ginning to be fairly understood, througt State geologists. We no longer confine rarer to fife, eum, te | of transition and grauwacke, but are aware that many distinct for.” . mations have been so designated. Prof, Eaton has long since given names to some of these, which have been found useful, and would > have been much more so, had the fossils b collected in suflic ient og N | numbers, and with great care to preserve their stratigraphical lations. But this is a work of time and labor, and could a expected of an individual who had other. duties to perform,-and at a period when the transition with i its beautiful fossils, and other most interesting history were almost wholly neglected even iD Europe? Taking a glance at the geology of the United States, -we find the Silurian system of Murchison spread over the greater portion of New York, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and terminating on the south in the mountainous or rather hilly region of North Alabama. In the vicinity of Florence and Tus cumbia we find the Oriskany sandstone, (as designated in the New York reports,) a rock very easily recognized by its casts and im pressions of large brachiopodous bivalves, quite unlike, as a group, to any fossils above or below them. In Europe, a rock termed old red sandstone separates the Silurian from the carboniferous sy5 tems, and fortunately I have detected the same rock, and with its at 4 On the Silurian System. 87 characteristic fossil, the scales of a fish termed Holoptychus no- bilissimus, figured in Murchison’s work on the Silurian system. This rock not only holds precisely the same place between the coal and the Silurian rocks, and contains the same characteristic fossil, but is the same in color and. mineral character, as the old. ted sandstone of England. — It occurs on the rail-road near Bloss- burg, Tioga county, sak tere whence I received.a fine speci- ~-men last spring. The carboniferous system is also well devel- — F - oped i In this country, but the mountain limestone is rare and in’ thin depositions generally. 'The fossils, however, are othe Pee and well characterized in the shales and ironstone nodul e Next succeeding formation or system, the new red sandstone, is very limited, cage above it we find no trace of that interesting Series of rock, the oolites, lias, wealden, &c., but the cretaceous rocks are widely distributed. Finally, the tertiary formations, Corresponding to the eocene, and older and newer pliocene, stretch along nearly the w eae the seaboard. I have lately ascertained that the eocene or wer tertiary occurs in the bluff at Natchez, Mississippi. = top of the eries, have k found to: correspond with those ‘ , ar ble m: ‘emains now to determine “hed ; far the ‘subdivisions of the Eng- e lish and “Amérienty "Sian roe can 65 detimnined. As I have | lately examined the splendid. work of Murchison with this view, is may be interesting to geologists to learn the result, although it is necessarily: as yet but an imperfect view of this important sub- ject. Beginning, therefore, with the Llandeilo flags, I will ob- serve that this formation in the New York geological reports was compared to the Trenton limestone, but since the examination of ‘8 Murchison’s work I find that the Llandeilo rocks are charaoteri-_ zed by two species of trilobites which are extremely rare in this country, and although they occur in the Trenton limestone, I cannot but consider them as evidence that the Llandeilo roc have been thinly deposited and subsequently swept away. Caradoc Sandstone. appears to correspond with the celebrated limestone of hte Falls, known by the name of Trenton limestone, which occurs in many places in the northeastern portion of New York and in Canada, and passing under the upper Silurian rocks, reap- * * 88 1 On the Silurian System. pears at | Cincinnati, Columbus, and other places in Ohio, and ter- minates on the southin Tennessee. It occurs at Bedford Springs and other localities in Pennsylvania. It is a singular fact, and may be the means of lessening the faith of some geologists in the value of organic remains, that the well known trilobite, Calymene Blumenbachii is not known to occur in the Caradoc sandstone, but is here characteristic of the Trenton limestone. But we re- gard groups, not a single species, in comparing rocks of distant. : localities, and it will be found that such discrepancies occur in other-formations without ever being in amount suflicient to create confusion and prevent comparison. ‘There is one fossil figured by Murchison as a Caradoc species, which here lies immediately below the Wenlock shale. This arrangement would embrace Salmon river sandstones and shales and the Niagara sandstones, that the Salmon river rocks'are wanting in Wales, and the Niag- ara sandstone very rarely present, which brings the Pentamerus — rock in contact with the Caradoe sandstone. Traces of of the Niag- ara sandstone in Wales may be recognized by the occurrence of Agnostus latus, (nob.) and Planorbis trilobatus, (Bellerophron, Sow.) which belong exclusively to this formation. It is remark-_ able that the Caradoc rocks should consist of sandstone in Wales, © whilst the Trenton limestone and slate form so prominent a fea ture of the series in this country. Had it been otherwise, a more extended correspondence would probably have occurred between the fossil groups on each side of the Atlantic. Wenlock Shale. This formation is clearly identified with the shale of Rocha ter, (calciferous slate, Eaton.) It contains in considerable abun- dance, the Asaphus limulurus, Green, (A. longicaudatus, Murch.) two very distinct formations, 1 in the same Mivision, whence I infer i _ Trimerus delphinocephalus, so common in this shale, is said t0 occur in the Wenlock limestone, but to characterize the Ludlow formation in Wales, whilst here it has never been found above the Rochester shale ; it is, therefore, a curious instance of a spe- cies having been preserved in one region after it had been de- so he in another, like the Calymene Blumenbachii. Wenlock Limestone. This is represented by a series of limestones admirably devel — in the Helderberg mountain, of which I have noticed si%; 5p t On the Silurian System. os 89 distinguished by different groups of organic remains. _ They pro- bably occupy more surface throughout the Union fis ay sa epee rocks. ’ ei Ludlow Rocks. These have not yet been subdivided; and they can only in a _ general way be compared with Murchison’s group. The organic ‘Temains are in great numbers and variety, and are very unlike _ those of the lower Silurian rocks. The following table is given in order to correct some errors in - that published in the New York reports, and to show the relative ristic position of certain fossils which may be regarded as characte; Species. Though the table is necessarily incomplete, great care” has been taken to render i it correct as far as it goes, and I trust it will be found to convey.a novel view of the wonderful variety of Strata, each with its M see organic remains, which compose the Silurian syaieae ee - OLD RED SYSTEM. ae Characteristic Fossils. 4 rod randstone, ptyehius noblisimus. a =e Pay SILURIAN SYSTEM. - Formations. . Characteristic Fossils. Dipleura Dekayi, Crypheus Greenii, Pterinea fas-) © 22. Sandstoneand shales |} ciculata, Cyrtoceras maximum, C. gig ganteum, Or- S. of Cazenovia, &c. this orbieulatus, Orthoceras pyriforme, and man g aa unnamed bivalves. ; _ 21. Shales of Moscow ¢ Atrypa aspera, A. concentrica, Delthyris granulosa, | 2 _ and Lake Erie, Crypheus calliteles. iy 20, Onondagalimestone, § 7 ; Atrypa nasuta, I Delthyris, two species, (new,) Asaph- 19. Oriskany sandstone, | a slongetty Delthyris arenosa; other large. bi- | 2 18. Sandstone of Clarks- § A larg e © Orthoveras, Pterinea, (bilobite,) Calymene ville, Helderb “ 3 ille, Helderberg, pla Ps 17. Limestone of Clarks- S. mas tubifer. S 16, Ristibons tag me per pe a 15. Blue limestone, Delthyris, (ne = 14, Shal li Trilobites, (wo new genera,) Delthyris macropleu- 3 ata phat tae ra, Pileopsis? (yen ntricore ae (ip se (two spe- = reek, cies,) Sirophomtae costellat 2 as 2 Fete lime- § Pentamerus (Atrypa) galeatus, Atrypa lacunosa. fap reneged ramos Delthris, (new,) Orthis, 12. va limestone, (new,) Vv s univalves unnamed, Cytherina, a large soinieis Vol. xxxviuz, No. 1.—Oct—Dec. 1839. 12 = a - ¥ » - > o- . On thie Siturian System. 11.G shal iter ip = ypseous shales, e vemifigg. Tae 5 3 10. Lockport limestone, Catenpors, (ne Ey ‘ asthe Rantings Platynotus,’ ae a a5 9. ee —— cephalus, Orthis slogans Strophomena ge — 3, -% 5 z eS IstPentamers sthite- { Pe ntan en TeGreen Mato and iron Agnaiear: iy Sep corrugata, Tentacu- 2 : ore, | lites parvus. 4 . Be Top. stratum. Dictuolites Bec 8 Niagara tone, 2 Fucoides Harlot Tin cornea, a : a aileucbubinaarives, } Pterinea carinata, Cyrtolites ornatus. Be ae Black sl Triarthrus Beckii, Graptolites or Fucoides dentatus. 3 oe Mes Oe ea this testudinaria, O. callactis, Strophomena seri- | 9 _. “*) Trenton limestone,<~ cea, eltoidea, Calymene Blumenbachii, C. mi- .* cropleura, Cryptolithus, Isotelus ‘ =. 3. Sparry limestone, Fucoides demissus. ’ _ » 2. Mohawk limestone, Orthostoma communis : 3 ¥ ze 1g ee ore Eaig- } Lingula cuneata. Hudson sla tes, Graptolites, (Fucoides serra.) Species common to the Sierten rocks of Wales and the Unitet tates. — ~ = LUDLOW ROCKS. Shells. Cyrtoceras ls giganteum, ift be « Bellerophron eat ee Orthis orbicularis. = %" WENLOCK LIMESTONE aes é S. Corals. " Trilobites. ea ceratites, Tentaculites annulatus, Calymene Galo... anthoides, Strophomena euglypha, (C. m * British Association for the Advancement of Science. 103 — valleys, froma one nearly 14,000 feet high to one of 3,000 feet. The diurnal variations of temperature on mountain heights, he found to be small, rarely more than 12°, and sometimes only 4° or 5° ; while in the valleys they were very great, so that com- monly the minimum of the night was 30° and sometimes 40° - below the maximum of the day. The hygrometric condition of the.air corroborated certain of Prof. Daniell’s views. The medi- cal application of these inquiries had induced Mr. J. to publish an essay, to show among other points, that a removal of a consider- able portion of the atmospheric pressure from the surface of the human body, must conduce_to the restoration of the function of the skin, when exhausted by excess of duty in a tropical climate, and sympathy with a debilitated liver. Col. Sykes offered some statements on Certain Meteorological phenomena in the Ghats of Western India. The correctness of the assertion of the annual fall of many feet of rain in certain localities of India, having been doubted by many persons, Col. 8. had procured the official meteorological records for 1834, kept by order of the government of Bombay, at the convalescent station of Mahabuleshwar. The observations were taken by Dr. Murray, the medical officer in charge at that station. The place is in N. lat. 17° 58’ 53”, E. long. 73° 29 50”, near the western scarp of the Ghats, or mountain chain extending from Surat to Cape Com- Orin. Its elevation is about 4,500 feet. The temperature of a Spring is 65.5° FI’, and the mean temperature of the air is nearly the same. There is some forest along the Ghats, but in belts and patches, so that the wood can have little meteorological effect. From the tables it appears, that the mean temperature of 1834 Was 67.3° F.; that of the hottest month (April,) 74.4°; that of the coldest month, (Dec.) 62.3°. The fall of rain was pro- digious, amounting to 25 feet 2 inches; and this enormous mass _ of water fell almost entirely in the months of June, July, August and September. The excessive fall of rain seems not incompat- ible with health, for the military detachment stationed at Maha- buleshwar is not characterized by any unusual sickness. Mr. Follet Osler gave an account of the indications of his ane- mometer as observed at Birmingham. He made a detailed state- Ment of the changes of the wind about the 19th of November, 1838, observed at Plymouth and at Birmingham, and concluded With some remarks on the great storm of the 6th and 7th of Jan- Sets : = - + a w wae Si oy é “ ee 104 British Association for the Advancement of Science. uary, 1838, which committed such dreadful ravages in England. A careful analysis of the information I have collected, leads me, (said Mr. O.) to the opinion that this was a small, but violent rota- - tory storm, moving forward at the rate of 30 or 35 miles per hour. The diameter of the rotating portion, I am not prepared to give, nor do I consider it at all certain that it could be ascertained, as it seems likely that the revolutions were not in contact with the earth. The tendency of this eddy, or violent whirling of the air, would of course, be to produce a vacuum in the centre. The air that forms the eddy being constantly thrown off in a slight de- gree spirally upwards, and dispersed on the upper portion of the atmosphere, the effect of this would be, to produce a strong cur- rent upwards. Now, supposing this large eddy to be perfectly stationary, there would be a rapid rush of air towards it from all sides, which would be drawn up and thrown off through this ro- tating circle, and dispersed with amazing rapidity above; but as it is moving on with great velocity, the air that is in the advance of the storm is not sensibly affected until the whirl is close upon it, while in the rear the motion of the air is greatly increased ; first, by the tendency of the air to rush into the great vortex of the storm; and secondly, by the motion onward of the vortex itself. This vortex or revolving column would increase in size upwards, so as somewhat to resemble a funnel ; it would, in fact, be similar in its shape and action to an immense water-spout; whether it was vertical or not is entirely a matter of conjecture, but I should consider it probable that it would incline in the direc- tion that the storm was moving, namely, to the N. E., and that it was an upper current that carried it in that dinedtione The greatest intensity of the storm in England was evidently across Lancashire and Yorkshire. I therefore conceive that the nucleus of the hurricane passed in a N. E. direction over these two coun- ties. ‘Towards the sides, however, a little current set in a S.and even slightly in a S. E. direction, on the S. side of the vortex; and in a N. W. and W. direction on the N. side, as before stated; but the main rush is behind. Our anemometer shows that we first felt a fresh S. wind with a slight bearing of E. in it, which very tly became more mg eee donddieinsia: in vio- lence, It then move nd e S. W. and became quite a hurricane, and contint ee a at first, but decreasing in = Peg aa . te . ' + + aeingurennn)- a. ee a a a a — Be Ps ee ee ia am a eS ve ap ie * is = a mt ee ey a i the barometer and thermometer. The following general results_ a were mentioned. The mean height of the barometer at the Ply- ~ * ~ .mouth dock-yard, 60 feet above sea level, at 60° F. was from aa ws latest results, 29.8967 in. It occurred in the mean .* gression four times in the day, viz. at 2h. 20m. and Sh. 10m. A. M.; and at 12h. 30m. and 6h. 15m. P. M., at which times the | Waves crossed the mean pressure line. The hours of greatest pressure were 10 A. M. and 9 P. M.—of least pressure, 5 A. M. and 3 P.M. With reference to the inflwence of the moon on the barometer, Mr. H. had reduced about 4000 of the observations, so as to show the pressure for the time of the moon’s southing, i and for each hour. before and after; but he could not discover — any differences which could be supposed to arise from ss influence. ~ Dr. Andrew Ure described a new Calaritheter, by hich the heat disengaged in combustion may be exactly measured, and he gave, also, some introductory remarks on the nature of different coals. In these researches, which are still in progress, the first. “ge determination sought is the proportion of volatile and fixed mat- ~~ ter afforded by any kind of fuel. This shows how far the coal . is a flaming or gas coal, and what quantity of coke it can pro- _ duce. The second point to be determined is the amount of sul-_ phur contained in the coals, a matter of great importance, as as Te- gards their domestic use, their employment by the iron master . and the manufacturer of gas. _Dr. Ure’s future researches are in- tended to embrace every variety of fuel, pet the results will doubtless be highly important. Prof. Stevelly corminailibatod bis method of filling a tatomeer 2 without the aid of an air-pump ; and of obtaining an invariable level of the surface of the mercury in the cistern. He heated the mercury as hot as it could be used, and filled the tube in the “f a > a > al « a * +a ~ A Re e. | 110 British Association for the Advancement of Science. " common mode, to within half an inch of the top; then worked out, | in the usual way, all air bubbles as perfectly as possible ; filled : up the tube to the top and inverted it ina cup of hot mercury, | when it, of course, subsided in the upper part of the tube to the barometric height ; he then placed his finger on the mouth of the tube under the mercury in the cup, and lifted it out; and still “holding his finger tightly over the mouth of the tube, laid it flat on a table, when the mercury in the tube soon lay at the under side of the tube, leaving void the upper part along the lengthof = the tube. On turning the table slowly round, still keeping the : finger on its mouth, every particle of air was gathered up. He then placed the tube upright, with its mouth upwards, and pla - _cing a funnel of clean dry paper about the upper part, an assis- tant filled the funnel slowly with hot mercury, so as to cover the fingers. On slowly withdrawing the finger, the mercury went gently in, and almost perfectly the atmospheric air which had gathered into the void space. By renewing the pro- cess which succeeded the previous washing of the air out of the | _ tube, once or twice, a column of the utmost brilliancy was ob- ined. Dr. Robinson suggested the substitution of a piece of caoutchouc for the finger in this process, and it was found a de- cided advantage. ‘The method of procuring an invariable sur- face in the cistern was equally simple. He proposed to divide the cistern into two compartments, by a diaphragm of sheet iron or glass brought to a sharp edge at top. Into one of these com- _ partments the tube dips ; in the other-is placed a plunger of glass a) or cast iron, which can be raised or lowered by a slow screw JB movement. To prepare for observation, the plunger is first’ | - screwed down, by which it displaces the mercury in one com- | partment, and raises its surface in the other above the edge of | the diaphragm ; on raising it slowly again, the mercury drains off to the level of the edge of the diaphragm; thus at every obsel- | vation, reducing the surface to a fixed level. | The following letter was communicated from Sir John Her- schel, containing a most interesting communication respecting the action of the dissevered rays of light in the solar spectrum. - ee “i e My Dear oe Siem I take the liberty of requesting that yos | British Association for the Adoancement of Science. 111 Spectrum, which I have been led to notice in 1 the prosecution of my inquiries into the action of the spectrum on paper, rendered Sensitive to the chemical rays by Mr. Talbot’s process, or by others of my own devising. The property in question is this:—that the extreme red rays, (such, I mean, as are insulated from the rest of the spectrum by a dark blue plac colored by cobalt, and which are not seen in the’ — Spectrum unless the eye be dalenhed by such a glass from the glare of the other colors,) not only have no tendency to darken the prepared paper, but actually exert a contrary influence, and preserve the whiteness of paper on which they are received, when exposed at the same time to the action of a dispersed light sufficient of itself to produce a considerable impression. I have long suspected this to be the case, from phenomena observed in taking photographic copies of engravings; but having at length obtained demonstrative evidence of the fact, I think this may hot be an improper opportunity to announce it. When a slip of sensitive paper is exposed to a highly concen- trated spectrum, a picture of it is rapidly impressed on the paper, hot merely in back, but in colors, a fact which I ascertained nearly two months ago, and which observation of mine seems to have been alluded to (though in terms somewhat equivocal) by. M. Arago, in his account of Daguerre’s process. In order to un- derstand what follows, it will be necessary to describe the colors so depicted. The red is tolerably vivid, but is rather of a brick color than of a pure prismatic red ; and what is remarkable, its termination falls materially short of ‘the visible termination of the. * “Spectrum. The green is of a sombre, metallic hue ; the blue still more so, and rapidly passing into blackness. The yellow is deficient. The whole length of the chemical spectrum is not far short of double that of the luminous one, and at its more re- frangible end a slight ruddy or pinkish hue begins to appear. ‘The place of the extreme red, however, is marked by no color, thus ~ justifying so far the expression which M. Arago is reported to » have used in speaking of my experiments, “Le rayon rouge est Seul sans action.” It is impossible in this climate to form a brilliant and condensed Spectrum without a good deal of dispersed light in its confines ; ~~. and this light, if the exposure of the paper be prolonged, acts, of . Course, on every part of its surface.- The colored picture in fornied, a? * bd 112 Retiah Association Jor the Advancement of Science. therefore, ona grind not purely white, but rendered dusky over its whole extent, with one remarkable exception, viz. in that spot where the extreme red rays fall, the whiteness of which is pre- served, an d- becomes gradually more and more strikingly apparent the ictal Mxposirre and the greater the consequent general darkening of the paper. - The above is not the only singular property possessed by the extreme red rays. Their action on paper already discolored by the other rays is still more curious and extraordinary. When the spectrum is received on paper already discolored slightly by the violet and blue rays only, they produce, not a white, but ared impression, which, however, I am disposed to regard as only the commencement of a process of discoloration, which would be complete if prolonged sufficiently. For I have found that if in- stead of using a prism, a strong sunshine is transmitted through a combination of glasses carefully prepared, so as to transmit ab- solutely no ray but that definite red at the extreme of refrangi- bility, a paper previously darkened by exposure under a green glass has its color heightened from a sombre neutral tint to a bright red ; and a specimen of paper rendered almost completely black by exposure to daylight, when exposed for some time under the same glass, assumed a rich purple hue, the rationale of which effect I am disposed to believe consists in a very slow and grad- ual destruction, or stripping off as it were, of layers of color de- posited or generated by the other rays, the action being quicker on the tints produced by the more refrangible rays in props , to their refrangibilities. ; It seems to me evident that a vast field is thus opened to farsi ther inquiries. A deoxydizing power has been attributed to the red rays of the spectrum, on the strength of the curious expeti- ments of Wollaston on the discoloration of tincture of guaiacum, which ought to be repeated ; but in the sensitive papers, and still more in Daguerre’s marvellous ioduretted silver, we have re-agents so delicate and manageable, that every thing may be expected from their application. J. F. W. Herscue. Slough, August 28, 1839. On the effects of — in three of Her Majesty’s ships, bY Mr. Snow Harris. Mr. H. showed from the facts which he hae _ _ collected; that were the masts of ships made perfectly good con- - British Association for the Advancement os if 113 ductors of electricity, and freely connected ef “efficient % 1 tors with the sea, the electrical agency would have an ‘unli and easy source of diffusion in all directions, and hence the ship would be safe from the moment the flash struck the mast head. _ From his inquiries it appeared that in 100 cases of. ships in the British Navy struck by lightning, the number struck on the main-mast were to those struck on the fore-mast as 2: 1; to those struck on the mizen-mast, as 10: 1; to those struck on the bow- sprit, as 50: 1. About one ship in six is set on fire in some part of the hull, sails or rigging. In one half the cases some of the crew were either killed or wounded. In the 100 cases alluded to, 62 seamen were killed, and about 114 wounded. These are exclusive of one case of a frigate, in which nearly all the crew perished, and of 12 eases in which the numbers killed or wound-— _ ed were set down in the accounts given as several or many. In these 100 cases, there were damaged or destroyed 93 lower masts, principally of line-of-battle ships and frigates, 83 top- masts, and 60 topgallant-masts. A notice was read, from Dr. Robinson, on the determination of the are of longitude between the observatories of Armagh and Dublin. In September, 1838, Mr. Dent, by means of twelve chronometers, determined the longitude of Dublin to be +-25m. 21.08s., longitude of Armagh +26m. 35.44s. Subsequently, by means of rocket-signals, Dr. R. found the difference between Armagh and Dublin to be Im. 14.258s. or .1s. less than the chro- _ fometrical determination. ss -_ ~ The Longitude of New York City Hali was determined by — Mr. E. J. Dent, by means of chronometers sent out by the British Queen, in July, 1839, to be +4h. 56m. 3.55s. which va- ties less than 3s. from the previously received determination. (See this Journal, vol. xxxvii, p. 400. Prof. Whewell made some remarks on Dr. Wollaston’s argu- ment on the question of the infinite divisibility of matter, drawn from the finite extent of the atmosphere. Dr. W. imagined that if the extent of the earth’s atmosphere be finite, air must consist of indivisible atoms, since he assumed that the only way in Which we can conceive an upper surface of the atmosphere, is by Supposing an upper stratum of atoms, the weight of which, acting downwards, is balanced by the repulsive force of the in- ferior strata acting upwards. Prof. W. contended that such a» Vol. xxxvint, No. 1.—Oct.-Dec. 1839. 15 _ Fal _ Prof. Graham, President of the Section, opened the meeting % 114 British Association for the Advancement of Science. mode of conception was arbitrary, and the argument founded upon it, baseless; for if we investigate the relation between the height of any point in the atmosphere, and the density of the air at that point, on the supposition that the compressing force is as the nth power of the density, we find that the density vanishes ‘at a finite height whenever m is greater than unity. Therefore, though the atmosphere do not consist of indivisible particles, it will still have a finite surface. In fact, the finite surface of the Z atmosphere no more proves the atomic constitution of air, than ‘the finite surface of water, ina vessel, proves the atomic constitu- tion of water. Section B. Chemistry and Mineralogy. ‘ with some observations on the recent progress of chemistry, which, in his view, is advancing with unprecedented rapidity, both in its theory and its applications. ‘The organic department is the most productive, and at present engrosses the attention of chemists. In this department he would allude to what ‘seemed to him its two great features. 1. The happy generalization of Dumas,—the law of substitutions, which had been the clue to s0 _ many discoveries. He first applied it to the action of chlorine upon organic compounds, finding that when chlorine acts upon those bodies, for every atom of hydrogen abstracted in the form of frydrochiotiv acid, an atom of chlorine is left in its place. The same doctrine has been successfully applied to the action of oxy-~ gen and other elements on the same bodies. Thus, in the oxi dation of alcohol in the acetous fermentation, hydrogen is with- drawn in the form of water, by combining with oxygen, and at the same time the hydrogen is replaced by an exactly equivalent quantity of oxygen. The same law led M. Dumas to his most recent discovery, that of chloro-acetic acid,—an acetic acid, in which chlorine is substituted for oxygen. One of the most in- teresting applications of this doctrine is that by M. Regnault, in elucidating the history of the chlorides of carbon. For the orig- inal discovery of these compounds we are indebted to Mr. Fara day. One of them which contains its two elements in the ratio of ae a has been named the protochloride of carbon. What is its real nature? M. Regnault has traced it through v® » Hotiesomnyatay all produced by the action of chlorine on ole ree oe "alee British Association for the Advancement of Science. 115 fiant gas, by the abstraction of more and more hydrogen, and the substitution of a corresponding quantity of chlorine, till the whole four atoms of hydrogen of the olefiant gas are replaced by chlo- rine. This view, which represents the protochloride of carbon as consisting of Sous atoms of carbon and four of chlorine ; or ole- fiant gas with its hydrogen replaced by chlorine, is consistelih with the observed density of its vapor. Olefiant gas, also, has the four atoms of carbon belonging to aleohol from which it was - formed, so that the protochloride of carbon has the carbon of alcohol from which it was primarily derived, and thus preserves, after numerous mutations, the most distinct traces of its ee 2. The binary theory of the constitution of bodies, advocated by Liebig. This is the theoretical resolution of bodies, ap the most complex, into not more than two proximate constituents, ~ one of which, also, is generally a simple substance. There can ~ be no doubt that compound radicals will be the basis of the clas- sification of organic compounds, and that thus the same sim- plicity of arrangement will be introduced into organic compounds, as how exists in the metallic combinations of inorganic chemistry. A communication was read from Prof. Hare, of Philadelphia, on the preparation of barium, strontium and calcium. By means of the alternate action of two deflagrators, each of 100 pairs, _ containing more than 100 square inches of zinc surface, assisted _by refrigeration, Dr. H. has procured amalgams of these metals ~ from their chlorides, and by distillation in an iron crucible, in- ~ cluded in an air-tight alembic of the same metal, has extricated them from their mercurial solvent. (For full daseiie see this Journal, vol. xxxvii, p. 267.) Mr. Coathupe, of Bristol, described an improved method of graduating glass tubes for eudiometrical purposes; and also ex- hibited an apparatus for determining the amount of carbonic aeid in the atmosphere. The Baron Eugene Du Mesnil gave a description of a safety lamp invented by him in 1834. It consists of a body of flint- glass, defended by a dozen of iron bars. The air is admitted by two conical tubes, inserted at the bottom, which are capped with Wire-gauze, and enter by the side of the flame. The latter rises into a chimney, which has a piece of metal placed in the form of an arch over its top; the chimney being quite open. In conse- quence of this construction, a strong current is constantly passing . a eh ex &. Bie na +. ¢ x 116 British Association for the Advancement of Science. up the chimney. When carburetted hydrogen passes in, the fact is discovered by numerous small explosions, and the whole glass work is thrown into vibrations which emit a loud and shrill sound, audible at a great distance. On a small Voltaic battery of extraordinary energy by W. R. Grove, Esq. In a letter published in the Philos. Mag. Feb. 1839, I stated, (said the author,) some reasons for hoping that by changes in the constituents of voltaic combinations of four ele- ments, we might greatly increase their energy. . At that period I sought in vain for improvements, which a fair induction convin- ced me were attainable; but being in the country, all my experi- ments were with copper as a negative metal. I was constantly _ unable to use concentrated nitric acid as an electrolyte, and its importance never occurred to me until forced upon my notice by an experiment which I made at Paris for a different object. This was an endeavor to prove the dissolution of gold in nitro-muriatie acid to be an electrical phenomenon ; or rather, that this (and, as I believe with Sir H. Davy, every other chemical phenomenon, ) could be resolved into an electrical one by operating on masses instead of molecules. 'The experiment was this: the extremities of two strips of gold leaf were immersed, the one in nitric, the other in muriatic acid ; contact between the liquids being permit ted, but mixture prevented, by an interposed porous diaphragm. In this case, the gold remained undissolved for an indefinite period, but the circuit being completed by metallic contact, either medi- ate or immediate, the strip of gold in the muriatic acid was in- stantly dissolved. 'Thus, “it seems, that the affinity of gold for chlorine is not able alone to decompose muriatic acid; but when it is aided by that of oxygen for hydrogen, the decomposition 1s effected. The phenomenon bears much analogy to ordinary cases of double decomposition. 'The two gold strips in the ex periment being connected with a galvanometer, occasioned @ considerable deflexion ; and it now occurred to me, coupling this experiment with my previous observations, that these same liquids, with the substitution of zinc and platinum for the gold leaf, would produce a combination of surpassing energy. My expectations were fully realized ; and on the 15th of April, M. Becquerel pre- sented to the fasieate a small battery of my construction, consist- ing of seven liqueur glasses, containing the bowls of common aie ise metals zinc and platinum, and the electrolytes 2 * ‘ " British Association for the Advancement of Science. 117 concentrated nitric and dilute muriatic acids. This little apparatus produced effects of decomposition equal to the most powerful bat- teries of the old construction. Dilute nitric acid diminishes the energy ; nitro-sulphuric acid acted as an electrolyte much as ni- tric acid; it is an excellent conductor, yielding oxygen at the anode, and hydrogen at the cathode. Applying this to my bat- tery, I found it to succeed admirably, and hence a considerable diminution of expense on the side of the zine; and I also found salt and water nearly equal to dilute muriatic acid. By using flattened parallelopiped-shaped vessels, the concentrated acid is much economized and the metals approximated. * * The ration- ale of the action of this combination, according to the chemical. _ theory of galvanism, appears to be this. In the common zi and copper combination, the resulting power is as the affinity the anion of the electrolyte for zinc, minus its affinity for copper ; in the common constant battery it is as the affinity of the anion for zinc, plus that of oxygen for hydrogen, minus that of hydrogen for copper. In the combination in question, the resulting power is as the affinity of the anion for zinc, plus that of oxygen for hydrogen, minus that of oxygen for azote. Nitric acid being much more readily decomposed than sulphate of copper, resistance _ is lessened and the power increased ; and no hydrogen being evol- ved from the negative metal, there is no precipitation upon it, and consequently no counter-action. Ineed scarcely add a word as to the importance of improvements of this description in the vol- taic battery. This valuable instrument of chemical research is thus made portable, and by increased power in diminished space, its adaptation to mechanical, especially to locomotive purposes, becomes more feasible. Prof. Graham remarked on the theory of the Voltaic Cirele. He first explained the received views of the propagation of electrical induction through the fluid and solid elements of the voltaic cir- cle, by the formation of chains of polar molecules, each of which has a positive and a negative-side, and in which no circulation of the electricities is supposed, but merely their displacement and separation from each other in the polar molecule. These electricities in the polar molecule of hydrochloric acid, for in- stance, are displaced, when the acid acts as an exciting fluid, and the positive electricity located in the chlorine atom, and the nega- tive electricity in the hydrogen atom. These electricities are at 118 British Association for the Advancement of Science. the same time, made the depositories of the chemical affinities of the chlorine and hydrogen respectively. Mr. G. proposed to modify this theory so far as to abandon the idea of electricities being actually possessed by these bodies, and to refer the phe- nomena at once to the proper chemical affinities of these bodies. He assigned similarly polar molecules to the exciting fluid and metals ; and taking hydrochloric acid as a type of exciting fluids, he gave to each molecule a pole, having an affinity resembling - that of chlorine, or chlorous affinity,—of negative electricity ; and another pole, having’an affinity resembling that of zinc and hy- drogen, or zincous affinity, instead of positive electricity. He pursued the subject to a considerable length, illustrating his views by means of diagrams. Dr. George Wilson gave an experimental demonstration of the certain existence of haloid salts in solution. All previous attempts to decide the question whether haloid salts do or do not decom- | pose water, when dissolved in it, have afforded no certain results. , The object of this paper is to show, that although the inquiry had long been abandoned as hopeless, a demonstration can given of the persistent haloid condition of the dissolved haloid salts of the electro-negative metals. This the author appears to have satisfactorily demonstrated. It is mentioned as an inciden- ~~ tal conclusion from the experiments recorded, that they aflord @ direct proof of the quasi-metallic character of hydrogen, so much insisted on by the advocates of the binary theory of salts; and that they supplied ‘more direct evidence than any previous trials regarding this, since they not only demonstrate hydrogen to have the power of displacing many metals, but at the same time assigt to it, as its proper place in its metallic character, a position inte!- mediate between the electro-positive and electro-negative metals. A paper was offered by Dr. 8. Brown on the Crystallization of Carburets ; having for its object to lay down a new form of the maxim of crystallization, viz. that when particles of a solid body are slowly evolved from ‘the decomposition of a substance of which it, or its elements, are chemical constituents, they cohere in crystal, and that independently both of the fusion (or solution) of the body crystallized, and of the presence of any fluid medium of molecular action whatsoever. Dr. B. had obtained small ery> tals, colorless and intensely hard, of the carburets of iron, coppe!s zine, lead, &e. : Es mee CO ’ ad . -—~ British Association for the Advancement of Science. 119 Dr. Clark read a paper on the limits within which the equivalent weights of elementary bodies have been ascertained. As the re- sult of various researches, Dr. C. stated the following equivalents : Lead, Least, 1292.65 Greatest, 1293.89 Mean, 1293.27 A Sulphur, “ 199.45 “200.77 « 200.09 Azote, «175.42 “177.20 “176.31 Carbon, 75.28 «75.92 “ 75.60 Dr. R. D. Thomson read an essay on the proofs of the eristence — of free muriatic acid in the stomach during digestion. He offered Various reasons for doubting the certainty of the conclusion that muriatic acid thus exists, but that as the experiments which he had instituted in regard to the subject were not completed, he brought them forward at this time chiefly to show the necessity of further investigation. Mr. Benson presented a paper on the theory of the formation of White Lead. He stated that white lead made from litharge, (protoxide of lead,) was rejected by painters. It is found that prepared in this way it is crystalline and partly transparent, whereas the ordinary white lead is amorphous and opake. It is found that in order to obtain the amorphous carbonate (or white lead) from litharge the latter must be supplied with a very minute -. portion of acetic acid. Prof. Schénbein of Basle proposed a new theory of the galvani- zation of metals. 'The discovery of the chemical power of the Voltaic pile, made at the beginning of the present century by British philosophers, drew the attention of the scientific world to the relations between chemical and electrical phenomena. In- deed, only a few years after this important fact had been ascer- tained, Davy and Berzelius did not hesitate to assert the theory, since generally adopted,—viz. that chemical and electrical forces are essentially the same. Prof. S. enumerates the results of sev- eral recent experiments which he considers as invalidating this theory. From these results he infers—1st. That neither common hor voltaic electricity is capable of changing the chemical bear- ings of any body, and that the principles of the electro-chemical theory, as laid down by Davy and Berzelius, are fallacious. 2d. e change which certain metallic bodies, when placed under the influence of a current, seem to undergo with regard to their chemical sia is due to the production of some substance or 120 British Association for the Advancement of Science. other, and its deposition upon those bodies by the agency of a current of electricity. 3d. The condition, sine gud non, for effi- caciously protecting readily-oxidizable metals against the action of free oxygen dissolved in fluids, is to arrange a closed voltaic circle, which is made up on one side, of the metal to be protected, and another metallic body more readily oxidizable than the for- mer, and on the other side, of an electrolyte containing hydrogen, as water. Prof. Shepard, of the Medical College of the State of South Carolina, gave an account of the analysis of a meteorite, in which he had detected chlorine and silicon. On the composition of Idocrase, by Mr. T. Richardson. Mr. R. remarked that many of the formule of minerals are very incorrect representations of their constitution. Idocrase in this respect is greatly confused, and with the view of endeavoring to remove the discrepancies, Mr . R. made with great care the fol- lowing analysis of specimens from the cabinet of Mr. Hutton. ‘No. 1 is Idocrase from Egg, in Norway. 2. Idocrase from Slatoush in Siberia. 3. Idocrase from Piedmont. 4. Vesuvian from Monte Somma. 5. Egerane from Eger, in Bohemia. 1. 2. 3. 4, 5. Silica, 38.75 37.45 39.25 37.90 38.40 "3 Alumina, 17.35 18.85 17:30. <1840- -1846> Protox. Iron, 8.10 7.75 7.62 489: ...7.40 - * Protox. — #3 trace 3.50 vs trace Lime, 33.60 35.25 32.25 3469 33.09 Magnesia, 1.50 1.35 Az. 3.23 3.02 99.30. 100.35 100.30 98.86 . 100.06 From these results it appears that Idocrase may be represented by the formula, 7/FO, MO, CaO, MgO), SiO,+5Al, O, Si0,- — r. Ure gave a summary of his experiments on fer mentation, from which among other results it is found that without the ad- dition of yeast, much alcohol is generated in ous worts at an early period of the process of malting. oe Prof. Reich communicated his researches on the electrical cur rents in n metalliferous veins made in the mine Himmelsfurst, near g. Phenomena of this-sort were first made known by firmed by the observations of fos , se the hydro-electric ac SO ir = il ea een at x British Association for the Advancement of Science. 121 Mr. Exley presented a paper on the relations of atoms in or- ganic compounds, comprising many very ingenious views and speculations, which cannot be well condensed. Dr. Charles Schafhaeutl, of Munich, communicated the results of his inquiries into the peliibee combinations of the constituents of cast iren, steel and malleable iron. Among other things, he showed that the purest carbon contained and retained hydrogen, and sometimes azote, even at the highest temperatures. Pure iron cannot be welded ; the welding power of iron depends on its alloy with the carburet of silicon. Steel as it comes out of the converting furnace or the crucible, is nothing more or less than white cast iron, of which Indian steel, called wootz, is the fairest specimen. Analyses were given of two specimens of cast iron and one of steel. It appears that the peculiarities of Swedish iron, depend in a great degree, on the presence of arse- nic ; and those of Russia iron on the presence of eer Section C. Geology and Geography. Dr. Buckland, the President of the Section, submitted a re- commendation from a Society in Bradford, that the attention of members of Museums in provincial towns should be directed chiefly, if not solely, to the collection of specimens from their own immediate vicinities. | Dr. B. laid before the meeting the last number of M. Agassiz’s work on Fossil Fishes, and spoke of the merits of that gentle- man, who had sacrificed very flattering prospects in mercantile life to a love of science; being content to live almost in poverty, devoting his slender means to the furtherance of his undertaking. M. Agassiz had received pecuniary assistance from the Associa- tion; and to that body as well as to the English subscribers to his work, he was most grateful, for without such aid he must have abandoned the undertaking, so valuable to the scientific world, and especially to geology. Dr. B. stated the importance Of tail fishes to the geologist, their scales being preserved when their skeletons are destroyed ; and made some observations on the. adaptation of the covering of animals to the medium in which they live. He adduced the minute scales of the eel, covered over with mucus, to protect it from the mud,—this mucus pre- Venting the scales from being grated or injured. Vol. ae, No. 1.—Oct.-Dec. 1889... 122 British Association for the Advancement of Science. Mr Lyell read a paper on the Tubular cavities filled with gravel and sand in the Chalk near Norwich. 'The chalk near Norwich is covered with gravel, sand and loam, of variable thickness, much stained with iron, occasional masses of ferruginous sand- stone being interstratified, in which are casts of the shells of the Norwich crag. The shelly crag itself forms here and there part of the same deposit. The outline of the chalk, at its junction with the incumbent gravel, is very irregular. In some places, tubular hollows, having the form of inverted cones, and filled with gravel and sand, are prolonged downwards to variousd epths into the chalk. These cavities vary in width from a few inches to 8 yards and upwards, and in depth from a few feet to more than 60 yards. Some are tortuous, but most of those at Eaton, two miles west of Norwich, are perpendicular. The materials filling the pipes agree precisely with those covering the chalk, with the exception that in the pipes they are unstratified. The pebbles in the gravel consist of rounded flint and quartz ; but no shells or pieces of chalk, or any calcareous substance, occur in the pipes. In general, coarse sand and pebbles occupy the cel- tral parts of each pipe, while the bottom and sides are lined with a fine ferruginous clay, which however is permeable by water. This clay contains no calcareous matter. ‘The chalk, for the distance of several inches, or even sometimes four or five feet from its junction with the sand pipe, is in a moist and softened slate, and contains a slight mixture of fine sand and clay, by which it is somewhat discolored. The chalk, at points more remote from the tubes, is white, pure, and perfectly soluble in acids. The pipes, which do not exceed a foot and a half in di- ameter, are often crossed by horizontal layers of flint nodules, which have remained in situ, while their chalky matrix has been removed. From this circumstance, the author infers that the pipes were due to the corroding action of water containing acid, which could not dissolve flint. But it is clear that the tubes were not first excavated to their present width and depth, and Sy then filled subsequently and at once with gravel, for in that _ case the siliceous nodules would have been found in a heap at the bottom of each large cavity, having been derived from all the intersected layers of flint. This never happens, the larger flints being invariably dispersed irregularly through the gravel and sand which fills the tubes. Mr. L. therefore inferred that * ra, = British Association for the Advancement of Science. 193 the excavation and filling of the pipe proceeded contemporane- ously and gradually, and that the flint nodules, when removed from their chalky matrix, subsided so as to rest upon sand and gravel which had previously sunk. As proving that the contents of the sand pipes came into their present position by slowly. sub- siding, the author mentioned the fact of strata of gravel elsewhere horizontally bending downwards into the mouth of a pipe, so as to become for a short space quite vertical within the pipe. He thought that the tubes, or at least some of the larger and deeper ones, were caused by springs impregnated with carbonic acid, which rose upwards through the chalk. But, afterwards, when these springs ceased, the descent of rain water, percolating the gravel, carried fine particles of sand and clay downwards, and deposited them at the bottom and sides of the tube, at all those points where the water was absorbed by the surrounding chalk. Some of the finer particles being carried into the chalk itself, caused the impurity and discoloration of that rock near the pipes. Mr. De la Beche mentioned that similar appearances are observed in other formations, as in green sand near Charmouth. Dr. Buck- land agreed with Mr. Lyell as to the origin of the clay which _ lines these fissures. 'The gravel which covers the chalk he con- ceives to have been accumulated under salt water; and after the elevation of the strata, so as to become dry land, the clay lining was formed by the downward filtration of atmospheric water, carrying with it the material in solution. He did not agree with Mr. L. in considering these sand pipes as chimneys for the car- bonic acid, as he saw no reason why the acid should come up in One place more than another, and a place serving as a chimney, Should bear the marks of corrosion. Dr. B. concluded by in- Stancing the example of fishes killed by carbonic acid, mentioned . by Dr. Daubeny. In these, the death of the fish was very sud- den, none living above five minutes. In volcanic districts the carbonic acid generated must have had a similar effect, and many Specimens of fossil fish show the animals to have died suddenly, from the perfection of their preservation. He also insisted upon the importance of impressions of foot-marks, of atmospheric and of watery action on the surfaces of rocks, and stated that the Most interesting point now in geology is the examination of those Surfaces as they were exposed in different ages. 124 British Association Jor the Advancement of Science. Mr. De la Beche called the attention of the meeting to the geological map of Cornwall and Devon, which he had made for the Ordnance Survey ; it was universally admitted to be a most beautiful specimen of scientific topography.—Mr. J. E. Marshall exhibited a section across the Silurian rocks in Westmorland, from Shap Granite to Casterton Fell_—Rev. D. Williams read a paper on the rocks of South Devon and Cornwall, which was followed by a communication from Mr. Austen on the fossil re- mains of the limestones and slates of South Devon. Mr. Lyell announced the discovery, in a crag pit at Newbourn, in Suffolk, of the teeth of several species of mammalia. ~ The first of these fossils was determined by Mr. Owen, to be the pos- terior grinder of the lower jaw of the leopard. Mr. Wood, on receiving this intelligence, examined carefully a large collection of teeth from Newbourn, and they were found to belong chiefly to fishes of the genus Lamna ; but among them was one which Mr. Owen has pronounced to be the molar tooth of a bear, and others which belong toa small ruminant. These fossils are all more or less broken, and there is no doubt they were found in the large pit at Newbourn, in which the teeth of fishes are abund- _ ant, in red crag. But, Mr. Lyell remarked, that there are many "vertical fissures extending downwards to the depth of 30 feet and more, through the red crag at Newbourn; these fissures being filled with the detritus of shelly red crag. It is possible therefore, that the mammalian teeth may have been derived from the con- tents of these fissures, and may consequently belong to a qualified epoch, posterior to that of the red crag. Mr. L. however, inclines to the opinion that the teeth of the mammalia and fishes will prove of the same age; because, although the shells of the red crag are almost exclusively marine, yet Mr. Wood has discovered at places distant only a few miles from Newbourn, a fresh-water Amiator, the Planorbis marginatus, and two individuals of @ land shell, Auricula migosotis, imbedded in the marine cfag- The same river, therefore, that conveyed these shells to the se; _ may also have carried down the remains of land quadrupeds. Mr. L. then mentioned the discovery of the teeth of an opossum in the London clay at Kyson, near Woodbridge. ‘This fossil was obtained, together with the teeth of fish, from the upper part of a bed of sand about ten feet thick, which is covered by a mass _ of London clay about 17 feet thick. The clay is again covered, % : ¥ oe ee fee aaa ; 5 Ba: | it * ‘ os British Association for the Advancement of Science. 125 at a short distance from Kyson by the red crag. Mr. Owen, on seeing this tooth, was clear that it could not belong to any of the decidedly carnivorous or herbivorous animals, but rather to some one of the mixed feeders, and having compared it with the teeth of the various tribes of quadrupeds included in that division, from the shrews to the monkeys, he found it to differ essentially from all of them, and he finally decided that it was marsupial, and one of the molars of a Didelphis allied to the Virginia opossum. Mr. L. immediately requested Mr. Wood and Mr. Colchester to renew their search in the same sand at Kyson, and they soon found a jaw and tooth, which Mr. Owen refers to a quadrumanous animal of the genus Macacus. 'The sand containing these remains is referable to the London clay; and this is the first instance of the fossil remains of quadrumana having been found in a deposit of the Eocene period. Cuvier had previously described a Didelphis from the Eocene fresh-water gypsum of the Paris basin. Mr. Lyell remarked, that the occurrence of an Eocene Macacus proved _ that the class most nearly approaching to man in its organization, Was not limited, as some had supposed, to an era immediately antecedent to the creation of the human race. He also adverted i from nega- tive evidence in geology, as we do, where we infer the non-ex- — istence of certain classes of beings, at remote periods, from the mere fact of their fossil remains not having yet been found in ancient strata. r. Bowman exhibited specimens of fossil fishes from Man- chester, and submitted a communication upon them, from Mr. Binney. Scales and teeth of the sauroid fish, Megalicththys, are found in the low coal shales above the millstone grit in the Man- chester coal field, and as far up as the fresh-water limestones of Ardwick. Remains of Diplodus, Ctenoptychus, ——— and Palconiscus are found in greater abundance, though n extensively disseminated. Some are found in a rock soonaail Of the shells of a Cypris and a species of Microconchus, indica- ting a tranquil deposit of the bed as in a lagoon of a tropical climate. Some specimens are found quite close to the coal, but none have as yet been observed iv it. The state of preservation and the position in which the fishes occur, lead to the conclusion, that they have been suddenly destroyed by water highly chargiil with decayed os, cate matter. ~_ * ? 126 British Association for the Advancement of Science. Mr. Strickland mentioned the discovery of an Ichthyosaurus, at Strensham near Tewkesbury, by Mr. Marrett, and also exhib- ited a fossil fish with cycloidal scales from the lias, a fact not agreeing with the hypothesis of Agassiz. Dr. Wilde made a communication on ancient Tyre, and gave many interesting statements concerning the celebrated Tyrian ye. Mr. Bowman read a paper on some skeletons of fossil vegetables, found by Mr. Binney, in the shape of a white impalpable powder, under a peat-bog near Gainsborough, occupying a stratum four to six inches in thickness, and covering an area of several acres. It" appeared to be pure silica.. On examination with high magnifiers, — the powder was found to consist of a mass of transparent squares and parallelograms of different relative proportions, whose edges were perfectly sharp and smooth, and often traced with delicate _ parallel lines. On comparing these with the forms of some eX- isting Confervee, Mr. B. found the resemblance so strong, that he had no doubt they were the fragments of parasitical plants of that order, either identical with, or nearly allied to, the tribe Dzato- macee which grow abundantly on the other Alge. Mr. Murchison exhibited a geological map of Europe, colored by Von Dechen, and the first part of a work on Petrifactions, col- lected by Humboldt in South America. The latter work has led to some important conclusions ;—no odlitic or jurassic strata seem _ to exist in South America (or perhaps even in North America;) _ but there is a large development of the tertiary series, and a still _ larger of cretaceous, in the southern continent. Specimens of + Silurian fossils had been brought to the present meeting of the Association, collected in North America, by Prof. C. U. Shepard of New Haven, Ct. Mr. Murchison called the attention of the meeting to a section of a part of Germany which he had lately visited. Mr. Murchi son stated, that having with Prof. Sedgwick, examined the older rocks of Western Germany and Belgium, it is their intention to lay before the Geological Society of London, a memoir, illustrated by fossils, on the classification of those ancient deposits, a succession of the Carboniferous, Devonian and Silurian systems. . ent communication bore only on one point of this analysis, offer ing to prove the geological position of the anthracite or culm bearing strata of Devonshire and Cornwall. ; i he « # a British Association for the Advancement of Science. 127 Dr. Buckland announced that the Fossil Flora of Great Britain was about to be continued by Messrs. Hutton and Hens- low.—Dr. Lloyd mentioned the recent discovery of Saurian re- mains in Warwickshire—Dr. Ward exhibited specimens and drawings illustrative of impressions of the feet of animals on the Greensill sandstone, near Shrewsbury. Greensill hill consists of a steep escarpment of new red sandstone, and contains four strata that have been described by Mr. Murchison, and in the second of which the impressions were found. This stratum when expesed to the atmosphere, always splits soas to exhibit ripple marks, and on these marks the impressions of feet have been observed, as well _ asmarks of drops of rain. 'The latter are often in an oblique direc- tion, as if having fallen in a gale of wind, the direction of which ~ is thus pointed out. The foot-marks differ from those of the _ Cheirotherium, in having only three toes, armed with long nails, directed forwards, and not spread out. Nothing resembling the ball of the foot has been observed, except in a few, which have ~ Some resemblance to the impression of the foot of a dog. Mr. Knipe read a communication on a trap dyke in Cumberland. Its length is 22 miles and its width from 20 to 30 yards. Its course coincides with that of the great Cleveland Dyke, and it is not improbable that they may be connected ; if so, a basaltic dyke, 120 miles long, crosses our island from the Solway Firth to the ~ _ German Ocean. = Mr. Darwin announced that a work on fossil teeth by Prof. _ Owen; will shortly be published. ~ Acommunication on Peat-bogs, by Dr. G. H. Adams, was ‘read. The author had examined microscopically many speci- mens of peat, and had found them to consist of bundles of little capsules, somewhat like bunches of raisins, attached to the radi- cles of the plants growing on the surface of the bogs.—Mr. J. B. Yates read a paper on the Changes and improvements in the embouchure of the Mersey.—A paper was received from Mr. R. Gamer on the use of millstone grit in the manufacture of white earthen-ware. Millstone grit has been used in Staffordshire for * = - * “s : ‘ three or four years, being ground instead of flint, which is more expensive, as it must be calcined before grinding. The ware + thus produced is as white, compact and durable, as that made by former process. ~~ { = ® 128 British Association for the Advancement of Science. Section D. Zoology and Botany. A paper by Mr. Lankester was read, on the formation of woody Tissue. The tissues of plants, are for the sake of convenience, divided into fwe ; but the origin of all these may be traced to the simple cell. How they are formed from the simple cell, is an unde- cided question, especially with regard to woody tissue. Du Petit Thouars supposes, that woody fibre is formed by the buds and leaves, and sent down by them between the bark and wood of the tree ; whilst other writers suppose that it is formed from the bark or wrod: The conclusions of the author, from all the known facts” on the formation of woody tissue are :—1. That the requisites for the formation of wood, are a living tissue developing elongated fibres, a tissue forming and depositing secreted matter, and expo- sure to the influence of external stimuli. 2. That the secreted — matters are more easily brought under the influence of external stimuli in the younger tissues ; hence the importance of leaves. _ 3. That neither bark nor aan are essential to the formation ak woody tissue. Notice of Zoological Researches in Orkney and Shetland in June, 1839, by Edward Forbes and John Goodsir. "Their a tion was directed almost. wholly to invertebrate animals. Mollusca, they found four new species of Holida, a new aie _ tina, and three apparently new species of Ascidia. Of the An- nelida, they took great numbers; among others, the beautiful Plonaria atomata of Miller, not holies recorded as British. As to the Radiata, they were equally successful. The genus Holo- thuria holds its British court in Shetland, and the king of them is an enormous species, which the authors name H. grandis. Five other new species of this genus were found, and also a new species of Ophiocoma, of Dian@a, of Oceanea, of Alcynée, and a minute animal, the type of a new genus among the Acalephe- The most beautiful contribution to the British Fauna, from the Orkneys, is a zoophyte of the family Tubulariade, new both as a species and genus, and the largest known form of its tribe. It is about four inches long, and its stem half an inch in diameter. It belongs between 7 ‘ubedeesa and Coryne, on the relations. of which genera its discovery throws much light, as well as polypes in general. 'The authors propose to consecrate. the genus to that great British zoophytist, Ellis, calling it HJdisia, and giv- “# . 1 | | bal a og a >. British Association for the Advancement of Science. 129 ing the species the appropriate name of Flos maris, as it may | well be regarded, from its extreme grace and beauty, as the flower of the British seas. Mr. Goodsir read a paper on the follicular stage of dentition in the Ruminants, with some remarks on that process in the other | orders of Mammalia. He stated, that since the former meeting, he had detected the follicular stage of dentition in the pig, rabbit, cow and sheep. He had verified the fact, that all the permanent | teeth, except the first molar which does not succeed a milk tooth, are developed from the internal surface of cavities of reserve, and _ that the depending folds of the sacs of composite teeth are formed pe. ‘ ___ by the lips of the follicles advancing inwards, after closure of the latter. He then described the progress of development of the . _ pulps and sacs of the teeth in the cow and sheep, from their first appearance, as minute as possible, on the full surface of the mem- : ' brane of the mouth, or on the internal surface of the cavities of _ Teserve, till they have acquired their ultimate configuration. At _ an early period of the embryonic life of these animals, they pos- | ' . Sess the germs of canine and superior incisive teeth; the former | ‘existing as developed organs in two or three genera only of rumi- nants; the latter being found in the aberrant family of the cam- © els. These germs have the form of slight dimples in the primi-— tive groove, and after the closure of the latter, they remain fora — short time opake nodules imbedded in the gum, in the course of the line of adhesion. Mr. Wilde communicated his mode of preparing fish for cab- inet specimens, and also read a paper on some new species of Entozoa, discovered by Dr. Bellingham. Messrs. Edward Forbes and John Goodsir made a communica- tion, on the Ciliograda of the British seas.. The Ciliograda of the British seas belong to three genera, viz. Cydippe (Esch- Scholtz,) Alcynée (Rang,) and Beroe (Linneus.) Of the first genus, there are four species in these seas: of the second and third, h. el Mr. G. Webb Hall made a communication on the acceleration of the growth of Wheat. He called the attention of the members to Certain facts connected with the acceleration of the growth of » and a consequent diminution of the time of its occupying the ground. The ordinary period of the growth of wheat is from the middle of October to the middle as ~“ Close observa- Vol. xxxvimt, No. 1.—Oct.-Dec. 1839. 130 British Association for the Advancement of Science. ’ tion under different circumstances, and a peculiar selection of seed and soil, have reduced the period of this plant to five months. A quick crop might be produced by pressing and compacting the soil, and in light soils, well manured, a quicker growth is ensured. One great means of obtaining early crops is the use of seed pro- duced by plants that were themselves of early growth. Mr. Felkin exhibited the results of an experiment in the growth of silk at Nottingham. 'The circumstances of the case had been unpropitious, but the result was successful. Land and labor being high in England, it is improbable that she can in silk cule compete with other countries, but in her colonies, and in the vast regions of Hindoostan, she has the means of raising immense quantities ata low rate. He imagined that the whole world © might be supplied from India with raw silk, at half its preset 4 cost Mr. George T. F E _in connexion with an account of the remains of a whale receni y Pte. _ found at Durham. In recently clearing out the rubbish | ‘from ‘ : “the basement story of the old tower of Durham Castle, the work cd “* « ‘men were surprised to find several large bones; and as they ad- E ~~ . vanced these accumulated, until twenty vertebree, and about as "many ribs were taken out, and also two large jaw bones.. Mr. F.~ ae Re | L coma ~~” on examination, determined that the bones belonged toa sperma- — q ceti whale. The discovery excited much interest in the town, and while the subject was in agitation, Rev. Jas. Raine discov- — ered a curious letter from Jo. Duresme to Mr. Stapylton, dated London, June 20, 1661, which at once accounted for the discov- ery of diese animal remains. ‘The letter clearly shows that the bones belonged to an animal cast on shore on the coast of Dur- | ham at Earington, in 1661; and it is therefore the oldest whale of the kind recorded to-have been found on the British = eh | The bones have been collected and set up in the Museum of | Durham University. Dr. Prichard read a paper on the extinction of the human races. — He expressed his regret that so little attention was given to Eth- hography, or the natural history of the human race, while the opportunities for observation are every day passing away ; and concluded by an appeal in favor of the Aborigines Protection So ciety. _ 'The paper gave rise toa long and desultory conversation. ee * rs ee : Re) are, ‘L=To éxcite inquiry on the various species of cotton plant’ ~_ * y British Association for the Advancement of Science. 131 Next was read a Report on the distribution of the Pulmonife- rous Mollusca in Britain, and the causes influencing it; drawn up at the request of the Association, by Mr. E. Forbes. The object of this inquiry was to ascertain the geographical and geo- logical distribution of pulmoniferous mollusca in the British isles. The subject was considered under three heads ; ; first, a view of the various influences which affect their distribbutiel; second, a detailed view of the distribution of the indigenous species in the various provinces of Britain ; and third, the relations of that di- Vision of the native Fauna to the Fauna of Europe, and the dis- — generally of the more remarkable species. 7 r. J. EK. Bowman exhibited specimens of a species of Dod- ~~ as et epilinum, first found in Britain two years ago, by =~ ‘ Self, and again in anew locality within the present month. ' He believes it is found exclusively on flax, and has been mista- nit C. Europea, from which however it is quite distinct. paper was read.on the cultivation of the Cotton of commerce, ; Fez Major General Briggs. The objects proposed in the paper, _ ee ‘that produce the cotton of commerce. 2. 'T'o ascertain the na- ae ture of the soils adapted to each. 3. To prove the practicability tg of cultivating the plant in India, for the supply of the AS, market to any extent. Of the species that produce the various —— ‘cottons of commerce, we have at present very little accurate knowledge, and this has arisen from the alterations undergone by the plant in the process of cultivation. But there can be no doubt that the plants which produce cotton in America, Asia and Africa are of decidedly different species. The plant that produ- ces the Brazil cotton, probably the Gossypium hirsutum, grows 15 or 20 feet high, is perennial, and produces cotton with a long and strong staple, and moderately fine and silky. The plant . common to the West Indies, (said to have been imported from , Guiana, ) is triennial, bearing abundantly a fine silky long staple,. and is the G. Barbadense of botanists. 'This also is the plant Which produces the Sea-island cotton. When this plant was Carried from the coast into the interior of Georgia and Carolina, the seed changed from a black to a green color, and the staple became shorter, coarser and more woolly. ‘This plant was after- ‘Wards introduced into Egypt, and is the same that produces the Bourbon cotton, cultivated by te French on that island. Mr. 132 British Association for the Advancement of Science. | | Spalding records several varieties, attention to which is of the greatest importance to the cultivation, since they vary in the character of their staple, in the shape and size of their pods, in the hue of the cotton, and in the duration of the plant. The common indigenous plant of India is the G. herbacewm of bota- nists, and differs in appearance from the cottons of the Western world; besides which there is the G. religioswm, producing the brown cotton extensively grown in China. The former plant is usually cultivated as an annual, but has been successfully treated and grown as a perennial, by the process of pruning down when the cotton is gathered. The produce of this plant is not inferior _ in fineness, and is superior in point of richness of color, to the best cottons of America. The staple is however short, and by the great neglect hitherto evinced in picking the produce at the proper time, and carelessness in allowing particles of dried leaves or the calyx of the flower to adhere to the wool, it brings a lower price, and is considered an inferior article in the English market, — as - perior in quality and durability. There is another kind of cotton “< _ produced from a species in Africa, which Dr. Royle cone allied to the G. herbaceum of India. to the New Orleans and Georgian of America, though really su- x" ; Mr. W. Danson made some remarks on the introduction of a ai oat species of Awchenia into Britain. Samples and manufactured specimens of Alpaca wool, in imitation of ’silk, (and without dye,) as black as jet, were exhibited. Mr. D. stated that the ani- mals producing it ought to be propagated in Britain. Importa> tions of the wool have already been made to the extent of one ; million pounds, and are likely to increase. ‘There are five spe-— rae cies of Llamas, of which, the Alpaca has fine wool, 6 to 12 inches _ long ; the Llamas, hair which is very coarse, anil the Vicuna, has a very short fine wool, more of the beaver cast. The wool of these animals would not enter into competition with the wool of sheep, but rather with silk. It is capable of the finest manufacture, and is especially suited to the fine shawl trade. The yarns spun from it are already sent to France in large qual- tities, at from 6s. to 12s. 6d. per pound, the piece of the raw Al- . paca wool being now 2s. and 2s. 6d. per pound. Prof. Jones made some observations on an apparatus for observ- ' ing fish, (especially of the family Salmonide,) in confinement. He had prosecuted numerous inquiries in Scotland with reference | British Association for the Advancement of Science. 133 to the habits of the salmon and allied species, and with regard to the identity of various young and full grown fish. Mr. C. C. Babington made an oral communication concerning some recent additions to the English Flora.—aA letter was read from Mr. Garner, on the Beroe pileus, stating that he had not seen in this snienal true luminosity, but only a peculiar luminosity in the dark. The external rows of cilia he believed might pro- duce it. He had remarked, that if only one of the cilie were removed from this animal, it still continued to vibrate for many hours. He thought the currents in Beroe might be accounted for by ciliz, which he observed to be placed in the whole of the interior of the animal. In the interior of the ane he had ob- served what appeared to him to be sacculi. Section BE. Medical Science. — an introductory address from Dr. Yelloly, President of _ the : Section, a paper by Sir David Dickson was read, containing : abstracts of a remarkable case of pens of the duodenum and of some other interesting cases. © Mr. Middlemore read a brief noties of the methods which have been used for the removal of capsular cataract, where the opake capsule remains after absorption of the lens, for the pur- pose of introducing to notice an instrument to facilitate the ope- apron of extraction without interfering with the transparent Structures of the eye. It consists of a needle, accompanied by a _ Small forceps, the former capable of being spite! leaving ie % the latter to be fixed on the opake membrane and then withdrawn i through the sclerotic, through which the needle had been intro- ced. He also detailed a case in which the operation for artifi- cial pupil had been performed with success, and presented the patient for examination. Dr. Foville, of Paris, presented apaper, detailing the results of his researches on the anatomy of the brain. He urged the advantages of examining the structure of the brain by manual Separation rather than by section, and gave credit to Willis, as being the first advocate of this method.—Prof. Macartney read an _ &ssay on the means of repressing hemorrhage from arteries; giv- ing the preference to metallic ligatures ; and also a paper on the rules for findirig with exactness the position of the principal ar- teries and nerves, from their relations to the external forms of the 134 British Association for the Advancement of Science. body.—Dr. Blakiston read a paper on the sounds produced in respiration and on the voice.—Dr. G. Bird communicated obser- vations on poisoning by the vapors of burning charcoal. T'wo opinions prevail on the mode in which this gas produces death. 1. That the gas acts negatively. 2. That the gas when respired, exerts a specific poisonous action on the nervous system. Dr. adopts the latter opinion.—Dr. Inglis read a paper, of which this was the summary :—1. Small pox is decidedly on the increase, and during each successive epidemic there is an increase of vari- olous patients from among those who were vaccinated in infancy. 2. The vaccine virus is as effectual now as it ever was, but re- vaccination is necessary after a period of years, as yet unknown. 3. The same cause which produces small pox during a variolous epidemic in the unvaccinated, may and does give rise to chicken pox in the vaccinated. 4. There is every reason to believe that cow pox had its origin in variola.—Mr. J, B. Estlin read a paper, to show, that the powers of the new virus diminish in intensity as successive vaccinations increased its distance from the cow.— Dr. R. D. Thomson, read a paper on alkaline indigestion, and gave the results of an extensive examination of patients laboring under this disease.—Mr. Hodgson read a paper on the red appear- ance on the internal coat of arteries, which he stated did not de- pend on inflammation in every instance, and from which it should be carefully distinguished.—Mr. C. 'T’. Coathupe gave the results of a series of experiments on respiration. (See this Journal, Vol. xxxvii, p. 367.)—Dr. Costello presented a report of ten cases of calculus treated by lithotrity——Mr. Nasmyth read a paper on the — microscopic structure of the teeth, in which he treated also of the covering of the enamel and of the organization of the pulp. He subsequently read a paper on the structure of the Epithelium, (a layer of substance destitute of vessels, covering the vascular surface of mucous membranes,) which he described as being. composed of cells.—Dr. L. Giiterbock exhibited several instru-_ ments made from ivory, softened by the removal of the earthy — matter by the action of dilute acid. He stated that the first idea of the preparation is contained in an English work published some time ago, entitled “ Useful Arts and Inventions.” + il British Association for the Advancement of Science. 135 Section F. Statistics. Mr. Clarke read a paper containing contributions to the educa- tional statistics of Birmingham. Mr. G. R. Porter read a paper entitled suggestions in favor of the systematic collection of the statistics of agriculture. Of the material interests affecting the well-being of a community, one of the most important subjects is doubtless that of an adequate supply of food for the people; and yet in England the subject has not hitherto been considered to any useful or practical end. It cannot even be ascertained from any authentic document, what quantity of land in the country is under cultivation. The author enforced with much earnestness the importance of establishing the necessary organization to secure the statistics in question, and also to diffuse among the agriculturists a knowledge of the im- provements in the science of husbandry which are often limited to narrow districts. It has been stated that if all England were cultivated as well as the counties of Northumberland and Lin- coln, it would produce more than double the quantity of food how obtained. A report on the state of the working classes in three parishes in Rutlandshire, from facts collected by the Manchester Statistical Society, was read by Mr. Gregg.—Mr. Langton of the same society, read a report on the educational statistics of the county of Rutland. Taking the scholars of all ages, about 5 per cent. of the population attend evening and day schools only; 9.6 per cent. attend day and Sunday schools; 6 per cent. attend Sunday Schools only. Mr. Rawson read a very elaborate paper on the criminal statis- tics of England and Wales. Of his interesting results we can here state but one or two. 'The average annual number of per- sons committed or bailed to take their trial, during the last five - years, was 22,174, of which more than half were for simple lar- eny. Both in England and in France the ratio of male to fe- “mnale criminals is about as 4 to 1—Next was read a report by the ‘Manchester Statistical Society on the borough of Kingston-upon- ull.—Mr. Wharton made a report on the progress of the inqui- ries made by the committee instituted for the purpose of inquiring into the statistics of the mining districts of Northumberland, Dur- ham and Yorkshire.—Mr. Clarke read a report on the commercial _ Statistics of Birmingham, prepared by a local committee. It in- 136 British Association for the Advancement of Science. cludes returns from the Savings Bank, Assay Office, Workhouse, &c. During’the past year, 25,000 gold wedding rings had been assayed and marked. 'The number of steam engines is 240, of which 65 are high pressure, and the remainder condensing en- gines.—Prof. Powell read a paper on Academic Statistics, show- ing the proportion of students in the University of Oxford, who proceed on to degrees. Among other results*it is stated that the ratio of the number matriculated to those who pass final exam- ination, is 1 ; 2.67.—Mr. Fripp read the report of the committee appointed to inquire into the condition of the working classes in Bristol. This document goes into minute details and exhibits immense labor.—Mr. Clark presented contributions to the medical statistics of Birmingham by a local committee, comprising elabo- rate returns from the town Infirmary, General Hospital, &c. ; Section G. Mechanicat Science. ‘Mr. J. L Hawkins madea tion on paving roads with blocks of wood, placed with the grain in a vertical position. He considered that roads formed of sound wood, with the grain ver- tical, might be made so even as to constitute a sort of universal railway, on which carriages might be drawn by a small proportion of horse-power, and on which steam carriages might run as safely and almost as fast as on railways.—Mr. Scott Russell read a papet on the most economical proportion of power to tonnage in steam bas It is a subject of anxious inquiry when about to construct new steam vessel, what is the best amount of power to place in A 8 ship, so as to secure in the highest degree, economy, rapidity and regularity. The general principle at which after much study of the subject, Mr. R. had arrived, was this: that in a voyage by a steam vessel in the open sea, exposed of course, to adverse winds, there is a certain high velocity and high portion of power which may be accomplished with less expenditure of fuel and of ee than at a lower speed with less power. Dr. Lardner read a very extensive paper detailing a saline. : experiments by himself and Messrs. Woods and Harle on the 7é sistance of the air to railway trains. The following are his eral conclusions. 1. The resistance to a railway train, Re 3 things being the same, depends on the speed. 2. At the same speed the resistance will be in the ratio of the load, if the cal riages remain unaltered. 3. If the number of carriages be Bs a 4 # * a British Association for the Advancement of Science. 137 creased, the resistance is increased, but not in so great a ratio as the load. 4. Therefore, the resistance does not, as has been hitherto supposed, bear an invariable ratio to the load, and ought not to be expressed at so much per ton. 5. The amount of the resistance of ordinary loads carried on railways at the ordinary speeds, more especially of passenger trains, is very much greater than engineers have hitherto supposed. 6. A considerable, but not exactly ascertained proportion of this resistance is due to the air. 7. The shape of the front or hind part of the train has no observable effect on the resistance. 8. The spaces between the carriages of the trains have no observable effect on the resistance. 9. The train, with the same width of front, suffers increased re- sistance with the increased bulk or volume of the coaches. 10. Mathematical formule, deduced from the supposition that the re- sistance of railway trains consists of two parts, one proportional to the load, but independent of the speed, and the other propor- tional to the square of the speed, have been applied to a limited number of experiments, and have given results in very near ac- cordance, but the experiments must be further multiplied and varied, before safe, exact, and general conclusions can be drawn. 11. The amount of resistance being so much less than has been hitherto supposed, and the resistance produced by curves of a mile radius being inappreciable, railways laid down with gradi- ents of from 16 to 20 feet a mile have practically but little dis- advantage compared with a dead level ; and curves may be safely made with radii less than a mile ; but further experiments must be made to determine a safe minor limit for the radii of such Curves ; this principle being understood to be limited in its appli- Cation to railways intended chiefly for rapid traffic. Dr. Ure read a paper on the specific gravity or density of Steam at different temperatures. Mr. E. Hodgkinson detailed Some experiments made to ascertain the power of different spe- “ies of wood to resist a force tending to crush them. The - Specimens for experiment were turned into right cylinders, _ about an inch in diameter and two inches long. Great discre- “pancies were found when the woods were in different degrees Of dryness; wet timber, though felled a considerable time, bearing i in some instances, less than half of what it bore wheit dry.—Mr. G. Cottam gave an account of the Marquis of Twee- _ dale’s patent brick and tile machine.—Mr. Fairbairn related some =>Vul, xxxvur, No, 1.—Oct.-Dec. 1839. 18 ia 138 Journey to the Céteau des Prairies, &c. experiments on the effects of weights acting for an indefinite time on bars of iron.—Mr. Scott Russell made a report on the proceedings of the Committee appointed to inquire into the best form for vessels, and explained the nature of the experiments in progress.—Mr. Cottam described a new railway wheel, made wholly of wrought iron, so welded together, that independent of screws, rivets, or other kind of fastening, they form one piece with the spokes.—Mr. Jeffries read a paper on warming and ventilating, and gave a description of a pneumatic stove.—Mr. Gossage com- municated an account of a new rotatory steam engine.—Mr. Player made a communication on the application of anthracite coal to the blast furnace, steam engine boiler and smith’s fire, at the Gwendraeth Ironworks near Carmarthen.—Mr. Davies gave 4 description of a machine for cutting the teeth of bevel wheels.— Mr. Dredge offered some remarks on bridge architecture.—A new secret lock without a key, by Mr. Benge, was then exhibited; and also a model, sent by Mr. Hamilton of Edinburgh, of 4 method by which the resistance caused by the pressure of the. wind against the valves of the organ can be overcome, thereby permitting the largest pipes to be played by the fingers with fe cility, and also rendering the movement of the pedal keys and valves more smooth. The amount of moneys granted at this a for the prose- As. 7 ceution of scientific inquiries was £2789 1 Arr. XV.—Account of a Journey to the Céteau des Prairies, with a description of the Red Pipe Stone quarry and Granite _ bowlders found there; by Mr. Grorer Carin, in a letler 0 Dr. Charles T. Rican Read in the Boston Society of Natural ar eshe Peek 4, 1839, and communicated for this Journ Dear Sir—In the summer of 1835, whilst visiting the tribes of © Indians on the Upper Mississippi, I spent some months at and in the vicinity of the Falls of St. Anthony. Whilst there, I resolved _ to pay a visit to the “ Red Pipe Stone quarry,” (as it is called, jon the “ Céteau des Prairies,” the place where the Indians procure — the stone for their red pipes; of which place I had already learned many very curious and inte: interesting traditions from the Upper ie é * bd ¢ € Fe Journey to the Céteau des Prairies, Sc. 139 souri tribes. From the exceedingly strange nature of these tradi- tions and the great estimation in which this place is held by the savages, as well as froma full conviction in my own mind, that this pipe stone differing in itself from all other known miner- als, might be a subject of great interest to science, I determined to see it #7 situ, and not only to understand its position and relations, but also to enable myself to give to the world, with more confi- dence, the strange and almost incredible traditions and legends which I have drawn from the different tribes, who have visited that place. For this purpose I had made all the necessary preparations, and Was to start ina day or two, accompanied by several officers and men of the garrison, whom Maj. Bliss, then in command, had allowed to accompany me. Just at this time however, we got news by a steamer which arrived from below, that Mr. Feath- erstonhaugh, was near the fort with fifteen men, in a bark ca- noe, on his way up the St. Peter’s, having been sent by govern- ment to explore the Céteau des Prairies. At this intelligence, I | immediately abandoned the journey, and taking a corporal with | me from the garrison; descended the Mississippi in a bark canoe, to Prairie du Chien, and afterwards to Rock Island and St. Louis. In that city I learned on the return of Mr. Featherstonhaugh, that he did not go to the Pipe Stone Quarry, and I returned to New York in the fall, and in the succeeding spring, made a jour- hey from that city, by the way of Buffalo, Detroit, Green Bay, Prairie du Chien, and Falls of St. Anthony, to the Coteau des Prairies, and the Red Pipe Stone Quarry, a distance of 2,400 miles, for which purpose I devoted eight months, travelling at a considerable expense, and for a great part of the way with much fatigue and exhaustion. At Buffalo I was joined by a young gentleman from England, of fine taste and education, who ac- companied me the whole way and proved to be a pleasant and - amusing companion. From the Falls of St. Anthony we started on horseback with an Indian guide, tracing the southern shore of the St. Peter’s __ River about eighty miles, crossing it at a place called “ Traverse de Sioux,” and recrossing it at another point about thirty miles above the month of “Terre Bleue,” from whence we steered ina ; direction a little north of west, for the “ Cdteau des Prairies,” -» . leaving the St. Peter’s River, and crossing one of the most beau- * 140 Journey to the Céteau des Prairies, &§c. tiful prairie countries in the world, for the distance of one hundred and twenty or one hundred and thirty miles, which brought us to the base of the Coteau. This immense tract of country which we had passed over, as well as that along the St. Peter’s River, is every where covered with the richest soil, and furnishes an abundance of good water, which flows from a thousand living springs. For many miles in the distance before us we had the Céteau in view, which looked like a blue cloud settling down in the horizon; and when we had arrived at its base, we were scarcely sensible of the fact from the graceful and almost imper- ceptible swells with which it commences its elevation above the country about it. Over these swells or terraces, gently rising one above the other, we travelled for the distance of forty or fifty miles, when we at length reached the summit, and also the Pipe Stone quarry, the object of our campaign. From the base of this magic mound to its top, a distance of forty or fifty miles, there was not a tree or a bush to be seen in any direction ; the ground was every where covered with a green turf of grass about five or six inches high ; and we were assured by our Indian guide that it descended to the west, towards the Missouri, with a similar inclination, and for an equal distance, divested of every thing save the grass that grows and the animals that walk upon it. ae On the very top of this mound or ridge, we found the far famed quarry or fountain of the Red Pipe, which is truly an anomaly ‘ in nature. The principal and most striking feature of this place is a perpendicular wall of close grained, compact quartz, of twenty — five or thirty feet in elevation, running nearly north and south with its face to the west, exhibiting a front of nearly two miles in length, when it disappears at both ends by running under the prairie, which becomes there a little more elevated, and probably covers it for many miles, both to the north and the south. The depression of the brow of the ridge at this place has been caused by the wash of a little stream produced by several springs on the top of the ridge, alittle back from the wall, which has gradually carried away the superincumbent earth, and having bared the wall for the distance of two miles, is now left to glide for some distance _ over a perfectly level surface of quartz rock, and then to leap from the top of the wall into a deep basin below, and from thence seek its course to the Missouri, forming the extreme source of a noted and powerful tributary, called the “ Big Sioux.” miraiitiieaiainins ~ammestieasisnin | ; . e] oy * Journey to the Céteau des Prairies, §c. 141 This beautiful wall is perfectly stratified in several distinct hori- zontal layers of light gray and rose or flesh colored quartz ; and through the greater part of the way, both on the front of the wall and over acres of its horizontal surface, it is highly polished or glazed, as if by ignition. At the base of this wall and running parallel to it there is a level prairie of half a mile in width, in any and all parts of which the Indians procure the red stone for their pipes by dig- ging through the soil and several slaty layers of the red stone to the depth of four or five feet. From the very numerous marks of ancient and modern diggings or excavations, it would appear that this place has been, for many centuries, resorted to for the red stone, and from the great number of graves and remains of ancient fortifications in its vicinity, (as well as from their actual traditions, ) it would seem that the Indian tribes have long held this place in high superstitious estimation, and also that it has n the resort of different tribes, who have made their regular pilgrimages here to renew their pipes. It is evident that these people set an extraordinary value on the red — independently of the fact that it is more easily carved and a better Pipe than any other stone ; for whenever an presents a pipe made of it, he gives it as something from Vasile Great Spirit ; and some of the tribes have a tradition that the red men were all created from the red stone, and that it : thereby i is “a part of their flesh.” Such was the superstition of the Sioux on this subject, that we had great difficulty in ap- proaching it, being stopped by several hundred of them, who ordered us back and threatened us very hard, saying “that no white man had ever been to it, and that none should ever go.” In my notes on Manners and Customs of North American In- dians, which will shortly appear, I shall give a very novel and Curious account of their traditions and superstitious forms about this great medicine or mystery place. The red pipe stone, will, I suppose, take its place amongst interesting minerals ; and the “ Cdteau des Prairies” will become hereafter an important theme for geologists, not only from the fact that it is the only known locality of that mineral, but from other phenomena relating to it. The single fact of such a table of quartz, resting in perfectly horizontal strata on this elevated Plateau, is of itself, as I conceive, a very interesting subject for investigation, and one which calls upon the scientific world for * oe 142 Journey to the Coteau des Prairies, §c. a correct theory with regard to the. time when, and the manner in which, this formation was produced. That it is a secondary and sedimentary deposit, seems evident; and that it has with- stood the force of the diluvial current, while the great valley of the Missouri from this very wall of rocks to the Rocky Moun- tains has been excavated and its debris carried to the ocean, I confidently infer from the following remarkable fact. At the base of the wall and within a few rods of it, and on the very ground where the Indians dig for the red stone, rests a group of five stupendous bowlders of gneiss leaning against each other, the smallest of which is twelve or fifteen feet, and the largest twenty five feet in diameter, weighing, unquestionably, several hundred tons. These blocks are composed chiefly of feldspar and mica of an exceedingly coarse grain, (the feldspar often occurring in crystals of an inch in diameter.) The surface of these bowlders is in every part covered with a gray moss, which gives them an extremely ancient and venerable appeal- ance, while their sides and angles are rounded by attrition to the shape and character of most other erratic stones which are foape throughout the country. That these five immense blocks, of precisely the same nat acter, and differing materially from all other specimens of bowl-— ders which I have seen in the great valleys of the Mississippi and — Missouri, should have been hurled some hundreds of miles from their native bed and lodged in so singular a group on this eleva- _ ted ridge, is truly matter of surprise for the scientific world, as well as for the poor Indian, whose superstitious veneration of them is such that not a spear of grass is broken or bent by his feet, within three or four rods of the group; where he stops and in humble supplication, by throwing plugs of tobacco to them, soli- cits their permission (as the guardian spirit of the place) to dig and carry away the red stone for his pipes. 'The surface of these bowlders I found in every part entire and unscratched by any thing, and even the moss was every where unbroken, which un- doubtedly remains so at this time, except where I applied the hammer to obtain some small specimens, which I brought away with me.* ee ee ae 5 Bex, a seinen’ with which we are favored by Mr. ss the feldspar is in dis- tinct crystals, is aoa ma and greatly abounds; the quartz is gray and w ares the mica black, while the moss covers nearly half the mass.—Eds. =» Journey to the Céteau des Prairies, §c. 143 The fact alone that these blocks differ in character from all other specimens which I have seen in my travels, amongst the thousands of bowlders which are strewed over the great valley of the Missouri and Mississippi, from the Yellowstone almost to the Gulf of Mexico, raises in my mind an unanswerable question as regards the location of their native bed, and the means by which they have reached their isolated position, like five broth- ers, leaning against and supporting each other, without the exist- ence of another bowlder of any description within fifty miles of them. here are thousands and tens of thousands of bowlders Scattered over the prairies at the base of the Céteau on either side, and so throughout the valley of the St. Peter’s and Missis- sippi, which are also subjects of very great interest and im to science, inasmuch as they present to the world a vast variety of characters, and each one, although strayed away from its original position, bears incontestible proof of the character of its native bed. The tract of country lying between the St. Peter’s River and the Coteau, over which we passed, presents innumerable spe- cimens of the kind, and near the base of the Céteau, they are strewed over the prairie in countless numbers, presenting almost an incredible variety of rich and beautiful colors, and undoubt- edly traceable, (if they can be traced,) to separate and distinct — beds. Amongst these beautiful groups, it was sometimes a very easy matter to sit on my horse and count within my sight, some twenty or thirty different varieties of quartz and granite in round- ed bowlders, of every hue and color, from snow white to intense red and yellow and blue, and almost toa jet black, each one well characterized and evidently from a distinct quarry. With the beautiful hues and almost endless characters of these blocks, I became completely surprised and charmed, and I resolved to pro cure specimens of every variety, which I did with success, by dismounting from my horse and breaking small bits from them With my hammer, until I had something like an hundred differ- ent varieties containing all the tints and colors of a painter’s pal- let. These I at length threw away, as I had on several former occasions, other minerals and fossils, which I had collected and lugzed along from day to day, and sometimes from week to week. Whether these varieties of quartz and granite can all be traced to their native beds, or whether they all have originals at this time exposed above the earth’s surface, are generally matters of 144 Journey to the Céteau des Prairies, §c. much doubt in my mind. I believe that the geologist may take the different varieties which he may gather at the base of the Coteau in one hour, and travel the continent of North America all over, without being enabled to put them all in place; coming at last to the unavoidable conclusion, that numerous chains or beds of primitive rocks have reared their heads on this continent, the summits of which have been swept away by the force of the diluvial currents, and their fragments jostled together and strewed about, like foreigners in a strange land, over the great valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri, where they will ever remain and be gazed upon by the traveller, as the only remaining evidence of their native ledges, which have been again submerged or covered with diluvial deposits. There seems not to be, either on the Coteau or in the great valleys on either side, so far as I have travelled, any slaty or other formation exposed above the surface, on which grooves or scratches can be seen, to establish the direction of the diluvial currents in those regions ; yet I think the fact is pretty clearly established by the general shapes of the valleys, and the courses of the moun- tain ridges which wall them in on their sides. The Céteau des Prairies is the dividing ridge between the St. Peter’s and the Missouri rivers; its southern termination or slope is about in the latitude of the Falls of St. Anthony, and it stands equidistant between the two rivers, its general course bearing two or three degrees west of north, for the distance of two oF three hundred miles, when it gradually slopes again to the north, throwing out from its base the head waters and tributaries of the St. Peter’s on the east; the Red River and other streams which empty into the Hudson’s Bay on the north; “ La Riviere J aques”’ and several other tributaries to the Missouri on the west ; and t Red Cedar, the loway and the De Moines on the south. This wonderful anomaly in nature, which is several hundred miles in length, and varying from fifty to an hundred in width, 18 ‘undoubtedly the noblest mound of its kind in the world: it graé ually and gracefully rises on each side, by swell after swell, with- out tree, or bush, or rocks, (save what are to be seen at the Pipe Stone Quarry,) and is every where covered with green grass, af- fording the traveller, from its highest elevations, the most U2 bounded and sublime views of—nothing at all,—save the blue and boundless ocean of prairies that lie beneath and all around Journey to the Céteau des Prairies, §c. 145 him, vanishing into azure in the distance, without a speck or spot x ae ot to break their softness. — The direction of this ridge clearly establishes the course of the diluvial current in this region, and the erratic stones which are distributed along the base I attribute to an origin several hun- dred miles northwest from the Coteau. I have not myself tra- ced the Coteau to its highest points, nor to its northern extremi- ty, but on this subject I have closely questioned a number of travellers who have traversed every mile of it with their carts, and from thence to Lake Winnepec on the north, who uniformly tell me that there is no range of primitive rocks to be crossed in travelling the whole distance, which is one connected and con- tinuous prairie. The surface of the top and the sides of the Coteau is every where strewed over with granitic sand and pebbles, which, together with the fact of the five bowlders resting at the Pipe Stone quarry, show clearly, that every part of the ridge has been subject to the action of these currents, which could not have run counter to it, without having disfigured or deranged its beautiful symmetry. The glazed or polished surface of the quartz rocks at the Pipe Stone quarry I consider a very interesting subject, and one which. will hereafter produce a variety of theories, as to the manner in which it has been formed, and the causes which have led to such Singular results. 'The quartz is of a close grain and exceedingly hard, eliciting the most brilliant sparks from steel; and in most places, where it is exposed to the sun and the air, its surface has a high polish, entirely beyond any result which could have been produced by diluvial action, being perfectly glazed as if by igni- tion. I was not sufficiently particular in my examinations, to as- certain whether any parts of the surface of these rocks under the ground and not exposed to the action of the air, were thus affec- ted, which would afford an important argument in forming a cor- _Tect theory with regard to it: and it may also be a fact of similar importance, that this polish does not extend over the whole wall or area, but is distributed over it in parts and sections, often dis- appearing suddenly, and re-appearing again, even where the char- acter and exposure of the rock are the same, and unbroken. In Seneral the parts and points most projecting and exposed, bear the ~ highest polish, which would naturally be the case whether it was produced by ignition or by the action of the air and sun. It Vol. xxxvnuz, No. 1.—Oct—Dec. 1839. 19, - 146 Auroras and Sunset. would seem almost an impossibility that the air passing these projections for a series of centuries, could have produced so high a polish on so hard a substance, and in the total absence of all ignigenous matter, it seems equally unaccountable that thiseffect could have been produced by fire. Ihave broken off specimens and brought them home, which have as high a polish and lustre on the surface, as a piece of melted glass; and then, as these rocks have certainly been formed where they now lie, it must be admitted that this strange effect has been produced either by the action of the air, or by igneous influence, and if by the latter cause, we can come to no other conclusion than that these results are volcanic ; that this wall has once formed the side of an extin- guished crater, and that the pipe stone, lying in horizontal strata, was formed of the lava which issued from it. I am strongly in- clined to believe, however, that the former supposition is the cor- rect one, and that the pipe stone, which differs from al] known specimens of lava and steatite, will prove to be a subject of great interest, and worthy of a careful analysis. _Tinclose you fair specimens of every character to be found in the locality, and also a very slight outline of the place, copied rom my original drawings. saa Very respectfully yours, &c. Geo. CaTLin. New York, March 4, 1839. Art. XVI.—Auroras and Sunset. “e a I. Notice of an Aurora Borealis, as observed at Rochester; N. Y¥.; by Prof. C. Dewey. ae Tue Aurora Borealis was splendid here as well as over the 3 country on Tuesday eve, Sept. 3d, 1839. It was distinguished — for its streams, and pillars, and cloudy-light—for centering at a point a little S. and W. of the zenith, from which it seemed 1 radiate in all directions, and extended greatly towards the south, as well as from the north. The yellow, white, and crimson light was splendid. There was no waving motion, like that in Jan. 1837. a T have an account from an observer in the middle of the State of Illinois, which may be relied upon, It is as follows: “f ‘- Auroras and Sunset. 147 “Sept. 3d, Brown Co., fll. We hada splendid Aurora Borealis. The light first appeared in the northeast, of a yellow color, and spread round the horizon each way, nearly to the west on one | side and southeast on the other side. 'The aurora then began to shoot up in brilliant pillars of yellow light below and rose-colored above. 'These pillars converged to a point, 3° or 4° S. of the Zenith ; there was no waving or rolling motion. As the brillianey increased above, the northern horizon became dark, like a bank of fog unilluminated, and through it the stars were visible. Grad- wally it faded away, and bright places E. S. E. and W.N. W. | were all that would attract attention. In about half an hour, most brilliant columns shot upward from these points, of yellow and crimson light, and all over the northern horizon pillars gradu- ally developed themselves, and became extremely bright. Mean- while, deep crimson light appeared in the southeast and stretched ie _ Over to the N. W., forming a complete arch about 50° high, and under that another arch of a white light about 30° high, both dis- tinct, regular and well-defined. The crimson one was absolutely intense in its color, as palpable as blood. ‘This continued several minutes. All this time the dark bank was black in the northern horizon and probably 25° high. At length brilliant yellow pillars rose from the northern horizon through the dark bank at several _ points, and faded and rose again. Gradually the whole became = “Tess brilliant, and soon the splendor of the phenomenon was gone. _ Itexceeded in splendor all that I ever saw, except that in January, two years ago.” In this, as in many cases, the Aurora seems to be black, as well as colored. The two arches were not nearly so _ distinct as described in Illinois, though one was nearly complete Pee for some time. “Is not the color of the light depending upon the height at | “which the electric fluid or Aurora is passing, the red making its — | _ Way through the lower and denser parts of the atmosphere com- | pared with the other? That the phenomenon has any connec= | tion with spicula of ice in the upper regions, appears most remo=- | ved from any thing tangible. IL. Aurora of Sept. 3d, as observed at Olean, N. Y. About half an hour after sunset a mild lighting up of the heavens in the north, as is usual, or very frequent at this season, ee ae at ‘ : ie 148 Auroras and Sunset. and in this latitude, was observed; but as the evening came on and the last light from the sun could no Jonger be seen, streaming rays darted up higher and more towards the zenith, while the base spread farther and farther around, until the whole horizon seemed the Auroral fountain. The atmosphere was almost entirely clear - from the commencement, and what appeared for atime to be a eye was turned alittle from cloud ascending from the southern horizon so suddenly vanished, that it left a doubt whether it were in reality a vapory sheet or merely a modified exhibition of this beautiful Aurora. At twen- ty minutes past eight, the whole vault of the sky seemed made of silvery stripes constantly changing positions, separating into blocks, and incessantly dancing from the horizon to the zenith, where they converged in a ragged cloud, that assumed, in its in- terval-existence, every conceivable shape. The pencils, for the most part, were bluish white, with a tinge of leaden color; and there prevailed, during the whole display, more or less of a beautiful lake and a lilac, which being thrown occasionally like a mellow cloud over wide sections of the heav- ens, and combined with, or spread over.the pencils, presented the richest arrangements of colorst hat, it would seem, could be gath- ered in the skies. In some stages, the lake gave to the sky that gorgeous appearance, observed at the rising of a summer-sun, when the clouds, thin and scarcely visible, are tipped. with a deep crim- son tinge. In others, it lay a broad band, unmoved by the flashes that played above and below. Like the lake, there was a sheet of white that moved about, distantly accompanied by smaller sheets or more properly segments of belts, unaffected by the flicks: : ering agitation observed above and around. Bs Sowers the close of tbe pepo which was of natn = ‘til p ‘ : a Ba direct view, like the = tongued flame from a large furnace, only more brilliant, fo of greater length. Being cut off in some places by bars of white clouds near the horizon, the interest of the scene was heightened by the more rapid movement which was apparel: near the ba __ of the pencils. a _ The focus continued very near the same sink, hig: was — about four degrees directly south from the zenith. At times the point to which all the sheaves tended, would be glowing as if with accum) ulated light, that looked like a torrent at its entrance, e Auroras and Sunset. 149 within a circle around of a few degrees in diameter; and again it would be a mere blank, all the pencils melting away before uniting. Four meteors were seen to fall during the observations ; one to the southwest, and the other three toward the sout Observations.—Notes of the changes were at first taken once in from one to four minutes, and even these were not frequent | enough to record all the changes; and oftentimes-as many occur~ | red during the time employed in writing a single remark as were | witnessed in the intervals of employment with the pencil. At 20 minutes past 8 o’clock the whole vault of the heavens _Was overspread with a series of alternating pencils of bluish white light, with the blue sky beyond, which converged to a point less - than five degrees directly south from the zenith, a brilliant lake bar extending from the eastern to near the western horizon, about in the pathway of the sun. | 23m. past 8. Red light in masses east and west of the zenith, the bar not continuous. 25m. past 8. Lake bar replaced and more brilliant thew: at 4 first. Bright white ragged cloud in the centre. 27m, past 8. The lake or red in bright portions near the east- ern and western extremes of the bar. Pencils in the south change from white to lilac and from lilac to white with great rapidity } 31m. past 8. Grown dim and again brightened up. Pencils -.* most bright in 8. E. and S. W. 34m. past 8. Intensely white pencils shoot up from the N. W. and N. E., most bright at the base. -% 4 Bocus Genichad and the crimson hues mildly shed all around. Lg eae. Y 35m. past 8. Focus re-established, with a bluish white Mi “és Seer rs all about. The red pale, but most dist in n. past 8. Red in the west, but brightest in the northwest. "beus Sicstoly vanishing and reba =: ack and > 3 about the zenith. | '. Alm. past 8. Crescent in the eas and two cial oe belts or crescents more nearly, of white in the southern. heavens. : 3 43m. past 8. Dim and thin ROY: clouds rising in the south, _ ‘tipped with the Aurora. One bar of white light across the southern sky. 47m. past 8. Crescent inverted. Light growing more_ bril- liant in the Rorth and waning in the south. ~ - 150 Auroras and Sunset. 50m. past 8. Bright pencils streaming up from a little north of east. Reddish or crimson hues barely perceptible. 53m. past 8. Clouds rising higher in the south. 55m. past 8. Crimson hues hardly to be discerned in the east and west. Flashes less rapid. 57m. past 8. Gathering again of crimson in the east. The rising clouds from the southern horizon are gorgeously lit up with the rays darting from behind them. 58m. past 8. Lake in the east is more like a sheet of flame than any thing else with which it may be compared. 2m. past 9. Lake in the east, as at the rising of a summer's sun. Supremely beautiful! Below the clouds that have been climbing up from the south, lies a dark stratum of lilac. Am. past 9. The bright sheet of lake in the east has ascended. 7m. past 9. A very bright ragged cloud constitutes the focus. 10m. past 9. Crimson almost gone. 15m. past 9. Crimson spread ail over the north. 20m. past 9. "The western sky decked with superbly brilliant Below a stripe of dark sky or cloud in the north, the pen- cils change so frequently and rapidly that the view is more likea glance at a fairy festival than at the mere sky. 25m. past 9. 10.5, s 155 5 5 0 42 22 4| 74 63128} (273 ; 11.3 5 | 83 10.9} (28.4 5 | 12.8 ro¥ : (21.7 a 3 | 13.0 18.1} [29.1 aia 13.2 ‘ ie oe ob [19.1 29.1 8 #2 | 73 [02 9363 Bt tebe vans ex Big 18 | 60 16.0 at 116.0 | 7 ‘e s | 141 5.6 (36.71 —{15.6123.0/98.0 00.5'37.0'480' | 100 | 13.0-| 160 Bana 12.9 |__/38.9 aoe * For oe Yale mame 174, of this Journal.—Eds. - i Doubtful. : ra is » | te ike = * oe * CS ae EE — —————— a ee ad Miscellanies. 159 A. Beginning. Prof. Johnson noticed dark indentations for eight se- conds after the first disturbance of the limb. B. Arch of faint light, with speck or brush in centre, round the moon’s limb beyond the cusps; brush or blaze in centre, between cusps, extend- ing outwards about two digits. One cusp bebken at end, presenting a bright bead. C. Arch of light much increased in brightness ; the brush or blaze, at first in the centre, now extends from cusp to cusp; radiation outwards, nearly three digi: cusps distant 30° on sun’s limb, a broken point or * bead at each end. This phase noted as that of the formation of the —, by Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11. D. Formation of ring, or instant of osculation of limbs. This phase noticed as the approach of two sharp well defined points to a contact by Nos. 5 and 15. It was observed at the instant when the cusps, appa- rently 20° of the sun’s limb apart, suddenly united by the extension of four or five luminous beads, or rounded portions of the sun’s disc, by Nos. 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14. E. Omitted in the table. This letter refers to the time when the dark lines, described by Van Swinden and Baily, should have appeared. They were not seen by any observer, though carefully searched for. F. Perfect ring, the beads of light having united, or run into each other suddenly. a of E, not observed though looked for. H ring, counterpart of D. Took place at a point, and so noted by all ihe observers. I, Appearance of beads, five or six in yes extending from cusp to cusp. K. Counterpart of C in every respect. L. Counterpart of appearance just preceding C. Brush or blaze of light, narrowed down to a small space, 3° or 4° on the moon’s border, extending outwards 23 digits ; cusps still broken, as seen by most of the observers. Nos. 5 and 15, however, saw no irregularity of cusps, no beads of light. M. Final disappearance of arch of faint light, with brush of light ex- tending beyond the middle, having previously become very faint. This phenomenon observed with great care and certainty by No. 10. N, Appearance of dark lines extending into the sun’s disk, noticed by Nos, 3, 4, 10, and 14. The time noted by Nos. 3 and 14 as the end of eclipse. O. End of eclipse, inferred by each observer from his notes. P. Final disappearance of the dark lines, the sun’s disc having re- sumed its natural shape. Nos. 3, 4, 10, and 14 inferred the time of O . as at some instant intermediate between N. and P. The time of exter- “nal contact difficult to determine, on account of this irregularity. ge . + ee x 3 4 160 Miscalbasits: f For the convenience of computers, the local times above given have been reduced to their corresponding value for the State House by E. O. Kendall, by means of his formule, in Vol. xx, of the Journal of the Franklin Institute, p. 125, which gives the following values for the vari- ation of the local times of the several phases, for a small variation of ter- ___ restrial latitude or longitude, as follows :— oy a ss! a ~ = es: a ws — - ton its proper weight, in mean time of the State House, are, be * i = oF - et eo for + or north 1” terr. Jat. ——0. 0397 0. 0382 =, 0343 ~ Do. +-or west Ls. of terr. lon. in time=—1} 2600 — 1.1400 — 0.9925 _ The means of his results for the State House, giving to each observa- a. Un. s Beginning, 3 13 10.06 Formation of ring, 4 31 18.76 Rupture of ring, 4 35 31.35 End, . 5 45 15.46 Duration er eclipse, : : ia 3 2 32 5.40 Duration of ring, =. : VES, 4 12.59 Mr. Du Ponceau presented a communication, entitled “ A Vocabulary of the Language of the Valiente Indians, who inhabit the State of Costa Rica, in Central America, by Col. D. Juan Galindo, of Guatemala.” Referred to the Historical and Literary Committee. Mr. Nulty read a mathematical paper, entitled “‘ New Formule relative to Comets, by E. Nulty, of Philadelphia.” Referred to Dr. Patterson, Mr. Walker, and Capt. Talcott. The subject of this paper was the component velocities of a comet, ob- served at three consecutive and moderately small intervals of time. Ina preliminary notice of his subject and the means employed in its devel opment, the author mentioned some advantages which he conceived to be attached to his peculiar mode of investigation. He alluded to different results already known, and, with several novel and general formulz com- prised in his paper, he announced two new sets of expressions which he represented as being directly applicable to the exceptive cases, In which particular Sidtradiicas render the forms hitherto given, doubtful or inde- terminate. He also noticed a numerical application which he made 0 his formule and of others connected with the method of Laplace, to the data of the comet of 1803; and he intimated that a pence of the results obtained by him in that and other instances, h ad led him to some remarks, which he inserted towards the close he his per, oe his age ion of their analytical and practical ‘imp Dr. Patterson read a paper by Professor University of Virginia, containing “ vad ote iene Miseatlanie. 161 22d to 25th, 1838, with the view of. Pesetiitinting the depth of the sea by the echo.” This paper, which was not offered for publication in the Society’s Transactions, states that the generally received notions in regard to the intensity of sound in water, and the distance to which it is conveyed, had suggested to Mr. Botinycastle, some years ago, the idea that an audible ; echo might be returned from the bottom of the sea, and the depth be thus ascertained from the known velocity of sound in water. The probability ei: _* of this view was deemed at least sufficient to justify an experiment; and accordingly the Navy Commissioners authorized the construction of the a necessary apparatus, and Captain Gedney, of the U. S. Brig Washington, “Me attached to the coast survey, volunteered his services and the use of hi Pr vessel, and authority to this effect was liberally granted by the ary of the Treasury, Mr. Woodbury. an The apparatus, which is fully described in Mr. Bonnycastle’s paper, consisted, first, of a petard or chamber of cast iron, 2} inches in diam- eter and 5} inches long, with suitable arrangements for firing gunpowder in it under water; secondly, of a tin tube, 8 feet long and 12 inches in diameter, tarnfuated at one end by a conical trumpet-mouth, of which the diameter of the base was 20 inches, and the height of the axis 10 inches ; ; thirdly, of a very sensible instrument for measuring small inter- vals of time, made by J. Montandon of Washington, and which was ca- pable of indicating the sixtieth part of a second. Besides these, an ap- paratus for hearing was roughly made on board the vessel, in imitation of that used by Colladon in the Lake of Geneva, and consisted of a stove- pipe, 41 inches in diameter, closed at one end, and capable of being plunged four feet in the water. The ship’s bell was also unhung, and an '_ arrangement made for ringing it under water. | On the 22d of August, the brig left New York, and in the evening the experiments were commenced. In these, Mr. Bonnycastle was assisted by the commander and officers of the vessel, and by Dr. Robert M. Pat- terson, who had been invited to make one of the party. Tn the first experiments, the bell was plunged about a fathom under water and kept ringing, while the operation of the two hearing instru- ments was tested at the distance of about a quarter of a mile. Both in- struments performed less perfectly than was expected ; the noise of the Waves greatly interfering, in both, with the powers of hearing. In the at: n of the metal, from the blow of the sub wooden casing; but, as it was _ water in the tube was found to t the sound of the bell was better as at the distance of a quarter of a mile = 4 shurp tap, about the loudness of that occasioned by gegen sates, 21 efaekt: _ * if 2 3 : a * Br) f m 162 Miscellanies. striking the back of a penknife against an iron wire: at the distance of a mile the sound was no longer audible In the second experiments, the mouth of the cone, in the trumpet ap- paratus, was closed with a plate of thick tin, and both instruments were protected by a parcelling of old canvas and rope-yarn, at the part in con- tact with the surface of the water. In these experiments the cone was placed at right angles to the stem, and the mouth directed toward the sound. The distances were measured by the interval elapsed between the observed flash and report of a pistol. At the distance of 1400 feet, _ the conical instrument was found considerably superior to the cylindrical, _ and at greater distances the superiority became so decided, that the latter was abandoned in all subsequent experiments. At the distance of 5270 feet, the bell was heard with such distinctness as left no doubt that it could have been heard half a mile further. The sounds are stated in the paper to have been less intense than those in air, and seemed to be conveyed to less distances. The character of the soul was also wholly changed, and, from other experiments, it ap- peared that the blow of a watchmaker’s hammer against a small bar of iron gave the same sharp tick as a heavy blow against the large ship's bell. It is well known that Franklin heard the sound of two stones struck together under water at half a mile distance; yet two of the boat's crew, who plunged their heads below the water, when at a somewhat Jess distance from the bell, were unable to hear its sound. On the 24th of August, the vessel having proceeded to the Gulf Stream, experiments were made with the view for which the voyage was under- taken; that is, to ascertain whether an echo would be returned, through water, from the bottom of the sea. Some difficulties were at first pre- sented in exploding the gun under water, but these were at length over- come. The hearing-tube was ballasted so as to sink vertically in the water. The observers then went, with this instrument, to a distance of about 150 yards from the vessel, and the petard was lowered over the stern, about three fathoms under water, and fired. The sound of the explosion, as heard by Mr. Bonnycastle, was two sharp distinct taps, at an interval of about one third of a second. T'wo sounds, with the same im terval, were also clearly heard on board the brig; but the character of the. sounds was different, and each was secon by a slight shock. Supposing the second sound to be the echo of the first from the bottom of the sea, the depth should have been about 160 fathoms. To ascertain the real depth, the sounding was made by the ordinary method, but with a lead of 75 pounds weight, and bottom was distinctly felt at 550 fathoms, or five furlongs. The second sound could not, there fore, have been the echo of the first; and this was proved, on the follow-. ing day, by repeating the experiment in four fathom water, when double sound was pe « as before, = with the nee re: 3 — a 2. ae 4 m. Ss. _ Boston—Northampton, 6 17.72 by 74 chronometers. do. 6 17.89 by immersion t Sagittarii. Northampton—Phila. 10 4.06 by do. This immersion of t Sagittarii was observed, Aug. 22d, 1836, as follows :— € h, ™, S. ‘ By R. T. Paine, at 10 14 57.46 at Mansion House, Northampton. By W.C. Bond, at 10 23 20.90 at his Observatory. By S.C. Walker, at 10 1 7.30 at N. 4.4", W. 1.06s. of State House, Phil. Vol. xxxvm, No. 1.—Oct—Dec. 1839. * es * 170 Miscellanies. Again, for the longitude of Brown University, Providence, Mr. Paine finds, ™m. s. Boston—Providence, 1 22.64 by 40 chronometers. do. 1 22.29 by eclipse of May 15th, 1836. Mr. Paine’s observations of the eclipse of Sept. 18th have already been reported. hose for latitude and regulation of chronometers have been stated more at length, in order to furnish examples of the method pursued by that gentleman in the chronometric survey of Massachusetts, the only work of the kind of much extent hitherto performed in this country. Some idea of the labors of Mr. Paine may be formed from the fact, that, during its progress, he has been under the necessity of making and reducing more than 100,000 ob- servations of altitudes of the sun and stars, without any assistance. It is proper to add that Mr. Gilliss’s observations, already reported, appear to require a subtractive correction of 1.95s._ Thus Mr. Paine’s observations eres. h. Se Sept. 18th, 21 2%, Barraud 151, fast by its own rate, 4-19 20.80 b y comparison with 682 Barraud, 20.91 ‘ 1678 Arnold, 20.89 > by mean of three chronometers, 19 20.87 by Mr. Gilliss’s transit observations, 19 22.8% Discrepancy, ie. Professor Henry read a paper entitled «Contributions to “-Fleetri-_ : city and oe, Sage No. 3. On the Phenomena of Electro-dynamic - Induction.” Referred to Prof. A. D. Bache, Dr. Patterson, and Dr. ‘are. 4 The primary object of the investigation undertaken by the suthor was the discovery of induced currents from ordinary electricity, si™-~ ilar to those produced by galvanism. Preparatory to this, a new investigation was instituted of the phenomena of galvanic induction, | and the result of this forms, perhaps, the most important part: of the a communication. + The first section of the paper refers to the conditions which # in ~ 4 ence the induction of a current on itself, as in the case of a ‘Jong © wire and a spiral conductor. These are shown to ‘depend on the ~ : intensity and quantity of the battery current, and on the length, thick- _ : ness, and form of the conductor. ee The next section examines the conditions necessary to the produc- j tion of powerful secondary currents, and also the changes which take place in the same, when the form of the battery, and the size and form of the conductor are varied. The important fact is shown, that not only a current of intensity can be induced by one of ——— bat i ba ; aa al Miscellanies. 171 also the converse, that a current of quantity can be produced by one of intensity. The third section relates to the effect of interposing different sub- stances between the conductor which transmits the current from the battery, and that which is arranged to receive the induced current. All good conducting substances are found to screen the inducing ac- tion, and this screening effect is shown, by the detail of a variety of - experiments, to be the result of the neutralizing action of a current, induced in the interposed body. This neutralizing current is sepa- rately examined, and its direction found to be the same as that of the battery current. The question is then raised, how two currents in the same direction can counteract each other? An answer to this question is given in a subsequent part of the paper. The fourth section relates to the discovery of induced Eno TA of the third, fourth, and fifth orders ;—that is, to the fact that the second current is found capable of inducing a third current, and this latter again another, and so on. The properties of these new currents are next examined, and the screening influence is found to take place be- tween them; quantity is induced from intensity, and conversely; magnetism is developed in soft iron; decomposition is effected, and intense shocks are obtained, even from the current of the fourth or- der. A remarkable and i impor orient fact is stated in reference. to the direction of these currents. If the direction of the battery current _ and that of the second be called plus, then the direction of the third current will be minus, of the fourth current plus, of the fifth minus, - andso on. The application of the fact of these alternations is made _ to the explanation of the phenomenon of screening before mentioned, and also to. the improvement of the magneto-electrical machine. The last part of the paper relates to the discovery of secondary currents, and of currents of the several orders, in the discharge of ordinary electricity. Shocks are obtained from these; the screening influence of good conductors is shown to take place; magnetism is Soe Miscellanies. be be “3 ay * of the moon-culminating stars, which are observed at the same time the meridian circle. For latitude, the transit is placed east and we The Altea: Gaerteiory. may serve as a model of sucha small observatory, and the yearly journeys of the Russian astronomers from Dorpat, as models for the use of the instruments in determining geographical positions. The observations of Professor Schwerdt, of Spire, will be found useful in the application of the meridian circle. Such a small observatory will be well adapted to form observers; as the art of handling instruments so as to obtain accurate results is _ only to be acquired by practice. Dr. Patterson made the following verbal communication :— That the use of the wax tablet written on with an iron stylus, as practiced by the ancient Romans, had been tried, for the first time, this day, at the Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, and that the success had been perfectly satisfactory. The blind read, with ease, the words written, traced geometrical figures, &c. It is confidently believed that the Roman tablet will prove of great importance in the instruction of the blind. Professor H. D. Rogers made a verbal communication, in which he called the attention of the Society to a new compound of plati- num, discovered by himself and his friend, Martin H. Boyé; upon the further investigation of which they are at present occupied. It is a well characterized salt, composed of the deutochloride of platinum, and the binoxide of nitrogen, in which the former may be conceived, in accordance with the views of Professor Hare, to act the part of an acid, while the binoxide of nitrogen is in the relation of a base. at is of a bright gamboge yellow, is distinctly crystalline, though, in consequence of the minuteness of the erystals, their form has not been determined. It is highly deliquescent, absorbing water at ordinary temperatures, with great avidity, from the atmosphere- It is rapidly decomposed by the mere addition of water, which causes an active effervescence ; the binoxide of nitrogen being copl: ously evolved, and the deutochloride of platinum remaining ae. lution. This interesting compound is best procured by evaporating @ sl tion of platinum in agua regia nearly to dryness, and then adding @ large excess of fresh nitro-muriatic acid by small quantities at a time. oere compound may thus be readily procured by filtering and pres d th ing the powder between folds of bibulous paper. Shoul e con- centration of the liquid be carried too far, it is requisite to add a little water, just sufficient in quantity to preserve the mass in a semi- ui ition, and to prevent the precipitation of any deutochloride of platinum. ‘ eae, wa ee! 4 Specimens of the salt were exhibited, together with the appara employed in the qualitative examination of the compound, the consti- tution of which was made manifest by proper chemical re-agents. The following candidates were elected members of the Society : Humrnrey Lioyp, A. M., of Trinity College, Dublin. J. K. Pauipine, Secretary of the Navy of the United States. Joun Luptow, D. D., Provost of the University of Pennsylvania Brnsamin W. Ricuarps, of Philadelphia. : Grorce W. Beruvnr, D.D., of Philadelphia. Grorcx M. Justice, of Philadelphia. May 3, 1839.—Prof. Bache called the attention of the Society to the donation of transparent models of crystals, presented to the cabi- net by Prof. Alexander. z He stated that these models had all the advantages of those made from glass, with greater convenience in the construction of them. The thin plates of mica are readily marked with a sharp instrument, and easily cut. The parts are put together with diamond cement, it having been found that this is a much better method of connecting the pieces composing the model, than by cutting the sheets partly through and using the mica as a hinge, which renders the sheets lia- ble to split. The forms resulting from the cleavage of crystals, &c. may be represented in these models as in those of glass. Dr. Hays made a verbal communication relative to the catoptric examination of the eye, as a means of distinguishing the morbid con- ditions of the transparent tissues of that organ. He stated that when a lighted candle is held before an eye, the pupil of which is dilated, and in which there is no obscurity of the transparent tissues, three distinct images of the flame are visible ; two upright and one inverted, the latter appearing between the two former. Experiments made to determine the causes of these reflected ima- ges, and the changes which occur in their number, position, &c. have shown that if alight be placed before the convex face of a single Watch glass, or of several of them superimposed, one or more up- Tight images of the flame will be seen, according to the number of glasses employed.* Now in the eye there are two superimposed convex surfaces, viz.—lst, the cornea; and 2d, the anterior capsule of the crystalline Jens. Thus the formation of the two upright ima- ges is explained. Again, if a light be placed before the concave sur- face of a watch glass, an inverted image is seen. Such a surface * To be strictly accurate, it should be said that each of these images is double, for one is reflected from each surface of the glass, and these images are the more distinctly double, the thicker the glass. ° . * z . ~ pin Miscellanies. + OORT 188. -°- Miscellanies. exists in » the eye; ‘in the posterior capsule of the lens ; aa: thus the — third i image is accounted for M. ‘Sanson, a distinguished French surgeon, has taken: advantage of the above facts, to distinguish cataract from amaurosis, and has been enabled _ to determine by this means some cases of supposed - amaurosis to be in fact cataract, and has treated them — J operation. Dr. Mackenzie, an eminent ophthalmologist of Glasgow, Gee also employed this means to determine the condition of the eye in glau- coma. Dr. Hays remarked that he had resorted to the catoptric examination of the eye in many cases, and believed that it would prove as valuable a means of diagnosis in some of the diseases of the eye, as auscultation is in those of the chest. Dr. Hays exhibited and explained several models, designed and con- structed by Dr. John Neill, resident surgeon at Wills’ Hospital, for the ‘purpose of illustrating the catoptric phenomena just explained. Dr. Patterson communicated verbally a method of using thin sheets of Jead by the blind i in writing, reading, and musical notation, invented by Mr. Joseph Saxton. The sheets of lead are three thousandths of an inch in thickness. Dr. Patterson presented specimens of the wri- ting and musical notation. Dr. Bache communicated the decease of Mr. George Pollok, @ _. ~ member of the Society, who died in April last. : _ May 17, 1839.—Dr. Hare made the following verbal communica- tion relative to the blasting of rocks by the aid of galvanic ignition in firing the charge. The Doctor called the attention of the Society to the fact, that he ae had, so long ago as the summer of 1831, demonstrated the safety, certainty, and facility, which would arise in rock-blasting, whether under water or otherwise, from a resort to galvanic apparatus as the means of igniting the gunpowder employed. His efforts had been incited originally by those of a person named Shaw, who had pro cured a patent for employing mechanical electricity for the purpose} but who, finding that method of operating too precarious to be useful, had applied to Dr. Hare to acquire a knowledge of more eflectua means. This led to the experiments of which the result has been published, both in the newspapers, and in the Journal of the Frank- o lin Institute. The subject was now referred to, in consequence the recent publication of analogous experiments by his friend, Prof. : - Daniell, of King’s College, imines who, in the case in point, no i doubt as in that in which he had * reinvented” Dr. Hare’s concentric _blowpipe, was ignorant of the results previously obtained in this cout of. Daniell had, in blasting, used the highly ingenious app Miscellanies. bas 189 _ ratus known as “ Daniell’s sustaining battery,” he c of which had done him great honor; but Dr. Hare aves, . ever preferable might be a battery of that kind, in processes requiri ng a permanent current; for a transient energetic ignition, such as is most suitable for blasting, the calorimotors which he had contrived, would be decidedly more efficacious. Dr. Hare further communicated the results of his recent experi- ments to obtain calcium, as follows: By igniting an equivalent weight of lime with an equivalent and a half of crystallized bicyanide of mercury, in two successive experi- ments, residual masses were obtained, which, within a small fraction, had the weight which would have resulted from the union of an equivalent of calcium, with an equivalent of ‘eyanogen. A portion of the compound thus made, was placed between electrodes of char- coal, the lower piece being excavated slightly to receive it, and the upper one being so shaped as to enter the cavity. The electrodes Were severally supported by copper rods passing through stuffing boxes, so as to be included within a glass receiver, ground to fit air tight upon an extra air-pump plate. In consequence of this arrange- ment, the receiver could be exhausted of air, and the electrodes con- sequently ieee in vacuo, or in an atmosphere of hydrogen, as might be deemed pre e. The lower electrode formed the ca- thode, the upper the an de, of two hundred pairs, each com prising 2 one hundred square inches of zinc surface. ‘Under these circum- 3 stances, when the circuit was completed, by throwing the usual charge of acid upon the plates, the most intense ignition ensued. The sup- posed compound of cyanogen appears to be an excellent conductor, and nothing could exceed the splendor of the purple light emitted during its deflagration. It was too vivid, however, for more than a transient endurance by an eye unprotected by deep colored glasses. After the compound was adjudged to be sufficiently deflagrated, and time had been allowed for refrigeration, on lifting the receiver, masses were found upon the coal which had a metallic appearance, and which, when moistened, produced an effluvium, of which the smell was like that which had been observed to Be generated under like circumstan- ces, by the siliciuret of potassiu Similar results had been at by the deflagration, ina like man- ner, of a compound procured by passing cyanogen over guicklime, enclosed in a porcelain tube heated to incan c Phosphuret of calcium, when carefully prepared, and subsequenily. well heated, was found to be an excellent conductor of the voltaic current, evolved from the apparatus above mentioned. Hence it was _ thought expedient to expose it in the circuit of the deflagrator, both ca 190 Miscellanies. in an atmosphere of hydrogen, and in vacuo. The volatilization of phosphorus was so copious as to coat throughout the inner surface of - the glass receiver, with an opake film, in color resembling that of the oxide of phosphorus, generated by exposing this substance under hot water, to a current of oxygen. . The phosphuret at first contracted in bulk, and finally was for the most part volatilized. On the surface of the charcoal adjoining the cavity in which the phosphuret had been deflagrated, there was a light pulverulent matter, which, thrown into water, effervesced, and when rubbed upon a porcelain tile, appeared to contain metallic span- gles, which were oxidized by the consequent exposure to atmospheric oxygen. . In one of Dr. Hare’s experiments with the apparatus described, portions of the carbon forming the anode appeared to have undergone complete fusion, and to have dropped in globules upon the cathode. When rubbed, these globules had the color and lustre of plumbago and by friction on paper, left traces resembling those produced by that substance. They were susceptible of reaction with chlorohydri¢ or nitric acid, or with aqua regia. They were not, in the slightest degree, magnetic. About 1822, Professor Silliman had obtained globules which were by him considered as fused carbon, by others were deemed to be de- ' positions of carbon carried from one electrode to the other. Profes- sor Silliman had at that time sent Dr. Hare several nodules for ex- ~ amination, of which none, agreeably to his recollection, appeared 80 much like products of fusion as those lately obtained. Formerly, plumbago had been considered as a carburet of iron, but latterly, agreeable to the high authority of Berzelius, should be viewed as carbon holding iron in a state of mixture, and not in that of chemical combination. It would not then be surprising, if the globules in question furnished an instance of the conversion of char- coal into plumbago. Since the above mentioned experiments were made, Dr. Hare has had reason to believe that the compound obtained as above described; by heating lime with bicyanide of mercury, contains fulminic acid, of an analogous substance. The compound being dissolved in acetie acid, and the filtered solution subjected to nitrate of mereury; @ copl- ous white precipitate resulted. This being desiccated, proves to be a fulminating powder. It explodes between a hammer and anvil like fulminating mercury, or rather with the sharp sound of fulminating iver. Sees Hays made a verbal communication of a case of the application of the catoptric method of examining the eye, by which be had de- Miscellanies. 191 tected the destruction of the lens and of its: alan Aides circum- — stances which would not otherwise have Jed to the conclusion that they had been destroyed, and where vision had been obtained by the use of a cataract lens, June 21, 1839.—The librarian was authorized to take order in rela- tion to an exchange of the Transactions of the Society, for the Journal of the Boston Natural History Society. The committee on the letters of Mr. J. P. Hulliken and Dr. Town- send reported, and was discharged. The committee to whom was referred the publication of certain meteorological tables, accidentally omitted in their place in the Trans- actions, and the journal of Dr. Thomas Hewson, 2 ah in favor of the publication of certain of the former and of the latter. Dr. Bache presented a translation of an obituary rs of Profes- sor Rask of Copenhagen, late a member of the Society, to be depos- ited in the archives of the Society. Mr. Vaughan informed the Society of the decease of Doctor Thomas Cooper, a member of the Society, who died on the eleventh of May last. Dr. Hays communicated verbally the case of a woman laboring under an affection of the optic nerve, in which a defect in the recog- nition of colors was developed, according to her statement, at the same time with the affection of the general vision, and in whicha “+ ew * partial recovery of the power of vision had been attended with the re- _ covery of the power to distinguish colors. . Dr. Hare Jaid before the Society, portions of barium, strontium and — calcium, and stated the considerations which led him to attempt their extrication, and the means by which he had succeeded. July 17, 1839.—The Committee on the observations of the Solar Eclipse of May 14-15, 1836, reported, and their report was ordered for publication. he American observations, twenty eight in number, were given at length. At the invitation of Mr. C. Rumker, Director of the Hamburg Observatory, conveyed through Prof. A. D. Bache, twenty one of these observations had been forwarded by Mr. John Vaughan to that distinguished astronomer, for comparison with those which had been made in Europe. The report contained a letter from Mr. Rumker, in which the time of ecli ptic conjunction, with its variations for the small errors of the tables, was deduced from each of the European and American observations. Mr. Rumker remarks, that the corrections of this time for the corrections of the moon’s declination and parallax, appearing with opposite signs in the observations on the two conti- nents, afford unusual facilities for determining these corrections, par- B« 192 Miscellanies. , ticularly the latter. Mr. Rumker’s letter not having given the final results deducible from his equations of condition, the committee ap- pended a letter from Mr. Sears C. Walker, in which he deduces from Mr. Rumker’s equations, the following corrections of the solar and lunar elements given in the Nautical nearing ac. d (© +@) 91 B79 nirvewn net + d(©-@)=-1".750= “ difference of semidiameters. e. de =+1"516= * moon’s parallax eS — Vos moon’s —— These corrections being referred to the moon’s orbit and its secon- daries, give, after Bessel’s notation (Astr. Nachr. 320) _ +o ot ona == cor. moon’s eee in true orbit. | ry to Mr. Peters, dus, Noches 326) cans dia pecan. cbeertatiaie had obtained ¢== — 3//,650. f= - 5.472. Mr. Walker having previously reduced the American observations | with Peters’s co-ordinates and corrections, furnishes a comparison of the longitudes from Greenwich, derived by different computers from this eclipse. {Walker from;Walker from Rumker’s | yi s _ Canatiomis | co-ordin eS. & 8 13.835 8 1349 1 16535 1. 15 0 40.615 0 4094 | 39. | Washington, (Capitol,) - ema Sehioo _ Delaware Co. Pa. rs private Observatory, e,) OUST a Germ Philadelphia, aed Soe West Hills, (Coast Survey,) - Southwick, Mass., A. Hole omb’s p- Obs. Providence, Brown ae ersity, - (Dorchester, Mass., Wm. C. Bond's p. ¢ _ Obs. 451 12894 51 13. not reduced. 4 45 38.3 ld 44 16. Pee se oS we hg he o ww oo sags BER a see or Ww sé & 44 0 Mr. Walker finds ee the resolution of Rumker’s s equations of con- dition, + 1”.516 for the correction of Burkhardt’s constant of the moon’s equatorial parallax. In the Memoirs of the Astronomical So- ciety, Vol. x, Mr. Henderson gives + 1’.5 as the value of this correc: _ ‘ tion, derived from Plana’s Théorie de la Lune, and + 1’.3 as the val- jie. on ue of the same, derived from a discussion of all the meridian obset- vations of the moon made in 1832 and 1833, with the mural circles at ~ Greenwich, Cambridge, and the Cape of Good Hope. This correc- | tion had hitherto been derived chiefly from theory and meridian ob- | servations. It is seldom that an eclipse or occultation has been 8? | extensively observed as to furnish a determination of this element | In the present instance, the results by the three independent meth present a close agreement. Dr. , one of the Vice Presidents of the Society, stated that - had received a letter from the Prince of Musignano, informing him Bee ree we coe a a , a s & Miscellanies. 193 that a meeting of the scientific men of Italy would be held at Pisa, in Oct. next, and inviting the Society to send a delegate to the meeting. Dr. Patterson communicated the decease of Mr. Francis Nichols, a member of the Society, on the 7th of July. Dr. Bache also announced the decease of Dr. John Newnam, for- merly of Salisbury, N. Carolina, a member of the Society. The following candidates were declared duly elected members of the Society :— Tuxop. Romeyn Brcx, M. D., of Albany. Ricuarp C. Tayxor, of Philadelphia. : August 16, 1839.—A communication from the foreign Secretary of the Royal Society of London, in relation to magnetic observations was referred to the astronomical committee. Dr. Dunglison described the appearances which he had witnessed, in company with Professor Silliman, after the tornado of the 3ist ul- timo, at New Haven. The evidences appeared to him to favor the idea of a gyratory motion. The direction of the storm was from south-west to north-east. Mr. Justice described a similar tornado which had occurred on the Same day, fifteen miles north of Philadelphia, showing evidence, in his opinion, of a similar movement of gyration. 2. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. Com- piled from the records of the Society, by Jerrrizs Wyman, M. D., Recording Seeretary. : June 5, 1839.—J. E. Tescnemacuer, Esq. in the chair. Dr. A. A. Goutp read a communication from Prof. C. B. Adams, giving the description of a shell found at East Boston, and called by him Delphinula minor ; it was not referred to the genus Delphinula, however, without some hesitation. Dr. Gould having made a more extended examination was induced to consider it as identical with Helix corpuloides, Montagu; and that it came under Brown’s new genus Delphinoidea. ; Pe _.. Mr. T. J. Wuirremore read a report on the specimens of Planor- bis corpulentus presented to the society by Prof. C. B. Adams. Were collected from the Otter Creek, Middlebury Vt., and the species is described in the appendix to Long’s second expedition. The cor- pulentus is closely allied to the trivolvis. The former however is much less rounded on the sides of the whorls; carine are more prom- inent and the upper side is much more flattened horizontally ; the shell is larger and higher in proportion to its width, and the aperture ex- tends both above and below its penultimate whorl.—Habitat, in shal- Vol. xxxvin1, No, 1.—Oct.—Dec. 1839. > % 2 ~ » ae Pian 194 . Miscellanies. ae ty : : - apple green; some specimens are as dark and brilliant as the finest ‘we low and quiet water on rocks, to which it adheres in an erect. posi- tion, the plane of the aperture being the base. ; rpg Bae r. J. E. Tescuemacuer presented a specimen of Elvella escu- — lenta from Oak Island. This is much esteemed as an article of food, and at certain seasons of the year is in great demand in the London € market ; it is not however so rich or so highly esteemed as the truffle. He also exhibited a specimen of yellow Trillium, received from Mr. R. H. Gardiner, of Gardiner, Me. ; this was first noticed by Dr. C. T. Jackson, and afterwards was procured by Mr. G. He also exhibited a new variety of the Marchantia, probably the triceps of Hitchcock's catalogue. « Mr. 'T. made a few remarks on the report of the surveyors of the State of N. York. He thought that besides giving descriptions of the actual state of things, they should also institute comparisons between them and similar appearances in other countries. Comparative in- formation was extremely valuable in an agricultural or an arboricul- tural point of view, especially as to the importance or profit of dif- ferent growths of timber; the same remarks might be applied to the botany of different countries. June 19, 1839.—G. B. Emerson, Esq., President, in the chair. Mr. J. E. TeschemMacnueEr read a report on the minerals found at the sienite quarry, at Milk row, in Charlestown. Prehnite is found _there, varying in color from pure translucent and opake white, to fine Chrysoprase. The crystals consist for the most part of aggregated groups with curvilinear faces. In one instance the form of aggreg® tion was elliptical, imbedded in carbonate of lime. There are 280 erystals of the primary furm, a right rhombic prism; the measure ments by the goniometer were as follows; M or M’ on f 139° 45’; M on M’ 101° 05’; according to Phillips the last is 100°; the result stated however was procured from repeated observations. Quartz is met with in nodules and crystals; the latter small, but of the purest fy water, occasionally rising from the midst of pure green prehnite; a = - villas? € a a yh some the modifications n, h, 1, 2, and i, 1,2 are visible. Feldspar; this ne is generally in a state of decomposition, which appears to commence — from the centre. In one specimen the prism was coated with bright green crystallized chlorite, interspersed with small masses of put? white and nearly transparent curvilinear prehnite. Hornblen e 18 found in form of oblique rhombic prism with modifications C; K, q erystals are small and black on white prehnite. Epidote is found 10 minute dark green crystals with the usual terminations. Carbonate of lime oceurs in small crystals with modifications resembling dog tooth spar; also in the form of the primary rhomb half an inch? — ae m4 % RNS: Aa — ae * : : -— Miscellanies. =~ 195 length. In one specimen the carbonate rested on green prehnite; decomposition; indicated by the deep striz in the lines of cleavage, had apparently commenced in the lime, and had been subsequently arrested, crystallization recommencing, as the sharp edges produced __ by decomposition were covered with an infinite number of minute crystals, Another specimen assumed the form of a nodule six inches in diameter, bearing a strong resemblance to the carbonate of iron. Stidbite is found in cavities of prehnite, assuming the form of the thombic prism without modifications; also with the modification a and c. Chabasie, on prehnite, of a rhomboidal form is met with, measuring 94° 46’ and 85° 40’, generally of an opaque milk white color, and one sixteenth of an inch in size. Laumonite, abundant. Other minerals had been found which he had not been able to deter- mine. July 3, 1839.—C. K. Ditiaway, Esq., in the chair. Dr. D. H. Srorer exhibited living specimens of male and female Syngnathus. We stated that numerous males had been taken in this Vicinity during the present season, in all of which there existed a 3 pouch on the abdomen, posterior to the anus, in which were numer- ous ova; these Jast were hatched in the course of twenty four hours after they were taken. The females were subsequently found and recognized by the existence of ovaries. The female deposits the | Ova in the pouch of the male, where they remain until hatched. & July 17, 1839.—Dr. A. A.Govp, inthe chair, © Dr. D. H. Storer stated that since the last meeting he had had --_-—s @N opportunity of seeing a large specimen of the Carcharias obscu- ~~ rus of Le Sueur, taken off Nahant. This specimen was about nine feet long, and weighed 800 or 900 pounds. There were six or seven rows of well formed teeth, but only one row above and two below had as yet made their appearance through the lining membrane of the mouth; all the teeth were serrated. ~*~ _ Dr. S. also exhibited a specimen of Emys Blandingii of Holbrook, — taken in Haverhill in this state.. The only localities heretofore known | were the prairies in Illinois and the territory of Ouisconsin, where.” « _ they are said to be abundant. This species belongs to the section = Hiantes, (Dum. and Bibron,) being unable perfectly to close the shell. Dr. T. M. Brewer stated that considerable doubt existed with re- gard to the color and configuration of the eggs of the Chicadee. He had during the last week received two specimens which were small, oval, and uniformly speckled with red spots. Mr. J. E. Trescuemacuer exhibited specimens of the following plants brought from the Blackstone river, by Mr. F. A. Eddy, a mem- ber of the society. —Scirpus sylvaticus of Lin., Willd., Vahl, Hooker, *: “De Cand. and J. E. Smith; it grows in moist and shady woods, s 196 - Miscellanies. on banks of rivers; pretty common in Scotland, less frequent in Eng- ‘3 land; root is creeping; plant grows a yard high or more, 7 : ‘acta grassy and flat, rough, cutting on the edges” and keel. Pani- - _ cle consists of innumerable little dark green, ovate spikes ; gluines ‘ obtuse with more or less of a small point: stigma 3-fid; seed len-— ticular, whitish, smooth with six or eight rough bristles. We have many Scirpi which are unknown in Europe. Sir J. E. Smith only names three which are unknown here, viz. S. setaceus, holoschemus and sylvaticus. Mr. T. also exhibited a specimen of the Andromeda mariana from the same locality; also the rarest of our American plants, Lygodium palmatum. A curious variety of Linaria vulgaris (the Pelorta of Lin.) was exhibited ; the corolla appears in the form of a cone, teI- minated above by a prominent border of five divisions, and below producing five spurs instead of one; so that according to Nuttall we have the ringent flower restored to its natural symmetry and regularity, this being the original condition of the flower, an opinion, however which is not substantiated. Dr. A. A. GouLp read descriptions of the following species of shells. SoLecurTws nivipus. ,Testd oblongo-ovat’; utrinque rotundata, inequilaterali; epidermide inflecta, luteo-virescente, glabra, pos corrugata ; intus costa transversali. Long. 3 poll. Alt. 1,4. Lat-ye Macrra ovatis. Testa magna, crassa, obovata, subtriongalarl _ subequilaterali epidermide rudi, fusco-viridi, transverse corrugata ind natibus, areola lanceolata. Long. 4 poll. Alt.2;5- Lat. lip Pe fa DEBILIs. Testa parva, convoluta, ovata, ventricosa, hyalina, basi truncata, sub-umbilicataé; spira retusd, discoidea ; anfractibus quatuor, supra rotundatis. Long. 5. Lat. J5- ULLA oBsTRICTA. Testa parva, pallida, convoluta, ovoideé, me- dio sais anfractibus quinque, spird elevaté, obtusa; sutura du- _ ; apertura longitudinali, inferne dilatata. Long. 7% poll. Lat. 4: ‘LyMyra cnatyera. T esta ovata, anfractibus quatuor ; spira acuta; -sutura profunda ; ee — dilataté ; intus chalybea, extra nie gricante. Long. ;% poll. Lat. 7, poll. VALVATA PUPOIDEA. TestA parva, castaned, elevatd: anfractibus ©, ee ad quinque, ultima a precedente disjuncta. Long. 10 poll. Lat. 3, poll. PLanorBis HIRsuTUs. ‘Test dextrorsa, discoided, utrimque om cava; anfractibus quatuor, lineis hirsutis, volventibus insignibus- Lat. zo ep Long. 35. IcA FLAVA. Testa ventricoso-globos4, teaperforatts alba, eA dermide flava; anfractibus quatuor; columella flexuosi; 4 — Long. 1 3g fie +5 poll. Miscetanies. a wes e WNarrca CANALICULATA. ‘Testa ovato-conicd, ponderosA; spirh Fetus: anfractibus quatuor, superne subcarinatis ; sutura profundé impressa ; apertura. semilunari; umbilico parvo, lineari. Long. 145 . poll. =a . 7 poll. NA NERITOIDEA. TestA ovato-globosd, tenui, levi, flaves- cente, sade scabra ; anfractibus tribus convexis, ultimo magno; spira fere nulla; apertura obliqua, semilunari; umbilico profundo. Long. } poll. Lat. 3 poll Pinicn > ak a Testa fusiformi, alb& vel castaned, longi- tudinaliter 15 ad 20 lamelloso-costata; caudd longiuscula; apertura spiram equante. Long. 12 poll. Lat. 4 po USUS TORNATUS. Testa ovate-coniel, cietiasatl, pallide cornea’; anfractibus sex vel septem convexis, costis tribus obsoletis, castaneis einctis; apertura ao evasi, spiram equante; canali brevi, anh recurva, g. 23 poll. Lat. 2 poll. : CINUM RosAcEUM. ‘Testa parva, conico-acuta, alba, rosaceo- ibe: ; anfractibus sex, plano-convexis, spiraliter lineolatis ; apertu spira breviore ; columella arcuata, planulata. Long. ;3; poll. Lat. 3; poll. Dr. J. Wyman exhibited the intestine of a mackerel shark, (Lamna punctata, Mitchill,) showing the ducts of the pancreas and liver, the spiral valve formed by the mucous membrane of the intestine, a com- munication between the cavity of the peritoneum and anus by means of two small canals, and an opening in the Jower part of the intestine communicating with a hollow organ, on which commenced the first branches of the vena cava. August 7, 1839.—Dr. J. B. S. Jackson, in the chair. Dr. J. Wyman made a written report on the electrical eel, (Gym- notus electricus, Lin.) exhibiting dissections of the electrical organs, and of the nerves by which they are supplied; he also gave an ac- count of the physical and physiological properties of the clecininial developed by this fish, and showed the analogy between it and ¢ mon electricity. Dr. D. H. Srorer read a communication etsine Mr. J. G. Anthony. _ Of Cincinnati, giving a description of the two following new — of shells; viz. Helix striatella and Paludina Cincinnatiensis. _ Dr. S. also gave an account of an elephant shark (Squalus Gon. Le Sueur) taken near Provincetown, Mass., measuring 30 ft. in length. Mr. J. E. Tescuemacuer exhibited some fossil corals and madre- Pores in limestone, from Devonshire, England, beautifully ground and polished ; also some photogenic drawings of plants, feathers, &c., : copied from nature. * » 198 o Miscellanies. es -, Sept. 4, 1839.—Amos BINNEY, Vice President, in the chain o a i * Vermont: This mineral is harder than common serpentine vs AS RS: The result of analysis is as follows : é aoe > Wikter: - - 7.70% be = ‘Silica, - = : 45.80 ; gneticIron, - - - - 2.00 , Magnesia, as - « - 33.44 Protoxide of Iron, - - - 7.60 Oxide of — - - - 2.00 .. Loss, - - - - 1.46 ctiaee 100.00 Dr. Jackson also gave an analysis* of a new mineral obtained from . Chessy, om which was supposed to be a hydrate of copper; anal- ysi er pro roved it to be a crenate of copper instead of the hydrate. - For this mineral, , he proposed the name of Beaumontite, in honor of M. Elie de Beaumont, the distinguished French geologist. He also exhibited specimens in which crenic and apocrenic acid were combined with metallic bases. Crystals of crenic acid were also exhibited; these were obtained by dissolving the acid in alcohol, and evaporating to dryness in the sun. Dr. Jackson then read a communication addressed to him by Mr. George Catlin, giving an account of his visit to the Coteau des _, Pisivies, the locality from whence is obtained the Indian “pipe stone." s on the Shells and Minerals presented by Dr. Brinckerhoff to the New York Lyceum of Natural History + he subscriber, who was appointed to examine and report upon certain shells forming part of the valuable specimens of natural history presented a ae _ t See - $ To the Editors of the Am. Jour. Science and Arts.—In the month of July Sasty Dr. Brinckerhoff, of the U.S. ship North Carolina, presented to the Lyceum of Natural History of this city, a large and valuable collection of specimens in natu- ral history, collected by him during the recent voyage of this ship. These speci- Ble = * For the analysis of this mineral, see seer of this Journal, p. 398. the letter, page 128 of this No gical specimens. They were deemed of sufficient interest and importance t? be referred to special committees for examination and report. The only full reports which have a been made, are those upon the mineralogical specimens, = ae the mollusca. As there is no immediate prospect of a continuation of o¥ “Ane nals,” we sacs thought the best use we could make of these reports adil be to olf thai for publication i in your arnioney Yours most respectfully, Joux H. Repriexp, Cor. Sec. N. ¥. L. N. H New York, November 19th, 1839. Dr. C. T. Jackson gave an analysis of the serpentine marble from 4 -_ z & ‘ead 3 ‘i re | Miscellanies. ‘asc * * ae « to the rtm by Doctor Brinckerhoff, of the U. S. Navy, respectful a, a 4 ad o. -Teports, , that the shells thus referred to him consist of Annulata, Cirrhin : peda, Conchifera and Mollusca, and are found to be as follows: > % Annulata, 4 genera, viz. “3 tee politum, Linn. 2. Sabellaria, 1 species, ? 3. Spirorbis, 1 do. ? 4. Serpula, 2 do. 2 Cirrhipeda, 7 genera, viz. 1. Tubicinella Balenarum, Lam. 2. Coronula Balenaris, — diadema, Testudinaria, 8. Balanus tintinnabulum, Brug. ? ii4 4. Anatifa levis, Lam. 5. Pollicipes mitella, Lam. 6. Cineras vittata, Lam. 7. Otion Cuvieri, Lam. Conchifera, 22 genera, viz. 1. Solen Dombeii, Lam. 2. Amphidesma solidum, Gray. 3. Mesodesma donacia, Desh. 4, Saxicava pholadis, Lam. 5. Petricola ochroleuca, Lam. 6. Tellina sulphurea, Lam. scobinata, Linn. 7. Capsa Brasiliensis, Lam, 8. Cytherea impudica, Lam. meretrix, Lam. Dione, Lam. flexuosa, Lam. castanea, Lam. 9. Venus corbis, Lam. —- Peruviana, Linn. 10. Cardium unedo, Linn. 11. Cardita, 12. Hiatella arctica, Lam. 13. Isocardia Moltkiana, Born. I ol, = gn Barn . Patella levigit "Ohetait: 14. Arca scapha, Lam. * rhombea, Born. Fi senilis, Linn. . Modiola discors, Lam. caudigera, Lam. . Mytilus bilocularis, Lam. smaragdinus, Chemn. . Meleagrina margaritifera, Lam. . Pecten purpuratus, po . Plicatula cristata, Lam. ~~ . Spondylus maximus, eat “ . Ostrea cornucopie, Lam, . Orbicula lamellosa, Brod. ao Mollusca, 50 genera, viz. . Chiton elegans, Frembl. olivaceus, Frembl. Cumingii, Frembl. aoe. rug. Gray. saccharina, Linn. striata, Petit. tessellata, Mull. Testudinaria, Linn. ? . Siphonaria gigas, Sowb. Lessonii, Blain. _** . Fissurella biradiata, Frembl. Hipponix barbata, Sowb. .s Calyptrea radians, Desh. es ———_— rugosa, Desh. spinosa, Sowb. tectum sinense, Lam. . Crepidula foliacea, Brod. aicbciecess forni rnicata, Lam. squamosa, Brod. 200 _ 8. Bulla ampulla, Linn. 9. Helix Peruviana, Lam ——— melanotragus, ‘Boru, Bulimus Gravesii, King. ——_+«- Leuzonicus, Sowb. undatus, Brug. . Partula hyalina, Brod. . Neritina zebra, Lam. picta, Sowb. ——- caffra, Gray. . Nerita scree Gray. : a, Linn. . Natica actin: Lam. glauca, Humb. ‘ Janthina communis, Lam. exigua, Lam. 16. Sigaretus haliotoideus, Lam. 17. Haliotis Cracherodii, Linn. striata, Linn. Solarium granulatum, Lam. Trochus ater, Lesson. 18. 19. 20. pagodus, Lam. viridis, Lam. . Turbo petholatus, Linn. % 22. Phasianclla I Peraviana, = aa Turritella ee Lam. tuberculatum, Lam. . Pleurotoma virgo, Lam. Turbinella rhinoceros, Lam. ——— pugillaris, Lam. Cancellaria cancellata, Lam. ussata, Sowb. k 28. Fescilaria aurantiaca, Lam, — 29, ie sz 27. | AM. 5g imus, Lam. 30. Pala ventricosa, Sowb. Monodonta fragarioides, Lam. ii he ql Miscellanies. . Rostellaria curvirostris, Lam. . Strombus canarium, Linn. gibberulus, Linn. granulatus, Wood. auris Diane, Linn. floridus, Lam. . Cassis rufa, Brug. vibex, Brug. sulcosum, Brug. . Ricinula tuberculata, Blain. . Purpura armigera, Lam. patula, Lam. planospira, Lam. chocolatum, Duclos. columellaris, Lam. Riosquiformis, Duclos. ge BS Concholepas Peruviana, Lam. Buccinum annulatum, Lam. Gayii, Kiener. inflatum, Lam. 58 Al. Terebra 2 ee mercatoria, Lam. _— mendicaria, Lam. 43. Mitra pontificalis, Lam. teniata, Lam 44, Marginella Bellanger Kiener. 45. Ovula birostris, Sow 46, Cxprea Testudinaria, ‘Linn. Mauritiana, Linp- aa — coccinella, Linn. 31. Ranella ventricosa, Brod. z granifera, Lam. 32. Murex radix, Lam. regius, Swains. j crassilabrum, Gray. ee ramosus, Linn, © 33. Triton canaliferum, Lam. tuberosum, Lam. é ne + Ny * “t Miscellanies. 201-5 re Tetebellum subulatum, Lam. 48. Ancillaria castanea, Sowb. cinnamomea, Lam. Conus imperialis, Linn, betulinus, Linn, textile, Linn. 49, ‘Oliva hiatula, Lam. ———- tulipa, Linn. _ —— Senegalensis, Lam. ——— terebra, Brug. ae = ——— episcopalis, Lam. stercus muscarum Gmel. ispidula, Lam. 50. Conus litteratus, Gmel. ——— lividus, Brug. The above mentioned shells are generally in good order and preserva- tion, ‘They are principally from Mazatlan, St. Lorenzo, Guayaquil, Cal- lao, Valparaiso, and the Sandwich and Society islands; a ee e from: the Atlantic coast of South America. sain ante canonicus, Brug. sponsalis, Chemn. Doctor Brinckerhoff has also with much pains procured sehr these a species containing the animal, and preserved them in spirits of wine. _ These, as well as various fruits, en animals, &c. &c., have been care- fully divided and placed in separate jars. Among the more rare speci- mens, may be noticed the Marginella Bellangeri, Kiener, from Bahia, the Cypien Testudinaria, the Ancillaria cinnamomea, the clusters of the Orbicula lamellosa, Brod., from Valparaiso, and the Purpura planospira. . The entire collection is one of the most valuable in this department seum. It has been made by a gentleman attached to the navy, in the intervals of his official duties and during a single cruise. By it he has Well deserved not only the thanks he has already received from this in- stitution, but those of every lover of science and useful knowledge. His example and that of several others show how much may be accomplished by the naval officers if a similar zeal shall become general among them. By collecting and bringing home the natural productions of the lands and oceans that they visit, they may employ the leisure which their pro- ession sometimes affords, in an occupation at once useful and interest- * ing ; enlarge the rewndneles of science, and add new claims to the many they already possess to the esteem and admiration of their The subscriber suggests the propriety of publishing ‘the several P . upon the specimens presented — ign may think = ew York, October, 1839 *% Report upon the Minerals, Geological Specimens and - Fossils, Fim the island of St. Lorenzo, presented to to the New York Lyceum of Natu- ral History, by Dr. Brinckerhoff, and referred to Jos. Delafield. ite, in detached crystals and in fasciculated groups, imbedded in ks red and brown indurated clay. yr XXXVIII, No. 1.—Oct.—Dec. 1839. 26 Joun _ Jay. Brinchosioe + in such manner as the + ae : rock strata of the island. ~ analogous in some respects. — " is probable that the specimens are from a formation of ae pe ¢ ay Miscellanies. ee | SEthslcarcous Spar, white, massive, from a vein of =— same in one of the of £ Saline Sandstone, ‘aaa Singular configurations, cellular, caren ous, and sometimes botryoidal. The forms seem to be derived from the accidental solution of the salt, and wasting away of the sandstone irregu- larly. One triangular specimen of saline sandstone is in the form of an irreg- ular tetrahedron, the two axes being unequal. The planes are wasted away, and the solid angles not, so that a continuation of the same pro- cess would leave a cellular substance like the others, but regular. This form is said to be the most common, and although it is not decidedly a crystal, the tendency of its component parts to crystallize and the sym- metry of this specimen, increase the probability that it is. Further spe ‘cimens and observations are desirable, and the observer should be ac- quainted with the sandstone of Fontainbleau, which suggests itself as The geological specimens from the same island are compact Quartz rock from the summit, Basaltiform rock, but its identity with basalt is doubtful ; the forms are the chief resemblance in the specimens exhib- ited, which specimens are argillaceous and ferruginous. ‘Their exposure €. the weather and contact with other mineral substances, may have some change; and as basalt is sometimes liable to decomposition, Striped or Variegated Sandstones. - Light Colored Clay Slate. and, and fossils are contained sland offers to the geologist With ir “accompanying minerals SEI vation than is usual in so small @ TT a a a ee ; “space. ~The committee cannot giveth desired geological description for the want of other facts, but hopes to them The fossils consist of small bivalves i in the olay slate. _— Trigonia i in graywacke, and casts of Trigonia i in the red = _ Ammonites and casts of ammonites, and some small Isocard BE Dr. Brinckerhoff has also” Seon a variety of the rolled pebbles of hyries of different colors, the feld- erall white 5 ; siliceous pebbles Clea P Cilumbic,. ‘Tenn., N. lat. 35° 36; W. lon. 87°.—Mr. Thomas 2 ~R. Dutton has communicated to me the following observations made gen}. Miscellanies. 203 a e on the night of August 9, 1839. ‘From Oh. 41m. A. M. (Aug. 10,) 0 Ih. 31m., Isaw 45 shooting stars; three fourths of these pro- _ ceeded from a radiant; about one fourth had trains. From 2h. 36m. to 3h. 6m. I saw 35; from 3h. 6m. to 3h. 36m. I saw 20. Of those which had trains, scarcely one moved in an unconformable direction : of those seen from 2h. 36m. to 3h. 6m. about three fourths Jeft trains behind them, and five sixths of them obeyed the radiant. The meteors Were not as large or as brilliant as those of Jast year, but resembled ~ them in other particulars. I observed the progression of the radiating point noticed last year by Mr. Schaeffer.” (This Journal, pos Xxxv, p. 169.) 2. At Tunbridge Wells, (Eng.) N. lat. 51° 7; E. lon. 15, “Prof Powell saw on the 10th of August, 1839, a very brilliant exhibition of meteoric stars: they averaged from 15 to 20 in the quarter of an hour: they all left trains of light after them: the motion of all was from N. toward the 8.” Lond. Atheneum, Aug.'31, 1839, p. 657. 3. At Brandsbury House, about 3 miles N. W. of London. Ed- ward Cooper, Esq., aided by Messrs. Jones and Fenton, observed during 3h. 22m. on the night of Aug. 10, 1839. The sky was at times ‘puitially-overcast. “The average number of meteors observed in the half hemisphere to which we attended, was 44. Three or four were very splendid, but none equal to the finest seen Aug. 10, 1838, at Geneva. The general result however fully establishes the fact that the nights of the 10th or 11th of August, furnish a most remarkable exhibition of these interesting celestial travellers.” Extract from a ‘paper by Mr. Cooper, in Lond. and Ed. Phil. Mag., Nov. 1839, p. . 4. Breslau. N. lat. 51° 63’; E. lon. 17° 2. The St. James’s Chron- icle, of London, Sept. 5, 1839, contains a translation of an account published by Von Boguslawski i in the Prussian State Gazette, of me- teoric observations, at the August epoch, made under his ee oe a dence. The following is an abstract of the account. vera was overcast. The. days previous to August 10, 183s , the sky of the 10th was clear, and at dusk, it w {an unusual fall of meteors had begun. Arrangements were made for observing the numbers, times, durations, Ee atlas Re &c. of the meteors. These however were not compl until 9h. 26m. P. M., when all the observers, fifteen in number, w be tee Eleven (?) were sta- tioned at the six eee of th » Obs atory, and four at the clocks. In the course of 5h. 48m. ending 3h. 14m. (A. M. of the 11th, ™ when daylight interfered,) they noticed one thousand and eight eer, BS cal bi os 4 i fk 2 i f ie Further account of the Shooting Stars of Aug. 9 and 10, 1839. . r Eas. es Miscellanies. . biers, not including numbers which must have been overlookéle ... the observers were not sufficiently numerous. Sometimes the ne 3 % _ Stars: succeeded each other so rapidly that nothing but the time could | re be noted. The courses therefore of only 977 were marked upon the __ star-maps; with all their circumstances. The following result is as __ near the truth as” possible, Five meteors appeared as bright as Venus; _ 14as Jupiter; 238 as stars of the first magnitude ; 354 of the second, =< a and 257 of the third magnitude: 101 were reckoned smaller still, and : the magnitudes of eight were lost in the hurry. Two hundred and - _ seventy three left luminous trains. * * Three observers watched ‘ on the night of the 11th, and saw 323 shooting stars, while the sky : "was partly covered. On the — xe the 12th, one observer counted ia 103 meteors, between 10 P. M. Ih. 45m. A. M. of the 13th. * “Therefore, the annual oe ae neta “of an uncommon fall of -» stars towards the 10th of August, is once more confirmed, as well as oe the passage of this host of meteors near the earth, lasts several s * oe” . -- ‘It thus appears that on the night of August 10th, 1839, meteors - were seen as abundantly at Breslau as at. New: Haven. (This Jour. Vol. xxxvut, p. 325.) The place of apparent radiation will doubtless be well determined from the ample materials obtained by. the Brus sian observers. No returns from the southern hemisphere have yet ae fe KE. BRECK 6. British Antarctic Expedition —The British Aitarctic Explo “ring Expedition, under command of Capt, J. C. Ross, sailed from Eng- land in September, 1839. It consists of the Terror, of 340 tons, and the Erebus, of 370 tons, six guns each. They were built expressly for this purpose, and are finished and furnished in the most complete ~. style at the expense of the Admiralty, under the superintendence of a committee of the Royal Society. The ships are in three compart ments below, for greater safety. They are ‘supplied with eight boats, two sets of all needed instruments, double decks, spare rudders, &¢+ _ together with abundance of pemmican, and fresh provisions for three years. The expedition is to establish magnetic observatories 8 pec _ Helena, the Cape of Good Hope, and Yan Dicmaws Landi _ to make for the Antarctic pole as far as possible. ‘The highest? Ta ee bgt meets ie S., by Capt. Weddell in 1823. — — oe . any B. Blectro-Magnet—Messrs. Eprtors,—As the subject = iow occupying much of the attention of the d many experinjente mats to procure a motive #8 Miscellanies. Pome I would suggest what may be called a compound slecisiaae be [a 4, het.” I propose to have a seties of circles, encircling each other any definite extent required. I would after having formed a pris % | ee - electro-magnet have it insulated on the outer surface; then place Rs either a cylinder of iron or a succession of wires, until they have ee | encircled the primary electro-magnet; then make a helix of copper. Wire in the usual manner; (I would prefer platinum wire to make the helix; ) after having made a number suflicient to try an experiment, unite them by a plate of iron, either entire or in rims corresponding * | to each magnet. Talso suggest the trial of brass cylinders over each successive electro-magnet to cut off the radiations of electricity ; ‘this * i will have either the effect to increase or decrease the magnetic power ;_ = experiments thereon must determine. Not having leisure to pursue the = : subject myself, I offer these suggestions for i public good steoegh & the medium of your highly valuable Journa Yours respectfully, Jonas Humpert, Jr., Medical Electrician, 327 Broome St., New York City. — To tnx Evrrors—Gent. :—I have for several years spent much of my leisure time in collecting the fresh-water and Jand shells of this state, and have on hand a Jarge number of species of Unio, Marga- Titana, (Alasmodonta,) Anodonta, Cyclas, Ancylas, Helix, Polygyra, | Helecina, Pupa, Succinea, Cyclostoma, Planorbis, Physa, Lymneus, ; Melania, Anctlosa, Valvata, and Paludina, which I am desirous of exchanging for such native and foreign species as are not in my col- lection. My shells are generally very perfect; the Naiades, which are mostly from the Scioto River and its tributaries, are remarkably so. -Lam particularly desirous of exchanging for native shells in the above genera, especially for native and foreign Naiades. = Tam also collecting the Insects of this state, and would be wie : to exchange them for native and foreign labelled species. A I can label my shells with the names by whick Ania are known: a .. . aur western naturalists. Pe aaa ; - Either this fall or early in the spring I will ici ayself the of es for your acceptance a suit of western shells, I am respectfully, ae obedient se | 7. Exchanges of American Shells and Insects. ae at oe Ohio, Novena 14, 1839. 8 The Railway Magazine and Steam Ee in ion ‘Eo. 2 ited by John Herapath Esq. London. Penta by 3: Wyld, ‘Byo. Pee Monthly=—This i is a periodical work devoted chiefly | to what i ae * Al © — 206 Miscellanies. aes e ~ generally considered a highly important interest of society, Vi viz. the ‘means of a rapid locomotion. It is edited with much industry and _ability, and must be of great value to civil engineers, and to all in any way engaged in railroads and steamboats, and it is not destitute of in- . terest to the man of theoretical science. In the miscellaneous depart-- ee ment we find an extensive range of scientific notices, and at the con- clusion of every number, a table of the current prices of railroad stocks, with the original cost of each. The numbers average 88 pa- 7 each,-and are gold at Is. 6d. No. 37, which commenced the 6th volume of the new series, is dated March, 1839. : 9. To remove Carbonic Acid Gas from Wells, &§c.—Prof. Hunparp, of Dartmouth College, writes: “Saussure, in his experiments upon the property possessed by ignited charcoal of absorbing gases, showed, that of carbonic acid gas, it absorbs 35 times its volume in 24 hours. Seve- ral years ago, I availed myself of this property in purifying a well of carbonic acid gas, and i in my lectures have urged others to do the same, and the result in all cases of its use has been successful. “ As is well known, the extinguishment of a lighted candle in a well, “if there be no odor, indicates the presence of carbonic acid gas. In this - case, half a peck or more of ignited charcoal in a kettle should be let down — by a cord nearly to the surface of the water. The glow is immediately deadened, combustion ceases, and the absorption of the gas begins. The lighted candle will show the progress of the experiment ; ; in an hour the coal. may be drawn up and reignited and let down again, and this repeated till the whole is removed. A well containing 8 feet in depth of the gas above the water was sn by two processes, and another 26 feet of gas during an aftern The certainty of this see and the facility with which it may be applied, give it a superiority over the ordinary modes of purification by Hn cots of gunpowder, &c.” 10. “The Katakekawmene—Dr. Davbeny (Description of Volcanos) has quoted from Strabo a notice of the Kataxexavueve near Smyrna The term (from the Greek) implies—a region completely burnt by fire. Strabo says “it is without trees, with the exception of the vine. The surface of the ground is cindery, and the mountains and rocks © are black as if they had been calcined. Some, he adds, have suppose the country to have been affected by fire from heaven, but it is most — probable that so a a tract of country should have been hye by © _fire from the earth.” Of this remarkable district Mr. Hamilton has given a ilowing - notice, ee ra a ie | ~ es 3 te i oe Miscellanies. . 207 ns The Ridiaksbos mene.—The extdhi of this interesting tract is ‘much _ a _ wiles from north to south, and 18 or 19 from east to west. ti to his first visit to it in company with Mr. H. E. Strickland, — ay! F and referring to that gentleman’s account of a portion of the district,* _ Mr. Hamilton describes minutely the two systems of volcanos, distin- guished by the state of preservation of the craters and of the coulées ; ; ? Fcaiee ~ Tess than i is assigned to it in published maps, being not more than 7 ..- — 4 ‘= # + “3 _ he defines also the course of each lava-current, and points out its at- = tendant phepoment—bat these details admit of only Epetial Sade: ment, 5 “The voleanic rota are basalt, lava, and ashes, the first beings “as i confined to the more ancient craters, and the last to the more modern. | The numerous older cones are further distinguished by being situated — on parallel ridges of gneiss and mica slate, and the newer, only three in number, by being confined to the intervening alluvial valleys. This important distinction Mr. Hamilton explains on the supposition, I that the elevation of the schistose ridges produced cracks, through which, as points of least resistance, the first eruptions of lava found Vent; and that these openings becoming apne ose plugged up, — by the cooling of injected molten matter, the schists were rendered _ 80 solid, that when the volcanic forces again nid active, the lines of least resistance were transferred to the valleys. - “The coulées from the ancient craters appear to have beet partly under water, as their surface is, in some places, covered with sedi- ment and turf; but the lava streams from the modern are bare, rugged, and barren, and the craters are surrounded by mounds of loose Scorie and ashes. In addition to the comparative view given by Mr. Strickland of the phenomena of the Katakekaumene and Ceniral France, Mr. Hamilton enters into a more extended investigation of points of resemblance, including other portions of Asia Minor. e ie voleanic groups of Mont Dore, ie — and aon Mezen, tr. Ha al Katakekaumene, as respects the composi _ Tangement at different levels, and the cones being scattered, lected in great mountain masses. ‘The Katakekaumene, in r. dam~ _ ilton’s Opinion, exhibits also additional evidence, that. ‘ispo _ of comparatively recent volcanos is coincident with the aerike of the Stanitic axis, from the interior of which the voleanos have burst forth. 3 The author also alluded to other comparative phenomena noticed in oe Strickland’s paper. Lastly, he pointed out two distinctions—in _. ne aay ict ‘ * Sce L. & E. Phil. Mag. vol. x, p. 70. ~ Dagh. In France, also, trachytic eruptions occurred during the de- ¥.% » * chain. Upon the sands 208. : M iscellanies. ~ Central France streams of igneous — may be traced from the most ancient volcanic masses of Mont Dore, but in Asia Minor none have been detected which could have flowed from Ak Dagh, or Morad position of the lacustrine limestone; but in the Katakekaumene, they appear to have preceded that of the white limestone, or are associated wath only its lowest beds. ‘In conclusion, the paper gives a general summary of the geologi- _ eal phenomena of the country south of the Demirji range. “The relative antiquity of the vast lake or sea in which the strata ‘were deposited, cannot be determined, as the micaceous sandstone ‘forming the Jowest series of beds is apparently destitute of organic remains, and Mr. Hamilton, therefore, does not attempt to compare that deposit with any European formation. The sandstone, he con- ceives, was accumulated upon an irregular surface of schistose rocks and crystalline limestone, and before the elevation of the Demirji lone were deposited in the north of the district the beds of peperite, derived probably from subaqueous volcanos; and upon the peperite and the micaceous sandstone, the white lime- stone, which is the highest sedimentary rock. The drainage of the lake, he is opinion, took place during the earliest volcanic eruptions: of the Katakekaumene. “Three well-defined. periods of igneous operations. may be traced. The first is marked by the masses of basalt which cap some of the plateaux of white limestone, and were ejected previously to the coun- try assuming its present configuration, and to the formation of the valleys. Mr. Hamilton considers that the basalt flowed under waters and probably but a short time before the drainage of the lake. ‘*«'The second period is characterized by the currents of basalt and lava from the ancient system of volcanos in the Katakekaumene> and was. subsequent to the formation of the present valleys, as many of the lava streams may be traced into them. The coulées which flowed towards the Hermus from the crater or Karadevit near Koola, present an inclined plane, the surface of which is not more than 150 oF 200 feet above the present bed of the river; but they must, at one Pe riod, have been under water, as the lava is covered with a sedime nt which filled its crevices and smooths its asperities. : “The third period would be to the more modern system of. cones the lava of which is as rugged and barren as the recent coulées of Etna Ls and Vesuvius. Of the date of these eruptions, Mr. Hamilton offers 20 _ opinion, merely remarking that the craters are mentioned by Strabo, a _ nd that there is no tradition et their activity.” -—Lon. and Ed. P. ag. . “s : eee es Fs 4 = 2 pe ¥) PAL? Gm DT: MANUFACTURE OF PINS. We have seen with great satisfaction the beautiful machine for the manufacture of pins invented by Dr. Howe. lis operation is so like that produced by intelligence directed in the immediate movements by a specific purpose, and furnished with the organs (so to speak) adapted to fulfil its designs, that it per- fectly imitates the human fingers, obeying the impulse of the mind. The production of a perfect pin headed and pointed by one sys- tem of movements, is equally surprising and gratifying. The man- ufacture although of a small article, is also of national importance, and we therefore admit the reasonable statements of Dr. Howe, as an Appendix to this Number,—trusting that the publication may hot be without effect upon the minds of those who form our com- mercial regulations, and determine the success or failure of our do- mestic manufactures.—Editors. To tue Eprrors or tHE American Journat or Scrence, &c. Gentlemen—Agreeably to your suggestion, I take leave to com- municate to you a few of the facts and circumstances connected with the attempt, in which I am engaged, to introduce the manufacture of Pins, i in our country, by the use of labor-saving machinery. are aware that in the manufacture of pins, in Europe, man- Sa. for the most part, of the cheapest kind is employed; and, Consequently, that any attempt to manufacture them, in this country, a similar method, must inevitably fail, on account of the compar- ary high price of labor here,—unless protected by a high import Ora prohibition of the importation of the article. During the # ee var of ce when the supply from abroad was in a great measure off, pins were sold in this country at greatly enhanced prices. 27 4 3 % Manufacture of Pins. a3 friend told me, recently,"that he sold pins, at that time—at whole- sale—for twelve dollars per pack, (of 12 papers—500 pins each) _ which is eight or ten times the present price. I believe thorns — were very generally substituted for pins, both in the late war and during that of the revolution. According to the most probable esti- mate I can form from the’ information I have received, there are _ manufactured in Great’ Britain, at least, fifteen tons of pins per week,—about one fifth of which are supposed to be sent to the _ United States; and there are also larger importations to this coun- . try from the Continent. Considering the great quantity and value of pins used in this country—and their importance as an article of general use, and convenience, if not of necessity, it would seem reasonable that encouragement should be given to an attempt to manufacture them ; or at least that no obstacle arising out of the past legislation of our government, should be allowed to remain _ ‘in the way of such an undertaking. But it so happens that noth the existing revenue laws of the United States, pins are, not ¢ an unprotected article of manufacture, but to a certain extent, “the making of them in this country is prohibited; inasmuch as that pins of foreign manufacture, are admitted free of duty ; whereas, brass wire of which pins are made, is charged with an import duty of nearly twenty five per cent. It is obvious that the advantage 1s given to the foreign over the American manufacturer, by this state of our revenue law. Supposing the two to be on an equal footing in all other respects, it is sufficient to enable the former, effectually, to keep or drive the latter out of our markets. And supposing the use of labor-saving machinery should enable us for a time, to com- pete successfully with the foreigner, notwithstanding the bounty thus conferred upon him,—we have no reason to hope that machinery once successfully established here, will not ‘speedily find its way into the hands of our foreign rivals, and be brought to bear upon us the ruin of our prospects, unless we succeed in getting relief from our own government. A market, so important as that of this cout- try for the article of pins, will not be given up without a struggle, — by those who have had the exclusive benefit of it. . We have petitioned Congress, at the two last sessions for relief, Without success ; but being confident in the justice of our claim, it 1s our intention to renew our application at the ae sess eed Manufacture of Pins. | a =e reference to this object, my wish to have some notice of the | undertaking appear in your well known and influential Journal, arises from a belief that information communicated through such a me- - diam—founded partly on your own observation—would be more — readily received and credited, than if communicated directly from _ Parties interested, or conveyed through any ordinary channel. We cannot expect Congress to legislate for our relief, unless members are first convinced that there is some reasonable prospect, that with such relief, our enterprise may succeed. We shall petition for ; duty to be laid on pins, equivalent to that to which brass wire is now oe Subject. In accordance with such a petition a bill was introduced, by Mr. Adams, from the Committee on Manufactures, at the last session, but it was not acted on in the House. I believe ours is the first successful attempt to manufacture pins entirely by self-acting machinery. I am aware of other attempts ed been previously made, but without success. Since we com- _ menced, another establishment has been started in this country, and — I understand is likely to succeed. _ We have now three of the Jarger improved aRechines in operation, ac of which produces about 24,000 pins per day. The intention of the Company is to put up fifty of them (in case we get the relief we seek from Congress,) which will produce about 2,000 packs (of 12 papers each,) per week; and the establishment might afterwards — be enlarged, if the business afforded sufficient encouragement. I estimate that twelve persons (men and boys) would be able to keep fifty machines in full operation. But it would require the labor of one hundred or a hundred and fifty individuals, (women and girls,) to shut or paper the pins. At the present time we give the pins Out into families to be shuted; we have fifty or sixty hands em- ployed (more or leas steadily) in this department, some of whom reside ten miles from the manufactory. Allow me to express my sincere thanks for the kind and liberal : feelings ‘manifested by you towards our infant establishment; and a Se, subscribe myself, Very respect and truly, yours, g Joun I. Howe. Bena (Derby,) Nov. 25, 1839. an Books, from Germany, w take the liberty of Seta: as suitable agents for . tahoe Mine Ne _ Mette, as a house desirous of establishing business relations —E» THE AMERICAN JOURNAL, &¢.—AGENTS. oo : MAINE. = 2. ‘PRocuesten, — Porter & Ca, _ -Rafus Nichols. ; PORTLAND, oe: BE wa & Co.) NEW HAMPS HI oe So gs MARYLAND. Dart. ee HANOVER, ) Prot ioe = es Hickman “MASSACHUSETTS. i DISTRICT oF COL UAE NEWBURYPORT, Charles bids ige ga Frank Taylor. B Otis Broaders & Co. - NORTH CAROLINA meaiiein PES Weeks Jordan & Co. Caarsicths ~ 4 ett : Sare Henry Whipple. TH New. Buneons, William C. Taber. J 2 EO 5 Cla on. RicHMOND, - R. E Sin th & Co. LowznL, D. Bixby. Neha “. J, Fisher & Sons. _ RHODE ISLAND. \NORFOLE, Richard Worthing “ @. Provwexce B. Cranston & Co. 4 ; oe 2 aS GS “ ECTI icuT ‘ 4) — * 1oN,. Whiting. ‘ bak _ GEO as oe «~~ 526. Plan : + ha rich. a oe ASHVILLE, A ABAIA. Pp. ited “pie igh < ‘irby & Smith. =e. Little. seg “rg me a Gainey Gut LF; Smy Tit: D. D. Spencer. canal Poe Histcenn M. Griffing QueBEc, Samuel | Neilson. he TERMS Pte. sane per annum: published i in four Quarterly numbers, making —_ a. me Mt to nine a pages a both volumes, which are Be “ draw om the age semicaay i.e. Vol., payable, s hs from the cation. eel Tina = fy letter: if pa per ist nee: eh care, th sere tare kts » are furnished at a slab nae ni. The @ expense of this Tosa b eing greater, and the patronage less than literary journals, the price is Meseiar ro one dollar iar mor heen: : annunE. Be =: aed “ most safely st : 3h. i ins 13! AMERICAN JOURNAL SCIENCE AND ARTS, conmagEeD. 5¥ BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, M.D. LGD. Prof. pac Min., &c. in Yale Coll. ; Cor. Mem. Soc. Arts, Man. and Com., Cor. Mem. Met. Soc., and F r: Mem.€ eol. Soc., Hon. Mem. Br. and For. Abor. Protec. Soc., and of Scien. Soc., Lom a ne Geol, Soc., and Hon. Mem. Lin. on Statis. Eos. io rina ie “ie oa Soc., Hist. Sec. p. Agric. Soc., t. Hist. Mem. Roy. Sussex Inst., Brighton, Eng.; Cor. Mem. of the Nat Hist. Soc., and of i Archeological Soe., Athens, ferret Lit. and Hist. Soc. Quebec; Mem. of -various Lit and Se Soc. in the U. States. AIDED BY oe ex . BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, fete A.B. Assistant in the department of Chemistry, garmanA rane eines in Yale College; Cor. — of the Meteorological Soc., London; Sec. of th Hist. Sec.; Mem. of the Con Acad. of rts and Sci. ; Cor. Mem. of a ac n of Natural History, few York; of the Boston Society af Natural History, &c. VOL. XXXVIIL—No. 2—APRIL, 1840 / FOR JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND MARCH, 1840. Fas NEW HAVEN: Sold by A. H. MALTBY and B. & W. NOYES.—Philadelphia, CAREY HART and J. 8. LITTELL.—Baltimore, Md., N. HICKMAN.— New York eagd fae & Co., No. <> sien ay, and G 8. SILLIM — on 44 Wil- — Boston, “Co.— pais f ODSON, = Fleet St, a WILEY & PUTNAM, 35 Paternoster ees —Paris, BAILLIERE, Libraire, Rue de L’ a No. 13 bis.—Ham- _ NESTLER & MELEE. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO CORRESPONDENTS, FRIENDS AND STRANGERS. Remarks.—This method of acknowledgment has been adopt- ed, because it is not always practicable to write letters, where they might be reasonably expected; and still more difficult is it to prepare and insert in this Journal, notices of all the books, pamph- lets, &c., which are kindly presented, even in cases, where such no- tices, critical or commendatory, would be appropriate ; for it is ofien equally impossible to command the time requisite to frame them, or €ven to read the works; still, judicious remarks, from other hands, would usually find both acceptance and insertion. In public, it is rarely proper to advert to personal concerns ; to excuse, for instance, any apparent neglect of courtesy, by pleading the unintermitting pressure of labor, and the numerous calls of our fellow-men for information, advice, or assistance, in Jines of duty, with which they presume us to be acquainted. The apology, implied in this remark, is drawn from us, that we may not seem inattentive to the civilities of many respectable persons, au- thors, editors, publishers, and others, both at home and abroad. It is still our endeavor to reply to all letters which appear to require an answer ; although, as a substitute, many acknowledgments are made in these pages, which may sometimes be, in part, retrospective— ds. \ SCIENCE.—FOREIGN. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Vol. XIV, pt. 1. 4to. Edin. 1839. From the Society. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Nos. 13, 14, 15. 8vo. 1839-9. From the Society. Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 385. From Counsellor Schu- macher of Altona, through Messrs, Nestler & Melle, Hamburg, With numerous prospectuses, &c., of German works. Annalen der Physik und Chemie: herausgegeben zu Berlin von J.C. Poggendorff. 1833, 12 Nos., and 1839, Nos. 1 to 7 inclus. Leipzig. S8yo. From the Editor, in exchange. 1 2 Arsberattelse om Framstegen i Fysik och Kemi, afgifven den $f Mars, 1837, af Jac. Berzelius, K. V. Acad. Sec. Stockholm, 1837. 8vo. Arsberattelse om Botaniska Arbeten och Upptiackter for ar 1836, afgiven den 31 Mars, 1837, af Joh. Em. Wikstrom. Stockholm, 1838. 8vo. Arsberattelse om Technologiens framsteg, afgifven den 31 Mars, 1837, af G. E. Pasch. Stockholm, 1887. S8vo. Kongl. Vetenskaps-Academiens Handlingar for ar 1837. Stock- holm, 1838. S8vo. These four last from M. Berzelius. Neues Jabrbuch fiir Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petre- faktenkunde, herausgegeben von Leonhard and Bronn. Stuttgart, 1839. Jahrgang. From the Editors. Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Com- merce premiums for 1838-39, 1839-40. From the Society. Proceedings of the Scientific Society of London ; embracing com- munications and papers read from November, 1838, to June, 1839. Part of Vol. I. S8vo. pp. 38. From the Society. Regulations and Bye-Laws of the Scientific Society of London. Svo. pp. 8. From the Society. Petrifactions recueillies en Amérique par M. Alexandre de Hum- boldt, et par M. Chas. Degenhardt, decrites par Léopold de Buch. Berlin, 1839. Elephant folio, with two tables of plates. Twenty copies received from the Author, for distribution among scientific bodies in the United States. On the Tubular Cavities filled with gravel and sand, called Sand- pipes, in the Chalk near Norwich, Eng. By and from Chas. Lyell, Esq. : Proceedings of the Geological Society, Lond. Nos. 63 and 64. SCIENCE.—DOMESTIC, Crania Americana, or a comparative view of the skulls of yarious Aboriginal Nations of North and South America: by S. G. Mortoa M. D., &c.; with 73 plates. folio, Philad., 1839. From the Au- A Treatise on Malignant Pustule or Charbon. By and from P rof. Wm. M. Carpenter, M. D., Jackson College, La. 3 Consumption curable, and the manner in which Nature as well as remedial Art operates in effecting a healing process in cases of Consumption, &c.; by Francis H. Ramadge,M. D. First Ameri- can, from the third London edition. 8vo. Prospectus and Engineer’s Report relating to the city of Cairo, incorporated by the State of Illinois. St. Louis, 1839. From Wm. Strickland, Esq., Philad. The Maryland Medical and Surgical Journal, and Official Organ of the Medical Department of the Army and Navy of the United States. Vol. I, No. 1, pp. 136. Baltimore. A Monograph of the Limniades and other Fresh Water Univalve Shells of North America. By S. S. Haldeman, M. A.N. S. Spe- cimen No, Philad. From the Author. The Electro-Magnet and Mechanics’ Intelligencer. Published by Thomas Davenport, and printed on a Press propelled by Electro- Magnetism. New York, Jan. 25, 1840. Vol. I, No. 2. From the Editor. On the Origin and Progress of Galvanism or Voltaic Electricity, By Robert Hare, M.D. 8vo., pp. 80. One for B. Silliman, Jun. From the Author. Notes on the Locusta Septententrionalis decem-septima. By Na- thaniel Potter, M. D., Prof. of Theory and Practice of Medicine, Univ. Md. Baltimore. Svo. pp. 27, with a plate. From the Author. MISCELLANEOUS.—FOREIGN—BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS. La Boisa, Matamoros, Nov. 1, 1839. From Mr. S. F. Plimp- ~ ton. La Société Archéologique d’Athénes ; Doings of the third session of the Archzological Society of Athens, with the discourse of Mr. I. Rizo Nerulos, President of the Society, and a list of the mem- bers. French and modern Greek: 18mo. pp. 45. Athens, 1839. From G. A. Perdicaris, Esq. Poems and Translations ; including the first four books of Ovid’ Fasti, etc. By John Taylor, Esq. Liverpool, 1839. R.8vo. For Yale College Library. Catalogue of Old Books for 1839, for sale by Longman & Co. 8vo. From Wiley & Putnam, N. Y. 4 NEWSPAPERS.—-DOMESTITC. Journal of Commerce, Nov. 21. From G. S. Silliman. Marietta Intelligencer, Nov. 7, with Met. Reg. From Dr. Hil- dreth. Peru Gazette, Indiana, Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, 1839. With a no- tice of the climate of Indiana. From H. Waldo. Oneida Whig, Utica, N. Y., Dec. 17, 1839, on the tides in dif ferent latitudes, and on the Gulf Stream. lowa Territorial Gazette and Burlington Advertiser. Nov. 9, 1839, and Jan. 18, 1540, containing the Governor’s Message. From W. S. Scarborough. New York Gazette and General Advertiser, Feb. 14, 1840, with a notice of this Journal. From B. D.5., Esq. Boston Weekly Magazine ; by D. H. Ela and J. B. Hall, Vol. H, No. 25, with notice of Catlin’s Journey to Coteau des Prairies. Lancaster Intelligencer and Journal, Phil., Feb. 18, 1840, with notice of Buckingham’s Lectures. Republican Standard, Bridgeport, Ct., Feb. 12 and 16, Nos. 27 and 28, with Nos. 16 and 17, on Natural History. By and from Rev. James H. Liusley. MISCELLANEOUS.—DOMESTIC. Catalogue of N.Y. Theological Seminary. Jan., 1840. From Mr. C. 8S. Lyman. Address before the American Whig and Cliosophic Societies of the College of New Jersey, Sept. 24, 1839. By Aaron O. Day- = Esq. From E. W. ~ Remarks upon Mr. Binney’s letter of Jan. 3, 1840, to the Presi- dent of the Councils of Philad. By the writer of the letter. 8vo. Fifty third Semi-annual Report of the Council of-the American Antiquarian Society, May 29, 1839. Svo. Worcester, Mass- Catalogue of the Western Reserve College, Hudson, Ohio, 1839- 40. From Prof. S. St. John. 2 copies. Annual Address to candidates for Degrees and Licenses in the Medical Institution of Yale College, January 21, 1840. By D- = Brainard, M. D. 8vo. New Haven. A Visit to Thirteen Asylums for the Insane in Europe, with Sta- tistics; by Pliny Earle, M.D. Philad., 1839. From the Author- 5 Extracts from the Correspondence of the Amer. Bible Society. No. 33, Jan., 1840. Catalogue of rare, curious, and valuable Books, &c., to be sold at auction in N. Y. by Bangs & Co. “The duty of the edu ated young men of this country.” An Address by the Rev. J. Sparrow, A. M., of Davidson Ccllege, N. C. Raleigh, N.C. From the Author. Southern Cabinet of Agriculture, Horticulture, &c., edited by J. D. Legare. Vol. I, Nos. 1 and 2, January, 1840. Charleston, S.C. From the Editor. Steam Engines. A letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, being Doc. No. 21, 25th Congress, 3d session. From Hon. Wm. L. Storrs, M. C. Supplementary Catalogue of Books belonging to the Mercantile Library Association, N. Y. From the Directors, 1840. The 19th Annual Report of the Mercantile Library Association. “Growth of the Mind,” by Sampson Reed. From the Author. The culture of the Beet and manufacture of Beet Sugar; by Da- vid L. Childs. From H. Colman. Boston Journal of Natural History, Vol. IT, Nos. 1 and 2, 1840. Fourteenth Annual Report of the Prison Discipline Society. New York Journal of Medicine and Surgery. No.2, October, 1839, American Railroad Journal. Feb. 1840. American Journal of the Medical Sciences, February, 1840. Address on African Colonization. From R. R. Gurley. Address of the Hon. Judge Buel before the Agricultural and Hor- ticultural Societies of New Haven, Sept. 25, 1839. American Journal of Pharmacy, January, 1840. Dr. Codman’s Election Sermon. From the Author, 1840. Pacific Steam Navigation. Address by Mr. Buckingham in defense of his Lectures on Pales- tine, against the Criticisms of the Rev. Eli Smith. From the Au- or. Jewett’s Advertiser, January, 1540. Mr. Gillett’s Sermon at the funeral of the Rev. Matthew Noyes. Pore of Books and Stationery, for sale by Richard Griffin, Co. 6 American Repertory of Arts, Sciences, and Manufactures, &c. Edited by J. J. Mapes, Prof. Chem., etc. Svo. New York. Nos. 1 and 2. Memoirs of the most Eminent Mechanics ; also, lives of distin- guished European Mechanics; together with a collection of Anec- dotes, Descriptions, etc., relating to the Mechanic Arts ; by Henry Howe. New York. 12mo. pp. 482. 1840. From the Author. Supreme Court of the United States: $. Bartlett Stone ads. The United States of America. Argument for Defendant, by Mr. G. Sullivan. New York. 8vo. pp. 21. Catalogue of the Officers and Students in Union College, 1839- 40. From Jno. Pearson. The Mercy of God—a Centurial Sermon on the Revival of Re- ligion, A. D. 1740. Inscribed to the memory of the Rev. Nathan Strong, D. D.; by Thomas Williams. From the Author. The Domestic Chaplain ; by Thomas Williams. 12mo. Hart- ford. From the Author. Constitution and By-Laws of the American Statistical Associa- tion, with a list of the Officers, Fellows, and Members, and an Ad- dress. Boston. From the Association. Proceedings of the Mechanics’ and Manufacturers’ Convention, held at Middletown, Feb. 27, 1840. ; Twenty third Annual Report of the American Colonization Soc ety. January, 1840. Washington City. From F. A. Clark. Laws and Regulations of Washington College, Lexington, Va., 1839. From Jno. Echols. Travels in South Eastern Asia, &c. ; by Howard Malcom. 2 vols. 12mo. Boston, 1839. From Messrs. Gould, Kendall & Lincola. Speech of Mr. John Davis, of Mass., on the Sub-treasury bill, delivered in the Senate of the U. S. Jan. 23, 1840. From Joseph Trumbull, Esq. Letter of the Hon. Hugh L. White to the Legislature of Tenn. From the same. Speech delivered before the Young Men’s Democratic Conven- tion at Hartford, Feb. 18, 1840; by George Bancroft, Esq. Portrait of the late Hon. Jesse Buel. ; Twenty third Annual Report of the}American Education Society: May, 1839. Boston. From the Rev. Dr. Cogswell. as A Letter on ae addressed to Hon. Henry Clay. By a Slaveholder. 12m Circular of Butea Female Institute, N.Y. 1840. Catalozue of Mercantile Library Association, New York, 1840. From the Association. Seventh Annual Report of the State Lunatic Hospital at Worces- ter, Mass. From Dr. Woodward, the Author and Superintendant. SPECIMENS.—FOREIGN. An Ibis from Egyptian Catacombs, from Capt. Boerum, U.S. N. Portion of a tree fern from Tabiti. From J. D. Dana. Cubical crystals of Metallic Titanium, from Merthyr Tydvill are nace, Eng. From Prof. C. U. Shepard. Sulphate of Alumina, ‘containing sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, alumina, and magnesia: a new mineral. From Dr. A. A. Hayes, Roxbury Lab. Mass. Obtained from Iquique, S. A. Portion of one of the Meteorites which fell in the Cold Bokkeveld, Cape of Good Hope, Oct. 13, 1838. From Isaac Chase, Esq., U.S. Consul, Cape of Good Hope. (See Vol. xxxvm, p. 190, this Journal.) Magnificent Casts in plaster, of Pikvcsaurai medius, and of J. communis. From 8S. Stutchbury, Esq., Curator of Bristol Institu- tion, Eng. A box of Chalk Fossils from S. E. of England. From Rev. Frederick Bakewell, late of England, now of Pittsburgh. SPECIMENS.——DOMESTIC. Galena, from Middletown, Ct. Through Prof. Chas. Hooker. Arsenical Zinc. From Messrs. Wilcox & Prior. A specimen of Masonite, a new mineral found in R. I, From — Chas. T. Jackson, M. D., Geological Surveyor of the State. Portion of the meteoric iron from Claiborne, Ala. (Analyzed by Dr. Chas. T. Jackson, Vol. xxx1v, p. 332.) From Dr. Jackson. Fragments of the meteoric iron from Ashville, Buncombe county, N.C. (Described by Prof. C. U. Shepard, Vol. xxxvr, p. 81.) A recent specimen of the Sula Bassana of Brisson, (Gannet of Wilson’s list.) From Rev. Jas. H. Linsley, for Yale Nat. Hist. Society. TELESCOPES AND OTHER PHILOSOPHICAL APPARATUS. Tue subscriber will execute orders for Newtonian, Gregorian, and Herschelian Telescopes, Micrometers, and other Philosophical Instruments. Having had some experience in this business, he is prepared to say, that all articles manufactured by him shall give sat- isfaction. He will also make to order Flutes, Clarionets, &c. All kinds of repairing done at reasonable rates. Orders addressed to G. N. Munger, Orange street, New Haven, Ct., will be faithfully executed. Prof. D. Oumstep, : Prof. B. Situman, Rennes ee E. P. Mason, Mr. B. Sinuiman, Jr. March, 1840. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, &c. Anr. I.—QContributions to Electricity and Magiatem: On Electro-Dynamie Induction ; by Josepn Henry, Professor of Natural Philosophy in the College of New Jersey, Princeton. Read November 2, 1838.* ig INTRODUCTION, 1. Since my investigations in in reference to the influence of a spiral conductor, in increasing the intensity of a galvanic current, were submitted to the Society, the valuable paper of Dr. Faraday, on the same subject, has been published, and also various modifi- cations of the principle have been made by Sturgeon, Masson, Page and others, to increase the effects. The spiral conductor has likewise been applied by Cav. Antonori to produce a spark by the action of a thermo-electrical pile ; and Mr. Watkins has sue- ceeded in exhibiting all the phenomena of hydro-electricity by the same means. Although the principle has been much exten- ded by the researches of Dr. Faraday, yet I am happy to state that the results obtained by this distinguished philosopher are not at Variance with those given in my paper. 2. I now offer to the Society a new series of investi in the same line, which I hope may also be considered of sufficient importance to merit a place in the Transactions. 3. The primary object of these investigations was to discover, if possible, inductive actions i in common electricity analogous to ni ile rom the Transactions From of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 6. N. S. Vol. xxxviu, No. 2.—Jan. ~March, 1840. 27 210 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. those found in galvanism. For this purpose a series of experi- ments was commenced in the spring of 1836, but I was at that time diverted, in part, from the immediate object of my research, by a new investigation of the phenomenon known in common electricity by the name of the lateral discharge. Circumstances prevented my doing any thing further, in the way of experiment, until April last, when most of the results which I now offer to the Society were obtained. The investigations are not as com- plete, in several points, as I could wish, but as my duties will not permit me to resume the subject for some months to come, I therefore present them as they are; knowing, from the interest excited by this branch of science in every part of the world, that the errors which may exist will soon be ica and the truths be further developed. The experiments are given Be me in the order in which they were made; and in general they are accompanied by the reflections which led to the several steps of the investigation. The whole series is divided, for convenience of arrangement, into six sections, although the subject may be considered as con- sisting, principally, of two parts. The first, relating to a neW examination of the induction of galvanic currents ; and the sec _ ond, to the discovery of analogous results in the discharge of ordi- nary riba ”. Fig. 1. a a cai No. 1, b coil No. 2, and ¢ coil No. 3; ¢ the battery, d the rasp- na The 5 principal articles of apparatus used in the experiments, : onsist of a number of flat coils of copper riband, which will be te ee en TT. Bs ————— ra numbered in succes en foe eat er py De Fatdley ee On Ellectro-Dynamic Induction. 211 designated by the names of coil No. 1, coil No. 2, &c.; also of several coils of long wire; and these, to distinguish them from the ribands, will be called helix No. 1, helix No. 2, &c. 6. Coil No. 1 is formed of thirteen pounds of copper plate, one inch and a half wide and ninety-three feet long. It is well cov- ered with two coatings of silk, and was generally used in the form represented in Fig. 1, which is that of a flat spiral, sixteen laches in diameter. It was however sometimes formed into a ting of larger diameter, as is shown in Fig. 4, Section IIL. 7. Coil No. 2 is also formed of copper plate, of the same width and thickness as coil No. 1. It is, however, only sixty feet long. Its form is shown at 6, Fig 1. The opening at the centre is suf- ficient to admit helix No. 1. Coils No. 3, 4, 5, 6, &c., are all about sixty feet long, and of copper plate of the same thickness, but of half the width of coil No. 1. 2 Fig. 2. a & a helix No. 1, d helix No. 2, ¢ helix No. 3. 8. Helix No. 1 consists of sixteen hundred and sixty yards of copper wire, ;';th of an inch in diameter; No. 2, of nine hun- dred and ninety yards; and No. 3, of three hundred and fifty yards, of the same wire. These helices are shown in Fig. 2, and are so adjusted in size as to fit into each other; thus forming one long helix of three thousand yards: or, by using them sepa~ rately, and in different combinations, seven helices of different lengths. The wire is covered with cotton thread, saturated with bees’ wax, and between each stratum of spires a coating of silk is interposed. 9. Helix No. 4 is shown at a, Fig. 4, Section III; it is formed of five hundred and forty-six yards of wire, ;';th of an inch in diameter, the several spires of which are insulated by a coating of cement. Helix No. 5 consists of fifteen hundred yards of sil- Vered copper wire, ;1;th of an inch in diameter, covered with Cotton, and is of the form of No. 4. 10. Besides these I was favored with the loan of a large spool of copper wire, covered with cotton, ;';th of an inch in diameter, 212 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. and five miles long. It is wound on a small axis of iron, and forms nearly a solid cylinder of wire, eighteen inches long, and thirteen in diameter. 11. For determining the direction of induced currents, a mag- netizing spiral was generally used, which consists of about thirty spires of copper wire, in the form of a cylinder, and so small as just to admit a sewing needle into the axis. 12. Also a small horse-shoe is frequently referred to, which is formed of a piece of soft iron, about three inches long, and 2ths of an inch thick; each leg is surrounded with about five feet of copper bell wire. This length is so small, that only a current of electricity of considerable quantity can develop the magnetism of the iron. The instrument is used for indicating the existence of such a current. 13. The battery used in most of the experiments is shown in Fig. 1. It is formed of three concentric cylinders of copper, and two interposed cylinders of zinc. It is about eight inches high, five inches in diameter, and exposes about one square foot and three quarters of zine surface, estimating both sides of the metal. In some of the experiments a larger battery was used, weakly charged, but all the results mentioned in the paper, except those with a Cruickshank trough, can be obtained with one or two bat- teries of the above size, particularly if excited by a strong solu- tion. The method of interrupting the circuit of the conductor by means of a rasp, b, is shown in the same Figure. ‘ SECTION I. Conditions which influence the Induction of a Current on itself. 14. The phenomenon of the spiral conductor is at present known by the name of the induction of a current on itself, t? distinguish it from the induction of the secondary current, dis- covered by Dr. Faraday. The two, however, belong to the same class, and experiments render it probable that the spark given by the long conductor is, from the natural electricity of the metal, disturbed for an instant by the induction of the primary current z Before proceeding to the other parts of these investigations, it 18 important to state the results of a number of preliminary exper- ments, made to determine more definitely the conditions which influence the action of the spiral conductor. On Electro-Dynamic Induction. © 213 15. When the electricity is of low intensity, as in the case of the thermo-electrical pile, or a large single battery weakly excited with dilute acid, the flat riband coil No. 1, ninety-three feet long, is found to give more brilliant deflagrations, and louder snaps from a surface of mercury, than any other form of conductor. The shocks, with this arrangement, are, however, very feeble, and can be felt only in the fingers or through the tongue. 16. The induced current in a short conductor, which thus produces deflagration, but not shocks, may, for distinction, be called one of quantity. _ 17. When the length of the coil is increased, the battery con- tinuing the same, the deflagrating power decreases, while the in- tensity of the shock continually increases. With five riband coils, making an aggregate length of three hundred feet, and the small battery, Fig. 1, the deflagration is less than with coil No. 1, but the shocks are more intense. 18. There is, however, a limit to this increase of intensity of the shock, and this takes place when the increased resistance or diminished conduction of the lengthened coil begins to counter- act the influence of the increasing length of the current. The following experiment illustrates this fact. A coil of copper wire 7th of an inch in diameter, was increased in length by succes- Sive additions of about thirty two feet atatime. After the first two lengths, or sixty four feet, the brilliancy of the spark began to decline, but the shocks constantly increased in intensity, until alength of five hundred and seventy five feet was obtained, when the shocks also began to decline. This was then the proper length to produce the maximum effect with a single battery, and & Wire of the above diameter. : ns 19. When the intensity of the electricity of the battery is in- ¢ , the action of the short riband coil decreases. With a Cruickshank’s trough of sixty plates, four inches square, scareely any peculiar effect can be observed, when the coil forms a part of the circuit. If however the length of the coil be inereased in Proportion to the intensity of the current, then the inductive in- fluence becomes apparent. When the current, from ten plates of the above mentioned trough, was passed through the wire of the large spool, (10,) the induced shock was too severe to be taken through the body. Again, when a small trough of twenty five one inch plates, which alone would give but a very feeble shock, 214 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. was used with helix No. 1, an intense shock was received from the induction, when the contact was broken. Also a slight shock in this arrangement is given when the contact is formed, but it is very feeble in comparison with the other. The spark, however, with the long wire and compound battery is not as brilliant as with the single battery and the short riband coil. 20. When the shock is produced from a long wire, as in the last experiments, the size of the plates of the battery may be very much reduced, without a corresponding reduction of the intensity of the shock. This is shown in an experiment with the large spool of wire, (10.) A very small compound battery was formed of six pieces of copper bell wire, each about one inch and a half long, and an equal number of pieces of zinc of the same size. When the current from this was passed through the five miles of the wire of the spool, the induced shock was given at. once to twenty six persons, joining hands. ‘This astonishing effect places the action of a coil in a striking point of view. 21. With the same spool and the single battery used in the form- er experiments, no shock, or at most only a very feeble one, could be obtained. A current, however, was found to pass through the whole length, by its action on the galvanometer; but it was not sufficiently powerful to induce a current which could counteract the resistance of so long a wire. _ 22. The induced current in these experiments may be consid- ered as one of considerable intensity, and small quantity. 23. The form of the coil has considerable influence onthe i” tensity of the action. In the experiments of Dr. Faraday, a long cylindrical coil of thick copper wire, inclosing a rod of soft iron, was used. This form produces the greatest effect when magnetic reaction is employed ; but in the case of simple galvanic induc- tion, {have found the form of the coils and helices represented in the figures most effectual. The several Spires are more nearly approximated, and therefore they exert a greater mutual influence. In some cases, as will be seen hereafter, the ring form, shown 7 Fig. 4, is most effectual. 24. In all cases the several spires of the coil should be well in- sulated, for although in magnetizing soft iron, and in analogous experiments, the touching of two spires is not attended with apy great reduction of action ; yet in the case of the induced current, as will be shown in the progress of these investigations, a single On Electro-Dynamic Induction. 215 contact of two spires is sometimes sufficient to neutralize the whole effect. 25. It must be recollected that all the experiments with these coils and helices, unless otherwise mentioned, are made without the reaction of iron temporarily magneti%ed; since the introduc- tion of this would, in some cases, interfere with the action, and tender the results more complex. SECTION IL. Conditions which influence the production of Secondary Currents. 26. The secondary currents, as it is well known, were discov- ered in the induction of magnetism and electricity, by Dr. Fara- day, in 1831. But he was at that time urged to the exploration of new, and apparently richer veins of science, and left this branch to be farther traced by others. Since then, however, attention has been almost exclusively directed to one part of the subject, namely, the induction from magnetism, and the perfection of the Magneto-electrical machine. And I know of no attempts, except my own, to review and extend the purely electrical part of Dr. Faraday’s admirable discovery. 27. The energetic action of the flat coil, in producing the in- duction of a current on itself, led me to conclude that it would also be the most proper means for the exhibition and study of the phenomena of the secondary galvanic currents. Fig. 3. a @coil No. 1, b helix No. 1, and c, d, handles for receiving the shock. The plate of glass is omitted in the drawing. 28. For this purpose coil No. 1 was arranged to receive the current from the small battery, and coil No. 2 placed on this, with a plate of glass interposed to insure perfect insulation ; as often as the circuit of No. 1 was interrupted, a powerful secondary current Was induced in No. 2. The arrangement is the same as that ex- 216 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. hibited in Fig. 3, with the exception that in this the compound helix is represented as receiving the induction, instead of coil o. 2. 29. When the ends of the second coil were rubbed together, a spark was produced at*the opening. When the same ends were joined by the magnetizing spiral (11,) the inclosed needle became strongly magnetic. Also when the secondary current was passed through the wires of the iron horse-shoe, (12,) magnetism was developed ; and when the ends of the second coil were attached to a small decomposing apparatus, of the kind which accompa- nies the magneto-electrical machine, a stream of gas was given off at each pole. The shock, however, from this coil is very feeble, and can scarcely be felt above the fingers. 30. This current has therefore the properties of one of moder- ate intensity, but considerable quantity. 31. Coil No. 1 remaining as before, a longer coil, formed by uniting Nos. 3, 4 and 5, was substituted for No.2. With this ar- rangement, the spark produced when the ends were rubbed to- gether, was not as brilliant as before; the magnetizing power Was much less; decomposition was nearly the same, but the shocks were more powerful, or, in other words, the intensity of the indu- ced current was increased by an increase of the length of the coil, while the quantity was apparently diminished. 32. A compound helix, formed by uniting Nos. 1 and 2, and therefore containing two thousand six hundred and fifty yards of wire, was next placed on coil No, 1. The weight of this helix happened to be precisely the same as that of coil No. 2, and hence the different effects of the same quantity of metal in the two forms of a long and short conductor, could be compared. With this arrangement, the magnetizing effects, with the appar tus before mentioned, disappeared. The sparks were much smaller, and also. the decomposition less, than with the short coil ; but the shock was almost too intense to be received with impU- nity, except through the fingers of one hand. A cireuit of fifty six of the students of the senior class, received it at once from 2 single rupture of the battery current, as if from the discharge of a Leyden jar weakly charged. ‘The secondary current in this case ‘was one of small quantity, but of intensity. 33. The following experiment is aaa in establishing the fact of a limit to the increase of the intensity of the shock, % On Electro-Dynamic Induction. 217° well as the power of decomposition, with a wire of a given di- ameter, Helix No. 5, which consists of wire only ;1,th of an inch in diameter, was placed on coil No. 2, and its length in- creased to about seven hundred yards. With this extent of wire, heither decomposition nor magnetism could be obtained, but shocks were given of a peculiarly pungent nature; they did not, however, produce much muscular action. The wire of the helix was further increased to about fifteen hundred yards; the shock was now found to be scarcely perceptible in the fingers. 34, As a counterpart to the last experiment, coil No. 1 was formed into a ring of sufficient internal diameter to admit the great spool of wire, (10,) and with the whole length of this (which, as has before been stated, is five miles) the shock was found so intense as to be felt at the shoulder, when passed only through the forefinger and thumb. Sparks and decomposition Were also produced, and needles rendered magnetic. The wire of this spool is ;,th of an inch thick, and we therefore see from this experiment, that by increasing the diameter of the wire, its length may also be much increased, with an increased effect. 35. The fact (33) that the induced current is diminished by a further increase of the wire, after a certain length has been at- tained, is important in the construction of the magneto-electrical machine, since the same effect is produced in the induction of magnetism. Dr. Goddard of Philadelphia, to whom I am in- debted for coil No. 5, found that when its whole length was wound on the iron of a temporary magnet, no shocks could be obtained. The wire of the machine may therefore be of such a length, relative to its diameter, as to produce shocks, but no de- composition; and if the length be still further increased, the power of giving shocks may also become neutralized. 36. The inductive action of coil No. 1, in the foregoing exper- iments, is precisely the same as that of a temporary magnet in the case of the magneto-electrical machine. A short thick wire around the armature gives brilliant deflagrations, but a long one produces shocks. This fact, I believe, was first discovered by _ Iny friend Mr. Saxton, and afterwards investigated by Sturgeon and Lentz. 37. We might, at first sight, conclude, from the perfect simi- larity of these effects, that the currents which, according to the theory of Ampere, exist in the magnet, are like those in the short Vol. xxxvint, No. 2.—Jan.—March, 1840. 28 218 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. coil, of great quantity and feeble intensity ; but succeeding ex- periments wil] show that this is not necessarily the case. 38. All the experiments given in this section have thus far been made with a battery of a single element. This condition was now changed, and a Cruickshank trough of sixty pairs substitu- ted. When the current from this was passed through the riband coil No. 1, no indication, or a very feeble one, was given of a secondary current in any of the coils or helices, arranged as in the preceding experiments. The length of the coil, in this case, was not commensurate with the intensity of the current from the battery. But when the long helix, No. 1, was placed instead of coil No. 1, a powerful inductive action was produced on each of the articles, as before. 39. First, helices No. 2 and 3 were united into one, and placed within helix No. 1, which still conducted the battery current. With this disposition a secondary current was produced, which gave intense shocks but feeble decomposition, and no magnetism in the soft iron horse-shoe. It was therefore one of intensity, and was induced by a battery current also of intensity. 40. Instead of the helix used in the last experiment for receiv- ing the induction, one of the coils (No. 3) was now placed on he- lix No. 1, the battery remaining as before. With this arrange- ment the induced current gave no shocks, but it magnetized the small horse-shoe; and when the ends of the coil were rubbed together, produced bright sparks. It had therefore the properties gf a current of quantity; and it was produced by the induction of a current, from the battery, of intensity. ‘ 41. This experiment was considered of so much im ’ that it was varied and repeated many times, but always with the same result; it therefore establishes the fact that an intensity current can induce one of quanity, and, by the preceding experi- ments, the converse has also been shown, that a quantily current can induce one of intensity. 42. This fact appears to have an important bearing on the law of the inductive action, and would seem to favor the supposition that the lower coil, in the two experiments with the long a0 short secondary conductors, exerted the same amount of induc tive force, and that in one case this was expended (to use the lan- guage of theory) in giving a great velocity to a small quantity of the fluid, and in the other in producing a slower motion in a larget On Electro-Dynamic Induction. 219 current ; but in the two eases, were it not for the increased resist- ance to eondecticnad in the longer wire, the quantity multiplied by the velocity would be the same. This, however, is as yet a hy- pothesis, but it enables us to conceive how intensity and quantity may both be produced from the same induction. 43. From some of the foregoing experiments we may con- clude, that the quantity of electricity in motion in the helix is really less than in the coil, of the same weight of metal ; but this may possibly be owing simply to the greater resistance offer ed by the longer wire. It would also appear, if the above reason- ing be correct, that to produce the most energetic physiological effects, only a small quantity of electricity, moving with great velocity, i is necessary. 44. In this and the preceding section, I have attempted to give only the general conditions which influence the galvanic induc- tion. To establish the law, would require a great number of more refined experiments, and the consideration of several circumstan- ces which would affect the results, such as the conduction of the Wires, the constant state of the battery, the method of breaking the circuit with perfect regularity, and also more perfect means than we now possess of measuring the amount of the inductive action. All these circumstances render the problem very complex. SECTION Ill. On the Induction of Secondary Currents at a distance. A5. In the experiments given in the two preceding mien the conductor which received the induction, was se that which transmitted the primary current by the thickness = of a pane of glass; but the action from this arrangement was so energetic, that I was naturally led to try the effect at a greater istance. 46. For this purpose coil No. 1 was formed into a ring of about two feet in diameter, and helix No. 4 placed as is shown in the figure. When the helix was at the distance of about sixteen inches from the middle of the plane of the ring, shocks could be perceived through the tongue, and these rapidly increased in in- tensity as the helix was lowered, and when it reached the plane of the ring they were quite severe. The effect, however, was still greater when the helix was moved from the centre to the 220 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. inner circumference, as at c: but when it was placed without the ring, in contact with the outer circumference, at b, the shocks were very slight; and when placed within, but its axis at right angles to that of the ring, not the least effect could be observed. Fig. 4. a helix No. 4, b coil No. 1, in the form of a ring. 47, With a little reflection, it will be evident that this arrange ment is not the most favorable for exhibiting the induction ata distance, since the side of the ring, for example, at c, tends to produce a current revolving in one direction in the near side of the helix, and another in an opposite direction in the farther side. The Tesulting effect is therefore only the difference of the tw0; and in the position as shown in the figure, this difference must be very small, since the opposite sides of the helix are approximately at the same distance from c. But the difference of action on the two sides constantly increases as the helix is brought near the side of the ring, and becomes a maximum when the two are in the position of internal contact. A helix of larger diameter would, therefore, produce a greater effect. 48. Coil No. 1 remaining as before, helix No. 1, which is nine inches in diameter, was substituted for the small helix of the last experiment, and with this the effect at a distance was much in- creased. When coil No. 2 was added to coil No. 1, and the eur rents from two small batteries sent through these, shocks were distinctly perceptible through the tongue, when the distance of the planes of the coils and the three helices, united as one, W4 increased to thirty six inches. ie _ 49. The action at a distance was still further increased by coll- ing the long wire of the large spool into the form of a ring of On Ellectro-Dynamic Induction. 221 four feet in diameter, and placing parallel to this another ring, formed of the four ribands of coils No. 1,2,3 and 4. Whena current from a single battery of thirty five feet of zine surface was passed through the riband conductor, shocks through the tongue were felt when the rings were separated to the distance of four feet.* As the conductors were approximated, the shocks ame more and more severe; and when at the distance of twelve inches, they could not be taken through the body. 50. It may be stated in this connection, that the galvanic in- duction of magnetism in soft iron, in reference to distance, is also surprisingly great. A cylinder of soft iron, two inches in diame- ter and one foot long, placed in the centre of the ring of copper tiband, with the battery above mentioned, becomes strongly mag- hetic. 51. I may perhaps be excused for mentioning in this commu- Nication, that the induction at a distance affords the means of ex- hibiting some of the most astonishing experiments, in the line of Physique amusante, to be found perhaps in the whole course of Science. I will mention one which is somewhat connected with the experiments to be described in the next section, and which exhibits the action in a striking manner. This consists in caus- ing the induction to take place through the partition wall of two tooms. For this purpose coil No. 1 is suspended against the wall in one room, while a person in the adjoining one receives the Shock, by grasping the handles of a helix, and approaching it to the spot opposite to which the coil is suspended. The effect is as if by magic, without a visible cause. It is best produced through a door, or thin wooden partition. 52. The action at a distance affords a simple method of grad- Uating the intensity of the shock in the case of its application to Medical purposes. ‘The helix may be suspended by a string pass- ing over a pulley, and then gradually lowered down towards the Plane of the coil, until the shocks are of the required intensity. At the request of a medical friend, I have lately administered the induced current precisely in this way, in a case of paralysis of a Part of the nerves of the face. * Since writing the above, this distance has been much increased by using a compound battery of eight elements, each of the above size; with this, shocks through the tongue have been obtained, when th duct parated to the Femarkable distance of six feet eight inches. 222 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. 53. I may also mention that the energetic action of the spiral conductors enables us to imitate, in a very striking manner, the inductive operation of the magneto-electrical machine, by means of an uninterrupted galvanic current. For this purpose, it 1s only necessary to arrange two coils to represent the two poles of a horse-shoe magnet, and to cause two helices to revolve past them in a parallel plane. While a constant current is passing through each coil, in opposite directions, the effect of the rotation of the helices is precisely the same as that of the revolving armature In the machine. 54. A remarkable fact should here be noted in reference to he- lix No. 4, which is connected with a subsequent part of the in- vestigation. This helix is formed of copper wire, the spires of which are insulated by a coating of cement instead of thread, as in the case of the others. After being used in the above expel ments, a small discharge from a Leyden jar was passed through it, and on applying it again to the coil, I was much surprised to find that scarcely any signs of a secondary current could be ob- taine _ : 55: The discharge had destroyed the insulation in some part, but this was not sufficient to prevent the magnetizing of a bar of iron introduced into the opening at the centre. ‘The effect ap peared to be confined to the inductive action. The same accl dent had before happened to another coil of nearly the same kind. It was therefore noted as one of some importance. An explana tion was afterwards found in a peculiar accident of the secondary current.* SECTION IV. On the Effects produced by interposing different Substances Oe = tween the Conductors. 56. Sir H. Davy found, in magnetizing needles by an electric discharge, that the effect took place through interposed plates © all substances, conductors and non-conductors.t The expetir ment which I have given in paragraph 51 would appear ine cate that the inductive action which produces the secondary cur: rent might also follow the same law. st te A ce a * See paragraph 75. + Philosophical Transactions, 1821. On Ellectro-Dynamic Induction. 223 57. To test this, the compound helix was placed about five inches above coil No. 1, Fig. 5, and a plate of sheet iron, about sth of an inch thick, ster poagek With this arrangement no shocks could be obtained; although, when the plate was with- drawn, they were very ‘ptenee, Fig. 5. a coil No. 1, d helixiNo. 1 , and ¢ an interposed plate of metal. 58. It was at first thought that this effect might be peculiar to the iron, on account of its temporary magnetism; but this idea was shown to be erroneous by substituting a plate of zine of about the same size and thickness. With this the screening influence was exhibited as before. 59. After this various other substances were interposed in suc- cession, namely, copper, lead, mercury, acid, water, wood, glass, &e. ; and it was found that all the perfect cmickcat, such as the metals, produced the screening influence ; but non-condutctors, as glass, wood, &c., appeared to have no effect whatever. 60. When the helix was separated from the coil by a distance. Only equal to the thickness of the plate, a slight sensation could be perceived even when the zinc of ,th of an inch in thickness Was interposed. This effect was increased by increasing the quantity of the battery current. If the thickness of the plate was diminished, the induction through it became more intense. Thus @ sheet of infoil interposed produced no perceptible influence ; four sheets of the same were attended with the same result. A certain thickness of metal is therefore required to produce the Screening effect, and this thickness depends on the quantity of the current from the battery. 61. The idea occurred to me that the screening might, in some way, be connected with an instantaneous current in the plate, Similar to that in the induction by magnetic rotation, discovered 224 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. by M. Arago. The ingenious variation of this principle by Messrs. Babbage and Herschel, furnished me with a simple method of determining this point. 62. A circular plate of lead was interposed, which caused the induction in the helix almost entirely to disappear. A slip of the metal was then cut out in the direction of a radius of the circle, as is shown in Fig. 6. With the plate in this condition, no screening was produced; the shocks were as intense as if the metal were not present. 63. This experiment however is not entirely satisfactory, since the action might have taken place through the opening of the lead ; to obviate this objection, another plate was cut in the same manner, and the two interposed with a glass plate between them, and so arranged that the opening in the one might be covered by the continuous part of the other. Still shocks were obtain with undiminished intensity. Fig. 6. aa lead site, of which aa lead plate, b the magnetizing the sector b is cut out. spiral. eo 64, But the existence of a current in the interposed conductor was rendered certain by attaching the magnetizing spiral by means of two wires to the edge of the opening in the circular plate, as is shown in Fig. 7. By this arrangement the latent cul rent was drawn out, and its direction obtained by the polarity of a needle placed in the spiral at b. 65. This current was a secondary one, and its direction, 11 COD" formity with the discovery of Dr. Faraday, was found to be the same as that of the primary current. 66. That the screening influence is in some way produced by the neutralizing action of the current thus obtained, will be clear, from the following experiment. The plate of zinc before mer tioned, which is nearly twice the diameter of the helix, instead of being placed between the conductors, was put on the top © the helix, and in this position, although the neutralization WaS not as perfect as before, yet a great reduction was observed in the intensity of the shock. 67. But here a very interesting and puzzling question occurs: How does it happen that two currents, both in the same direc On Ellectro-Dynamic Induction. 225 tion, can neutralize each other? I was at first disposed to con- sider the phenomenon as a case of real electrical interference, in which the impulses succeed each other by some regular interval. But if this were true, the effect should depend on the length and other conditions of the current in the interposed conductor. In order to investigate this, several modifications of the experiments Were instituted, 68. First a flat coil (No. 3) was interposed instead of the plates. When the two ends of this were separated, the shocks were re- ceived as if the coil were not present; but when the ends were joined, so as to forma perfect metallic circuit, no shocks could be obtained. The neutralization with the coil in this experiment was even more perfect than with the plate. ae 69. Again, coil No. 2, in the form of a ring, was placed not between the conductors, but around the helix. With this dispo- Sition of the apparatus, and the ends of the coil joined, the shocks Were scarcely perceptible, but when the ends were separated, the presence of the coil has no effect. . 70. Also when helices No. 1 and 2 were together submitted to the influence of coil No. 1, the ends of the one being joined, the other gave no shock. 71. The experiments were further varied by placing helix No. 2 within a hollow cylinder of sheet brass, and this again within coil No. 2, in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 12, which is intended to illustrate another experiment. In this arrangement the neutralizing action was exhibited, as in the case of the plate. 72. A hollow cylinder of iron was next substituted for the one of brass, and with this also no shocks could be obtained. 73. From these experiments it is evident that the neutraliza- tion takes place with currents in the interposed or adjoining con- ductors of all lengths and intensities, and therefore cannot, as it appears to me, be refetred to the interference of two systems of Vibrations. 74. This part of the investigation was, for a time, given up almost in despair, and it was not until new light had been ob- tained from another part of the inquiry, that any further advances could be made towards a solution of the mystery. 75. Before proceeding to the next Section, I may here state, that the phenomenon mentioned, paragraph 54, in reference to helix No. 4, is connected with the neutralizing action. The Vol. xxxvi1, No, 2.—Jan.—March, 1840. 29 226 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. electrical discharge having destroyed the insulation at some point, a part of the spires would thus form a shut circuit, and the induc- tion in this would counteract the action in the other part of the helix ; or, in other words, the helix was in the same condition as the two helices mentioned in paragraph 70, when the ais: of the wire of one were joined. 76. Also the same principle appears to have an ‘faposti bear- ing on the improvement of the magneto-electrical machine : since the plates of metal which sometimes form the ends of the spool containing the wire, must necessarily diminish the action, and also from the experiment of paragraph 72, the armature itself may circulate a closed current which will interfere with the in- tensity of the induction in the surrounding wire. I am inclined to believe that the increased effect observed by Sturgeon and Calland, when a bundle of wire is substituted for a solid piece of iron, is at least in part due to the interruption of these currents. I hope to resume this part of the subject, in connection with seve- ral other points, in another communication to the Society. _77. The results given in this Section may, at first sight, be thought at variance with the statements of Sir H. Davy, that needles could be magnetized by an electrical discharge with con- ductors interposed. But from his method of performing the ex- periment, it is evident that the plate of metal was placed between a straight conductor and the needle. The arrangement was there- fore similar to the interrupted circuit.in the experiment with the cut plate (62,) which produces no screening effect. Had the plate been curved into the form of a hollow cylinder, with the two ends of the metal in contact, and the needle placed within this, the effect would have been otharwide SECTION V. On the Production and Properties of induced Currents of the Third, Fourth and Fifth order. 78. The fact of the perfect neutralization of the pedi =: rent by a secondary, in the interposed conductor, led me to cou- clude that if the latter could be drawn out, or separated from the influence of the former, it would itself be capable of producing & new induced current in a third conductor. 79. The arrangement exhibited in Fig. 8 furnishes a ready means of testing this. The primary orn as usual, is passed through - On Hlectro-Dynamic Induction. 227 coil No. 1, while coil No 2 is placed over this to receive the in- duction, with its ends joined to those of coil No.3. By this dis- position the secondary current passes through No. 3; and since Fig. 8. a a coil No. 1, 6 coil No. 2, c coil No. 3, d helix No. 1. this is at a distance, and without the influence of the primary, its Separate induction will be rendered manifest by the effects on helix No. 1. When the handles a, b are grasped, a powerful Shock is received, proving the induction of a tertiary current. 80. By a similar but more extended arrangement, as shown in Fig. 9, shocks were received from currents of a fourth and fifth order ; and with a more powerful primary current, and additional coils, a still greater number of successive inductions might be tained. ‘ 81. The induction of currents of different orders, of sufficient intensity to give shocks, could scarcely have been anticipated from our previous knowledge of the subject. The secondary current consists, as it were, of a single wave of the natural elec- tricity of the wire, disturbed but for an instant by the apansoen of the primary ; yet this has the power of inducing another cu rent, but little inferior in snare to itself,.and thus elaced effects apparently much greater in proportion to the quantity of electricity i in motion than the aie current. 82. Some difference may be conceived to exist in the action of the induced currents, and that from the battery, since they are apparently different in nature; the one consisting, as we may Suppose, of a single impulse, aiid the other of a succession of such impulses, or a continuous action. It was therefore important to investigate the properties of the currents of different orders, and to compare the results with those before obtained. 83. First, in reference to the intensity, it was found that with the small battery a shock could be given from the current of the 228 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. third order to twenty-five persons, joining hands ; also shocks per- ceptible in the arms were obtained from a current of the fifth order. 84. The action at a distance was also much greater than could have been anticipated. In one experiment shocks from the ter- tiary current were distinctly felt through the tongue, when helix No. 1, Fig. 8, was at the distance of eighteen inches above the coil transmitting the secondary current. 5. The same screening effects were pro- - Fig. 9. duced by the interposition of plates of metal %, between the conductors of the different or- ders, as those which have been described in reference to the primary and secondary cur- rents. 86. Also when the long helix is placed over a secondary current generated in a short coil, and which is therefore, as we have be- fore shown, one of quantity, a tertiary cur- rent of intensity is produced. gain, when the intensity current of the last experiment is passed through a sec- ond helix, and another coil is placed over this, a quantity current is again produced. Therefore, in the case of these currents, as in that of the primary, a quantity current can be induced from one of intensity, and the con- verse. By the arrangement of the apparatus as shown in Fig. 9, these different results are exhibited at once. The induction from coil No. 3 to helix No. 1 produces an inten- sity current, and from helix No. 2 to coil No. 4A, a quantity current. 88. If the ends of coil No. 2, as in the arrangement of Fig. 8, be united to helix No. 1 instead of coil No. 3, no shocks can be obtained ; the quantity current of coil No. 2, appears not to be of sufficient intensity to pass through the wire of the long helix. 89. Also, no shocks can be obtained from the handles attached to helix No. 2, in the a coil No. 1, b coil No. 2, ¢ coil No, 3, d helix No. 1, e helix No. 2 and 3, f coil No. 4, and g magnetizing spiral. On # lectro-Dynamic Induction. 229 arrangement exhibited in Fig. 10. In this case the quantity of electricity in the current from the helix appears to be too small to produce any effect, unless its power is multiplied by passing it reat a conductor of many spires. Fig. 10. ‘ a a coil No. 2, b helix No. 1, ¢ coil No. 3, and d or 2a! 90. The next inquiry was in reference to the direction of these currents, and this appeared important in connection with the na- ture of the action. 'The experiments of Dr. Faraday would ren- der it probable, that at the beginning and ending of the secondary current, its induction on an adjacent wire is in contrary directions, as is shown to be the case in the primary current. But the whole action of a secondary current is so instantaneous, that the induc- tive effects at the beginning and ending cannot be distinguished from each other, and’we can only observe a single impulse, which, however, may be considered as the difference of two impulses in opposite directions. 91. The first experiment happened to be made with a current of the fourth order. The magnetizing spiral (11) was attached to the ends of coil No. 4, Fig. 9, and by the polarity of the nee- dle it was found that this current was in the same direction with the secondary and primary currents.* By a too hasty generaliza- tion, I was led to conclude, from this experiment, that the currents of all orders are in the same direction as that of the battery cur- Tent, and I was the more confirmed in this from the results of my first experiments on the currents of ordinary electricity. This Conclusion, however, caused me much useless labor and perplex-_ ity, and was afterwards proved to be erroneous. 92. By a careful repetition of the last experiment, in reference to each current, the important fact was discovered, that there er- one * It should be en that all the inductions which have been mentioned, Were produced at the moment of breaking the circuit of the battery current. The induction at the re of the current is too feeble to produce the effects de- Scribed. 230 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. ists an alternation in the direction of the currents of the several orders, commencing with the secondary. 'This result was so ex- traordinary, that it was thought necessary to establish it by a va- riety of experiments. For this purpose, the direction was deter- mined by decomposition, and also by the galvanometer, but the result was still the same; and at this stage of the inquiry I was compelled to adopt the conclusion that the directions of the sev- eral currents were as follows: Primary current, . ; ; ; Secondary current, . F ; ; Current of the third order, Current of the fourth order, Current of the fifth order, j ; 93. In the first glance at the above table, we are struck with the fact that the law of alternation is complete, except between the primary and secondary currents, and it appeared that this ex- ception might possibly be connected with the induced current which takes place in the first coil itself, and which gives rise to the phenomena of the spiral conductor. If this should be found to be minus, we might consider it as existing between the prl- mary and secondary, and the anomaly would thus disappear. Ar rangements were therefore made to satisfy myself fully on this point. For this purpose, the decomposition of dilute acid and the use of the galvanometer were resorted to, by placing the appar tus between the ends of a cross wire attached to the extremities of the coil, as in the arrangement described by Dr. Faraday; {ninth series ;) but all the results persisted in giving a direc- tion to this current the same as stated by Dr. Faraday, namely, that of the primary current. I was therefore obliged to abandon the supposition, that the anomaly in the change of the current Is connected with the induction of the battery current on itself. 94. Whatever may be the nature or causes of these changes 1 the direction, they offer a ready explanation of the neutralizing action of the plate interposed between two conductors, since secondary current is induced in the plate; and although the di- rection of this, as has been shown, is the same as that of the cur rent from the battery, yet it tends to induce a current in the adja- cent conducting matter of a contrary direction.* The same - ee ltl ++ * See paragraph 130, Fig. 15. On Elleciro-Dynamic Induction. ; 231 planation is also applicable to all the other cases of neutralization, even to those which take place between the conductors of the several orders of currents. 95. The same principle explains some effects noted in refer- ence to the induction of a current on itself. If a flat coil be connected with the battery, of course sparks will be produced by the induction, at each rupture of the circuit. But if in this con- dition another flat coil, with its ends joined, be placed on the first coil, the intensity of the shock is much diminished, and when the several spires of the two coils-are mutually interposed by wind- ing the two ribands together into one coil, the sparks entirely disappear i in the coil transmitting the battery current, when the ends of the other are joined. 'To understand this, it is only ne- cessary to mention that the induced current in the first coil is a true secondary current, and it is therefore neutralized by the action of the secondary in the adjoining conductor; since this tends to produce a current in the opposite direction. 96. It would also appear from the perfect neutralization which ensues in the arrangement of the last paragraph, that the induced current in the adjoining conductor is more powerful than that of the first conductor; and we can easily see how this may be. The two ends of the second coil are joined, and it thus forms a perfect metallic circuit ; while the circuit of the other coil may be consid- ered as partially interrupted, since to render the spark visible the electricity must be projected, as it were, through a small distance of air. 97. We would also infer that two contiguous secondary cur- Tents, produced by the same induction, touhl partially counteract each other. Moving in the same dissotiog: they would each tend to induce a current in the other of an opposite direction. This is illustrated by the following experiment: helices No. 1 and 2 Were placed together, but not united, above coil No. 1, so that they each might receive the induction; the larger was then grad- ually removed to a greater distance from the coil, until the inten- Sity of the shock from each was about the same. When the ends of the two were united, so that the shock would pass through the body from the two together, the effect was apparently less than With one helix alone. The result, however, was not as satisfac- tory as in the case of the other experiments; a slight difference in the intensity of two shocks could not be appreciated with per- fect certainty. 232 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. SECTION VI. The production of Induced Currents of the Different Orders from Ordinary Electricity. 98. Dr. Faraday, in the ninth series of his researches, remarks, that “the effect produced at the commencement and the end of a current (which are separated by an interval of time when that current is supplied from a voltaic apparatus) must occur at the same moment when a common electrical discharge is passed through a long wire. Whether if it happen accurately at the same moment, they would entirely neutralize each other, or whether they would not still give some definite peculiarity to the discharge, is a raatter remaining to be examined.” 99. The discovery of the fact that the secondary current, which exists but for a moment, could induce another current of considerable energy, gave some indication that similar effects might be produced by a discharge of ordinary electricity, provided a sufficiently perfect insulation could be obtained. Fig. 11. iO LVM ivi O00 a glass cylinder, b Leyden jar, ¢ magnetizing spiral. 100, To test this, a hollow glass cylinder, Fig. 11, of about six inches in diameter, was prepared with a narrow riband of tin foil, about thirty feet long, pasted spirally around the outside, and a similar riband of the same length, pasted on the inside ; 80 that the corresponding spires of the two were directly opposite each other. The ends of the inner spiral passed out of the cylinder through a glass tube, to prevent all direct communication betwee? the two, When the ends of the inner riband were joined by the magnetizing spiral (11,) containing a needle, and a discharge from a half gallon jar sent through the outer riband, the needle ws On Electro-Dynamie Induction. 233 strongly magnetized in such a manner as to indicate an induced current through the inner riband in the same direction as that of the current of the jar. 'This experiment was repeated many times, and always with the same result. 101. When the ends of one of the ribands were placed very nearly in contact, a small spark was perceived at the opening, the moment the discharge took place through the other riband. 102. When the ends of the same riband were separated to a considerable distance, a larger spark than the last could be drawn from each end by presenting a ball, or the knuckle. 103. Also if the ends of the outer riband were united, so as to form a perfect metallic circuit, a spark could be drawn from any point of the same, when a discharge was sent through the inner riband. 104, The sparks in the two last experiments are evidently due to the action known in ordinary electricity by the name of the lateral discharge. 'To render this clear, it is perhaps necessary to recall the well known fact, that when the knob of a jar is elec- trified positively, and the outer coating in connection with the earth, then the jar contains a small excess of positive electricity beyond what is necessary to neutralize perfectly the negative sur- face. If the knob be put in communication with the earth, the extra quantity, or the free electricity, as it is sometimes called, will be on the negative side. When the discharge took place in the above experiments, the inner riband became for an instant charged with this free electricity, and consequently threw off from the outer riband, by ordinary induction, the sparks deseribed. It therefore became a question of importance to determine, whe- ther the induced current described in paragraph 100 was not also a result of the lateral discharge, instead of being a true case of a Secondary current analogous to those produced from galvanism. For this purpose the jar was charged, first with the outer coating in connection with the earth, and again with the knob in con- nection with the same, so that the extra quantity might be in the one case plus and in the other minus; but the direction of the induced current was not affected by these changes; it was always the same, namely, from the positive to the negative side of the jar. 105. When, however, the quantity of free electricity was in- creased, by connecting the knob of the jar with a globe about a Vol. xxxvim, No, 2.~Jan.-March, 1840. 234 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. foot in diameter, the intensity of magnetism appeared to be some- what diminished, if the extra quantity was on the negative side; and this might be expected, since the free electricity, in its escape to the earth through the riband, in this case would tend to induce a feeble current in the opposite direction to that of the jar. The spark from an insulated conductor may be considered as consisting almost entirely of this free or extra electricity, and it was found that this was also capable of producing an induced current, precisely the same as that from the jar. In the experi- ment which gave this result, one end of the outer riband of the cylinder (100) was connected with the earth, and the other caused to receive a spark from a conductor fourteen feet long, and nearly a foot in diameter. The direction of the induced current was the same as that of the spark from the conductor. 107. From these experiments it appears evident that the dis- charge from the Leyden jar possesses the property of inducing a secondary current precisely the same as the galvanic apparatus, and also that this induction is only so far connected with the phenomenon of the lateral discharge as this latter partakes of the nature of an ordinary electrical current. 108. Experiments were next made in reference to the produc tion of currents of the different orders by ordinary electricity: For this purpose a second cylinder was prepared with ribands of tinfoil, in a similar manner to the one before described. The two were then so connected that the secondary current from the first would circulate around the second. When a discharge was passed through the outer riband of the first cylinder, a ter- tiary current was induced in the inner riband of the second. This was rendered manifest by the magnetizing of a needle ina spiral, joining the ends of the last mentioned riband. - 109. Also by the addition, in the same way, of a third cyl der, a current of the fourth order was developed. The same result was likewise obtained by using the arrangement of the coils and helices shown in Fig. 9. For these experiments, how- ever, the coils were furnished with a double coating of silk, 4? the contiguous conductors separated by a large plate of glass. _ 110. Screening effects precisely the same as those exhibited 1 the action of galvanism were produced by interposing a plate of metal between the conductors of different orders, Figures 8 and 9. The precaution was taken to place the metal between two plates | On Electro-Dynamic Induction. 235 of glass, in order to be assured that the effect was not due to a want of perfect insulation. “oigs 111. Also analogous results were found when the experiments were made with coils interposed instead of plates, as described in paragraph 68. When the ends of the interposed coils were sep- arated, no screening was observed, but when joined, the effect was produced. 'The existence of the induced current, in all these experiments, was determined by the magnetism of a needle in a spiral attached to one of the coils. Fig. 12. a coil No. 2, } an inverted bell glass, ¢ helices No, 2 and 3. 112. Likewise shocks were obtained from the secondary cur- rent by an arrangement shown in Fig. 12. Helices No. 2 and No. 3 united, are put within a glass jar, and coil No. 2 is placed around the same. When the handles are grasped, a shock is felt at the moment of the discharge, through the outer coil. The shocks, however, were very different in intensity with different discharges from the jar. In some cases no shock was received, when again, with a less charge, a severe one was obtained. But these irregularities find an explanation in a subsequent part of the investigation. : 113. In all these experiments, the results with ordinary and galvanic electricity are similar. But at this stage of the investi- gation there appeared what at first was considered a remarkable difference in the action of the two. T allude to the direction of the currents of the different orders. ‘These, in the experiments with the glass cylinders, instead of exhibiting the alternations of the galvanic currents (92,) were all in the same direction as the discharge from the jar, or, in other words, they were all plus. 114. To discover, if possible, the cause of this difference, a Series of experiments was instituted ; but the first fact developed, 236 Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism. instead of affording any new light, seemed to render the obscu- rity more profound. When the directions of the currents were taken in the arrangement of the coils, (Fig. 9,) the discrepancy vanished. Alternations were found the same as in the case of galvanism. 'This result was so extraordinary that the experi- ments were many times repeated, first with the glass cylinders, and then with the coils; the results, however, were always t same. ‘The cylinders gave currents all in one direction; the coils in alternate directions. 115. After various hypotheses had been formed, and in succes- sion disproved by experiment, the idea occurred to me that the direction of the currents might depend on the distance of the conductors, and this appeared to be the only difference existing in the arrangement of the experiments with the coils and the cylinders.* In the former the distance between the ribands was nearly one inch and a half, while in the latter it was only the thickness of the glass, or about ;\,th of an inch. — 116. In order to put this supposition to the test of experiment, two narrow slips of tinfoil, about twelve feet long, were stretched parallel to each other, and separated by thin plates of mica to the distance of about ;;th of an inch. When a discharge from the half gallon jar was passed through one of these, an induced cul- rent in the same direction was obtained from the other. The ribands were then separated, by plates of glass, to the distance of asth of an inch; the current was still in the same direction, oF plus. When the distance was increased to about 1th of an inch, no induced current could be obtained; and when they were still further separated the current again appeared, but was noW found to have a different direction, or to be minus. No other change was observed in the direction of the current with a farther im crease of distance ; the intensity of the induction gradually dimip- ished as the ribands were separated. The existence and direction of the current, in this experiment, were determined by the polat- ity of the needle in the spiral attached to the ends of one of the ribands. 117. The question at this time arose, whether the direction of the current, as indicated by the polarity of the needle, was the fo 5 al a Sees li : “= tose = eS Btw ot Magnesia, - - - - - - -0900 Undecomposed ore, - - - - 3530 .9823 This shows a loss of 1.72 per cent., which may be ascribed in part to errors in analysis, and partly, without impropriety, toa partial peroxidation either of the iron or chrome. By omitting the undecomposed matter, and calculating the per- centage of each ingredient, we find the mineral to consist of Oxide of chrome, - . - - Protoxide of iron, - - - - 24.516 Alumina, - - - - - 22.452 Magnesia, - - - - - . 14.290 100.000 This result failteatess that a portion of the talcose matter was included in the specimen, notwithstanding the care exercised in its separation. Viewing the alumina, with a little silica included in it and the magnesia, as belonging to the tale, we find the for- mula for the oxides of chrome and iron, to be 2 : 3, or 3(F'eO)+ %Cr?O2), The formula generally received for the pure mineral is 2Cr+Fe, and leads to the supposition, that in the present case, 4 portion of the iron exists as peroxide, a view which is strength- €ned by the brown streak of the mineral. Philadelphia, Dec. 5, 1839. 246 Resisting Medium. Art. III.—Remarks upon some of the probable effects of a Resist- ing Medium ; by Tuomas H. Perry, Prof. Maths. U.S. N. Ir is a somewhat common opinion, that the resisting medium believed to ocenpy the planetary spaces, must eventually destroy the motions of the solar system. This conclusion does not seem to me to be justified by the state of the facts at present known: and, although it may not be easy to demonstrate the absolute im- possibility of such an effect, the admirable provisions for the con- tinuance of the present arrangement of the heavenly bodies, which science has already elicited, ought to be considered, at least until contrary probabilities are shown to exist, presumptive indications of its future permanence. The final effects of a resisting medium must depend upon its extent and mode of distribution. The facts from which its exist- ence is deduced, do not apprise us whether it is, or is not, limited to a comparatively small distance fromm the sun ; nor whether it is diffused continuously from this luminary to the remotest limits of his system, or is disposed about him in concentric zones, separat by intermediate spaces, incapable of impeding ponderable bodies. It is not a legitimate inference that the medium by which comets are retarded is essential to the transmission of light, and therefore the visibility of the remotest stars; which would in that case be relevant fact, has no necessary connection with the subject. Were it proved that the ether is in its extent as unlimited as space, and that its elasticity is no where counterbalanced by any kind of attraction, it would indeed follow that its effects, how- ever inappreciable and indefinitely slight in any finite period, must become sensible, when augmented by the increments of time in the same degree indefinitely great ; and that the planets, as has been often asserted, must, in the lapse of a sufficient series of ages, fall to the sun. But while we have, in known facts, no evidence that the ether is thus universally diffused, we are led by analogy and the favor- ite theories of the age, to presume the contrary. If, as every Cl” cumstance that has any bearing upon the subject conspires 10 evince, all the ponderous globes in the universe, once perva® Space as attenuated nebulz, surely it must require great elasticity and expansion of the ethereal matter to fill the vacuum formed by Resisting Medium. 247 their condensat‘on ; unless, indeed, it be assumed that it has ever penetrated alike the interstices between the particles of solid, fluid and aeriform bodies; an assumption which might involve us in unauthorized conclusions. If this medium be possessed of gravity, as we might consist- ently presume, especially since it must otherwise tend to recede from the sun and planets into infinite space, leaving them and their satellites to revolve in vacuo; it may be considered asa circumsolar atmosphere, subject to the usual laws of atmospheric density and limitation, modified by its vast extent, its extreme tenuity, by any relevant peculiarities it may possess, and by the present and past condition and changes of the system. In objecting then to the prevalent opiion state! at the com- mencement of these remarks, it seems that we are authorized, by the state of such known facts, analogies and principles as relate to the subject, and by the condition and position of the argument, to presume that the resisting medium is finite in extent ; and that, ing so constituted as to obey the laws of physical ineshinnicl its particles, if once in a state of revolution about the sun, would ave a tendency to continue their motions, upon the same princi- ples according to which the planets describe their respective orbits. And therefore, whatever may have teen its primary condition, it must have, in the existing state of things, motions consentaneous with those of the sun and planets, which have been so long re- Volving in it, in the same angular direction, and in nearly the Same plane; since it could require a small fraction only of their Momenta, to communicate rotation to a medium so rare as to im- : pede very little bodies of immense magnitude, yet i ewting sensibly the satellites of Jupiter, when in elose prox- mity. Again, as the planets nearest the sun revolve most rapidly, the angular velocity of the ether must also vary with the distance. Supposing it to have ever been continuous, the exterior portions Would be accelerated by the friction of those near the centre, until the centrifugal force should exceed the centripetal, when the for- mer would begin to recede, thereby producing a successive sepa- tation into zones, upon principles somewhat analogous to those according to which, a similar arrangement of the primeval belts planetary vapors is alleged to have taken place. Whatever may have been its original condition, it would be difficult to con- 248 Resisting Mediwn. ceive how any other mode of distribution than what is here sup- posed eventually to obtain, could be permanent. Those who admit the nebular theory, would hardly contend that the ether has been otherwise circumstanced since the detach- ment of the planetary rings. While each expanded belt or atten- uated globe was describing the orbit which the planet has since described, a medium capable of resisting its motions, could not remain at rest. There is no known reason why an incongruity of angular velocity, and partial equilibrium of the centripetal and centrifugal forces, capable of separating the zones of grosser mat- ter exceedingly rarefied, should fail to produce analogous effects upon any other fluid, governed by similar laws, and having like diversities of velocity. And should the belts of ether, having their several appropriate rates of motion, and separated by considerable intervals, probably, even before the completion of the earlier ad- justments of the system, subsequently interfere with each other, or be otherwise disturbed, the same causes which would be capa ble of producing it, must operate to restore the arrangement. _ Should it be assumed that this medium is, and must necessarily remain continuous, and that such a disposition of it as has beet indicated, is impossible, it is conceded that the system must eX perience important changes. ‘The impropriety of any such as sumption has been already shown. Since then no disposition of tendency of the resisting medium inconsistent with the purposes of our argument, is at all probable, and since the planets cannot be retarded by a medium having the same periodical revolution with themselves, it is conceived that we are justified in concluding that we have no sufficient reason to infer that these bodies must, from any such cause, fall to the sun. But although what has been already advanced is deemed sufli- cient to evince that the orbits of the principal planets are not likely to experience any essential alteration from the causes under dis- cussion, the possible effects upon the rotation of the primaries upon their axes, and upon all the motions of their secondaries remain to be noticed. Such motions, whenever they take plac in a zone of ethereal fluid, must evidently be resisted until the contiguous portions acquire an equal rotation. This could not ; pen, until they should cease to be retarded by other and oni rior portions; but that it must sooner or later take place is ¢ ent from the following considerations. Resisting Medium. 249 ist. The circumferences of circles being as their radii, and gravity inversely as the square of the distance; the centrifugal force of portions remote from the primary, at length exceeding the force of attraction, must cause them to recede; and this pro~ cess must continue as long as the momenta of the planet and its satellite continue to be transmitted to the circumference of its tenuous atmosphere. 2nd. 'The rotation of any mass having motions similar to those of the planets, must, as might easily be proved, have a tendency to remove a resisting medium from its path, and therefore if ever the ether were so disposed as to interfere with the motions of the planets and their satellites, it must, unless retained by causes of whose existence we are not apprised, recede from the emai of their orbits. 3rd. So much of the ether as should nevertheless be retained by the attraction of any of these bodies, would probably be dis- posed in concentric zones, analogous to those in the general sys- tem, and upon similar grinciples after the separation of which zones, the influence of a resisting medium would cease to be felt, at least until their arrangement should be disturbed. 4th. And finally, as the magnitude of the planetary bodies was probably much greater formerly than at present, it may be pre- sumed that most of these changes occurred before the process of condensation was completed. The ether once distributed throughout the system as has been indicated, and with the elements of readjustment, must resist the action of a disturbing force. A cause of disturbance exists in the excentric motions of comets, which in their course must n rily displace portions of the intersected zones. But this cause can hardly exceed the force requisite to render their present orbits consentaneous with the general motions of the system. Besides, while it acts with exceeding slowness in widely distant regions, it operates at the two intersections of each zone made in a revo- lution, in nearly opposite directions ; and therefore comparatively feeble as the resulting forces must be, under any circumstances, it is possible that in consequence of its mode of operation, this cause may effect little else than temporary oscillations of the me- dium until it ceases to act. The consideration of influences and consequences foreign to the system, has been thus far, for the most part, purposely avoided. Vol. xxxvi, No. 2.—Jan.—March, 1840. 32 250 Description and Analysis of a Meteoric Mass. A little reflection however will evince that if we view the starry universe as composed of systems of systems, acknowledging a common centre, and suppose a resisting medium to be partially diffused throughout, the preceding reasoning would with a little modification be applicable to its mode of distribution. Even here we find no cause to apprehend the dissolution of creation, or to infer that physical worlds will cease to exist, as theatres for the operation of the infinite love and infinite wisdom of the Divine Creator. : . Iam aware that there are those whose religious feelings are enlisted to prove, upon philosophical grounds, the certainty of the final destruction of at least this terrestrial globe ; and who may therefore distrust the tenor of the foregoing remarks. With the hazards to which our earth may be exposed from other sources, have at this time nothing todo. But with all due deference to those who may differ from me in opinion, if such there are, al- though I revere the sacred scriptures as the manifestation of di- vinity to man, I do not regard them as designed to instruct us in physical philosophy. Prophecy has not always been understood until the time of its fulfilment; and while some contend, as the admirers of Swedenborg, that the word of God contains through- out a figurative or spiritual sense, the prophecies are confessedly full of metaphor. In those relating to the final consummation of all things, circumstances are stated which must be considered fig- urative. It is not improbable that others are misunderstood, and it is believed to be alike dangerous to science and to religion, t0 be unduly biased in our investigations of philosophical questions, by uncertain interpretations of the sacred volume. oo Arr. IV.—Description and Analysis of a Meteoric mass, Se ound in Tennessee, composed of Metallic Iron, Graphite, H: ydroride of Iron and Pyrites ; by G. Troost, M. D., Prof. of Chemistry, Mineralogy and Geology in the University of Nashville, Tenn. Durine my excursions through East Tennessee, I had see? small fragments of native iron, and had heard of large masses of it, which were believed to be silver. It being considered a pre cious metal, all that was known about it, and the place where it ‘was found, were kept a profound secret. Some less prejudi inhabitant at last became acquainted with the nature of the metal, Description and Analysis of a Meteoric Mass. 251 and its real value was made known. ‘To the politeness of Col. Micajah C. Rodgers, of Serierille, I am indebted for a considera- ble quantity of it; and the Hon. Judge Jacob Peck of Jefferson County, has also presented me with some small fragments. J am thus enabled to lay a description of this singular substance before the scientific public. Having ascertained, as appears from the analysis below given, that this iron contains nickel, the mass must be considered of meteoric origin ; but it differs from most of the masses of meteoric iton hitherto described. The original weight of it is said to have been about 2000 pounds. he portions that I have seen, (as well as those which are in my possession, ) present a singular heterogene- ous mixture of metallic iron, carburet of iron or graphite, sulphu- ret of iron, (pyrites,) and hydroxide of iron, the latter, brown and yellow ; in some parts all four ingredients form a kind of homo- geneous mixture. The most abundant constituent, however, is the nickeliferous iron, and it composes about ;°3,ths of the whole mass. It has partly a crystalline structure, and is in part, composed of grains or globules of various sizes and forms, merely agglutinated to- gether, or sometimes separated by a thin flexible highly polished pellicle of graphite. The crystalline part is composed of lamin of various thickness, in the form of equilateral triangles, which are separated from each other by very thin flexible pellicles, as mentioned above respecting the grains. I expected to find these triangular lamin placed in such posi- tion as to form octahedrons, or showing a cleavage parallel to the Sides of a regular octahedron; but this is not the case, as the Cleavage gives a regular tetrahedron. I have one of these forms, Which is about an inch from base to apex. The metallic iron is also dispersed. in small irregular-shaped masses through a hard, compact, brown hydrated oxide of iron. Throughout this the iron is also dispersed in invisible grains, to be detected only by the magnet, which attracts them when the Substance has been reduced to powder. ‘This iron is malleable. I have in my possession a horse-shoe hail, which was made of it without having undergone a previous Preparation, but it is harder and whiter than common wrought iron. This hardness and color may be owing to a small quantity of carbon which it contains, or perhaps to the nickel; in its nat- ural state, however, the color of the iron differs much in different 252 Description and Analysis of a Meteoric Mass. parts. In some it is black, and has no metallic lustre ; in others, it has a brilliant metallic lustre, and is then always much whiter than steel or common iron. It is then but little susceptible of being tarnished when exposed to the action of the air; the black part being merely tarnished, may be rendered white by a file; in some places it is covered with a kind of black varnish. The substance which constitutes the greatest part of the re- mainder of the mass, is graphite. This substance is not easily distinguished from the common graphite or plumbago, except that it is a little harder than the common granular and compact varieties, and is also rather blacker, and makes a finer, blacker, and more distinct line upon paper than common plumbago. When rubbed with a hard body it assumes a bright metallic lus- tre. It is not pure graphite, but rather a mixture of graphite and metallic iron. The iron can be partly removed by a magnet when the graphite is reduced to powder, but a considerable pot- tion remains mixed with the graphite, which, when acted upon with hydrochloric acid, is dissolved with a brisk effervescence of hydrogen gas. The sulphuret of iron, or pyrites, occupies the smallest portion of the mass. This pyrites is not attracted by the magnet, nor does it seem to act upon the magnetic needle. It can easily be cut with a knife, and is consequently softer than common pyrites. It does not give sparks when struck with steel, another property which distinguishes it from common pyrites. It is easily soluble in diluted hydrochloric acid, with a brisk evolution of sulphuret- ted hydrogen gas, leaving a mixed powder of white and black in the fluid. It has a more or less sub-lamellar structure, in which no regularity can be perceived, and a color between bronze yel- low and copper red, often tarnished. The hydroxide of iron, which forms part of this mass, is a heterogeneous mixture of the varieties of the ore generally know? under the names of brown iron ore and yellow ochre, and resem bles this terrestrial mineral. Its color is generally brownish black, passing into liver brown. 'The external surface of the mass }§ covered here and there with the yellow earthy variety (yellow ochre); how far this covering extended, I am not able to say, the mass was too roughly handled before any part of it came into my possession. Its fracture resembles that of the common com pact brown iron ore. The blackish brown variety is so Very hard, that the best file is immediately dulled upon it, and leaves Description and Analysis of a Meteoric Mass. 253 particles of the steel on the surface of the ore. Nevertheless, the whole is not of uniform hardness; a part, particularly the liver brown, being scratched by the file. Some small cavities in it are lined with lamellar crystals, re- sembling those of white pyrites. This hydroxide, which serves as a matrix 6f the metallic iron, isnot, judging from. my specimens, abundant in the interior of the mass, but the exterior of the mass is entirely made up of it. At some places it is about one inch thick, while at others it is no More than one quarter of an inch, showing here and -there small points of the metallic iron piercing through it. Such are the characters and appearances of this mass, of the date and circumstances of whose fall, nothing is known. It was accidentally discovered near Cosby’s creek, in the southwestern part of Cocke County, East 'Tennessee, and as I mentioned above, Was considered as silver ore. Indeed, there is yet a fragment of it in the hands of an inhabitant, who asks for it $1500—a sum, which would be some hundred dollars too much, if it were pure Silver, Chemical constituents of the different parts. 1. Metallic Tron.—100 grains of the metallic iron were dis- solved in dilnted hydrochloric acid, leaving a residue of half a grain of a black powder, similar to that obtained from the graphite. This solution being treated with nitric acid, to convert the pro- toxide into peroxide, was precipitated by pure ammonia. The precipitate being washed and ignited, gave 124 grains of perox- ide, = 87 grains of iron. The ammoniacal solution gave 16 grains of protoxide of nickel, = 12 grains of metallic nickel, With a Pine of cobalt ; sae hott a grain. n, - ~ = re 87.0 ard - - - - - - 12.0 - Carbon, - - - - - - 0.5 Loss, - sere eB ; - 100.0 2. Graphite—50 grains of the graphite being pulverized and freed by a magnet from intermixed iron, were acted upon with diluted hydrochloric acid. An effervescence took place, with expulsion of hydrogen gas, owing to metallic iron, which was so intimately mixed with the graphite, that it was not attracted by 254 Description and Analysis of a Meteoric Mass. the magnet. After the effervescence ceased, it was heated in order to dissolve every thing that was soluble. The insoluble part was washed and dried; it was pure carbon, and weighed 464 grains. The hydrochloric solution being treated with nitric acid, to convert the protoxide of iron into peroxide, and precipitated by ammonia, gave peroxide of iron equal to three grains of metallic iron. The filtered solution was treated with pure potassa, and a hardly perceptible gray flocculent precipitate was obtained, s0 that this iron was free from nickel. Carbon, - . - - - - 46.5 Iron, - - - - - - - 3.0 Loss, - - - - - - - 0.5 100.0 3. Sulphuret of Iron.—A small fragment of the pyrites was dissolved in diluted hydrochloric acid, under a brisk effervescence of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. Part of it was insoluble; this after being washed and dried, was exposed to heat, by which the sulphur was sublimed, leaving a black powder. 'The quantity used was too small to determine the proportion ; it is composed 0 sulphuret of iron and carbon. 4. Hydroxide of Iron.—The hydroxide of iron lost about 17 per cent. by being heated, and had all the characters of a similar residue from brown ironstone or hematite. This is not the only instance in which meteoric iron has been found in the State of Tennessee. A small mass of it was found in Dickson County ; another, a few miles west of Canyfork in De Kalb County. The latter had a smooth glossy surface, and was of an oval shape, its longer diameter being from 10 to 22 inches. | It is said that several masses have been found about 20 miles east from the warm springs in Buncombe County, North Carolina. I went to the spot, during my last excursion in East Tennessee, but T could learn nothing with certainty concerning it, and did not see any of the metal.* Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 8, 1839. dicate * One mass, at least, of meteoric iron has been found in this county, and an anal- ysis of it was published by Prof. C. U. Shepard, in this Jour, Vol. 36, p- 81—E?*- Tracks of Animals in Variegated Sandstone. 255 Art. V.—Notice of Tracks of Animals in Variegated Sandstone at Polzig, between Ronneburg and Weissenfels ; by Hr. Dr. B. Corra.* Translated for this Journal by Rey. Prof. W. A. Larnep, of Yale College. Wurte recently engaged in revising the preparations for the geological map of Saxony, in the country between Ronneburg and Weissenfels, I frequently met with stone slabs in the region of the variegated sandstone, which were covered on one side with the same sort of reticular padding as the track-sandstone of Hild- burghausen. These net-formed pads could have originated in no other way, as every thing about them shows, than by the fill- ing up of clefts occasioned by the drying of thin layers of clay. But if thin beds of clay formed between sandstone strata, had time and opportunity for drying before the deposition of a new layer of sand, then manifestly there existed some of the essential pre-requisites for the preservation of ancient foot-prints; it would Only be necessary that there should be animals at that period to roam at will over the soft clay, before the water covered it anew with sand. Under these impressions, I began to search for foot- tracks on my way to Poélzig, where, as I was informed, the slabs were abundant. Before reaching the quarries at Pélzig and Klein- Porthen, I observed at a village, in a heap of building stones, sev- eral small elevated figures, which arrested my attention on account of their similarity in form and size ; their form, however, appear- ed so remarkable that I could hardly persuade myself they were casts of tracks, although I was in search of such. On arriving, however, at the quarry of Pélzig, I obtained full evidence that these divires actually originated from the footsteps of animals. Several large slabs were here entirely covered with them, and in one place at the first quarry, on the left slope of the valley above Pélzig, I found the track-stratum still remaining, a portion dug under and covered on the under side entirely with reliefs. ‘Such is the history of the discovery, though it is but just to say, that had not Dr. Sickler led the way, I should never have thought of * Neues Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie, pr ery Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde, beriuspcgeten von Dr, K. C. v. Leonhard und Dr. H. G. Bronn, Professoren an der Universitat zu Heidelberg. Erstes 256 Tracks of Animals in Variegated Sandstone. looking for foot-prints here, nor recognized these when accident- ally found, as such. The form of these foot-reliefs, which resemble those of Hild- burghausen in no other respect than the mode of their occurrence, is very peculiar, being two-toed, and more like horse-shoes than feet. I sought in vain for any regular arrangement. or the con- tinuous course of any one individual ; all the tracks stood singly, as in the above plate A, in as much disorder as if there had beet a large tumultuous assemblage of animals there. For this reason, the forms of individual casts are often not expressed entire, and all are not alike, some being rounded behind, (2, 3, 7 and §,) and others more angular, (1, 4 and 5;) sometimes we observe on the hind part a little irregular prominence, (5 and 6.) ‘These vane tions may have arisen, in part, though hardly all of them, from the inequality of the soft ground, from the impression and dl- rection of the foot, &c. The irregular position speaks rather for two-footed than four-footed animals. Some slabs are covered with little round bosses of the same size with the foot-casts; these, however, occur only on the under surface of the layers rest- ing on the clay. Could the clay, ina certain state of softness, have on the feet so as to make their prints obscure? Tracks of Animals in Variegated Sandstone. 257 The net-formed pads had first led me, as already observed, to search for tracks ; I was, therefore, quite surprised to find them so rarely in connection with the foot-tracks, although occurring very abundantly in the same quarry. The clayey underlayer of the track-strata happens to be so thin here ordinarily, (}—} an inch,).that it perhaps on this account did not crack in drying. I would remark farther on one striking peculiarity of the track-slabs of this place; they are generally very undulatory upon the side Opposite the impressions, that is, the upper, and more even on the under. The water evidently has had more effect on the sand than on the tough clay. 7 New Red Sandstone formation. ___ At Klein-Pérthen. B. At Pélzig. = = Sandplatten. Rother Schutt. = Eisenstein. Schalstein Rater f— - Obere Werk- Se 2 bank. ES SS ee —— Schieferschutt. Eisenstein. Werkbank. — ee wee Thuicks & 4v 45 Sita Approximate scale_of the thickness of the strata. The track-reliefs occur at Pélzig and Klein-Pérthen, it is prob- ably only in two layers, whose particular position is indicated on the plate (B) by small arrows. ‘These layers belong in general to the middle region of the variegated sandstone formation. They are characterized throughout the whole district by gray, yellow, and even white colors; at Crossen, on the Elster, we see them Vol. xxaxvin1, No. 2.—Jan.~March, 1840. 33 t 258 Tracks of Animals in Variegated Sandstone. distinctly embedded upon the lower red sandstone, and in the Saal valley, between Weissenfels and Diirrenberg, they are cov- ered by the upper red clay. We find traces of track-casts also at Crossen, at Weissenfels, and at Gross-Aga not far from Zeitz ; however, only here and there, and perhaps less distinctly than at Pélzig. At the latter place, the animals seem to have congrega- in s. But however rare they appear in the other places, the wide extent of the region in circumstances favorable to their hardening, is worthy of attention. The quarries of Pélzig and Klein-Pérthen are situated in paral- lel level vallies, and are separated from one another by a mountain ridge about an hundred feet high and one mile broad. The at- rangement of the individual strata in them is represented on the plate, (B,) and needs only a few explanations in addition. In both places, the sequence of the strata is tolerably uniform, although some variations exist with -respect to thickness and in- ternal composition. The track-strata, indicated by arrows, may be regarded as parallel, since their position in general corresponds so exactly, that they might be held as actually identical. The lowest track-layer in both places occurs in a minutely gran- ular gray-yellow sandstone, whose strata, from one to two feet thick, and séparated by a thin layer of clay, are preferably em ployed for the getting out of the larger building-stones, and on this account, they are called’ by the workmen, “ Werkbank.”* Upon this follows, at Pérthen, a firm, dark gray oolite, passing beneath into gray sandstone with traces of copper-gree, but at Polzig on the contrary, a firm, gray sandstone, which only rarely contains oolite. At both of these places these strata are. called, on account of their hardness, “ Eisenstein,” and are used especi- ally for road making. Z Next, at Porthen, greenish-gray slate clay, called “ Schiefer- schutt,” and the same at Pélzig, but alternating above and below with sandstone strata. On this follows, at both places, the upper track-layer, 0? © under surface of the sandstone strata, which, at Porthen, are thio, and frequently alternating with slate-clay, on which account they Te cg (ee ema on the * The local terms employed-by the workmen I have not thought it igo to translate in the text or plate. I give their literal signification Werkbank, s sa! board or work-bench ; eisenstein, ironstone ; schieferschutt, slate earth ; schalste _ binke, shale-banks ; rother schutt, red earth ; sandplatten, sandplates.— Tr. Tracks of Animals in Variegated Sandstone. 259 are called, “ Schalsteinbanke ;” while at Pélzig they correspond to the under “ Werkbank,” and are called the upper “ Werkbank.” This sandstone formation at Pélzig, consists of thinner strata, is firmer, and more gray, on which account it is called, in the upper region, ‘“ Eisenstein ;” but I found no oolite there. On these sandstone strata, follows at both places, slate-clay, with one or two sandstone plates intermediate. At Porthen, how- ever, it is colored rather red, than greenish gray, and is there call- ed, “‘rother Schutt.” Upon this, rest the so called, “ Sandplat- ten,” thin, yellow sandstone strata) which extend over a much larger-region at Pérthen than at Pélzig. The slate-clay and sandstone, finally, which cover these sand plates, oceur only in some places in the highest parts of the quar- tes, and in general considerably contorted. The engraved plate is not to be regarded as geometrically exact, for the thickness of the layers is only conjectured, and it is in the main, a representative of several contiguous quarries, rather than an accurate copy from one, which appeared to me would be exact enough for the present object... I proceeded in a similar manner, with the copies of the foot- tracks: they are sketched, indeed, individually exact, according to their natural,size, being even measured with the compasses ; but their relative position is arbitrary, they being placed thicker than is usual on the slabs, as the most distinct reliefs of several individual slabs, are united in a small space. Besides, the form in these hasty outlines, may be more sharply marked out, than is teally the case in nature, in order to make up for the want of a practiced hand, which alone can represent any thing distinetly, and-yet true to nature. These sketches may give an idea of t thing, but a better account may be hoped for, from Professor Rossmiissler, for whom I have this day ordered a wagon-load of the large slabs to Freiberg. 260 Aurora Borealis of September 3, 1839. Arr. VI.— Observations on the Aurora Borealis of September 3, 1839; communicated by Epwarp C. Herrick, Rec. Sec. Conn. Acad. On the night of ‘Tuesday, the 3d of September, 1839, an ex- traordinary display of the Aurora Borealis was seen in all parts of the United States, and was probably also visible over a large portion of the northern hemisphere above the latitude of 30°. The public attention throughout the country, was much attracted by this display, and numerous descriptions of its phenomena were published in the newspapers. I propose here to give a brief abstract of some of these accounts. 1. New Haven. Observations were made here by Mr. A. B Haile, Mr. F. Bradley, and myself, and doubtless also by many others. The auroral light was first noticed about half an hout after sunset, and of course while the twilight was quite strong. At this time the sky was much obscured by thin clouds, but these gradually dispersed. As daylight faded, the Aurora grew more conspicuous, atid soon presented a most splendid scene. So many good detailed descriptions of great Auroral displays have however already been published in this Journal, that it seems unnecessary to attempt in this place a very minute account of the particulars of this instance. Previous to midnight, there were three or four seasons of maximium energy, during which a large portion of the heavens was covered with a vast assemblage of streamers of vatl- ous hues, in which crimson and _ silver-white predominated. The exhibition was, on the whole, quite equal in splendor to any - which we have ever seen in this region. Several times in the course of the evening, the corona was distinctly formed, envel- oped, as: usual in a tumultuous, ever-shifting mass of Auro light. The mean of numerous observations of the altitude of the centre of the corona, taken by a plumb-quadrant, gave 74°; which is not-more than half a degree greater than the present magnetic dip at this place. Before 9h. 26m. there was but little undulation in the streamers, but about this time the Auroral waves began to show themselves, and soon flashed up towards the zenith with great magnificence. Low in the north, we saw at this time, what appeared to be short dark columns rising across the intensely luminous band which lay there, and then almost ” t Aurora Borealis of September 3, 1839. 261 instantly vanishing. This was often repeated. The southern part of the heavens was occupied with streamers to very unusual ex- tent. ‘The arch bounding the streamers on the South gradually descended, so that at 10h. its vertex was not more than 10° above the horizon. We were consequently led to infer that this occur- rence extended very far to the south of us, which has been found to be the fact. At 7h. 37m. I stationed within the house, a surveyor’s compass, so that the needle coincided with the N. and S. points. At 8h. 7m. it stood at 30’ W. of N. At 9h. 7m. a splendid red blaze in the E., needle N. 30’ E.: 9h. 27m. needle 0. At noon on the Ath, the needle stood at N. 1° 30’ W., so that, (if we assume, as is most probable, that the needle had then regained its usual place, ) its north end was not observed during the Aurora, to be carried to the west of its mean position. Circumstances rendered it incon- Venient to retain the instrument any longer in the place it occu- pied during the Aurora, so that it can not be confidently asserted that the influence of the Aurora was entirely ended at noon on the 4th. The needle is much less sensitive than that of the va- nation compass formerly employed. Of course I can not com- pare the magnetic effects of this display with those of other great occasions of this kind. During the evening, the temperature was from 70° to 60°. At 9h. the dew point was 58°, the air be- ing 65°. We discontinued our observations a little after 11h. at which time the display had greatly declined. A person who was abroad after midnight, informed me that about 1 A. M., (4th,) the spec- tacle was, if possible, more splendid than before. At 4 A: M., I found numerous streamers in active undulation, about the North- ern horizon ; but not reaching to a greater elevation than 20°. During the night of Wednesday, the 4th, the sky was densely Overcast. A moderate Auroral display was seen at Albany, N. Y., at Middlebury, Vt., and probably at many other piace bene the State of the jetted permitted observation. 2. Nashville, Tenn. N. lat. 36° 9 33”; W. lon. 86° 49’. The following observations are contained in a letter to Prof. Sil- liman from Prof. James Hamilton, of the University of Nashville. “Although a resident in this city for more than six years, be- tween 1827 and 1835, I have never seen so beautiful an exhibi- tion of the Aurora Borealis, as that which occurred in the evening 262 Aurora Borealis of September 3, 1839. of September 3, 1839; nor have I been able to learn that any of the oldest inhabitants remember one of equal magnificence. The late display was but little inferior to those I have observed in New Jersey, three times within the last fonr years. About 7 P. M., the northern sky appeared unusually bright, as if affected by lunar twilight. A large bank of vapor or thin cloud was dis- covered in the N., gently declining toward the E. and W. points of the horizon, and extending perhaps 30° in each direction. A similar bank of smaller dimensions was seen in the N. E., bat less bright than the Northern. Ina few minutes, the upper edges of both banks, but especially of the Northern, had a whiteness resembling the enlightened disk of the moon in its greatest splen- dor. The bank was at this time about 12° in height as deter- mined by a theodolite. At 7h. 25m. a white streamer about 2° in width, arose from the bank about N. 6° E., and shot upwards through the Pole star as far as the zenith, being rather convex on the Western side. . Others appeared immediately on both sides of it, passing through or near Ursa Major and Cassiopeia. ‘The bank in the N. E. exhibited as yet no coruscations. At 7h. 45m., the columns had become larger and more numerous. One embraced Ursa Major, and another Cassiopeia, without farther extension horizontally. ‘These were both of a brilliant crimson color, an remained nearly stationary for a considerable time, while the in- tervening column became faint. A westward motion was soon after observed in three principal columns, and about the same time a diminution in the brightness of the red ones. On this last occurrence, thin horizontal clouds of a red color were seen crossing the columns at an altitude of 30°, which however soon disappeared. When the northern bank possessed less energy; the Northeastern sent up to the zenith an intensely red column which continued to glow until nearly 9h., alternating however in bright- ness with those in the N. The Northern coruscations ceased about 9 P. M., and the other bank gave forth afterward but few and less vivid streamers. Before 10h. these had also ceased, yet the northern bank continued to exhibit its silvery edge; 2" another display occurred after midnight. 'The Northern bank attained an altitude of 224° at Sh. 15m., and was about 3° higher at 8h. 40m. : “A very brilliant white column, 1° wide, and 3° W. of Arctt- rus, appeared to have undulations in the directions of its length Aurora Borealis of September 3, 1839. 263 for a considerable time, as if caused by the gentle flow of a fluid on its surface. The first column from the N. was evidently either in or very near the plane of the magnetic meridian. The banks continued to increase along the horizon until 9 P. M., when they extended from the E. to within 10° of the W. The extremities were not bright, but had the usual appearance of light clouds. At this most westeily point, a shower had arisen about sunset which had been driven toward the S. W., and during the Aurora flashes of lightning at a great distance were occasionally seen. These became less and less vivid, the storm being driven away by aN. E. wind, blowing at the rate of three miles, and inereasing to about six miles an hour during the phenomenon. ‘The needle (about 10 inches long, and very sensitive,) vibrated through an arc of 1° 10’, while the columns were apparent, and on the fol- lowing morning it had rested in an intermediate position only 20’ W. of its greatest eastern limit during the evening. The plate of an electrical machine, in an adjoining room, showed more than usual activity, giving after two turns, pungent and loud sparks to the knuckles three inches distant. 'The season has been exceed- ingly dry since the middle of July. ° “Taking the direction of my transit telescope, I found the magnetic variation this day, (Sept. 7, 1839,) to be 5° 56’ E.” 3. At New Orleans, La., (N. lat. 29° 58’) the Auroral display Was quite conspicuous, and appeared so much like a large conflia- gration, that the fire engines were called out to extinguish the flames. ‘The altitude of the streamers is not meutioned. No corona was probably formed at this place. Being desirous to as- certain how far south-a corona was visible, I made special inqui- ries of a friend at Claiborne; Ala., (N. lat. 314°) where the Au- rora was very splendid, and learn that it could scarcely be said that a corona was formed there, although several times the Auro- ral columns were nearly united overhead. It is probable that a corona might have been seen within a hundred miles north of this. A. Carlyle, Ill. (N. lat. 384; W. lon. 894.) Prof. John Locke has published in the Daily Missouri Republican, St. Louis, Sept. 8, 1839, a description of this Aurora, from his own observations. The display was of the most splendid character, and the point to which the streamers converged was determined by him to coin- cide exactly with that to which the dipping needle is there di- rected. Dr. L. had a few days previous found the magnetic 264 Aurora Borealis of September 3, 1839. dip at Louisville Ky., to be 70° 8’, and on the 8th of Sept., he ascertained the dip at St. Louis to be 69° 32’.* 5. Throughout England the Aurora of September 34, is des- cribed as most gorgeous. A confused and rhetorical account con- tained in a London paper of Sept. 4, (copied in N. Y. Journal of of Commerce, Oct. 12,) states that the Aurora “had a most alarm- ing appearance, and was exactly like that cc¢asioned by a terrific fire. The consternation in the metropolis was very great, thou- sands of persons were running in the direction of the supposed awful catastrophe. * * * At two o’clock in the morning (Ath) the phenomenon presented a most gorgeous scene, and one very difficult to describe. ‘The whole of London was illuminated as light as noonday, (!) and the atmosphere was remarkably clear. The southern hemisphere though unclouded was very dark, but the stars which were innumerable shone beautifully. The oppo- site side of the heavens presented a singular, but magnificent con- trast ; it was clear in the extreme, and the light was very vivid. There was a continual succession of meteors which varied in splendor. ‘They apparently formed in the centre of the heavens, and spread till they seemed to burst; the effect was electrical, myriads of small stars shot out over the horizon, and darted with that swiftness towards the earth that the eye could scarcely follow the track; they seemed to burst also, and throw a dark crimson va- por over the entire hemisphere. * * * Stars weve darting about ie all directions, and continued until 4 o’clock, when all died away.” From this description some have imagined that there was @C~ tually during this Aurora, a shower of shooting stars, similar to that seen on the 13th November, 1833. Although it is doubtless possible that such a meteoric shower may occur on the of Sep- tember, yet the statement above given, unsupported by other tes- timony, is altogether inadequate to establish the fact. This is evidently a loose and overcharged description, and it is enti- tled toa literal interpretation about as much as is an article pro- fessedly on the “ November Asteroids,” which was published jn a London paper in November, 1838, in which it is asserted t that “several stars of an ordinary ’size” were seen “shooting from hat eniginal spots, and falling apparently to the earth. x ~ * The statement of the altitude of the corona as observed in in Brown Co., Il (p- 147 of this Journal,) is doubtless incorrect. The estimate was probabl dias by the eye; and in such circumstances an error of even 17° is not surprising. Meteorological Observations. 265 Arr. VII.— Abstracts of Meteorological Observations made at St. Johns, Newfoundland, and at Canton, in China: with some Notice of the Half Yearly Inequalities of Atmospheric Distri- onl which appear in these Observations ; by W. C. Rep- THe annexed summary of meteorological observations at St. Johns, was kindly furnished by Joseph Templeman, Esq., having been printed by him for circulation. The summary for ten years at Canton, in China, was obligingly forwarded by John Slade, Esq., and has appeared in the Canton Register. A comparative half yearly analysis of these observations, aud of those made BY me at New York, is herewith submitted. Observations at Ni siefoiindtdnd: The observations at St. Johns include a period of five years, ending with 1838. The barometer, we are informed, is 140 feet above the sea Jevel. 'The annual mean of the barometer, dedu- ced from these observations, is 29.735 inches; while the mean of my own observations near the sea level at New York, for the same period, is 30.111 inches :*—showing a difference in the mean atmospheric pressure of 0.376 inch; or more than one third of an inch of the barometric column.t Part of this difference, equal to about 0.180, is due to the difference of elevation of the two instruments; which when added, gives 29.915 inches for the. Sea level at St. Johns. If we assume the annual mean at the two places to be equal, there still remains a discrepancy of 0.196, ot t inch, nearly, to be accounted for. In the absence of more definite in fomtnsieis concerning Mr. Templeman’s barometer, [ am inclined to ascribe this discrepancy to the stretching of the leather which forms the bottom of the cistern, while in a moist At a mean temperature of the mercury of about 68° or 70° F. t Thad recently an opportunity to compare the adjustment of my ot eo barometer with the standard of the Royal Society, as Srna by means of one e of Lieut. Riddell, R. A., of the permanent allowance I had made for the eapillarity of the tube; the diai eter of which is four fifteenths of an inch, Vol. xxxvii1, No. 2.—Jan.—March, 1840. 34 266 Meteorological Observations. state, or while screwed up for safe transportation ; which are the most common causes of error in the adjustment of the scale to its proper height in barometers. Now as the mean annual pressure at the two places, at the sea level, is presumed to be nearly equal, we may add 0.376 inch, or three eighths of an inch, to all the results in Mr. Templeman’s summary, for the purpose of com- parison with the observations at New York. With this assumed correction, we find that the mean height of the barometer at St. Johns, at the sea level, for the five half years, which include the months of November, December, January, February, March, and April, which takes in the winter period, is 30.039 inches: while the mean of the five half years which in- clude the remaining months, is 30.184 inches. ‘The mean pres- sure of the half year which includes the summer, we here per- ceive, erceeds that which includes the winter, by the amount of 0.145 inches ; or one seventh of an inch, nearly. At New York, I find on the contrary, that the mean presstire of the half year which includes summer, for the same period of time, is Jess than that of the half year which includes the win- ter by 0.044 inch; or something less than ,', of an inch: the mean for the winter half years being 3U.133, while that for the summer period is 30.089. There appears no reason to doubt the accuracy of these results, in either case. ipa ' This analysis shows also an average difference of pressure at the two places for the same half year ; assuming the same annual mean: the inequality for the winter period being 0.094 inch, oF nearly one tenth of an inch greater at New York than at New- foundland ; while for the half year that includes summer, which exhibits the least fluctuations of pressure, and in which the equi librium of the atmosphere is least disturbed by violent winds, the mean pressure is 0.095 inch greater at St. Johns than at New York. It appears from the table, that the extreme range of the ba- rometer at Newfoundland during the five years was 2.54 inches, or two and a half inches, nearly: while at New York for the same period, as corrected one fortieth for variation in the cister, it was 2.265 inches; or two and a quarter inches, nearly. e difference of latitude in the two places is 6° 52’; the difference of longitude 21° 22’; both places being on the western margi of the same ocean. Meteorological Observations. 267 Observations at Canton. 3 _ If we now turn to the observations at Canton, we shall find the mean half yearly results for the same months, for ten years, as follows: viz. Mean pressure of ten half years, November to April inclusive, 30.140 inches. Mean pressure of pine half years, May to Qotober inclusive, 29.868 inches. Thus, at Canton. the mean peesiaee of ‘the winter half year exceeds that of summer, 0.272 inch, or more than one fourth of aninch. The latitude of Canton is 23° 07’ N., being nearly in parallel with the north side of Cuba and part Ee the Bahama Isl- ands: lon. 113° 14’ E. The mean height of the barometer for the ten years observed at Canton, is 30.005 inches; but if we add a correction for an assumed elevation of 40 feet above tide, it will be 30.051 inches. We may infer, therefore, that there is little error in the adjustment of the scale of inches in this ba- rometer. Assuming the same mean annual pressure for Canton as at New York, the following comparison of the half yearly results at these two places may be instituted. Winter half year. Summer half year. Mean at New York, 30.133 30.089 Mean at Canton, as adopted, 30.246 29.974 Excess at Canton, 0.113in, Excessat N. Y., 0.1165 in. The inequality at these places for the two periods, being the same in kind, but differing in degree by more than one ninth of an inch ; the inequality being greatest at Canton. If the results at St. Johns, Newfoundland, be compared in like manner with those at Canton, they will appear as follows: Winter half year. Summer half year. Mean pressure at Canton, 30.246 in. 29.974 in 30.184 Mean do. at Newfoundland, 30.039 0.207 in. Excessat N. F., 0.210 in. Excess at Canton, These results are different in kind and the inequalities greater than those between Canton and New York: the mean inequali- ties being more than one fifth of an inch. 268 Meteorological Observations. The inequalities of pressure in the opposite seasons at Canton will appear more strongly, if we omit the months of April and October, which have nearly the mean pressure of the year. We have then a mean for the five months of the northerly monsoon or winter period, of 30.178 inches: the mean for January being as high as 30.24 inches. But for the five months of the south- erly monsoon we find a mean of only 29.836 inches ; and the mean of July and August is still lower, being 29.80 inches. We have thus an inequality of 0.342 inch: more than one third of ‘an inch, for the average period of the two monsoons; while as between January and July and August, in the opposite monsoons, we have the still greater difference of 0.440 inch; approaching to half an inch of the barometric column. I have alluded to this extraordinary inequality of barometric pressure, on a former 0¢- In regard to the prevalent winds at Canton, and their state of humidity, we perceive that the greater number of rainy days and the greatest depression of the barometer, accord nearly with the period in which the southerly monsoon most steadily prevails. The smallest number of rainy days and greatest atmospheric pressure accord equally with the prevalence of the northerly monsoon. At New York, and also at Newfoundland, the tendency of the winds and the distribution of rain, throughout the year, is proba bly more uniform than at Canton; but the region about New- foundland is believed to be somewhat remarkable for its humidity, particularly in the summer months ; while, as we have seen, in the latter season the barometer maintains more than its average elevation. In view of all the facts presented, therefore, there appears 3° good reason to ascribe to hygrometric considerations, in any CO” siderable degree, the great differences in the equality of atmos pheric distribution which are here brought to our notice. New York, December 3d, 1839. * See this Journal, Vol. xxxiu, p. 264. e Meteorological Observaticns. 1. St. Johns, Newfoundland. Meteorological Table for five years xy it tes 31, 1838. From observations made by Joseph Templeman of the Colonial 183 Mean of Re py onth, Days on which ex- i Low tremes occurred, which ex- { 1836. Mean of the Month, xtreme on acich ex- tremes occu 1837. Mean of the Month, pin: Highest, owe st, J ARY. BRUARY, sca Burom Therm Barom. Therm. egs. | inches deg inches, > 174 | 29. 163 20.75 | “20k 36 | 30. AO 30.35 46 _ 28.60) —14 Aer —6 143 | 29, 13 20 18th | 30th |11th & 16th mo) ‘& Toh 22d dlst | § 6th ith 3d 244 | 29.67 254 29.8 223 44 30.20 7 30.44 47 —5 |} 28.75 0 28 7) a Q 198 | 2947 | 234 |. 29.61 224 Ist 6th 28th 15th 23d 4th | ist 3d 5th 12th 26 9,81 244 29.78 239 48 | 30.42 48 30.52 55. 4 9.04 D 28.78 Q 26 | 29.73] 244 29.65 | 28% 25th | BW4th 22d 20th Lith 17th | 26th (27th & QWthl 15th 19th 274 45 2 lth 5th 26 47 3 16th 4th tary's O Ofice degs, | inches 4 | 29.60 46 30.42 13 28.80 as, 29.61 95t 5th 7th | 29th 33§ =| 29.61 Sl). 30.17 19 28. 35 29, 7th & 8th: 5] th 15th 313 29,81. 60 30.37 14 29,20 oF 9,78 22d 2Qist 12th 374 60 30.05 B 28.8 424 | 29.42 29th 24th 6th 33§ | 29. 61 30.27 12 98.85 363 | 29.56 20th 14th 24th a sf ene: aa herm, Barom. Therm Barom, degs. | inches. deus. inches. 394 | 29.85 494 29,87 7 30.40 76 30,27 4 29, 30 29,35 0: 29. 48 29.81 10th 16th 8th 6th 30th Ist 18th 15th 39} | 29.64 48 29.8 60 30.30 73 30.11 25 29,09 29 29.35 424 29,7 51 29.73 30th | 13th [2ist & 2th} 28th 23d 3 10th 5th 37 29.76 45 29.85 66 30.10 80 30.22 18 29.30 27 29.20 42 | 29.70 534 29.71 19t 27th th 6th 3d (5th & 8th) 3d 16th 39} | 29.64 454 29.67 60 30.22 73 30.02 25 28.95 29 29.34 423 29.58 $1 29.68 23d | 20th [22d & 25 ‘Ast Qd 2Qd 3d Sst {19th & 30th 414 | 29.85 ‘ee | 29:79 S| deat: am ne Maa 29 pe ee eae 464 ¢ ‘614 | 29.82 30th | Bist [11th & 26th; Ist 6th Lith 19th | 1. St. Johns, Newfoundland. Meteorological Table for five 's ending Dee. 31, 1838. From observations made by Joseph Templeman, of the TN Clnial Secrisary's y's Office JuLy, ER, NOVEMBER. DEcE Therm. | Barom. aioe Baron. j ca “Taras To .| Barom. Therm. ,Barom “Tero ae 1824 degs. inches. degs. | inches. degs. | inches. | degs. | inches. | degs, _ |inches. inches. ‘Mean of the Month, Sei-7 | ‘so st | Sep] 2006 | 56° | bose | arg | g005° | ‘SHy |o068] 24 — [ou.79 Extremes { ighest, 86 3).28 | 78 | 30.25 | 74 30.32 | 20 | 30.30 52 © 130,138) 45 30.67 ? 2 Lowest, 37 29.48 36 29.40 36 29.50 8 29.40 5 29 4 28.98 or Extremes, 614 21.88 57 29.82 55 ms 91 49 29.85 334 29.62 4 2 Days on which of Highest, 15th 20th 25th | Bist |8d&4th) 4th | 10th |12th&19th| 15th |17h| 15th | 19th tremes occur me Lowest, Ist Ist 10th Sth&l4th| 16th “th & 10th) 26th 10th 29th 8th 29th 7th Mean of the Month, 584 29 80 61 29.87 | 55.56 | 29.90 46% | 29.98 oy 5-6 | 29.58| 244 29,52 itremes b Highest, 80 30.20 81 | 30.25 | 77 30.27 | 70 | 3045 ~ 30.15} 46 30.15 ? 2 Lowest, 37 29 37 43 29.57 35 29.15 25 29.38 7 28 97 8 28.50 n of Extremes, 584 29.78 62 29.91 56 29.71 474 | 29.91 34 29.56 27 29.32 ce on which ex- f Fi eg 19th 2Ist Wth | J6th Ist 1th Sth | 20th {7th | 15th | 27th 20th tremes onsarr Low 12th 17th 7th 17th 16th 3d 27th 12th 22d &25th} 21st 24th 3d Mean of the Month, 55} 29.83 574 29.88 494 29.80 434 29.80 364 29.62 275 29.80 Extremes { Highest, 81 30.11 73 |. 30.14 | 74 30.33 | 71 | 30.30 61 30.23} 47 30.55 t poner st, 30 29.35 40 ~~ be: 30 29,31 22 29.30 20 28.24 2 29.05 Mean of Extrem 554 29.73 59 52 29.82 463 29.30 403 29.23 243 29.80 {Days on which mn) Highest, |12th&l4th| 12th 2d Gun 5th 7th 6th 2d 16th 9th | 3st 25th tremes ar ae Lowest, 2d 20th 29th 24th 20th 31st 28th 19th =} 30th | 23d&24th} Ist Mean of the Month, 53 29.63 56% | 29.77 514 29 80 404 | 2986 374 | 29.73) 233 29.49 Ritremes Highest, 72 29.98 73 3613.21 %5 30.20 63 30 46 60 30) 28 37 30.25 » 2 Lowest, 33 29.20 41 29.14 33 9 35 QL 29.23 18 28 28 65 Mean of Extremes, 524 29.59 59h 29.63 54 29.7 42 9.84 39 29.63 213 29.45 Days on which ex- f oe 1Gth&28th} Bist 3d 14th 1th 22d QWth | Wth 23d Ist 26th 28th tremes occurr Lowe 12th 10th 3ist 23d 29th 13th 19th 2d 30th 7th |L7th&27th, 12th Mean of the Month, 554 29.75 554 29.74 523 29.84 44 29.72 3l 29.72 254 29°66 Extremes {is . 79 30.25 76 30.16 76 30.36 66 39.10 30.22 47 30.52 > 2 Lowest, 38 o. 33 9.05 382 29. 25 23.98 1 23. 0 Mean of Extrem 58h 29.80 544 | 29.60 | 52 29.80 | 454 | 29.54 354 [29.60] 248 . (29.76 Days on whic wo ex: mi § Highest 4th th 24th 30th 3d 13th 3d 1th 6th lth 6th 3) st tremes occur 21st Qih&3ist| 3d 27th Oth 20th 30th 29th 24th =| 25th 20th 19th Monthly means ‘vs 5 years, [aoe anor | \— 39-849 |" 89.862 39.666 "SUOLJDALISQQ) 7091.50] 0.109)9 PT Meteorological Observations. 271 “ Remarks.—St. Johns is in lat. 47° 34’ 3” N. and lon. 52° 38” 30” W. ‘The height of the barometer above the level of the sea is 140 feet. From the foregoing table it will be observed that in the peculiar climate of this Island the mean temperature of the month of September is very little below that of July, whilst that of October is nearly equal to that of June. The first fortnight in February is usually the severest part of the winter—in which pe- tiod the thermometer in some seasons sinks to from 10° to 20° below the zero of Fahrenheit. It will also be seen that in the year 1836 there was only one month (August) in which frost did hot occur. ‘The temperature above shown is the mean of the maximum and minimum of every 24 hours commencing at 9 a. m. It generally happens, therefore, that the greatest degree of cold occurs on the morning following the date here shown. Where two dates are mentioned, it shows, of course, that the same extreme occurred on both days. “ As regards the barometer, it may be observed that it is scarcely ever steady for 6 hours together. Its oscillations are often great and sudden, sometimes as much as from 14 to 24 inches, in the course of 36 hours. ~ These are greatest and most frequent in the Winter months—during which period almost every variety of Weather is experienced in the course of every four days. The barometer attains, during that interval, to the height of from 30.20 to 30.40 inches, the weather being calm and serene and the cold Severe—the mercury soon indicates a change—a breeze springs up from the S. E. and increases to a gale with snow and drift. This is most frequently, although not always, succeeded by heavy rain from S. W. (the temperature, which in the morning was perhaps near or below zero, rising to above 40 degrees) and in a few hours the wind, which generally subsides after the rain, suddenly shifts to the N. W., with a strong breeze. ‘The barom- eter (which on these occasions falls rapidly and almost always Sinks to several 10ths below 29 in.) then begins to rise again, as rapidly as it had before fallen. At the turn of the barometer, the gale increases for a few hours, and then gradually subsides. The barometer very rarely rises above 30.50 inches, and has never, €xcept on one occasion, during the above period of five years, fallen as low as 28.50 inches.” 2. Canton; China. Table showing the Mean of the Monthly Range of the Thermometer and Barometer, from 1829 to 1838, both inclusive, with the predominance of N: and 5 Winds, and number of ty y Dar ys, and the Average Monthl y Range o the Thermometer ‘and Barome ter, and number of Rainy Days in ; I83s. . 1829 to 1838. Wemidedicrn ; Winds wican|Mean}) Mean of | Rainy Month. Therm.|Barom.|N, 8, |Rainy| of | of night Lowest. || Night. Highest.|| Noon, Barom | days. Days. | Days. ||night |noon.|and noon. ig January, |. ‘ 52; (30.24 26, 6} 6 50 [59 | 543 302° %. 12th | 73 Ist 30.21 2 February, . ; 55 . (30.17.18. 10; 7 55 |6L | 58 32 8th | 72 3rd |'30.20 a March, . ‘ 624 /30.11 117% 14} 11 {61 [68 | 643 46 6th | 76 14,25,30,31st |30.05 | 10 April, . . 70 29.96 112.18 | 12 67 |72 | 693 50 9th | 85 25th 129.96 | 15 ay, . ° 77 29.89 10. 21|16 76 (83 | 793 67 4th | 89 30th |29.88 | 19 June, . ‘ » (81 29.87 | 4. 26; 14 78 |85 | 81a 72 {3th | 92 29th {29.83 | 20 a : 129.80 | 6. 25; 16 81 (89 | 85 76 lth | 96 =: 16,17,18th }29.89 | 17 August : : 82 80 |10. 21 | 14 80 |89 | 843 77 = 24,29th | 94 47th |29.83 | 11 September, . 180.033 29.82 |173.124|} 102 ||77 |852 | 814 72 13,25th | 93 fr 29.84 | 14 "October, 73} (30.03 21.9 | 4/67 |78 724 60 lt sth 129.79 | 1 November, . . 4 120,17 237 62} 3.8592 |701 44 26,27th |} 78 7,8th |30.192| 3 December, . : \57.134/30,20 253. 6: 674/534, (632; 58.145 32 18th | 72 8,27th {130.22 7 above observations were made from a self-registering instrument, by Gilbert, of London. The instrument is placed in the verandah of a outa 1 in Canton, built on a stone foundation, on the side of a aouk which washes the wa all on the eastern side. The verandah has a northerly exposure, and is ele ene about rk feet from the ground; the instrument is suspended about five feet from the marble floor of the verandah and one inch from the plastered brie CLG (070.1099 JA 1S 4] UOYDALISYOE 7D: ec . ki | | Meteorological Journal for the year 1839. 273 Arr. VIII.— Abstract of a M serplogront Journal for the year 1839, kept at Marietta, Ohio, Lat. 39° 25’ N., and Lon, 4° 28’ W. of Washington City ; by S. P. Higees, M. D. THERMOMETER. | Ps BAROMETER, . a ~ o 2 i) EI s§ z sy Months. ay a 2S Prevailing winds. . Elgg a} e{ 8 bi g 8 Biog >] oS =| S = (El 8/3 3/2 gz Big J tof The great horizontal thrust against abutments and piers, requires great expense in its construction ; and even then, when an accident destroys one arch, the others, by their own gravity, destroy not only themselves, but their piers also, to any length to which the bridge may extend. In bridges of many arches, therefore, it would be fearfully imprudent to construct them in this manner, even if means might be had for the purpose. / W0 bridges of this kind were erected over the Schuylkill, at Phila delphia, many years ago; one of three arches, the other of one arch; and although so short, each one costa very large stm 0 its proprietors. A third, for the Western Railroad, was erect six or seven years ago, a short distance above the other two, 0P fine stone piers of solid masonry, laid in coffer-dams. It has five or six arches, but in their construction the more modern mode of attempting to add what is termed a tie, to the arches forming 4 vel road-way, and at the same time, relieving the arches foo the horizontal thrust or pressure against abutments aud piers This mode has recently been much practised, but it is very ques tionable whether, in many instances, this kind of tie for Improvement in the Construction of Bridges, $e. 23 safety of the arches, piers, &c., is sufficient to save either the bridge or the piers, in the event of the destruction of one of the arches, or of one of the piers. A case in point, tested the truth of thin statement, at Pittsburg, in 1832. > 4 > Aly L 3 4) Ass \ . — a => se lll!) z TZ AY \\i ft yy % Za S Ss 4 S i - da aaa NNN a _ Y ; a —= ———— } = —-— = 5ST aches j Captyre and Death of a large Alligator. 313 Art. XIV.— Account of the Capture and Death of a large Ali- gator. Communicated for this Journal at the request of the Editors, by a gentleman concerned in the affair. TO THE EDITORS. Tue interest you have manifested in the head of the alligator, deposited in the room of the Society of Natural History in this city, (see the annexed drawing, ) and the request you have made that I would acquaint you with the circumstances of its capture, induce me to offer you the following sketch.. Whatever imper- fections may appear in it, must be attributed to the time that has passed since my enki at saasenwes near which place the alli- gator was killed. The lake, from which flows the river on which Manilla is sit- uated, is about twenty miles from that place. It is of irregular form, and from many points looks like three distinct bodies of - water of about equal dimensions, caused by a long island nearly in the centre, and a wide tract of land parallel to and about eight miles from it. The latter, called Halahala, was a plantation which I occasionally visited, and was the property of a French gen distinguished for his hospitality, and for a strength of character which had led him to establish himself successfully, alone and unaided, amidst a barbarous people, whose respect and love he had secured by his uniform courage, justice, and benevo- lence. A small part of the estate was cultivated by the hired Indians, whose huts formed a picturesque little village near the house me the proprietor, and the remainder, embracing a circuit of fifteen or twenty miles, gave every variety of natural beauty. A chain of high hills ran through the centre, whose summits Were covered with grass so luxuriant as often to rise over the head of a man on horseback; and the forests on either side, ex- tending in many places to the lake, were the growth of centuries. The axe had never thinned them, and they stood in their massive magnificence as nature had planted and reared them; some in fantastic forms, which gave them so much the appearance of works of art, as to be distinguished by the names of things they were supposed to resemble; some, vanquished by the creeping plant, which strangles in its close and deadly embrace what at first it clings to for support and protection, had struggled against Vol. xxxvir1, No. 2.—Jan.-March, 1840. 314 Capture and Death of a large Alligator. its folds till the destroyer and destroyed seemed one; and the giant tree, which, year after year, had been rocked by the earth- quake and had tiene bravely against the whirlwind, slowly yield- ing to its tenacious persecutor, stood at last lifeless within its green and living shroud. Amidst the wonders of nature, animal life has its full share; and in the tangled recesses of the woods, where exuberant vege- tation has given the earth a covering almost impenetrable to man, there live the deer, the boar, and that most desperate and danger- ous enemy of the hunter, the wild buffalo, whose ferocity and contempt of danger is only equalled by his hatred of the human form. There isalso the boa constrictor, sometimes seen of great size, who crushes in his folds and devours whatever first comes in his way ; and then, gorged and inactive, is easily despatched. One with a large deer inside of him, was killed when I was there, but had been cut up by the natives for food, before we were aware of it. Since I left that country, I have been informed that one thirty-five feet long has been destroyed, after killing two Indians, who entered a cavern where he had retired, one of whom he swallowed, and the other was found dead beside him. The deep, still inlets of the more retired parts of the lake, are the lurking places of the alligators ; and one spot, remarkably situated, was their favorite resort. Nearly opposite to the point of Halahala, on the other shore, there issues from a mountain a stream of so high a temperature that the natives use it for cook- ing ; and the bones of fish and fowls, scattered at its sides ard in its bed, show how commonly it is availed of for that purpose. Rude baths are constructed near it, which are found very set- viceable in chronic diseases, and are sometimes visited by invalids from Manilla. Near this place isan island, in the centre of which is a small, deep, black lake, surrrounded by hills, except at @ narrow opening, which is low and marshy. The sides, as they slope to the margin, are thickly wooded, and the trees hang clus- tering over the banks, their dense foliage drooping. to the water. Here reigns the stillness of death; not a breath of wind pene- trates the close barrier, and there is sound and motion on the glassy surface, only when it is rippled by the alligators, who have made the place their own. At other times they float like logs, oF stretched along the mingled masses of decayed wood and eX posed roots, enjoy the coolness and shade of this gloomy solitude. Capture and Death of a large Alligator. 315 Tn the course of the year 1831, the proprietor of Halahala in- formed me that he frequently lost horses and cows on a remote part of his plantation, and that the natives assured him they were taken by an enormous alligator, who frequented one of the Streams which run into the lake. Their descriptions were so highly wrought that they were attributed to the fondness for ex- aggeration, to which the inhabitants of that country are peculiarly addicted, and very little credit was given to their repeated rela- tions. ‘ All doubts as to the existence of the animal were at last dispel- led by the destruction of an Indian, who attempted to ford the river on horseback, although entreated to desist by his compan- ions, who crossed at a shallow place, higher up. He reached the centre of the stream, and was laughing at the others for their prudence, when the alligator came upon him. — His teeth encoun- tered the saddle, which he tore from the horse, while the rider tumbled on the other side into the water and made for the shore. The horse, too terrified to move, stood trembling where the at- tack was made. The alligator, disregarding him, pursued the man, who safely reached the bank, which he could easily have ascended, but rendered fool-hardy by his escape, he placed him- self behind a tree, which had fallen partly into the water, and drawing his heavy knife, leaned over the tree, and on the ap- proach of his enemy, struck him on the nose. The animal re- peated his assault and the Indian his blows, until the former, ex- asperated at the resistance, rushed on the man, and seizing him by the middle of the body, which was at once enclosed and crushed in his capacious jaws, swam into the lake. His friends hastened to the rescue; but the alligator slowly left the shore, while the poor wretch, writhing and shrieking in his agony, with his knife uplifted in his clasped hands, seemed, as the others ex- pressed it, ‘held out asa man would carry atorch.” His suffer- ings were not long continued, for the monster sank to the bottom, and soon after reappearing alone on the surface, and calmly bask- ing in the sun, gave to the horror-stricken spectators the fullest confirmation of the death and burial of their comrade. A short time after this event, I made a visit to Halahala, and expressing a strong desire to capture or destroy the alligator, my ~ host readily offered his assistance. The animal had been seen, a few days before, with his head and one of his fore feet resting on 316 Capture and Death of a large Alligator. the bank, and his eyes following the motion of some cows which were grazing near. Our informer likened his appearance to that of a cat watching a mouse, and in the attitude to spring upon his prey when it should come within his reach. I would here mention, as a curious fact, that the domestic buffaio, which is almost continually in the water, and in the heats of mid-day remains for hours with only his nose above the surface, is never molested by the alligator. All other animals be- come his victims when they incautiously approach him, and their knowledge of the danger most usually prompts them to resort to shallow places to quench their thirst. Hearing that the alligator had killed a horse, we proceeded to the place, about five miles from the house. It was a tranquil spot, and one of singular beauty, even in that land. The stream, which a few hundred feet from the lake narrowed to a brook, with its green banks fringed with the graceful bamboo, and the alternate glory of glade and forest, spreading far and wide, seemed fitted for other purposes than the familiar haunt of the huge creature that had. appropriated it to himself. A few cane huts were situated a short distance from the river, and we pro- cured from them what men they contained, who were ready to assist in freeing themselves from their dangerous neighbor. The terror which he had inspired, especially since the death of their companion, had hitherto prevented them from making an effort to get rid of him ; but they gladly availed themselves of our prepara- tions, and with the usual dependence of their character, were will- ing to do whatever example should dictate to them. Having rea- son to believe that the alligator was in the river, we casnmenced operations by sinking nets, upright, across its mouth, three deep, at intervals of several feet. The nets, which were of great strength, and intended for the capture of the wild buffalo, were fasten to trees on the banks, making a complete fence to the communi- cation with the lake. My companion and myself placed ourselves with our guns 01 either side of the stream, while the Indians, with long bamboos, felt for the animal. For some time he refused to be disturbed ; and we began to fear that he was not within our limits, when 4 spiral motion of the water, under the spot where I was standing; led me to direct the natives to it ; and the creature slowly moved on the bottom towards the nets, which he no sooner touc Capture and Death of a large Alligator. 317 than he quietly turned back and proceeded up the stream. This movement was several times repeated, till, having no rest in the enclosure, he attempted to climb up the bank. On receiving a ball in the body, he uttered a growl like that of an angry dog, and plunging into the water, crossed to the other side. where he was received with a similar salutation, disciarged directly into his mouth. Finding himself attacked on every side, he renewed his attempts to ascend the banks ; but whatever part of him ap- peared was bored with bullets, and feeling that he was hunted, he forgot his own formidable means of attack, and aioe only safety from the troubles which surrounded him. A low spot, which separated the river from the lake, a little above the nets, was unguarded, and we feared that he would suc- ceed in escaping over it. It was here necessary to stand firmly against him; and in several attempts which he made to cross it, we turned him back with spears, bamboos, or whatever first came to hand. He once seemed determined to force his way, and foaming with rage, rushed with open jaws, and gnashing his teeth, With a sound too ominous to be despised, appeared to have his full energies aroused, when -his career was stopped by a large bamboo thrust violently into his mouth, which he ground to pieces, and the fingers of the holder were so paralyzed that for some minutes he was incapable of resuming his gun. The natives had now become so excited as to forget all prudence, and the women and children of the little hamlet had come down to the shore to share in the general enthusiasm. They crowded to the opening, and were so unmindful of their danger that it was hecessary to drive them back with some violence. Had the mon- ster known his own strength, and dared to have used it, he would have gone over that spot with a force which no human power could have withstood, and would have crushed, or carried with him into the lake, about the whole population of the place. It is not strange that personal safety was forgotten in the ex- citement of the scene. The tremendous brute, galled with wounds and repeated defeat, tore his way through the foaming water, glancing from side to side, in the vain attempt to avoid his foes, then rapidly ploughing up the stream he grounded on the shallows, and turned back frantic and bewildered at his circum- Scribed position. At length, maddened with suffering, and des- Perate from continued persecution, he rushed furiously to the 318 Capture and Death of a large Alligator. mouth of the stream, burst through two of the nets ; and I threw down my gun in despair, for it looked as though his way at last was clear to the wide lake. But the third net stopped him, and his teeth and legs had got entangled in all. This gave usa chance of closer warfare with lances, such as are used against the wild buffalo. We had sent for this weapon at the commencement of the attack, and found it much more effectual than guns. En- tering a canoe, we plunged lance after lance into the alligator, as he was struggling under the water, till a wood seemed growing from him, which moved violently above, while his body was concealed below. His endeavors to extricate himself, lashed the water into foam, mingled with blood; and there seemed no end to his vi- tality, or decrease to his resistance, till a lance struck him directly through the middle of the back, which an Indian, with a heavy piece of wood hammered into him, as he could catch an opportu- nity. My companion, on the other side, now tried to haul him to the shore, by the nets to which he had fastened himself, but had not sufficient assistance with him. - As I had more force with me, we managed, with the aid of the women and children, to drag his head and part of his body on to the little beach, where the river joined the lake, and giving him the “ coup de grace,” left him to gasp out the remnant of his life on the sand. I regret to say, that the measurement of the length of this anl- mal was imperfect. It was night when the struggle ended, and our examination of him was made by torch-light. I measured the circumference, as did also my companion, and it was over eleven feet immediately behind the fore legs. It was thirteen feet at the belly, which was distended by the immoderate meal made on the horse. As he was only partly out of the water; 1 stood with a line at his head, giving the other end to an Indian, with directions to take it to the extremity of the tail. The length so measured, was twenty-two feet; but at the time I doubted the good faith of my assistant, from the reluctance he manifested to enter the water, and the fears he expressed that the mate of the alligator might be in the vicinity. From the diame- ter of the animal, and the representations of those who examined him afterwards, we believed the length to have been about thirty feet. As we intended to preserve the entire skeleton, with the skin, we were less particular than we otherwise should have been. On him, we found, with other parts of the horse, three Capture and Death of a large Alligator. 319 legs entire, torn off at the hannch and shoulder, which he had swallowed whole, besides a large quantity of stones, some of them of several pounds weight. The night, which had become very dark and stormy, prevented us from being minute in our investigation ; and leaving direc- tions to preserve the bones and skin, we took the head with us and returned home. This precaution was induced by the anxiety of the natives to secure the teeth; and I afterwards found that they attribute to them miraculous powers in the cure or preven- tion of diseases. The head weighed near three hundred tag al so well was it covered with flesh and muscle, that we found balls quite flattened which had been discharged into the mouth and at the back of the head, at only the distance of a few fect, and yet the bones had not a single mark to show that they had been touched. I would observe, ‘that the head, as it now appears, conveys a feeble impression of its size before it was divested of its integu- ments. I returned shortly after to Manilla, and expected to have been followed by the bones and skin of the alligator. They were drying on a scaffold, near the place where he was killed, when a typhon, or hurricane, of unexampled severity, which laid low the cabin of the Indian and the tree of the forest, and covered the shores of the lake with the bodies of man, and beast, and fish, swept away the platform and whirled into the lake or the jungle, every fragment of our victim. The head was an object of great curiosity at Manilla, nothing of similar size having been seen there ; and on a visit which I subsequently made to Europe, I examined, with some attention, the museums of natural history, particularly those of France and England, without finding any thing of equal magnitude. While the head was at Manilla, an English frigate arrived there that had been long on the East India station. The officers had, at Ceylon, killed an alligator of extraordinary size, the skeleton of which they intended to send to the British Museum. They expressed however their disinclination to do so, after seeing that ftom Halahala, which was much larger than the one they had taken. In comparing notes with them respecting the nature and habits of this animal, I was struck with the similarity of the supersti- 320 Capture and Death of a large Alligator. tions prevailing at Ceylon and Luconia; such as the alligator swallowing a stone whenever he kills a human being, as if to keep account of his misdoings, and, after devouring the body, placing the head before him and weeping from remorse. ' It is not strange that extravagancies like this should be current with so rude a people; but it is singular that two, remote from each other and without connection, should both give credit to the same absurdities. The native of Luconia, the island on which Manilla is situa- ted, is excessively fond of the marvellous. He is ever ready to * give supernatural constructions to every thing that cannot be solved at Once; and there is no limit to his credulity. One night, in the country, my attention was directed to a light mid- way on a mountain, which J naturally attributed to a fire made by some one who had lost his way—as proved to be the case— not so the Indians. It was too favorable an opportunity to let pass with such a common-place supposition. They said an ana- conda had found a stone of inestimable value, and, according to his usual practice, when in such luck, was playing at cup and ball with it. They could see the gorgeous gem, sparkling with light, tossed into the air; and the serpent bounding. from the earth, as he caught it in his mouth, or rapidly twining among the trees, as with wild glee, he pursued his game. I sometimes visited a place so secluded and difficult of access, that probably no human feet had ever reached it. There the enormous vampire bat, or flying fox, slept away the hours of day- light ; and hanging to the boughs by his hooked claws, with his head downward and his wings folded like a cloak about him, waited till night should enable him to look for the plantain, his accustomed food. There thousands of the animals congregated, and when disturbed by the report of a gun, rose with screams, darkening the air with their heavy flight, and encircling the woods they dared not leave. Little was required to invest a spot like this with mystery ; and well might the islander fancy, as the black wings flapped like evil spirits around him, that he stood on unhallowed ground. At the time of our expedition against the alligator, the periodi- cal visitation of locusts, which occurs about once in seven years, was devastating parts of the island; and, on the following day; the place where I resided was doomed to share in the distress. Capture and Death of a large Alligator. 321 We were flattering ourselves that the scourge would not come near us, when the dark clouds were seen, far over the lake, ap- proaching noiselessly, save in the rushing of wings, and soon the sun was hid, and night seemed coming before her time. Mile upon mile in length moved the deep broad column of this insect army ; and the cultivator looked and was silent, for the calamity was too overwhelming for words. The sugar cane, the principal crop of that country, gave promise of unusual productiveness when the destroyer alighted. In amoment nothing was seen, over the extended surface, but a black mass of animated matter, heaving like a sea over the hopes of the. planter. And when it arose to renew its flight, in search of food for the hungry millions who had had no share in the feast, it left behind, desolation and ruin. Not a green thing stood where it had been, and the very earth looked as though no redeeming fertility was left to it. Hu- man exertions availed nothing against this enemy ; wherever he came he swept like a consuming fire, and the ground appeared scorched by his presence. Branches of trees were broken by the accumulated weight of countless numbers; and the cattle fled in dismay before the rolling waves of this living ocean. The re- wards of government and the devices of the husbandman, for his own protection, were useless. Myriads of these insects were taken and heaped together, till the air for miles was polluted, without apparent diminution of their numbers. The typhon was the irresistible agent which at last terminated their ravages, and drove them before it far into the Pacific. This remedy prostrated what the locust had left, but still it was prayed for as a mercy, and received with thanksgiving. Of the Philippine Islands, Luconia is the one best known ; but the world of nature there is yet unexplored ; and the few men of science who have been permitted to carry their researches into the interior, have either been too easily satisfied with the won- ‘ders they encountered at the outset, or have not been spared to give the result of their labors. The one best fitted for the work, who visited that country during my residence in it, was an Ital- ian. He penetrated where the white man had not been seen since the earliest days of the colony, when the followers of Magellan made the circuit of the island, with the daring spirit of investigation which distinguished that age of discovery. Vol. xxxvit1, No. 2—Jan.-March, 1840. 322 Capture and Death of a large Alligator. He made his way to the wandering negro tribes which roam through a tract of mountain country, near the middle of the island, and who, uninfluenced by the semi-civilization around them, pass an erratic life without fixed habitations, gathering their food from the wild fruit trees, and offering wide field for conjecture on their origin and insulated position. he individual I allude to, returned from his interesting ex- cursions, stored with most valuable information. His indefatiga- ble spirit was undaunted at the great plan he had laid out before him, and he left Manilla with the determination to penetrate to the centre of Borneo—that unknown world, whose savage in- habitants have not been overcome or softened, even by the cu- pidity of commerce, and whose resources can only be imagined from its magnitude, situation, and the exceeding fruitfulness of its coasts. He had scarcely entered on his new discoveries, when approaching too near a volcano, he slipped into the hot ashes of its burning crater, which in a few days caused his death. . If, in recurring to some of the incidents of my life in Luconia, J have inclined to dwell on what may seem irrelevant to the ob- ject of this commuuication, it is that Lam fond of remembering the days I have passed in the solitudes of that lovely land. The dreams of fancy have never pictured scenes of more romantic beauty than are there lavishly spread around ;—where the prin- eiple of life is profusely scattered and every thing is glowing with animated being—where the bland air makes mere existence enjoyment; and the day, with its mild sky and refreshing sea breeze, gives place to the more serene night, with her clear brilliancy, when the eye looks deep into heaven, and the stars glitter with a radiance unknown in less genial climes—where the land wind rises, and is felt, but not heard, for the stillness of midnight is not broken as its soft breath comes from the untrod- den depths of the wilderness, laden with the fragrance of the spice tree and the wild flower. But in that luxurious region, nature at times shows herself in the power and sublimity of her convulsions, and awes by the earthquake, the tornado, and the thunder storm. Her hours of anger are fearful, but are soon forgotten as she resumes her almost permanent tranquillity. Boston, Feb, 12, 1840, Synopsis of a Meteorological Journal. 323 Arr. XV.—Synopsis of a Meteorological Journal, kept in the city of New York for the years 1838 and 1839, including also the mean results of the last seven years ; by W. C. Repriexp. (Reported to the Regents of the University of the State of New York.) Tue observations which I have made on the direction of the surface winds, and also on the direction of the highest observed wind in the region of clouds, for periods of four hours duration, commencing at 6 A. M., and ending with 10 P. M., are comprised in the following tables.* Monthly and annual results for the year 1838. Observations of highest ob- Observations of the surfiacc{ served wind in the region winds, in periods of fouif of clouds, in periods of four! urs, hours. 1896.—Monthe, iz mens dup eplaezese pane es ZAsPosMo et Pas wes Sis Pos Sey 653/85 3/8 23|8 55/325 /8 52 223/225 ES. 2s aie (Oo Sis s sic as Sasi aS ‘ ‘ mj Tog, Oh Tom oc oo ee ee January, 9 eS SOs 5 | 3 TID | 15 ebruary, 15 35 | 78 0 0} 37) 52 a has 613; 193; 333 34] 11 1| 2646 Apri, 27 | 164 43 | 563] 0 4} 32] 80 May, 19 | 194) 793 24] 2] 41] 60] 59 Tune, 2231 463 594) 17] 4| 5&| 83] 29 July, 1 10 | 814 394] 6 0 | 27 | 90 Angust, 16 | 283! 563' 464} 1] O| 39] 7 September, AOS} 213) 484° 274] 7 L {784 2 tober, . 134) 12 34242 1 8} 631 33 November, ‘ 18 | 21} 544 514) Of} Of} 71) 34 December, . . | 113} 6] 743 54] 0} O| 84/ 31 | Annual results, | 2824 215 |720 |6074] 37 | 26 {713 | 567 Proportion in1000, 164 | 125 |417 |294 | 28 | 19 [531 | 422 | * For summaries of the observations from 1833 to 1837 inclusive, see the Reports of the Regents of the University of the State of New York, made to the legislature in 1835 and 1837, and Am. Jour. of Science, Vol. xxvii, pp. 164—159, and Vol. *XXlv, pp. 373—376. 324 Synopsis of a Meteorological Journal. Monthly and annual results for 1839: to which are added the mean annual results from 1833 to 1839 inclusive. Observations of the highest Observations of the surface] observed wind in the re- winds, in periods of four] gion of clouds, in periods hours. of four hours. ies ki da ane ee ae hi cab ea es Reto fer Peg “ cp eukr eu seas ies 2 ae ee HES PES Et ee5 Woe Sol Sole SSE SS SSF Sole os January, . . || 48 | 7 | 68 | 384] 0 | 17.| 365. | 41 February . | 434) 94) 38 | 324] 4 7 1 | 16 | 4 March, 374| 134| 404) 56 0 0 3 | 26 April, 40° | 21 | 49 | 32 116 | 13 | 28 | 42 324| 315!) 484) 354] O 5 | 42 | 65 Pabe si 2.55 20 | 284) 603; 40 | 3 0 | 42 | 81 1 24/28 | FL | 27 0 0 | 54 | 57 ugust, 48 | 18: | 47 | 39 | 20 6 | 54 | 21 September, 12 | 18 | 714] 444] 5 | 3 | 72 4:17 October, Al4| 17 74} 19 | 11 6 | 36 | 45 (November, 43 | 13 | 27 | 63 | 5 | O | 59 | 43 December, 5441 6 | .11 | 75 | 20 | 1 | 28 | 39 Annual “peolilts, 423 | 211} 529) 502] 84 | 52 | 549 57 \Proportion i in 1000,| 2531 127) 318| 302] 70 | 43 | 456 430 Morscvon years, "| 216| 127) 882| 2761 63 | 24 | 565) 358 Average Propprtion of easterly winds i in 1000 for seven years, 343 westerly winds 657 The westerly winds being to the anes nearly as two to one. Of the highest observed winds in the region of cen the a portion of easterly winds in 1000, is ’ Proportion of westerly winds, . . 023 Being nearly as twelve to one. Were not the ‘noes of the higher strata sometimes concealed from view, particularly in east- erly storms, the observations of the highest wind, it is believed, would be almost invariably from some western point of the ho- rizon, Synopsis of a Meteorological Journal. 325 Table of the Monthly mean height of the Barometer in inches Jor each of the five daily observations recorded in the cece during the year 1838. 1838.— Months. 6 a.m. [104a.m.{ 2pm. | 6p. m. | 10 P.M. [Monthly means. January, . . |80.242/30.258/30.219 30.246 30.265| 30.246 February, . . |30.044/30.072/30.0 17,30.021/30.046] 30.040 March, - « . {30.138/30.164/30 129 30.121/30.146) 30.140 April, . . . (|30.056/30.079/30 029 30.025/30.054| 30.049 - May, . . . (29.983/29.999/29 97129. 955|29.976, 29.977 June, rae Ned 30.033/30.053/30.03430.022/30.048 80.038 uly, . . . |30.180/30.094/30.06520.049/30.070| 30 072 August, . . |30.051/30.160/30.12930.106/30.141} 30.137 September, . |30.185)30.196/30.177/30.160/30.181) 30.180 October, . . |80.073)30.085/30.04530.050|30.084) 30.067 November, ._ (30.23630.277/30.21920.220|30.243) 30.239 December, . (30. oe 143/30.094/30.121/30.150, 30.120 Mean annual results, 30.1 1030. 132/30.0¢ 094/30.0 091 30.117) 30.109 | Lable of the Monthly mean height of the Barometer in inches Sor each of the five daily observations during the year 1839: to which are seo the mean average results for the last seven years. 1839.— Months. Ga.m. | 104. m. 6 P.M. 70 P.M. |Monthly means. January, - + (80.198/30.207/30. (0-141 30-18 188/30.248) 30.194 ebruary, . . /30.222/30.28 224| 30.227 March, . . . /30.116/30.163/30.122,30.112/30. 142) 30.131 April, . . . |30.089/30.115/30.07530.057/30.084| 30.084 May, . . . |30.031/30.065/30.02030.000'30,017! 30.027 June, . . . (29.971/29.999/29.974 29 968|29.989) 29.980 July, . . . |30.033/30.046)30.024'30.016'30.033) 30.029 August, . . (30.097/30.109/30. 105/30. 104/30. 30.103 September, . /30.097/30.1 30. 093)30.081/30.¢ October, . . |30.281/30.316/30.263/20.241)30. November, . (30.160/30 203 30, 154/30.161/30.185 December, . (29.948!29.980/29.935)29.954/29.974 Mean annual results, |30,104/30. 134|30.092)30.091/30.113| 30. ~ 30.106 — 30.088)30 086 30.108, 30. ~ 30.101 |Means for seven years, 30.101/30. 123} It will be seen that the monthly means of the atmospheric pressure in 1838, are found highest in January and November ; being equal to nearly thirty and a quarter inches of the baromet- tic column. The lowest is found in May, being less than thirty inches. The highest monthly means for 1839 are found in Feb- ruary and October ; the latter exceeding that of any month which I have observed ; although not comprising the highest ranges of 326 Synopsis of a Meteorological Journal. the year. 'This effect appears to be due to the proximity of sev- eral violent storms of wind which passed over neighboring regions during the month, but did not visit New York. The mean for December of this year, is uncommonly low, and it is believed to be due to the dispersive effect exerted upon the atmosphere by the several violent and extensive storms which passed over us during the month. ‘The means of the several daily observations for seven years, show an excess in those assigned to 10 A. M.; also, a probable disproportion in those for6 A.M. The former is probably owing chiefly to the fact that the observations for that hour, in most cases, are necessarily anticipated, and approximate more nearly to 9 A. M., and are taken at or near the time of the daily maximum of elevation; while the latter are perhaps slightly increased by the fact that fora portion of the year the hour assigned is too early for convenient observation. It is not improbable, that the mean of the two observations at 6 P. M. and 10 P. M., gives more nearly the true average pressure for the whole term of years, being 30.097 ; while the general mean in the table is 30.101. My ec oinever has a glass cistern, and tube of ;‘,ths of an inch diameter, the scale for which was adjusted at a pressure of thirty uirhes and temperature of 68° F’.; capacity of the tube to cistern ,;',; and the instrument is fitted | up in a basernent room, the idiben being less than ten feet above the mean level of the tide in New York harbor. Through the kindness of Lient. Riddell, R. A., the officer in charge of the new magnetic observatory in Canada, I had an op- portunity, in September last, of comparing the adjustment of my barometer with one of Newman’s portable iron-cisterned barome- ters, sent as a standard of comparison from the Royal Society. This comparison, made at the temperature of 59° F., showed an excess of 0.015 in. in my barometer, over that of the Royal Soci- ety. This agrees nearly with my own admeasurement; but I had allowed the excess as compensation for the capillarity of the tube, in order to avoid the necessity for this correction. If, how- ever, this difference isto be deducted from the above general mean, it will give for the mean annual pressure at New York, 30.086 inches; or, if the mean of the hours of 6 and 10 P. M. be ay we have ages in. This is without any correction for empere The mean temperature of the instrument for the entire petiod is sopposed to be about 68° Fahrenheit. 327 a Meteorological Journal. of * SiS 0 Synop A Table showing the Monthly Maximum and Minimum and Range of the Barometer at New York for the year 1838. 1838.—Months. | Monthly maximnm and date. ; onthly minimum and date. ae Monthly range. January, - | Ist, winds light, followed by good weather, 3u.L8 (Toth, wind 8. 8. W.5 ehange of aS. B. storm, 29.47 Tit February, - | 1st, after a long northwester, “ . - 1.46 |16th, wind N.; veering of aN. E, storm, - 29.13 133 arch, - - | 4th, wind light and var.; aS. E. storm follows, 30 613/29th, wind W., change of sturm from NE. by N., 29.41 1.203 April, - + {17th, wind light; aS. E. storm follows, ~ 80.51 | 1, wind -, Change of easterly storm, 29.60 .B2 ay, - + |15th, wind 8. a storm before and after, 30.40 | 5th, easterly storm, = + - - - 9.53 87 June, - - |20th, closing of thick easterly weather, - 30.34 | Sth, wind N. E , close of easterly gale, - 49 85 July,- - - th, after a low barometer; follows fair, — - 30.39 [30th, wind W. N. W., a fair weather period, 29.80 59 August, - - 1, closing up of the storm of 16th, - 30.40 |16th, change of S. E. storm to N. W., - 29.774 634 September, 26th, strong easterly winds and rain, + - 30.50 [13th, N. E. », hurricane at sea, - . 29.70 .B0 October, - |17th, preceded and followed by storms, - 30,5948 ith, change of easterly storm, — - - . 29.59 1.00 November, - |11th, closing up of a storm, ~ * © = 31.044] 5th. wind eering of N, E. storm, - + 29.59 1.45 ecember, 3lst, closing up of a slight storm, - + __80.998)23d, change of southerly storm, - - 29,54 1.454 Annual results,|November ith, - - 31.048|February loth, - - = a 14 In this Table the correction for variation in the cistern is made in the entries. The maximum for the year was the greatest which had been observed from the commencement of my obser- vations ; it having followed the closing or westerly wind of a southeast storm which appeared two and a half days previous ; and for five days following the barometer did not fall below 30 inches. ‘I'he maximum of this atmospheric freshet was observed at Hudson, Ohio, by Prof. Loomis, on the 10th of November, at 11 A. M. Ogdensburgh, N. Y., by John H. Coffin, on the 11th, about 8 A. M.; at Montreal, L. C., by J. S. M’Cord, from 9 A. M. till noon of the Llth; at New York, at 9 A. M.; at Providence, R. L., at 10 A. M. or later. In lat, 40° 34’, lon. 55° 35’, on the 14th, by Joseph C. Delano ; and on the 16th, by the steamer Liverpool, latitade and longitude unknown. At the close of December there was a still greater rise of the barometer, which followed a storm of ut moderate intensity, and reached its maximum on the first of January, 1839. The greatest fall of the barometer in 1838, was on the 16th of Hebruary, at 6 P. M., under the veering of a N. E. storm to W. N. W. The wind during the greater part of the 16th hung at N., the barometer falling with a steady fall of frozen rain drops or small hail, while the thermometer was 9° to 11° below the freezing point ; showing, as I think, the presence of a warmer stratum or current of wind in the region of clouds. When the wind had veered to N. W. the barometer commenced rising. A Table showing the Monthly Maximum and Minimum of the Barometer at New Vork for the year 1839: with the Range for seven years, from 1833 to 1839 inclusive. |. 1839.—Months. onthly maxim othly minimum. Range. nis Ist, follows a ight S E. storm, suite Sl. “074 26ih, change of a valent . E. gale, 28.88 [2.193 ae 12th, follows a light stoma meek oe) | 30.57 28th, change of E. Pa E. storm idk N. to N. w., 29 39 11.18 - - - 31st, follows a light E. N.E. storm, = - . 30.70 | 9th, change of an easterly storm, ~« a ), = 127 - mec: = , Strong settled a ER a - - 30 pee 17th, N. le changing 2 - - -, 8th, settled easter inds, 30 38 |3d&28th, change of 8. E. storm, igh owt do. 29, 60 78 : : - 7th, light 8. wind, pundedad and fll 4 by storms, 30. 30 22d, light southerly storm 29. .60 7 18th, between two ‘light ts. ‘6 E, st 30.31 |I1th, change of 5S. 8. E. storm, Ts, ee 0 61 “ SSDs Mth, settled easterly win mee its! = 30.38 | 9th, change of a light § 29.68 | .70 eels 0. do. do. - - - 30.47 | Oth, mie nge of a light southeasterly storm, 29.80 | .67 ee ee ee Gth and 2lst , do.» wide dit 5 | 3078 30th, edge of a ne rh boring storm, 29.87 | 91 - + d, betwe en two sto orms, - + 3086 | 5th, change o a gale to W., 29.50 {1.36 Wi Jae 31st, closing up of storm of 28th, - = 30:36 (28th, lull and Hangs of a hard eusterly zal, 28.89 |1.47 January Ist, - - - “ January 26th, - QBS 2 Tos et, 1-40 for war in cist As corrected, ph ie ae 10 |As corrected, ~ -« «o oh, ee (as Range for seven years, \January Ist, Tsa9,- Eos ela iat a 10 [January 26th, 1330, + ve Am a MEOO [e.eD The extraordinary accumulation of atmosphere on the first of January reached its maximum at 10 A. M., the height of the barometer, as corrected, being 31.10 inches. 'The barometer also continued above 30 inches for six days. A severe gale is known to have appeared in the Atlantic on the first of January not far from our coast ; and it is not improbable this was the same storm which on the 6th caused so much destruction on the coast of England. A southeast storm had also preceded this unusual rise of the barometer. The greatest depression of the barometer which I have yet observed, took place on the 26th of January ; the mercury then falling to 28.85 inches at the crisis or change of a violent southeast gale.* This fall of the barometer as from a previous elevation of 30.43 inches, and took place for the most part within twenty four hours; the rapidity of descent being in this case proportioned to the violence of the gale. Its rise, however, as is not uncom- ow in the case of a grees overland storms, was prolonged to a much greater period, as was also the less violent * A nearly equal fall of ha barometer took place i in the violent storm of December 28th. ‘Jouinor 202.c0j0L0Na YT Dv fo sisdouligy * Notice of a Manual of Chemistry. 329 westerly wind which followed or closed up the easterly gale. This storm broke up the heavy ice in the Hudson for ten miles below Albany, and will long be remembered for the damages which it occasioned. It is not a little remarkable that the maxi- mum, minimum and extreme range of the barometer for a period of seven years, should all have occurred in this mouth. The fluctuations of the barometer and other phenomena which characterize our great storms, can only be thus cursorily alluded to inthis place ; but they have strong claims to the attention and inquiries of all observers; and when duly investigated, will prob- ably add more to our knowledge of the laws of storms and at- mospheric changes than all the mean results of instrumental observations which have been so industriously sought by philoso- phers and men of science. Of the available means for ascertain- ing these phenomena, few are more promising than the system of observation which is organized under the direction of the Regents of the University. It is now only necessary, that accurately ad- justed barometers be furnished for two or three selected stations in each of the senatorial districts, and that the observations of this instrument, for fixed hours, be returned to the Regents with the usual annual reports. ew York, January 22, 1840. Arr. XVI.—WNotice of a Manual of Chemistry, containing the principal facts of the science, in the order in which they are dis- cussed and illustroted in the Lectures at Harvard Ui niversily, . £., and several other colleges and medical schools in the States. Compiled and arranged as a text-book for the use af Students and persons attending Lectures on Chemistry. Third edition, comprising a summary of the latest discoveries, as con- tained in the works of Brande, Turner, Thomson, and other distinguished Chemists, illustrated with upwards of two hun- dred engravings on wood ; by Joan W. Werster, M. D., Er- ving Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy in Harvard Uni- versity. 1 Vol. Svo. pp. xxii, 556. Boston: Marsh, Capen, Lyon & Webb, 1840. (Communicated. ) Two editions of the Manual of Chemistry by Dr. Webster, have already been presented to the public, by means of which it become extensively known among men of science ; its char- Vol. xxxvim1, No. 2.—Jan.-March, 184 42 330 Notice of a Manual of Chemistry. acter has long since been established, and its merits as a work of reference and a text-book have been admitted and duly apprecia- ted. Indeed, as a text-book it was introduced into many of our colleges, and continued to be employed in them so long as copies could be procured. The second edition was long ago exhausted, and although the demand for the work continued unabated to the last, such were and are the arduous duties of the author, as Pro- fessor of Chemistry in the University at Cambridge and in the Medical School at Boston, that we have been somewhat appre- hensive lest sufficient leisure should not be left him to prepare another edition, considering the labor required properly to digest the amount of material which has so abundantly accumulated of late years, and bearing in mind the many discoveries in, and im- portant additions to, the science that it was necessary to post up. We are however not only highly gratified to-find our fears at length happily and satisfactorily removed, but are also much pleased to observe the improved appearance of the work, and to notice the many important and judicious changes that have been made in it. This edition. may indeed be almost considered as an entirely new work, so thorough a revision is evident on every page; af- fording aiaphe evidence of the unremitted care, patient research, sound judgment, and nice discrimination, that were exercised to render it in all respects what a Manual siould be ; perspicuous, comprehensive, and withal concise. 'The author never sacrifices sense to sound ; he never leads the reader away from the subject; and as he is dealing with facts, he proceeds in a strictly philo- sophical manner. He avoids the two extremes ; being neither 80 brief as to bewilder and confuse, nor so prolix as to weary and disgust. Frequently, whilst examining its pages, have we been forcibly reminded of the truth of a remark made by the celebra- ted surgeon, Pott. “Any man,” observed he, “may give a0 opinion, but it is not every iid that is qualified to collect and arrange important facts.” All the great principles of the science are clearly laid down, and most of the recent discoveries are in- corporated in its pages. So solicitous indeed has Dr. Webster evidently been to present every thing of value that was made known in his favorite science to the moment of sending the last page t to Dpretis spat it will be found, by referring to the Addenda pel he has incorporated every discovery of any worth Notice of a Manual of Chemistry. 331 which had been announced, down almost to the very day of pub- lication. This edition is better printed than those were that pre- ceded it. There is one change that in an especial manner pleases us, and for which, unless we greatly err, he will receive the thanks of every student; we mean the introduction of neat and well executed wood cuts into the body of the work, instead of the insertion of the illustrations at the end. The advantage of the former over the latter plan is too obvious to require designating. In a short preface, or advertisement as it is styled, the author informs us that owing to the adoption of Dr. Turner’s Elements into several institutions, (the Manual being out of print,) and knowing that Dr. T’. was preparing a new edition for the press, he was induced to relinquish, for the time, the publication of the present work. Subsequently, he was prompted to renew his labor and perfect his design, from ascertaining that Dr. Turner’s work was left incomplete at the time of the decease of that good man and most excellent chemist. That he was prompted to finish that which he had undertaken we rejoice at ; because the “ Ele- ments,” admirable as is the work, is not practical ; it is not a work that a beginner can follow experimentally ; and yet this course is the only one whereby chemistry can be profitably and satisfacto- rily studied, and thoroughly and advantageously taught. The present work, we are told by Dr. Webster, is compiled and arranged by him. Such a task, if faithfully and judiciously exe- cuted, requires no less intimate a knowledge of the subject, and demands a far greater amount of labor than the writing of an Original treatise. Indeed, we can hardly say that we have or can have an entirely original treatise on practical chemistry. All of our manuals and systems are in truth, for the most part, compila~ tions; they must from the very nature of the subject be made up of the thousand facts, experiments, discoveries, deductions, &c., that are to be found scattered through a vast number of sci- entific journals, transactions, memoirs, and other publications. Whilst perusing the volume, we continually see abundant evi- dence that the author spared no pains in collecting, examining, and duly arranging his materials, and that he often condensed elaborate papers, clothing their substance in language of his own, the more surely to bring them within the comprehension of the _Teader. Some may think that he is occasionally too concise, but his references to the original sources are always given, so that the 332 —CO Notice of a Manual of Chemistry. student, if not satisfied with the condensed or abridged account, knows where to seek for farther details. It is pleasing to observe how scrupulously the author “renders unto Cesar the things that are Cesar’s,” and bestows honor upon whom honor is due, by crediting every important observation or discovery to its rightful owner; an act of justice that is too often neglected. Dr. Webster alludes to Prof. Bache, the accomplished editor of the American edition of Turner’s Elements, in well merited terms of commendation. To Mitchell, Hare, Silliman, Jackson, Hayes, Torrey, and others, that we with pride rank among our prominent scientific men, he gives due acknowledgment for such of their labors as come within the scope of his work. The various valu- able pieces of chemical apparatus figured and described, which are the products of the inventive genius of some of our own sci- entific men, are attributed to those to whom he is indebted for them ; and the same just course is pursued in regard to many of the processes and experiments mentioned. The arrangement of the subjects in this edition is quite differ- ent from that which was followed in either of the former editions. It-is very nearly that of Turner; and a better model could not have been selected. The first chapter treats “of the Powers and Properties of Matter, and of the general laws of chemical changes ;” and in it are ineorporated the new facts relating to heat, electricity, and galvanism. The discoveries and deductions of Dr. Faraday are given principally from the lucid and satisfac- tory statements of Dr. Turner, some additions being made to the account from Faraday’s later papers. The very curious and in- teresting observations of Forbes, on the polarization of heat, are also referred to in this chapter. The second chapter is a highly important one, inasmuch as it contains the very alphabet of the science, without a knowledge of which every thing would be as unintelligible and as incompre- hensible as the alchemistic gibberish of former days; and also a full description of the apparatus to be used, and the manner of using it, without a familiarity with which, all previous knowledge would be of little practical advantage. This chapter is divided into three sections ; the first embracing an outline of the new nomenclature, with an explanation of the principles upon which it is founded ; the second, a detailed account of “ Apparatus and ipulation,” fully and clearly illustrated by explanatory cuts ; Notice of a Manual of Chemistry. 333 the third describes the various methods of estimating the specific gravities of solids, liquids, and gases. The author in this chap- ter has not confined himself exclusively to an account of matters as they are at the present time, but to a certain extent has com- bined historical with practical information ; thus furnishing the student with sufficient knowledge of the views and opinions en- tertained at various periods, to enable him easily to trace the pro- gress of the science through various devious paths to its present State of advancement. The third chapter is occupied with “ Inorganic Chemistry,” and contains a history, an account of the nature and properties, aud the methods for the obtaining, of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, sulphur, chlorine, &e. &c., and also a description of their compounds. The various theories of combustion are herein spo- ken of, the analysis and synthesis of water shewn, eudiometry is described, and numerous other important topics are discussed. Under the section on carbon, whilst speaking of carbonic acid, the important results of the experiments of Dr. Mitchell of Phila- delphia, on the liquefaction and solidification of this gas, are sta- ted. On Plate I, facing page 13, will be found represented the apparatus of Mr. Adams, which was contrived for the purpose of obtaining the gas in asolid state and on a large scale. It is accom- panied by a full description of every part of the generator and re- ceiver, of the proportions of the materials used, of the method of charging the generator, and of the manner of obtaining the solid result. It is the only account of this apparatus which we have seen ; and it seems hardly credible that. it can sustain uninjured, the immense pressure to which it is subjected. It has however been fully tested, and we presume is the same with which Dr. Webster obtained the very large quantities of this solidified gas, which we understand he exhibited in his lectures before several Societies during the winter just past. The fourth chapter includes, under seven sections, an account of the metals. All of the important characters and properties of each are given, and then follow descriptions of the oxides, chlo- rides, &c. In the fifth chapter we find the salts of the metals. These are arranged under four orders ; the author very wisely adopting the division into oxy-salts, hydro-salts, sulphur-salts, and haloid-salts, Which we deem the best that has yet been devised. The com- 334 Notice of a Manual of Chemistry. position of these substances, and indeed of all other important ones, is given in symbolic language after the name of each, as is also the atomic weight. This plan is a decided improvement over the tabular arrangement introduced by Turner. It saves the student much trouble, and the vexatious labor he would have to undergo in referring back to ferret out the name of a substance contained somewhere, in a long table. The descriptions of the metallic salts are selected mainly from the excellent ones of Tur- ner and Liebig. The four remaining chapters treat of organic chemistry, under which are embraced both animal and vegetable chemistry. This reminds us to remark, that Dr. Webster has rejected the old di- visions just alluded to, and recognizes in his Manual two great divisions only ; viz. the chemistry of unorganized and that of or- ganized bodies. Under the second general division, the author, manifestly with great labor, has compressed within the compass © one hundred and fifty pages, most of the important matter to be found in the late elaborate and masterly volume of Dr. Thomson. That volume contains upwards of one thousand closely printed pages, and of course is a very unwieldy tome; we therefore are under no small obligations to Dr. W. for furnishing us with so excellent an abridgment of it. He also introduces, in this part of the work, the views and theories of Liebig. Although the chemistry of animal substances is very important, still, as the time devoted to this department in most of our institutions and in almost all courses of lectures, is very short, Dr. W. has not thought best to enter much into detail in the chapter appropriated to this subject. In this portion of the work he has followed Dr. Reid, and what has been furnished will be found ey sufficient for.all purposes of elementary instruction. As has already been incidentally mentioned, numerous impor- tant addenda are placed near the end of the work, followed by an Appendix, made up of tables and other valuable matter, a very copious general index, and an index of cuts. - We have also already alluded in very general terms to the fact of this volume being liberally supplied with: wood engravings ; they amonnt to upwards of fico hundred in number. ‘The vast number of experimental illustrations, and the careful directions aS to pie ace ae many of which are, if we mistake not, original, and we know have not hitherto been introduced into Notice of a Manual of Chemistry. 335 works of general use, will greatly enhance the value of this Manual, and render it the more acceptable both to teachers and students. The arrangements of apparatus, and the descriptions of the figures are unusually full and complete. In the frontis- piece we find represented Dr. Charles 'T’. Jackson’s newly in- vented oxy-alcohol and air-blast lamp, which possesses great power. We also find in the frontispiece a figure of a new air- pump of great simplicity and beauty, recently made for Harvard College. It was constructed by N. B. Chamberlain, Philosophical Instrument Maker, School street, Boston; and we learn from the anual that it will freeze water on Teuie's plan, with perfect ease and great rapidity. It affords us much pleasure to direct attention to this instrument, as we can well remember how ex- tremely difficult it was, until within a few years, to get chemical and philosophical apparatus of good quality made in this country. We were often compelled to forego the pleasure of prosecuting our investigations, and of following along the paths newly opened by our transatlantic brethren ; to make the essay with inferior instruments and the almost. positive knowledge that we should in consequence fail ‘of attaining the desired result ; or to lose much valuable time and expend much money in ordering the requisite instruments from Europe. This difficulty was owing in part, undoubtedly, to our artists not having been duly encouraged to exert their ingenuity and skill. Dr. Webster informs us that all the apparatus figured and described in his work, is or can be made y Mr. Chamberlain. As therefore there is no longer any defi- ciency of skill or ingenuity upon the part of artists, we trus' ib will be nd withholding of patronage upon the part of o ” Science ; and most sincerely do we hope, for the aie of | our country, that public institutions as well as individuals, will be more patriotic than to send abroad for apparatus, when it can be So well and so cheaply made under their own inspection at home.* We cannot close this notice, without expressing a desire that Dr. Webster would abridge his Manual for the use of the higher classes of schools and of academies. A good text-book is much needed in such seminaries. * It is but justice to our excellent artists and to the progress of practical as well a8 theoretical science among us to say, that our principal cities now contain estab- lishments, in which almost every kind of philosophical apparatus is manufactured with ileinnae 336 Description of an Apparatus for the Art. XVII.—Engraving and Description of an Apparatus for the Decomposition and Recomposition of Water, employed in the Laboratory of the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania ; by R. Hare, M. D., Prof. of Chem. Read before the Amer. Philos. Society, Dec. 7, 1838. Havine to illustrate the decomposition and recomposition of water to a class of between three and four hundred pupils, I have found it expedient to exh.bit the process on an extensive scale. For many years I have employed a glass tube, of about an inch and a half in bore, and about two feet in height. The tube (A), which I have used for three years past, has been furnished with two tubulures (B, 5), about three inches below the upper extremity, where it converges to an apex, having an aper- ture not larger than a goose quill. Upon this apex there is an Decomposition and Recomposition of Water. 337 iron cap, in which a female screw is wrought so as to allow a large iron valve cock (C)-to be screwed to it. Upon the tubulures also iron caps are cemented, which are so wrought as, with the aid of appropriate screws, to constitute stuff- ing boxes. Through each of these a platina rod (D, d) is intense and fastened to plates of platina, to act as “ electrodes,” agreeably to the language of the celebrated Faraday. he tube being supported over the mercurial cistern, by means of a communication with an air pump, through the valve cock aud flexible leaden pipe, the bore of the tube is exhausted of air, So as to cause the mercury to take its place. The mercury is so far displaced by a solution of borax, con- sisting of equal parts of water and saturated solution of that salt, as to sink the surface of the column of metal in the tube about an inch or more below the “electrodes.” The projecting end of one of the rods (D, d,) to the other ends of which the “ electrodes” are severally attached, is bent at right angles outside of the tube, SO as to enter some mercury in an iron capsule, supported purposely at a proper height, and communicating with one end of my defla- grator of an handred pairs of Cruickshank plates of about eight inches by foureteen. Of course the rod of the other clectrode must have a communication with the other end of the deflagrator. Under these circumstances, if the circuit be eompleted by throw- ing the acid on the plates of the deflagrator, a most rapid evolu- tion of hydrogen and oxygen will ensue in consequence of the ‘decomposition of the water, so that within a few — a eral cubic inches of gas will be collected. : The action being now suspended by shasteian: din anil. off the plates, and the foam being allowed to subside, the resulting gase- ous mixture may be ignited, and of course condensed, by com- pleting the circuit again as at first, and at the same time causing the ends of the “ iesiendedl to come into contact with each other, and thus to produce a spark. This contact is effected by causing a very slight movement in the rod, bent at right angles, and entering the mercury in the iron capsule. Of course the process may be repeated as often as can be reasonably desired. Vol. xxxvim1, No. 2.—Jan.-March, 1840. 43 338 Improved Process for obtaining Potassium. Arr. XVIII.—IJmproved Process for obtaining Potassium ; by Rosert Hare, M. D., Prof. of Chem. in the Univ. of Penn. Read before the Amer: Philos. Society, Dec. 7, 1838. In evolving potassium, agreeably to Brunner’s plan, I have sub- stituted for the luting usually employed to protect the iron bottle, a cylinder of iron, which is made to surround the bottle; alsoa - disk of the same metal, of a diameter and thickness equal to that of the cylinder. The disk is supported by bricks of kaolin. The bottle being vertical, the blast acts more equably on the surface of the iron, and the operator can, by additional fuel, protect any part from that undue exposure, to which the under surface is always liable, when the bottle is horizontal. The potassium is received into an iron tube, of which the bore is two inches in diameter. This tube screws at one end into the bottle, and at the other is closed by a perforated plug, terminating in asmall orifice. To this a leaden tube is fitted, which is so ad- justed by bending, as to cause the vapor resulting from the burn- ing of the gas, to go into the ash-hole. By these means the hy- drogen, being ignited as soon as it comes over, serves as an index of the success and progress of the process. In this way no resort to naphtha is in the first instance necessary. The potassium 1s extricated from the tube by cooling it by affusion of water, de- taching it from the bottle, and then closing the end thus exposed by a cap, in which a suitable conical female screw is wrought. The part of the tube containing the potassium is then made in ° a vertical position to occupy the axis of a cylindrical furnace, the end terminating, as above mentioned, in a tapering plug, being lowermost; and projecting below the bottom of the furnace. Be- fore the temperature reaches redness, globules of the metal begin to descend ; but to extricate the last portion, a white heat is requi- site. The potassium may be received in bottles, kept full of hy- drogen by a constant current, or in naphtha. The first portion, which descends before the temperature is high, can be more easily received without naphtha than the latter portion. Description of a Rotatory Multiplier. 339 Arr. XIX.—Engraving and Description of a Rotatory Multi- plier, or one in which one or more Needles are made to revolve by a Galvanic Current ; by R. Hare, M. D., Prof. of Chem. in the Univ. of Penn. Read before the Amer. Philos. Society, Dec. 7, 1838: Bee Tue preceding engraving represents a rotatory galvanometer, or multiplier, which I contrived in November, 1836, and which must have value as an addition to the amusing, if not to the useful implements of science. It is well known that by passing a tem- porary discharge through the coil of a multiplier, the needle may be made to perform a revolution, whereas if the current be con- tinuously applied, the movement is checked as soon as the situa- tion of the poles is reversed. ‘To produce a permanent motion, the discharge must be allowed to take place only when the poles are in-a favorable position, relatively to the excited coil. This object I attained by means of two pins, descending from the nee- dle perpendicularly, so as to enter two globules of mercury, com- municating, on one side, with a galvanic pair, on the other with the coil of the multiplier. In the next place, by winding over the first coil, another of similar length, but in a direction the opposite of that in which the first coil was wound, I was enabled, by two other globules, situated so as to communicate severally with the lower ends of the pins, at the opposite side from that on which the first mentioned globules were, to cause an impulse at every semi- revolution. : . The one coil being wound to the right, the other to the left, the alternate effect of each upon the needle was similar in opposite 340 Description of a Rotatory Multiplier. parts of the orbits described by the pins. Lastly, a second needle, furnished with pins in like manner, being fastened at right angles to the first, so as to form with it a cross, as represented in the en- raving, each needle is made to receive two impulses during every revolution. Hence one of Danell’s sustaining batteries, as made by Newman, is quite adequate to cause a revolution as rapid as consistent with a due degree of stability in the mercurial globules employed. One end of each coil, by means of the branching wire A, com- municates with one pole of the galvanic pair; the other ends of the coils terminate in mercurial globules contained in cavities on opposite sides of the wooden disc G, upon the centre of which the spindle of the magnetic needle rests. ‘The branches of the wire K proceeding from the other galvanic pole, términate in globules situated in the vicinity of those above mentioned, so that as the needles revolve, the pins proceeding therefrom perpendicularly may touch a pair of the globules first on one side and then on the other. Whenever this contact takes place, the circuit is comple- ted, and a discharge is effected through one or the other of the coils of the multiplier. Supposing E and F to be north poles, a discharge through one of the coils will cause E to move off a quarter of a circle, or more. As this ensues, the pins of F will come in contact with the glob- ules which those of E touched before. Of course F' will be pro- pelled so as to cause the pins of E to reach the pair of globules at G, which, completing the circuit of a coil wound in a way the opposite of that first mentioned, concurs with that coil in its influ- ence, so as to promote the rotation previously induced. The same result ensues when the pins proceeding from F' come in contact with the globules situated at G, and when E returns to its original starting point. It follows, that by a repetition of the process the galvanic action is sustained. The phenomenon is as well illus- trated by employing the single needle, N, N, as by two, but the most pleasing and energetic eflect is produced by the crossed nee- dies. In this simple form the spindle-on which the needle rests and revolves is represented at S; the pins at P, P: Each coil, consisting of copper bell wire, is abot thirty feet in length, and is contained in the groove C. The frame of the multiplier is con- structed of mahogany and is levelled by the —_ gem screws, on the ends of which it is supported. ae Morton's Crania Americana. 341 Art. XX.—Crania Americana ; or a Comparative view of the Skulls of various Aboriginal Nations of North and South America ; to which is prefixed an Essay on the Varieties of the Human Species, illustrated by seventy-cight plates and a col- ored map ; by Samvet Georce Morron, M. D., Professor of Anatomy in the medical department of Pennsylvania College, at Philadelphia, &c. &c. Philadelphia: J. Dobson. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co. Letter Press, pp. 296, folio, 1839. We hail this work as the most extensive and valuable contri- bution to the natural history of man, which has yet appeared on the American continent, and anticipate for it a cordial reception by scientific men not only in the United States, but in Europe. The subject is one of great interest, and Dr. Morton has treated it in a manner at once scientific and pleasing, while the beauty and accuracy of his lithographic plates are not surpassed by any of the modern illustrations of science. The principal. design of the work, says Dr. Morton, has been “to give accurate delineations of the crania of more than forty Indian nations, Peruvian, Brazilian and Mexican, together with a particularly extended series from North America, from the Pa- cific Ocean to the Atlantic, and from Florida to the region of the Polar tribes. Especial attention has also been given to the sin- gular distortions of the skull caused by mechanical contrivances in use among various nations, Peruvians, .Charibs, Natches, and the tribes inhabiting the Oregon Territory.’ His materials, in this department, are so ample, that he has been enabled to give a full exposition of the subject. He has also bestowed particular attention on the crania from the mounds of this country, which have heen compared with similar relics, derived both from ancient and modern tribes, “in, order to examine, by the evidence of Osteolegical facts, whether the American aborigines, of all epochs, have belonged to one race, or toa plurality of races.” The introductory Essay, ‘on the varieties of the human spe- Cies,”’ occupies ninety-five pages. It is learned, lucid, and like the whole work, classically written. The author notices the great diversities of opinion that have existed among naturalists regard- ing the grouping of mankind into races ; Linneus referred all the human family to five races ; Buffon proposed six great di- 342 Morton’s Crania Americana. visions ; subsequently, however, he reduced it to five ; while Blumenbach, adopting the arrangement of Buffon, has changed the names of some of the divisions, and designated, with greater accuracy, their geographical distribution. Cuvier admitted three races only, the Caucasian, Mongolian and Ethiopian; while Malté Brun enumerates sixteen. A French professor, Broce, in his Essai sur les Races Humaines, published in 1836, has at- tempted to establish several sub-genera. "The cause of these wide diversities of opinion obviously lies in the imperfect know- ledge yet possessed of the subject. Dr. Morton adopts the arrangement of Blumenbach i in so far as regards the great divisions, substituting, however, the word race for the term “ variety” of the German author, and changing the order in which Blumenbach considers some of them. He con- siders the human species as consisting of twenty-two families, which he arranges under the heads of the Caucasian, Manarunt Malay, American, and Ethiopian races. I. “The Cavcastan Race is characterized by a naturally fair skin, susceptible of every tint; hair fine, long and curling, and of various col- ors. The skull is large and oval, and its anterior portion full and eleva- ted. The face is small in proportion to the head, of an oval form, with well eS features. The nasal bones are arched, the chin full, e teeth vertical. The race is distinguished for the facility with shies it attains the highest intellectual endowments.” The subdivisions of this race are into—Ist. The Caucasian ; 2d. The Germanic ; 3d. The Celtic ; 4th. The Arabian ; 5th. The Lybian ; 6th. The oe (Egyptian ;) and 7th. The In- dostanic families. IL. ‘‘ The Moncottan Race. This is characterized by a sallow or olive colored skin, which appears to be drawn tight over the bones of the _ face ; long, black, straight hair, and thin beard. The nose is broad and shart? the ‘eyes are small, itct: and obliquely placed, and the eye- -brows arched and linear ; the lips are turned, the cheek bones broad and flat, and the zygomatic arches salient. The skull is oblong-oval, somewhat flattened at the sides, with a low forehead. In their intellectual charac- ter the Mongolians are ingenious, imitative, and highly susceptible of cul- tivation. F The subordinate divisions are into—S8th. The Mongol- Tartar ; 9h. The Turkish ; 10th. The Chinese ; 11th. The Indo-Chi- nese ; and 12th. The Polar families. © Morton’s Crania Americana. 343 IIT. “ The Maray Race. It is characterized by a dark complexion, varying from a tawny hue toa very dark brown. Their hair is black, coarse, and lank, and their eye-lids are drawn obliquely upwards at the outer angles. The mouth and lips are large, and the nose is short and broad, and apparently broken at its root. ‘The face is flat and expanded, the upper jaw projecting, and the teeth salient. The skull is high and squared or rounded, and the forehead low and broad. This race is active and ingenious, and deseo all the habits of a migratory, pris and maritime people.” The subdivisions embrace—13th. The Malay; and 14th. The Polynesian (or South Sea Island) families. IV. “The American Race is marked by a brown complexion, long, black, lank hair, and’ deficient beard. The eyes are black and deep set, the =e low, the cheek bones high, the nose large and aquiline, the mouth large, and the lips tumid and compressed. The skull is small, wide between the parietal protuberances, prominent at the vertex, and flat on the occiput. In their mental character the Americans are averse to cultivation, and slow in acquiring knowledge ; Sse me and fond of war, ‘ad wholly destitute of maritime adventu The families into which this race is subdivided, are two: 15th. The American ; and 16th. The Toltecan. V. “The Ermoptan Race is characterized by a black complexion, and black, woolly hair; the eyes arelarge and prominent, the nose broad and flat, lips thick, and the mouth wide; the head long and narrow, the forehead low, the cheek bones prominent, the jaws projecting, and the chin small. In disposition, the negro is jovous, flexible, and indolent; while the many nations which compose this race present a singular diver- Sity of intellectual charset, of which the far extreme is the lowest grade. of humani ity. his race is divided: into—17th. The Negro; 18th. The elias 19th. "The Hottentot ; 20th. The Oceanic Negro ; 2lst. The Australian; and 22d. The Alforian families. The latter family is most numerous in i Dew Guinea, the Moluccas and Magindano. The map which icin the work, shows the geographical distribution of the five races of men ; ‘and the lines of demarca- tion are those indicated by Professor Blumenbach, as separating the different races in the primitive epochs of the world. These divisions, of necessity, are only approximations to truth. The y between the Caucasian and Mongolian races is ex- 344 Morton’s Crania Americana. tremely vague. The line adopted runs from the Ganges ina northwestern direction to the Caspian Sea, and thence to the River Obi, in Russia. ‘ At a comparatively recent period, how- ever, several Mongolian nations have established themselves in Kurope ; as the Samoyedes, Laplanders, &c.” The Ethiopian line is drawn north of the Senegal River, obliquely east and south to the southern frontier of Abyssinia, and thence to Cape Guardafui, thus embracing thé Atlas Mountains. “ Of the latter, little is known ; but many negro nations inhabit to the north of them, at the same time that the Arab tribes have penetrated far beyond them to the south, and in some places have formed a mixed race with the natives.” - Dr. Morton gives a brief but clear tl st extending to his 9st page, of the leading characteristics of each of these families, accompanying his text by references to the authorities from which the information is drawn. The labor and accuracy of the true philosopher are” here conspicuous. After perusing these de- tails, however, we are strongly impressed with the conviction that this branch of science is still only in its infancy. The scriptions of the mental qualities which distinguish the different families of mankind, given even by the best travellers, are vague and entirely popular. There is scarcely an instance of the specification of well defined mental faculties, present or absent the races, or possessed in peculiar combinations ; nothing, in short, which indicates that the travellers possessed a mental phi- ~ losophy under the different heads of which they could classify and particularize the characteristic qualities of mind which they observed, as the botanists describe and classify plants, or the ge- ologists minerals. The anatomical characters of the races, also, are still confined to a few particulars, and many even of these have been drawn from the inspection of a very limited number of specimens. The subject, however, possesses so*much inhe- rent interest and importance, that we may expect rapid advances to be made in its future development. The unity of the human species’ is assumed by Dr. Mor- ton. Itis known that the black race possess an apparatus in the skin, which is wanting in that of the white race. Flou- rens states that there “are, in the skin of the white race, three distinct laminee or membranes—the derm, and two epiderms ; endsiwithe skin of the black race, there is, besides the derm Morton's Crania Americana. 345 and the two epiderms of the white race, a particular appara- tus, an apparatus which is altogether wanting in the man of the white race, an apparatus composed of two layers, the external of which is the seat of the pigmentum, or coloring matter of ne- _ groes.”* “'The coloring apparatus of the negro is always found in the mulatto.” Flourens adds, “The white race and the black race are then, I repeat, two essentially distinct races. The same is true of the red, or American race. Anatomy discovers, under the second epiderm of the individual of the red, copper-colored, Indian or American race, (for this-race is called indifferently by all these names, ) a pigmental apparatus, which is the seat of the red or copper color of this race, as the pigmental apparatus of the negro is the seat of his black color.” Dr. Morton does not advert to the existence of this pigmental apparatus in the American race. The investigations of Dr. McCulloh, he observes, “ satisfactorily prove that the designation ' ‘ copper-colored,’ is wholly inapplicable to the Americans as a race.” The cinnamon is, in Dr. McCulloh’s apprehension, the nearest approach to the a color” of the native Americans. Dr. Morton considers that “ brown race’ most correctly desig- nates them “eae = ® Abhodgh, sf says he, “the Americans thus possess a pervading and characteristic complexion, there are occasional and very remarkable deviations, including all the tints from a decided white to an unequivocally black skin.” He shows, also, by numerous authorities, that ‘“ climate exerts a sub- ordinate agency in producing these diversified hues.” The tribes which wander along the burning plains of the equinoctial region, have no darker skins than the mountaineers of the temperate zone. “ Again, the Puelchés, and other inhabitants of the Ma- gellanic region, beyond the 55th degree of south latitude, are ab- solutely darker than the Abipones, Macobios and 'Tobas, who are many degrees nearer the equator. While the Botocudys are of a clear brown color, and sometimes nearly white, at no great dis- tance from the tropic ; and moreover, while the Guyacas, under the line, are characterized by a fair complexion, the Charruas, who are almost black, inhabit the 50th degree of south latitude ; and the yet blacker Californians, are 25 degrees north of the equator.” “ After all,” he adds, “these differences in complex- co TE ee ee eee * Annales des Sciences Nat. . x, Dec. - pp- 361, &c. Vol. xxxvis1, No. 2.—Jan.—March, 1 346 Morton's Crania Americana. ion are extremely partial, forming mere exceptions to the primi- tive aud national tint that characterizes these people, from Cape Horn to the Canadas. The cause of these anomalies is not readily explained ; that it is not climate is sufficiently obvious ; and whether it arises from partial immigrations from other coun- tries, remains yet to be decided.” Buffon defines species—‘‘ A succession of similar individuals which reproduce each other.” Cuvier also defines species— “The union of individuals descended from each other or from common parents, and of those who resemble them as much as they resemble each other.” “The apparent differences of the races of our domestic species,” says Cuvier, “are stronger than those of any species of the same geuns.” ‘ The fact of the sue- cession, therefore, and of the constant succession, constitutes alone the unity of the species.” Flourets, who cites these definitions, concludes that “ unity, absolute unity, of the human species, and variety of its races, asa final result, is the general and certain conclusion of all the facts acquired qanpeaning the natural his- tory of man.”’* » Dr. Morton, while he assumes the unity of the species, con- ceives that “each race was adapted from the beginning (by an all-wise Providence) to its peculiar local destination. In other wopls, that the physical characteristics which distinguish the Te ne races, are sesanepiiays of external causes.’ nce derives support from the fact adverted to by Dr. Caldwell, in his “Thoughts on the Unity of the Human Spe- cies.” Tt is,” says he, “ 4179 years since Noah and his family came out of the ark. They are believed to have been of the Caucasian race.” ‘3445 years ago, a nation of Ethiopians is known to have existed. Their skins, of course, were dark, an they differed widely from the Caucasians in many other particu- lars. ‘They migrated from a remote country aud took up their residence in the neighborhood of Egypt. Supposing that people to have been of the stock of Noah, the change must have been completed, and a new race formed, in 733 years, and probably in a much shorter period.”+' Dr. Morton observes, that. ‘the recent discoveries in Egypt give additional force to the preceding state- oe eee i Ns ene * Flourens’ article before cited, and the Edin, New Philosophic. Journ., Vol. xxvii, p 358, October, 1839. +P.72. Phila. . Morton’s Crania Americana. 347 ment, inasmuch as they show, beyond all question, that the Cau- casian and Negro races were as perfectly distinct in that country, upwards of three thousand years ago, as they are now ; whence it is evident, that if the Caucasian was derived from the Negro, or the Negro from the Caucasian, by the action of external causes, the change must have been effected in at most one thousand years ; a theory which the subsequent evidence of thirty centu- ries proves to be a physical impossibility ; and we have already ventured to insist that. such a commutation could be effected by Babies short of a miracle.” p. 88. t. Morton describes the general characteristics of the Ameri- can, nee the head of the “ Varieties of the Human Species,” aid then enters on a special description of the “ crania” of up- wards of seventy nations or tribes belonging to that family, illus- trating the text by admirable plates of the crania, drawn from skulls, mostly in his own possession, and of the full size of a- ture He regards the American race as possessing certain physical traits that serve to identify them in localities the most remote from each other. ‘There are, also, in their multitndivons lan- guages, the traces of a common origin._, He divides the race into the “ Toltecan family,” which bears evidence of centuries of demi-civilization, and into the “ American family,” which embra- ces all the barbarous nations of the new world, excepting the Po- lar tribes, or Mongol Americans. The Eskimaux, and especially the Greenlanders, are regarded as a partially mixed race, amoung whom the physical character of the Mongolian predominates, while their language presents obvious analogies to that of the Chippewyans, who border on them to the south. In the American family itself, there are several subordinate groups. st. The Appalachian branch includes all the nations of North America, excepting the Mexicans, together with the tribes north of the river of Amazon and east of the Andes. 2d. Thé Brazilian branch is spread over a great part of South America east of the Andes, viz. between the Rivers Amazou and’ La Plata, and between the Andes and the Atlantic, thus inclu- ding the whole of Brazil and Paraguay north of the 35th degree of south latitude. In character, these nations are warlike, cruel, aud unforgiving. They turn with aversion from the restraints of civilized is and have made but trifling progress in mental cul- 348 Morton’s Crania Americana. ture or the useful arts. In character, the Brazilian nations searcely differ from the Appalachian ; none of the American tribes. are less susceptible of cultivation than these ; and what they are taught by compulsion, in the missions, seldom exceeds the hum- blest elements of knowledge. 3d. The Patagonian branch in- cludes the nations south of the La Plata, to the Straits of Magel- lan, and the mountain tribes of Chili. They are for the most part distinguished for their tall stature, their fine forms, and their indomitable courage, of all which traits the Auracanians possess a conspicuous share. 4th. The F'wegian branch, which roves over a sterile waste, computed to be as large as one half of Ireland. Forster computes their whole number at only two thousand souls. Their physical aspect is altogether repulsive, and their domestic usages tend to heighten the defects of nature. The expression of the face is vacant, and their mental operations are to the last degree slow and stupid. The difference between them and the other Americans, is attributed by Dr. Morton to the eflects of cli- mate and locality. Thus far Dr. Morton has travelled over ground previously occu- pied by other naturalists ; but we proceed to a field in which he has had the courage and sagacity to enter boldly on a new path. He has added to his text numerous and minute measurements of the size and capacity not only of each entire cranium, but of its different parts, with a view to elucidate the connection (if there be any) between particular regions of the brain and particular mental qualities of the American tribes. In his dedication to John 8. Phillips, Esq., of Philadelphia,* he observes: “ It may, perhaps, be thought by some readers, that these details are un- necessarily minute, especially in the phrenological tables; and again, others would have preferred a work conducted throughout on phrenological principles. In this study Iam yet a learner; and it appeared to me the wiser plan to present the facts unbi- assed by theory, and let the reader draw his own conclusions. You and I have long admitted the fundamental principles of phrenology, viz. that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that its different parts perform differeut functions; but we have been a 3 es Dr. Morton acknowledges himself to be under many obligations to Mr. Phil- lips in the prosecution of his enquiries, and says that it was he who invented the machines used j king th d ted in f himself. ee + iia si! 7 ae. € Morton’s Crania Americana: 349 slow to acknowledge the details of cranioscopy as taught by Dr. Gall, and supported and extended by subsequent observers. We have not, however, neglected this branch of enquiry, but have endeavored to examine it in connection with numerous facts, which can only be fully appreciated when they come to be com- pared with similar measurements derived from the other races of men.” We shall state, in a subsequent part of this article, the conclusions at which Dr. Morton. has arrived, in consequence of his observations and measurements; meantime it is important to State the principles on which he proceeded. In a few years, it will appear a singular fact in the history of mind, that in the nineteenth century, men holding the eminent’ station in literature occupied by Lord Jeffrey and Lord Brougham, should have seriously denied* that the mind, in this world, acts by means of material organs; yet such is the case; and the de- nial can be accounted for only by that eutire neglect of physiology, as a branch of general education, which prevailed in the last cen- tury, and by the fact that the metaphysical philosophy in which they were instructed, bore no reference to the functions of the brain. We need not say; that no adequately instructed natural- ist doubts that the brain is the organ of the mind. But there are two questions, on which great difference of opinion continues to prevail: Ist. Whether the size of the brain (health, age, and constitution being equal) has any, and if so, what influence, on the power of mental manifestation? and 2dly. Whether differ- . ent faculties be, or be not, manifested by particular portions of the rain. : The first proposition, that the size of the brain, other condi- tions being equal, is in direct relation to the power of mental manifestation, is supported by analogy, by several well known facts, and by high physiological authorities. The power of smell, for example, is great in proportion to the expansion of the olfac- tory nerve on the internal nostrils, and the volume of the nerve itself bears a direct relation to the degree of thatexpansion. The Superficial surface of the mucous membrane of the ethmoidal ne, on which the nerve of smell is ramified, is computed in man to extend to 20 square inches, and in the seal, which has * Lord Jeffrey, in the Edin. Review, No. 68, and Lord Brougham in his Dis- course on Natural ‘Theology, p. 120. a ‘ 350 Morton’s Crania Americana. great power of smell, to 120 square inches. The optic nerve in the mole isa slender thread, and its vision is feeble ; the same nerve is large and thick in the eagle, accompanied by intense powers of sight. Again, the fact admits of detuoustration, that deficiency in the size of the brain is one, although not the only, canse of idiotey. Although the brain be healthy, if the horizontal circum- ference of the head, with the muscular integuments, do not ex- ceed thirteen or fourteen inches, idiotcy is the zvariable conse- quence. Dr. Voisin states that he made observations on the idiots under his care at the Parisian Hospital of Incurables, and found that in the lowest class ef idiots, where the intellectual manifestations were null, the horizontal circumference, taken a little higher than the orbit, varied from eleven to thirteen inches, while the distance from the root of the nose backwards, over the top of the head, to the occipital spine, was ouly between eight and nine inches; and he found no exception to this fact. “If, therefore, extreme defect of size in the brain be invariably accom- panied by mental imbecility, it is a legitimate inference that size will influence the power of manifestation through all other gra- dations of magnitude, always assuming other conditions to be equal. Physiological authorities are equally explicit on this subject. Magendie says, “the volume of the brain is generally in direct proportion to the capacity of the mind. We ought not to suppose, however, that every man having a large head is necessarily a pet- son of superior intelligence ; Sa there are many causes of ali ang- mentation of the volume of the head besides the size of the brain; but it is rarely found that a man distinguished by his mental fac- ulties has not a large head. The only way of estimating the vol- ume of the brain, in a living person, is to measure the dimensions of the skull; every other means, even that proposed by Camper, is uncertain.””. e difference of mental power-between young and adult minds, is a matter of common observation. The difference in the weights of their brains is equally decided. According to Cruveilhier, in three young subjects, the weights of. the brains were as follows: In the first, the brain weighed 2 lbs. 2 oz. ; the cerebellum, A$ 02. ; together, 2 Ibs. 64 0z. In the second, the brain weighed 2 Ibs. 8 oz. ; the cerebellum, 34 02. ; together, 2 lbs. 114 02. in Morton’s Crania Americana. 351 the third, the brain weighed 2 lbs. 5 oz. ; the cerebellum, 5 oz. ; together, 2 ibs. 10 oz. In the appendix to Dr. Monro’s work on the brain, Sir William Hamilton states the average weight of the adult male Scotch brain and cerebellum to be 3 Ibs. 8 oz. troy. Again, a difference in mental power between men and women is also geuerally admitted to exist, and there is a correspouding difference in the size of their brains. Sir William Hamilton states the average weight of the adult female Scotch brain and cerebellum, to -be 3 Ibs. 4 oz. troy; being 4 oz. less than that of the male. He found one male braia in seven to weigh above 4 lbs. ; and only one female brain ina hundred exceeded this weight. j In an essay ‘on the brain of the negro, compared with that of the European and the ourang outang, published in the Philosophi- cal Transactions for 1836, part II, Professor Tiedemann, of Hei- delberg, adoptsthe same principle. After mentioning the weights of fifty-two European brains, examined by himself, he states that “the weight of the brain in an adult male European, varies be- tween 3 Ibs.. 2 oz: and 4 Ibs. G oz. troy. The brain of men who have distinguished themselves by their great talents, is often very large. The brain of the celebrated Cuvier weighed 4 lbs. lioz. 4dr. 30 gr. troy, and that of the distinguished surgeon Du- puytren weighed 4 Ibs. 10 oz. troy. The brainof men endowed with but feeble intellectual powers is, on the contrary, often very small, particularly in congenital idiotismus. . The female brain is lighter than that of the male. It varies between 2 lbs, 8 oz. and 3 Ibs. 11 oz. I never fonnd a female brain that weighed 4 Ibs, The female brain weighs on an average from four to eight oun- ces less than that of the male; and this difference is already per- ceptible in a new-born child.” | We have adduced these proofs and authorities in support of the Proposition that size influences power, because we conceive it to be a principle of fundameutal importance in every investigation into the natural history of man, founded on the physiology of the brain; and also because in the hasty zeal of many of the oppo- nents of phrenology, to undermine the discoveries of Dr. Gall, it has been denied with a boldness and pertinacity more allied to the spirit of contentious disputation, than to that of philosophical enquiry. Its importance ina dissertation on national crania is 352 Morton’s Crania Americana. very apparent. One of the most singular features in the history of this continent, is, that the aboriginal races, with few exceptions, have perished or constantly receded, before the Anglo-Saxon race, and have in no instance either mingled with them as equals, or adopted their manners and civilization. ‘These phenomena must have a cause ; and can any enquiry be at once more interesting and philosophical than that which endeavors to ascertain whether that cause be connected with a difference in the brain between the native American race, and their conquering invaders? Farther, some few of the American families, the Auracanian, for instance, have successfully resisted the Europeans; and the question is important, whether in them, the brain be in any respect superior to what it is in the tribes which ‘have unsuccessfully resisted ? It is true, that Dr. Gall’s fundamental principle, that size in the brain (other conditions being equal) is a measure of the power of mental manifestation, is directly involved in these enquiries ; but we can discover no reason why it should not be. put to the test of an extensive and accurate induction of facts. The unphilosophi- cal prejudice that every proposition and fact in physiology must be neglected or opposed, because it bears on the’ vexed question of phrenology, has been too long indulged. ‘lhe best interests of science require that it should be laid aside, and we commend Dr. Morton for having resolutely discarded it. He does not enter the field as a partisan, for or against Dr. Gall’s doctrines, but as a philosophical enquirer; and states candidly and fearlessly the re- sults of his observations. Dr. Morton reports the size in cubic inches, of the interior of nearly every skull described by him. “An ingenious mode,’ says he, “of taking the measurement of the internal capacity, was devised by Mr. Phillips. -In order to measure the capacity of acranium, the foramina were first stopped with cotton, and the cavity was then filled with white pepper seed,* poured into the foramen magnum until it reached the surface, and pressed down with the finger until the skull would receive no more. The contents were then transferred to a tin cylinder, which was well shaken in order to pack the seed. A mahogany rod (previ- ously graduated to denote the cubic inches and parts contained in ee * White Pepper seed was selected on account of its spherical form, its hardness, and the _—- size of the grains. It was also sified, to render the equality still Morton’s Crania Americana. 353 the cylinder) being then dropped down, with its foot resting on the seed, the cane? of the cranium, in cubic inches, is at once read off on it.’ Dr. Morton gives also measurements of particular regions of the brain, as indicated by the skull; and in this portion of his work, the phrenologists alone can claim precedence of him. Secondly. The most distinguished philosophers on the mind, di- vide the human faculties into the active and intellectual powers ; and some admit even subdivisions of the feelings into propensities common to man with the lower animals, and moral emotious ; and of the intellect, into observing and reflecting faculties. Dr. Thomas Brown’s division of the intellectual powers into simple and relative suggestion, corresponds with this last classification. If, then, the mind manifest a plurality of faculties, and if the brain be the organ of the mind, it appears to be a sound inference that the brain may consist of a plurality of organs. The pre- sumptions which arise, in favor of this idea, from the constitution of the external ‘senses and their organs, are strong. Each sense has its separate nervous apparatus. Nay, when the function of a part is compound, the nerves are multiplied, so as to give a dis- tinct nerve for each function. The tongue has a nerve for volun- tary motion, another for common sensation, and the best authori- ties admit a third nerve for taste, although the precise nerve is still in dispute. The internal nostrils are supplied with two nerves, the olfactory, and a nerve of common sensation, ramified on the mucous membrane, each performing its appropriate fune- tion. The spinal marrow consists, by general consent of physi- ologists, of at least two double columns, the anterior pair for vol- untary motion, and the posterior pair for common sensation. Sir Charles Bell has demonstrated the distinct functions of the nerves proceeding from these columns. Farther, every accurate ob- server distinguishes diversities of disposition and inequalities of talents, even in the same individual. The records of lunatic asylums show numerous instances of partial idiotey and partial insanity. These facts indicate that the brain consists of a plu- rality of organs, and this idea is countenanced by many high au- thorities in physiological science. “The brain is a very compli- cated organ,” says Bonnet, “or rather an assemblage of very diferent organs.”* ‘Tissot contends that every perception has * Palingénésie, I, 334. Vol. xxxvim, No. 2.—Jan.—March, 1840. 45 7 354 Morton’s Crania Americana. different fibres ;* and Haller and Van Swieten were of opinion that the internal senses occupy, in the brain, organs as distinct as the nerves of the external senses.t Cabanis entertained a similar notion,{ and so did Prochaska. Cuvier says that ‘‘Certain paris of the brain, in all classes of animals, are large or small, accord- ing to certain qualities of the animals ;’§ and he admits that Gall’s doctrine of different faculties being connected with differ- ent parts of the brain, is nowise contradictory to the general prin- ciples of physiology.|| If, then, there be reason to believe that different parts of the brain manifest different mental faculties, and if the size of the part influence the power-of manifestation, the necessity is very evident of taking into consideration the relative proportions of the different parts of the brain, in a physiological enquiry into the connection between the crania of nations and their mental qual- ities. To illustrate this position, we present exact drawings of two casts from nature; one, figure 1, is the brain of an Ameri- can Indian; and the other, figure 2, the brain of an European. Both casts bear evidence of compression or flattening out, to some extent, by the pressure of the plaster ; but the European brain is the flatter of the two. We have a cast of the entire head of this American Indian, and it corresponds closely with the form of ihe brain here represen It is obvious that the een quantity of brain, (although probably a few ounces less in the American,) might be the same in both ; and yet, if different portions manifest different mental powers, the characters of the individuals, and of the nations to which they belonged, (assuming them to be types of the races,) might be exceedingly different. In the American Indian, the anterior lobe, lying between A A and BB is small, and in the European it is large, in proportion to the middle lobe, lying be- tween B Band CC. ‘In the American Indian, the posterior lobe, lying between C and D is much smaller than in the European. In the American, the cerebral convolutions on the anterior lobe and upper surface of the brain, are smaller than in the ropean. en en Rae Te = * Gu , IH, 33. + Van Swieten, I, 454 $ == du Physique et du Moral de I’ Hosaae, 2de Edit. I, 233, 4. ie comparée, tome II. i Rapport Historique sur les Progrés des Sciences Naturelles, &c. p. 193. American Inpian, Fig. 1. Evropray, Fig. 2. »SOTOUyT 356 Morton’s Crania Americana. If the anterior lobe manifest the intellectual faculties—the mid- dle lobe, the propensities common to man with the lower animals— and the posterior lobe, the domestic and social affections ; and if size influence power of manifestation—the result will be that in the native American, intellect will be feeble—in the European, strong ;—in the American, animal propensity will be very great— in the European, more moderate ;—while in the American, the domestic and social affections will be feeble, and in the European, powerful. We do not state these as established results ; we use the cuts only to illustrate the fact that the native American and the European brains differ widely in the proportions of their different parts ;* and the conclusion seems natural, that if differ- ent functions be attached to different parts, no investigation can deserve attention which does not embrace the size of the differ- ent regions, in so far as this can be ascertained. We have entered more minutely into the reasons why we re- gard these measurements as important, because we conceive that the distinguishing excellence of Dr. Morton’s work consists in his having adopted and followed out this great principle. It appeared necessary to dwell upon it at some length, also, be- cause Professor Tiedemann, in his comparison of the European with the Negro brain, has entirely neglected it, and in conse- quence has arrived at physiological conclusions which we re- gard as at variance with the most certain psychological facts, viz. He says that “there is undoubtedly a very close connec- tion between the assoLure size of the brain and the INTEL- LECTUAL POWERS AND FUNCTIONS of thé mind ;” and _proceed- ing on this principle, he compares the weight of the whole brain, as ascertained in upwards of fifty Europeans of different ages and countries, with its weight in several Negroes, exam- ined either by himself or others. He gives extensive tables showing the weight of the quantity of millet seed necessary to fill Ethiopian, Caucasian, Mongolian, American, and Malay skulls; and adds that “ the cavity of the skull of the Negro in general, is not smaller than that of the European and other human races.’ The inference which he draws, is that intellectually and morally, as well as anatomically, the Negro is naturally on a par with the Paes ewer * From inspecting numerous crania of both races, we cannot doubt of the gen- eral truth of this proposition. Morton’s Crania Americana. 357 European ; and he contends that the opposite and popular notion is the result of superficial observation, and is true only of certain degraded tribes on the coast of Africa We entertain a great respect for Prof. Tiedemann, but we can- not subscribe to his principle that the whole brain is the measure of the intellectual faculties ; a proposition which assumes that the animal and moral feelings have no seat in this organ. He does not grapple with Dr. Gall’s facts or arguments, but writes as if Gall had never existed. Dr. Morton has followed a different course, and we think wisely. He says, “I was from the begin- hing, desirous to introduce into this work, a brief chapter on phre- nology ; but, conscious of my own inability to do justice to the subject, I applied to a professional friend to supply the deficiency. e engaged to do so, and commenced his task with great zeal ; but ill health soon obliged him to abandon it, and to seek a distant and more genial climate. Under these circumstances, I resolved to complete the phrenological table, and omit the proposed essay altogether. Early in the present year, however, and just as my work was ready for the press, George Combe, Esq., the distin- guished phrenologist, arrived in this country; and I seized the occasion to express my wants to that gentleman, who, with great zeal and promptness, agreed to furnish the desired essay, and ac- tually placed the MS. in my hands before he left the city.” He adds that Mr. Combe provided his memoir without having seen a word of the MS. of the work, or even knowing what had been written, and besides, owing to previous arrangements, he was limited to a given number of pages. *'Tiedemann’s Essay has been ole, oe by Dr, A. Combe, in the Phrenological Journal, (vol. xi,) who shows not only the error of principle com- mitted by the author in assuming the w abl sia to be the organ exclusively of the epllectael par tee, but the more aekang fact that Tiedemann’s own tables re- 3 Pah Se females, - do. pe do. height of bai in 3 Negroe : d e Ea krdpuise imiied : fute his ns. 'Tiedemann’s measurements are a following: Inches. Lin Average length of a in 4 odie 53 «Boga See do. do. European males, 6 21-7 do. do. c 6 European fainales, + ae do. = .. in 4 Negroes, a ice ai 81-6 do. Barhpean sone Sees 117 a 4} “ee 3 2 do. oct Se European females The inferiority 7) the Negro brain in size, is salCevident frosa these dimensions. 3538 Morton’s Crania Americana. We can afford space only to notice Mr. Combe’s illustration of the location of the great divisions of the faculties in the different regions of the brain. It is necessary to give this in order to ren- der the true import of several of Dr. Morton’s measurements and results intelligible to the reader. All the figures are drawn to the same scale. In this figure (Fig. 3,) a line drawn from the point A trans- versely across the skull, to the same point on the opposite side, would coincide with the posterior margin of the super- orbitary plate: the anterior lobe rests on that plate. The line AB, denotes the length of the anterior lobe from back to front, or the portion of brain lying between A A and BB in figures 1 and2. Ain figure 3, “is located in the middle space be- tween the edge of the suture of the frontal bone and the edge of the squamous suture of the temporal bone, where these approach nearest to each other, on the plane of the super-ciliary ridge.” _We have examined a Peruvian skull of the Inca race, a skull of a flat-headed Indian, an Indian skull found near Boston, and com- pared them with several skulls of the Anglo-Saxon race, and ob- serve that the line A B, is considerably longer in the latter than in the former, and that it corresponds with the length of the ante- Morton’s Crania Americana. 359 rior lobe, as denoted by the super-orbitar plate. The point C is the centre of ossification of the parietal bone, corresponding to the centre of Cautiousness, The line C D is drawn from C through the center of ossification in the left side of the frontal bone. This is the centre of Causality. EE corresponds with Firmness of the phrenologist. The space D A Bis an approximation to the de- partment occupied by the intellectual faculties. DC E contains the organs of the moral sentiments. All the space behind A and below the line D C F is devoted to the animal organs. The space EC F contains Self-Esteem and Love of Approbation, which may act either with the moral sentiments or animal propensities, according as either predominate. Mr. Combe states that these lines are only approximations to accurate demarcations of the regions, as no modes of rigid admensuretnent have yet been discovered. Mr. Phillips invented an instrament, (which he describes,) by Which Dr. Morton and he measured the contents of the space above D C F in cubic inches, in nearly all the skulls. This is called the coronal region. By deducting the contents of this space from the contents of the whole skull, they give the measurement of the subcoronal region. Mr. Phillips found it impossible to measure D A Band the space behind A and below DCF in eubic inches, and Dr. M. therefore measured, as an approxima- tion, the whole space contained in the skull anterior to the ante- rior margin of the foramen magnum. He designates this the anterior chamber. He measured all behind that margin, and calls it the posterior chamber. In addition to these, Mr. Phillips hoe: added tables of thirty nine phrenological measurements, (which are lucidly described by him,) of each skull. We quote the following statement as an ex~ ample of the spirit of philosophical enquiry, which animated Mr. Phillips in his labors. “A series of measurements with the crani- ometer and compasses, much more extensive than any we had seen published, had been carefully made on upwards of ninety of the crania, when Mr. George Combe arrived in this city. That gentleman immediately pointed out so many erroneous points of - Measurement, (arising from the use of a badly marked bust, ) that those tables were condemned, together with the labor bestowed on them,” and new measurements of the whole were substituted in their place ! 360 Morton's Crania Americana. It is impossible to commend too highly the zeal and persever- ance manifested by both of these gentlemen in their endeavors to do justice to their subject; and we anticipate that their example, and the results to which their labors have led, will give a powerful ‘impulse to others to prosecute this interesting branch of science. We shall now present a brief view of the manner in which Dr. Morton applies his own principles, and of some of the conclusions at which he has arrived. He divides the native American nations into two great families, the Toltecan and American. ‘It is in the intellectual faculties, says he, that we discover the greatest difference between them. In the arts and sciences of the former we see the evidences of an ad- vanced civilization. From the Rio Gila in California, to the south- ern extremity of Peru, their architectural remains are every where encountered to surprise the traveller and confound the antiquary ; among these are pyramids, temples, grottoes, bas-reliefs and ara- besques; while their roads, aqueducts, and fortifications, and the sites of their mining operations, sufficiently attest their attainments in the practical arts of life.” p. 84. The desert of Atacama di- vides the kingdom of Peru from that of Chilé, and is nearly @ hundred miles in length. A river, abounding in salt, runs through _ it. This desert was the favorite sepulchre of the Peruvian na- tions for successive ages. The climate, salt and sand, dry up the bodies, and the remains of whole generations of the former inhab- itants of Peru may now be examined, after the lapse perhaps of thousands of years. Dr. Morton has been enabled to examine nearly one hundred Peruvian crania, and concludes that that coun- try has been, at different times, peopled by two nations of differ- ently formed crania, one of which is perhaps extinct, or at least exists only as blended by adventitious circumstances, in very Te- mote and scattered tribes of the present Indian race. “ Of these two families, that which was antecedent to the appearance of the Incas is designated as the ancient Peruvian, of which the remains have been found only in Peru, and especially in that division of it now called Bolivia. Their tombs, according to Mr. Pentland, bound on the shores and islands of the great Lake Titicaca, 10 the inter-alpine valley of the Desaquadera, and in the elevated val- leys of the Peruvian Andes, between the latitudes of 14° and 19° 30’ South.” Our knowledge of their physical appearance 1S Morion’s Crania Americana: 361 derived solely from their tombs. ‘They were not different “ from cognate nations in any respect except in the conformation of the head, which is small, greatly elongated, narrow in its whole length, with a very retreating forehead, and possessing more sym- metry than is usual in skulls of the American race. The face projects, the upper jaw is thrust forward, and the teeth are inclined outward. 'The orbits of the eyes are large and rounded, the na- sal bones salient, the zygomatic arches expanded ; and there is a remarkable simplicity in the sutures that connect the bones of the cranium.” p. 97. Dr. Morton presents the following cranium, plate IV of his series, “as an illustrative type of the cranial pecu- liarities of the people ;” and he is of opinion that the form is “ nat- ural, unaltered by art.” Ancient Peruvian, Fig. 4. He gives the aia description of this cranium : “Though the forehead retreats rapidly, there is but little ex- pansion at the sides, and from the face to the occiput, inclusive, there is a narrowness that seems characteristic of the race. = Posterior view represents the skull elevated in that region, with- out any unnatural width at the sides, and the vertical view suffi- ciently confirms the latter fact. Vol. xxxvin1, No. 2.—Jan.-March, 1840. 46 362 Morton’s Crania Americana. MEASUREMENTS.* Longitudinal diameter, . . . . 7.3 inches. Parietal do. ote “aerate Chee Frontal do. lodeten of 4 tee OO. Vertical Bigatti is ice: AS..ido. Inter-mastoid arch, ee: tects’: 24: | ow Inter-mastoid line, 7 ee ee ee ae pat ot Qu 2 Occipito-frontal arch, - Horizontal pexialiess #15 4 -AR8--do. Extreme length of head and fac, 8.2 do. Internal capacity, 81.5 cubic inches. Capacity of the anterior aroker, 31.5 do. Capacity of the posteriorchamber, 50. do. Capacity of the coronal ae 16 25 do. eects angle, <1. 5 =. - » #38 degrees.” This skull was found by ‘Dr. Ruschenberger, about a mile from the town of Arica, on the south side of the morro, a ceme- tery of the ancient Peruvians. “The surface is covered with saud an inch or two deep, which being removed discovers a stra- tum-of salt, three or foar inches in thickness, that spreads all over the hill. The body (to which this-head belonged) was placed in a squatting posture, with the knees drawn up and the hands apylied to the sides. The whole was enveloped in a coarse, but close fabric, with stripes of red, which has withstood, * Th th ibed Morton. The longitudinal diam- eter is taken from the most pr rominent part oie os frontis to the occiput; the parietal diameter from the most distant points of the parietal bones; the frontal diameter from the anterior inferior angles of the parietal bones ; the vertical diame- ter from the fossa, bctween the condyles of the occipital bone, to the tup of the skull ; the inter-mastoid arch is measured with a graduated png from the point of one mastoid process to the oth er, over the external tables of the skull ; the imter- mastoid line is the distance, in a straight line, between the points of the mastoid processes; the occipito-frontal arch is measured by a tape dver the surface of the cranium, from the posterior margin of the foramen magnum to the suture, which connects the os frontis with the bones of the nose; the horizontal periphery is measured by passing a tape around the cranium so as to touch the os frontis imme- lately above the superciliary ridges, and the most prominent part of the occipital bone; the length of the head and fuce is measured from the margin of the upper jaw, to the most distant point of the occiput; the zygomatic diameter is the dis- Spuekeadbons ts invented by Dr. Turnpenny, — described by = Morton. Dr. Mor- ton took nearly all the anatomical measure nts with his ow Morton’s Crania Americana. 363 wonderfully, the destroying effects of ages, for these interments were made before the conquest, although at what period is un- known.” Dr. Morton states that the average internal capacity of the Caucasian or European head, isat least 90 cubic inches. In three adult ancient Peruvians, it is only 73. The mean capacity of the anterior chamber is about one half of that of the posterior, or 25 to 47, while the mean facial angle is but 67 degrees. “Tt would,” he continues, “be natural to suppose, that a peo- ple with heads so small and badly formed, would oceupy the low- est place in the scale of human intelligence. Such, however, Was not the case”’ He considers it ascertained that “ civiliza- tion existed in Peru anterior to the advent of the Incas, and that those anciently civilized people constituted the identical nations whose extraordinary skulls are the subjects of our present in- quiry.” There is a discrepancy between this description of these skulls and the civilization ascribed to their possessors, which is unique in Dr. Morton’s work. In every other race, ancient and modern, the coincidence between superior cranial forms and superior men- tal qnalities, is conspicuous. On tarnitg to Mr. Phillips’s phreno- logical measurements, however, we find that the sean extent of the forehead in this skull, from the point A on one side, to the same point on the other, over B, or the “ inter-sphenoidal arch, over the perceptive organs,” (as ascertained by a graduated tape, ) is 6.37 inches; and the mean extent from A to A, over D, or the “inter-sphenoidal arch over the reflective organs,” is 6.12 inches. The mean of the same measurements of ‘“ 100 wnadtered crania — of adult aboriginal Americans,” of which many are ascertained to be males, are 6.7 and 6.87 inches; showing a superiority in the revion of the observing organs in the ancient race, and in that of the reflecting organs in the modern. This indicates a larger quantity of brain in the anterior lobe in the extinct race, than Dr. Morton’s description leads-us to infer. This subject ob- viously requires further elucidation. If these skulls had been compressed by art, we could have understood that certain portions of the brain might have been ouly displaced, but not destroyed. The spine, for instance, may be bent, as in hump-back, yet retain its functions ; and we might suppose the anterior lobe, in cases of compression, to be 364 Morton’s Crania Americana. developed laterally, or backwards, and still preserve ite iden- tity and uses. This, indeed, is Dr. Morton’s own conclusion, in regard to the brain in the flat-headed Indians. He gives an interesting and authentic description of the instrument and pro- cess by means of which the flat-head tribes of Columbia River compress the skull, and remarks that “besides the depression of the head, the face is widened and projected forward by the process, so as materially to diminish the facial angle ; the breadth between the parietal bones is greatly augmented, and a striking irregularity of the two sides of the cranium almost invariably follows; yet the absolute internal capacity of the skull is not diminished, and, strange as it may seem, the intellectual facul- ties suffer nothing. The latter fact is proved by the concurrent testimony of all travellers who have written on the subject.” Dr. Morton adds, that in January, 1839, he was gratified with a personal interview with a full blood Chenouk, in Philadelphia. He is named William Brooks, was 20 years of age, had been three years in charge of some Christian missionaries, and had ac- quired great proficiency in the English language, which he un- derstood and spoke with a good accent and general grammatical accuracy. His head was as much distorted by mechanical com- pression, as any skull of his tribe in Dr. Morton’s possession. “« He appeared to me,” he adds, ‘ to possess more mental acute- ness than any Indian I had seen, was communicative, cheerful, and well mannered,” The measurements of his head were these : longitudinal caine 7.5 inches; parietal diameter, 6.9 inches ; frontal diameter, 6.1 inches ; breadth between the cheek nes, 6.1 inches ; facial angle, shout 73 degrees. Dr. Morton considers it certain that the forms of the skull produced by com- pression, never become congenital, even in successive generations, but that the characteristic form is always preserved, unless art has directly interfered to distort it. pp. 206, 207.* * Mr. George Combe, in his late lectures in New Haven, mentioned, that in May, pa he had been introduced, in New York, to the Rev. jets Lee, who h in missionary among the Indians, 2000 mites beyond the Rocky Mountains, and ae had with him Thomas ‘A daiiees young Indian of about 20 years of age, of Cloughewallah tribe, located about 25 miles from the Columbia River. This young man’s head had been compressed by means of a board and cushions, in in- fancy. Mr. C. examined his head, and found that the parietal was actually greater " than the frontal and occipital diameter. The oe in the superciliary ridge of the forehead were fully developed; the upper part of the forehead was flat and Morton’s Crania Americana. 365 The extinct race in Peru, was succeeded by the “ Inca, OR Movern Peruvians.” Thisrace dates its possession of Peru from about the eleventh century of our era; and as this period corres- ponds with the epoch of the migration from Mexico of the Toltecas, the most civilized nation of ancient Mexico, Dr. Morton concurs in the opinion expressed by other authors, that the modern Peruvi- ans were of a common origin with the ancient Mexicans. “The modern Peruvians,” says he, “ differ little in person from the In- dians around them, being of the middling stature, well limbed, and with small feet and hands.- Their faces are round, their eyes small, black, and rather distant from each other; their noses are small, the mouth somewhat large, and the teeth refnarkks ably fine. Their complexion isa dark brown, and their hair long, black, and rather coarse.” p, 115. The civilization and comparative refinie- ment of the Incas was blended with some remains of the ferocity of the savage. ‘Matrimonial engagements were entered into With very little ceremony or forethought, and they were as readily set aside at the option of the parties. Polygamy lawful, but not prevalent.” Among the people, incontinence, sensuality, and child-murder were common. Their dict was chiefly vegetables. The people were indolent, filthy and neg- ligent in their persons. The hair of their mummies, in many instances, is charged with desiccated vermin. Their religious system was marked by great simplicity, and was divested of those bloody rites which were common with the Aztecs of deficient; his organs of language and form, said Mr. C., were large. He had soaty the English language for two years, wad spoke it ‘to well. Mr. C. added, that in conversation he was intelligent, ready, and fluent, o ij that fe within the scope of the faculties of observation, ‘situated in 4 ges all subjec with the development of his ee Babs ore thts may esis because it is ob- vious, that if different parts of the b it is indispensa- that observations on the manifestati f the mental powers should be equally Minute and discriminative with ‘thease on the development of particular portions of thecranium. Mr.C. added, that the only way to grein whether the brain was merely displaced by compressioit, or otherwise altered, was by careful examination after death; and that he had recommended to Mr. “ad to call the attention of any Medical men who might visit these Indians, to this subject. We observed the death of one of these flat-headed Indians mentioned as having occurred in New York. Did any of the phrenologists or anti-phrenologists examine the brain? It was.an excellent opportunity for Dr. Rees. 366 Morton’s Crania Americana. Mexico. They believed in one God, whom they called Vira- cocha, in the immortality of the soul, and in rewards and pun- ishments in the next life. They worshipped both the sun and moon, in whose honor they erected temples and formed idols. They consecrated virgins, in the same manner as practised in modern convents. Their funeral rites were barbarous and cruel : when their chief men died, they buried a number of human victims, women, boys and servants, to attend on the departed in the next world. They were conquered by Pizarro with a force which consisted of 62 horsemen and 102 fovt soldiers. p. 124. The following is given as a strikingly characteristic Peruvian head. Mopern Pervviay, Fig. 5. “The skull in these people,” says Dr. Morton, “is remarkable J for its small size, and for its quadrangular form. The occiput is greatly compressed, sometimes absolutely vertical; the sides are swelled out, and the forehead is somewhat elevated, but very Te- treating. The skulls are remarkable for their irregularity. The dimensions of this skull are as follows: Longitudinal diameter, . . . . 6.1 inches. Parietal 0. oS a ee Frontal diameter, ee Vertical — do. + ew ee adliteliaa Morton’s Crania Americana. 367 Inter-mastoid arch, coy Soe be Tielke Tuter-mastoid line, sh SE a Occipito-frontal arch, . . . . 141 do. Horizontal periphery, . . . . 19.5 do. Internal capacity, : . 83. cubic inches. Capacity of the anterior Marah: 33.5 do. Capacity of the posterior chamber, 49.5 do. Capacity of the coronal region, 15.75 — do. Facial augle, . . . . 81 degrees.” Dr. Morton gives the result of the: measurement of twenty- three adult skulls of the Inca race. ‘‘'The mean of the in- ternal capacity is 73 cubic fithes, which is probably lower than that of any other people now existing, not excepting the Hin- doos.” The mean of the anterior chamber is 32, of the poste- rior, 42, of the coronal region, 12 cubic inches. The highest measure of the coronal region is 20.5, and the smallest 9.25 cu- bic inches. The mean facial angle is 75 degrees. The heads of nine Peruvian children appear to be nearly, if not quite as large, as those of children of other nations at the same age. p. 133. The small size of the brains of this race, compared with that of the Europeans who invaded them, is in accordance with the ease with which the former were overcome and retained in subjection. The deficiency in the posterior region of the brain, in which the organs of the domestic affections are situated, corresponds with their feeble conjugal attachment and indifference to the lives of their children. The diameter from constructiveness to construc- tiveness, is stated by Mr. Phillips to be 4.5 inches, and from ideality to ideality, 5.1. These organs give a talent for art, and are considerable. ‘The same measurements in the Naumkeagh, the race which occupied New England, and whose skulls are still dug up near Boston and Salem, and which never made any at- tainments in the arts, are 4.1 and 4 inches, respectively. Dr. Robertson, in his history of America, mentions that the modern Peruvian race was distinguished for its extraordinary powers of concealment and secrecy. Mr. Phillips states the breadth from se- cretiveness to secretiveness to be 5.6 inches, which is large ; the longitudinal diameter is only 6.1. ‘The region of combativeness also appears to be deficient in these skulls. The Inoquors confederacy, consisted originally of five nations, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas. They 368 Morton’s Crania Americana. were intellectually superior to the surrounding nations, passion- ately devoted to war, and victorious over the other tribes. 'They forced their women to work in the field and carry burdens; they paid little respect to old age, were not much affected by love, were regardless of connubial obligations, and addicted to suicide. “They were proud, audacious, and vindictive, untiring in the pursuit of an enemy, and remorseless in the gratification of their revenge. ‘Their religious ideas were vague, and their cautious- ness and cunning proverbial. They were finally subdued an nearly exterminated by the Anglo-Americans in 1779. Some miserable remnants of them, ruined by intoxicating liquors, still exist in the state of New York.” The following is the skull of a Huron, one of these nations. Huron, Fig. 6. The following are average measurements of the five skulls of these nations given by Dr. Morton: internal capacity, 88; coro- nal region, 15; anterior chamber, 31.5; posterior chamber, 50 cubic inches. = 3 The Aravcantans are the most celebrated and powerful of the Chilian tribes. They inhabit the region between the rivers Bio- bio and Valdivia, and between the Andes and the sea, and derive their name from the province of Arauco. “ They are a robust Morton’s Crania Americana. 369 and muscular people, of a lighter complexion than the surround- ing tribes. Endowed with an extraordinary degree of bodily activity, they reach old age with few infirmities, and, generally, retain their sight, teeth, and memory, unimpaired. They are brave, discreet, and cunning to a proverb, patient in fatigue, en- thusiastic in all their enterprises, and fond of war as the only source of distinction.’”’ ‘Their vigilance soon detected the value of the military discipline of the Spaniards, and especially the great importance of cavalry in an army; and they lost no time in adopting both these resources, to the dismay and discomfiture of their enemies. Thus in seventeen years after their first en- counter with Europeans, they possessed several strong squadrons of horse, conducted their operations in military order, and, unlike the inten generally, met their enemies in the open field.” “'They are highly susceptible of mental culture, but they despise the restraints of civilization, and those of them who have been educated in the Spanish colonies, have embraced the first oppor- tunity to resume the haunts-and habits of their nation.” p. 241. The following is one. of ance Araucanian skulls delineated in the work. Aravcanian, Fig. 7. The average measurements of the three skulls are as follows: internal capacity, 79; coronal region, 15.4; anterior chamber 2; posterior chamber, 48.50. Vol. Xxxvu, No, 2.—Jan.-March, 1840. 47 370 Morton’s Crania Americana. The measurements of the anterior and posterior chembers, as we have already mentioned, (p. 359,) are not in accordance with any phrenolozical rule. 'The anterior embraces the whole intel- lect, a portion of the moral sentiments, and a portion of the ani- mal propensities; while the posterior chamber includes the re- mainder of_the animal propensities and the remainder of the moral organs. The measurement of the internal capacity, is free from all objection ; and that of the coronal region approaches to correctness ; but the first gives merely the aggregate size of all the organs, animal, moral, and intellectual; and the second that of the moral organs, with a portion of the intellectual organs, and also a portion of the organs common to man with the lower ani- mals. 'The phrenological measurements given by Mr. Phillips may probably afford more correct means of comparing one portion of the brain with another, in the different nations, but our limits prevent us from analyzing them. Unfortunately also the letter- press titles to his columns are printed up-side down, which reu- ders it exceedingly laborious to consult them.- We, therefore, only remark that the application of lines delineated by Mr. Combe on the skull Figure 1, to those specimens, brings out the relation between the mental character and cranial development pretty forcibly to the eye. Estimating from A to B and D, the ancient Peruvian is seen not to be so defective in the intellectual region as a cursory glance would indicate; while: the modern Peruvian is obviously larger in that region. The space above D C, devoted to the moral organs; is large in the mordern Peruvian in propor- tion to the portion below C D, and behind the ear. This race was intelligent, and comparatively mild, but superstitious and feeble. It has been subdued by the Europeans, and lives under their dominion. The Hurons, always averse to civilization, have beet nearly exterminated. 'The preponderance of the region below C D, (that of the animal propensities, ) in them is conspicuous, com- bined with relative deficiency in the moral and. intellectual re- gions. The Araucanians have maintained their independence in the open field, but resisted civilization. The large development of the space A B C, devoted to intellect, and also that below C D and behind the ear, devoted to the propensities, is obvious, while the space above C D, or the region of the moral organs, is propot- tionally deficient. This indicates great animal and intellectual power, with imperfectly evolved moral. feelings. ‘To the latter Morton’s Crania Americana. 371 defect, probably is to be ascribed their aversion to civilized habits. The inferiority of all of these skulls to that of the Swiss is con- spicuous. The internal capacity of it is 95.5, and that of the coronal region, 21.25. Dr. Morton does not give the capacity of the anterior and posterior chambers of this skull, but the larger dimensions of the intellectual organs have already been stated. We have no space to enter into any description of the skulls found in the ancient tombs, or of those of the Flat-headed In- dians and Charibs ; suffice it to say that Dr. Morton’s materials are full and satisfactory on these topics, and his facts and conclu- sions highly interesting. We subjoin a few of the general results at which he arrives from a survey of his entire field. “The intellectual faculties,” says he, “of the great American FAMILY, appear to be of a decidedly inferior cast, when compared With those of the Caucasian or Mongolian races. They are not only averse to the restraints of education, but. for the most part incapable of a continued process of reasoning on abstract subjects. Their minds seize with avidity on simple truths, while they at once reject whatever requires investigation and analysis. ‘Their proximity, for more than two centuries, to European institutions, has made scarcely any appreciable change in their mode of think- ing or their manner of life ; and as to their own social condition, they are probably in most respects what they were at the primi- tive epoch of their existence. They have made few or no im- provements in building their houses or their boats; their inventive and imitative faculties appear to be of a very humble grade, nor have. they the smallest predilection for the arts or sciences. The long annals of missionary labor and private benefaction bestowed upon them, offer but very few exceptions to the preceding state- ment, which, on the contrary, is sustained by the combined tes- timony of almost-all practical observers. Even in cases where they have received an ample education, and have remained for many years in civilized society, they lose none of their innate love of their own national usages, which they have almost inva- tiably resumed when chance has left them to choose for them- selves.” ‘ However much the benevolent mind may regret the inaptitude of the Indians for civilization, the affirmative of this question seems to be established beyond a doubt. His moral and physical nature are alike adapted to his position among the races of men, and it is as reasonable to expect the one to be changed 372 Morton’s Crania Americana. as the other. The structure of his mind appears to be different from that of the white man, nor can the two harmonize in their social relations except on the most limited scale. Every one knows, however, that the mind expands by culture ; nor can we yet tell how near the Indian would approach the Caucasian after education had been bestowed on a single family through several successive generations.” p. 82. The following are parts of Dr. Morton’s table of ‘‘mean results,” given from his whole measurements. American n |Barbarous | race, em- s, | nations, bracing | Flathead is|withskulls} Toltecan | tribe of neient m from the and barba- Columbia peruvian valley of grote na river. hio. tions. sat a (e2/ g [eS] g [ea] Interna oem get Peg oat ea inches, 87 \82.4 |144'79.6 | 8 |79.25| 3 |73.2 apacity of anterior cham 73, 134.5 1119133.5 | 8 132.25) 3 (25.7 ae of posterior seinen 48.6 |119/46.2 | 8 |47.00) 3 |47.4 pacity of coronal region, 71 |16.2 |117/15.1 | 8 |11.09) 3 [14.6 Gapeeity o of sub-coronal region, 71 66.5 |117|64.5 | 8 (67.35! 3 158.6 Remarks.—* The barbarous nations possess a larger brain by 54 cubic inches, than the Toltecans; while, on the other hand, the Toltecans possess a greater relative capacity of the anterior chamber of the skull, in the proportion of 42.3 to 41.8. Again, the coronal region, though absolutely greater in the barbarous tribes, is rather larger i in proportion in the demi-civilized tribes ; and the facial angle is much the same in both, and may be as sumed, for the race, at 75 “In conclusion, the author is oF the opinion that the facts con- tained in this work tend to sustain the following propositions: “Ist. That the American race differs essentially from all others, not excepting the Mongolians; nor do the feeble analogies of lan- guage, and the more obvious ones, in civil and religious institu- tions and the arts, denote any thing beyond casual or colonial communication with the Asiatic nations; and even those analo- gies may perhaps be accounted for, as Humboldt has suggested, in the mere coincidence arising from similar wants and impulses in nations inhabiting similar latitudes. * Dr. Morton adds that the Indians are extremely defective in comprehending | 29 78 94 | 65 “1st. The Caucasians were, with a single exception, derived from the lowest and least educated class of society. It is proper, however, to mention that but three Hindoos are admitted in the whole number, because the skulls of these people are probably smaller than those of any other existing nation. For example, Seventeen Hindoo heads give a mean of but seventy-five cubic inches ; and the three received into the table are taken at that average. ‘I'o be more specific, we will give, in detail, the num- ber of individuals of each pags as far as ascartabeisd Anglo-Americans, cea a . German, Swiss and Dutch, og Celtic, Trish and ae ; ish, Guanché, (Lybin,) ? Europeans not ascertained, Total, . 52 2d. The Mongolians measured, ‘onint of Chine and Eski- maux, and what is worthy of remark, three of the latter give a mean of 86 cubic inches, while seven Chinese give but 82. 374 Morton’s Crania Americana. “3d. The Malays embrace Malays proper and Polynesians, thirteen of the former and five of the latter; and the mean of each presents buta fractional difference from the mean of all. “Ath. The Ethiopians were all unmixed negroes, and nine of them native Africans, for which I am chiefly indebted to Dr. McDowell, formerly attached to the colony at Liberia.* “ 5th. Seapacting the American race, I have nothing to add, excepting the striking fact that of all the American nations, the Peruvians had the smallest heads, while those of the Mexicans were something larger, and those of the barbarous tribes the largest of all, viz. Peruvians collectively, 76 cub. inch. Toltecan nations, ¢ Mexicans collectively, 79 0. ' Barbarous tribes, as per table, 82 — do. “ An interesting question remains to be solved, viz. the relative ion of brain in the anterior and posterior chambers of the skull in the different races ; an inquiry for which I have hitherto possessed neither sufficient ieisage nor adequate materials.” p. 261. We now add Dr. Morton’s statement in his prefatory letter to Mr. Phillips. “Tam free to acknowledge,” says he, “that there is a singular harmony between the mental character of the In- dian, and his cranial developments, as explained by: phrenology.” Our readers will discover in the length and minuteness of this article, the great value which we attach to Dr. Morton’s work. We regard it as am honor to the country, and asa proof of talent, patience, and research in himself, which place him in the first rank among natural philosophers. We rejoice to see that he does “not, even now, consider his task as wholly completed ;” but hopes to publish a “ supplementary volume, in which it will fur- * Dr. Morton states the mean internal capacity of the European, or Caucasian skulls, to be 87, and of the Ethiopian, or Negro race, to be 78 cubic inches. We observe that Dr. Andrew Combe, in his “* Remarks on the Fallacy of Professor Tiedemann’s Comparison of the Negro brain and intellect with those of the Euro- pean,” arrives at results coinciding with Hoe obtained by Dr. Morton. Tiede- mann gives the weight of only’four Negro brains. ‘ The average European,” he says, “runs from 3 lbs. 2.0z. to 4 Ibs.6 oz. ; while re average of the four Negro bra rains rises to only 3 Ibs. 50z. 1 dr.; or 3 oz. shan the lowest European averages ; and the highest Negro falls 5 oz. short of the highest average European, and no less than 10 oz. short of Cuvier’s brain.’ Phren. Journ., Vol. XI. We have already shown, p. 357, that is tated s linear dimensions of the European and Negro brain also contradict his th of equality, and are in harmony with Dr. Morton's Morton’s Crania Americana. 3875 ther be my aim to extend and revise both the anatomical and phrenological tables, and to give basal views of at least a part of the crania delineated.” We sincerely trust that the favorable re- ception of this volume will induce him to execute these inten- tions. Valuable as the materials are in the present work, they lie very much apart.’ He wrote without systematic relation to phre- nology ; yet phrenological facts and inferences are presented passim throughout the work. Mr. Phillips’s phrenological tables are extensive, minute and interesting, but they are not connected directly with the text; while Mr. Combe’s essay was composed and printed without his having seen either the text of Dr. Mor- ton, or the final results of Mr. Phillips’s measurements. There is strong evidence, in this course of proceeding, of a very direct love of truth, and a reliance on all its parts harmonizing with each other; but much of the effect and instruction are lost to the reader, in consequence of the facts and principles not being brought into juxtaposition by the respective contributors. We shall expect this defect to be supplied in the next edition, which we do not doubt will be called for. The work is remarkably cheap, keeping i in view the quantity and quality of the materiel of which it is composed. * ‘estscript.—On page 363, we remarked that “ there is a discrepancy between the eave of the ancient Peruvian skulls, and the civilization ascribed to their several aditional casts of skulls belonging to the same series, and although I am satisfied that Plate IV, (Fig. 4, p. 361,) represents an unaltered cranium, yet, as it is the only unaltered one I tia met with, among the rémains of that ancient peo- their nation. My matured opinion is, that the ancient Peruvians were a branch of the great 'Toltecan family, and that the cranium had the same general characteris- tics in both. I am at a loss to conjecture how they narrowed the face in such due Proportion to the head ; but the fact seems indisputable. - I shall use wer exertion to obtain additional ‘eiticrials for the farther illustration of this subjec igne Samver site Monror. Philadelphia, March 3, 1840. rton requests us also to subjoin the re note: “* The author has h he nominally divides into two itions, the American and the Foreign. Uon ; American copies being dedicated to Dr. 5, ees and Mr. J. 8. Pipe he Foreign copies to Dr. Prichard and James Morton, Esq., the author’s le. In the ee pen the letter to Mr. Phillips is jaaarted at the end of lume,’’ j 3 76 Miscellanies. MISCELLANIES. DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. 1. Aurora Borealis of September 3, 1839.—The following extracts from observations made at Middlebury, Vt., by Prof. A. C. Twining, (and published in the People’s Press, Sept. 10, 1839,) were intended for insertion among other accounts at p. 261, but they were unavoida- bly omitted. At 7h. 23m. P. M.—daylight being yet strong enough for ordinary purposes of vision—an irregular belt of thin whitish clouds was seen over head, lying east and west; its constituent strata manifesting a tendency to arrange themselves in lines directed towards the magnetic pole, through which the southern boundary of the belt passed, leav- ing the hemisphere south of the pole unclouded. By attentive obser- vation, some of the clouds were seen to vanish so suddenly as to make it evident that the belt was auroral in its nature. Rosy tints were also just discernible in the N. E. and N. W.; and soon after in the N., faint streamers of light. The belt might probably have been seen earlier if my attention had been directed to it. As daylight departed, the phenomena became more decided. At 7h. 33m. a corona was discernible at the magnetic pole. The belt moved south—rapidly at first—then, to appearance, more slowly, and at last almost impercep- tibly ; the streaks which composed it blending their light, as they became more distant, till at 7h. 43m. they formed a twilight in the south, having a southern or lower boundary in the form of an arch, whose crown was elevated 10°, and beneath which arch the sky was clear, and dark by contrast, as often seen in the north. Various evolutions of the aurora presented themselves from this until 9h. 5m. when the arrangement was beautifully symmetrical. A broad, fan-like sheet, having its vertex at the corona, and opening towa,_ the horizon, seemed to be let down over the southern quarter from E. to W., presenting an assemblage of white, yellow, and red streamers, indescribably grand. The corona also was perfect, and exhibited all around a fine striated and mottled appearance, like the most delicately figured fancy-work. From 9h. 21m. to 9h. 23m. the aspects were of such glory and beauty as to excite transports of ad- miration. I have witnessed all the remarkable auroras of the last five years, in the latitude of New Haven, Conn., but this, for the time just specified, as least doubled in splendor the finest of them all. * * * At 9h. 31m. the aurora was comparatively faint, but embraced the entire concave ;—streamers ascending from every side towards and up to the corona, like the rafters of adome. Just at this moment Miscellanies. . ofr appeared for the first time, auroral waves or the merry dancers.* These were very decided and magnificent, and continued their play with. various degrees of activity,—all other phenomena seeming to give place to them, until 11h. 10m., at which time the aurora had en- tirely disappeared except a faint zone of twilight from E. to W. * * * t lh. 23m. (A. M. 4th) the auroral waves were extremely active ; atid Itmhinous currents were seen ascending to the corona, distinct from the waves or flashes, and making directly up in the course of the streamers. This was to me an entirely new phenomenon. There was in fact a combination of three phenomena. Ist. The streamers, which formed the dome, and seemed to be fixed. 2d. These seemed to be the conductors of a subtle but just discernible fluid, which ascended along or beneath them. 3d. This subtle ascending fluid seemed Jike a medium in which the auroral waves exhibited them- selves. This is a description of.appearances only. It seemed to the spectator as if he was looking up the cupola or funnel of a furnace along which heated vapors were ascending with a rush like that of a mill-race ; the vapors being every where pervaded by the flashes and flickerings of the auroral waves. Both the waves and the upward currents were most active as they approached the region of the co- Tona, and were not discernible below about 20° of altitude. At 2h. 10m. I found the wayes and all the phenomena faint. The watchman at the cotton manufactory states, however, that near this time there was a period of extreme splendor continuing about two minutes. 2. Meteoric Observations in November and December, 1839.—At the time of the expected appearance of an unusual frequency of me- teors on the 14th of November, 1839, the sky in this region was so much obscured by clouds, that it could not be determined whether or not there was any uncommon meteoric display. Clouds prevented observation here also on the evenings of the 5th, 6th, and 7th of De- cember, 1839. No accounts have reached us of observations at these dates in places where the sky was clear. Observations for meteors were made here on the evening of Octo- ber 8, 1839, and on the mornings (between 3h. 30m. and 5h. A. M.) of Octuber 9, 11, 16, but no unusual meteoric frequency was detected. The general radiation of the meteors was then from the region of the conste}lation Gemini. (See this Journal, Vol. xxxv, p. 366.) No intelligence has yet arrived h g the resultof meteoric observations at the August epoch in southern latitudes. It would not ee * It is Sage that they were seen simultaneously at Middlebury and at New Haven, (see 260,) the time being uncertain within three or four minutes. Vol. soa No, 2,—Jan.-March, 1840, 48 378 Miscellanies. be surprising if it should be found that this display is chiefly limited to the northern hemisphere. The inhabitants of the southern hemi- sphere may, however, at other seasons, be favored with meteoric dis- plays which are to us invisible. E. C. H. New Haven, Conn 3. New edition of Eaton’s Manual of Botany.—The eighth edi- tion of this popular Manual will be published in the course of the spring of 1840, by Mr. Elias Gates, bookseller, Troy, N.Y. The title in full, is North American Botany ; comprising the Native and Com- mon Cultivated Plants North of Mexico: Genera arranged accord- ing to the Artificial and Natural Methods. In this edition, Prof. Eaton is associated with Jonn Wricut, M. D., Prof. Veg. and An. Phys. in Rensselaer Institute; Mem. Yale Nat. Hist. Soc., &c., from whose labors the public may justly expect that the book will receive much increase of value. It will contain indications of the medicinal propertics of plants, from Lindley’s Medical Flora; with numerous other valuable additions and aprarente's and will constitute a vol- ume of about 550 pages, large 8vo 4. er eae ae Researches in Electricity ; by Micwaet Fara- pay, D.C. L., F. R. S. Reprinted from the Philosophical Trans- actions of 1831-1838. London: R. & J. E. Taylor, 1839. 8vo- pp- 574. 8 plates—This volume comprises the fourteen series of Experimental Researches which this distinguished author has pub- lished in the Philosophical Transactions, and which are now reprinted in order to supply the series, accompanied with an Index, in a conven- ient form, for a moderate price. These Researches have contributed greatly to the advancement of the science of Electricity, and are too well known and appreciated to need any commendation at our hands. 5. A New Comet.—At 28 minutes after 3h. A. M., December 9, 1839, (civil reckoning at Berlin,) a new comet was observed by Encke, at the Royal Observatory at pei Prussia, at which time he found its right ascension to be 13h. . 44s.; and its southern declination, 11’ 30". At 6h. 31m. 13s, A. M., December 10, (civil reckoning at Altona,) Professor Schumacher, at the Observatory of Altona, dotssnioad the comet’s place to be in R. A. 13h. 43m. 45s.; N. Dec. § 18”5 at 6h. > 42s. A. M. of the 11th, according to the same observer, the com- t’s place was in R.A. 13h. 53m. 19.27%s. ; ; N. Dec. 27’ 57.7". “a the Observatory of Hamburg, December 15, at 4h. 21m. 55.38s. A. M. (civil reckoning at Hamburg,) M. Rivmker found the place of the comet to be in R. A. 14h. 32m. 59.49s.; N. Dee. 1° 39 33.49".— Extract in N. Y. Jour. of Com. Feb. 1, 1840. Miscellanies. 379 6. Reports on the Fishes, Reptiles and Birds of Massachusetts. Published agreeably to an order of the Legislature, by the Commis- stoners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of the State. Bos- ton, 8vo. pp. 426. 4 plates.—This volume, prepared under the fos- tering care of the enlightened and liberal State of Massachusetts, is a most valuable contribution to science. The first and second reports are drawn up by D. H. Storer, M. D.; the third (on the Birds) by Mr. W. B. O. Peabody. The report on the Fishes is by far the best treatise on this department which has been published in our country. That on the Reptiles, being prepared at short notice and under several disadvantages, is probably less complete than it may hereafter be rendered; but it is nevertheless a work of which the author has no reason to be ashamed. The birds of our country having been so thoroughly described by Wilson, Bonaparte, Audubon, Nuttall, and others, Mr. Peabody considered it unnecessary to copy at Jength their scientific descriptions, and has therefore very properly given especial attention to an account of their habits. The remarks upon these reports, by a committee of the Boston Nat. Hist. Society, (pub- lished at p- 393,) render it unnecessary for us to say any thing more in their praise. 7. Telescopes. To the Editors—Agreeably to your request, I forward you a de- scription of my telescope, with many thanks for your kind offer. It is fitted np in very handsome style, near 8 feet Jong and 5 in di- ameter, objective treble glass, with a magnifying power of about 180; price, $4,000. In 1821, while at Warsaw, the Emperor Alexander ordered me to make a telescope for his college, such as the one I have now finished, but could not undertake it in consequence of the difficulty of obtain- ing a suitable piece of flint glass. In travelling through England and rance, I met with a piece which enabled me to finish one of the above power, and which I am confident will give satisfaction to men of science. : Ihave one in hand, of much larger dimensions, viz. 16 or 18 feet long, and 12 or 14 inches diameter, objective glass, but from want of Means, cannot proceed with its If any society here would-advance me $1,000 on the above instru- Ment, they might use it, and I then could proceed with the larger one. T have to lose a great deal of time in sending to England and France for flint to grind here, but_have some now on the way. have encouraged the glass manufacturers in this country to make flint glass, and I hope, ere long, to be enabled to get it here instead of having to send to Europe. 380 _ Misceilanies. Should you visit New York soon, you would honor me much by calling upon me, and I then could explain myself more fully. May I beg the favor of your sending me that number of the American Jour- nal in which the description of the telescope will appear. With very many thanks for the trouble I have occasioned you, remain your obedient servant, Lron LEWENBERG, New York, 28th Feb., 1840, 8. Interesting Minerals.—The subscriber has recently supplied himself with an additional collection of the interesting minerals of Nova Scotia, formerly discovered by Dr. Jackson and himself, and is desirous of exchanging them for those of other regions, foreign or domestic. The minerals are similar to those found in the trap rocks of other countries, and the specimens have been selected with great care, are of good size, and most of them beautifully crystallized, often uniting in the same mass, several different species.* Those who may wish to exchange for them specimens of an equivalent charac- ter, will please forward to the subscriber a list from which he may make a selection ; his object being to obtain those from localities with which his cabinet is not already supplied, without adding much to his stock of duplicates. The minerals comprise most of the species of the genus Kouphone spar of Mohs and Haidinger, besides most of the varieties of rhombohedral and uncleavable quartz, with several interesting ores of iron and copper, crystallizations of carbonate and sulphate of lime, &c. &c, Francis ALGER. Boston, January 1, 1840. 9. Observations Meétéorologiques a Masnitiques. faites dane DP éten- due del’ Empire ne ment, par A. T. Kuprrer, Mem. Read Sci. St. 5 cine Sa St. Pétersbourg, 1837. 4to. pp. xlvi and 196.—We have been favored by the author with the first volume of this valuable work. It contains, Ist. Extracts from the instructions given to the officers of the mines, appointed to make meteorological and magnetical observations in the Russian Empire, and 2d. Series of tables of observations in meteor- ology and in magnetisin, made at St. Petersburgh and at Catherinen- burg, in 1835, 1836. The meteorological observations were taken eight times per — and appear to have been made with very great care. oran enumeration of these isa. & the reader is referred to Vols. x1v and x¥ of this Journal, and to the Memoirs of the American Academy, for 1833, new series. Hayy recently inspected them in Mr. Alger’ 's cabinet, we can bear tes- timony.to their extraordinary beauty and pees eS Miscellanies. 381 At Catherinenburg, from the observations made every day of De- ipl 1836, by M. Reinke, the magnetic declination was found to be 5’ 23” east. At the close of the volume is a series of correspond- oe observations made at St. Petersburgh, on the a variations of the magnetic declination, during various days in 1835 and 1836. The observations were generally made at intervals of five minutes through- out the entire twenty-four hours. Observations of this nature are how regularly made in various parts of the world, and will soon be greatly extended, through the zeal and liberality of the British nation. We trust that the series, of which the volume before us is so excellent a beginning, will be long continued, and that it may excite the honor- able rivalry of all civilized nations to take part in so important a sci- entific enterprise. A recent letter from Sir John Herschel to his distinguished corre- spondent in Boston, expresses an earnest wish that magnetic obser- vations may be extended as far as possible on this vast continent. In anticipation of this view, the American Philosophical Society of Phil- adelphia had already addressed the Secretary of War on the subject— (we trust with suecess)—and we believe we are correct in stating, that the Girard College of Philadelphia has appropriated funds for the establishment of a magnetic observatory in connection with that in- aiinion ae 10. On the evipacekl position of the Zeu plodoad or Basilosaurus of Harlan.—European- geologists, whose attention has been direc- ted to the remains of this gigantic animal, seem at a Joss to refer it to its position in the scale of formations. If they mean the European formation, of which the American is the equivalent or contempora- neous deposit,-I am not surprised at their uncertainty, since the lime- stone, which abounds in the remains of the Zeuglodon, contains a group of fossils which have scarcely any analogy to those of any European formation. But the position of the Zeuglodon in the scale of American formations is well ascertained, no less than the remains of nine individuals having been found in the limestone of Alabama, immediately under the lower tertiary fossiliferous strata, with which the limestone contains a few species of shells in common. This for- mation seems to fill the chasm which in Europe has been often no- ticed to occur between the secondary and tertiary series, or the Maes- tricht deposit and the eocene, and has been termed by Dr. Morton, “the upper cretaceous formation.” It contains very few species in common either with the middle cretaceous strata below, or the lower tertiary above, and might with equal propriety be considered the last of the cretaceous, or the first of the tertiary series. Dr. Harlan has 882 Miscellanies. referred them to the tertiary because they were covered by the eocene fossiliferous sands; but the bones were found on the shore of the Washita River, where the debris of the tertiary has enveloped them, and led to the mistake. I traversed the section of Alabama where the Zeuglodon occurs, and collected the organic remains of the lime- stone which contains the bones, and therefore I can say without hesi- tation or doubt, that the gigantic animal is restricted to this limestone, the vertebre of the different specimens lying in a relative position to each other that could only occur where an animal has remained undis- turbed upon the spot where it died. T. A. Conrap. 1. Professor Johnson’s Analyses of Anthracite and Iron Ore.—In the Journal of the Franklin Institute, November, 1839, is a valuable paper by Prof. Walter R. Johnson, Prof. Chem. and Nat. Phil. Med. Dept. Penn. Coll., entitled—Analysis of some of the Anthracites and Iron Ores found on. the head waters of Beaver Creek, in the Counties of Luzerne, Northampton and Schuylkill, Pa. The paper contains an account of the geological arrangement of the coal fields lying near the head waters of the Beaver Creek, which were-explored by Prof. J. in the summer of 1838, and from which the specimens analyzed were obtained. From the cutting made for the railroad leading to the mines of the Beaver Meadow Coal Company, it is evi- dent that there is more than one flexure in the Beaver Meadow Coal Trough. “In this cutting there is displayed a nearly vertical bed of coal, more than 30 feet in thickness ; having, however, a real posi- tion or dip of S. 10° E. 85°, and consequently a course or strike N. 80° E.” To the arclonieni aceount succeed the descriptions and analyses of various specimens of anthracite. No. 1. Sp. grav. 1.613. Water, 3.43; gaseous matter volatile at bright red heat, 4.08; carbon not volatile by simple heat, 87.48; earthy matter, 5.01—100. No. 2. Sp. gray. 1.594. Water, 3.26; other matter volatile at red heat, 1.05; carbon, 91.69; earthy matter; 4.100. Analysis of the ashes of No. 1 and 2, gave, on an average, silica, 52.375 ; alumina, 36.745 ; peroxide of iron, 8.125; lime, 1.550; magnesia, 1.275. No. 3. Sp. grav.1.630. Volatile matter, 9.6; carbon not volatiliza- ble by simple heat, 85.337; earthy matter, 5.063100. The com- bustible gas given out in the distillation of this coal is of considera- ble amount, and indicates it as a fuel well adapted for use under steam boilers. 0. 4, Sp. grav.-1.560. Water and combustible gases, 6.99; cat- bon not volatile by simple heat, 91.64 ; earthy. ae residuum,. 1.47=. 100. Miscellanies. 383 Prof. J. remarks: ‘In comparing the results in the above analyses with those of other experiments on anthracite, I find the average amount of carbon much greater than has heretofore been assigned to that species of fuel. - Thus, of twelve species of anthracite analyzed by Berthier, the mean per-centage of carbon was 79.15; ashes, 13.25; volatile matter, 7.37.” No, 5. Sp. grav. 1.6127. Combustible carbonic oxide, and a little carburetted hydrogen expelled at red heat, 3.55; carbon not vola- lilizable by simple heat, 86.06; earthy matter, 3.71100. No. 6. Sp. grav. 1.559. Water, .390; gaseous matter, including some azote, volatile at bright red heat, 5.515; carbon, not volatiliza- ble by heat, 91.016; earthy matter and oxides, 3.079= Tron Ores.—The bed of iron ore from which were taken the sam- ples examined by Prof. Johnson, is found on the southern declivity of the bluff, about forty rods northerly from the south fork of Beaver Creek. The thickness of the bed of ore and shale is seven feet, and it lies seventeen feet beneath the surface of the ground at the point where it is opened. The first variety analyzed jae by the usual assay in the dry way, the following results: Water, expelled at 250°, . ‘“ ; ee 0.4 Carbonic acid, ©. # > * ~ 26.6 Cast iron, . : é 3 z 33.8 Earthy matter, . : ; i‘ z é 26.64 Oxygen, . : . é ° ‘ ‘ 12.55 ‘The ore bas a light bluish ash color, is moderately tough before cal- cination, and has a spec. grav. of 3.247. The pig metal given in the assay is soft, tough, and of a dark gray color. The cinder isa trans- parent, nearly colorless, glass, very fusible, and contains few adher- ing particles of metal. The use of pure carbonate of lime as a flux in the proportion of one part of this metal to six parts of raw mine, will produce a complete reduction of the ore and fusion of the earthy ingredients. Agaayes! in the humid way, this ore yields the following results : > . . ; « Carbonate of iron, ‘ F ; ‘ a 63.20 iy of lime, P ‘ ee oe 2.50 ee of magnesia, . re eae . 2.27 Oxide of manganese © eee tw 2.00 ‘ Silica, ; * ‘ i z ‘ 17.50 s Alumina, . S . a . 2 ‘ 10.55 384 Miscellanies. The above quantity of carbonate corresponds to 39.1 per cent. of protoxide or 30.45 per cent. of pure metallic iron, which is 3.35 per cent. below the above yield in pig metal, or it is 9.9 percent. of the pig metal itself, to be regarded as pure iron matter; which is proba- bly very near the true average amount according to the latest and best analyses. The yield in iron is equal to the average of Scotch ores in the neighborhood of Glasgow. The second: variety of the ore examined, was a sample festa the same locality, but from a different part of the bed from thatin which the preceding was found. Sp. grav. 2.896. Assayed in the dry way Water, : P P i 4 : 8342 Pig metal, , ‘ ‘ ‘ > ‘ 44.96 Earthy matter, ‘ . . ‘ = 24.804 Oxygen, . ‘ 4 17.11 The ore seemed to have suffered a diodes by atmospheric influen- ces, from the condition of a carbonate of the protoxide of iron, to that of a hydrate of the peroxide; in which process some of the earthy ingredients may have washed away. Analyzed in the humid way, it gave— . . Water, ; 13,12 Peroxide of iron, tg a trace of iaiialaan, * 63.65 Silica, : 3 7 : r : , : “ae Alumina, . ‘ : P ; " ; 8.77 Magnesia, . —— By ese 1.01 100.00 The quantity of peroxide of iron corresponds to 44.55 per cent. of iron, or .41 per cent. less than that of the metal actually obtained. Hence it appears that the quantity of iron remaining in the cinder, is very nearly equal to that of the carbon, &c., in the pig metal ‘Near the second bed of coal opened on the slope of wis wil north of the northern branch of Beaver Creek, Prof. J. found some ore thrown out in excavating a coal shaft. It is of a brown, or yellowish brown color, compact, with small shining particles. Sp. grav. 3.555- Ata temp. of 330° it loses in moisture, . 0.550 By strong calcination, it loses of water, . 10.048 It contains of peroxide of iron, S , ha Sis earthy impurities, . . 13.382 7 ‘ 100. The quantity of pig metal obtained in Prof. Jol ’s analysis was per cent.; its color dark gray; structure crystalline, granular. Miscellanies. 385 It was soft, tough, and well adapted for foundry purposes. The cin- der was a perfect glass, translucent on the edges, of a smoky color, readily fusible before the blow-pipe, and consequently it presents no ebstacle to the free running of iron ina furnace. This ore being in the immediate vicinity of the richest of the coals above described, will be a highly valuable resource, if it shall be found in beds of such thickness, and with such accompaniments as to render its attainment not too aa, aaa 12, Paleess of the eggs of the Elm-tree Moth.—On the 15th inst. Inoticed several minute insects busily engaged in thrusting their €ggs into the eggs of the Elm-tree Canker-worm Moth,—(supposed to be the Geometra vernata of Peck,) which had been laid a short time previous. On applying a microscope, it was immediately appa- rent that this parasitic insect belongs to the genus Platygaster of Latreille. Of this genus, Say has described one American species, (Contrib. Macl. Lyceum, p. 81, Philad., 1829,) and Mr. F. Walker has published descriptions of ninety nine foreign species, in the En- tomological Magazine, London, October, 1835. ether the insect in question is new or not, I have been too much occupied to deter- mine. Should it prove to be new, I shall endeavor to give some account of it hereafter. The parasite appears quite abundant, and must be of great service in checking the increase of the canker-worm. . C. Herrick. New Haven, November 30, 1839. 13. Great Earthquakes in Burmah.—The following account is from a letter written by Eld. E. Kincaid, Baptist 1 Missionary in Bur- mah, to Dr. L. C. Paine, Albion, N. Y., and published in the Utica Register of Jan. 17th, ~ “ On the 23d of March, 1839, between three and four in the morn- ing, Ava was visited with one of the most terrible earthquakes ever known in this part of the world. A loud rumbling noise, like the roar of distant thunder, was heard, and in an instant the earth began to reel from east to west with motions so rapid and violent, that peo- ple were thrown out of their beds and obliged to support themselves by laying hold of posts. Boxes and furniture were thrown from side to side, with a violence similar to what takes place on board a ship in @ severe storm at sea. The waters of the river rose, and rolled back for some time with great impetuosity, strewing the shores with the Wrecks of boats and buildings. The plains between Umerapora and the river were rent into vast yawning caverns, running from north to South, and from ten to twenty feet in width. Vast quantities of wa- ter and black sand were thrown upon the surface, emitting at the Vo}. xxxvin1, No. 2.—Jan.~March, 1840. 49 a 386 Miscellanies. same time a strong sulphureous smell. As you will suppose, the cities of Ava, Umerapora, and Sagaing, are vast piles of ruins, bury- ing in their fall great numbers of unfortunate people who were asleep at the awful moment. The destruction of life, however, is not so great as might have been expected from the entire overthrow of three “large and populouscities. The reason is, the great mass of the people live in wood and bamboo houses. Had the houses in these cities been built of bricks and stone, as cities are built in America, the entire population must have perished. Every thing built of bricks,—houses, monasteries, temples, pagodas, and the city walls, are all crumbled down. Of all the immense number of pagodas in Ava, Umerapora, and Sagaing, and on the Sagaing hills opposite to Ava, not one is standing. he Jabor and wealth of ages, the pride and glory of Boodhism, have been laid low in the dust in one awful moment. * * * ‘* Letters from Ava up to the 11th of April, inform us that the rum- bling noise, like distant thunder, had not yet ceased ; and shocks, often considerably violent, were felt day and night, with seldom as much as one hour’s intermission. The extent of the great shock, or rather the succession of great shocks on the morning of the 23d of March, is not yet fully ascertained. It was felt so severely in Maulmein, that many sprang out of bed, supposing a gang of thieves had broken into the house, yet it was not violent enough to do any damage. As far as is now ascertained, Prome to the south, and Bomee to the north of Ava, were entirely overthrown by the earthquake ; so that from Prome to the borders of China, more than six hundred miles north and south, embracing the most populous parts of the empire, nota single pagoda, temple, or brick building is left standing. The earth- quake was severe in Arracan, and an old volcano on the island of Bromree was re-opened, and the long-concealed fires, mingled with smoke and ashes, rose to a fearful height. It remains to be ascer- tained, how far this great earthquake extended into China; but as there are several volcanoes among the mountains between Burmah and China, it is more than probable to me that there are subterranean communications between these volcanoes in the north and the volca- noes to the south, as among the mountains between Arracan and Bur- mah, and in the island of Bromree, and also on the Andeman islands in the Martiban gulf. “The two extremes are more than one thousand miles apart, in a direct line north and south. But the fact that the whole intermediate country was shaken at the same moment, and a prodigious subterra- nean noise was heard, resembling the rolling of thunder, is, I think, satisfactory evidence that there are subterranean communications be- ween these widely separated volcanoes. How else can we account Miscellanies, 387 for so terrible an earthquake over so vast an extent of country? The coincidence of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes is not remarkable, but that several hundred miles of territory, with all its mountains and rivers should be thrust up and thrown into undulating motions at the same moment of time, accompanied by sounds from the depths of the earth, like the rolling of thunder, are phenomena which cannot be accounted for on any other supposition than that of vast subterranean lines of communication between volcanic mountains.” 14. Progress of the U. 8S. Exploring Expedition.—The following letter from the Commander of the Expedition was received by the Navy —— about the close of January, 1840. Ship Vincennes, Matavai Bay, Island of Tahiti, Sept. 15, 1839. Sir—I on the honor to report my arrival at this anchorage, after a passage of sixty days from Callao; having been employed in exam- ining and surveying many of the islands to the northward and east- ward; and take leave to submit the following report of the operations of the exploring squadron, under my command, since my apes dated at Callao on the first of July last. We sailed from Callao on the 13th of July, after completing our supplies of stores and outfits, having been much expedited by the fa- cilities and kind attentions of Capt. McKeever, in command of the United States ship Falmouth. We steered a westerly course through the trade wind, with fine weather. On our track we passed over the location assigned to an island, as laid down in Arrowsmith’s chart, but saw nothing of it, or any appearance of land in the vicinity. On our route, daily observations were made of the deep sea tem- perature and dip. We made the island Clermont de Tonnin on the 13th of August, of which we completed a survey, and ascertained the longitude of its southeast point to be 136° 21' 12” W. nd — 18° 32 49" S From han we proceeded to Serle Island, the diaieeed! from Cler- mont de Tonnin being twenty seven miles. Here, again, we made a careful survey of the island, finding its southeast point in longitude 137° 4’ 10” W. and latitude 18° 21’ 10" 5S We saw nothing of Minerva Island. We then proceeded to the northward toward the Disappointment group of Byron, and in our way fell in with: Hondon Island, (which Was uninhabited,) and found its southeast point in longitude 138° 47’ 36” W., latitude 14° 55 40” S. ies thence to Wyhite, one of the Disappointment group, the northwest point of which we found in 141° 17 24” W. longitude, and 388 Miscellanies. 14° 10’ 30” S. latitude. We surveyed the island, and had commnni- cation with the natives. From thence we steered to the second island, Otooho, and found the longitude of its centre to be 141° 29’ 50” W., and latitude 14° 3’ 20'S. After which we again steered to the south- ward for Ravaka, lying to at night, owing to the dangerous naviga- tion; and on the 30th of August we made an island to the northward of Rarika, not laid down on any chart, which I named King’s Island, from the name of one of the crew of this ship, who first discovered it from aloft. We made a survey of it, and found the longitude of its centre to be 144° 37’ 45” W., and latitude 15° 44 10” S. We landed, but could find no inhabitants, although there were appearan- ces of the pearl fishery having been carried on by the natives. From thence we visited Rarika, and made a survey of it; the Jon- gitude of the entrance to its lagoon is 144° 57’ 52” W., latitude 16° 5’ 30” S. We landed, and found the natives very friendly. We took on board one Englishman from this island, who had been left by a vessel engaged in the pearl fishery some time previous. To the westward, and in sight of Rarika, we discuvered another large island, which is not laid down on any chart, which I named Vincennes Island, after this ship; its southwest point is in longitude 145° 12’ W., and latitude 16° 39” S.; northwest point in longitude 145° 18’ W., latitude 15° 52’ 40” S. From thence we made Carls-Hoff, 28 miles to the westward, and in longitude 145° 28’ 36” W., latitude 16° 36’ S., which, finding errone- ously laid down, we surveyed. From thence we made King George’s group, and searched for the two islands westward of them, which have hitherto been consider- ed doubtful, and were supposed to be the Waterland of Le Maire. The northern island, Wilson or Waterland, is in longitude 146° 5’ 57” W., latitude 14° 26’ S. - Thesé we surveyed, and having ascer- tained the existence of two islands, I named the second one Peacock Island, as that ship first made the signal of having discovered it; its longitude is 146° 25’ 37”, latitude 14° 34’. Here I had an opportu- nity of observing the eclipse of the sun, (Sept. 7.) The squadron then separated; the Peacock passed to the Rurick chain of islands and along the south side of Prince of Wales island, the Vincennes taking the north side, the Porpoise and Flying Fish having been ordered to make investigations of islands in that vicinity. These islands have been carefully examined on all sides, which has resulted in detecting many errors of the charts and of former deter- minations. : From thence we proceeded to Matea island, which we surveyed, and from thence direct to this anchorage. Miscellanies. = 989 The explorations and surveys were made in the boats and vessels, frequently running with the vessels within a quarter or half a mile of the shore and coral reefs; and I am happy to inform you that not- withstanding the dangerous navigation among these islands, we have escaped without accident, and I flatter myself that I have carried into effect most fully all that part of your instructions referred to in the notes of Admiral Krusenstiern, which were attached to and formed a part of t..em. No opportunity has been omitted to land upon the islands and es- tablish a friendly intercourse-with the natives, and to make all possi- ble observations and collections in the different departments, all of which will be disposed of agreeably to your instructions. On my arrival here, I was gratified to find by the observation had at point Veners, my chronometers in error only I’ and 3” with the longitude of that point. I shall remain here only a few days to complete our observations and procure a supply of wood, water, fresh provisions, and vegeta- bles, for the crew, and proceed to carry out your farther instructions with all dispatch. I have the honor to be, Sir, most respectfully, our obedient servant, Cuartes WiLkes, Commanding Exploring Expedition. To the Hon. J. K. Pavupine, Secretary of the Navy. ‘ 15. The Twilight Bow. To the Editors—I have for several years been in the habit of observing a daily meteorological phenomenon which occurs twice in the 24 hours, and which, so far as I have been able to ascertain, has never been noticed in any scientific work, and yet seems worthy of the attention of philosophers. I mean the appearance, morning and evening, of a prismatic bow. Having shown the bow to several friends, they were equally struck with the fact that so obvious, and at the same time so beautiful a phenomenon, should not have attracted attention. It may still have been noticed in some scientific journals, though it has escaped my observation. ; The bow in the morning begins to be defined in the west about half an hour before sunrise. The height of the arch is about 15° above the horizon, and spans nearly, perhaps quite, 180°. Its first aspect is that of a blue belt, the red next appears like a faint blush above the blue, producing the purple as it mingles with the blue. Then appears the yellow above the red, producing the orange as it mingles With the red. As the sun advances towards his rising, the bow de- scends to coincide with the horizon, and at an angle of $° above the horizon, or about 15 minutes before sunrise, the colors are most dis- 390 Miscellanies. tinct and concentrated. At sunrise, the bow coincides with the horizon. In the appearance of the evening bow, the whole process of appear- ance and disappearance is in a reverse order: the bow is in the east ; it rises at sunset, and disappears in about half an hour. The bow is best seen in the clearest atmosphere, and then an hour befure sunrise, a second series of colors forms another bow within the other, and the same height above the horizon, very faint, it is true, and diffuse, but still very perceptible; so that the series of colors, naming them as they proceed from the centre, and always naming the yellow first, would be yellow, blue, red, yellow, blue, red. I have long observed in examining the various series of prismatic rings that occur in nature, that the order of colors is not the same in the various series. Now in a series of three, we can have but two orders ; either there will be 1, 2,3; 1, 2,3; or 1, 3, 2; 1,3, 2. In the pris- matic spectrum there are but three primitive colors. Every series of concentric prismatic rings will therefore be one of two orders. The choice of a color to commence with in reading the orders of colors in any series, is indeed arbitrary, the result will always be the same, but as it is necessary to fix upon one, let us fix upon the yellow, and always read from the centre outwards; this method will fix the order of any series, and the two orders may then very properly be termed the blue order or the red order, according as the blue or the red fol- lows the yellow in reading the series. To illustrate these remarks I would state, that the rings produced by thin plates are of the red order ; the halo round the moon is of the blue order; the series round a candle, seen through gauze, is of the red order ; the series on metallic plates, produced by throwing the flame of a blow-pipe perpendicularly upon a plate of metal, is of the blue order; the rainbow is of the red order; and in conformity with this arrange- ment, the bow which I have been describing, and which may perhaps with propriety be called the Twilight Bow, is of the blue order. erhaps some of your correspondents can explain this meteoro- logical phenomenon. Your obedient servant, New York City University, Dec. 1, 1839. ean Se Note.—The Twilight Bow has, we believe, been ‘often observed, but we do not know that any description of itis to be found The blue portion of the arch appears to lie within the earth’s shadow.— Eds _ 16. Lectures on Phrenology, by George Combe, Esq, of. Edin- burgh, in in New Haven.—aA large aneniote embracing a fair propor- tion of cultivated minds, recently listened attentively to Mr. Combe’s lectures on phrenology and mental philosophy, delivered in New Ha- ven. His course occupied thirteen evenings, each lecture being two hours long, with an intermission of five minutes A thirteenth lecture, on physical education, was added to the usual course of twelve, and paid for extra, at a very reasonable rate, in or- der to purchase his collection of busts and masks, which object has been effected in consequence of a - attendance for that purpose, and they are to remain in New Hav During the eighteen months that aie elapsed since the arrival of Mr. Combe j in this country, its people have, in many places, enjoyed the opportunity of hearing phrenology explained by one of its most accomplished professors. The sterling good sense and integrity— the extensive and various science—the numerous illustrative anec- dotes—the clear method—the unity of design and execution—the simplicity of language and the absence of all pretension, which char- acterize Mr. Combe’s lectures, have secured for him the respect, es- teem and kind regard of his hearers That all who listened, especially for the first time, to the details of this extraordinary branch of science, should fully adopt, or even en- tirely comprehend them, is not to be expected. But whatever opin- ion may be formed respecting the external manifestation of the men- tal powers and sentiments by the size and figure of the cranium, no one can doubt that all which distinguishes man from the animals, is manifested through his mind—that the propensities and the faculties are real, and therefore an able analysis of them by a master, must ever be an interesting and instructive thing. There is no doubt that the knowledge admits of important practical applications, and thata just comprehension of human physiology and anatomy, would correct many errors in education, and lead the way to reform in sensi impor- tant particulars as regards our habits of life. - We have no time or space in this passing notice, to add any thing more than our good wishes for Mr. Combe, assured that he has made very favorable impression of bis powers and character in the country which he is about to leave. 17. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, com- piled from the Records of the Society, by Jerrries WYMAN, M. D., Recording Secretary. Oct. 2, 1839 —Gzorcx B. Emerson, Esq., President, in the chair, The president made @ report ona specimen of the Lycopodon gi- ganieum, of Batsch. Its greatest circumference was 3 feet 43 inches; 392 | Miscellanies. least do., 2 feet 93 inches; greatest length, 1 foot 3 inches; weight, 6 pounds. Ata distance, it had the appearance of a large bundle made of very dirty silk; near at hand, it resembled dirty white buckskin, or kid. It rested on the ground, its point of attachment being a very short, black stipe, around which the skin had the fur- rowed appearance of a handkerchief drawn together to tie at the cor- ners. The surface, examined under a microscope, had the appearance of common white leather. The covering, or peridium, is twofold; the external layer is rather thin, and almost imperceptibly scaly ; the inner, rather tough and thick. The substance within was of a close, soft, leathery, approaching to a fleshy consistence, having but little firmness. After having been kepta short time it became exceedingly offensive ; it however ceased to be so after the third or fourth day. Berkely says that the bovista sometimes attains the size of many feet in circumference, and when wounded, it heals by forming a web in the interstices, somewhat analogous to the veins of the truffle. Oct. 15, 1839.—C. K. Dittaway, Esq., in the chair. Dr. D. H. Storer read a communication from Dr. J. P. Kirtland, of Ohio, describing fifteen species of fishes, accompanying which were colored drawings. The species are as follows: Luzillus elon- gatus, Semotilus biguttatus, Semotilus cephalus, Amia colva, Luz- illus dissimilis, Petromyzon argenteus, Icthelis aurita, Icthelis nitida, Coregonus Artedii, Lota maculosa, Catostomus aureolus, Etheostoma blenioides, E. caprodes, Sciena oscula,; and Cychla fas- ciata. Of these species five are new, and ten have not before been figured. Dr. Kirtland hopes to continue these communications till all the fishes of the western waters have been described. Dr. T. M. Brewer stated that recently he had an opportunity to examine the habits of certain birds, while on an excursion through the States of New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. His attention had been more particularly turned to the habits of the Hirundo fulva, (Vieillot,) variously known as the Republican, Rocky Mountdin, Cliff, Eave and Square-tailed Swallow. He had found their nests in Jaf- frey, N. H., to the number of one hundred and twenty, disposed in 4 single line, and completely occupying the eaves on one side of an old wooden church. A few were engaged in feeding their young as late as Aug. 20. The note, both of the young and the parent, is a sharp and shrill twitter, as loud and piercing as that of the canary bird. They made their first appearance in Jaffrey, also in New Ipswich, during the present season. They have however been observed for several years in Nelson, N. H., from which place probably emanated the more recent date. This bird was first described by Miscellanies. 393 Vieillot, in 1807, from specimens obtained in St. Domingo. It has, however, been for many years past known as a resident of the Rocky Mountains, from which region it has gradually moved eastward, and has been successively discovered in Kentucky, upon the banks of the Ohio, in New York, Maine, and of late in other New England states, their appearance being followed by the partial exclusion of the barn swallow. The nest, generally found in colonies, but occasionally solitary, is composed of clay, having the form of an inverted retort bulb, the mouth being below and the interior lined. with soft sub- stances. Nov. 20; 1839.—Grorcr B. Emerson, Esq., President, in the chair. Amos Binney, Esq., made a report on the volume entitled, Reports on the Fishes, Reptiles and Birds of Massachusetts, giving a detailed account of the history and progress of these Reports, and entering into a critical examination of their contents. The report on Fishes by Dr. Storer, makes up the greater part of the volume, and constitutes an important contribution to American natural history. Considering the short period of time allowed for its comple- tion, it is exceedingly creditable to the author’s science, and tu his dili- gence and perseverance. A new impulse has latterly been given to the study of ichthyology, by the publication of the works of Cuvier and Va- lenciennes, and of Yarrell. The cultivators of science will hail the pres- ent work with pleasure, as coming froma ae wed whose ichthyology was not long since pronounced by Cuvier to be a desideratum in natu- ral history. But its appearance has an importance at this time inde- pendent of its own particular merits, since it will serve as an effective check to the propagation of the mistakes and impositions of another work on Massachusetts fishes, which has already been quoted by re- spectable authors, and which was thus beginning to introduce confu- sion and error into science. Of the small number of fishes appertaining to our territory, the whole number described being one hundred and nine, it is truly wonderful that they comprise ali those genera and many of the species which contrib- ute so largely to the subsistence of mankind, and which have for ages furnished the materials of an important branch of the commerce of nations. ‘The pages of this work furnish ample proof of their impor- tance to our community, by making known the fact that there are eigh- teen species which are objects of extended trade, and fifty-nine addi- tional species, which, distributed by the bountiful hand of nature in countless numbers in the sea and fresh waters, and within reach of the Poorest citizen, are or may be used as wholesome and nutritious food ; while there only thirty-three species, which from their diminutive size, their hideous form, their coarse structure, or from some prejudice Vol. xxxvinr, No. 2.—Jan.-March, 1840, 50 394 Miscellanies. connected with them, are absolutely rejected. It has been said that he should be considered a public benefactor, who makes but a single blade of grass grow where none grew before; the same honor ought truly to be accorded to another, who, though he cannot create, makes known to the community the existence of a new species of edible fishes, or that a species already known, though shunned or rejected from some unfounded prejudice, may be used with safety and advan- tage. This has been done to a considerable extent in this book, and no doubt with useful effect. The new species described are ten; one, constituting a new genus, to which the author has given the name of Cryptacanthodes macula- tus. Itis of the family of ‘mailed cheeks,” and particularly dis- tinguished from any other genus of this family, by the existence of concealed spines on the operculum, preoperculum and scapular bones. It seems to be established on correct principles, and will undoubtedly be adopted by ichthyologists. 'The other new species are holis sub-bifurcatus, every argenteus, ulchellus, isa Americana, Platessa ferruginea, Echeneis quatuordecem-laminatus, Syngnathus fuscus, Monocanthus Massachusettensis. One of these is the common cod, of Massachusetts Bay, which Dr. _ Storer considers not to be sufliciently identified with the Morrhua vulgaris, of Europe, and therefore describes it asa new species, under the name of M. Americana. If this is a new species, it is a most extraordinary instance of a most abundant animal having passed through the hands of various observers, for a great length of time, without detection, including within their numbers so celebrated a nat- uralist as Pennant. But it may be considered as very doubtful whether this be any thing more than a variety. The same fish appears to have been noticed by Dr. Mitchill, in his paper on the fishes of New York, as the M. callarias, (Lin.) The remarks of Dr. Storer prove very clearly that it is not the European callarias ; but it is doubtful whether Richardson’s remark on Mitchill’s, “that it is probably a distinct species,” meant any thing more than that it was distinct from the callarias of which he was then speaking. Yarrell, who was evi- dently acquainted with Mitchill’s description, considered it to be the common cod, as must be inferred from his quoting his words under his own n description of Morrhua vulgaris. He also states most ex- pressly, that the eastern coast of America, from the latitude of 66° north, to that of 40°, is abundantly frequented by them. Le Sueur, too, an excellent ichthyologist, and well acquainted with the mar- kets of New York and Boston, where this fish may always be seen, did not consider it a novelty, although on the look-out for new spe- cies. The difference in the descriptions of the two species is not greater than that between other species inhabiting the shores of both continents. The number of fin-rays, particularly, seem to vary greatly from English species ; the number stated by Yarrell and Dr. Storer, never corresponding, except in the ventral fin, which, in the family of Gadide, the only one in which comparison has been made, corres- pond in every instance. The question of identity now raised, will no doubt soon be determined, it being very easy to procure, eee the fishermen, specimens of the true bank cod for examination There are in the work some few errors of fact, and inaccuracies of language, which, though of little importance in themselves, deserve notice, that the author’s attention may be called to them, in anticipa- tion of a reprint of bis work, which without doubt will be called for before any considerable time shall elapse. These remarks on the report on fishes, will be concluded with the expression of a sincere hope, in which I doubt not all will participate, . that Dr. Storer will continue to give his attention to this subject, and will from time to time sca before the society such new information as he may acquire. Having given so much time to the first report, there remains but little for the reptiles. 'The number of species of this class described is only forty. Of the order Chelonians there are eight, divided among the genera Emys, Sternotherus, Emysaurus, Cistuda, and Sphargis. The numerous order of Saurians is represented by a sin- gle lizard. Of the Ophidians there are twelve, one of which, Colu- ber occipito-maculatus, is a newly described species. The Batrachi- ans number seventeen, viz. of the gehus Rana four, Hylodes_ one, Hyla two, Bufo one, Salamandra nine. The descriptions are shorter and less elaborate than those of the fishes, and do not seem to have been produced with the same satisfaction to the author, but are en- tirely creditable to him. The number of species belonging to the class of reptiles in this state, is without doubt destined to be very much enlarged. The Emy- des or fresh-water tortoises, and the Salamanders, two genera which are distributed in extraordinary numbers in North America, have not yet contributed their full proportion to the list. In conclusion, the Society may be congratulated on the appearance of these reports. They are the legitimate fruits of the exertions of this institution in 396 Miscellanies. disseminating new tastes and new sources of pleasure and usefulness in the community. Taking into view their public character, they are the best proofs of the success of our efforts, and should incite us to new endeavors in the same cause. Dr. D. H. Storer exhibited the tails of two species of Ray, prob- ably of the genus Cephaloptera, both of which were provided with two strong serrated spines near their anal extremities. One of the specimens was smooth and the other covered with short and conical spines. He also stated that a species of Solea, had been found in the waters of Massachusetts during the last six months. | Dec. 4, 1839.—Grorce B. Emerson, Esq., President, in the chair. Prof. C. B. Apams read descriptions of two new species of shells, obtained by dredging, from the bottom of the harbor at New Bedford, viz. Pleurotoma plicata and Tornatella puncto-striata. He also sta- ted that the Pholas costatus hitherto unknown in our waters, had also been found in the same locality. Prof. A. also read additional descriptions to the following species of Say, viz. Natica heros ; Turbo aculeus ; Solicurtus costatus, and Solen costatus. Dr. A. A. Goutp made a report on the shells from California com- mitted to him at a previous meeting. He found them to consist of Murez tricolor and bicolor ; Cardium Californianum, Trochus vit- tatus, Bulimus undatus, and several species of Purpura. Dec. 18, 1839.—Amos Binney, Esq., Vice President, in the chair. _ Prof. C. B. Apams read descriptions of two new species of shells, viz. Jaminia producta and Ancylus fuscus, from Andover Mass. He also exhibited specimens of Valvata tricarinata, in which the carine were very indistinct. Dr. D. H. Storer made a communication to the Society, stating that all the specimens in the ichthyological cabinet had been arranged in their appropriate genera, and, as far as practicable, in their geo- graphical localities. The whole number of genera now in the cabi- net is one hundred and fifty eight, containing three hundred and forty four species; of which one hundred and eighteen genera, and one hundred and ninety four species have been added during the last two years. 18. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Philadel- phia. September 20, 1839.—Professor Bache, on behalf of the Com- mittee appointed on the paper of Professor Elias Loomis, of West- ern Reserve College, Ohio, entitled « Observations to determine the Miscellanies. 397 Magnetic Dip at various places in Ohio and Michigan,” reported in favor of publication, and the Report was adopted. The observations recorded in this paper were made with a dipping needle by Gambey. The results are contained in the following table, Place. Latitude. | Longitude. Date. Magnetic dip. Hudson, Ohio, . {41° 15’ N.|81° 24° W. September, 1838./72° 48.2" Hudson, Ohio, . |41 15 (81 24 _— |April, May, 1839./72 46.8 Cleveland, Ohio, 43 30 (81 51 May, ss 26.0 Detroit, Michigan, 42 19 (83 03 3 “ 173 42.6 Ann Arbor, do. |42 18 [83 45 | # « |73 13.9 Ypsilanti, - do. 42 14 (83 38 ws = 140 18.0 Monroe, do. |41°55 (83 28 * Shwe SD eed Toledo, Ohio, 1 41 183 33 ceili “ 173 06.1 Maumee city, Ohio,41 34 (83 38 . - “of: 409A Sandusky, Ohio, 41 29 82 48 ee “ jee as Professor Loomis infers from a comparison of these observations with others made in the eastern part of the United States, that the lines of equal dip intersect the parallels of latitude, their direction being from about N. 82° W. to S. 82° E. Dr. Chapman, from the Committee appointed to apply to Mrs. Mad- ison, for certain meteorological observations made by the late Presi- dent Madison, reported that a number of documents had been receiy- ed, and presented them to the Society. The secretaries were di- rected to return thanks to Mrs. Madison for this donation. A necrological notice of the late Bishop White, prepared in pur- suance of the request of the Society, by Bishop De Lancey, was read. : Dr. Chapman announced the death of Matthew Carey, of Phila- delphia, a member of the Society, and Mr. Lea was requested to prepare an obituary notice of the deceased: Dr. Bache announced the decease of Dr. Robert Perceval, of Dub- lin, a member of the Society. The Librarian of the Society was authorized to furnish to the fam- ily of the late Dr. Bowditch, to be placed in the library of the de- ceased, any volumes of the Transactions which may be deficient in the set belonging to Dr. Bowditch, and the future volumes, so long as the library shall be kept open for public use. Dr. Hays presented a table, compiled by him,of the peculiarities in various cases of individuals not able properly to distinguish colors. Mr. Kane added the comparisons which he had made, in the case of a friend, with the specimens named by Dr. Dalton, of Manchester, in the possession of Professor Bache. Professor Bache made a verbal communication of the measures ta- ken by the British government, on the recommendation of the British - 398 Miaccllantes, Association, and under the advice of the Royal Society, for obtain- ing a series of magnetic observations in different quarters of the globe, in conjunction with a naval expedition in the southern hemisphere, under the command of Capt. James Clark Ross, and read extracts from letiers of Professor Lloyd and Major Sabine, relating to the preparation for the undertaking. Professor Bache further stated, that on submitting the circular ad- dressed to him by the Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, with extracts from the letters before referred to, and other information as to the nature and importance of the results to be obtained by this com- bined system of magnetic observations, to the Building Committee of the Girard College, through their Architect, they had, with creditable liberality, given orders for the erection of an observatory suited to the observations contemplated, and to the instruments already in the pos- session of the Trustees of the College. Professor Bache submitted the plans of the observatory drawn by Thos. U. Walter, Esq. Architect. | Mr. Justice made some remarks in continuation of those offered at the last meeting of the Society, in support of his opinion of a gyrato- ry motion in the tornado, of the 31st. July, 1839, the destructive ef- fects of which were felt about seventeen miles north of Philadelphia. October 4, 1839.—The Committee, consisting of Dr. Dunglison, Mr. Kane, and Mr. Lea, to whom were referred a letter of the Rev. Charles Gutzlaff to John Vaughan, Esq. dated Macao, January 2, 1839, and the letter of Peter S. Du Ponceau, Esq. to the same gentleman, dated Philadelphia, September 20, 1839, made their report, which was read and accepted. The communication of Mr. Gutzlaff was suggested by the disserta- tion of Mr. Du Ponceau, “ On the nature and character of the Chinese system of writing.” As the results of his reflection and observation, Mr. Gutzlaff affirms, that China was the great centre of civilization, whence it diverged to all the countries of Eastern and Southern Asia; the colonists from China driving the autochthonous tribes into the mountains, aad incorporating the country itself, including ‘Tunkin and Annam, with the central kingdom. A constant influx of Chinese also took place into Korea, but the emigration to Japan and the Loo Choo Islands was less extensive. Chinese words, and the Chinese art of writing, were thus introduced into these countries ; Chinese books became their literature; and, like the Latin in the middle ages, the Chinese was the language of the learned. . Yet all the nations that have adopted the Chinese mode of writing, speak a language more or less distinct from the written idiom. The di nations, too, who employ the Chinese characters, call Miscellanies. ; 399 them differently, using their own language to designate them, and they, as well as the Chinese themselves, have to learn the meaning of the characters from teachers, who explain them in the dialect spoken amongst the people. The dialects spoken by the different nations, who use the Chinese character, are very distinct from the language of China proper. The Koreans and Japanese, whilst they transact all important business in the Chinese character, have a syllabary with which they write their own language. The Cochin Chinese occasion- ally use the Chinese in a contracted form, without any reference to its meaning, to express sounds, but they have no syllabary. It is not strictly true that sound is not inherent in the Chinese char- acter. A majority of the signs are not pronounced by the Chinese at random, nor do the nations abandon all analogy in reading them, al- though they vary much. Mr. Gutzlaff has been struck with the ease with which communication may be held with the Cochin Chinese, Jap- anese and Koreans, by means of the Chinese character, even without comprehending a word of their idiom. This, he says, does not refer to the learned classes only, butto the very fishermen and peasants, with some exceptions only. In. the Loo Choo Islands, men of distinction talk Chinese with great fluency, but the mass of the people speak a di- alect of the Japanese, and employ the Chinese character as well as the Japanese syllabary. Mr, Guitzlaff considers it certain, that the nations who have adopted the Chinese character, attach the same meaning to ‘itas the natives from whom it was originally derived, and that its con- struction is likewise retained with scarcely any alterations. e communication of Mr. Du Ponceau is a rejoinder to that of Mr. Guizlaff. Mr. Du Ponceau repeatedly combats the notion entertained by some, that the superiority of the Chinese alphabet is such that it forms a kind of pasigraphic system, which may be adapted to every language. He admits, to a certain extent, what he was disposed at one time io doubt, that the Chinese characters do actually serve as a means of communication between different nations, who can neither speak nor understand each other’s oral language, and he investigates at some length, the causes by which the effect is induced; but he expresses himself at a loss to understand how the fishermen and peasants of Ja- pan, Korea and Cochin China, “ with only some exceptions,” can be readily communicated with by means of Chinese characters, even by a person who does not understand a single word of their spoken lan- guage. The remark of Mr. Guizlaff, he conceives, cannot be meant to imply that all, or nearly all the fishermen and peasants of the coun- tries referred to, can read and write the Chinese ; for, on the author- ity of Mr. Medhurst, there. are villages, even on the coast of China, where few, if any, of the inhabitants can either read or write. If, 400 . Miscellanies. however, the assertion of Mr. Gutzlaff be assumed to be rigorously ac- curate, it will have to be explained by the circumstance, that as the Chinese is esteemed a universal medium of communication between the people referred to, it is more extensively taught amongst them than even amongst the Chinese themselves. r. Du Ponceau enters, at some length, into the nature of the four languages, or classes of languages which are embraced in the commu- nication of Mr. Gutzlaff. 1. Of the various dialects of the Chinese. 2. Of the Annamitic languages. 3. Of the languages of Japan and the Loo Choo Islands ; and 4. Of the Korean; the two first of which are monosyllabic, the two last polysyllabic ; and from all the facts and reflections, he concludes, that the circumstance of the Chinese char- acters being understood so extensively amongst these people, is not owing to any thing inherent in the Chinese characters, in their shape or greater perspicuity, but to their connexion with the languages from which they were formed, and to the mode in which they have been adapted to them. The vernacular languages of Japan, the Loo Choo Islands, and Korea, are so different from the Chinese, that it was found impossible to apply to them the Chinese system of writing; conse- quently, when the people of these countries read the Chinese charac- ters, they do not read them in their native language, but in the Chi- nese, which they have acquired, but pronounce differently from the Chinese themselves. Thisis not the case with the people of Tunkin and Cochin China—the Annamites ; their language or languages being formed on the model of that of China, with some variations, which they learn, in their schools, to correct, and to employ the proper characters as a superior orthography, by which they are enabled to read_the Chi- nese as well as their own language. The Committee recommended that the interesting communications of Mr. Gutzlaff and Mr. Du Ponceau, tending as they do, to elucidate a contested topic of Oriental philology, be published i the transac- tions of the Society. Dr. Hare made a verbal communication on the subject of tornadoes, and on his electrical theory of their formation, supporting his views by reading an extract from a Memoir by M. Peltier, deseribing a destruc- tive tornado which occurred near Paris, in June last Dr. Hare stated that agreeably to a publication in the Journal des Débats for the 19th of July, some losers by this tornado having effect- ed insurance against damage from thunder gusts, applied to the insu- rers for indemnity, which was refused, upon the plea that a tornado was not a thunder gust (orage). The question having been submitted _ to Arago, it was by him referred to Peltier. é Is ‘- - Vol. xxxvin1, No. 2.—Jan.-March, 1840. Miscellanies, AD1 Peltier, after due investigation, came to the conclusion that a torna- do is a modification of the thunder gust, in which, in lieu of passing in the form of lightning, electricity passes through a cloud, acting as a conductor between the terrestrial surface and the sky. It will be per- ceived that this view of the subject differs but little from that which, in amemoir in the transactions of the Society, had been presented by Dr. Hare, in the following language :—“ A tornado is the effect of an electrified blast of air, superseding the more usual means of discharge between the earth and clouds, in the sparks and flashes which we call lightning. I conceive that the effect of such a current would be to counteract, within its sphere, the pressure of the atmosphere and thus to enable this fluid, in obedience to its elasticity, to rush into the rarer medium above.” Dr. Hare went on to say, that the only difference arises from the omission of the Parisian philosopher to call in the elasticity of the air in aid of the electrical forces, and his assigning to a cloud the agency which Dr. Hare had attributed to a vertical blast of electrified air, min- gled with every species of movable matter coming within the grasp of the meteor; and that it would seem, from a subsequent communica- tion made by Peltier to the Institute, that he had so entirely misappre- hended Dr. Hare’s theory, as to ascribe to it deficiencies for which it Was not amenable, but which had existed in his own explanation, as stated in his report. The fault of Dr. Hare’s explanation was, according to him, “en ne tenant pas compte des forces nouvelles que la premiére, (that is to say, the electric attraction,) acguiert par le mouvement gyratoire a " ? Ip ? qui accompagne souvent la coulonne de nuages et deau qu’on appelle trombe.” As the most appropriate refutation of this misstatement, Dr. Hare stated that he would quote a paragraph from his Memoir. ‘© When once a vertical current is established, and a vortex pro- duced, I conceive that it may continue after the exciting cause may have ceased. : “ The effect of a vortex in protecting a space about which it is formed, from the pressure of the fluid in which tt has been induced, must be familiar to every observer. In fact, Franklin ascribed the water spout to a whirlwin om , * Tout confirme donc que la trombe n'est qu’un conducteur ne elle sort @ Dass. Sk j lle d i t » | + L=—3 ‘3 - ge accompagné du trombe, est dans ce con ot ee Ve Genenhin ot ft rH A 1 servant a q pre Pt Z DB =] Orage ordinaire et l’ora établir le combat entre ; t : (See Peltier’s report upon the tornado of Chatenay, Journal des Debats du 17 Ju- ilet, 1839 51 402 Miscellanies. “ His hypothesis was I conceive, unsatisfactory, because it did not assign any cause for the concentration of the wind, or for the hiatus presumed to be the cause. This deficiency is supplied, if my sugges- tions be correct.” On reading this passage, after previously hearing or reading the al- legation above quoted, that Dr, Hare’s hypothesis was defective in not appealing to a gyratory movement, it was presumed that it would be perfectly evident to every one, that, from ignorance of English, or inattention, Mr. Peltier’s statement was the reverse of the reality. In proof of a gyratory force having been exercised during the New Brunswick tornado, Dr. Hare referred to his having, in his Memoir, cited the case of a chimney, of which the upper portion had been so twisted upon the lower portion, as to have its corners projecting over the sides of the latter; but he had now taken a different view of that fact, which had since struck him as being of much higher importance than he had formerly considered it. Duringan examination of the track of the tornado which lately rav- aged the suburbs of New Haven, Conn., Dr. Hare had been led to in- fer that the electrical discharge is concentrated upon particular bodies, according to their character, or the conducting nature of the soil; so that the vertical force arising from electrical reaction, and the elasti- city of the air, acts upon them with peculiar force. Hence, while some trees were borne aloft, others, which were situated very near them on either side, remained rooted in the soil. In two instances at New Ha- ven, wagons were especially the victims of the electro-aérial conflict. In the case of one of these, the axletree was broken, and while one wheel was carried into an adjoining field, the other was driven with so much force against the weather-boarding of a barn, as to leave both a mark of the projecting hub, and of the greater portion of the periph- ery. The plates of the elliptical springs were separated from each other. During the tornado at New Brunswick, the injury done to some wagons in the shop of a coach-maker, appeared at the time inexplica- ble. It was now inferred, that the four iron wheel-tires, caused by their immense conducting power, a confluence of the electric fiuid, producing a transient explosive rarefaction, and a subsequent afflux of air with a local gyration of extreme violence. It may be reasonably surmised, that the excessive injury done to trees results, not from the general whirl, but from a local gyration to which they are subjected, in consequence of the multiplicity of points which their twigs and leaves furnish for the emission of the electrical “The fact that the leaves of trees thus injured, appear after- wards as if they had been partially scorched, seems ; to countenance this idea. The twisting of the chimney at New Brunswick, as above Miscellanies. | 403 mentioned, seems difficult to explain, agreeably to the idea of a gene- ral whirl, throughout the whole area of the tornado track. The chan- ces are infinitely against any chimney having its axis to coincide with that of a great whirlwind, forming a tornado; and it must be evident, that in any other position, it could only be subjected to the rotary force on one side at atime. But if this were adequate to twist the upper upon the residual portion, the former would necessarily be over= thrown. Evidently, it could not be left, as was the chimney which called forth these remarks. During the tornado at New Haven, chimneys seemed to be espe- cially affected. One, after being lifted, was allowed to fall upon a por- tion of the roof of the house to which it belonged, at a distance from its previous situation too great to have been reached, had it been mere- ly overthrown. In the case of a church which was demolished, a por- tion of the chimney was carried to a distance greater than it could have reached without being lifted by a vertical force. It appeared quite consistent that chimneys should be particularly assailed, since that rarefaction, which, by operating upon the roofs of houses, carries them away, must previously cause a greatrush of air through the chimney flues. But this concentration of the air must tend to facilitate the ** convective’’* discharge in that direction ; since an electrical discharge by a blast of air, is always promoted by any mechanical peculiarities favoring an aérial current or jet. That during a recent tornado in France, articles were carried from the inside of a locked chamber to a distance without, when no opening existed besides that afforded by a chimney, seemed to justify the sug- gestion that there must be a great rush of air through such openings.} Dr. Hare also made some remarks on the aurora which occurred on the 3rd of September, 1839, in which he suggested that the electric fluid, producing the phenomena then observed, might have been de- rived from remote parts of space. * A “convective” discharge, or a discharge by “ convection,” in the very appro- priate language of the celebrated Faraday, is a process by which electricity is con- veyed by the transfer of electrified bodies from one excited surface to another in an Opposite state. is is conceived to be a good definition of the discharge which produces a tornado. part in the production of electricai storms; nor of an opinion which he had 404 — Miscellanies. Oct. 18.—The following extract from a letter, addressed by Prof. Henry, of Princeton, to Prof. Bache, was read, announcing the discov- ery of two distinct kinds of dynamic induction, by a galvanic current. ** Since the publication of my last paper, I have received through the kindness of Dr. Faraday, a copy of his fourteenth series of exper- imental researches ; and in this I was surprised to find a statement directly in opposition to one of the principal results given in my paper. It is stated in substance, in the 59th paragraph of my last communica- tion to the American Philosophical Society, that when a plate of met- al is interposed between a galvanic current and a conductor, the sec- ondary shock is neutralized. Dr. araday finds, on the contrary, un- der apparently the same circumstances, that no effect is produced by the interposition of the metal. As the fact mentioned forms a very important part of my paper, and is connected with nearly all the phe- nomena described subsequently to it, I was anxious to investigate the cause of the discrepancy between the results obtained by Dr. Faraday and those found by myself. My experiments were on such a scale, and the resulis so decided, that there could be no room for dou t as to their character ; a secondary current of such intensity as to para- lyze the arms having been so neutralized, by the interposition of a plate and riband of metal, as not to be perceptible through the tongue. I was led by alittle reflection to conclude that there might exist a case of induction similar to that of magnetism, in which no neutralization would take place; and I thought it possible that Dr. Faraday’s results might have been derived from this. I have now, however, founda solution to the difficulty in the remarkable fact, that an electrical cur- rent from a galvanic battery exerts two distinct kinds of dynamic induction : one of these produces, by means of a helix of long wire, intense secondary shocks at the moment of breaking the contact, and feeble shocks at the moment of making the contact. This kind of induction is capable, also, of being neutralized by the interposition of a plate of metal between the two conductors. ‘The other kind of in- duction is produced at the same time from the same arrangement, and does not give shocks, but affects the needle of the galvanometer 5 it is of equal energy at the moment of making contact, and of breaking contact, and is not affected by the introduction of a plate of copper or zinc between the conductors.* The phenomena produced by the first kind of induction form the subject of my last paper, as well as that ef the one before; while it would appear from the arrangement of Dr. Faraday’s experiments, that the results detailed in his first serless ee scala hee * Since writing the account of the two kinds of induction, I have found that re ind, although not screened by a plate of copper or zine, is affected by os of iron. Inthe cases of the first kind of induction, iron ac Miscellanies. A405 and those in ihe fourteenth, were principally produced by the second kind of induction. Although I may be too sanguine in reference to the results of this discovery, yet 1 cannot refrain from adding that it appears to lead to a separation of the electrical induction of a galvan- ic current from the magnetical, and that it is a step of some importance towas a more precise knowledge of the phenomena of magneto- electricity.” 19. Ehrenberg on the Infusoria.—The following interesting conclu- sions are stated in a short review, given in Charlesworth’s Mag. of Nat. Hist. London, Oct. 1839, of Ehrenberg’s recent work, entitled Die Infusions thierchen, etc. (Leipzig. folio. 64 plates.) In the Infu- soria themselves, Prof. Ehrenberg has either confirmed or first estab- lished a considerable number of very curious qualities and relations, which are highly interesting in a physiological and other points of view, the most important of which we briefly enumerate. 1. Most (probably all) microscopic animaicula are highly organized animals. 2. They form, according to their structure, two well-defined classes. 3. Their geographical distribution in four of the parts of the world follows the same laws as that of other animals. 4. They cause extensive volumes of water to be colored in different ways, and occa- sion a peculiar phosphorescence of the sea by the light they develop. 5. They form a peculiar sort of living earth; and as 41,000 millions of them are often within the volume of one cubic inch, the absolute number of these animaicula is certainly greater than that of all other living creatures taken together; the aggregate volume is even likely to be in favor of the animalcula. 6. They possess the greatest a of generation known within the range of organic nature; one i vidual being able to procreate many millions within a few sicker time. 7 The animalcula form indestructible earths, stones, and rocks by means of their siliceous teste ; with an admixture of lime or soda they may serve to prepare glass; they may be used for making floating bricks, which were previously known to the ancients; they serve as flints, as tripoli, as ochre, for manuring land, and for eating, in the shape of mountain meal, which fills the stomach with a harm- less stay. They are sometimes injurious by killing fish in ponds, in making clear water turbid, and in creating miasma; but that they give rise to the plague, cholera morbus, and other pestilential diseases, has never been shown inacredible manner. 8. As far as observation goes, the animalcula never sleep. 9. They exist as Entozoa in men and animals, the Spermatozoa not being taken into consideration here. 10. They themselves are infested with lice as well as Entozoa, and on the former, again, other parasites have been observed. 11. They are, 406 Miscellanies. in general, affected by external agents, much in the same manner as the larger organic beings. 12. The microscopic animalcula being extremely light, they are elevated by the weakest currents, and often earried into the atmosphere. 13. Those observers who think they have seen how these minute creatures suddenly spring from inert mat- ter, have altogether overlooked their complicated structure. 14. It has been found possible to refer to certain limits or organic laws, the wonderful and constant changes of form which some of these animal- cula present. 15. That the organism of these animalcula is com- paratively powerful, is evinced by the strength of their teeth and of their apparatus for mastication ; they are also possessed of the same mental faculties as other animals. 16. The observation of these mi- croscopic beings has led toa more precise definition of what constitutes an animal, as distinct from plants, in making us better acquainted with the systems of which the latter are destitute—W. W.— Weimar. 20. Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Sci- ence.—Just as this No. was closing, we have received the following important communications, to which by request, we give immediate in- sertion. 1. Letter from Ropvericx Impey Murcuison, Esq., to Prof. SrLLIMAN. London, 16 Belgrave Square, Feb. 24, 1840. My dear Professor—I enclose herewith an invitation to attend the next meeting of the British Association, to be held at Glasgow on the 17th of September next. The local authorities of that city, from whom this invitation is sent, wish you to be the organ, through your y circulated and valuable Journal, of asking any Professors ot cultivatere ae science in the different states of N. America, to honor us by being present at our next meeting. I need hardly tell you who are so well versed in British geology, that Glasgow is peculiarly attractive to geologists, and that the Isle of Arran alone will afford much instruction in some of the most inter- Fahy pages of geological history. nior General Secretary of the Association, I can assure you, that es greater the number of your countrymen, who may honor the meeting with their presence, the higher will be the gratification of the officers and council of our body, including yours, very faithfully, R . Murcuison. 2. Circular of the British Association for the Advancement of Sciences addressed to the * invited to atiend its next meeting. Glasgow, 1st January, 1840. Sir—We have the honor to announce, that the next meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, takes place in Miscellanies, / 407 Glasgow, beginning on 17th September, 1840, and continues its sit- tings for one week. Actuated by the ambition to procure the counte- nance of your illustrious name, and the aid of your distinguished tal- ents, as well as by the desire to confer on British men of science the highest gratification, the citizens of Glasgow have ventured to hope, that your engagements and convenience may permit you to do them the honor of visiting them on that occasion, and they beg to assure you of their best hospitality. Should you feel at liberty to honor them in this manner, we respect- fully solicit you to notify your intention by letter to the secretaries, previous to ist July next, in order that due arrangements may be made for your reception. We have the honor to be, Sir, your obedient servants, Henry Dunuor, Lord Provost of the City. inctpal, Univer. of Glasgow D. Doel an VP. Bri tish pai We A J. P. OL, cae kaowetis Local Secretaries. JoHN STRANG, 3. Letter to Prof. Suuuiman, from one of the local secretaries. Str—It has been suggested that instead of sending special invita- tions to the many scientific individuals, of which the United States of America can boast, that you would have the goodness to state in your widely circulating Journal, the fact that the British Association is to meet at Glasgow on the 17th Sept. next, and that the Jocal committee would feel highly honored with the presence of as many of the men of science of America, as can make it convenient tu attend. It is cal- culated that the coming meeting will be the largest that has ever taken place in Great Britain. I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, Joun Strane, Secretary. 4. British Association for the Advancement of Science. Office-bearers for meeting at Glasgow, on Thursday, 17th Septem- r, 5 President.—The most noble the Marquis or BREADALBANE. Vice-Presidents.—The very Rev. Principat Macrartan, Lorp Greenock, Sir Tuomas M. Brissane, Bart., Sin Davin Brewster. General Secretaries.—R. 1. —_ Esq., F. R.S., London, Masor Sapine, London. Secretary to Council—Jamzs YATES, Esq., London, Prorgssor _Putiuirs, York, Assistant Secretary. Treasurer.—Joun Tayuor, Esq., London. 408 Miscellanies. Local Secretaries.—Prorrssor Nicuot, LL. D., Anprew Lip- DELL, Esq., Joun StTRANG, Esq. Local Treasurer.—Cuar ts Fores, Esq., Banker. Commiitees.—-On finance.—-The Hon. the Lorp Provost, Convener. Joun LeapBeTTeR, Esq., Sub-Convener. James M’CLELLAND, Esq., Accountant, Secretary and Treasurer. To provide sectional and other accommodations.—Wm. Ramsay, Esq., Professor of Humanity, Convener. James Smiru, Esq., Archi- tect, Sub-Convener. Arex. M’Dowatt, Esq., Writer, Secretary. On exhibition of Models and Manufactures.—JoHn HovLpsworTH, Esq., Convener. Wma. Hussey, Jun. Esq., Sub-Convener. James Tuomson, Esq., C. E. Secretary. On Museum of minerals found in the West of Scotland —Tuomas EpiNncron, Esq., F. R. S. Convener. Wn. Murray, Esq. of Monk- - land, Sub-Convener. Dr. Wma. Covrer, Professor of Natural Histo- ry, Curator. Tuomas Epineron, Jun. Esq., Secretary. 5. Classification of Rocks.—Extract of a letter from R. 1. Mur- CHISON, Esq., to Prof. Sirtiman, dated London, Feb. 24, 1840. “In furtherance of the views which we propounded last year, of classifying the ancient rocks beneath the carboniferous system into three great systems or terrains, ‘ Devonian,” “ Silurian,” and ‘‘ Cam- brian,” Prof. Sedgwick and myself are about to read before the Geo- logical Society of London a memoir, in which we endeavor to show the true succession of these strata in the Rhenish provinces, parts of nany, Belgium, &c., and their relations to our British rocks. I am impatient to test the value of this classification in the United States, ‘puta | year at least must elapse before I can think of an expe- dition to your shores. Complete suites of the fossils of the infra-car- boniferous rocks would be most valuable to me, and most gladly re- paid by a copy of my large work, or with Silurian fossils.” 21. On the action of Metallic Tin on solutions of Muriate of Tin; by Aveustus A. Haves. It has been long known to those who frequently dissolve tin in mu- riatic acid, that under some circumstances, the metal after it has been dissolved is precipitated. It sometimes presents large sections of 0¢- tahedral crystals, at others, long prismatic needles, which are so aT ranged as to form skeletons of such sections. In this Journal, Vol. XXVII, p. 255, Mr. W. W. Mather has described some experiments oi a similar result. The interest which has been excited of late y notices of the non-action of metals in acid solutions and in rela- to chemical action of a similar kind, has induced me to publish pect which I sometime since observed. # Miscellanies. 409 When tin is dissolved in muriatic acid, either by gradual action un- der exposure to air, or by the aid of heat, a solution containing an excess of acid is obtained. This solution may be concentrated to a sp. gr.=1.750, and retains its fluid form at or above 60° F. Although an excess of tin is present, the solution thus obtained is always acid. After decanting the clear solution, the tin used in excess with its im- purities remains, Generally, after a few days exposure, the matters left in the solution vessel change in appearance. ‘The dull, corroded fragments-of metal become frosted over, with bright needles of tin, and beautiful arborescent forms are seen. On studying the cir- cumstances, I have found that the effect is due to electrical action. One portion of the undissolved tin, becoming a positive electrode, while another portion of the same mass assumes the state of a nega- tive electrode, and precipitation of the dissolved tin takes place on it. Numerous cases of like action are known to chemists, where a part of a bar becomes indifferent to a concentrated solution, although a Positive state is exhibited at another part, and active sulution of the metal is taking place. For the purposes of experiment, a solution of muriate of tin, of Sp. gr. about 1.650, contained in a cylindrical vessel, may be care- fully covered by half its volume of an acid solution of the same, hay- ing a sp. gr. about 1.20. The two fluids should not be mixed more than the slight diffusion which will take place. After placing a flat bar or plate in an inclined position, so that it passes through both so- lutions, the effects become immediately perceptible. That part of the bar which is within the diluted solution takes the positive state. A few minute bubbles of hydrogen form and escape, if the solution is quite acid. Precipitation of metallic tin commences near the line of contact of the two solutions, and extends throughout that part of the bar immersed in the denser solution. If the diluted solution is not rendered acid by the addition of acid, hydrogen is not perceived, and the action is more gradual. In either case the precipitation contin- ues until the two fluids have attained the same electrical relation to the bar. If after the precipitation has ceased, water be carefully poured upon the surface of the fluid, it will form a stratum of very dilute solution. That part of the bar not before immersed takes the hegative relation to this solution, and the same kind of precipitation follows as had taken plaee in the lower solution. The positive part of the bar, retains its state unaltered under the new conditions, and the line of separation is as clearly defined as in the first case. Ifa solution mixed with crystals be used, instead of a moderately concen- trated solution, they are not decomposed under the above conditions. The presence of atmospheric oxygen has my supposed to influence Vol. xxxvimt, No. 2.—Jan.-March, 1840. 4t0 : Miscellanies. this action. Such is not a correct statement; by exposure to almos- pheric vapor, strong solutions of muriate of tin become weaker, and any masses of undissolved tin, projecting into the weaker solution, will decompose the denser solution below. In numerous trials, I have found all the cases of precipitation referable to different states of two solutions resting in contact. Roxbury Laboratory, March 16, 1840. 22. New Minerals.—Associated with the nitrate of soda of the province of Tara Ihave found the iodate of soda or potash, in irregular crystalline grains. The ebliviodate of magnesia, in the state of eqpe colors parts of the masses of the nitrate of soda a lemon yellow color. This new salt, sone exists in mine- ral waters, conferring its highly active Shines onthem. The so called sulphate of alumina, from near Iquque, is a new mineral species, coipioasd essentially of different crystalline form, is found in the vicinity of the latter. 1840. additional fact rh ee oad inferior surface of the Calymene Bufo ; by Poe Sc GREEN, —In one of the recent numbers of your valuable Journal, there were published a few ins which J had been so fortunate as to = lect respecting the structure of the inferior surface of the trilobite. The Caly ; Bufo was the species to which most of my remarks applied. ‘The following addi. tional note will perhaps be interesting to some of your reader Within a few days I received from my friend, Mr. T. A. Conrad, the zealous and distinguished fossilist of the New York survey, three highly interesting — truc TiPemeenee probably concave,’ &c. Now the fragments of Mr. Conra illustrate this part of ‘der organization in quite a satisfactory manner. ‘This space is concave, and the edge of the buckler beneath the eyes, which in one of the specimens is very perfect, is marked by six denticulations or tooth-like prominen- ces along the inferior edge of the lower lip. The lower lip has therefore a smoot or unbroken edge in front, and is terminated on each side below the eyes by 4 dented margin. In no instance have I seen the interior edge of the buckler so perfect as in one of the oa specimens, and in looking at the groove which forms the lips, one is almost persuaded - believe that the mouth of the animal was really located in this part of the hea < INDEX TO VOL. XXXVIII. A. ‘aha cece oo for solidifying, 0 Prof. PC. B., new species of Del- ere ula, 193. Shells obtained by dredging, and ecies, 396. Agriculture, collection of statistics, 135. Alge exchanges of minerals, Allen, Bi, some “ R. Hare on the Provi- dence Alligator, a hogy’ one killed at Manilla, account of, 313. merican seetiehs er Advancement! of Scien sre 179. sophia 7 at Pro- ceedings, ‘er tract of, Ansiyal sis Chrom hen: a , 120. on Ore and Anthracites, 382. of a meteoric mass from East Tennessee, by Troost, Nbr a marble from Ver- -mont, by Jackson, _ water ae British Channel, Pr mariana, 196. r, indications of, 103. Annee Expedit w inane repressing he- morrhage from, 133. red appearance of their coats, Association, Gees hg meeting of, an- nounced at Glas 406. ‘ireular of to scien- tifie men, 406. Atmospheric distribution, inequalities in, eee of Harlan, geognostic posi- tion of, 381. Beaumontite, a new mineral species de- d, 198. n birds, and fish, and 393. Birds, ‘babite wi certain species ting rocks by galvanic and electrical excitement, a aes Booth, J. C., anal , 243, Bounycastl, Prof. C., on poe depth of the sea as determined by echo, 161. Bo an “Socie ty of Natural Hine: ab- stract of chest 2b 7007 fon from June 5 Oct. 2 to otany and Zoology, section A, of Brit- ish a en n Proceedings, Boye, M ai new compound of pla- kee mode of examination, 133. cadee, 195. ts of certain birds, rain, ma. B Brewer oa sr gee of Chi bits Bridges, Ithiel Town’s improvements in, ||Bridge across James River, 286. ‘gpg peered minerals poe shells to N. atural History, 19) British feces on, 9th me eting, abstract of proceedings, 93. British cater for Advancement of Science, 10th meeting of announced, 406. R. I. Murchison’s letter to Prof: gros on, 406. e bearers of, 10th meeting, 407. Antarctic Expedition, 204. Cc » Water pac analyzed, 12. Burmah, earthquakes in, 385. Atoms of organic compounds, how rela- ted, 121. Aurora Borealis of So os 3d, 260, od C- and sunset at ochester, 146, riggs itied by Dr. Hare, 181, 189. B. Calculus treated by lithotri wt Calorimeter, a new one by b re, 109. Calymene Bufo, inferior iF ies 410. Cc Bache, Prof. A. D., on American Meteo- rology, 95. on the rapid corrosio of a chain dares te 177. ‘ m and calcium, ‘how p pared, 115 meteorological hsitrei Capillary action, a new development of, burets, map of, 118. Barometer, new mode of filling, 109. Car Carcharias obscur A12 Carbonic acid conde et ved from wells, 206. Cataract, degeabee redidval of, 13 Catlin, Mr his journey to Coteau des Prairies, s, 138. ic examination of the eye, 187. Cavities in chalk filled with gravel, 122. cable, corrosion of, = Charcoal burning, dea adly e ffects of, 134. Chemistry, pean? theory of bodies, 115. Law of substitutions, 114. Chemist teralogy, necion B, British Association, 114 ter’s Manual of reviewed, 29. Sao writing, 398. Circular of Brit. Association, 10th meet- i “407, mic iron ore analyzed, d, 243. Classification of rocks, letter of R. I. Eivella esculenta, n r i¢] on Gierada of British se 129. Co , lectures on atansiiad: 390. INDEX. Earthen ware pers of millstone grit, 127. Eaton’s Manual of Botany, 378. ae ony solar, of May 14 and 15, 1836, of Sept. 18, 1838, 158, 163, 171, 174. Ehrenberg , discoveries in fossil infu- sorial animalcu les, 405. oe te experimental researches in, Faraday, 378. Electricity and magnetism, contributions 0, 170, 209. ordinary, induced currents pro- duced from, 2: Ele ctrical se in metalliferous veins, Blectro-dynamie oo et 209. “es — Shark, 19) oth, sara on its eggs, 385. 1 on Lycopodon gigante- um, Emys Blandingii, 195. a a = one seen by Encke, 378. pene. s letter to Prof. Bache, 184. rope, geological map o of, 126. Conductors, ‘electrical, effects of introdu- Exchanges of shells and insects, cing substances between Conrad, T. Aon Caradoe sandstone, 87. udlow Rocks, 89. Sertiens on plastic sag 91. of Gnathodon, 92 on Silurian system Wenlock shale and limestone, rey , 88. Cotta, Hr. Dr., on footmarks in sand- stone, 255. Cotton of commerce, cultivation of, 131. peck ee Prairies, Catlin’s acc "t of, 138. ricana pores Crner "af SE gicba, wa nimum thickness of, Crystals, ee of, in mica, — ba, chromic iron of, analyze oe Current, seatriedl, induced on itself, 212. of third, fourth, and fifih order © , 226. urrents, secondary, a produced, 215, t a distance, 219. D. Delphinula, new species, 193. Dewey, Prof. C., on aurora and sunsets, Sister. common, ar Donation o American Philo- ” Philadelphia, 156. Du Ponceau on Chinese writing, 400. Dyke of trap in Cumberland, 127. E. Earthquakes, severe, in Burmah, 385. 108. Earth’s temperature in dee mines, near Edinburgh, by Prof. Forbes |Eye 205. oane Expedition, U.8., pr ogress of, ; catoptric examination of, 190. F. M., a letter to him from Dr. Har Experimental researches in electricity, 378. Feet of animals, impressions of, 127. Fermentation, Satara nts on, 120 Fish fossil of Aga reptiles, and bird reports on, eeiesd by Mr. Binney, fifteen Hh ate from Ohio named, 392. ays eee of Kogaad additions fag 133. ossil reat Britai Forbes on mica for palais Tight, 101. Formule alauve to comets, 160. G. Galvanic battery used i = bless 33. ems, practica remar Geology and Geography i in British Asso- Goul rent la, 18 agra new oe of, ‘Ww species d, Ae A., jos of Delphinu- thirteen species of shells, 196- INDEX. uld, A. A, = ee shells, 396. Graham Prof, heory of voltaic circle, Gray, on — North American Orchi- Cem ®, ay Si , on vegetable organography, Green, Prof. J., on inferior surface of Ca- 410. halo or fringe, eS W. R., on small galvanic aur! Guizlaff, rae C., letter on Chinese wri- ting, to r. Du Ponceau , 308. Sadede occ dissected, 197. et: 6. bodies, 22; 5 dlatung rocks by galvanism, his eprae blowpipe, 173. on cee = a letter Come large ite nbd is melted, 155, 163. notice of tornadoes, 73, 4 decomposition and Fhe eae tion of water, 336. Hayes, A. A., on the action of —_— tin on Solutions of muriate o 08. on new minerals, 410. 8, Dr., on catoptrie examination of t e nif = Henry, P ’ £ J. -, contributions i? Covi city ua magietim 7 x pew c pillary acti sg eitents produced 3 ordinary)| eletrcity, 939. lateral discharge of electricity, Herapath, he pps Magazine, &c. 205.) Herrick, E. , aurora borealis, 260. ric obsery es Novem- ber and snmaa ts , 1839, 377 203. Herschel on dissevered ny of light, ass Hildreth, S. P., Meteoro logical Journal, iS we Hubbard, Pro ke removal of car- i s, 206. Ja _ on beri strontium, 385.||Lardner on resistance of air : [Larned Rev. Wm Co Al3 Indigestion, alkaline, Induced currents of cee third, fourth, and ‘from ordinary electri- city, 232. Induction, pen age c, 209. onditions which influence, 212. of secondary —— “oo a dis- e, 219. In resoehs analysis of M. Ehrenberg’s discoveries, ered ae and malleable i iron, how differ- compositio Woy daptved of cartiy matter, 134, J, ckson, Dr. C. T., analysis of serpen- tine marble from Vermo nt, 198 Ja ary: Dr. C. T., analysis of new mine- letter to him on the Céteau des Prairies, I his oxy-alcohol la amp, 330. Japanese and English vocabulary, 163. Tohnso n, Prof., analysis of anthracite and ore J obnston, Prof. J., carbonic acid solidify- us, 297. 2 ones, Wm. G., on a new compensating pendulum, 274. K. Katakekaumene described, 207. Kirtland, Dr., ae ye ‘of fifteen new : thecies 9 Kupffer, A. T., giques, 380. ” observations météorolo- | Lacaille’s Colum acre Stelliferum, rs i , by Baron Mesnil, 115. oxy-a :& of safet Co te Ghats, cohol, 85. 6 rail. aesy translation of Dr. Lathro iad re 1 of various yor 168. Lea, J., on new species of Melania, 175. M. Car arey, analysis of chromic iron, I. Ichthyosaurus at Strensham, Eng. ay 126. Idoc Ocrase, composition of, 120. inetion of, 130. » Jr., compound oleae Letter of Dr. Hare to Mr. Fara Letter of John Strang to Prof. Silliman on “fie Association, berg, Leon, his telescope, 379. «eget effects of, on three of H. B. 12. AlA Locke, Dr. John, ws ng ca dip and in- tensity in Ohio 0,1 Longitude, eryin fas of - arc be- tween Armagh and Dublin, 113. of City Hall, New York, 113. of several places i in Michigan Loomis 8, on ee dip and nio, 397. Pro intensity in * Ohio. 3 M.- Mackerel shark’s Btedius, 197. Magnetic dip eee ntensity, mode of de- 179. termination, n Ohio, 157. ~_— hai — of nba for mu- Map, paket ‘of Cornwall and Devon, No Mathemnaties and peated section A, Brit- ish Asso — — ical science, se Association, report 9th meeting, 136. Medical science, section E, Britis Asso- : Metallic tin, action of on alae of mu- * ns riate o' fin, “Metals, galvanization of, 119. ra mass, description and analysis| 250. observations in November and December, ip ae er, 1 838, as observ = “a EPhladelphin, a elsewhere, 173 Meteorology of elevated regions, 102. merican eee 9%. ee cd observations, 95. bservatio t equi noxes and sles to be reduced, 95. observations at Great ’Ma I- vern, 1 Eng., 109. phenomena at Ghats, W. I. 103. Journal, kept at New York for 1838-9, 323. at St. Johns, N. B., and Canton, China, 265. at Marietta, at Plymouth, Ohio, 273. Mica used in panties light, 101. Minerals and shells presented to N.Y. Lyceum Nat. History, Dr. a. erhoff, 198, 201. Minerals, new -ones ‘imautioned from sh INDEX, pk a a G., on galvanism in blasting my S. - B., on the twilight bow, 389. Morton, S. G., his Crania Americans re- , letter to Prof. Silliman on British Association, etter to Prof. Silliman on classific ation of rock Murchison’s —— nese os n geological map of Europe, 126. on a part of Germany, 126. N. Natural History Society of Boston, pro- ceedings of, Ne wfoundland, meteorological observa- tions at, 265. menclature of the stars revised, 94. pea on formule for comets, 160. oO. Observations of prgpete dip and inten- in » ood. Giecoamer 23 at Cape of Good Hope, 95. at Girard College authorized, 398. magnetic, their establishment recommended by British Association, 108. Observatory, igs from Prof. Encke on, to Prof. Bache, | Cirsted’ ptt on tornadoes, 82. — tribe, synonymy of eval spe- di Osler, ’ mome eter, 1 "Mr. F., on indications of his ane- 03. 2 Parasite of the eggs of Geometra verna- a, « Parker .P., meteoric observations at Can- 301. ton, ‘Aug ust, 1839, aving with wood, 136. Peat b Peltier = ’tornadoes, 401. Pendulu wT stmpeneti ng, 274. “eae compound, by W. J. Frodsham m, Perry, Thos. i. on a resisting medium, Philosophical (Amer.) Society, proceed- ings of, 153, Photo enic » drawing, Boe remarks on $ proc Piotiensedt ts new, fener A by Dr. Dau- pe Stone gary on Céteau des Prai- sald bel lectures on, by G. Combe, ‘Physick, Dr. P. S., notice of, 155. INDEX. Planorbis, ae species, 193. Platinum, new com of, 186, large quantity melted , 163 Polarized light. ox used to exhibit Peak light by m ont Pr of, on sere Sa of light, , 155. Abate blowpipe on a peewee ave t cory, 108 ~ Prayer in the Mende language, 4 r cme 108 dynamical, new mode of solv- 106. , Proceedings of Boston Society of Natu- ral History, 396. American Philosophical Society, 153, 396, R. Redfield, W. C., abstract of meteorolo- gical eo made at Canton and St. John ae" ract of meteorological register 1 ian York, 1838 and 1839, 323. Refractive indices, 107. sorta of the air to railway trains, Resisting medium, probable effects of, Rocks, classification of, 408. Roge ee rof, on the tertiary of irg “iad Ruminants, follicular dentition in, 129. Rutland county, Eng., statistics of, 135. 8. Salts, haloid, existing in solution, 118. Sch oe zer,G., analysis beige: water, 12. Ly Sea, = ermin ay 415 a shooting, of Aug. 9 and 10, 1839, seen at Canton, Aug. 10 and 11, 1839, 301. Statistics ot “arial 135. inal, of hanland and Wales, 135 tea am, — govity of, at different temperatures, 137. team Nav vigationk Journal, 205, Steam ship Savannah, ‘her log book, 155. Stevelly, on ne wind, and rain n, 105. on filling barometers Stomach, ated of muriatic acid in 9. s Blandingii, 195. fis as and reptiles chusetts, 379. Squalus elephas, 197 fifteen species of Ohio fishes, 392 two species of mk described sie, John, letter - Prof Silliman, 407. yngnat s, taken yomdyaty y “of fhe: Orehis tribe, 506. 1. 'Paber, Thomas, practical remarks on s, 61. Tails 0 of comets, 35. ; Talbot, on Degeeiee s photogenic pro- cess, 97. : eeth of m sage in Suffolk, England, described by Lyell, 124. si en,127. scopic structure - 134. © hoe of Virginia, by Pro ge =a Teschemacher, J.E., on Elvella esculen- ta, 194. minerals found Bevalar usigh a connection rial Abner of re earth, gente of new v vitok , 134. Spectr m, or Sage = observations on, by Sir J. Herschel, 110. teed st of plate glass 8 3, inietiatenne of, to be ‘revised, 9A, reduction ose in the Coelum Australe reduction of those in the Histoire! Celeste, 94. eecaioh of the a So- at Milk row, 194. plants from Black- stone river, 195. riana, 196. Andromeda ma- fossil coals and madrepores, 197. Theory of the earth in Bs with secular magnetic variatio Tin, metallic, action of on mail of tin, Tornadoes, notices of, by R. Hare, 73. (Ersted’s memoir on, 82. Tornado at Chaseney, near Paris, 77. Providence ye Be, um. se Ithiel, his improvements in bridg- Tracks of animals in variegated sand- ciety’s Catalogue, stone Troost, Prof. G., analysis of a meteoric mass, 200. A416 Tubular cavities in the chalk, 122. Twilight bow, 389. Twining, Pr of. A.C. -, on Aurora borealis of Sept. 3, 1839, 376. Tyrian dye, 126. v. eee organography and physiology, sai Vege s, fossil, structure of, 126. Vine, pr 3 liable to lose its virtue, Vocabulary of Gissi or Kissi language, a. Mendi language, 45. be 3 . as Eines power, circle, theory of, 117. w. Ward, C. J., exchanges of shalte; 205. Water of Bri tish Channel analyzed, 12. ecomposition and recomposition| of, 336. INDEX. Waves, determination of their laws, 100. Wax tablet used in instructing the*blind, Webster, Prof. J. W., notice of his Man- of Chemistry, 329 Weights, atomié, of elementary bodies, 119. Whales, remains of, found at Durham, Eng., 130. heat, its growth accelerated, 129. Wilkes count of exploring ex- editio 0, 387, oody tsi, orion of, 128. Wool, new spec pot. introduced into Britain, Wyman, "Dr. Fe dissection of mackerel shark, 197 electrical eel, 197. tract of proceedings of Boston Nat. tat Soc., 193, 391. Z. | Zeuglodon, geognostic position of, 381. Zoological researches in the Orkneys, 128.