L JANUARY 1831. Published the First Day of every Month. — Price 2s. 6d. THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE AND ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY: COMPREHENDING THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCE. NEW SERIES. N° 49.— J A N U A II Y 1831. BY RICHARD TAYLOR, F.S.A. L.S. G.S. M.Astr. S.&c. AND RICHARD PHILLIPS, F.R.S.L. &E. F.L.S. &c. Lonlron : PRINTED BY AND FOR RICHARD TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, Printer to the University of London. Sold by Longman, Uees, Orme, Brown, and Green; Baldwin and Cradock ; Cadell; Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper; Simpkin and Marshall; Under- wood ; and S. Highley, London : — and by Adam Black, Edinburgh ; Smith and Son, Glasgow : and Hodges and M'Arthur, Dublin. TO CORRESPONDENTS. A paper has been received from Mr. BATCHELOR. Mr. HENWOOD will in a few days receive a communication from us, which has long been delayed by an accident. We have been favoured with some important papers from ENCKE'S Ephe- raeris for 1932, the publication of which we shall commence in our next. Mr. ADAMS will receive a communication from us in the course of the month. Mr. YOUNG'S Elements of Analytical Geometry, and the Transactions of the Plymouth Institution, will shortly be noticed. *#* The Editors request that all Communications intended for immediate insertion may be sent to the care of Mr. Richard Taylor, Printing Office, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London, at furthest by the 1 5th day of the month, or they ivill be too late to appear in the ensuing Number. This Day is published, in royal 8vo, bound in Cloth, 15s. Plates, &c. TRANSACTIONS OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. Con- taining, Introductory Discourse, Rev.R. Lampere. — Geology of the Country near Plymouth, Mr. J. Prideaux.— Laws of Electrical Accu- mulations, Mr. W. S. Harris. — Construction of the Lary Bridge, Mr. J. M. Rendel. — Rise and Decline of Mortal Diseases, Dr. E. Blackmore. — New Entomological Genera, Dr. W. E. Leach. — Antiquarian Investiga- tions in Dartmoor, Rev. S. Rowe. — On Persian Poetry, Mr. N. Howard. — Account of his Collection of Drawings, Col. Hamilton Smith. — Ornitho- logy of the South of Devon, Dr. E. Moore. London, Baldwin and Cradock, Paternoster-row ; and J. B. Rowe, Plymouth. For the Use of the Chemical Student and Manufacturer. — This Day are published, a New and Improved Edition, 8vo, 18s. 1. /CHEMICAL MANIPULATION ; being INSTRUCTIONS to Vx STUDENTS in CHEMISTRY on the Methods of Perform- ing Experiments of Demonstration or of Research with accuracy and success. By MICHAEL FARADAY, F.R.S., F.G.S., M.R.I. Also, A THIRD EDITION, compressed into 2 vols. 8vo, only 80s. 2. BRANDE'S MANUAL of CHEMISTRY. 3. TABLES in Illustration of the THEORY of DEFINITE PRO- PORTIONALS. 8vo, 8s. 6d. John Murray, Albemarle Street. Just published, in 4to, stitched, price One Guinea, the Second Part for 1830, of nPHE PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL 1 SOCIETY OF LONDON. FEBRUARY 1831. Published the First Day of every Month. — Price 2s. 6d. THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE AND ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY: COMPREHENDING THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCE. NEW SERIES. NO 50.— F E B R U A R Y 1831. BY RICHARD TAYLOR, F.S.A. L.S. G.S. M. Astr. S. &c. AND RICHARD PHILLIPS, F.R.S.L. &E. F.L.S. &c. Lcm&on : PRINTED MV AND *OR RICHARD TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLJSBT STREET, Printer to the University of London. Sold by Longman, Rees, Onne, Brown, and Green ; Baldwin and Cradock ; Cadell; Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper; Simpkin and Marshall ; Under- wood; and S. Highley, London : — and by Adam Black, Edinburgh ; Smith and Son, Glasgow : and Hodges and M* Arthur, Dublin. TO CORRESPONDENTS. Mr. T. S. DAVIES will hear from us shortly. Mr. WHITE'S Paper on the Aurora Borealis ; Mr. HA WORTH'S on Her- mione Cypri ; Mr. BATCHELOR'S on certain Affections of the Eye; and Dr. HARE'S on the Laboratory of the University of Philadelphia, — will be given next month : also M. Rumker's. Mr. GORDON'S Remarks on the Demonstrations of certain Theorems have been received. Mr. STURGEON'S Researches in Electro-magnetism have been received for review. *#* The Editors request that all Communications intended for immediate insertion may be sent to the care of Mr. Richard Taylor, Printing Office, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London, at furthest by the 1 5th day of the month, or they mill be too late to appear in the ensuing Number. This Day is published, Vol.1. No. I. for February 1831, Price 2s. 6d., LIBRARY OF THE FINE ARTS. Contents :— Preliminary Ad- dress. — Biography: G. Dawe, Esq. R.A. — Sculpture; a Poem by E. G. L. 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This Day is published, in royal 8vo, with Coloured Plates, price ,5s. 6d. half-bound, AN EXPERIMENTAL INQUIRY into the NUMBER and PRO- PERTIES of the PRIMARY COLOURS, and the Source of Co- lour in the Prism. By WALTER CRUM, Esq. London : published by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green — Atkinson and Co., Glasgow ; Truettel and Wiirtz, Paris j and Diimmler, Berlin MARCH 1831. Published the First Day of every Month. — Price 2s. 6d. THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE AND ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY: COMPREHENDING THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCE. NEW SERIES. N° 51.— M A RCH 1831. BY RICHARD TAYLOR, F.S.A. L.S. G.S. M. Astr. S. &c. AND RICHARD PHILLIPS, F.R.S.L. &E. F.G.S. &c. AbfcttS ft FLAMM^M LonDon : PRINTED BY AND FOK RICHARD TAYLO&, ItED LION COUHT, VLLLT STREET, Printer to the University of Londw. Sold by Longman, Rccs, Orme, Brown, and Green; Baldwin and Cradock ; Cadell; Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper; Simpkin and Marshall ; Under- wood; and S. Highley, London : — and by Adam Black, Edinburgh j Smith and Son, Glasgow : and Hodges and M'Arthur, Dublin. TO CORRESPONDENTS. The Paper on a General Formula for the Resolutions of Equations will be returned to the Author, on application at the Printing Office. Our Meteorological department is already so full, that we are obliged to decline accepting Mr. WHITE'S offer; for which he has our thanks. We have inserted a part of his Paper in the present Number. Mr. MURRAY'S Paper on the Waters of the Neva and the Ganges has not been received. The Papers by Mr. GILL and Mr. GORDON will be inserted in our next. %* The Editors request that all Communications intended for immediate insertion may be sent to the care of Mr. Richard Taylor, Printing Office, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London, at furthest by the 1 5th day of the month, or they tuill be too late to appear in the ensuing Number. This Day is Published, in 8vo, Price 6s., No. XIII. THE FOREIGN QUARTERLY REVIEW. Contents: 1. Spirit of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries.— 2. Mythology and Religion of Ancient Greece. — 3. Andral on Consumption. — 4. Carl Maria von We- ber.— 5. The Fine Arts of the Middle Ages. — 6. History of the Hanseatic League. — 7. History of the Ancient Germans. — 8. Correspondence between Schiller and Goethe. — 9. The Brunswick Revolution. — 10. United States of America. — 11. German Pocket Books for 1831.— 12. Critical Sketches of Greek, Hebrew, French, and German Works. — 13. Miscellaneous Lite- rary Notices from France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Russia, and Spain. — List of the principal New Works published on the Continent, from October to December, 1830, inclusive. — Notices to Correspondents. Published by Treuttel, Wiirtz, and Co. 30, Soho Square 5 and Black, Young and Young, 1 Tavistock Street. PROFESSOR ROSE'S MANUAL OF ANALYTICAL CHYMISTRY. In 8vo, with Engravings, price 16s. cloth, A MANUAL OF ANALYTICAL CHYMISTRY, comprising Instruc- tions for Detecting the Presence and Determining the Proportions of Chymical Compounds, including the recent Discoveries of Berzelius, and other Analysts. By HENRY ROSE, Professor of Chymistry at Berlin. Translated from the German, by JOHN GRIFFIN. Chiswick : Printed by C. Whittingham, for Thomas Tegg, London ,- and sold by all Booksellers, APRIL 1831. Published the First Day of every Month. — Price 2s. 6d. THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE AND ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY: COMPREHENDING THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCE. NEW SERIES. N° 52.— A P R I L 1831. BY RICHARD TAYLOR, F.S.A. L.S. G.S. M. Astr. a &c. AND RICHARD PHILLIPS, F.R.S. L. & E. F.G.S. &c. Lou&on : PRINTED BY AND FOR RICHARD TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, Printer to the University of London. Sold by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green ; Baldwin and Cradock ; Cadell; Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper; Simpkin and Marshall ; Under- wood ; and S. Highley, London : — and by Adam Black, Edinburgh ; Smith and Son, Glasgow : and Hodges and M' Arthur, Dublin. TO CORRESPONDENTS. We fear that the proposed additions to the Astronomical Clock would be considered too complicated by practical Astronomers. Mr. GALBRAITH'S Table for reducing North Polar Distances ; and Mr. EDMONDS'S Notice, in our next. We have been obliged to defer several Articles prepared for insertion, in order to make room for Pro- fessor SEDGWICK'S interesting Address to the Geological Society -, among the rest, the Proceedings of the Royal, Linnasan, Zoological, and other Societies ; and the communications with which we have been favoured from Cambridge^ which we shall gladly insert in our next. Mr. CALDCLEUGH requests ns to insert the following corrections of the report of his paper " On the Geology of Juan Fernandez," given in our last. " At page 220 of the last Number, I am made to say, that the island of Juan Fernandez was the scene of the fabulous adventures of Robinson Crusoe. The expression used by me in the paper, as read before the Geological Society, is, that Selkirk was the real hero of the romance (and in stating this, T follow the opinions of several coternporaneous literary characters); but I never could suppose that the island in question was the scene of it. " A note of interrogation follows the word metastatique (misprinted metastique), which applies to one of the crystalline forms of Carbonate of Lime— in common parlance, Dog's Tooth Spar." These errors will be corrected in our " Errata" for the volume. *** The Editors request that all Communications intended for immediate insertion may be sent to the care of Mr. Richard Taylor, Printing Office, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London, at furthest by the I5lh day of the month, or they "will be too late to appear in the ensuing Number. UNIVERSITY OF LONDON. A COURSE OF TWELVE LECTURES on GEOLOGY, Illustrated by Models, Drawings, and Specimens, will be delivered in the Lon- don University, during the months of April and May, by JOHN PHIL- LIPS, F.G.S. Author of Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire, &c. &c. This Day is published, in 8vo, Price 4-s. boards, THE UTILITY OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF NATURE CON- SIDERED; with reference to the introduction of Instruction in the Physical Sciences into the General Education of Youth : comprising, with many additions, the details of a Public Lecture on that subject, delivered at Hazelwood School, near Birmingham, October 26, 1830. By E. W. BRAYLEY, Jun. A.L.S. Lecturer on Natural Philosophy and Natural History: TEACHER OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES IN THE SCHOOLS OF HAZELWOOD AND BRUCE CASTLE. Published by Baldwin and Cradock, London ; and J. Drake, Birmingham. MAY 1831. Published the First Day of every Month. — Price 2s. 6d. THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE AND ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY: COMPREHENDING THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCE. NEW SERIES. N° 53.— MAY 1831. WITH A MAP, Illustrative of Mr. LUBBOCK'S Paper on the Tides on the Coast of Great Britain. BY RICHARD TAYLOR, F.S.A. L.S. G.S. M. Astr. S. &c. AND RICHARD PHILLIPS, F.R.S. L. & E. F.G.S. &c. AC. mi lonOon : PRINTED BY AND FOR RICHARD TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, Printer to the University of London. Sold by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green; Baldwin and Cradock ; Cadell; Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper; Simpkin and Marshall ; Under- wood ; and S. Highley, London :— and by Adam Black, Edinburgh ; Smith and Son, Glasgow : and Hodges and M' Arthur, Dublin. TO CORRESPONDENTS. We have to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. KENWOOD'S Paper on the Steam-Engines of Cornwall, and of Mr. WATERSTONE'S Exposition of a New Dynamico- Chemical Principle. Re-publication of the ENCYCLOPAEDIA METROPOLITANA, in Seven- Shilling Monthly Numbers. ON the FIRST of MAY will commence a Re-publication of this Original and Popular Work, in Monthly Numbers, price 7s. Each Number will contain on an average Sixteen Sheets and Four Plates j but as it is intended to give in every Number only such Plates as belong to the letter- press, the latter will be increased in quantity according to the diminished number of the former ; and the contrary; so that, in the end, each Subscriber will have paid precisely the same sum for the whole work, as if he had taken it in Quarterly Parts, or in entire Volumes. London : printed for Baldwin and Cradock, Paternoster-row; C. J.G. and F. Rivington j J. Duncan ; B. Fellowes; Suttaby, Fox, and Suttaby; E. Hodgson ; J. Dowding ; H. T. Hodgson j G. Lawford j J. Laycock j J. Fraser ; W. Mason ; F. C. Westley ; James Richardson ; J. Bohn ; T. Allman ; J. Bain ; H. Dixon j and J. Bryant j and for J. Parker, Oxford; and J. and J. J. Deighton, Cambridge. PART XXXI. of the regular publication in Quarterly Parts, will be ready on the 1st of May, thus completing more than three-fifths of the whole Work. SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. Messrs. BALDWIN and CRADOCK have just published, under the Super- intendence of the Society, rr\HE HISTORY of the CHURCH. Part 6, being No. 97 of the series. MAGNETISM. Part 1. CHEMISTRY. Part 4. HISTORY of ROME. Part 2. Of the Farmer's Series, « THE HORSE." Part 16, and to be com- pleted with the next Number. MAPS. Part 12. Plain Is., Coloured Is. 6d. SIX MAPS of the Stars ; in one Number, price 3s. plain, or 6s. co- loured. OUTLINE MAPS of SELECT PORTIONS of the GLOBE, to be filled up by Geographical Students, in occasional Numbers. Price Is. 6d., containing Six Maps. The following subjects are complete, and are each neatly done up in canvass and lettered: — The HISTORY of GREECE, in 9 Numbers. Price 5s. GEOMETRY, in 9 Numbers. Price 5s. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, including the Preliminary Treatise, Vol. 1., in 15 Numbers. Price 8s. %* Subscribers are respectfully informed that Titles, Indexes, &c., for a Second Volume of NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, and a Volume of BIOGRAPHY, may be expected shortly, and then between 60 and 70 Numbers of the whole series will be gathered into Volumes, and be ready for binding. JUNE 1831. Published the First Day of every Month. — Price 2s. 6d. THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE AND ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY: COMPREHENDING THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCE. NEW SERIES. N° 54.— JUNE 1831. BY RICHARD TAYLOR, F.S.A. L.S. G.S. M. Astr. S. &c. AND RICHARD PHILLIPS, F.R.S. L. & E. F.G.S. &c. louden : PRINTED BY AND FOR RICHARD TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, Printer to the University of London. Sold by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green ; Baldwin and Cradock ; Cadell; Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper; Simpkin and Marshall ; Under- wood ; arid S. Highley, London : — and by Adam Black, Edinburgh ; Smith and Son, Glasgow : and Hodges and M* Arthur, Dublin. TO CORRESPONDENTS. Mr. KEITH'S Paper, which we regret to have been again obliged to defer, will certainly appear in our next Number. The First Part of " The Herschelian" has been received for review. YOUNG'S CALCULUS. Just published, Price Seven Shillings in Cloth, T7LEMENTS OF THE DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS, with its Lj Applications to the GENERAL THEORY of CURVE SURFACES, and of CURVES of DOUBLE CURVATURE, wherein are pointed out and cor- rected some important Errors that have hitherto remained unnoticed in the Writings of LAGRANGE, LACROIX, and other Analysts. By J. R. YOUNG, Author of " Elements of Analytical Geometry," &c. Printed for J. Souter, School Library, 73 St. Paul's Churchyard. Of whom may be had, 1. AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON ALGEBRA, Theoretical and Practical ; with attempts to simplify some of the more difficult parts of the Science, particularly the Demonstration of the Binomial Theorem, in its most general form ; the Solution of Equations of the higher orders; the Summation of Infinite Series, &c. By J. R. YOUNG. 8vo. bds. 10s. 6d. " A new and ingenious general method of solving Equations has been recently dis- covered by Messrs. H. Atkinson, Holdred, and Horner, independently of each other. For the best practical view of this new method and its applications, consult the Ele- mentary Treatise on Algebra, by Mr. J. R YOUNG, a work which deserves our cordial recommendation." — Dr. Gregory's Edition of Hutton's Mathematics, vol. i. p. 261. " For the summation of infinite series the author gives a new and ingenious method, which is very easy and extensive in its application." — Newcastle Magazine, Nov. 1825. 2. An Elementary TREATISE on the COMPUTATIONS of LOGARITHMS, Intended as a Supplement to the various Books on Algebra. By J. R. YOUNG. 12mo. 2s. 6d. 3. ELEMENTS OF GEOMETRY; containing a new and universal Treatise on the Doctrine of Proportions, together with Notes, in which are pointed out and cor- rected several important Errors that have hitherto remained unnoticed in the writings of Geometers. By J. R. YOUNG. 8vo. 8s. *' His observations on the theory of parallel lines, the labour he has bestowed on the doctrine of proportion, as well as his corrections of many errors of preceding Geometers, and supplying their defects, together with his minute attention to accuracy through- out, may be justly considered as rendering his performance valuable, especially to the learner." — Philosojihical Magazine, March 1828. " In the notes which he has appended to the volume is much valuable matter, even for those who have advanced still further in these studies. On the theory of parallel lines, which has not a little perplexed geometers of all ages, there is a very able and elaborate commentary." — The Times, November 2, 1827. " We have never seen a work so free from pretensions and of such great merit." — Monthly Magazine, September 1827. 4. THE ELEMENTS OF ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY; comprehending the doctrine of the Conic Sections, and the general theory of Curves and Surfaces of the second order, with a variety of local Problems on Lines and Surfaces. Intended for the use of Mathematical Students in Schools and Universities. By J. R. YOUNG. 75. cloth. " If works like the present be introduced generally into our schools and colleges, the Continent will not long boast of its immense superiority over the country of Newton, in every branch of modern analytical science." — The Atlas, July 25, 1830. %* For other recommendations of Mr. Young's Works see the Newcastle Magazine for August; Monthly Magazine for September; and Ladies' Diary for J831, p. 25. A BRIEF TREATISE on the USE and CONSTRUCTION of A CASE of MATHEMATICAL INSTRUMENTS; containing a copious Explanation of each ; particularly the Sector, the lines of which are separately treated of, and their use shown in solving several cases of Trigonometry. The whole designed to give the Stu- dent a knowledge in using his Instruments, and constructing Geometrical Figures with accuracy. By GEORGE PHILLIPS, B. A. Queen's College Cambridge, New Edition, 2*. 6d. THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE, OR ANNALS OF CHEMISTRY, MATHEMATICS, ASTRONOMY, NATURAL HISTORY, AND GENERAL SCIENCE. BY RICHARD TAYLOR, F.S.A. L.S. G.S. M. Astr. S. &c. AND RICHARD PHILLIPS, F.R.S. L.&E. F.G.S.&c. "Necaranearum sane textus ideo melior quia ex se fila gignunt, nee noster vilior quia ex alienis libamus ut apes." JUST. LIPS. Monit. Polit. lib. i. cap. 1. VOL. IX. NEW AND UNITED SERIES OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE AND ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY. JANUARY-JUNE, 1831. LONDON: PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, Printer to the University of London. SOLD BY LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, AND GREEN; CADELL ; BALDWIN AND CRADOCK ; SHERWOOD, GILBERT, AND PIPER J SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL; UNDERWOOD; AND s. HIGHLEY, LONDON : — , AND BY ADAM BLACK, EDINBURGH; SMITH AND SON, GLASGOW J AND HODGES AND M'ARTHUR, DUBLIN. TABLE OF CONTENTS. NUMBER XLIX.— JANUARY. Page. Mr. C. Lyell's Reply to a Note in the Rev. Mr. Conybeare's Paper entitled " An Examination of those Phaenomena of Geology, which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations" 1 Memoir of the late J. S. Miller, A.L.S. Curator of the Museum of the Bristol Philosophical Institution 4? Rev. J. Challis on the theoretical Determination of the Motion of Fluids 7 Mr. N. J. Winch's Remarks on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed, from Carham, in Northumberland, to the Sea Coast at Berwick II Rev. W. D. Conybeare's Examination of those Phaenomena of Geology, which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations (continued) 19 On the New Nautical Almanac 23 On the Visitation of Greenwich Observatory: with a Copy of the New Warrant 27 Mr. R. Warrington's Examination of a Native Sulphuret of Bismuth 29 Recent Discovery of the Ladder of M. de Saussure in the Mer de Glace ; with Inferences respecting the Progressive Move- ment of Glaciers 32 Mr. R. Bakewell's Facts and Observations relating to the Theory ofahe progressive Development of Organic Life ... . 33 Proceedings of the Royal Society 37 . Linnaean Society 46 — Geological Society 4-7 Zoological Society 53 Chloroxalic Acid — Potash from Felspar 66 Native Phosphates of Manganese and Iron — On Oxamide, by M. Dumas 67 On two Kinds of Fulminating Gold, by M. Dumas 69 On the State of Mercury in Mercurial Ointment, by M. Mit- scherlich 70 Mr. Bennet's New Alloy for the Pivot Holes of Watches — Earthquakes at the Cape of Good Hope in 1809 71 New Patents 75 Meteorological Observations 78 Meteorological Observations made by Mr. Thompson at the Garden of the Horticultural Society at Chiswick, near London ; by Mr. Giddy at Penzance, Dr. Burney at Gosport, and Mr. Veall at Boston 80 a 2 NUMBER IV CONTENTS. Page NUMBER L.— FEBRUARY. Prof. Encke on the Construction of the Berlin Astronomical Ephemeris for 1832 81 Mr. N. J. Winch's Remarks on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed, from Carham, in Northumberland, to the Sea Coast at Berwick 85 Mr.J. W. Lubbock on the Limits upon the Earth's Surface within which an Occultation of a Star or Planet by the Moon is visible 90 Tables of the Decimal Parts of a Day and an Hour 92 Mr. R. W. Fox on the alleged Production of Heat in Mines by the Condensation of the Air which ventilates them ; and on the Fallacy of other Objections to the Opinion that a high Temperature exists in the interior of the Globe 94? Mr. J. W. Lubbock on the Stability of the Solar System .... 99 Rev. T.Moore's Remarks on the Origin of Rock-basins; in reply to a Paper by Mr. E. W. Brayley, jun 101 Rev. W. D. Conybeare's Examination of those Phenomena of Geology which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations (continued) Ill Mr. S. Sharpe on the tidelike Wave of Lake Ontario 117 Dr. A. Smith's Observations relative to the Origin and History of the Bushmen (continued) 119 Mr. W. Sturgeon's Account of an Aurora Borealis observed at Woolwich on the Night of January 7th, 1831 127 New Books: — Mr. De la Beche's Sections and Views illustra- tive of Geological Phenomena 131 Proceedings of the Royal Society 133 Geological Society 134? Linnaean Society 138 . Astronomical Society 138 . Zoological Society 14-0 On the Spontaneous Inflammation of Powdered Charcoal 148 On Pure lodic Acid and the Detection of the Vegetable Al- kalies— Para-Tartaric Acid — On the Chlorides of Iodine and the Detection of the Vegetable Alkalies 149 Chloride of Gold and Potassium, &c. — Vauquelin's Process for obtaining Chromium 150 Carburet of Sulphur not decomposed by Electricity — Influ- ence of the Aurora Borealis on the Magnetic Needle — Ni- trous Atmosphere of Tirhoot 151 On the Occurrence of Chalk- Flints in Banffshire, by J. Christie, Esq 152 New Scientific Books— The Comet 154- Lunar Occultations of Planets and fixed Stars by the Moon, in February 1831. Computed for Greenwich, by T. Hender- son, Esq. ; and circulated by the Astronomical Society 156 New Patents 157 Meteorological Observations 158 NUMBER CONTENTS, V Page NUMBER LI.— MARCH. Dr. E. Turner on the Volatility of Oxalic Acid 161 Mr. B. Bevan on the relative Hardness of Road Materials 164 Mr. T. Batchelor's Observations on a Species of Muscae Voli- tantes apparently existing in theAqueous Humour of the Eye 165 Mr. C. Rumker on Mr. Witchell's Method of clearing a Lunar Distance 1 68 Mr. W. J. Henwood's Facts bearing on the Theory of the Formation of Springs, and their Intensity at various Periods of the Year 170 Prof. Encke on the Calculation of the Orbits of Double Stars 178 Mr. A. H. Haworth's Botanical Description of Hermione Cypri > 183 Mr. J . Ivory on an Omission in Clairaut's Theory of the Equi- librium of a homogeneous Fluid; in some Remarks on the 56th Article of the " Bulletin des Sciences Mathematiques" for August 1830 185 Rev. W. D. Conybeare's Examination of those Phenomena of Geology which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations (continued) 188 Dr. A. Smith's Observations relative to the Origin and History of the Bushmen (continued) 197 Mr. D. Gilbert's Statement respecting the Legacy left by the late Earl of Bridge water, for rewarding the Authors of Works, to be published in pursuance of his Will, and de- monstrative of the Divine Attributes, as manifested in the Creation 200 New Books : — Six Maps of the Stars: published under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge r. 202 Proceedings of the Royal Society 206 Linnaean Society 210 Geological Society 21 1 Astronomical Society 220 Zoological Society 222 Parhelia, &c. lately seen at Bedford '..'.".' 232 Aurora Borealis of the 7th of January 233 A Mode of ascertaining the Value of Manganese Ores 235 Electro-chemical Decomposition of the Vegeto-alkaline Salts 237 Lunar Occultations of Planets and fixed Stars by the Moon, in March 183L Computed for Greenwich, by T. Henderson, Esq. ; and circulated by the Astronomical Society — Meteo- rological Observations 238 NUMBER LIL- APRIL. Mr. F. Baily on the Computation of the Moon's Motion in Right Ascension 241 Errata yi CONTENTS. Page Errata in Weisse's Planetary Tables 245 Mr. C. Gill on the Rectification of Curves 250 Mr. J. Gordon's Remarks on the Demonstrations of the Theorems of Lagrange and Laplace for the Expansion of Functions, given by Dr. Lardner and M. Lacroix ; with a Demonstration of those Theorems 253 Rev. W. D. Conybeare's Examination of those Phaenomena of Geology, which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations 258 Mr. S. Sharpe on the Reduction to the Meridian 270 Anniversary Proceedings of the Geological Society 271 Mr. B. Bevan on the Hardness of Copper Slag as a Material for Roads 317 Lectures on Geology — New Scientific Books — Lunar Occulta- tions of Planets and fixed Stars by the Moon, in April 1831. Computed for Greenwich, by T. Henderson, Esq. ; and circulated by the Astronomical Society — Meteorological Observations . . 318 NUMBER LIII.— MAY. On the Impediments to the Study of Natural History; illus- trated by a Reference to certain technical and incidental Obscurities, in the Arrangement of the Diurnal Family of Lepidopterous Insects by various celebrated Naturalists . . . 321 On the recent Change of Form of the Summit of Mont Blanc 328 Mr. J. Bryce's Notice of the Discovery of the Plesiosaurus in Ireland 331 Mr. J. W. Lubbock on the Tides on the Coast of Great Britain 333 Mr. W. Galbraith on the Reduction of the North Polar Di- stances of Stars observed at Greenwich, and corrected by Bradley's Refractions, to Distances according with Ivory's Refractions 335 On the Effect of a Change of Polar Distance on the Reduction to the Meridian of a Zenith Distance observed out of the Meridian 338 Dr. A. Smith's Observations relative to the Origin and History of the Bushmen (continued) , . . . 339 New Books : — Phillips's Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire 342 Proceedings of the Royal Society 354 Astronomical Society 361 • • Linnaean Society 364 • Zoological Society 366 - Geological Society 376 at the Friday- Evening Meetings of the Royal In- stitution of Great Britain 380 Proceedings CONTENTS. vii Page Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 382 Fall of the Broughton Suspension Bridge, near Manchester . . 384 University of Cambridge 389 Manganese in Human Blood— On Sulfo-Sinapisine, originally termed Sulfo-Sinapic Acid 390 Emission of Light during the Compression of Gases 391 Action of Chloride of Bromine upon Water and ^Ether — Cry- stallization of Bismuth 392 Reaction of Persalts of Iron and Carbonates — Inflammation of Phosphorus by Charcoal — Observations on Aurora? Boreales witnessed at Bedford, at various times, from April 19, 1830, to January 11, 1831, by W. H.White, H.M.C.S 393 Rev. W. D. Conybeare's Preliminary Addresses to the Course of Lectures on Theology, delivered at the Collegiate Insti- tution of Bristol— Dr. Webster's Dictionary 396 Lunar Rainbows — Lunar Occultations of Planets and fixed Stars by the Moon, in May 1831. Computed for Greenwich, by T. Henderson, Esq. ; and circulated by the Astrono- mical Society 397 Meteorological Observations 398 NUMBER LIV.— JUNE. Dr. J. Apjohn on a Combination of Bicyanide of Mercury and Iodide of Potassium 401 J. E. B. on Mr. Lindley's Statement respecting the Investiga- tion of the Structure of the Orchidece 403 Prof. Encke on the Calculation of the Orbits of Double Stars 405 Mr. Brayley, Jun., on the Odour exhaled from certain Organic Remains in the Diluvium of the Arctic Circle, as confirma- tory of Dr. Buckland's Opinion of a sudden Change of Cli- mate at the Period of Destruction of the Animals to which they belonged; and on the Probability that one of the Fossil Bones brought from Eschscholtz Bay, by Captain Beechey, belonged to a Species of Megatherium 411 Dr. A. Smith's Observations relative to the Origin and History of the Bushmen 419 Mr. J. Nixon's Theory of the Telescopic Level 423 Ne w Books :— Phillips's Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire 430 Proceedings of the Royal Society 441 »• Geological Society 445 Zoological Society 449 Linnaean Society 461 at the Friday- Evening Meetings of the Royal Institution of Great Britain 461 Cambridge Philosophical Society 462 Mr. Galbraith on an Omission in his Paper on North Polar Distances . . .463 viii CONTENTS. Pago Lunar Occultations of Planets and fixed Stars by the Moon, in June 1831. Computed for Greenwich, by T. Henderson, Esq. ; and circulated by the Astronomical Society 464? Meteorological Observations 464? Index . 468 PLATE. I. A Map illustrative of Mr. LUBBOCK'S Paper on the Tides on the Coast of Great Britain. ERRATA. Page 220, line 11 & 12, omit the sentence " and the scene of the fabulous adventures of Robinson Crusoe." Page 220, line 20, for " metastique [?]>" read " chaux carbonates metas- Page 331, line 14, for Sarne read Lame. Page 332, line 30, for Sarne read Larne. Page 332, line 31, for William Terarent, Esq. read William Tennent, Esq. THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE AND ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY. [NEW SERIES.] JANUAR Y 1831 I. Reply to a Note in the Rev. Mr. Conybeare's Paper entitled "An Examination of those Phenomena of Geology, which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations." By C. LYELL, Esq. F.R.S. For. Sec. G.S. Sfc. To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. Gentlemen, T OBSERVE in the first page of your last Number (De- "• cember 1830) the following passage, in a paper by my friend the Rev. W. D. Conybeare : " While on classical sub- jects, I would just' remark how much I am gratified by finding every quotation in Mr. LyelPs able remarks on the attention of the ancients to geology, identical with those previously given in my own Outlines, with the single exception of the passage from Strabo, to which, however, I have given a re- ference although certainly partial and imperfect : as there is not a word of acknowledgement, of course this coincidence is accidental." — Surprised at this unexpected charge, I imme- diately compared the second chapter of my " Principles of Geology" with those two pages of the introduction to the " Outlines," (pp. 38, 39,) which comprise the whole of Mr. Conybeare's allusions to the geological doctrines to be met with in the writings of classical antiquity. The authors cited in those pages are Aristotle, Lucretius, Seneca, Plutarch, Pliny, Herodotus, Polybius, Strabo, Pausanias, Xenophon, * Theophrastus, and Ovid. Of these twelve, five only are to be found among the classical authorities adverted to by me ; viz. Aristotle, Seneca, Pliny, Strabo, and Ovid. The passages N.S. Vol.9. No. 49. Jan. 1831. B which 2 Mr. Lyell's Reply to the Rev. Mr. Conybeare which I have cited from Aristotle and Seneca relating to the supposed periodical revolutions of the globe, had been pre- viously collected and commented upon in Dr. Prichard's " Egyptian Mythology," a work to which I have been careful to refer in no less than four places in my second chapter, and to which Mr. Conybeare has also acknowledged his obliga- tions in his Introduction (p. 39). In regard to other citations from Aristotle's Meteorics, besides that they must be familiar to all who are at once scholars and naturalists, Mr. Conybeare can hardly be ignorant that they have been referred to again and again, not only in the works of the early Italian writers on geology, but also by Hooke, Ray, and Biirnet *, the last- mentioned of whom has given a translation of the passage in the Meteorics, lib. 1. 14. to which Dr. Prichard and Mr. Cony- beare refer. An enumeration of all the passages in Pliny re- lating to the birth of new islands and analogous subjects is to be found in Raspe's workf; but even Raspe lies open to an ac- cusation from Mr. Conybeare of having copied his citations from previous writers, and among others from Hooke. The last-named philosopher has called attention to the same no- tices by Pliny on the formation of new lands by river-alluvions, to which Mr. Conybeare refers J. The learned mathematician has moreover enlarged §, as well as Whiston || after him, on " the burying of Typhceus under Etna," and other mytho- logical stories of the gigantomachia ; and passages on this subject from Pindar, Sophocles, Plutarch, Apollodorus, Vir- gil, Ovid, Lucan, and several others, are quoted by these writers, many of which allusions have been revived by some of the learned of our days, and perhaps regarded by them in the light of original discoveries in the mines of classic lo're. The only passage in Strabo mentioned in the " Outlines," is one not alluded to by me, but which had been already given at full length by Raspe more than sixty years before, in his copious extracts from the writings of the ancients on volcanic phaenomena ; but I have looked in vain for that " partial and imperfect reference" which Mr. Conybeare says may be traced in his own two pages to that doctrine of Strabo respecting ele- vation by earthquakes, of which I have endeavoured to point out the importance. Is it then the trite quotation from the Metamorphoses of Ovid which has laid me open to so sweeping a charge of pla- * Sacred Theory of the Earth, vol. i. p. 214. t De Novii Insults, 1763. Hooke's Discourse of Earthquakes : Posthumous Works, p. 299. Ibid. p. 323. New Theory of the Earth, &c. p. 201. giarism ? respecting certain Quotations from Classical Authorities. 3 giarism ? I should have owed an apology to my readers for pretending to recall to their minds that celebrated passage so hackneyed by repeated references in the works of Fabio Colonna, Hooke, Moro, Generelli, Ray, Vallisneri, Fortis, and others, had not all those writers in common with Mr. Cony- beare neglected to give a full and connected view of the Pytha- gorean system as developed in the memorable verses of the Roman poet. I have scrupulously stated, in my "jPrinciples of Geology*," Hooke's acquaintance with the learned Italian writers who preceded him, as well as his allusion to Strabo and other classical authoritiesf ; and I have not been silent respecting the erudition of Moro:f, and several of his successors. The notions of Theophrastus respecting fossils are discussed by Fabio Colonna j, and alluded to by Scilla||; and the various references to Plutarch and Lucretius in the treatises of the early geologists are known to those who are versed in the history of the science. No less rich are the various writings of Fortis in classical citations bearing on geology. Mr. Cony- beare is surely aware that his predecessors had left no field open wherein geologists of his day might display their scho- larship, unless they availed themselves of a more enlarged ac- quaintance with natural phenomena to form a juster estimate of the relative value of facts and theories recorded by the an- cients. The estimate of their importance given by me in the " Principles of Geology" is somewhat different from that to which Mr. Conybeare inclines ; for I have been disposed to refer to .observation and inductive reasoning the origin of those crude speculations which in the " Outlines " are attri- buted " to principles assumed on the high priori road." Your readers will, perhaps, think that these rival claims to priority to half a dozen classical common-places are unworthy of the cultivators of a science which more than any other is marked by the daily discovery of grand and unexpected truths in physical science, especially as the initiator of this discussion ranks high as an original observer : but I feel that I should presume too much on the acquaintance of the public with my work, and regard too little the weight of an assertion made by Mr. Conybeare, if I allowed the statement in his note to pass without observation. 2, Raymond Buildings, Gray's Inn, Dec. 5th, 1830. * Principles of Geology, p. 32. f Ibid. p. 34. t Ibid. p. 42. § De Glossopelris, Sfc. || DC Corpor'ibus Marims,p. 41. B2 II. Memoir [ * ] II. Memoir of the late J. S. Miller, A.L.S. Curator of the Museum oftheBristol Philosophical Institution. By A Co R RESPON DENT. ]V1 R. J. S. MILLER was a native of Dantzig, the only son •*-*-*• of truly respectable parents. He was designed by his father for commercial pursuits, and served an apprenticeship with M. Bennies, a merchant of his native town. He came to England in 1801, with a full resolution of proceeding to America, and with letters of recommendation to persons in that country. The vessel in which he expected to cross the Atlantic had sailed on the day before his arrival; and being thus detained in Bristol, he formed connections by which he was finally induced to alter his purpose and to fix his abode in this city. Here he endeavoured to establish himself in mercantile business, but his efforts were unsuccessful ; and it happened, unfortunately for his prospects in life, that Dantzig was at this period overrun and pillaged by the French. His father's property shared the common fate; and of fifteen hun- dred pounds which had been left to Mr. Miller, nothing ever came into his possession except a box of valuable coins, which was concealed during two years in a church, and a very in- considerable sum of money. He now devoted himself en- tirely to scientific pursuits, for which he had shown a strong inclination from his early youth, and he soon acquired very ex- tensive information in various branches of natural history. Some curious researches in entomology introduced him at an early period to the acquaintance of Dr. Leach, and this was the first occasion on which his talents became known beyond the circle of his personal friends. The prospect of succeeding Dr. Leach at the British Museum opened a new field to his mind ; and although he was frustrated in this expectation by the appointment of Mr. Children, he applied himself from this time with increased energy to his researches in natural history. An investigation of the structure and nature of the organic remains of the Encnnus, for which the vicinity of Bristol af- fords so remarkable a field, now became his favourite pursuit. It was while he was engaged in the publication of his well- known work on the Crinoidea, that he became known to the Rev. W. D. Conybeare, by whom his merit was soon distin- guished and very highly appreciated. As the work was going through the press. Sir. Conybeare kindly undertook to revise it, and, by correcting the peculiarities of a foreign idiom*, to * This, however, was strictly confined'to the correction of such idiomatic inaccuracies as might have obscured the sense to an English reader; in all other cases it was considered in every respect desirable scrupulously to preserve unaltered the author's own expressions. — W. D. C. j render Memoir of the late J. S. Miller, A.L.S. 5 render it more acceptable to the public than it might otherwise have been. In this publication Mr. Miller had to surmount many difficulties; and although it became the means of spread- ing universally his reputation as a profound and accurate na- turalist, it was to him a source not only of present expense, but of ultimate pecuniary loss. This may be attributed in part to his great liberality of disposition. I am informed that he gave away not less than a hundred copies of his work, princi- pally to individuals whom he supposed unable to purchase it. His pen was always ready and his services energetic in any scientific undertaking in which they were requested, as the many letters of thanks and works presented to him in conse- quence of such assistance will sufficiently testify. Notwithstand- ing the difficulties he experienced at nis first publication, he was not discouraged. He contemplated and had arranged in his mind the materials for a second work on Fossilized Corals, and likewise an Appendix to that on the Crino'idea. There was scarcely a department of natural history to which he had not directed his mind with zealous and intense application ; and there is no doubt that he would have achieved more, as an original discoverer, than he has actually performed, if his time and exertions had not been engrossed, during the last years of his life, by his occupations in the Museum of the Philosophical Institution of Bristol, of which he was the Curator from the period of its establishment. Mr. Miller's constitution of body, though not robust, was healthy, and during a period of twenty-seven years he had never a day of severe indisposition. His cheerfulness and tem- perance were remarkable. The unceasing activity of his mind was apparently too great for the physical energy of his body ; and the confinement to which he was of necessity subjected, in consequence of his appointment in the Institution, probably contributed to undermine his health, which began to give way about three years before his death. He was married in the year 1806, and has left a widow and three sons. As a naturalist, Mr. Miller was well fitted by the habits of his mind to cooperate in the researches of an age, of which it is the peculiar merit to obviate the reproaches once, per- haps, justly cast, against mere systems of classification, and to found such arrangements upon the just and philosophical grounds afforded by the exact determinations of science, and the general principles of physiology and comparative ana- tomy. The labours of Baron Cuvier may be cited as the great model in this line ; but among those who in this country have followed the same course, the subject of the present me- moir assuredly deserves very favourable mention. To an acute- ness 6 Memoir of the late J. S. Miller, A.L.S. ness of mind which readily seized on general relations, he joined the most indefatigable patience ot laborious investiga- tion,— a quality particularly requisite in the branch to which he especially directed his attention ; viz. the elucidation of the history of the organic remains which are preserved in our strata in a fossilized state. In this state individual specimens generally occur in a more or less imperfect condition, so that the real type of the organization can seldom be ascertained without the most careful comparison of many particular re- lics. They are likewise in many instances so imbedded in the solid rock, that the most essential parts are concealed, and cannot be detected without the nicest dexterity of manual operation. When these circumstances are taken into the account, we may fairly appreciate the labour and talent ne- cessary to produce such a work as Mr. Miller's account of the fossil Crinoidea. This family of organic bodies, from the delicate beauty and interesting character of many of its spe- cimens, had long excited the attention of naturalists ; but still our whole knowledge on the subject, previously to the ap- pearance of Mr. Miller's work, was in the highest degree vague and indeterminate. His researches, however, have established in the most complete manner, and have placed in every respect in the fullest and clearest light, the whole history and relations of this curious family. He has de- monstrated its arrangement into four divisions, including nine genera, and more than twenty species. Of each species he has developed the whole anatomy with the same exactness as if they had been recent objects easily preserved, overcom- ing the many and great obstacles which, as it has been al- ready noticed, the fossilized state presents to such inquiries. Persons who are at all aware of the complicated structure of the Crinoidea^ and the numerous articulations which enter into the composition of each individual, must feel all the arduous- ness of such a task ; but those only can fully appreciate the extreme care with which it has been performed, who have had an opportunity of examining Mr. Miller's collection of ori- final specimens now deposited in the Museum of the Bristol nstitution, and of comparing these with the illustrations published in his work. The great merit of this treatise secured its immediate re- ception as the standard work on the subject, by all the scien- tific writers interested in similar pursuits on the continent as well as in this country ; and reference is now uniformly made to it as such. The author had intended to follow up this work, as before mentioned, by a similar examination of our Coralline remains ; but it is feared that he has left no papers on Rev, J. Challis on the Motion of Fluids. 7 on this branch at all prepared for publication. A paper of his, published in the Transactions of the Geological Society, contains very valuable contributions towards the history of our fossil Belemnites, and has been most favourably referred to by the French author who has subsequently published the standard monography of that department. Mr. Miller's talents have been highly estimated by the ablest of our naturalists and geological writers. Professor Blumenbach, Baron Cuvier, MM. Latreille and D'Aubigne, have expressed in letters to him high commendation of his works. Professor Buckland obtained his assistance in ar- ranging the valuable collection of organic remains belonging to the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. The same Professor, in his very interesting paper 'on the recent discovery in this country of fossil remains belonging to the flying reptile the Pterodactylus, mentions that Mr. Miller first suggested to him the possibility, thus confirmed, that the fossil bones commonly supposed to belong to birds really appertained to that animal. And Mr. Conybeare, while drawing up the lists of the organic remains in our strata, which are given in his " Outlines," was in the common habit of appealing to Mr. Miller's authority. In surveying the results of Mr. Miller's scientific acquire- ments and of his exertions, we must not forget the important benefits rendered by him to the Museum of the Institution of which he was Curator. It may safely be affirmed, that the history of similar collections does not present another instance in which so rapid a progress has been made in accumulating the varied stores connected with such undertakings ; and the rapidity of this progress must undoubtedly be ascribed in a great measure to the energy and zeal of the Curator in the service, and to the interest which he so well knew how to communicate to those with whom he came into intercourse. III. On the theoretical Determination of the Motion of Fluids. By the Rev. J. CHALLIS, Fellow of Trinity College, Cam- bridge, and of the Camb. Phil. Soc.* CUPPOSE x,y, z, to be the coordinates of any particle of ^ a fluid mass in motion, at a given time /, and 21, v, w, the velocities of the particle in the directions of the axes of x,y, z, respectively, at that time. The general investigation of the motion of fluids conducts to a case of very extensive applica- tion, in which udx + vdy + wdz is a complete differential of a function of x,y, z, which may also contain t. In a commu- * Communicated by the Author. nication 8 Rev. J. Challis on the theoretical Determination nication to the Phil. Mag. and Annals of Philosophy for August 1829, which contained several inaccuracies, I made an assertion respecting this case of fluid motion, the correct- ness of which subsequent consideration has only tended to con- firm ; viz. that when udx + vdy + w d z is an exact differential, the whole motion is such that the motion of each elementary portion of the fluid is directed to a fixed or moveable centre. The course of the reasoning by which this proposition may be established is I conceive such as follows. We know from the theory of partial differential equations, that their integrals, whether we can obtain them exactly or not, must contain arbi- trary functions. The arbitrariness of which we are informed by pure analysis, has a signification in the applications of the functions to physical questions. Thus the existence of arbitrary functions in the integrals of the equations which determine the motion of fluids, is the proper proof that we can give to the fluid any motion we please ; and this is an evident consequence of one of the fundamental principles in the investigation of the motion, — the perfect mobility of the particles. The forms of the functions depend on the particular motion we choose to give to the fluid by vessels, pipes, or other means. But how- ever irregular we may cause the motion to be, it may still be conceived to be composed of elementary motions, which obey the law of continuity, independently of our will, just as a line, however broken and irregular, may be conceived to be made up of elementary portions which are straight lines. Absolute discontinuity is inconceivable. The law of these motions will be independent of time and position, and dependent only on the nature of the fluid. Hence, to learn whether the motion be really so composed, it will be necessary, after having ob- tained the complete integral of the equation expressing the continuity of the fluid, to ascertain whether the arbitrary func- tions which the integral contains, can be shown to have a particular form, when discussed on the supposition that the origins of the time and coordinates are not fixed. This will in general require the solution of a functional equation. An instance of this reasoning was given in the communication above mentioned, for the case in which the motion is in space of two dimensions. From the complete integral of — ^- -f — ds? dy* — 0, a particular form of the arbitrary functions was obtained, which indicated that the velocity was directed to a centre and varied inversely as the distance from the centre. I have since found that the complete integral of -~- + ~- + -~f = 0, which M. Poisson has expressed by definite integrals (Mem. de VAcad. of the Motion of Fluids. 9 r Acad. des Scien. Ann. 1818), also conducts to a particular form of the arbitrary functions, when treated according to the same principles : and from the discussion it appears that

9 is known not to be a complete dif- ferential of a function of x,y,z9 confirm the view here taken. When a mass of incompressible fluid revolves uniformly, with- out changing form, about a fixed axis, d

to be N. S. Vol. 9. No. 49. Jan. 1831. C a function 10 Rev. J. Challis on the Motion of Fluids. a function of r and t, is p = — ^- -f /(£), and the velocity From what has been said, these ex- or r pressions for

is an exact differential. But in ge- neral F (t) and f (t) can be considered constant at a given time only for values of r restricted within limits indefinitely near each other. Let r' be a value indefinitely near to r. Then*'-? = F (t) (± - - -1)= -*&.p-f) = • (,<-r). Here ?J— r may be considered the increment ds of a line s9 drawn continually in the direction of the motions of the par- ticles through which it passes. Hence d$ = ads; and p =fa> ds -f x (0> tne integral being taken in regard to an arbitrary portion of the line 5. The two expressions for <$> thus obtained, have a relation to each other, analogous to that between the two expressions which the general and the par- ticular solutions of a differential equation of the first order give for the same variable. By equating these values of f, But in the example before us, if y = the distance of any point from the axis, r, being the length of the portion of a tangent to s intercepted between the point and the axis, will be y -—-. Therefore, or' , 'V = ./•*• + *co Hence -r =fwds + x (0 ~/(0 5 and .'. o» = — y y **o > Now the particles in contact with the surface of the cone must move in straight lines directed to its vertex : and if 2a = its vertical angle, - = sin «. Hence to = — ^-^ that j' is, the velocity varies inversely as the square of j/, and conse- quently inversely as the square of the distance from the vertex. Therefore if we conceive a conical surface to have the same vertex and axis as that which contains the fluid, and to have a vertical angle, less by an indefinitely small angle than Vot, the fluid contiguous to the containing surface will move as if included Mr. Winch on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed. 11 included between the two surfaces. Similar reasoning may be applied to the fluid contiguous to this new containing surface, and so on throughout the whole of the mass. From this we infer that the motion is at every point directed to the vertex of the given cone. Also, let V = the velocity of the vertical descent of the horizontal surface, and h its distance from the vertex of the cone, and let us consider a point on this surface, at which the direction of the velocity makes an angle & with the axis. The velocity at this point = V sec 0 and V sec $ c dy csin^ TT h? V sin 6 m, = - • = ~ Hence ~c = ---- There- f V sin2 6 h* T/, fore in general co = -^7- . — • If § = the distance of any point from the vertex g sin 6 = y, and V h* 1 cos 6 ' £ cos* 6 ' As the vertical velocity M cos 0 varies as CQS ^ g, it is the same at all points of a plane perpendicular to the axis. Hence the fluid descends in parallel slices ; that is, a portion which at any instant is included between horizontal planes will al- ways be included between horizontal planes. Trin. Coll. Camb. Nov. 13, 1830. IV. Remarks on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed, from Carham, in Northumberland, to the Sea Coast at Berwick. By N. J. WINCH, Esq. Secretary of the Natural History Society of Newcastle-upon- Tyne*. fT1HE rocky strata which border the Tweed from Carham ••• Bourn, where the river begins to form the boundary be- tween Northumberland and Scotland, to the sea shore at Ber- wick, appearing to be associated in a manner so different from the order generally considered by geologists as the natural arrangement, will oblige me to abstain from theory altogether in the following remarks. It is, therefore, my intention to lay before the Society merely a series of notes lately made during an examination of the north-eastern termination of our district, accompanied by specimens which will serve to assist in verifying the correctness of the observations. A superficial view of the banks of this beautiful river presents a succession of eminences, I can scarcely call them hills, chiefly composed of diluvium, con- * Read before the Natural History Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on the 20th of July last ; and now reprinted from the Transactions of that Society. C 2 taining 12 Mr. Winch on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed. taining numerous basaltic boulders, water-worn, as usual. This soil is red ; but colour does not always indicate the na- ture of the rocks below, for a red soil also covers the por- phyries and sienites of the north of England and the south of Scotland. By a cut on the side of the road immediately be- yond Coldstream Bridge, the incumbent mass of loose earth is shown to be not less than fifty feet thick, at that spot, from the top of the bank to the road, and for fifty feet more, to the brink of the stream, no rock is seen to crop out from under the debris ; and subsequent remarks led me to think that this part of the country was generally clothed by a diluvial soil of considerable thickness. To avoid repetition, it may not be amiss to enumerate the rocks which are the subject of these notes. Excluding basalt, they are all stratified, and, with few exceptions, dip towards the southward of east, but at very different angles, some beds rather exceeding than falling short of 4>6°. The suite comprises dolomite, indurated marl, and limestone containing gypsum, red and variegated sandstone, with nodules of red ochre, bituminous shales and sandstones, \vith vegetable remains, encrinal limestone, also with vegetable exuviae, shale, with bivalve shells, and numerous beds of coal ; the whole series appearing to rest upon transition rocks, which, to the north-west and south-west form the Lammer Muir and Cheviot range of mountains. At the distance of sixteen miles, in a direct line from the sea, and in the vicinity of Carham, a small burn enters the Tweed on its south side, dividing Northumberland from Rox- burghshire. Here a bed of close-grained iron-gray basalt occupies the bed of the river for a considerable distance, and near Carham Church rocks of pale-brown dolomite may be seen on its banks. This limestone seems to be superior to the basalt, and is heaped together in irregular masses, but that these are a part of a regular stratum is evident, for at Had- don Rigs, a mile south from this place, the stone is quarried to the depth often feet for agricultural purposes, though, from the veins of reddish-brown chert which pervade it, the produce of pure lime is much diminished. Besides chert, calcareous spar occurs in the rock, which, at the quarry just noticed, is about ten feet thick, with a covering of ten feet of soil. The next point where rocks are exposed to view is on the north side of the river ; at the foot of Spring Hill, about a mile west of Birgham. Here numerous thin strata of soft arenaceous limestone, of an ash colour, interstratified with greenish-gray indurated slaty marl, mixed with sand and mica, form cliffs of nearly sixty feet high, and the river flows over strata of the same description. Jn this limestone, veins of flesh-coloured compact Mr. Winch on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed. 13 compact gypsum* and nodules with crystals of brownish-red selenite are tolerably abundant. The rocks lie very regular, and dip, at a trifling angle, to the south-east. The relation they bear to the red and variegated sandstones will be noticed when the strata situated lower down the Tweed come under consideration. In the bed of the rivulet called Firebourn, a slip or dyke is worthy of notice ; in the language of miners, it casts up to the east, and the thin strata of limestone and indurated marl, before mentioned, may be seen in the water-course, dipping at an angle of 40° in that direction. On the banks of the river, at a trifling distance lower down, another slip divides the rocks, and brings two beds of micaceous sandstone into contact with the calcareous series ; the upper of these sand- stone beds is slightly tinged red, owing to its mica being oxidated, but the lower is of a pale yellowish-brown colour, and ambiguous character, rather resembling a coal sandstone; their aggregate thickness, with a thin micaceous parting, is fourteen feet. Half a mile below Firebourn there is a ford across the Tweed, noted in Border History ; its direction is south-east, and may have been occasioned by the dyke. On the south side of the river the ruins of Wark Castle stand on an eminence sixty feet high, composed of calcareous strata, similar in every respect to those at Spring Hill, but their dip is in an opposite direction. These impure limestones seldom exceed a foot in thickness, and gypsum is interspersed through them. At about a hundred yards west of the Castle, rocks of dolomite again crop out on the banks of the river, but to the eastward this peculiar mineral was no more to be seen ; nor could I thoroughly satisfy myself as to its geological position, though I have every reason to believe that it rests upon the basalt, and suspect this rock belongs to the same bed as oc- cupies the north shore of the Tweed at Carham, and is here again brought to the surface by the Firebourn Dyke. Again, passing to the north side of the Tweed, near the Temple at the Lees, eight alternations of the same calcareous beds as form the cliffs at Spring Hill and Wark, (except that the lower stratum of limestone contains very minute bivalve shells filled with calcareous spar,) occupy the bank and the bottom of the river; their thickness above ground is about ten feet, and their dip towards the north-west. No strata of this description were again noticed for nearly six miles, and * Gypsum is also found at Fluers, some miles higher up the Tweed, on its north bank, and has been found by the Rev. A. Baird, on the banks of the Whiteadder, near Hutton Hall.— Geological Essay on Berwickshire, in the Preface of Johnston's Flora of Berwick, p. xxi. when 14 Mr. Winch on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed. when again seen, were found associated with red sandstone, in the vicinity of Nor ham. The town of Coldstream stands on what are usually called coal-measures, comprising sandstones and bituminous shales, exactly the same as those of the Newcastle coal-field, and wherever diluvium does not form the shores of the river, these may be traced for the distance of two miles and a half. The little river Leat, which here empties itself into the Tweed, passes through Mill Haugh, where the late Lord Home bored for coal, but to what depth I could not ascertain. An exten- sive free-stone quarry is worked in this field to the depth of thirty feet; the upper and middle beds are white micaceous sandstone, fine-grained, and full of coal pipes, the lower is free from these vegetable exuviae*. A strong chalybeate spring rises to the day, and runs into the Leat at a short di- stance from the quarry. Both above and below Coldstream Bridge the Tweed flows over these coal measures, which dip, at a trifling angle, to the south-east, and the rocks on the south side having been cut through, micaceous sandstone, alterna- ting with bituminous shale, and covered with a bank of red earth, are laid open to view, and beds of the same nature may be noticed half a mile lower down the stream. But the cliff at Lennel Braes, on the north side, two miles to the eastward, exhibits the most perfect section of this suite of strata to be met with in the vicinity. At the Braes the perpendicular cliff extends for more than a hundred yards, and was estimated by me at forty feet in height, exclusive of its diluvial covering, but the correct section, published in Mr. Witham's pamphlet On the Vegetable Fossils found there, makes its elevation forty-four feetf. The uppermost bed is sandstone, which is succeeded by four others, alternating with slaty sandstones, or coal metals and shales inclosing balls of clay iron-stone. Their dip is north-east, and the rocks on the south side of the river appear to resemble them. The petrified trunks of trees are irregularly dispersed through the lower bed of shale, and are both of the monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous classes of vegetables ; but for an accurate description of these interesting fossils the pamphlet before mentioned must be referred to. At no great distance east of this escarpment a quarry has been opened on the side of the bank to the depth of twenty * Sandstones, bearing strong indications of being associated with beds of coal, are quarried at Sprouston, in Roxburghshire ; for an account of which see Mr.Buddle's pamphlet " On the search for Coal in a Part of the Counties of Roxburgh and Berwick, in 1806," pp. 10, 11. These sandstones are very hard, and filled with coal pipes. f Mr. Witham's paper will be found in the Phil, Mag. and Annals, N.S. vol. viii. p. 16. — EDIT. feet, Mr. Winch on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed. 15 feet, and is situated more than twenty feet above the river. The stone here has a slight tinge of red, similar to the stra- tum in the upper part of the cliff at Firebourn, which abuts against the calcareous beds. It dips to the southward, and is divided by thin slaty micaceous partings, and capped by about ten feet of loose sand, the abode of flights of sand-martins. On the north side of the Tweed, at the distance of a mile above Twizell Ferry, rocks of well-defined red sandstone make their appearance. It is fine-grained in texture, of a dark red- dish-brown colour, and abounds with spangles of silvery mica. The cliff is of considerable elevation, and from hence to the sea coast, thick beds of red and variegated sandstone, at some places covered by the thin calcareous strata previously men- tioned, and at others interstratified with them, become preva- lent, though coal measures may be noticed in their vicinity. On descending the river until opposite Twizell Boat- House, fine-grained micaceous red sandstone rocks, and those of the coal formation, or at least such as have heretofore been con- sidered exclusively as such, are in close contact. On the north shore, low rocks of the latter description appear in situ, and it may be worth remarking, that, on ascending the river Till, for the distance of a mile westward, Twizell Castle may be seen, built on an extremely hard gray micaceous sandstone, filled with coal scars*, and so promising did this neighbour- hood appear, as to induce the proprietor to make a trial for coal. Three-quarters of a mile further up the Till, the red rocks are again met with, and worked at Mill Quarry, but at Dunston Haugh, two miles and a half from the Castle, the stratum quarried is yellowish-white, and seemed to be a coal sandstone. But to return to Tweed side. On the south bank, above the Ferry House there is a perpendicular cliff, forty feet high, of white sandstones, though tinged red on their sur- faces by the oxidation of their mica ; the beds are separated by thin micaceous partings, and in every respect resemble the rock quarried below Lennel. On the north side, just below the ferry, the cliff is not less than 50 feet above the stream, and composed of fine-grained red sandstone, with small scales of silvery mica. On descending the river, the rocks on the south shore con- tinue red, micaceous partings divide the thick strata, through which nodules of red ochre are dispersed in abundance, and those on the north side agree with them in every character. * Minute fragments of red garnets are embedded in this sandstone ; a circumstance I have never noticed in the sandstones of the Newcastle coal- field; but in the millstone grit at Shaftoe Crags, near Wallington, the same mineral was detected by W. C. Trevelyan, Esq., and it abounds in the grauwacke of Bournmouth, north of Berwick. The Twizell sandstone I suspect to be an old member of the carboniferous limestone formation. Opposite 16 Mr. Winch on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed. Opposite Newbiggin, the elevated cliffs are rendered sin- gular by an escarpment of bright red marl, which, from a distance, is a striking object. The dip is towards the south- east. Near Norham Boat-House, the Tweed sweeps round the foot of a promontory of not less than seventy to eighty feet in height ; its rocks are red, and differ in no respect from those a little higher up on the north bank of the river. To the eastward, Norham Castle stands upon an eminence overlook- ing the Tweed, and, as the stones of which it is constructed are red and white, the vicinity of quarries of both these kind of rock is evident; but the geology of its immediate neigh- bourhood may be studied to most advantage by carefully in- specting the abrupt cliffs below the Castle mount. A beautiful and interesting section is there developed. The lowest bed, which is scarcely above the level of the stream, consists of a whitish sandstone and limestone forming a breccia; on this rests a stratum of reddish sandstone, forty feet thick, which is, in turn, capped by fourteen thin seams of soft ash-coloured limestone, interstratified with an equal number of others of greenish -gray slaty marl, mixed with sand and silvery mica; their aggregate thickness is twenty-five feet, which, with five feet of diluvium, will give seventy feet as the elevation of the escarpment. When viewed from below, the upper part of this singular cliff appears to be striped with the regularity of a ribbon. In the thick bed of sandstone, pear-shaped nodules of extremely hard white micaceous sandstone abound, and greatly impede the Work of the quarry-men ; some of these nodules are not many inches in diameter, but I measured one of two feet and a half; they are not ranged in lines, but their sharper extremities point towards the north-west, which is the full rise of the stratum containing them. Proceeding eastward to the vicinity of Horncliffe House, the rocks are still red sandstone, with similar calcareous seams as those near Nor- ham resting upon them, and a cut, made to widen the road to the Chain Bridge, lays open thirty feet of rock, comprising six different strata; the lowest is red sandstone, the others limestone and slaty indurated marl. A slip of six feet cuts through these beds. Above West Ord, a cliff' of sixty feet again exhibits the nature of the rocks ; here the variegated sandstone rests upon the red, which is filled with nodules of red ochre, and is covered by the calcareous series so fre- quently mentioned ; and at the plantations, a little lower down the river, six alternations of these thin beds are covered by thick strata of red and variegated sandstone. At Ord Mill, the red rock alone is visible ; the dip of the whole series is southward of east. Diluvium now covers the rocks on the south of Mr. Winch on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed. 17 shore of the Tweed the whole way to the harbour, but on the north bank, Berwick Castle stands upon an elevation about ninety feet high. Under the soil the rocks are variegated and red sandstones, of extremely fine-grained texture; the beds are thick, in which they may be compared to the posts in this part of our district, while the thin calcareous strata occupy the place of our metals and bituminous shales ; but so consi- derable a proportion of carbonate of lime do all the sandstones hereabout contain, that they effervesce on the application of diluted mineral acids. The dip southward of east. From, the rocks on which Berwick Castle is constructed to the en- trance of the harbour the space is covered by soil ; but both towards the north and south high and rugged cliffs bound the ocean. Those to the north shall first be brought under consideration. On passing through the Sally-port, and be- fore reaching the Pier, the following succession of rocks rise to the day: — 1st. A thick stratum of fine-grained brick-red micaceous sandstone. 2d. Hair-brown limestone, with small encrinites. 3rd. Slaty micaceous sandstone, of an ash-gray colour. 4th. Red sandstone. 5th. Encrinal limestone. 6th. White sandstone, blotched by red ochre and containing coal pipes. 7th. Encrinal limestone. 8th. Slaty micaceous sand- stone. 9th. Encrinal limestone. 10th. Variegated sandstone. These strata occupy the space from the Sally-port to the Pier. The limestones are of inconsiderable thickness, and envelope bivalve shells as well as encrinites. The red and variegated sandstones are very fine grained, with but little mica ; and the coal sandstones white, when not tinged by yellow ochre. At this point, which may be about a hundred yards north of the Pier, a slip dyke, of considerable magnitude, intersects the cliff, and may be traced eastward into the sea; its breadth is three yards, the south side of the chasm being filled for two yards by shale, and the north side by a rib of brownish- purple limestone, so hard as to give fire with steel ; it is of a fine texture, with a splintery fracture, and impressions of the lanceolate leaves of some species of Variolaria of Ad. Bron- gniart, Stigmaria of Sternberg, are dispersed through it. The hade of the dyke is inconsiderable, but to the south of it the strata dip to the south-east at an angle of 45°. A little to the north, the rocks become less inclined, and dip to the east at a trifling angle; the upper is a stratum of ash-coloured shale, twelve feet thick, filled with Producti (Productus scoticus, Sowerby, Mineral Conch, t. 59, f. 3 ; and Productus anti- quatus, t. 317, f. 1, 5, 6.), the shells of which retain their pearly lustre; the lower stratum is encrinal limestone, in- closing specimens of very large Producti (Productus gtgan- N.S.Vol 9. No. 49. Jan. 1831. D tens, 18 Mr. Winch on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed. teus, Sowerby's Mineral Conch, t. 320.) — being the same fossil which gives the name of cockle-shell limestone to one of the beds in the neighbourhood of Alston. On the beach the limestone is laid bare by the action of the waves, and ex- hibits the extraordinary undulations long since noticed in the stratification at Holy Island. Probably the stratum may be the same ; but it is not safe to hazard conjectures on the iden- tity of mineral beds on a coast where their dips are so various, and positions unconformable. On the south side of the harbour, at the distance of half a mile from the bridge, the strata incline to the south-east at an angle of 45°, and are arranged in the following order: — 1st, fine-grained pale red sandstone ; 2nd, a thin stratum of slaty micaceous sandstone ; 3rd, twenty-five feet of dark red mica- ceous sandstone; 4th, shale, with thin strata of encrinal lime- stone; 5th, red sandstone, divided by the same limstone : — the total thickness of these beds is one hundred and twenty feet. Below Spital Mill, half a mile further south, a thick stratum of sandstone, of peculiar appearance, crops out; it is yellow, blotched with red, and is very friable, its grains scarcely adhering; and on the beach, about twenty yards north of this spot, the limestone is separated by a parting of ash-coloured shale, containing bivalve shells (Corbula limosa, Fleming's British Animals, 426.) in abundance. Near Spital Farm, a dark gray compact limestone, containing vegetable exuviae, similar to those noticed in the limestone in the dyke on the north side of the harbour, rises to the day about high-water mark, and may be considered another of the anomalous rocks of this coast. At the foot of the rail-road, situated a little further south, coal sandstone, inclosing casts of large vege- tables, (Stigmaria Jicoides, Sternberg, t. 12. f. 1, 2, 3; and Lepidodendron obovatum, t. 6. f. 1.) and bituminous shale al- ternate, beyond which a quarry has been worked in the red rock to the depth of forty feet. The stone it affords is hard and fine-grained, and has been used in constructing the new pier. Proceeding southward to Huds-head, the red rock, of which the cliff here consists, abuts against the coal sandstone, which is close behind it, and within two hundred yards one of the Scremerstone shafts is sunk. At North Scremerstone, two miles from Berwick Bridge, the rocks are red sandstone, shale, and encrinal limestone, the latter of which has formerly been quarried, and a little to the south, an extensive quarry is now open at a place called the Red Houses. The stratum is 18 feet thick, and affords a blueish-gray stone, close in its texture, and containing encrinites. It dips at an angle of 4-5°, and undulates in the same way as the limestone upon the beach Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology. 1 9 beach on the north side the harbour. Proceeding inland to Sunnyside Hill, where workmen are now employed in widen- ing the great south road to Berwick, two excavations are made in the solid strata. At the northern cut, which is now twenty- two feet deep, the lowest rock is dark-gray encrinal limestone, covered by beds of coal measures of inconsiderable thickness, but interstratified with four thin seams of coal. The southern cut, which is nearer the summit of the hill, is at present four- teen feet deep, the lowest rock is a thin limestone bed; 2nd, a thin seam of coal with a band of shale ; 3rd, limestone ; 4th, coal and shale ; 5th, red sandstone ; 6th, coal and shale. The dip is, as usual in this vicinity, to the east. Sunnyside Hill is a mile south of Berwick. Near the coast, I observed no basalt in situ, and the only well-defined dyke of that de- scription met with, was at Ousenton Bourn, a mile and a half east of Cornhill ; the rib of basalt is 18 feet wide, and crosses the bourn from west to east. The blocks lie in a horizontal position, and the stone is dark-gray, approaching to black, with large greenish crystals of glassy felspar. [To be continued.] V. An Examination of those Phenomena of Geology., which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations*. By the Eev. W. D. CONYBEARE, M.A. F.R.S. F.G.S. %c. [In Continuation from vol. viii. p. 406.] Observations on Article V. " The decreasing violence of the Convulsions affecting the Strata at successive Geological Periods." "Vl^E have already noticed the effects of the dislocating forces which must have acted during the deposition of the strata referred to the Transition and Carboniferous formations, and we have found that the agency of these forces must have been universal and extreme during the first, and very general and very violent during the second period : in proceeding, we shall find that they are comparatively rare and partial in the formations of later origin, although they have never entirely ceased; and we are led by a strict analogy to ascribe the actual volcanic phaenomena to the same causes, though at present acting with an energy greatly diminished. Next to the carboniferous strata occur those of the magne- sian lime, new red sandstone and lias : these as well as the succeeding oolitic formations remain very generally undis- turbed, and in a position so little inclined that they have beea thence denominated by many geologists on the continent as * Communicated by the Author. D 2 well 20 Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology well as in England, horizontal: throughout Germany and France such is their general situation, excepting in the vici- nity of the great, though local disturbances which have ele- vated the Alpine and Pyrenean chains. Partial disturbances are however yet observable. In the lias of Bristol, instances of faults of about 200 feet sometimes extending for more than a mile, and attended with contorted strata, &c. have been noticed in my paper on the South-west coal fields, in the-Geological Transactions. The view of East cliff' in the same memoir presents some smaller faults ; — in my present neighbourhood, on the Glamorganshire coast, the lias which reposing on new red sandstone crowns the summit of Pen- narth Point, is towards the centre of that headland depressed about 100 feet to the sea level by a complicated fault. On the north of Barry Island is a fault which must be nearly 200 feet, throwing down the lias, and producing at the fracture curved and vertical strata. This fault strikes the contiguous shores of the mainland, and extends over an interval of a mile. Many other faults occur in the lias of this coast, which yet strikingly exhibits the decreasing energy of the convulsive forces in this as compared with the preceding period; for the carboniferous limestone is often exhibited towards the base of the cliffs, (its strata elevated 70 degrees,) on which the red marl and lias repose horizontally; — disturbances in the lias of the Yorkshire coast are mentioned in the surveys of Young and Phillips : and the analogous formations of Scotland, in the Brora coal-field, &c. are much deranged : indeed, from their relation to the adjacent primitive mountains it appears probable that the elevation of the latter was in part, at least, effected during this period. The oolitic formations have been less examined in this re- spect. I may however mention, that in the neighbourhood of Bath I have found in the hills above Bitton, the inferior oolite to participate in a fault affecting the lias, and throwing the beds down about 200 feet. In the cliffs west of Bridport har- bour on the Dorsetshire coast, a considerable fault accom- panied with vertical strata may be observed. The distur- bances affecting the oolites of the Weymouth district and Isle of Purbeck, must however be referred to the great convulsion which has affected the whole of that part of our coast and the Isle of Wight, subsequently to the deposition of the chalk formation, and during the tertiary period. The analogous formations of the Jura chain are much disturbed, the whole chain exhibiting in places an arched section ; but these con- vulsions must be referred to the forces which have elevated the Alps, and which certainly continued their action until the bearing on theoretical Speculations. 21 the middle of the tertiary period. The observations as yet made on that great chain are scarcely sufficiently full or ac- curate to determine whether that elevation was at once effected by a single period of convulsion, or gradually during many such successive periods * ; but the latter opinion appears far more probable, and seems most agreeable with what is hitherto known. It is scarcely necessary to add, after our introductory observations on this article, that the method of determining this point would be, carefully to examine the junction of the different constituent formations, and carefully to examine how far they were conformably affected by the same convulsions. On this point the sections published by Ebel are scarcely sufficiently minute or accurate to afford the requisite informa- tion. In those of Mr. Murchison we find the tertiary conglo- merates, &c. of Gossau overlying unconformably : but as on the Italian side the vertical beds of scaglia (equivalent to chalk) and of the succeeding tertiary deposits seem quite con- formable to the older formations, we have here convulsions even as late as the tertiary period, compared with which, every thing of actual occurrence, the elevation of Jorullo, &c. dwin- dles into insignificance. In our own island the elevation of the central range of chalk in the Isle of Wight, and that of the Isle of Purbeck, must be referred to the same period. If by examining the re- lations of the contiguous formations it appears to have been the result of a single convulsion, limited to a period subsequent to the lower tertiary deposits and antecedent to the higher, — this single convulsion, thus limited to a point of time geologi- cally, affects a district nearly sixty miles in length (from the east of the Isle of Wight to Whitenore Point, east of Wey- mouth) : and if we take into account the thickness of the strata moved, and the extent of their dislocation, it must have occa- sioned an angular movement throughout the whole of this space averaging more than 1000 feet. I could only desire the advocates of " actual causes," energizing with their pre- sent degree of power, to show me a single instance of any effect produced by them in the least comparable with this. VI. The analogous rocks belonging to the different succes- sive formations present a regular gradation in texture and consolidation: the earliest being the most crystalline and compact; and these characters becoming regularly less and less in the successive deposits, as they are more and more re- * Elie de Beaumont, in his very valuable memoir " Epochs de Souleve- ment" shows the Alps south of Savoy to have been elevated at an old tertiary period, the eastern Alps at a much newer. cent. 22 Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology. cent. We also find that effects analogous to those which characterize the earlier rocks may be produced by igneous action. Observations. — All rocks may be conveniently classed under the comprehensive genera Calcareous, Quartzose, and Argilla- ceous. We may examine what have been called the formation suites of each of these in order. — I. The Calcareous class pre- sents, 1st, in the earliest deposits saccharine marble; 2ndly, compact and semi-crystalline rocks in the transition and car- boniferous series ; Srdly, rocks of less compact and looser texture in the oolites ; ^thly, earthy rocks in the chalk and tertiary formations. — II. The Quartzose series exhibits, 1st, crystalline quartz rock; 2ndly, compact sandstones in the carboniferous formation ; Srdly, looser sandstone ; 4thly, sand. — III. The Argillaceous series is represented, 1st, by com- pact clay slate in the lowest deposits ; 2ndly, by semi-indu- rated shales in the carboniferous group ; and Srdly, by com- mon clay in the subsequent formations. Now these changes are analogous to those which are known, or generally believed to be the result of igneous ac- tion. In Sir J. Hall's experiments on the fusion of lime under the pressure of a column of water, crystalline marble was pro- duced : and besides these actual experiments we may refer to the changes effected by trap dykes, as universally acknow- ledged to be of igneous origin. In the north of Ireland the chalk where covered by trap becomes a compact limestone, and where intersected by trap dykes, assumes completely the texture of primitive saccharine marble for some yards from the contact. The lias shales become here and in Scotland altered by the contact with trap into flinty slates, and loose sandstones into compact and crystalline. In Professor Hens- low's very valuable account of Anglesea, in the Cambridge Philosophical Transactions, much information on this subject will be found. In one place he describes a mass of granitic texture which appears to have resulted from sandstone thus altered. In Cornwall and the Lead Hills of Scotland, wherever the granite protrudes through the incumbent grauwacke, we find an intervening zone approximating in its characters to gneiss, which certainly appears to be grauwacke altered by the contact : and Bone believes this to be the case generally with the gneiss and mica slate of the Pyrenees. The Alps appear at first sight to present an exception to the general rule announced at the head of this article; but it is in truth an exception of that kind which proves the rule. Here the limestones contemporaneous with our oolites still preserve a highly compact and crystalline character. This is well de- scribed On the New Nautical Almanac. 23 scribed in Professor Sedgwick's paper in your Number for August last ; but if the elevation of these mountains be referred to a volcanic force which must have violently affected these regions to a later period than the general surface of our con- tinents,— it is exactly what we should expect, that the consti- tuent rocks should there also exhibit to a later period the effects of intense igneous action. On the whole, then, as in our preceding article we saw rea- son to conclude, from the dislocations of the strata, that the forces (probably of a volcanic nature) which at first affected them with intense violence, subsequently from time to time experienced a gradual diminution of energy, — so we here find the texture of the constituent rocks indicating a like di- minution of igneous action at the successive periods marked by the deposition of the series of formations. VII. The series of organic remains both vegetable and animal included in the successive formations indicate also, a diminution of temperature from the earlier to the later pe- riods. Observations. — Adolphe de Brongniart's admirable treatise on vegetable fossils, fully proves this as to that kingdom. In a late communication to the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, I have endeavoured myself shortly to state the argument as it affects the animal kingdom. Mr. Lyell has given a very in- genious explanation of the change of temperature as arising from the gradual growth of the continents and elevation of the mountain chains. I only doubt whether the cause thus suggested, is fully adequate to account for the degree of the resulting effects : besides which, the general analogy of the phsenomena noticed in the preceding articles, all converging on one point, seems rather to indicate the gradual refrigeration of the surface of an originally heated mass, (such as the theories of Leibnitz and all his imitators suppose,) and this re- frigeration must necessarily have accompanied the gradual formation of a solid crust. [To be continued.] VI. On the New Nautical Almanac. TT is well known to most of our readers that, for many -•• years past, numerous complaints have repeatedly been made against the state of the Nautical Almanac, as not keeping pace with the progress of astronomy and navigation : and the pages of our journal have from time to time contained many remon- strances and comments on this subject, from various indivi- duals. 24 On the New Nautical Almanac. duals. An attempt, indeed, was made about seven years ago to redress the evil, and a Committee of the Royal Society was appointed to consider " whether any and what additions ought to be made to the Nautical Almanac." The result however was not attended with any advantage to science, as the only Resolution which they came to, was the following; viz. "that it would highly conduce to the interests of practical astronomy, if tables of precession, aberration, solar nutation and proper motion of 60 principal stars were formedjfor every day> in the period of four years, including leap-year: and that a separate table be given for every degree of the moon's node." And in consequence of this resolution, a folio volume of tables for that purpose was computed and printed at a great expense, which has been complained of as a manifest waste of public money; since no Observatory, except that of Greenwich, would, in the present state of science, ever think of resorting to so cumbrous a mode of assistance, amidst the numerous helps that are afforded by more accurate and elegant tables. Seeing therefore no chance of improvement from this quar- ter, it was proposed to bring the subject before Parliament; and various papers were moved for and printed by the House of Commons, with this view: but, from an assurance that Go- vernment was about to take up the subject, the matter was then dropped. During the last summer, however, the Board of Ad- miralty (with whom the management of the Nautical Almanac now rests, by virtue of a recent act of Parliament) sent an official communication to the Astronomical Society of London, requesting their opinion and advice, as to the alterations and additions that it would be proper to make in that national work ; and it is to the result of the Society's labours that we now wish to draw the attention of our readers. The Council commenced their operations by nominating a Committee, consisting of 40 members, comprising not only some of the most profound mathematicians, but also most of the experienced practical astronomers and nautical men of science in the country, as well as the Professors from the naval establishments at Greenwich and Portsmouth. This Com- mittee, having met, proceeded to examine and discuss seriatim the various parts into which theNautical Almanac is divided; and having agreed on certain preliminary arrangements, appointed a Sub-Committee to examine them more in detail, as well as to examine and digest the various hints and suggestions which had been forwarded to them, not onty by members of their own body, who were unable to attend the meetings, but likewise by other correspondents relative to this subject. The Sub- Committee On the New Nautical Almanac. 25 Committee having made a report of their labours, it was ordered to be printed ; and a copy of the same (together with a specimen of the printed pages of the new almanac) having been forwarded to each member of the Committee, a distant day was appointed for taking it into consideration ; by which means every opportunity and facility have been afforded for the most ample and open discussion of the several points in question. The final result of their deliberations is contained in a Report, which has been forwarded to the Admiralty: and we have the satisfaction of stating that nearly the last act of the late Board, was the approval of that Report, and the issuing of an order for its being carried into immediate exe- cution. We have been favoured with a sight of that Report (which will form a portion of the ensuing volume of the Memoirs of the Astronomical Society), and we here present our readers with the following summary of the principal alterations and additions. The use of apparent time is abolished in all the computa- tions : and mean time alone adopted. The calculations are, in general, carried one place further in the decimals than has hitherto been done : that is, all quan- tities expressed in time are carried to two places of decimals in the seconds ; and those in space, to one place. The moon's right ascension and declination are given to every hour / and to the declinations are annexed the differences for every five minutes. The places of the six principal planets are to be given for every day ; and those of the four new planets for every fourth day : with an ephemeris of the latter for every day, for one month before and after their opposition. The co- efficients A, B, C, D, which are used for computing the apparent places of the stars, are to be given for every day. The apparent contacts of Jupiter's satellites, and also of their shadows, with the planet, are to be inserted. The lunar distances of the planets are also to be inserted : with the proportional logarithm of the first difference annexed to all the lunar distances. Predicted occultations (visible at Greenwich) of planets and fixed stars, to the sixth magnitude inclusive, are to be given : and also, Elements for predicting such occultations of the planets and fixed stars, to the jifth magnitude inclusive, as may be visible in any habitable part of the globe : with the limits of latitude annexed, within which they will be visible. The apparent places of the fixed stars are to be increased N.S. Vol. 9. No. 49. Jan. 1831. E to 26 On the New Nautical Almanac. to 100 in number: a and 8 Ursa Minor is are to be given for every day ,- and the remainder for every tenth day as usual, but with the differences annexed. The list of moon-culminating stars is to be incorporated with the work : and various tables added for facilitating the computations connected with this interesting and useful branch of practical astronomy. These are a Jew only of the numerous alterations and ad- ditions that have been made to this national work. To enu- merate the whole of them would far exceed the limits which we can conveniently devote to the subject; and we must therefore refer the reader to the Report itself. They are of a nature, as the Council very justly observe, to satisfy not only the wishes of the astronomer, but also the demands of the na- vigator ; and (what is also very gratifying to hear) are not likely, with a due regard to ceconomy, to add much to the ex- pense of the publication. Upon the whole we cannot help congratulating the public upon this vast accession of strength to the most useful branches of astronomy and navigation: and we consider that they are much indebted to the Council of the Astronomical Society, for the great labour and time which they have devoted to this important subject. It appears that an interval of two or three years must necessarily elapse before these improvements can be completely carried into effect. The Nautical Almanac for 1833 is already computed, and nearly ready for publication ; so that the proposed alterations cannot take place till the year 1834- : and the Council have particularly requested that they be not deferred beyond that period. With a view of insuring a greater degree of accuracy in the computations, and as a means of detecting any errors, the Council have recommended that, in the Preface to each year's almanac, there be inserted an account of all the tables and authorities depended upon in every computation, with an ex- press notice of such equations as may be omitted, or of any cor- rections introduced. And they have also recommended that notice of any errors should be advertised in the London Ga- zette, and in some of the public papers, as soon as possible after their discovery. If these suggestions are strictly attended to, and the whole- some advice given by the Council be duly followed, we have no doubt that the important and valuable contents of the New Nautical Almanac will insure it a place in almost every vessel that sails on the ocean, and in every active observatory in the world. VII. On [ 27 ] VII. On the Visitation of Greenwich Observatory: ivifh a Copy of the New Warrant. HPHE annual visitation of the Royal Observatory at Green- •*• wich has, for nearly 150 years, been confided to the Council of the Royal Society and to such other persons as they might from time to time invite for that purpose, by virtue of the King's warrant directed to them at the commencement of every reign. His present Majesty, however, has been pleased to make a totally new arrangement on this subject. But, before we enter on the cause of this alteration, we would re- mark that when this annual visitation was first established, Flamsteed was greatly offended ; inasmuch as he considered that the Council of the Royal Society (with whom he was not on the best terms) was thus set over him as a sort of spy upon his actions. It has however been silently acquiesced in by his successors ; but, whatever importance it might at a more early period have possessed, it has gradually declined from its ori- ginal object, and ceased to answer the purpose for which it was designed ; for little or no business was done at the meet- ing : and if any matter requiring consideration was brought forward, it was always turned over to the Council of the Royal Society, where it was usually lost sight of, and altogether for- gotten or neglected. A representation of these circumstances was made in the proper quarter; and His present Majesty has been pleased to appoint a new set of Visitors; and has at the same time en- larged the powers hitherto granted to that body. By this warrant (which is dated last month) the President of the Royal Society, and five individuals nominated by him, together with the President of the Astronomical Society, and five individuals nominated by him, added to the Savilian Professor of Astro- nomy at Oxford, and the Plumian Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge, are now appointed the regular and permanent Visitors of the Royal Observatory. As many of our readers may be desirous of perusing this scientific document, we here insert it verbatim. " William R. " Trusty and well-beloved, we greet you well. Whereas, our Royal predecessor King George the Fourth did by war- rant under his Royal sign manual, bearing date the nine- teenth day of May, in the first year of his reign, constitute and appoint the President, and in his absence the Vice-President, of the Royal Society for the time being, together with such others as the Council of the said Royal Society should from time to time think fit, to be regular Visitors of the Royal Ob- E 2 servatory 28 On the Visitation of Greenwich Observatory. servatory at Greenwich, during His said Majesty's pleasure. Now know ye, that we have revoked and determined, and do by these presents revoke and determine, the said appointment, and every clause, article and thing therein contained. And further know ye, that we having been given to understand that it would contribute very much to the improvement of astro- nomy and navigation if we should appoint regular Visitors of our Royal Observatory at Greenwich with sufficient powers for the due execution of that trust, we have therefore thought fit, in consideration of the great learning, experience, and other necessary qualifications of our Royal Society and of the Astro- nomical Society, to constitute and appoint, as we do by these presents constitute and appoint, you the President for the time being of our Royal Society, together with our trusty and well- beloved John W. Lubbock, Esq.; Captain Henry Kater; George Peacock, Clerk; William Pearson, Clerk, Doctor in Divinity; and Richard Sheepshanks, Clerk, Fellows thereof: and you the President of the said Astronomical Society, together with our trusty and well-beloved Charles Babbage, Esq. ; Francis Baily, Esq. ; Captain Francis Beaufort ; Doctor Olinthus Gregory; and J. F. W. Herschel, Esq., Members thereof; and likewise the Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, and the Plumian Professor of Astronomy at Cam- bridge, for the time being, to be regular Visitors of our Royal Observatory at Greenwich during our pleasure; authorizing and requiring you from time to time to order and direct our said astronomer and keeper of our said Royal Observatory to make such astronomical observations as you in your judge- ment shall think proper : and that you do survey and inspect our instruments in our said Observatory ; and as often as any of them shall be found defective, that you do inform our Lord High Admiral (or the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral), that so the said instruments may either be exchanged or repaired : and that you do from time to time make such suggestions and representations to our Lord High Admiral (or to the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral), touching the said Observatory, the li- brary, the instruments, and the observations, as in your judge- ment will be conducive to the credit of our Observatory, and to the promotion of astronomical and nautical science. And our further will and pleasure is, that our astronomer and keeper of the said Observatory for the time being, do deliver to you every three months a true and fair copy of all the ob- servations he shall have made, and that such number of copies of the said observations be printed as the Lord High Admiral (or the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral) Examination of a Native Sulphur et of Bismuth. 29 Admiral) shall consider expedient. And when our said astro- nomer and the Council of our Royal Society and of the Astro- nomical Society shall have been supplied with as many copies as they may desire, to distribute for the benefit of science, the remainder shall be sold at such price as the Lord High Ad- miral shall fix. And our further will and pleasure is, that you do meet annually at our said Observatory on the first Saturday in the month of June, and at such other times as may seem expedient to our Lord, High Admiral (or the Com- missioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral), and that at such meeting the President of our Royal Society shall take the chair, or in his absence the President of the Astrono- mical Society ; or in the absence of both the said Presidents, that the Fellows and Members present (of whom seven shall form a quorum) shall elect a chairman for the time being among themselves : and that at every such meeting the chair- man shall be empowered to call in and employ one of the assistants in our said Observatory to act as secretary for the time being. And our further will and pleasure is, that as often as any vacancies occur by death or resignation, the same shall be filled up by the President of the Society, in whose list such vacancy may have happened. And our further will and pleasure is, that any President of our said Royal Society, or any President of the Astronomical Society, who may have become a Visitor to our Royal Observatory, by virtue of his office, shall during our pleasure continue to be a Visitor not- withstanding that he may have vacated the office of President of such Society. And for so doing, this shall be your warrant. And so we bid you farewell. — Given at our Court at Saint James's, &c. &c. &c. " To our trusty and well-beloved the President of our Royal Society for the time being, the President of the Astronomical Society for the time being, and the other persons hereby appointed Visitors of our Royal Observatory at Greenwich. By His Majesty's command, " ROBERT PEEL." VIII. Examination of a Native Sulphur et of Bismuth. By Mr. R. WARKINGTON*. rPHE mineral which forms the subject of the present paper, ••• is found in the western parts of Cornwall ; it occupies the cavities and fissures of a porous mass of yellow copper pyrites and silica, in the form of striated needles and bands. * Communicated by the Author. It 30 Examination of a Native Sulphur et of Bismuth. It lias exteriorly an iron-gray colour, sometimes with a bis- muthic tinge, and in its cleavage surface possesses a lustre ap- proaching that of polished steel. Its specific gravity is 5'85, and its hardness = 2'7. When heated before the blowpipe on charcoal it inflames, and by increasing the heat for some time, appears to be entirely volatilized, with the exception of a minute globule of brown scoriaceous matter. On examination it was found to contain bismuth, sulphur, copper, iron, and siliceous matter. The first analysis was per- formed by acting upon the mineral, reduced to a very fine powder, with nitre-muriatic acid, until the whole of the sulphur was acidified ; this was conducted in a small stoppered retort, to which a receiver was attached, in order to collect any small quantity of sulphur that might be carried over mechanically during the digestion. The solution thus obtained was diluted with water, and filtered to separate the silica ; a solution of nitrate of baryta was employed for the precipitation of the sul- phuric acid, and the sulphate of baryta (and also the silica) washed at intervals with warm dilute nitric acid, to remove any small quantity of bismuth which might fall by the gradual dilutions. — After the separation of the excess of baryta, am- monia was added in slight excess, which threw down the oxides of bismuth and iron, and held the oxide of copper in solution ; by evaporation to dryness and the addition of potassa tfiis oxide was obtained. The mixed oxides were then acted upon by dilute muri- atic acid, added in small quantity; the oxide of iron was thus completely removed, and the dichloride of bismuth which remained, after being digested in a weak solution of potassa, was collected as an oxide : the iron was again precipitated from its muriatic solution by ammonia. Although this analysis was conducted with the greatest care, and repeated in order to avoid ambiguity, yet the results in both cases exceeded the weight of the mineral employed. Upon heating the oxide of bismuth obtained in the second analysis, before weighing (and which was performed in a small tube of green glass sealed at one of its extremities), it was observed that a small quantity of white opaque vapour arose and appeared to be condensed upon the upper part of the tube, and on adding distilled water to it, a precipitate of di- chloride of bismuth was instantly formed, proving it to have been sublimed chloride of that metal. The oxide itself was next examined; by dissolving it in pure nitric acid, and testing the solution with nitrate of silver, a small quantity of chloride of silver was thrown down. Having ascertained these facts, a solution of muriate of bismuth Examination of a Native Sulphur et of Bismuth. 31 bismuth was prepared, and the three following experiments tried with it: — one quantity was precipitated by potassa in great excess, another by ammonia, and these were digested at a boiling heat for about six hours ; the third portion was added gradually to a large quantity of very hot solution of potassa; and the whole three collected and well washed, dissolved in nitric acid and tested as before; muriatic acid was however detected in each. It was evident from these results, that mu- riatic acid could not be employed in the analysis, or that, if employed, it must be separated before the precipitation of the oxide of bismuth. 6*88 grs. of the mineral were digested in nitric acid as long as any sulphur remained undissolved ; it was then filtered, and gave '345 gr. silica. The sulphuric acid was next separated by a solution of nitrate of baryta added as long as any precipitate was occasioned, and the sulphate of baryta, after heating to redness, weighed 9*654? grs. After the excess of baryta had been carefully removed, ammonia added in excess threw down the oxides of bismuth and iron as be- fore, and held the oxide of copper, which was obtained in the manner before stated, and equalled *306 of a grain. The weight of the mixed oxides was 5**594 grs., which were then dissolved in muriatic acid, and a current of sulphuretted hydrogen passed through the solution, and the whole thrown upon a filter : the clear solution which passed through was boiled for some time, and after the addition of a little nitric acid to bring the iron to the state of peroxide, ammonia was added, and the oxide collected weighed '344 gr. ; deducting this from the weight of the mixed oxides, leaves 5*25 grs. as the quantity of oxide of bismuth ; the results are, therefore, Oxide of bismuth 5*25 = 4*718 bismuth. Sulphate of baryta.... 9*654 = 1*309 sulphur. Peroxide of iron *344 = *241 iron. Peroxide of copper... '306= *245 copper. •345 silica. 6*858 •022 loss. 6*880 Or, we may consider the mineral to be constituted of 5*7815 grs. sulphuret of bismuth, being in the proportion of 1 atom bismuth -f 1 atom sulphur, and that the iron, copper, and silica are merely parts of the matrix which cannot be sepa- rated mechanically from the pure mineral. IX. Re- [ 32 ] IX. Recent Discovery of the Ladder o/'M. cle Sa assure in the Mer de Glace ; wil/i Inferences respecting the Progressive Movement of Glaciers. [We have been favoured with the following paragraph from the Journal dc Gcnlvc, to which arc added a few observations by an English gentleman resident in that town. — EDIT.] "HPHE ladder which M. de Saussure used in crossing the crevices in the ice during his first visit to the Col du Geant, and which he left on the upper part of the glacier, has lately been discovered imbedded in the Mer de Glace, in a situation nearly opposite to the aiguille called Le Moine. This ladder, moving on with the body of the ice, will thus appear to have advanced three leagues since the year 1787." M. Plouquet, a German writer, published some years since a pamphlet in which he endeavoured to prove that the pro- gressive movement of the glaciers was a thing physically im- possible. If M. Plouquet, or the editor of the Literary Ga- zette of Jena, in which paper appeared a confirmation of his statement, could visit the spot where the immortal De Saus- sure's ladder now is, and still persist in the opinion that the progressive movement of the glaciers is a thing physically im- possible, we think we should be able to combat that opinion by the following observations, and by the experiment which has been renewed at the instigation of Captain Sherwill at the Mer de Glace, as stated by that gentleman in his "Ascent of Mont Blanc." There are in the neighbourhood of Mont Blanc and else- where, many glaciers which terminate at the edge of a preci- pice, where may be seen walls of ice from one to two hundred feet perpendicularly high. From these walls immense blocks of ice detach themselves frequently in the course of a day and fall over the precipice, separating in their course, and thus dissolve according to the season of the year. Who then will doubt that the ice is continually projected forward from the tipper to the lower part of the glacier, and that the main body thus pushing on causes the fall of these masses over the frightful precipice. — But let us take another proof: the blocks of granite and other large stones seen riding on the surface of the glaciers, and which in the end arrive in the valleys that receive the waters of these eternal reservoirs, — how comes it that these granite blocks descend from an elevation of ten or fifteen thousand feet, if it were not that the body on which they are placed was in continual, though to the eye imperceptible motion ? These facts would rather prove that the quiescent state of the glaciers would be a thing physically impossible. Captain Mr. Bakewell on the progressive. Development of Organic Life. 33 Captain Sherwill in his relation of his ascent of Mont Blanc, speaking of the glaciers, says, " In traversing these stagnated oceans, very large blocks of granite of many tons weight may be seen riding on the surface of the ice. These blocks have afforded the means of ascertaining a fact of importance. The experiment I am about to relate to you was made last year by some of the guides of Chamouni. Two poles were erected, one on each side of the glacier, out of reach of its movement, and so placed as to be in a direct line with a block of granite. In the course of twelve months this block had entirely changed its position as respecting the two poles, and had advanced about one hundred yards on its march towards the valley ; — a clear proof that the glaciers do move on, and are continually diminishing at their lower extremity by the melting of the ice, and increasing at the upper end by the constant snows." We do not therefore believe that there is a single inha- bitant of the valleys into which the glaciers descend, who en- tertains the smallest doubt of their progressive movement : and we will venture to say, that the " physical impossibility" raised and stated by the learned German, arises from a super- ficial examination only of the glaciers, in which the generative and destructive forces of nature are so happily combined, that no fear need be entertained of the too rapid progress of them towards the fertile and pastoral valleys which for centuries past have been threatened, but nothing more. If the progress made by the ladder of M. de Saussure, taken for one year, and the result of the experiment made at the instigation of Captain Sherwili, should not appear to agree, it must be recollected that from the Col du Geant, to the spot where the ladder is at present, is a very rapid descent, and of course the march of the glacier would be rapid in pro- portion : whereas the experiment of Captain Sherwill was made on a level part of the same glacier, the Mer de Glace, where the ice is of a more compact texture than that at an elevation of above ten thousand feet, and consequently its progress towards its final issue would be somewhat slower. X. Facts and Observations relating to the Theory of the pro- gressive Development of Organic Life. By ROBERT BAKE- WELL, Esq* A S it will be readily conceded that the true object of all •*^~ geological investigations should be the discovery of truth, and not the support of hypotheses, the following account may * Communicated by the Author. N.S. Vol.9. No. 49. Jan. 1831. F deserve 34 Mr. Bakewell's Facts and Observations relating to the deserve attention, in reference to certain opinions that have been recently advanced in geology ; and it may serve to prove how extremely cautious we should be in drawing general in- ductions from isolated facts. During a visit to Nottingham in the last summer, a medical gentleman in that town brought me part of a bone which was pronounced by an eminent phy- siologist to be a portion of the femoral bone of a horse or an ox. This bone was found in forming an excavation in the sand-rock on which Nottingham and its Castle stand ; it was about forty feet below the surface; and the workmen who found it asserted most confidently, that the rock in which it was im- bedded was solid, and that there was no fissure or opening near the place. The sand-rock of Nottingham contains numerous rounded pebbles of quartz, quartz-rock, jasper, and Lydian stone, and occasionally pebbles of granite, slate, and porphy- ry: its first aspect presents the appearance of an alluvial or diluvial formation, and this resemblance is further increased by the soft incoherent state of some of the beds. It may how- ever be proved to be a member of the new red sandstone; for some of the yellowish beds abounding with pebbles alternate with well characterized red sandstone; the whole may be seen passing under the red marl with gypsum, on the north and east side of Nottingham ; and as this marl passes under the lias on the south, the true position of the Nottingham sand-rock in the series of British strata is most clearly esta- blished. As the occurrence of the remains of a large mam- miferous quadruped, in a bed of such great relative antiquity, was a fact at variance with what had hitherto been known, I was persuaded there was some error in the statement, and particularly as I observed, where a section was making in the rock west of the town, there were many deep vertical fis- sures in it, filled with loose sand; this was the case also in other situations where the bare rock was exposed to view. To confirm or invalidate the truth of the workmen's assertion, the excavation was carefully examined with lights, and a break or fissure was discovered through which the bone was doubt- less introduced, though the fissure was now closed with loose sand. Thus this apparent geological anomaly was clearly ex- plained, and many anomalous facts of a similar kind that have been described, would I doubt not admit of a solution equally satisfactory if the circumstances were accurately examined. Mr. Lyell, in his very ingenious and elaborate " attempt to explain the former changes on the earth's surface by a re- ference to causes now in operation," has stated " that the oc- currence of one individual of the higher classes of mammalia, whether Theory of the progressive Development of Organic Life. 85 whether marine or terrestrial, in the ancient strata, is as fatal to the theory of successive development as if several hundreds had been discovered." Could we be certain that the indivi- dual had been really contemporaneous with the rock in which its remains were found, we might admit the truth of the in- duction ; but this certainty we can never obtain from the re- mains of one, or even of more than one individual imbedded in any rock whatever: — for when we consider what fractures and convulsions have affected the ancient crust of the globe, and how much it has been torn by currents and inundations, we are compelled to admit that organic remains from the upper strata may sometimes be buried in the lower rocks. The real subject of surprise is, that such instances are not of more frequent occurrence. It is well known to practical men, that fractures in many of the strata are so completely closed by pressure or infiltration in a short time, as scarcely to leave a trace of their former existence : — what must be the case then when these causes have been in operation for thousands of years ? It is stated in the same work, that " a single vertebral bone of a saurian animal, with a patella, and echinal spines, have been found in the mountain limestone of Northumber- land." Supposing the fact to be correct, these organic re- mains being common in the oolitic strata, and never having been found before in the mountain limestone ; if we are to in- troduce the law of chances into geology, we may say that the chances are many millions to one against their being found together as coexisting animals in a formation in which they have hitherto been absent : but it is extremely probable that they might have been transported together through a fracture into the strata below, and that this fracture has been subse- quently closed ; hence all inferences drawn from such ano- malous facts are of little value. The entire skeleton of a man imbedded in solid coal 97 yards below the surface, at Ashby- wolds in Leicestershire, which I mentioned in chap. i. of my " Introduction to Geology," proves how cautious we should be in drawing conclusions from individual instances. The men, when the skull was first discovered, ascended to inform the proprietor of the mine, and told him at the same time that the coal was solid and unbroken around it ; but when he examined the place, as they were clearing out the remainder of the skeleton, he perceived that the coal, though apparently compact, was not so solid as in other parts of the bed ; and by opening passages in different directions, the appearance of an ancient pit was discovered, though it had not been worked, nor was there any tradition in the neighbourhood of its having been sunk. F 2 A living 36 Mr. BakewelloM the progressive Development of Organic Life. A living lizard was found in a bed of coal at Rothwell Haigh near Leeds, about twelve years since. I saw it soon after it was found, preserved in spirits: it was nearly seven inches long, and is now in the possession of the Rev. Dr. Sharp, vicar of Wakefield. The depth of the mine is one hundred and eighty yards ; it has been worked many years ; and being situated in elevated ground, has levels for drainage nearly as low as the river Calder, so that it is not very difficult to admit that the lizard might find a ready passage into the mine, and have sunk into a fissure in the coal, and remained there in a nearly torpid state till it was discovered in working the coal. Had the lizard died, and its bones become mineralized by water con- taining the sulphate and carbonate of iron, which abounds in the mine, we should have had an instance of a saurian animal in coal, which might have been cited to prove the high anti- quity of a species of reptile similar to what is now living in the country. The experiments of the late Dr. Jenner, which I have mentioned elsewhere, prove that bones may be par- tially mineralized in a few months by immersion in lias mud, containing much metallic and saline matter. On the other interesting disquisitions in Mr. LyelPs work, it is not my in- tention to offer any remarks at this time ; they cannot fail to render an important service to geology, by the searching in- vestigations to which they will undoubtedly give rise : but I maintain that the theory of the progressive development of organic life cannot be overturned by individual anomalous exceptions, by ingenious reasoning, or by negative evidence*. It is true that this theory, which holds that a succession of more perfect classes and orders of animals may be traced, in ascending from the lower or more ancient strata, to the more recent formations, has been carried too far by some of its supporters; and like other general conclusions in every science, requires to be admitted with certain limitations : yet it appears to me, in the present state of our knowledge, to be one of the most interesting and best established doc- trines in geology. Whenever several individuals belonging to different genera, in any of the higher orders of the class Mammalia, shall be discovered in the ancient strata, then in- deed may we fairly admit that the theory of the progressive development of organic life is completely refuted. I had intended to send some observations on certain parts of the geology of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Leicester- » By negative evidence, is meant that which is grounded on our igno- rance of the organic remains that may possibly exist in the ancient strata, in countries that have not yet been examined. shire, Royal Society. 37 shire, which I have recently examined : but I must reserve the communication for a future Number of your Annals. Hampstead, Dec. 14, 1830. ROBERT BAKEWELL. P.S. I omitted to mention, that the bone found in the Not- tingham sand-rock appeared partially mineralized, and much resembled bones from some of the tertiary beds. XL Proceedings of Learned Societies. ROYAL SOCIETY. Nov. 18,— A PAPER was read, entitled, " On the nature of ne- 1830. gative and imaginary quantities." By Davies Gil- bert, Esq. President of the Royal Society. The object of this paper, the author shows, is one that has given rise to much controversy, and has been involved in much un- necessary mystery. Paradoxes and apparent solecisms, when in- volved with facts and indubitable truths, will always be found, upon accurate examination, to be near the surface, and to owe their ex- istence either to ambiguities of expression, or to the unperceived adoption of some extraneous additions or limitations into the com- pound terms employed for definition, and which are subsequently taken as constituent parts of their essence. The first misapprehension pointed out, is that of considering any quantity whatever as negative per se, and without reference to an- other opposed to it, which has previously been established as positive. In order to avoid previously formed associations of ideas, the author prefers employing in his reasonings on this subject, the symbols (a) and (b) to express this quality of opposition, rather than the usual ones of plus and minus. By the aid of this notation he is enabled to present, in its full generalization, the law of the signs in multiplication, — a process which, it is well known, is founded solely upon the principle of ratios; and to show that like signs invariably give the sign belong- ing to the assumed unity, or universal antecedent of the ratios ; and unlike signs, the contrary. Since either the one or the other of the arithmetical scales de- rived from the two unities is in itself equally affirmative, but nega- tive with relation to the other, it follows, that by using the scale of (6), all even roots in the scale of (a) will become imaginary, and thus the apparent discrimination of the two scales is removed ; so that the properties belonging to the two scales are interchangeable, and all formulae become universally applicable to both, by changing the signs according to the side in which the universal antecedent is taken. Imaginary quantities, then, are merely creations of arbi- trary definitions, endowed with properties at the pleasure of him who defines them ; and the whole dispute respecting their essence turns upon the very point that has been contested from the earliest times, between the hostile sects of realists and nominalists. It 38 Royal Society. It is now, however, universally agreed, that all abstractions and generalizations are mere creatures of the reasoning faculty, existing nowhere but in the mind contemplating them. Such, in algebra, are the supposed even roots of a real quantity, taken in the scale opposite to that which has given the universal antecedent : the sign indicating the extraction impossible to be performed, veils the real quantity, and renders it of no actual value until the sign is taken away by an involution, the reverse of the supposed opera- tion which the sign represents ; although the quantity itself is, in the mean time, by its arbitrary essence, made applicable to all the purposes for which real quantities are used, in every kind of for- mula. Several illustrations of these views of the nature of imaginary quantities occurring in logarithmic formulae, and series expressing circular arcs, are given by the author. By considering all quantity as affirmative per se, and admitting plus and minus merely as con- nective terms, we thus succeed in banishing mystery and para- dox from the science most powerful in eliciting truth, and where they ought least to find a place. Nov. 25. — A paper was read, entitled, " On a simple electro- chemical method of ascertaining the presence of different metals ; applied to detect minute quantities of metallic poisons." By Ed- mund Davy, Esq. F.R.S., M.R.I. A., and Professor of Chemistry to the Royal Dublin Society. The Voltaic arrangement employed by the author consisted merely of small slips of different metals, generally zinc and platina, placed in contact and forming a galvanic circuit with the inter- posed fluid suspected to contain the poisonous metal ; in which case, as was formerly shown by Sir H. Davy in his Bakerian lecture, the metal held in solution was deposited in the form of crystals, on the negative surface. The zinc was usually employed in the form of foil ; the platina was, in some cases, a small crucible, or a spatula, but more frequently platina foil was used. It is generally necessary to mix a few drops of acid with the metallic compounds that are subjected to this test, and that are placed in contact with the pla- tina : on applying the zinc foil, the platina will soon become coated with the reduced metal. The author then enters into the detail of his experiments on the efficacy of his method in the detection of arsenic, mercury, lead and copper, in their different states of oxidation and saline combina- tions ; and of the precautions necessary to be observed in the case of each metal. He was enabled to detect the presence of arsenic, by the exhibition of its characteristic properties, when only the 500dth part of a grain of that metal was deposited on the platina; and in some instances could appreciate even the 2500dth part of a grain, by the application of appropriate tests. The author next ascertained that the electro- chemical method is competent to the detection of very minute quantities of the differ- ent metals, when their compounds are mixed with various vegeta- ble and animal substances. Thus, the presence of arsenic would readily be discovered when mixed with all the ordinary articles of diet, Royal Society. 39 diet, — such as wheaten flour, bread, starch, rice, potatoes, peas, soup, sugar, vinegar, gruel, tea, milk, eggs, gelatine, and various kinds of wine ; also when mixed with the principal secretions of the alimentary canal, as bile and saliva. Arsenious acid mixed with butter, lard and oils, or with sheep's blood, or ox bile, was de- tected with great ease. Similar results were afforded by corrosive sublimate, the acetate of lead, and sulphate of copper, added in small quantity to the most complicated mixtures of organic sub- stances. In some instances where the common tests do not act at all, or only act fallaciously, the electro-chemical method acts with the greatest certainty. Anniversary Meeting, Nov. 30th. — On this occasion the President, Davies Gilbert, Esq. M.P. delivered the following Address : Having now, for the last time, to address you in reference to the loss of eminent persons sustained by the Society in the preceding year, I cannot but congratulate you on the difference between the list now read, and that which we had the misfortune to hear twelve months ago. Several individuals of great distinction, of extensive acquirements and of splendid talents, are undoubtedly brought before us on the present occasion : but advanced age or long absence from this metropolis tend in some instances to lessen the pain we should otherwise feel on the recital of their names. While in the former case, persons at the very head of different departments in science, of our own ages, and daily conversant with our social habits, were suddenly taken from us, leaving the higher paths of science (as we feared at the time) without a foot that might in future trace their windings j and our more familiar society without that sparkling of intellect, which invigorates the understanding, and at once elevates and refines the common intercourses of life. The individual, who unquestionably demands our first attention is Major James Rennell, taken from us in his eighty-eighth year, la- mented by all those who are capable of appreciating his science, and by every one conversant with his active virtues or with the sim- plicity and kindness of his manners. I have endeavoured to collect some particulars respecting this distinguished person in his early years. Major Rennell was descended from an ancient and respectable family in Devonshire, said to be of Norman origin. His father was a Captain in the Royal Artillery, and fell at the siege of Maestrich. James Rennell was born at his father's house, Upcott near Chud- leigh, in Devonshire, on the 23rd of December, 1742. He entered on the naval service of his country at a very early age, where his spirit and exertions soon attracted the notice of Sir Hyde Parker, with whom he sailed in the Brilliant frigate to India. After the con- clusion of peace, his eager desire for active service induced him to quit the navy, and he obtained a commission in the corps of engi- neers belonging to the East India Company. His zeal and ability in discharging the duties belonging to this station obtained for him the friendship 40 Royal Society. friendship of many superior officers, and especially of the great Lord Clive j and he was soon promoted to the station of Surveyor General in Bengal. The fatigues attached to this civil employment were sufficient to exhaust the strength of any European constitution, conducted as were the surveys, with indefatigable industry, along the banks of the great rivers, periodically overflown and perpetually damp. But these were not all : Major Rennell in encountering dangers which are in- separable from military renown, had suffered wounds so severe that he was, 1 believe, twice left exposed on the field of battle, and never recovered from their effects up to the latest period of his life. These altogether compelled his return to England, and alone prevented him from attaining the highest military stations. Retired to private life, the whole energies of his mind were direct- to scientific and literary pursuits. We have, founded on his exer- tions in India : An Atlas of Bengal. — A Map of the Mogul Empire. — Marches of the Army in India. — A Map of the Peninsula. But the mental powers of Major Rennell were far from being con- fined to one region of the world. We have from his pen a work on the Geography of Africa. And with a vigour of intellect that may well call to our recollection the greatest of the Roman Censors, he acquired at an advanced age a competent knowledge of Greek for consulting the early writers in that language, and gave to the world, The Geographical System of Herodotus, in- cluding the Expedition of Darius Hystaspes to Scythia; The Site of Babylon ; The Temple of Jupiter Ammon ; The Periplus of Africa, &c. ; and A Dissertation on the Locality of Troy. The attention of this great investigator of every thing connected with the surface of our globe, extended itself from mountains and plains to the waters of the ocean j and produced a most curious in- vestigation of the currents prevalent in the Atlantic, and of accumu- lations caused by certain winds in the English Channel. And lastly, I would mention a very ingenious mode of ascertain- ing distances, and connecting with their bearings the actual localities of spots in the Great Desert, by noting the average rate at which camels travel over those worlds of sand. This is a very imperfect catalogue of the works published by Major Rennell ; and I am happy to add that several more exist in manu- script, destined, we may hope, at no distant time, to appear. Major Rennell has been honoured by the Copley Medal from this Society -, by the Gold Medal from the Royal Society of Literature ; he was a Corresponding Member of the Institute of France 3 and a Member of various other Societies. Our regret for such a man, exerting his intellectual powers with so much energy and to such useful purposes, throughout the course of a long life, and up to his eighty-eighth year, must always be strong and sincere; but we console ourselves with the reflection that he had attained the utmost ordinary limit of human life, amidst the respect and esteem of all who knew him, and that his memory is revered. Mr. Royal Society. 41 Mr. Chenevix was undoubtedly a man of considerable ability, ac- quirement and industry. We have from him seven different commu- nications to the Philosophical Transactions : An analysis of the arseniates of copper. — Observations on Dr. James's powders, with a method of preparing a similar substance in the humid way. — Observations and experiments upon oxygenated and hyperoxygenated muriatic acid. — An analysis of corundum. — Obser- vations on the chemical nature of the humours of the eye. — Inquiries concerning the nature of a metallic substance, under the title of Palladium. — On the action of platinum and mercury on each other. In the latter years of his life, which could not have reached three- score, he appears to have abandoned chemistry, and to have fallen on speculations wholly unworthy of being noticed from this place. The only remaining individual who has taken a direct active part in our labours, by contributing to the Transactions, is Mr. James Lewis Smithson, and of this gentleman I must be allowed to, speak with affection. We were at Oxford together, of the same College, and our acquaintance continued to the time of his decease. Mr. Smithson, then called Macie, and an undergraduate, had the reputation of excelling all other resident members of the University in the knowledge of chemistry. He was early honoured by an intimate acquaintance with Mr. Cavendish j he was admitted into the Royal Society, and soon after presented a paper on the very curious concretion frequently found in the hollow of bambil canes, named Tabasheer. This he found to consist almost entirely of silex, exist- ing in a manner similar to what Davy long afterwards discovered in the epidermis of reeds and grasses. Mr. Smithson enriched our Transactions with seven other commu- nications : — A chemical analysis of some calamines. — Account of a discovery of native minium. — On the composition and crystalliza- tion of certain sulphurets from Huel Boys in Cornwall. — On the composition of zeolite. — On a substance procured from the elm-tree, called Vlmine. — On a saline substance from Mount Vesuvius. — Facts relative to the colouring matter of vegetables. He was the friend of Dr. Wollaston, and at the same time his rival in the manipulation and analysis of small quantities. Ayaflij £' epi$ rfte PpoToiffi. Mr. Smithson frequently repeated an occurrence with much pleasure and exultation, as exceeding any thing that could be brought into competition with it,— and this must apologize for my in- troducing what might otherwise be deemed an anecdote too light and trifling on such an occasion as the present. Mr. Smithson declared, that happening to observe a tear gliding down a lady's cheek, he endeavoured to catch it on a crystal vessel : that one-half of the drop escaped, but having preserved the other half, he submitted it to reagents, and detected what was then called microcosmic salt, with muriate of soda ; and, I think, three or four more saline substances -, held in solution. For many years past Mr. Smithson has resided abroad, principally, I believe, on account of his health : but he carried with him the N.S. Vol.9. No. 4-9. Jan. 1831. G esteem 42 Royal Society. esteem and regard of various privute friends, and of a still larger number of persons who appreciated and admired his acquirements. Of gentlemen who have not taken a direct share in the labours o. this Society, I would notice Mr. Henry Browne. No one, I believe, was ever more distinguished in the important station of commanding those vessels which secure to England the commerce of nations unknown to former ages j nor did any one more largely contribute towards introducing the modern refinements of nautical astronomy, which skilfully pursued, and under favourable circumstances determine the place of a ship with greater accuracy, than what in the early part of the last century would have been thought amply sufficient for headlands, roadsteads, or harbours of the first importance. And 1 cannot omit this opportunity of congratu- lating all those who addict themselves to astronomical pursuits, or who feel an interest in the perfection of geography and navigation, on the great improvements recently suggested and likely to be made in our national ephemeris ; improvements which, in part at least, I hoped to have got adopted twelve years ago : but now under more for- tunate auspices I flatter myself that they will be carried into execu- tion, and their practical advantages cannot fail of being very great. Retired to private life, Mr. Browne usefully amused his declining years by a continuance of his favourite pursuits j and up to the latest period of his life he patronised, encouraged, and promoted practical astronomy. Lieutenant-Colonel Mackenzie has, I understand, cultivated sci- ence in the East, but no particulars have come to my knowledge. Sir Lucas Pepys is well known to have attained considerable emi- nence in his profession. The Rev. Stephen Weston will long be remembered for his learn- ing, abilities, good nature, and for his eccentric compositions on va- rious subjects, and in different languages. And for one at least, I may truly say, that it would gratify me to find a more permanent reputation secured for this excellent man, by a collection being given to the public of his numerous Opuscula. The late Duke of Atholl demands also attention, not on account of his high station, but as a patron of science, and especially of that most important, interesting and rapidly improving branch of science, Geology. Geology, deriving its birth from the continent of Europe, seems to have been drawn to this island by the genius of Dr. Hutton, and here to have grown with the vigour of youth under the fostering hands of many who now hear me, and also of a gentleman to whom the Duke of Atholl afforded every assistance to be derived from his large property, and his extensive influence. The Duke of Atholl has also at once enriched and decorated his country j and afforded an instructive example to all other proprietors of similar wastes, by clothing tracts of land, incapable of a different cultivation, with the most valuable of the pines. His forests of larch, which have acquired maturity in the course of a single life, promise not merely to supersede the use of foreign deal, but to allow of our reserving Royal Society. 43 reserving the tree always esteemed the peculiar pride and boast of this island, for the construction of ships of war on the largest scale. Another individual remains, whom no technicality in regard to pursuits can prevent our noticing with honour, on this occasion : whose very deportment indicated the elegance of his mind j and the justness of whose remarks on every thing connected with art, gave assurance of the perfection invariably found to exist in all sub- jects created by the touch of his magic pencil. Sir Thomas Lawrence stands proudly preeminent among native artists, and perhaps among artists of the whole world, in that de- partment to which he exclusively applied the powers of his genius : nor would, 1 am persuaded, the great painter of the preceding age have been unwilling to admit him as his equal in the delineation of portraits — not the servile copies of individual features, but poetic likenesses, where every excellence is heightened, where the mind is de- pictured, and where the particular person seems to embody the class of virtues, of intellectual powers, or of amiable qualities designating the moral order in which he is arranged. This constitutes unquestionably a department of historical paint- ing, not inferior, perhaps, nor even less difficult of acquirement than the others, where all is imaginary. The name of Reynolds must, and, 'for various reasons, ever will stand first on the list of those who have cultivated in this country the whole extent of an art, the most refined, requiring talents the most rare, and at the same time the most delightful of all that have sprung from the human mind j — but that of Lawrence will be hailed by the Academy as their Spes altera, and their Decus gemellum. I am not aware of the loss of any Fellow of the Society on our Foreign List. Gentlemen, Your Council for the past year have awarded one of the Royal Medals to Dr. Brewster, for his various communications on Light, printed in the last volume of your Transactions. Unable as we are to investigate the real essences of physical bodies, it is impossible nicely to discriminate their relative importance by observing the external or accidental properties they may assume : but light is so preeminent in all its relations ; as the cause of vision j in the rapidity of its flight, or of its vibration j in its connection with heat ; in its adorning every thing in nature by a secondary quality ; — that no more could be wanting to secure its place at the head of that class of transcendant or imponderable substances, which appear to animate the material world. Other properties have, however, been recently discovered, not less wonderful than those that were previously known, and which promise to decide the long agitated question between corpuscular projection and the vibration of a fluid at once inconceivably elastic and rare. In all these discoveries Dr. Brewster has taken an ample share. And as a public testimony of the sense entertained by the Royal Society of their importance, and of his ability and exertions, I have the honour of presenting to him the Royal Medal. G 2 The 44- Royal Society. The discovery of any new elementary substance has ever been deemed an occurrence worthy of being marked by some public de- claration of applause. The ascertaining chlorine to be, in the actual state of our know- ledge, one of this class, has justly been considered as among the most brilliant of Sir Humphry Davy's achievements in chemical sci- ence. Iodine has been added to the supporters of combustion, oc- cupying, like oxygen and chlorine, the negative extremity of the scale in Electro-chemistry. More recently another substance, apparently intermediate be- tween chlorine ami iodine, has been derived from the same source as that yielding the latter, — from the water of the sea -, and from its pe- culiar odour denominated brome, and subsequently bromine. An ample account of the properties distinguishing this substance may be found in a memoir by the discoverer, Mons. Balard of Montpelier, read before the Academy of Sciences, published in the dnnales de Chirnie, vol. xxxii. p. 337, and abridged in the twenty-second volume of the Quarterly Journal of Science, p. 384. It will be seen by referring to the Second Part of our Transactions for the present year, that Dr. Daubeny has detected bromine in various springs 5 and it appears that the action of this substance, on the living system, unites with its chemical qualities in associ- ating it with iodine. So marked and so decisive indeed are its effects, that various medical waters are conjectured to owe their beneficial qualities to the presence, in extremely minute portions, of this ele- mentary body, unknown and unsuspected previously to the re- searches of M. Balard. To him, therefore, I am directed by your Council to deliver the other Royal Medal, in testimony of the high respect entertained for his ability, industry, and skill displayed in the discovery of bromine. The Copley and the Rumford Medals have not been awarded. The Society next proceeded to the election of the Council and Officers for the ensuing year, when the following were declared to be the lists :— Council. — Peter Barlow, Esq. ; John Barlow, Esq. ; William Ca- vendish, Esq.; Sir Astley Cooper, Bart.; Henry Ellis, Esq.: Mi- chael Faraday, Esq. ; Colonel Fitzclarence ; Davies Gilbert, Esq. ; Captain Henry Kater ; Viscount Melville ; Sir George Murray, .Bart.; Rev. George Peacock ; Sir Robert Peel, Bart. ; A. Wilson Philip, M-D. ; John Pond, Esq.; George Rennie, Esq. ; N. Aylward Vigors, Esq. President : His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, K.G. — Treasurer: John William Lubbock, Esq. — Secretaries: Peter Mark Roget, M.D , and John George Children, Esq. Dec. 9.— -A paper was read, entitled, " On the performance of fluid refracting telescopes, and on the applicability of this prin- ciple of construction to very large instruments." By Peter Bar- low, Esq.F.R.S. Corresponding Member of the Institute of France, of the Imperial Academy of Petersburg, &c. Jn the first part of this paper the author adduces proofs of the efficacy Royal Society. 45 efficacy of telescopes constructed with fluid lenses, on the princi- ples developed in his two former papers, published in the Phil. Trans., in separating double stars, resolving nebulae, and exhibiting different appearances in the discs of the planets. He institutes, with this view, a comparison between the performance of his telescope of 8 inches aperture and 12 feet in length, with Mr. Herschel's telescope, made with his new 20 inches speculum, and with Sir James South's new refractor, of 12 inches aperture and 20 feet fo- cal length. In Mr. Barlow's telescope 7; Persei, which is marked as double in South and Herschel's catalogue, is seen distinctly sextuple. The stars composing a Orionis, marked in the catalogue as two dis- tinct sets of stars, each triple, are shown in Mr. Barlow's telescope as being both quadruple, with two very fine stars between them. A very fine double star was discovered by Mr. Herschel between the two which compose /3 Capricorni, and was considered by him as a very severe test : this star is seen distinctly in Mr. Barlow's tele- scope, but not double. Messier's 22nd nebula is resolved by Sir James South's tele- scope into an immense number of brilliant small stars. In Mr. Bar- low's telescope the same resolution is effected, though somewhat less completely. The two last-mentioned instances he considers as affording ex- cellent criteria of the exact limits of the power of the instrument. Mr. Barlow next examined Jupiter and Mars in order to com- pare the defining powers of the two instruments. Both these planets were more sharply defined in Sir James South's telescope than in that of the author, but in this respect the superiority of the former instrument was by no means great : and in the exhibition of the shadow of one of Jupiter's satellites passing over his disc, there was no apparent difference between the two instruments. Their powers seemed as nearly as possible equal when applied to Mars. An experience of three years has not shown the slightest per- ceptible change in either the quantity or quality of the fluid em- ployed as the lens of the author's three-inch telescope ; neither has the glass inclosing it suffered any diminution of its transparency. The author conceives it therefore to be sufficiently established, that sulphuret of carbon is capable of supplying all the properties of flint-glass, which are required in the construction of a telescope; and moreover, that in consequence of its high dispersive power, it admits of being placed so far behind the principal lens of plate- or crown-glass, as to require to be only one half of the diameter of the latter. This combination also gives a focal power of one and a half times the length of the tube ; and consequently the telescope may be reduced in length to two-thirds of that which a glass tele- scope of the usual construction would require for an equal amount of spherical aberration. In the conclusion of his paper, the author proposes what he considers as a great improvement in the plan of construction for very large telescopes on this principle : it consists in making the object- lenses double, by which their spherical aber- ration may at once be reduced to about one-fourth of its present amount 46 Linmean Society. amount, and will then admit of easy correction by a fluid lens, without requiring the inconvenient curvatures for its surfaces which are now necessary. This construction will also be attended with the advantage of requiring a much smaller thickness in the plate- glass, and will thus facilitate the selection of proper pieces of glass for being worked into an object lens. From all these considerations, the author entertains the confi- dent expectation of being able, with proper assistance, to construct a telescope of 2 feet aperture and 24 feet in length, which would as much exceed the most powerful telescopes of the pre- sent day, as these exceed the refractors which existed at the close of the last century. LINN^AN SOCIETY. Nov. 2. — The session was commenced by the reading a part of a paper, by John Hogg, Esq. F.L.S. (continued at the subsequent meetings), intitled Observations on some of the Classical Plants of Sicily. The author, who had made ageneral collection of the plants of the island in 1826, in consequence of the recent publication of the Sicilian Flora, of Presl and Gussone, limits himself in this com- munications to the classical plants, which he has illustrated by very interesting citations from Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Pliny, the Syracusan poets Theocritus and Moschus, and other writers of antiquity. Nov. 16. — Read, An account by Lieut.-colonel Bowler, accom- panied by drawings, of a curious species of Palm, apparently iden- tical with the Doum Palm of Upper Egypt (Hyphcsne coriacea of Gaertner), found in the Cutcherry Compound at Masulipatam, and also near Kongaram in the Teloogoo Compound, both in the Go- vernment of Madras. The trees were from 18 to 50 feet high, with their stems generally twice forked, but some were found with an elongated simple stem having as many as six heads. The fronds are used by the natives for thatching, and the hard fibrous nuts, when steeped in water and beaten, are made into brushes for white- washing their houses. Colonel Bowler observes, '« The Sunasies, whenever they can procure them, carry the stalks of the fronds in their hands, and impose upon the ignorant natives, by attributing to them many surprising virtues, and pretending they cut them from a curious tree which was in a large forest at an incalculable distance. " The inhabitants of Kongaram and the neighbouring hamlets look upon this tree as the guardian of their jungle, and hold it in some degree of veneration ; conceiving it has, as I am told, its San- scrit name Kulpa Vroochum* implies, the power of fulfilling the de- sires and wishes of mankind, at least such as from firmness of heart and morals have faith in its supposed virtues." * A holy tree in the gardens of Tnclra. It is said in the Pooranas to have been found in the ocean when Krishna churned it, and that it was given to Jndra, telling him that it would grant the wishes of all beings. The Geological Society. 47 The tree had probably been introduced from Egypt by the Arabs. The paper and drawings were communicated by the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society. Dec. 9. — Read a paper On the plant which yields the Gum Am- moniacum, by Mr. David Don, Lib. L.S. Although the gum Ammoniacum has held a place in the Phar- macopoeia from a very early period, yet the plant itself has hitherto remained wholly unknown. It proves to be a new genus, belong- ing to the group of UmbellifercK, named by DeCandolle Pence- danecz, differing essentially from Ferula and Opopannx in its large cup-shaped epigynous disk, and in having solitary resiniferous canals. The specimen was obtained, in the districts where the gum Ammo- niacum is collected, by Lieut. -colonel Wright, of the Royal Engi- neers on his way through Persia from India, and was by him pre- sented along with other dried plants to the Linnsean Society. Every part of the specimen is covered by drops of a gum, possessing all the characters of gum Ammoniacum, and this circumstance alone would seem sufficient to remove all doubt on the subject, but Mr. Don has carefully compared it with the fruit and fragments of the inflores- cence found intermixed with the gum in the shops, and he finds them to accord in every respect, so that the plant may now be con- sidered as fully ascertained. Dioscorides derives the name Ammo- niacum from Ammon or Hammon, the Jupiter of the Libyans, whose temple was situated in the desert of Cyrene, near to which the plant was said to grow; but as the plant is now ascertained to come from the north of Persia, and not from Africa, Mr. Don is disposed to consider the name Ammoniacum or Armoniacum, as it is indif- ferently written by ancient authors, as merely a corruption of Ar- meniacum. We subjoin Mr. Don's essential character of the genus, and some of the more important parts of the detailed de- scription. DOREMA. Discus epigynus cyathiformis. Achenia compressa, marginata: costis 3 intermediis disiinctis, filiformibus. Valleciilce uni- vittatae. Commissura 4-vittata. Herba (Persica) robusta, facie fere Opopanacis. Folia ampla, sub- bipinnata. Umbella prolifera, subracemosa. Umbellulae globoscet breviter pedunculate. Flores sessiles, lanuginiimmersi! The species is Dorema Ammoniacum. Mr. Don concludes his paper with a few observations on the plant which yields the analogous gum Galbanum, which he regards as constituting also a new genus allied to Siler, but differing essentially in the absence of dorsal resiniferous canals to the fruit, and in the commissure being furnished with two only. He proposes for the plant the name of Galbanum officinale. The Bubon Galbanum of Linnaeus possesses neither the smell nor taste of Galbanum, and is altogether a totally different plant. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Nov. 3. — In consequence of the Resolutions passed at the general meeting held on the 18th of last June, changing the evenings of ordinary 48 Geological Society -. ordinary meeting from the first and third Fridays in each month, from November to June, inclusive, to the alternate Wednesdays, the Society assembled on this evening for the session. The reading of a paper entitled " Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposits," by the Rev. James Yates, M.A. F.L.S.,F.G.S., was begun. Nov. 17. — The reading of the paper on the Formation of Alluvial Deposits, by the Rev. James Yates, begun at the last meeting, was concluded. After adverting to the importance of this branch of Geology to the successful study of all the more ancient sedimentary deposits, and to the explanation of the methods by which bare rocks are converted into productive soils, the author proposes to describe some of the processes which regulate the production of alluvium, and the principal forms which it assumes. I. — He considers first those processes of disintegration, not de- pendent upon the action of running water, by which materials are supplied for the formation of alluvium. These are of two kinds. 1.— Earthquakes and landslips, by which large masses are detached suddenly from the mountains, and fall occasionally with so great an impetus as to extend across valleys. 2. — Other processes, such as frost and oxidation, which are far more important in their effects. The agents of this class always di- vide rocks according to their natural structure of separation, so that every fragment of the debris is bounded by the plane of its cleavage. The fragments as they fall produce two principal forms ; (a) the lengthened talus, which in general covers the base of all calcareous, and conglomerate or sedimentary rocks ; and (£) the acute cone, which is discharged from the ravines of highly inclined schistose rocks, having a cleavage which meets the planes of stra- tification at an acute angle. II. — The materials thus furnished are distributed by streams, which round off their angles by continual friction, so as to convert them into pebbles, sand, and mud. The hard and heavy fragments driven along by streams, also wear down the rocks in place, the latter being acted upon according to their degrees of softness and their proneness to disintegration. When the detritus thus produced is discharged from a lateral into a principal ravine, or valley, the divergence of the stream gives it the form of a cone ; but as the force of running water carries loose materials much further than they would fall by their own weight, the form thus produced is not an acute but an obtuse cone. In the Alps some of these obtuse cones attain 500 feet in height, and three miles in diameter, bearing upon their surfaces forests and villages. The quantity of solid materials descending over the apex of an obtuse cone, is sometimes so great as to stop up the valley. The waters of the principal stream then accumulate above the obstruc- tion, and after the subsidence of the lateral stream, tear away the base Geological Society. 49 base of the encroaching cone. This form the author designates as the obtuse cone dipt at the base. Narrow valleys and plains are frequently divided by transverse ledges of gravel. The formation of these is attributed to the opera- tion of rivers, which it is supposed had first accumulated their de- tritus in dams, and that these dams, having been successively broken down after the subsidence of floods, were re-produced upon a rise of the streams. Numerous causes are assigned which vary the depth of streams. These are, rains; the melting of Alpine snows and glaciers; the breaking up of ice in rivers; and the bursting of lakes. III.— Whenever detritus is conveyed by running into standing water, a separation takes place between those finer particles which are held in suspension, and those which it only rolls along the bottom. As the debris of horizontally stratified rocks forms a length- ened talus at their base, so the loose and heavy materials washed down the side of a mountain, and conveyed into a lake, as soon as they reach its margin fall in a steep slope of the same description. Layer after layer is thus deposited, the result of which is, that a terrace is gradually formed, dipping under the surface of the lake with a gentle slope, and then abruptly terminating in a steep de- clivity. The author next endeavours to show, that what is commonly called a Delta is more strictly speaking the Sector of a Circle. After describing numerous examples of forms of alluvial matter, in artificial reservoirs and in lakes, the author alludes to the probable existence of similar deposits upon a vast scale in the deep and still waters of the ocean; and considering the English, St. George's and Bristol Channels, to be of the nature of estuaries, he observes, that the arc of the Sector is found encircling the south-western extremity of Ireland on the one hand, and the north-western angle of France on the other, and coinciding with a line along which the water deepens suddenly from one to more than two hundred French fathoms. It is then shown that lakes are filled up, not by depositions in their deep, central water, but by the gradual advance of all their lateral terraces and cones. IV. — When two streams meet, they neutralize each other's mo- tion, and a deposition takes place at the point of quiescence. Peculiar appearances ensue, when streams meet at different levels. If a lateral stream brings down a disproportionate quantity of de- tritus, its bed is raised, but is abruptly terminated by the action of the principal stream. Hence the valleys of mountainous re- gions exhibit not only level terraces formed in lakes, but others the edge of which have a steep declivity. Finally, the author presumes that the forms which alluvium puts on in rivers, are produced also in seas, and in the ocean, by the opposition and union of currents flowing either at the same or at different levels. A short Memoir was then read, entitled " Remarks on the Ex- istence of Anoplotherium and Palaeotherium in the lower Fresh- N.S. Vol. 9. No. 49. Jan. 1831. H water 50 Geological Society. water Formation at Binstead, near Ryde, in the Isle of Wight," by S. P. Pratt, Esq. F.G.S. F.L.S. The author lately discovered, in the lower and marly beds of the quarries of Binstead, in the Isle of Wight, and which belong to the lower fresh- water formation, a tooth of an Anoplotherium, and two teeth of the genus Palaeotherium, animals characteristic of strata of the same age in the Paris basin. These remains were accompanied, not only by several other frag- ments of the bones of Pachydermata (chiefly in a rolled and in- jured state), but also by the jaw of a new species of Ruminantia, apparently closely allied to the genus Moschus. From the oc- currence of the latter fossil, the author infers that a race of ani- mals existed at this geological epoch, whose habits required that the surface of the earth should have been in a very different state from that which it has been supposed to have presented, in con- sequence of the frequent discovery of the remains of animals who lived almost entirely in marshes. Dec. 1.— A paper was read, entitled « An Explanatory Sketch of a Geological Map of Moravia, and the West of Hungary," by Dr. A. Boue, For. Mem. G.S.&c. The author in presenting this Map to the Geological Society, states that it has been made with the assistance of Messrs. Teubner, Rittler, and Von Lill von Lilienbach ; and that with the latter gentleman in particular he has recently worked out many details, which it is hoped may rectify certain errors in the great Geological Map of Germany, published by Schropp of Berlin. Moravia has been in part described by Andre, Von Albin Hein- rich, Von Lill, Von Oeynhausen, and Beudant ; but the two lasc- mentioned writers, it is stated, have not visited the country. This region is made up of the union of three principal chains of hills, the Eastern or Bohmerwaldgebirge, the Sudeten or Silesian mountains, and the Western Carpathians, the contact of the two first of which is hidden by a red sandstone of the coal-measures, and green, chalk marl. The hilly region called the Gesenke, consists of grauwacke, and extends across Moravia to near the Bohemian range. The Gesenke is separated from the Carpathians by the tertiary and alluvial val- leys of the Upper Oder. The more ancient and longitudinal valleys, in Moravia, have a general direction from W.S.W. to E.N.E. ; and are with some few exceptions, cut through transversely by the present streams. In the part of Hungary and Gallicia indicated on this Map, the rivers on the contrary flow for the most part in longitudinal valleys, parallel to the Carpathians, as the Nitra, Gran, Vistula, and the Waag, although the latter for a certain space runs through a trans- versal rent in primary rocks. In the Western groups are numerous Scotch and Scandina- vian minerals. Many of the oldest stratified rocks are crossed by large dyke-like elliptic bodies, running from south-west to north-east. The respective characters of the primary Sudeten and Tatra mountains are then described. The grauwacke dis- tricts Geological Society. 51 tricts are stated to differ little from those of the Hartz and the South of Scotland ; and the caverns which abound in the blueish gray limestone, subordinate to this formation, may, the author conceives, have been produced by the acidulous waters which are still so abundant in the country, as at Gefatter Loch, &c. This old lime- stone formation abounds in Madrepores, Caryophyllia, Encrinites, and Orthoceratites. The author is of opinion, that the sienite was erupted during the period between the formation of the grauwacke, and the primary chain of Bohemia. This sienite has very various characters, being sometimes porphyritic, at other times associated with talcose and quartzose rocks, &c. Above the sienite lies a coarse, red conglomerate, which is con- nected in Bohemia with a great deposit of red sandstone with coal. Here the author corrects an error in Schropp's Map, where the district is coloured as new red sandstone j instead of which, he considers it to be of the age of the Scotch red coal-grits. The other coal deposit of the basin of the Oder is in aluminous and bituminous slate, with gray sandstone, and many vegetable im- pressions, but without red sandstone. The Zechstein is wholly absent in these parts, and the true red marl is very scarce. The Muschelkalk, however, occupies some space in Upper Silesia and Poland, and contains most of its characteristic fossils. The Jurassic and Alpine limestones extend over a large portion of the Map j and the dolomite, the upper beds of which abound with Madrepores, Encrinites, Diceras, and Terebratulae, is overlaid by the Carpathian or Vienna sandstone (Andrychow, &c.). The Carpathian sandstone fills a cavity between a range of true Alpine limestone on one side, and Jura limestone on the other, and is easily divisible into three parts. 1 . The lowest division is marly and calcareous, containing Fu- coides intricatus and F.Jurcatus, and has been mistaken on Schropp's Map for transition limestone. It is cut through by dykes of ser- pentine and greenstone. 12. The middle group is more quartzose. 3. The highest is characterized by reddish marls, several beds of ruiniform, compact limestone, some Fucoides, Encrinites, Lepa- dites, Tellinites, resembling those of Solenhofen ; Possidonia, Tere- bratulae, Ammonites, and Belemnites. This triple system of the Carpathians is overlaid by a group of sandstone which the author considers to be the "green-sand;" this is composed of conglome- rate, nummulite limestone, and green, calcareous beds with Gry- phcea columba, Ostrea vesicularis, &c.f also with superior beds re- sembling the Planer Kalk of the Germans. The greensand of Mo- ravia has all the characters of that of North-western Europe, pass- ing upwards into a superior, marly greensand, with fossils, and for- ming long, continuous plateaux. For details the author here refers to previous publications of his own, and to sections with which his Map is accompanied. H 2 Chalk 52 Geological Society. Chalk does not exist in the Carpathians, nor could the author recognise it at Cracow, the limestone of which he refers to the Upper Jurassic, although he states that chalk is found in the plains of Poland, Eastern Gallicia, Podolia, Volhynia, and Southern Russia. The tertiary deposits of the countries described, though be- longing to two distinct basins, have everywhere the same cha- racters. The low grounds of Gallicia are supposed to have formed a part of the great basin of Northern Europe, which must have connected the Baltic with the Black Sea, and perhaps with the seas and lakes of Asia. The tertiary beds of Moravia, on the contrary, he considers to have been deposited in an arm of that sea, which must have occupied the great depressions of Hungary and Austria, communicating with the Mediterranean through Ba- varia and Switzerland, inasmuch as these deposits, whether on the North or on the South of the Carpathians, have a common character. The various tertiary groups are identified with those of the sub-Apennines ; the blue marls, and yellow, sandy marls, besides the characteristic shells, contain salt, sulphur, gypsum, &c. ; and in some parts there are freshwater shells, including the My til us of the Danube. In respect to the place of the salt of Wieliczka, the author, differing from MM. von Lill and Keferstein, who had placed it in the Carpathian sandstone, considers it to be of tertiary age, because it is associated with sub-Apennine shells, and is connected with upper marine sandstone, and limestone. Above the blue saliferous marls is a vast extent of molasse with Pectens, Ostreae, and many fossil vegetables. The beds of this de- posit are highly inclined along the foot of the Carpathians. At Nicholschitz and Krepitz in Moravia, and at Zazlusin and Dobro- mil in Gallicia, it is represented by marly, siliceous deposits, with semiopal, and fishes, as well as Hymenopterous, Dipterous, and Coleopterous insects. The sandy banks, with Ostreae and Cerithii, which abound in Moravia, Hungary and Gallicia, are referred to an age interme- diate between the blue saliferous marl and the molasse just de- scribed, and are considered to be older than the conglomerates and coral limestone of Austria. The older alluvium of these districts, and particularly that of the valley of the Oder, besides boulders and gravel, contains, existing species of fresh-water shells mixed in beds of marl with bones of ex- tinct animals and fossils. Of basaltic rocks, the cone of Randenberg is scoriaceous, and has been protruded through grauwacke. Near Barrow a felspathose rock has pierced the Carpathic sandstone, converting it into jaspi- deous rocks resembling those of the Giant's Causeway, and the IsleofSkye,&c. The author refers to M. Beudant for full particulars of the tra- chyte, but begs to distinguish certain trachytic conglomerates, as being of aqueous origin, from the trachytic or igneous breccia. An original "manuscript" Map of all the districts described in the previo us Zoological Society. 53 previous Memoir of Dr. Bone", was presented by M. von Lill von Lilienbach, who amongst other novelties has discovered two cones of trachyte near the mercury mines, in the Carpathian sandstone of Krosciensko. • ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Nov. 9. —11. W. Hay, Esq. in the Chair. The Chairman opened the business of the Meeting, by stating the objects contemplated by the Council in the formation of the Com- mittee. He explained these objects in conformity with the sub- joined Extracts from the Minutes and Report of the Council. Extracts from the Minutes of Council. July 21. — " On a consideration of the advantages likely to ac- crue to the Society, by cultivating an extensive correspondence on subjects of Natural History ; it was Resolved, that a Committee be appointed, to be entitled * The Committee of Science and Corre- spondence,1 for the purpose of suggesting and discussing questions and experiments in animal physiology, of exchanging communi- cations with the Corresponding Members of the Society, of promo- ting the importation of rare and useful Animals, and of receiving and preparing reports upon matters connected with Zoology. " That the Committee be requested, in the first instance, to pre- pare a Report upon the Animals, for the importation of which it is most desirable that the Council should take measures, whether for purposes of utility or exhibition, under the heads of the seve- ral countries in which they are produced ; and pointing out the means which should be taken for their preservation, either on the passage or after their arrival; and secondly, to obtain all informa- tion possible, upon the subject of the importation and breeding of Fish." Oct. 6.—" It was ordered, that the Committee of Science, nomi- nated at the Council of the 21st of July, should be requested to meet at the Society's rooms, at eight o'clock on Tuesday the 9th of November, and on every subsequent second and fourth Tuesday of the month. It was also Resolved, that the Committee should have power to add to their numbers ; and that the members of the Coun- cil should be ex officio members of the Committee." Extract from the Report of the Council. Nov. 4. — " It has been objected to the Council, that but little of their attention has been directed to the advancement of Zoological Science; and the apology which they have to offer is, that their time has been necessarily devoted to the very complicated and extensive arrangements under which the formation of their present establish- ments has been begun and accomplished. They have latterly been particularly anxious to place the responsibility of detail upon their salaried officers, so that their own time may be principally applied to more general superintendence, and particularly to the encou- ragement of scientific researches: they have, therefore, endeavoured to establish meetings of such members of the Society as have prin- cipally applied themselves to science; at which, communications upon 54? Zoological Society. upon Zoological subjects may be received and discussed, and occa- sional selections made for the purpose of publication. They propose from time to time to publish in the cheapest form an abstract from the most interesting of these communications ; and they trust that the first of these papers will be ready for delivery on the first of January, 1831. They further propose, that these meetings shall take place on the second and fourth Tuesdays in every month; and they have invited, for the 9th of November next, such members of the Society as appeared likely, from their scientific pursuits, to take an interest in their views. " The Council have moreover suggested that letters be sent to the superintendents of the principal Menageries in Europe, viz. at Paris, Leyden, Munich, Vienna, Madrid, &c. proposing mutual communication of all observations upon these matters, arid an occasional interchange of such animals as may be most easily pro- duced or imported in each country. They have also proposed, that circulars be addressed to the Corresponding Members of the So- ciety, requesting particular information upon such facts of Na- tural History as it may be desirable to investigate at each place ; and they further propose that a prize be offered for the Essay which shall contain the best and most extensive practical knowledge upon the importation and domestication of foreign animals in this and other countries." The Chairman concluded his Address by calling on the Members, collectively and individually, to forward the views of the Council, by communicating such facts as might tend to the advancement of Zoological Science. Mr. Vigors called the attention of the Committee to a Galli- naceous group of America, which supplied in that continent the place of the Quails of the Old World. Of this group, or the genus Ortyx of modern authors, which a few years back was known to ornithologists by two well ascertained species only, he exhibited specimens of six species ; namely, of Ort. virginianus and californicus, which had been the earliest described, the former by Linnaeus, the latter by Dr. Latham ; of Ort. capistratus, a species lately named and figured in Sir W. Jardine and Mr. Selby's " Il- lustrations of Ornithology"; and of Ort. Douglasii, Montezunuz, and squamatus, which had been characterized by himself in the "Zoolo- gical Journal ". In addition to these species he exhibited plates of three others of which he regretted that he could obtain no spe- cimens in London ; namely, of Ort. macrourus, figured by Sir W. Jardine and Mr. Selby ; of Ort. Sonninii, figured by M. Temminck in the "Planches Coloriees " [No. 75.] ; and of the Ort.cristatus, fi- gured in the " Planches Enluminees" [No. 126.] of M. Buffon. To these nine described species, he added two others apparently new to science, and which he characterized under the names of Ort. ne~ oxenus and affinis ; stating at the same time his doubts whether both might not be the females or young males of the imperfectly known species Ort. Sonniniior cristalus. — The following are the spe- cific characters of these birds. ORTYX Zoological Society. 55 OKTYX NEOXENUS. Ort. brunneus, supra fusco rufoque undulatim variegatus, subtus pallido-rufo maculatus ; gents lateribusque colli rujescentibus ; caudu brunneo-Jusco rufoque undulatim Jasciatd ; cristd brevi brunnea. Statura minor quam Ort. californicus . ORTYX AFFINIS. Ort. pallide brunneus ; dorso alisquefusco pdli- doque rufo variegatis ; caudd pallescenti-brunnea, fusco al~ boque undulatim Jasciatd ; capite, collo, peclore, abdomineque riJL/escentibus, hoc albo guttato, illis albo nigroque variegatis ; Jronte apiceque cristce elongate rufo-brunnece albescentibus. Statura minor qui\m species praecedens. Mr. Vigors proceeded to state, that individuals of four of the above-mentioned species, namely, Ort. virginianus, californicus, neoxenus and Montezumce, had been exhibited in a living state in the Gardens of the Society. Specimens of the former three, he added, were still alive there, having braved the severity of the last winter without any artificial warmth. They were all natives of the northern parts of America. The Ort. virginiajius, he also mentioned, had bred in this country, and had even become naturalized in Suffolk. He state A in addition, that Capt. P. P. King, R.N. had pointed out to him, amongst his collection lately brought home from the Straits of Magellan, specimens of a bird which he made no doubt was the same as the Cattle des Isles Malouines of M. Buffon, figured in the " Planches Enluminees " [No. 222.], and which was subse- quently named Perdix Falklandica by Dr. Latham. This bird has been added to the genus Orlyx by modern authors, but erroneously -t as the structure of the wing, in which consists the chief difference between the Ortyx of America and the genus Coturnixor the Quails of the Old World, associates the Magellanic bird more closely with the latter group, than with the birds of its own continent. Mr. Vi- gors mentioned, that the form which characterizes the true Quails extends to Australia, where several species are found. And referring to the deviation in form, which partially separates the South American bird from the allied groups of the same continent, and brings it in contact with those of Australia, and through them with those of the old continent, he dwelt upon the beautiful series of geographical affinity, which in this instance united the zoology of the southern extreme of the New World with that of the nearest portions of the southern hemisphere, in like manner as the zoology of the northern extreme is united with that of the neighbouring continents of Europe and Asia. He pointed out some additional instances, in which the same union might be traced. Mr. Owen commenced the reading of a paper On the Anatomy of the Orang Utan (Simia Satyrus, L.)- The subject principally referred to was a young male, probably about four years of age, which had recently been presented to the Society by Mr. Swinton of Calcutta ; it reached England in a very debilitated state, and died on the third day after its arrival in Bruton- street. The morbid appearances met with in its examination were very slight, 56 Zoological Society. slight, and of themselves not sufficient to account for the death of the animal. The brain \vas firm, and its membranes bore no traces of inflammation. The stomach and intestines were also equally free from morbid appearances. The liver was perfectly healthy, which was the more remarkable, as on the third day before death the faces were clay-coloured from a deficiency of bile. The heart was healthy, except that it had two or three patches of organized lymph upon its surface, indicating old inflammation : the pericardium con- tained more than half an ounce of fluid : about four ounces of fluid were also effused in the cavity of the chest, and the cellular tissue of the lungs was gorged with serum, a circumstance which must have occasioned a great obstruction of the circulation. There existed be- fore death evidence of this effusion, in the slow and laboured breath- ing of the animal, as noticed by Mr. Martin, who also states that the pulse was 100 and very feeble, but, as far as he observed, without intermission. No other organ exhibited any lesion of structure ; the lungs and liver were free from tubercles, the developement of which appears to be the most frequent cause of death in animals which, coming from warm countries, have sojourned in our damp climate. The effusion observed may probably be considered as one of the consequences of that debility and exhaustion of the system, produced by a long voyage, improper food, and diarrhoea, which terminated in premature death. The general appearance and position of the abdominal viscera in the Orang bear much resemblance to those of the human subject. The stomach is thicker and narrower at its pyloric end, and the vil- lous coat is of less extent. The small intestines are lined by a smooth and uniform membrane, and are without valvulce conniventes. The position of the caecum is the same as in man : to its extremity is at- tached the vermiform appendage, which is wider at its commence- ment ; thus exhibiting as a permanent structure in the Orang, that which in man is a foetal peculiarity. The colon is sacculated, and ap- pears, from the existence of glandules solitaries and from the presence of lacteal glands in the meso-colon, to take a great share in the functions of digestion. The liver generally resembles the human; the gall-bladder is long and tortuous; the pancreas is relatively larger, and the spleen more pointed at its extremities than in man ; the hepatic and pancreatic secretions enter the duodenum separately, but close together. In the structure of the abdominal ring, the Orang recedes further than the Chimpanzee (Simia Troglodytes, L.) from the human type ; the kidneys also differ, and present, like those of the Monkeys generally, only a single papilla. The palate, unlike that of man and of the Chimpanzee, has no pendulous uvula. In external form, the brain resembles the human and that of the Chimpanzee : it differs from the brains of other animals in the num- ber and disposition of the lamina; of the cerebellum; in the posterior fissure of that part j and in wanting the transverse band of fibres posterior to thepons Varolii. As compared with that of the Chim- panzee, the medulla oblongata is shorter in proportion, as are also the anterior lobes ; and the cerebellum projects further behind the cerebrum. Zoological Society. 57. cerebrum. The internal structure of the brain has not yet been ex- amined ; some previous preparation of that part having been deemed necessary, in order to render it sufficiently firm for dis- section. The structure of the larynx is minutely described, and contrasted with the anatomy of the same part in the Chimpanzee, in which the laryngeal sacs are not developed as in the Orang. The left laryngeal sac in the present instance was the largest, and extended over the top ef the sternum. In the Chimpanzee the laryngeal sac is produced into a cavity in the body of the os hyo'ides, presenting the first indication of the excavation which is carried to so great an extent in the Monkeys of the genus Mycetes. The thyroid gland is small in the Orang. The lungs are entire on each side, and not divided into lobes. The aorta gives off by a common trunk the right subclavian and the right and the left carotid arteries, the latter of which is given off in the Chimpanzee, as in man, from the arch of the aorta. In the course of his illustrations of the anatomical differences which exist between the Orang and the Chimpanzee, Mr. Owen frequently referred to Tyson's " Anatomy of a Pigmy", and con- firmed many of the descriptions given in that work. Nov. 23, 1830.— Dr. Waring in the Chair. The following letter from F. Jenkins, Esq., Secretary to the Physical Committee of the Asiatic Society, was read : " Calcutta, 24th March 1830. " Sir, — I am directed by the President of the Physical Com- mittee of the Asiatic Society to present, in their name, to the Zoological Society, a small collection of Indian Birds, made (for our Society) by Capt. Franklin (one of its most zealous members) during a late geological tour. " I am instructed at the same time to state, that it will afford pleasure to the Physical Committee of the Asiatic Society to pro- mote as far as may be in their power, the views of the Zoological Society in this country ; and they will be happy to receive commu- nications of their wishes on the subject. " The collection is in charge of Captain Franklin, who is pro- ceeding in the ship Lady Nugent, to England. I am, &c. &c. " N. A. Vigors, Esq. Sec. Z. S. F. JENKINS." The collection alluded to in the preceding letter was laid on the table. It was formed by Major Franklin, F.R.S., &c. on the banks of the Ganges, and in the mountain chain of Upper Hindoo- stan. It contained one hundred and seventy-one species, and was ac- companied by drawings of each of the birds, made while they were recent. Mr. Vigors briefly remarked on several of them, as afford- ing interesting illustrations of the extent of the geographical dis- tribution of certain species. He declined to enter at any length into the subject, which he expected would be fully treated of by Major Franklin in a paper which that gentleman was preparing, and which would be communicated to the Committee at an early meeting. Mr. T. Bell exhibited a pair of living Acouchiest ( Olive Cavy, N. S. Vol. 9. No. 4-9. Jan. 1831. I Penn., 58 Zoological Society. Penn., Dasyprocta Acuschy, Illig.,) recently obtained by him from Guiana. Although they are abundant in their native country, he had never, before the arrival of these individuals, seen a specimen of the species, nor was he aware of the existence of even a preserved skin in any English collection. The Acouchy is readily distinguish- able from the well-known Agouti by its smaller size, its lighter and more elegant proportions, its deeper colours, and other cha- racters, which have been well pointed out by Barrere, Buffon, and other naturalists. The most marked difference is found in the tails of the two animals, that of the Agouti being little more than a tuber- cle, while the tail of the Acouchy is upwards of two inches in length ; it is slender, and of equal diameter throughout its extent, and resembles a quill, or a portion of a tobacco-pipe. The animal frequently agitates this organ with a quick tremulous motion. Both the individuals are mild and gentle in their dispositions, but some- what timid; they are, however, familiar with their master, and run to him whenever he enters the room in which they are kept, and about which they are allowed to range during the day. Their food is entirely vegetable; they are especially partial to nuts and almonds : they drink but little. They are extremely cleanly, and take great pains to keep their fur in order, in cleansing which they mutually assist each other. They leap occasionally in play to a considerable height, and frequently on springing from the ground to an elevation of two feet, descend on the spot from which they rose. Their voice is a short, rather sharp, plaintive pur. The individuals, male and female, show great attachment to each other. Mr. Vigors exhibited specimens of several species of birds, ap- parently undescribed, from the Himalayan mountains. These formed part of a collection which Mr. John Gould, A.L.S., had lately received from India, and of which he intended to publish coloured illustrations, to the number of one hundred figures. Se- veral of the plates, representing some of the most interesting of the species, were laid upon the table. Mr. Vigors having called the attention of the Committee to the expedition with which these birds were made known to science — the specimens themselves not having been more than two months in England, while representations of many of them were already within that short space of time brought before the public, — pro- ceeded to make some remarks upon the geographical distribution of the species. He particularly pointed out the identity of a large proportion of their forms with those of Northern Europe; observing that the elevation of their native mountains placed them on an equa- lity in point of climate with the birds of more northern latitudes. At the same time he added that many of the forms peculiar to Southern Asia and the Indian Archipelago were found intermingled with those of the northern regions. Among the forms similar to the European, he particularized three species of Jays, the two first of which exhibited a striking affinity in their markings to our well- known British bird. They were named and characterized as follows : GARHULUS LANCEOLATUS. Garr. mnaceo-badius ; capite sub- cristato, guldt jugulo, alisque atris ; collo anteriori albo lanceo- lato ; Zoological Society. 59 lalo ; pteromatibus rcmigibusque ccendeo fasciatis, illis albo ter- minatis ; caudd c&rulea, nigro Jasciata,fascid laid apicali albo terminata notatd. GARRULUS BISPECULARIS. Garr. pallide badius , uropygio cris- soque albis ; macula laid postrictali, caudd, pteromatibus^ remi- gibusque atris ; his duabus c&ruleo fasciatis. GA RRULUS STRI ATUS . Garr. pallide brunneus, subtus pallidior ; corporis supra subtusque plumis in media albo longitudinaliter striatis ; crista verlicali, remigibus, rectricibusque unicoloribus. This latter species was observed to deviate in general colour and markings from the European species, although according in form ; and in the former characters to exhibit a manifest approach to the Nutcrackers, or the genus Nucifraga of Brisson. A new species of this latter European form was also observed in the collection ; a second species being thus added to a group which had hitherto been supposed to have been limited to one. In the shape of the bill, which was somewhat shorter and stouter at the base than in the European species, it indicated an approach to the Jays. Its characters were as follow : — NUCIFRAGA HEMISPJLA. Nuc. castaneo -brunnea ; capite subtus, collo anteriori, dorso, pectoreque albo maculatis ; capite summot alis, rectricibusque intense brunneis ; his, duabus mediis exceptis, ad apicem late albis. The two following species of Woodpecker, which approached in size and colouring most closely to the European green Woodpecker •, were also described. Picus OCCIPITALIS. Mas. Pic. viridis, uropygio lutescenti ; Jronte coccineo ; vertice, striga lata occipitali ad nucham extendentey al- teraque utrinque sub oculos postrictali, atris; remigibus rec- tricibusque f us co atris, harum duabus mediis pallido-jusco striatis, illis externe albo maculatis ; gula genisque canis. Fcem. Fronte atra albo lineata. Picus SQUAMATUS. Pic. supra viridis, uropygio sublutescenti ; guld juguloque mridi- canis ; capite coccineo; strigd super ocu- tari, alter a suboculari, abdomineque viridi -albis, hoc atro squa- mato ; strigd super ciliari alter dque utrinque mentali atris ; remi- gibus rectricibusque Jusco -atris, illis externe, his utrinque albo maculatis. A species of Haiufinch, according accurately with the characters of that northern form, was also described. COCCOTHHAUSTES iCTERioiDES. Mas. Cocc. capite, jugulo, dorso media, alls, Jemorum tectricibus, caudaque atris ; nucha, uropy- gio, corporeque subtus luteis. Fcem. Olivaceo-canat uropygio abdomineque lutescentibus ; remi- gibus rectricibusque atris. As also a small Owl, very nearly allied to the Noctua passe- rina and Tengmalmi of Europe. NOCTUA CUCULOIDES. Noct. brunneo^fusca ; capite, dor&o, tectri- cibus alarum, corporeque subtus albo graciliter Jasciatis ; remi- gibus externe albo maculatis; rectricibus utrinque fa sciis albis quinque notatis ; guld alba. I 2 Among 60 Zoological Society. Among the forms peculiar to India was observed a second spe- cies of the singular group which contains the Horned Pheasant, or the Meleagris Satyra of Linnaeus, and which has been lately sepa- rated by M. Cuvicr under the name of Tragopan. Its specific cha- racters are ; TRAGOPAN HASTINGSII. Trag. dorso brunneo:fusco undulato, abdomine intense rubro, amborum plumis ad apicem nigris in media albo guttatis ; cristd crissoque alris, ilia ad apicem coccined, hoc albo maculato ; collo posteriori coccineo ; thorace aurantio ; regione circumoculari nudtt, carunculisque pendentibus luteis ; caudd atrd, lutescenti-albo undulatd. A species of true Pheasant, which seems to have been indicated by former writers from incomplete descriptions or drawings, but never to have been accurately characterized, was also exhibited and named. PHASIANUS ALBO-CRISTATUS. Mas. Phas. supra ater, viridi nitore splendens ; dorso imo albo-Jasciato • cristce plumis albis, elongatis, deorsim recumbentibus, basi subfuscis ; remigibus cor- poreque inferiorijuscis ; pectoris plumis lanceolatis albescentibus. Fcem. Corpore supra cristdque breviorijvscescenti-brunneis; ab- domine pallid iore ; guld, plumarumque corporis apicibus et rha- chibus albescentibus ; rectricibus lateralibus atris, mediis brunneis albescenti undulatis. A third species was likewise added from the collection to the group of Enicurus of M. Temminck, which has hitherto been con- sidered as limited in range to the Indian Archipelago. The fol- lowing are its characters : — ENICURUS MACULATUS. En. capite, collo, dorso superiori, pec- tore, ptilis, remigibus secundariis, cauddque intense atris ; frontis notd latd, maculis confertis nuchce et sparsis dorsi, pteromatibus , dorso imo, abdomine, rectricibus lateralibus, mediarumque apici- bus albis ; remigibus primariisjuscis ; rostro nigro ; pedibus al- bescentibus. Statura En. specioso sequalis. Mr. Owen resumed the reading of his paper On the Anatomy of the Orang Utan (Simia Satyrus, L.) This part of the com- munication is devoted to the osteology of the animal, which is minutely described and contrasted with that of the Chimpanzee. With the skeleton of the Pongo (Pongo Wurmbii, Desm.) the re- semblance is in many particulars almost complete j and the exten- sive examination which Mr. Owen has made of entire skeletons of both the Pongo and the Orang, and of numerous crania of the latter at various ages, has led him to adopt the opinion of those who maintain that these constitute really but one species, of which the Orang is the young, and the Pongo the adult. The remarkable differences in the crest of the cranium, and in the facial angle, appear to be the result of the action of the powerful muscles of nianducation, and of the developement of the extremely large laniarii. A marked peculiarity of the cranium of the Orang exists in the junction of the sphenoid with the parietal bones; a junction which Zoological Society. 61 which is not found in the Chimpanzee, and has been asserted to exist in man alone. Other peculiarities are met with, in the absence of a crista galli on the ethmoid bone, and in the non-existence of' either mastoid or styloid processes : there is a process from the ar ticular surface of the temporal bone, which is necessary to prevent dislocation backwards of the lower jaw, the auditory process not being adapted to prevent such an accident. The intermaxillary bones are distinct. There are largeforamina behind the deciduous teeth, which lead to cavities containing the permanent ones ; the crowns of the latter are as large as those of the Pongo. The os nasi is single and triangular ; it has a strong spine at the back part. There are three infra-orbital foramina; and large foramina in the malar bone. The anterior condyloid foramina are two on each side. The true vertebra are 23 : 7 cervical, with long simple spines ; 12 dorsal ; and 4- lumbar. There are 8 false vertebra, viz. 5 sacral, and 3 coccygeal. The ribs are 12; 7 true, and 5 false. The sternum is composed, below the first portion, of a double series of bones alternating with each other : the same structure obtains in the Pongo. The spine of the scapula is strongly incurvated upwards. The bones of the arm and hand are much elongated. The thumb is short ; the proximal phalanges of the fingers bent. The ilia are narrow, flattened, and elongated. The^wwr is short and straight ; it has no ligamentum teres, a deficiency which occurs also in the Elephant, the Sloths, in Seals, the Walrus, Ornithorhyn- chus, &c., and by which a greater extent of motion is allowed to the thigh. The tibia and fibula are shorter than ihefemur: these, like the bones of the fore-arm, have a greater interosseous space than is found in man. The patella is very small. The os calcis pro- jects far behind. The bones of the metatarsus and the phalanges are elongated, the first series of the latter being bent. The hinder thumb is very short : in the individual examined it had a metatar- sal bone, and two phalanges. A nail existed on the thumb of each hinder hand. Dec. 14-. — G. B. Greenough, Esq. in the Chair. A letter was read from Dr. Andrew Smith, addressed to N. A. Vigors, Esq. The following are extracts : " Cape Town, 8th Sept. 1830. — I am sure you will be pleased to learn that I have discovered another species of Macroscelides, as well as a new one of Erinaceus ; and three species of the genus Otis, together with one of Brachypteryx. The descriptions of these I hope to be able to forward to you in the course of three weeks or a month. The first is designated in our Museum, Macroscelides ru- pestris ; the second, Erinaceus Capensis ; the third, fourth, and fifth, Otis Figorsii, Ot. Jerox, and Ot. Afrao'ides ; the sixth, Brachypteryx Horsfieldii. The first was found by myself on the mountains near to the mouth of the Orange river, and the circum- stance of its always residing among rocks, together with the diffe- rence in its coloring, readily pointed it out as being of a distinct species. As to the colour, the most marked distinction consists in the Cape species having a large tawny rufous or chestnut blotch on 62 Zoological Society. on the nape and back of the neck. The second, Erinaceus Ca- pensis, exhibits considerable affinity to the European species, yet betrays such marked peculiarities as to warrant its being consi- dered as really different from it. The third, Otis Vigorsii, inhabits the most dry and barren situations in the south of Africa, and is known among the colonists by the name of Karor Koran. The prevailing colour above is a light tawny or reddish yellow, and below tawny gray, passing into dirty white on the belly. The back is variegated by numerous violet blotches or reflections, as well as by whitish spots, and the under parts by transverse narrow zigzag black lines. The fourth is above principally tawny yellow, and below dull blueish gray : it is found in the country toward Latakoo. The fifth is met with on the flats near the Orange river, and is called the Bushman Koran. With the exception of a great portion of the quill feathers being white, it resembles much the common Koran of the colony, the Otis Afra. The sixth is met with in high rocky situations, and agrees in most respects with the generic character of Brachypteryx, as described by Dr. Horsfield." With the above letter Dr. Smith transmitted to the Society a E resent of sixteen specimens of fishes, obtained in the neighbour- ood of the Cape of Good Hope, " the details relative to which," he states, " will be forwarded as soon as possible." The specimens were exhibited, and Mr. Bennett laid on the table a list in which they were enumerated as the Sebastes Capensis f Agriopus torvus, Sci&na hololepidota, Otolithus tzquidens, Chrysophris globiceps, Chr. gibbiceps, and Pagrus laniarius, of MM. Cuvier and Valen- ciennes ; an undetermined species of Dentex ; a fish allied to Oblada, Cuv., and apparently the type of a new genus; a new spe- cies of Scomber, Cuv. ; a Lichia ? ; two species of Clinus, Cuv., one of which is probably the Clinus Capensis ; an undescribed spe- cies of Bagrus, Cuv., of the section distinguished in the " Regne Animal ", by having six cirri and a rounded and smooth head ; a species of Scyliium, Cuv., probably new to science ; and a second species of the genus R/iina, Schn., which deviates from the type by a slight production of the front of the head, and thus makes an approach to Rhinobates, Schn. Mr. Vigors exhibited several species of Humming-birds from the collection of Mr. John Gould, one of which, previously unde- scribed, had been dedicated to Mr. George Loddiges, F.L.S., &c. It approaches most nearly to the Trochilus Lalandei,Viei\\. but may be distinguished from that bird (in which the crest is brilliantly green and the throat and breast rich blue,) by the following cha- racters : TROCHILUS LODDIGESII, Gould. Troch. crista elongata, purpu- reo-lilacind ; guld crissoque saturate cinereis ; pectore abdomine- que nigris. This species is from Rio Grande. Mr. Loddiges stated that both species belonged to a genus which he had distinguished among the Trochilida by the name of Cephal- lepis; and promised to bring before the Committee, at an early meeting, the results of his researches on the Trochilidce generally. At Zoological Society. 63 At the request of the Chairman, Mr. Martin reported the diseased appearances noticed on the examination of the Beaver which re- cently died in the Society's Menagerie. They were stated to be such as result from great and universal inflammation. On exam- ining the stomach, its lining membrane was found covered with a blush of inflammation, prevailing more especially about its cardiac portion, where a number of dark coloured spots and patches indi- cated the existence of gangrene. Both the stomach and the colon contained undissolved fibres of bark in considerable quantity, the function of digestion having been for some time past necessarily de- ranged. Along the course of the small intestines, traces of high arte- rial action were still presented ; in the large intestines the traces of inflammation were more obscure. The pericardium was highly in- flamed, its inner surface presenting a granulated appearance. The heart also, as well as the lungs, gave evidence of having partaken in the general disease. Much disease existed about the lower jaw, which may probably have been the primary cause of all the mis- chief, as it must have existed for several months, and necessarily have produced a continued state of irritation in the system. The alveolar processes of the lower jaw, embracing the incisor teeth, were destroyed by caries, and the teeth themselves had fallen out. In the adjacent soft parts there were extensive abscesses, and a wide spread of discolouration, evidencing the progress of the dis- organization. Mr. Cox exhibited a Nightingale in fine plumage and full song, which had been for four years in confinement. He stated that the error generally committed by persons attempting to keep these birds and the other species of Sylviadce, was the over care bestowed upon them. A treatment not more tender than that afforded to granivorous species, agreed well with the Nightingale, for which it was by no means necessary to provide insects as food ; meat scraped fine and mixed with egg forming a sufficient substitute, and furnish, ing a nourishment at once grateful to the bird and fully adequate to supply its wants. Mr. Bennett called the attention of the Committee to two birds which had been for some time living in the Society's Garden. In many respects, especially as regards the nakedness of their cheeks, and the nakedness, length, and reticulation of their tarsi, they agree with the Caracaras (Polyborus, Vieill.) ; but differ from the type of that genus in the greater compression of their beaks ; their trans- verse oval nostrils ; their comparatively slender make ; and their more vulturine appearance, which is much increased by the soft downy nature of the plumage of their head and neck. From the genus Morphnus of M. Cuvier, which they resemble in many parti- culars, they are at once distinguished by the length of their wings, which reach, when closed, to the extremity of the tail. He stated his opinion that they would be found, on a close examination, (which could only be made after death,) to constitute a new genus. Until the opportunity of determining this question should occur, he asso- ciated them provisionally with the Caracaras ; and having met with no 64? Zoological Society. no trace of a description of them in any ornithological writer, he proposed for them the following specific character : POLYBORUS? HYFOLEUCUS. Pol. ? capite, collo, pectore, abdomine- que albis ; scapularibus Jiisco-griseis ; dorso tegminibusque fuscis ; remigibus nigricantibus ; cauda basi nigra , apice fascia lot a al- lida. Jun. Fuscus, capite^ collo, corporeque subtus dilutioribus, remigibus Jiisco-nigricantibus. The following observations, by Mr. Yarrell, on the subject of his attempts to preserve Whitebait alive, were read. " Several dozens of strong lively fish, four inches in length, were transferred with great care from the nets into large vessels, (some of the vessels, to vary the experiments, being of earthenware, and others of wood and metal,) filled with water taken from the Thames at the time of catching the fish. At the expiration of twenty mi- nutes nearly the whole of them were dead, none survived longer than half an hour ; and all fell to the bottom of the water. On examination, the air-bladders were found to be empty and collapsed. There was no cause of death apparent. About four dozen speci- mens were then placed in a coffin -shaped box pierced with holes, which was towed slowly up the river after the fishing-boat. This attempt also failed : all the fish were dead when the vessel had reached Greenwich. 11 I was told by two Whitebait fishermen that they had several times placed these fishes in the wells of their boats, but they inva- riably died when brought high up the river. The fishermen believe a portion of sea water to be absolutely necessary to the existence of this species, and all the circumstances attending this particular fishery appear to prove their opinion to be correct." A report by Mr. Yarrell on the morbid appearances observed in the examination of the Society's Reindeer, was read. It is as follows : " On opening the body and removing the viscera, the lungs ap- peared highly inflamed, of a dark purple colour; and on cutting into their substance, the cells contained matter. The small intestines also bore marks of inflammation, but in a much less degree : the mesenteric glands were diseased, but not to the extent that might have been expected in an animal that had been many years in an artificial state. The external surface of the neck and head exhi- bited a high degree of vascularity, and the animal appeared to have been under the influence of that periodical determination of blood to the head, which is known to occur in all deer at the annual pro- duction of new horns. As far as the brain could be examined by the occipital foramen, both the substance and its investing mem- branes were also inflamed ; but I have no doubt the primary cause of death was the inflammation of the lungs." Several new species of birds belonging to the collection brought home from the Straits of Magellan by Captain King were exhibited. In the absence of that gentleman, the following species were pointed out by Mr. Vigors, which are thus characterized in Captain King's MSS. TURDUS Zoological Society. 65 T URDUS MAGELLANICIS. Turd, corpore supra grisescenti-oliva- ceo, subtus pallide rufescenti ; capite supra, remigibus, caudaque fusco-atris ; guld albd,fusco-atro lineatd. Habitat in Fretu Magellanico. PSITTACARA LEPTORHYNCHA. Psitt. vtridiii ; fronte, strigdper oculos, caudaque rufis ; capite nigro, abdomine imo rufo, varie- gatis ; mandibula superiori elongata, gracillima. Statur^, Psitt. Lichtensteinii tequalis. Habitat in insuld Chiloe. Pious MELANOCEPHALUS. Pic. capite corporequc supra nigris, hoc albo maculato ; pectore abdomineque albis, illo albo lineato, hoc albo fasciato. Longitude 6 vel 7 uncias circiter. Habitat in Fretu Magellanico et insula Chiloe. HYLACTES. Novum genus, Megapodio affine. Characteres Generici : Rostrum subelongatum, subtenue, apice subeniarginato ; naribus basalibus, longitudinalibus, membrana subtumescenti pilisque per niediam longitudinem tecta. Alee brevissimae, rotundatse; remige 5ta longissim^. Cauda subelongata, gradata. Pedes fortes ; tarsis subelongatis, in fronte scutellatis j digitif unguibusque elongatis, his fortioribus subcompressis; halluce fortis- simo, incumbente. HYLACTES TARNII. Hyl. saturate fusco-brunneus ; fronte, dorsot abdomineque rufis, hoc Jusco Jasciato. Habitat in insula Chiloe et Portu Otway sinu Penas. COLUMBA FITZKOYII. Col. vinacefi ; alis, dorso imo, cauddque plum- beis ; huj us fascia, remigibusque atris ; nuchce plumis viridi- splendentibus ; fascia occipitali albd. Habitat in nemoribus insula? Chiloe. CYGNUS ANATOIDES. Cygn. albus, remigibus primariis ad apicem nigris ; rostra pedibusque rubris, illo lato, subdepresso, tuberculo nullo. Habitat in sinubus interioribus apud extremitatem meridionalem America?. ANSER INORNATUS. Mas. Ans. albus : dorso inferiori, caudd, fasciis nuchee dorsique superinris , Jemorumque tectricum, ptero- matibus, remigibusque atris ; rostro nigro, pedibusjiavescentibus. Fcern. Capite colloque canis ; dorso superiori corporeque inferiori albis, nigro confertim Jasciatis ; dorso imo, remigibus, rectrici- busque nigris ; ptilis speculoque albis ; tarsis subelongatis. Habitat in Fretu MicuopTER'js PATACHONICUS. Micropt. supra plumbeo grises- cens ; gula scapularibusque rufescejitibus ; abdomine speculoque alarum albis ; rostro viridescenti-nigro , ungue nigro. Habitat in parte occidental! Fretus Magellanici. Statura minor Micropt. brachyptero. ANAS CHILOENSIS. An. fronte, gents, abdomine, uropygio, ptsro- matibusque albis ; capite posteriori, collo, dorso inferiori, p'Mis, remigibus primariis, caudaque fuscis ; dorso superiori pectoreque N.S. Vol. 9. No. 49. Jan. 1831. K fusco C6 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. Jusco et albo fasdatis ; remigibus secnndariis et tertiis scapulari- busque nitide atris, his albo lineatis ; abdominis lateribus crisso- que rufescentibus ; striga post oculos lata splendide purpurascenti- viridi. Longitudo circa sexdecim uncias. Habitat in insulu Chiloe. ANAS FRETENSIS. An. guld, gents, collo, pectore, dorsoque ante- rlori pallide badiis ; collo graciliter undulato ; pectore dorsoque anteriori atro maculato; dorso abdomineque imis, crisso, caudaque albis nigro fasciatis ; dorsijasciis latis, aldominis gracillimis, caudce sublatioribus, crissi sparsim undulatis ; capite supra, remi- gibus, scapularibusque viridescenti-atris ; his albo in medio linea- tis j tectricibus plumbeo-canis, fascia apicali alba : specula supra viridi, deinde purpureo , t fascia atra apice albo terminatd. Statura Anatis creccoidis, Nob. Habitat in Fretu Magellanico. It was announced that the whole collection of Capt. King's birds, with the descriptions of the remaining new species, would be brought forward at an early meeting. XII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. CHLOROXALIC ACID. M DUMAS has obtained a compound of chlorine and oxide of • carbon, to which he has given the above name. This compound contains the same quantity of oxide of carbon as the chlorocarbonic acid, but combined with only half the quantity of chlorine. It is prepared by treating crystallizable acetic acid with chlorine, ex- posed to solar influence 5 the chlorine must be in excess. It crystallizes in rhombs, is fusible at45c Fahr., is deliquescent and volatile 3 it dees not act either upon the salts of lime or of silver. Its taste is very remarkable, and is both bitter and sharp. The impres- sion produced upon the tongue is so caustic, that the skin whitens immediately, as if oxygenated water had been applied to it. All the chloroxalates are soluble. — Le Globe, 14 October. POTASH FROM FELSPAR. According to M. Fuchs, this important alkali may be extracted from minerals containing it, by the following method : — They are to be calcined with lime, then left for some time in contact with water, and the liquor filtered and evaporated. M. Fuchs says he has thus obtained from nineteen to twenty parts of potash from fel- spar, per cent, and from fifteen to sixteen from mica. — Royal Inst. Journal. Ann. de V Industrie, v. 278. We presume, from the quantity of potash stated to be obtained from these minerals, that it is estimated in the form of hydrate. NATIVE Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 67 NATIVE PHOSPHATES OF MANGANESE AND IRON. M. Dufre'noy has analysed two varieties of the above-named mine- ral. The first, to which the name of Huraulite is given from its occurring in the Commune des Hure'aux, was originally found by M. Alluan in the granite near Limoges. The characters of this mi- neral are, — that it is crystallized, the crystals being of the size of a pin's head j the primary form is an oblique rhombic prism. It shows no cleavage, its fracture is vitreous, it is transparent, has a reddish yel- low colour, scratches calcareous spar, but is scratched by steel j its sp. gr. is 2'27. It fuses very readily, and gives with the blowpipe a black button with a metallic lustre j when heated in a matrass it gives water. It is composed of Phosphoric acid. . . . 38'0 Oxide of iron 11-1 manganese. . 32*8 Water 18'0 99-9 The other phosphate of manganese is called Hdteposite j it has been found only in lamellar masses, presenting a three- fold cleavage ; the primary form appearing to be an oblique rhombic prism : it has but little lustre, and it is greasy like that of phosphate of lime 5 its colour is greenish gray, or blueish : when it has been long exposed to the air the colour is a fine violet, and the vitreous lustre is changed to semi-metallic. Its sp. gr., when it has not changed by exposure, is 3-524, but when it has, it is 3'390. It dissolves in acids, except a little silica ; and by the blowpipe it fuses into a brown enamel, with a semi-metallic lustre. It is composed of Phosphoric acid . . . . < 41 '77 Oxide of iron 34'89 Red oxide of manganese. 17*57 Loss by heat 4*40 Silica ' -20 98-83 The double phosphate, analysed by Berzelius, gave Phosphoric acid .... 32-80 Protoxide of iron .... 31 '90 manganese 32'60 Phosphate of lime . . 3'20 100-50 It appears, therefore, that these three minerals are composed of different atomic proportions of their constituents. — Ann. de Chimie, xli. 347. ON OXAM1DE. BY M. DUMAS. Oxamide is a new product formed during the distillation of oxalate of ammonia ; its name is derived from the compound which produces it, and which it reproduces. When oxamide is treated with pot- K 2 ash, 68 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. ash, 36 parts yield 100 of ammonia, and yet it contains no ammo- nia j by the same treatment 100 parts give 82 of oxalic acid, and it contains no oxalic acid. These curious properties connect oxamide, on one hand, with the well known formation of ammonia by treating animal matter with potash ; and on the other, with the production of oxalic acid by treating vegetable matter with potash, as shown by MM. Gay-Lussac and Vauquelin. When oxalate of ammonia is subjected to distillation, it suffers a kind of decomposition which M. Dumas had never before observed in any organic substance. It first loses water, its crystals become opaque, it then fuses and boils, but in those portions only which more immediately receive the impression of the fire ; when the operation is over, slight traces of a light carbonaceous product remain j the rest being volatilized. The receiver contains water strongly impregnated with carbonate of ammonia, and a flocculent matter of a dirty white colour is sus- pended in it. The neck of the retort usually contains crystals of car- bonate of ammonia, and a thick deposit similar to the flocculent matter already noticed, both of which are oxamide j this is separated from the carbonate of ammonia by washing on a filter with cold water, in which it is nearly insoluble. Various gaseous bodies are given out during the distillation, the products being ammonia, water, carbonate of ammonia, carbonic acid gas, oxide of carbon, cyanogen and oxamide j the latter amounts to only about 1 -20th of the oxalate of ammonia decomposed. Oxamide is obtained in the form of confusedly crystallized plates, or in that of a granular powder, which has occasionally traces of yellowish or brown spots, produced by a substance analogous to azulmic acid. When triturated and well washed it is of a dirty white colour, resembling that of uric acid, is inodorous and insipid, and does not act upon coloured papers. Oxamide is volatile, and when moderately heated the vapour con- denses and crystallizes confusedly ; but when strongly heated part only sublimes," and the rest is decomposed, giving cyanogen. Boiling water dissolves a small portion, which crystallizes as the solution cools. Oxamide is composed of By Experiment. By Theory. Carbon 26'9f> - - 4 volumes or 27'08 Azote 31-67 - - 2 do. 32-02 Oxygen 3G79 - - 2 do. 36-36 Hydrogen 4'59 - - 4 do. 4\54 100-00 100-00 Oxamide may therefore be considered either as a compound of cyanogen and water — nitric oxide and bicarburetted hydrogen — or oxide of carbon and an azoturet of hydrogen, different from ammo- nia : but in whatever light it may be regarded, it is converted into dry oxalate of ammonia by the addition of two volumes of the vapour of water j and when it is treated with potash it is converted into oxala Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 69 oxalate of potash and ammonia j sulphuric acid converts it into sulphate of ammonia, carbonic acid and carbonic oxide :, .and these changes appear to be effected by the addition of the vapour of water in the proportions above stated. Many animal substances, such as albumen, gelatin, fibrin, &c., act with potash precisely like oxamide, and the uric and hippuric acids much resemble it in this respect. M. Dumas is occupied in further researches on this subject.— Ann. de Chirnie, June 1830. ON TWO KINDS OF FULMINATING GOLD. BY M. DUMAS. Basil Valentine long since described the remarkable properties of fulminating gold. Three suppositions have been offered respecting its nature : first, that it is an ammoniuret, or a compound of ammo- nia and oxide of gold ; secondly, it has been considered as an azo- turet, just as a chloride is produced by the mutual action of oxide of gold and muriatic acid; and thirdly, it has been considered as ana- logous to salts, the azoturet of gold acting as an acid and ammonia as the base. One hundred parts of fulminating gold treated with oxide of cop- per and also with oxide of lead, in the well-known manner, gave from 9'7 to 9-9 of azote and 13 of water 5 the quantity of chlorine was determined by that of the chloride of silver yielded by the muriate of copper left after analysis j 100 of fulminating gold gave 4'5 of chlorine. The quantity of gold was found by mixing the fulminating gold with ten times its weight of sulphur and gently heating the mixture. When the sulphur is heated to about 302° Fahr. the mass swells, gases are disengaged, and the vapour of sulphur burns. When all the sulphur is expelled, the residue is heated to redness, and pure gold remains, amounting to about 73 or 74 per cent. The necessary corrections being made, fulminating gold ap- pears to consist of Gold Azote .... Ammonia . . Chlorine . . . Water .... 100-0 These are equivalent to By Experiment. Six atoms of gold =7458 or 73*6 - -73*00 Twelve atoms of azote =1062 10'4- - 988 Two atoms of chlorine = 442 4-3 - - 4'50 Forty-two atoms of hydrogen = 263 2-6 - - 2'20 Nine atoms of oxygen = 900 9'1 - -10-42 10125 100-0 J 00-00 It results from the preceding researches that common fulminating gold is a compound of two atoms of ammoniacal azoturet of gold and one atom of ammoniacal subchloride of gold, with a sufficient quan- tity 7Q Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. tity of water to convert the azote into ammonia and the gold into oxide. Scheele and Bergman have shown that oxide of gold when treated with ammonia is converted into a fulminating compound j this compound is undoubtedly different from the foregoing. To ascertain its nature, some oxide of gold was prepared by decomposing a boil- ing solution of muriate of gold with barytes, which precipitated aurate of barytes, the base of which was removed by dilute nitric acid. The remaining oxide of gold, which was well washed and pure, was put into strong solution of ammonia for twenty-four hours. The powder was washed bydecantation, collected on a filter, and dried at 2 12°. This powder is of a deep gray or olive colour ; it detonates strongly, but its appearance shows that it is different from common fulminat- ing gold. When treated in the manner already described, it yielded By Experiment. Two atoms of gold =2486 or 77'6 76- 1 Four atoms of azote =354 ll'0 9'0 Twelve atoms of hydrogen = 75 2'31 ]4.Q Three atoms of oxygen = 300 91 1 / 3215 100-0 100-0 In this analysis the azote is not in sufficient quantity, but there is too much for an azoturet, and consequently greatly too much for an ammoniuret. It is probable that during desiccation the ammoniacal azoturet might lose a little ammonia. As, however, Bergman found that 100 of oxide of gold gave 120 of fulminating gold, and as ac- cording to the above analysis they should yield 118, it cannot be considered as far from correct. — Ibid. ON TJiE STATE OF MERCURY IN MERCURIAL OINTMENT. BY M. MITSCHERLICH. The mercurial ointment employed occupied four weeks in pre- paring ; part of it was set to dissolve at a moderate temperature in alcohol containing caustic potash in solution. The mercury was separated in the metallic state and formed one globule at the bottom of the vessel ; the solution was filtered, and the metal was carefully removed from beneath the filter ; a white matter remained, which was not removed by washing, and which heated in a tube gave no metallic mercury, nor did it sublime. From this experiment it appears that the ointment does not con- tain oxide but metallic mercury. To be certain whether by the re- action of the alcohol and potash the oxide had not been reduced, the following experiment was made : I -101 gramme of protoxide of mercury was triturated for a long time with lard. The ointment thus prepared was subjected to alcohol mixed with potash as in the preceding experiment. The portion remaining undissolved had not the least appearance of metallic mercury; it weighed 1-196 : sub- mitted to distillation with muriatic acid, no metallic mercury appeared, but 1-29 gramme of protochloridc of mercury, equivalent to 1'089 of protoxide of mercury. A small portion of the sediment when heated did not sublime. — Hensmans Repertoire, August 1830. MR. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 71 MR. BENNET'S NEW ALLOY FOR THE PIVOT HOLES OF WATCHES. The injurious effects of jewelled holes in watches and chrono- meters have been long observed. (See Nicholson's Journal, vol. vii. p. 208.) It seems that, however perfect the polishing may be, sooner or later the hard substance of the jewel grinds and cuts the steel pivot; and the metallic particles, by mixing with the oil, ren- der it unfavourable for action; and this effect is the more likely to take place the nearer the pivots are to the maintaining power. Holes made of brass are objectionable, on account of the liability of this metal to oxidation. Gold is too soft for the purpose. What seems to be required is, a metal, that shall preserve the oil in a pure fluid state, have little friction with the steel pivot, and be in a small de- gree softer than the pivot, for it is of less consequence that the hole be worn than the pivot. Mr. Bennet, watch-maker, Red Lion- street, Holborn. in a pamphlet on this subject, states that he has discovered an alloy possessing the above-mentioned requisites. It is composed of 3 dwt. of pure gold, 1 dwt. 20 gr. of silver, 3 dwt. 20 gr. of copper, and 1 dwt. of palladium. " The palladium," he says, " readily united with the other metals, and the alloy fused at a temperature rather below that required for melting gold in the separate state. It is very nearly as hard as wrought-iron, and rather brittle, but not so brittle but that it can be drawn into wire. Its colour is a reddish brown ; the grain, on breaking, as fine as that of steel ; it takes a very beautiful polish ; and the friction with steel was much less than that of brass and steel. It is better worked than any metal with which I am acquainted, except brass. Nitric acid had no sensible effect upon it." Mr. B. has constructed a watch with holes made of this alloy, and pronounces the experi- ment to be successful. If longer trial should confirm this opinion, the small expense of the metal, as compared to that of jewels, will will not be its least recommendation. Nov. 15, 1830. J. C. EARTHQUAKES AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE IN 1809. An Account of the Earthquakes which occurred at the Cape of Good Hope during the month of December 1809. By W. L. von Buchenroder, Esq. Member of the South African Institution. Abridged by the Author from the more detailed Statements read at one of the Meetings of the South Institution. The occurrence of earthquakes at the Cape of Good Hope on the 4th of December 1809, as well as during several successive days, is yet remembered by numerous residents of the colony; but as far as I know, few if any of the various facts connected therewith, or of the different phenomena which took place, have been collected and recorded. It may therefore not be uninteresting to preserve a faithful account of what was observed, particularly as from the propensity of man to exaggerate any uncommon occurrence, (which was fully exemplified at that period,) as well as from the lapse of time, 72 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. time, it will be in a few years more, if not altogether impossible, at least highly difficult to obtain a correct statement of the occur- rences as they took place. With such a view the following remarks are submitted to the Institution ; and if those members who were in the colony at the time in question would furnish in like manner their individual observations, the object to be wished might readily be accomplished. Dec. 4, 1809. — Nothing uncommon was observed in Cape Town, either on that day or on those immediately preceding it. The weather was fine, clear, and, as might be expected at the season, very warm. But although it was fine in Cape Town, there was ob- served throughout the day, as well as during the two or three immediately preceding it, a thick haze over the eastern shore of Table Bay. The wind during the day was S.S.E. and blew a fresh breeze. In the evening, a little after ten o'clock, three shocks, each ac- companied by a tremendous noise, were felt within the space of a minute or two. When the first took place I was sitting in a large company, all the members of which started simultaneously and hastened to the door, the majority exclaiming that a powder-maga- zine must have blown up ; while one gentleman called out that it was an earthquake, adding, he was acquainted with such, from having experienced some on his voyages to the West Indies. WThile we were standing in the street, the second shock took place, which was felt much stronger; was accompanied by a louder and very tremendous noise, that continued longer than the first; and resem- bled the report or sound that would be produced by a great many pieces of ordnance fired off by a train, at a little distance. The sound was somewhat hollow, and ended with a rumbling noise, but was not followed by any distinct echo. This second shock roused all the inhabitants, who came running into the streets in great consternation, many of them even un- dressed, from having been in bed. Within the space of about a minute, a third shock, but not nearly so violent as the second, and even less so than the first, took place, accompanied also by a simi- lar noise, but less loud, of shorter duration, and more rumbling. The shocks, as well as the sounds, particularly the rumbling, seemed to come from the North, and to go towards the South. Nothing was perceived however of the wavelike motion of the earth, which has been frequently observed in other countries to ac- company earthquakes ; and the sensation of the shocks was such as is occasioned by the explosion of a powder-magazine, or the discharge of heavy artillery. The wind, which had been blowing a fresh breeze from S.S.E. , changed at the same time to N.N.W. and then followed a calm. The sky was very clear, the stars shone with great brilliancy, and numerous meteors were observed. In Table Bay nothii g was re- marked except a heavy swell. About ten minutes after the third shock, a rumbling noise was again heard, and a shock felt, but inferior, as well in loudness as violence, Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 73 violence, to any of the former. I myself, as well as most of the inhabitants, continued either standing or walking in the streets, where we heard rumbling sounds from time to time till about one o'clock in the morning. During that time it continued calm, with the exception of now and then gusts of variable winds. Dec. 5th.— In the morning, a little after seven o'clock, another shock was felt, accompanied with a sound like thunder. The wind was variable, chiefly westerly and in light gusts. In walking through the streets of Cape Town I observed that nearly all the buildings had suffered more or less from the shocks during the preceding night, as was evinced by numerous cracks in the trails, the traces of which are yet perceptible in many houses. These were irregular as to direction, and extended generally four, six, or more feet, from the top of the walls, and in a few instances even nearly down to the foundations. Although such were visible on both sides thereof, yet they did not amount to open clefts ; and I do not know any instance in Cape Town of a house having re- ceived so much damage as to have required it to be rebuilt. The parapets of many were at that time ornamented with figures, urns, &c. of stucco, like to what may yet be seen on a few ; and in some instances fragments of those had fallen, and the people were here and there busy in taking down others. I Heard also that an old chimney or two had tumbled. No cracks or fissures were observed in the ground in Cape Town. There were (as might be expected) a variety of reports in cir- culation with regard to what was seen and heard, most of which were unworthy of attention ; yet I cannot omit remarking that many persons concurred in affirming that they had seen large meteors, witnessed their explosions, and experienced the instantaneous shocks, and heard the reports caused thereby. In occurrences like the above, the unadorned narrative of the simplest people is found frequently the most useful in order to come to a matter of fact ; wherefore I am induced to give a statement, as it was made unani- mously by several slaves, who resided at a house above Green-point, near the corner of Lion's Head. They stated " that they saw something like a wagon illuminated by numerous lights proceed swiftly from the opposite side of Table Bay, or from the direction of Saldanha Bay ; that it ascended half-way up Lion's Head, and then turned towards the Marine Villa; that it descended again, and burst when near the sea, and that immediately thereon they felt a shock and heard a tremendous noise." In Cape Town several people had seen a flash ; wherefore they took the first shock and noise for an uncommonly loud clap of thun- der, and were only alarmed by the repetition thereof. A farmer on the road near Rondebosch, stated " that he saw a meteor or fire- ball proceed towards and strike the Devil's Hill," and that imme- diately thereafter the second shock (if I recollect right) occurred. At about half-past twelve o'clock a loud report or clap was heard, and a shock was felt. The sky at that time was very clear, and the weather warm ; with light airs from N.W, In the afternoon, N.S. Vol. 9. No. 4-9. Jan. 1831. L a little 74 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. a little before five o'clock, a rumbling, protracted, and moderately loud sound was heard, but no shock was perceived. A few fleecy stationary clouds were observed, which disappeared in the evening. Many inhabitants were busy in pitching tents, and some in placing wagons, in the squares of Cape Town, in wljich they slept during some weeks. The night was very fine and calm, the sky without clouds, and the stars shone uncommonly clear. Much interest was excited by what was said to have been ob- served at Jan Biesjes Kraal, and at Blauweberg's Valley. It was stated "that the earth had opened, that volcanic eruptions had taken place, that craters had been formed, and that lava had issued !" Numbers of persons flocked to these spots, and I went also on the 9th to examine them ; but what I found fell considerably short of what I expected from the wonderful accounts I had heard, yet was nevertheless remarkable and interesting. Near the Kraal I found rents and fissures in the ground, one of which I followed for about the extent of a mile. In some places they were more than an inch wide, and in others much less. In many places I was able to push into them, in a perpendicular direction, a switch to its full length, of three or four feet. By the people residing in the vicinity I was informed that they had observed these fissures on the morning of the 5th of December, in some instances three and four inches wide, and that one person had been able to push the whole length of an iron rod, used to fix curtains upon, into them, and that others had been able to do the same with whip-handles of even ten feet in length. The house at the Kraal in question (the residence of a Mr. Bant- jes) I found to have suffered so much, that it was not habitable, and consequently had been evacuated. In the walls were numerous clefts ; by which they were rent completely asunder, so that I could put a stick from one side to the other in many places. The clefts extended from the top to the bottom, and corresponded with fis- sures in the ground. At Blauweberg's Valley, I found the sandy surface studded with innumerable holes, resembling in shape, but in nothing else, craters ia miniature. These holes were from six inches to a foot and a half, and some even three feet, in diameter, and from four inches to a foot and a half deep ; of a circular form, and the sides sloping to the centre. They were lined with a crust of blueish clay, of about a quarter of an inch in thickness, which had been baked by the sun, and according to its nature had cracked and curled up in frag- ments, which however adhered still to the sloping sides of the holes. I reckoned seven of these holes, of different dimensions, in an area, contained within a circle which I drew around me with a walking- stick, and which might have been somewhat more than ten feet in diameter. The appearance of the blueish baked clay, which had given rise to the story w£ Uva ! was easily accounted for, from the rain (a great quantity of which had fallen in the preceding season) having been [prevented by the substrata from penetrating and sinking deep New Patents. 75 deep into the ground ; so that under the sandy surface a consider- able quantity of water had collected, in which a portion of the sub- stratum of clay had become dissolved, and which had been forced up through the loose sand by the concussions which took place. The people at Blauweberg's Valley stated, that " they saw jets of coloured water spout from these holes, to the height of six feet, in the night of the 4th of December, at the time that the shocks were felt." LIST OF NEW PATENTS. To W. Church, Haywood House, Birdesly Green, near Birming- ham, esquire, for certain improvements in the construction of boats and other vessels, a part of which improvements are applicable to the construction of carriages.— Dated the 21st of September 1830.— 6 months allowed to enrol specification. ToF.Molyneux, Hampstead, Middlesex, gentleman, and W. Bun- day, Kentish-Town, in the same County, merchant, for certain im- provements in machinery for spinning and twisting silk and wool, and for roving, spinning and twisting cotton, flax, hemp and other fibrous substances. — 21st of September. — 6 months. To J. Harrison, Wortley Hall, Tankersly, Yorkshire, gardener, and R. G. Curtis, of the same place, glazier, for certain improvements in glazing horticultural and other buildings, and in sash-bars and rafters. — 6th of October. — 2 months. To C. Derosne, Leicester-square, gentleman/.for certain improve- ments in extracting sugar or syrups from cane-juice and other sub- stances containing sugar ; and in refining sugar and syrups. Partly communicated by a foreigner. — 29th of September. — 2 months. To M. Donovan, Dublin, for an improved method of lighting places with gas. — 6th of October. — 6 months. To Lieut-Col. L. Walker, C.B. Cumming-street, Pentonville, for a machine or apparatus to effect the escape and preservation of persons and property in case of fire or other circumstances. — 6th of October. — 6 months. To R. Pering, Exmouth, esquire, for an improvement on anchors. — 6th of October. — 6 months. To J. Heaton, W. Heaton, G. Heaton, and R. Heaton, Birmingham, manufacturers and copartners for certain machinery, and the applica- tion thereof, to steam-engines, for , the purpose of propelling and draw- ing carriages on turnpike- roads and railways. — 6th of October. — 4 months. To J. Dickinson, Nash Mill, in the parish of Abbotts Langley, Hert- fordshire, esquire, for an improved 'method of manufarturing paper by means of machinery. — 6th of October. — 6 months. To W. A. Archbald, Vere-street, Cavendish-square, gentleman, for an improvement in the preparing or making of certain sugars. — 13th of October.— 6 months. To D. Napier, Warren-street, Fitzroy-square, engineer, for certain improvements in printing and in pressing machinery, with a method of ceconomizing the power applicable to the same, which method of L 2 oecono- 76 New Patents. (Economizing power is also applicable to other purposes. — 13th of October. — 6 months. To F. C. Jacquemart, Leicester-square, esquire, for improvements in tanning certain descriptions of skins. Communicated by a foreigner. — 20th of October. — 6 months. To J. B. Sharp, Hampstead, Middlesex, esquire, and W. Fawcett, Liverpool, civil engineer, for an improved mode of introducing air into fluids, for the purpose of evaporation. — 20th of October. — 6 months. To A. Craig, Ann-street, St. Bernards, in the parish of St. Cuth- berts, Mid- Lothian, for certain improvements in machines or machinery for cutting timber into veneers or other useful forms. Communicated by a foreigner. — 20th of October. — 6 months. *To A. Ure, Burton Crescent, Doctor of Medicine, for an apparatus for regulating temperature in vaporization, distillation, and other pro- cesses.— 20th of October. — 6 months. To A. Ure, Burton Crescent, Doctor of Medicine, for an improve- ment in curing or cleansing raw or coarse sugar. — 20th of October. — 6 months. To A. Ure, Southampton Row, Doctor of Medicine, for an air- stove apparatus for the exhalation and condensation of vapours. — 20th of October.— 6 months. To S. Clerk, South Down, Brixham, Devonshire, for certain im- provements in making or preparing saddle-cloth and girths, for keep- ing saddles in place on horses and other animals of burthen. — 20th of October. — 6 months. To Sir T. Cochrane, knight, (commonly called Lord Cochrane,) Regent-street, for his apparatus to facilitate excavating, sinking, and mining. — 20th of October. — 6 months. To T. Mason, No. 56 Great Portland-street, brush-maker, for an improvement in the manufacture of painting-brushes, and other brushes applicable to various purposes. — 20th of October. — 6 months. To S. Clegg, No. 16 Sidmouth-street, Gray's Inn Lane, civil en- gineer, for an improved gas-meter. — 20th of October. — 6 months. To H. Calvert, Lincoln, gentleman, for an improvement in the mode of making saddles so as to avoid the danger and inconvenience occasioned by their slipping forward. — 26th of October. — 2 months. To J. Shores, Blackwall, Middlesex, boat-builder and shipsmith, for an improvement on tackle and other hooks, which he denominates " the self relieving hooks." — 1st of November. — 2 months. To J. Collinge, Lambeth, engineer, for an improvement on the apparatus used for hanging or suspending the rudders of ships, or vessels of different descriptions. — 1st of November. — 6 months. To B. Cook, Birmingham, brass-founder, for an improved method of making a neb or nebs, slot or slots, in shells or hollow cylinders of copper, brass, or other metals for printing calicoes, muslins, cloths, silks and other articles. — 1st of November. — 6 months. To L. Aubrey, Two Waters, Herts, engineer, for certain improve- ments in cutting paper. — 1st of November. — 6 months. To J. Bowler, Castle-street, Southwark, hat-manufacturer, for certain New Patents. 77 certain improvements in machinery employed in the process of dyeing huts. — 4th of November. — 2 months. To J. B. Nott, Schenectady, New York, but now of Bury-street, St. James's, esquire, for certain improvements in the construction of a furnace or furnaces for generating heat -, and in the application of heat to various useful purposes. Communicated by a foreigner. — 4th of November. — 6 months. To T. Bramley, gentleman, and R. Parker, lieutenant in the Royal Navy, both of Mousley Priory, Surrey, for certain improvements on locomotive and other carriages or machines, applicable to rail and other roads ; which improvements, or parts or parts thereof, are also applicable to moving bodies on water; and working other machinery. — 4th of November. — 6 months. To A. Bell, Chapel Place, Borough of Southwark, engineer, for certain improvements in machinery for removing wool or hairs from skins. — 4th of November. — 6 months. To A. W. Gillett, Birmingham, merchant, for an improvement in the construction and application of wheels to carriages of pleasure or of burthen $ or to machines for moving heavy bodies. Communicated by a foreigner. — 4th of November. — 2 months. To G. C. Bompas, Fishponds, near Bristol, esquire, M.D. for an improved method of preserving copper and other metals from corro- sion or oxidation. — 4th of November. — 6 months. To J. Gibbs, Crayford, Kent, esquire, for improvements in evapo- rating fluids, applicable to various purposes. — 6th of November. — 6 months. To J. Hall the younger, Dartford, Kent, engineer, for a machine upon a new and improved construction, for the manufacture of paper. Communicated by a foreigner. — 9th of November. — 6 months. To G. M inter, Princes-street, Soho, upholsterer, cabinet and chair manufacturer, for an improvement in the construction, making, or manufacture of chairs, which he intends to denominate " Minter's Reclining Chairs." — 9th of November. — 6 months. To H. Pratt, Bilston, Staffordshire, miller, for certain improvements in the making and manufacturing of quarries, applicable to kilns for drying wheat, malt and other grain, and to various other purposes. — • 1 J th of November. — 6 months. To Sir T. Cochrane, knight (commonly called Lord Cochrane), Regent-street, for an improved rotary engine, to be impelled by steam, and which may be also rendered applicable to other purposes. — llth of November. — 6 months. To C. S. Cochrane, Great George-street, Westminster, esquire, for certain improvements in the preparing and spinning of Cashmere wool. Communicated by a foreigner. — 13th of November. — 6 months. To J. Tyrrell, St. Leonard's, Devonshire, esquire, barrister-at-law, for a method and apparatus of setting sums, for the purpose of teach- ing some of the rules of arithmetic. — 13th of November. — 6 months. To T. Sands, Liverpool, merchant, for certain improvements in spinning machines. Communicated by a foreigner. — 18th of Novem- ber.— 6 months. METEORO- 78 Meteorological Observations for November 1830. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR NOVEMBER 1830. Gosport: — Numerical Results for the Month. Barom. Max. 30-40. Nov. 24. WindN.— Min. 29-10. Nov. 16. Wind S. Range of the mercury 1-30. Mean barometrical pressure for the month 29-833 Spaces described by the rising and falling of the mercury 7*700 Greatest variation in 24 hours 0-570. — Number of changes 14. Therm. Max. 59°. Nov. 1. Wind W.— Min. 34°. Nov. 23. WindN.W. Range 25°.— Mean temp.of exter. air 480<07. For 30 days with 0 in HI 4976 Max. var. in 24 hours 16°'00.— Mean temp, of spring-water at 8 A.M. 52-96 De Luc's Whalebone Hygrometer. Greatest humidity of the atmosphere, in the evening of the 20th ... 93° Greatest dryness of the atmosphere, in the afternoon of the 25th... 61 Range of the index 32 Mean at 2 P.M. 70°-5.— Mean at 8 A.M. 78°- 7.— Mean at 8 P.M. 77*5 of three observations each day at 8, 2, and 8 o'clock 75-6 Evaporation for the month 1-20 inch. Rain in the pluviameter near the ground 4-695 inches. Prevailing wind, S.W. Summary of the Weather. A clear sky, lj fine, with various modifications of clouds, 15£ j an over- cast sky without rain, 7i ; rain, 6. — Total 30 days. Clouds. Cirrus. Cirrocumulus. Cirrostratus. Stratus. Cumulus. Cumulostr. Nimbus. 21 9 28 1 20 21 21 Scale of the prevailing Winds. N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. Wr. N.W. Days, i 1 3 3£ 4 13 2| 2^ 30 General Observations. — The state of this month has been generally wet and boisterous, with a mild air for the season, excepting a few days. In the afternoon and night of the 6th, a very heavy gale blew here, first from the South, then from South-west, during which time one inch and a quarter of rain fell; but the quantity was much greater in some of the Northern districts, where damage to a considerable amount is said to have been done by the rush of water from the hills, and the consequent inundation of the adjacent lands. Early in the morning of the 9th a little ice appeared on the ground, being the first time this autumn. In the morning of the 15th a parhelion appeared on the east side of the sun : and at 2 P.M. on the 17th, a faint anthelion was observed on a light cloud opposite to, and nearly of the same altitude as the sun; it was perfectly circular, colourless, and brighter than the cloud in which it appeared, and of the same size as the sun's ap- parent disc. The mean temperature of the atmosphere this month is four-fifths of within our solar and three lunar halo?, ten meteors, three rainbows, four aurorae boreales, and thirteen gales of wind, or days on which they have prevailed, namely, one from the North, three from the East, one from the South-east, two from the South, and six from the South-west. AURORA Meteorological Observations for November 1830. 79 AURORA BORE ALES. — At 9 o'clock in the evening of the 1st instant, a bright aurora borealis appeared between the North and West, behind a low cirrostratus cloud, which it enlightened in some attenuated places, and several very bright patches were seen in the horizon. At 18 minutes past nine the first column of light emanated from it (whose bearing was due North) to an altitude of about 16 degrees, and was succeeded by ten or twelve more perpendicular columns of various breadths between that point and the magnetic north during a peculiarly bright moon-light, the moon's altitude being from 25 to 30 degrees, and only 28 hours beyond her opposi- tion with the sun. Jt has been much doubted whether the coruscations of an aurora can be seen in this latitude after the first, or before the last two or three days of the moon's age; but in this instance the strong lunar light had but little influence in diminishing the splendour of these flame-coloured columns. The sky became overcast by 10 o'clock, and did away its appearance. At half-past seven in the evening of the 4th, an aurora was observed between the North and West, and increased in brighness till eight, when two bright columns of light rose from it, about North-west by West, to an altitude of 22 degrees. Several other columns successively rose between that point and the true North till a quarter past eight, at which time the moon began to rise, but the steady light of the aurora did not disappear till nine. Two bright trained meteors appeared over it, and the thermo- meter rose one degree. A faint aurora appeared in the evening of the 7th, from 7 till 10 o'clock, without any coruscations; and two meteors appeared over it. REMARKS. London.— November 1, 2. Fine. 3 — 5. Fine: rain at nights. 6. Stormy and wet. 7. Rain in the morning : fine. 8. Fine. 9. Clear and frosty in the morning : fine. 10. Fine : heavy rain. 1 1. Showery: fine. 12. P'ine. 1 3. Cloudy : rain. 14. Cloudy: rain at night. 15. Cloudy. 16. Rain. 17, 18. Fine in the mornings: cloudy : rain at nights. 19. Fine. 20. Rain. 21. Fine: showers at night. 22. Showery. 23. Fine. 24. Foggy: densely foggy at night. 25. Foggy in the morning ; fine. 26. Slight fog: cloudy. 27. Fine : rain. 28. Small rain : fine. 29. Hazy. 30. Drizzly and foggy. Penzance. — November 1. Fair. 2. Rain: fair. 3. Rain. 4. Fair. 5. Fair: rain. 6. Heavy rain. 7, 8. Clear. 9. Clear: showers. 10. Fair: showers. 11. Fair: hail showers. 12. Fair. 13. Rain. 14. Showers. 1 5. Fair. 1 6. Rain. 1 7. Showers. 1 8. Clear. 1 9. Fair : rain. 20. Fair. 21. Fair: showers. 22. Clear: showers. 23. Fair. 24. Misty: rain. 25, 26. Fair. 27. Fair: rain. 28. Rain. 29, 30. Fair. Boston.— November 1. Fine: beautifu^appearance of the Northern Lights, 9 P.M. 2. Fine. 3. Cloudy. 4. Fine. 5. Fine*: rain P.M. 6. Cloudy : rain P.M. 7. Cloudy. 8, 9, Fine. 10. Fine: rain P.M. 11. Fine. 12. Cloudy. 13. Cloudy: rain P.M. 14. Fine: rain P.M. 15. Fine. 16. Stormy: rain A.M. and P.M. 17. Fine. 18. Cloudy. 19. Fine. 20. Cloudy. 21. Fine. 22. Rain. 23 — 25. Fine. 26, 27. Cloudy. 28. Rain, and stormy. 29, 30. Rain. Meteoro- I I •isog j dsoo zuaj ; ; :??, : -g o o o Q o S£ :8|| oj L ~ o '6 o©..ou-jto. afif « *PO| :r : . .0 . .0 . .0 . . u* . . o . . o :? If •jsog •dsoo £ «5 £ £ ««" ? i* | &e « * s * £ u* *• s' *• 6" * s « ll 14 *f I? !§ ;i i^' o ^ f^ ^ « ^R, ^ •a •KV^L^g nsog ' ill O tototou^tou^tototototototototo^^^iotoioro''*^'''*^-^ O^ 00 O^ O^ C^i O^ O^ O^ O^ O^ CO ) O «N O "^f< r-9 9 op i O^* O O O^ ^o-ocj-rfOco ob ON o -< co co ^ to (y-y^ + cf (z - Zl) z* = at' (x - i-J + W (y - y,} + # (z - z,) The equation to the cylinder referred to the axes x9y9 z is {«(*-*!) +b(y-yi) +c(z-zl)}* + {(a' (x - *,) + V (y -y,} 4- c' (z - *»)}* = r* The equation to the plane d if is of' (x - xj + V'(y - 3/J + ^" = Sm a-2 COS ^2» C" = Sm &2« The following well-known equations of condition obtain between the quantities «, b, c9 a', b', c', «", b", c" : aa' + bb' + c c1 =0 aa" + b b" + c c'f — 0 -f c2 = Since these equations are more than are necessary to de- termine these quantities, we may suppose one of them as c = 0, and then it is easy to show that a = sin «2, b = — cos a2 a' = cos «2 sin 82 , b' = sin «2 sin $2 , c' = — cos 82, and the equation to the cylinder becomes { (x - xj sin «2 - (y - */,) cos «2}2 + {(x- x,) sin S2 cos a2 + (y - j/J sin <*2 sin S2 - (a -«,) cos&2}2=r9 If x = U cos $ cos «3, y = R cos

cos «3 for ,r, JR cos

fy a Degree. 93 o~--~-,~~,-~.i^ --.-;_,----;-;-; ~:f? 99909999999999999990999999 . 000006066666666666666666666666 o ^ GO(OCO-*O• GO O\ O — < -cop t^coo t-»coc f-coot-^coo t^coo r^co CO O -i(NCO'*to^OI>-3O^O— iCJCO-tiOVOt^-GOCNO _(^,^i_(^H«_(F-^^c^tC>o •rf'-' <^"o co— 'CO vo cooco tocoo t^toc^ ~ ^d^to^coo?Ncoio(OGOcTi'^f>O'^ti^bi>-o>iOor^rtot^' 666666666666666666666666666666 ^c»co^tto* "^f ^-< GO to OJ O^t *O CO 6 f^» "^J" "^ GO to "^ GO to d O^ *O „? 666666666666666666666666666666 — '?NCO'O— 'C^CO-rf»O^OI>.GO^O cococococococococo^^^^^^^-^-^^tou^iOiO^tOtOiOtotococc d t^'-'VO o •^fo>co ,. ,. co^f'^pto'ovbt^cooN^o <-< —* oicoco^'oto'o rococo o^o o OOOOOOOOOOOOO^"*r-~ — ^(^H^^p^r-. — i— c — -^dCl _99999999999099009090009990009 666666666666666666666666666666 | |>-* ro O C^* co O t^» CO O f^» CO O F^ CO O P*- CO O t^» CO O r^ co O ffi 66666666666666666666666»^i [ 94 ] XVII. On the alleged Production of Heat in Mines ly the Con- densation of the Air 'which ventilates them; and on the Fallacy of other Objections to the Opinion that a high Temperature exists in the Interior of the Globe. By RoBEnxW. Fox. To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. Gentlemen, A PAPER has recently appeared in the Edinburgh Re- •**• view* " On the Progress of Geological Science," in which arguments are adduced against the existence of an elevated temperature in the interior of the earth. These arguments are founded on the cold which prevails about the poles, notwithstanding they are twelve miles nearer the centre than the surface of the earth is at the equator ; and on the comparatively low temperature of the water in aban- donded mines, as well as at the bottom of the sea, as far as this has been ascertained. It is at the same time admitted that the heat is found to in- crease in mines in proportion as they are deepened, and that its degree depends on their depth under the surface, rather than with respect to the level of the sea. That it is not pro- duced by the miners, and the candles and gunpowder they use, is fully acknowledged, as the influence of those causes must be perfectly insignificant on the large quantity of water pumped out of deep mines. But the reviewers attribute the elevation of temperature observed in mines to the condensation of the currents of air which ventilate them. " Now," they say, " as this air passes from the surface to the bottom of the minef, it becomes more and more compressed. Its temperature in consequence must be continually increasing, and of course it must be al- ways giving out heat to the walls of the mine and to the water with which it comes in contact. The heat given out at the bottom will be greatest, because there the compression is greatest. The greater the quantity of air thus condensed, and the more rapid the current, the greater will be the quan- tity of heat evolved. This, we are persuaded, is the true cause of the elevation of temperature as a mine increases in depth." These opinions, proceeding from such authority, induce me, from the part I have taken in this question, and the op- portunities I possess, from my local situation, for getting in- formation relative to the Cornish mines, to offer a few remarks # Edinburgh Review, No. 103, p. 49—52. •f Dolcoath is the mine referred to, and 84° the temperature of the water at the bottom, the mine being 238 fathoms deep. for Mr. R. W. Fox on the Increase of Heat in Mines. 95 for the purpose of showing that neither the hypothesis, nor the objections derived from the temperature of abandoned mines, are tenable. I do not apprehend that a degree of pressure equal to what takes place in our deepest mines would raise the temperature of air many degrees, probably not more than five or six at the utmost, supposing none of the heat to escape to surrounding bodies ; but the water flows into some of our mines in consi- derable streams at the temperature of from 80° to 90°, which is about 30° to 40° above that of the climate : and nearly two millions of gallons are daily pumped from the bottom of Pol- dice mine, which is 176 fathoms deep, at 99° to 100°. This being warmer than the human body, of course puts that source of heat out of the question; and it often happens that streams of water, the moment they gush into mines, are equal and sometimes superior in temperature to the air immediately in contact with them. Neither do the seasons seem to produce any sensible effect in deep mines, which they doubtless would do if the heat were in almost any degree attributable to the compression of the air. Our mines are for the most part ventilated by shafts open- ing into the levels or galleries from the surface or from a higher level. These shafts are commonly numerous in ex- tensive mines, and the air circulates freely and often copiously through them, ascending in some shafts, and descending in others. In all cases, I believe that the upward currents are at a higher temperature than the downward ones ; so much so, indeed, that in winter the moisture is often frozen in the latter to a considerable depth, and not at all in the former. The temperature of these currents has recently been ascertained in some mines. In Dolcoath the air ascended in one shaft at 60°, and de- scended in another at 51° : — the thermometer was placed six feet down in these shafts. In Poldice a current came up at 61°, and another went down at 4-8°, both having been observed at thirty feet below the mouths of the shafts. In Tingtang mine, which is 178 fathoms deep, the thermo- meter was let down fifteen feet in two shafts, and indicated a temperature of 59° in the ascending, and 42° in the descend- ing current. The inferior specific gravity of the heated air is, in fact, the cause of its ascent, and consequently of the descent of fresh supplies from the atmosphere at a lower temperature ; so that it 96 Mr. R. W. Fox on the Increase of Heat in Mines, it is clear that the air which circulates in mines tends to di- minish, and not to augment their temperature. The air sup- plied by mechanical means is comparatively trifling; this mode of ventilation being resorted to only, when, from a deficiency of shafts, the circulation is very imperfect; and as it must ul- timately form a part of the warm ascending currents, it is un- necessary to consider its effect on temperature as a distinct question. True it is, that the ratio of increase is by no means uniform in the mines ; nor ought it to be expected to be so, as there are many disturbing causes which must affect the temperature very differently in different places. Of these, the copious fil- tration of water into the deepest excavations of mines, is, I con- ceive, the most influential, subject as it is in a peculiar degree to be modified by local circumstances both in its quantity and direction. It cannot however be doubted that it must chiefly come from more elevated ground ; and therefore I think it may be inferred, that the temperature of mines is not equal to that of the earth at the same level, either in degree or in uniformity. The temperature of water in the shafts of abandoned mines has been repeatedly referred to in opposition to the opinion that a native heat exists in the earth itself. On this subject I have made some observations in a paper published, in 1827, in the third volume of the Cornwall Geological Society's Transactions, which I may perhaps be allowed to quote. " My impression is, that the experiments which have been made in these collections of water tend to support the opi- nions" (in favour of a subterranean heat), " the differences of temperature being considerable in different stopped mines ; and even in different shafts of the same mine a variation of temperature has been observed. " Some very shallow mines, it seems, have been found full of water to the adit level at the temperature of 51°; others, at from 52° to 56°, and even 57°, as was the case at Gunnis Lake copper mine, the depth of which was 125 fathoms, and the adit 35 fathoms, from the surface; so that, taking the mean temperature of the climate at as high as 51°, (which, from some experiments to be mentioned*, I now think is rather above the mark, as it respects our principal mining di- ** A series of observations, continued throughout the year, made on the temperature of the ground, and three feet under the surface, gave for Dol- coath 49°-94 ; and Huel Gorland, which is more elevated, being about 350 feet above the sea-level, 48°'99. stricts and on the interior Temperature of the Earth. 97 stricts at least,) it gives an excess of five or six degrees for the whole of the water in some shafts, which is equal to ten or twelve degrees for the extreme, even supposing equal quan- tities of water to flow into the shafts from the higher and lower galleries : this, however, I imagine to be by no means the case, but that by far the largest portion of what is emptied into the adits from the overflow of the waters in shafts *, must be de- rived from the upper levels and workings of mines. The levels are usually driven on the veins at intervals of ten fathoms under the adits ; the superior ones being more extended in length than the inferior; so that they are likely to intercept most of the waters coming from the ground above; and the water following that course which opposes the least resistance may be supposed to pass principally through the uppermost levels into the shafts, and to sink therein, if its relative tem- perature be low. Thus it may be presumed that the compa- ratively stationary water in the deeper levels, has but little in- fluence on that in the shafts; for it is well known that this fluid conducts heat in a lateral direction very slowly. " The effects above mentioned are doubtless variously mo- dified in different places by the nature and thickness of the strata and the more or less pervious state of the veins : be- sides, the workings communicating with the shafts are in some mines much more open and excavated than in others. And considering all these circumstances, we might, I think, anti- cipate that the results of experiments on the temperature of water in stopped mines must be discordant and inconclusive as to the actual heat of the earth itself, however strongly they may corroborate the truth of its existence." I might have added, that there are usually several shafts in mines not carried down through the adit, which must re- ceive large supplies of rain-water from the surface ; and this water having, it may be presumed, a mean temperature less than that of the climate, of course tends to diminish the tem- perature of the water in abandoned mines. The experiments made to ascertain the temperature of the ocean at great depths are, I think, quite inconclusive with re- spect to the subject under consideration. The bed of the sea is doubtless composed of very imperfect conductors of heat; but if it were all of solid rock, it would surely be incapable of transmitting heat to the water so fast as the latter would convey it away, not only from its natural tendency, when heated, to ascend in colder portions of that fluid, but also from the * The quantity of the waters so discharged from the shafts, is generally considerable. 'N. S. Vol. 9. No. 50. Feb. 1831. O incessant 98 Mr. R. W. Fox on the Increase of Heat in Mines. incessant agitation of the ocean produced by currents and tides, &c. For these reasons, it appears to me that a low temperature at the bottom of the sea is not at all inconsistent with a high degree of terrestrial heat. The temperature about the poles of the earth must also be governed by the relative impressions of the heat and cold to which they may be exposed ; and if frost and snow are found on Hecla and other volcanic mountains and districts, owing to the very slowly and imperfectly conducting medium of the rocks and the ground, surely the effects produced by the cold in the polar regions cannot be deemed incompatible with an elevated temperature under the surface. The zones of equal temperatures at accessible depths in the earth having been found to conform, in some degree, to the irregularities of its surface, — this fact affords another instance that whilst the in- ternal parts of mountains and hills may be sustained at a high temperature, their sides and even the valleys which separate them may be quite cold. This arrangement of the zones of heat must, I conceive, cause the water or moisture in the in- terior of mountains and hills to give out vapour more or less copiously, according to circumstances; and this ascending towards their summits and sides, gradually condenses into drops in proportion as the temperature of the ground di- minishes. The drops accumulating into small streams, ulti- mately appear, in part at least, at the surface, and form a more or less considerable proportion of springs or fountains. If the terrestrial temperature could be determined with cer- tainty at any given depths within our reach, I much question whether it ought to be considered as furnishing us with pro- per data for calculating the ratio of increase to a far greater depth, because it appears to me to be highly probable that in the former case the heat may be due to the ascending portions of warm water, more than to the conducting power of the rocks ; and this idea derives confirmation from the fact, that those rocks which most readily transmit heat (compact granite for example) are usually found at a lower temperature in mines than clay-slate and other rocks which are the most pervious to moisture and the worst conductors of heat. It must however be acknowledged that whether the ter- restrial heat increases more or less rapidly towards the centre, the frequent occurrence of volcanos and hot springs, in di- stricts far separated from each other, tends strongly to confirm the opinion that a very high temperature exists in the interior of the globe. 0 ... ^ TT i L t to too, ROBERT W. Fox. Falmouth, Jan. 13, 1831. XVIII. On [ 99 ] XVIII. On the Stability of the Solar System. By J. W. LUB- BOCK, Esq. F.R.S.* THHE following passage occurs in the 103rd Number of the •*• Edinburgh Review, p. 4-3, lately published. " The earth is one of eleven planets which revolve round the sun. It has been demonstrated by mathematicians, that all the little irre- gularities arising from the mutual actions of the planets on each other run through regular periods, and then vanish. So that their motions, for anything which we know to the contrary, may continue for ever, without any real alterations in the mu- tual distances between the sun and planets." The proof of this proposition, as here stated in its utmost generality, is not to be found in any work on physical astro- nomy ; nor is it true, unless the planets move in a medium ab- solutely devoid of any resistance. The proof given by M. de Pontecoulant, Theorie Anal, du Sy steme du Monde, vol. i. p. 4-55, extends only to the square of the disturbing force. In rigour, however, it matters not at what stage of the approximation the terms come in which create a derangement; the effect might be more slow, but would not be less certain. In a paptr recently published in the Philosophical Trans- actions, I have endeavoured to overcome this difficulty by the following very simple considerations. By th»3 first approximation, or that which takes into account the first power of the disturbing force, supposing the body to move in a medium devoid of resistance, Semi-major axis "1 Eccentricity I = & , f cosines . h Inclination of the orbit to a f . w ]fed by fixed plane J tfjfos/ Longitude of the perihelion^ Longitude of the epoch >= Series of sines -f a quan- Longitude of the node J tity multiplied by the time. The arguments under the sign sine and cosine in these ex- pressions are multiples of angles depending on the mean mo- tions of the bodies which compose the system. A second approximation may be obtained by integrating the differential equations for the variations of the elliptic con- stants, after having substituted in the disturbing function their values found by the first approximation. But the values thus found for them by the second approximation retain the same form as before : the same is true for the next approximation ; * Communicated by the Author. O2 and 100 Mr. Lubbock on tlie Stability of the Solar System. and indeed however far the approximation be carried. So that the following theorem is true, without neglecting any powers of the eccentricities or inclinations, or any powers of the dis- turbing forces : Semi-major axis ~) Eccentricity o • c - - \ Inclination of the orbit to a >= Senes of ">.smes th0" fixed plane j ".'^ 'I1'3"11'? by the time. Longitude of the perihelion ~) Longitude of the epoch > = Series of sines -f a quan- Longitude of the node ) tity multiplied by the time. The series of cosines being a periodic function, it follows that however long the periods of some of the inequalities may be, the semi-major axis, the eccentricity, and the inclination to a fixed plane vary periodically within limits which depend upon the magnitude of the disturbing forces, that is, upon the mag- nitude of the mass of the primary compared with the masses of the planets, and upon their mean distances from the primary, &c. The other three constants have a term varying with the time ; but this, from the nature of these constants, does not affect the stability of the system. The contrary obtains when the body moves in a medium which resists according to any power of the velocity, in this case, considering only the terms which depend on the resistance of the medium ; Semi-major axis 1 0 . - . Eccentricity ) = Sene,S <*™*f + a, qUant'ty Longitude of the perihelion \ Qmult'Plfd by the time. Lonfritude of the epoch / : = Senes of. cosmfs. *^°« <* any quantity multiplied by the time. I have also extended these results to the problem of the ro- tation of the earth about its centre of gravity. The solution of this problem contains six constants: which constants are analo- gous to those which occur in the determination of a planet's motion round the sun, an analogy first, I believe, pointed out by M. Poisson. * By integrating the expressions for the variations of these constants, The mean motion of rotation, ~] The cosine of the geographical j latitude of the axis of install- )>= A periodic function with- taneous rotation, out any quantity multi- The obliquity of the ecliptic, J plied by the time. The Mr. Moore's Remarks on the Origin of Rock-basins. 101 The geographical longitude of ^| the pole of instantaneous ro- | tation, The longitude of a given line >= A riot|ic quantity multiplied by lie time. in the body, The longitude of a fixed line in the ecliptic, reckoned from the first point of Aries, Thus the geographical latitude of the pole of the axis of instantaneous rotation, the angular velocity of rotation, and the obliquity of the ecliptic vary eternally within limits which in fact are extremefy narrow, and thus the stability of the system is preserved. I have only shown these results to be true when the earth is supposed to revolve in a medium absolutely devoid of all resistance and friction. It seems worthy of inquiry how they become modified when some degree of friction is supposed to exist. XIX. Remarks on the Origin of Rock-basins ; in reply to a Paper by Mr. E. W. BRAYLEY, Jan.* By the Rev. THOMAS MOOUE. To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. Gentlemen, A N article on the subject of rock-basins, by Mr. Bray ley Jun., •**• — extracted from his contribution, on the subject of Geo- logy, to "The History and Topography of Devonshire,"a work now in the course of publication, — having been inserted, with some slight alterations, in the Philosophical Magazine for No- vember 1830, a place for some remarks in reply to his objec- tions to the artificial origin of those cavities, is now requested. Mr. Bray ley commences his observations in the work just mentioned (page 288, 8vo edit.) by saying, " The writer of these outlines might be considered as liable to a charge of in- attention to his friend the Rev. T. Moore, author of the topo- graphical and principal part of this work, were he to omit noticing the remarks on the origin of rock-basins contained in the first chapter of Book II." &c. The present writer, how- ever, must take the liberty of observing, that, valuable as * See Phil. Mag. and Annals, N. S. vol. viii. p. .'531. Mr. 102 Mr. Moore's Remarks on the Origin of Rock-basins; Mr. Bray ley's communication may be, he should have been more gratified by " the breach than the observance" of this instance of civility; not because he had any aversion to his opinion on the origin of rock-basins undergoing the test of investigation, but because it was obviously improper to render a work on topography the vehicle of controversy by the writers of it ; and also, as he never meant to lay any stress on his own opinion on that subject, he did not wish it to be made a prominent subject in the above-mentioned work ; nor more- over had he any intention of arguing the question fully in the slight notice which he had taken of it there. However, as Mr. Brayley has endeavoured to show the futility of this opi- nion at considerable length, some sort of reply seems to be ne- cessary, and the following remarks are therefore respectfully submitted to the candour of the reader who may feel inter- ested in the subject. Since the article alluded to has been published, an intel- ligent and highly respectable correspondent in Devonshire, who is said to be excelled by none in an acquaintance with the antiquities and other curiosities of Dartmoor, has favoured the writer with the following observations, which he begs leave to insert as corresponding with what was suggested to his own mind by the little which he himself saw, and by all that he heard of the rock-basins in this district. " Respecting rock- basins much diversity of opinion has existed; but whoever will inspect them must be convinced of their artificial ori- gin. To all appearance they have a connection with other relics found in their neighbourhood ; for it may be remarked, that these rock-basins are generally situated on tors which overlook or border on the remains of the ancient British vil- lages on the moor. They are also very distinguishable from the hollows worn by the effects of weather, these basins being often of very regular figure, arid cut in the hardest rocks, where no other derangement of the surface is visible." On the opposite side of the question, Dr. MacCulloch, as quoted by Mr. Brayley, has observed, " The true origin of rock-basins is easily traced by inspecting the rocks themselves, where they are found." Such is the opinion of my corre- spondent just quoted; but that correspondent was also con- vinced that such inspection would necessarily lead to a con- clusion directly opposed to Dr. MacCulloch's. And the only proof which this distinguished writer has adduced as furnished by the appearance of the rocks is the following : " On examining the excavations they will always be found to in reply to a Paper by Mr. E. W. Brayley, jun. 103 to contain distinct grains of quartz and fragments of other constituent parts of granite;" but he adds, '* in time the accumulated gravel is blown away by the winds, although in the deeper hollows it may often be found forming consider- able accumulations." In the first place, I very much doubt whether it be really a fact that gravel of this description is always found in these excavations, and indeed Dr. MacCul- Joch's own remark seems to imply that it is not; for why does he observe that in time the accumulated gravel is blown away, if it were always found there ? But let us suppose the statement to be correct, and in many of them such gravel or sand, it will readily be admitted, is found ; then, I observe, these particles of gravel or sand may as readily be supposed to have been swept into the basins by the wind, as blown out of them, and to have found a lodgement there : nor will any one think this circumstance extraordinary, who has any know- ledge of the violence of the winds in this district. Dr. MacCulloch proceeds to observe, that " the circum- stances which occasion the formation of rock-basins are the presence of water, and the alternate action 'of air and water. Jf a drop of water can make an effectual lodgement on a surface of granite, a small cavity is sooner or later produced. This insensibly enlarges as it becomes capable of holding more water, and the sides, as they continue to waste, necessarily re- tain an even and rounded concavity, on account of the uniform texture of the granite." Now we have no doubt that a con- tinued stream of water, especially if it flow with rapidity, will wear itself a channel, arid create hollows in the hardest rock; and the Rev. J. P. Jones, the distinguished Botanist of Devonshire, in his account of one of his tours on Dartmoor, mentions a remarkable fact of this kind very much to our pre- sent purpose. He states, that in crossing the streams on the Moor, he observed, not only many small cataracts, but basins in the rocks on the borders of the currents ; and that these cu- rious cavities, however, were never formed unless the rapidity of the stream, meeting with some obstructions, formed an eddy. Here then is the operation of natural causes fully ade- quate to the effect produced. A body of water perpetually whirling round with considerable velocity, and carrying with it, no doubt, gravel and stones, has insensibly, through a long succession of ages, scooped out these rock-basins: but that a drop of water, having found a lodgement on the horizontal surface of the hardest granite, should, by chemical operation, make any serious impression there, and that hence by the gradual accumulation of water rock-basins should be formed on 101 Mr. Moore's Remarks on the Origin of Rock-basins ; on these flat surfaces, some of which, as Dr. MacCulloch ob- serves, " are as regularly spheroidal internally as if they had been shaped by a turning lathe, " and it may be added some of which also are several feet in diameter*, — to the reception of this proposition my power of credence, I confess, is not equal. I see here, indeed, a theory supported by a distin- guished name, but by no sufficient proof. Mr. Brayley him- self states a fact in direct hostility to this hypothesis. There are granite beds, it seems, which present basins on their per- pendicular faces ("Devon," p. 292 — 294-); and water might indeed be arrested there by a miracle, but if.it followed the course which nature requires, it would certainly descend, and leave the rock as before. Some other cause therefore must necessarily be sought for, to account for the production of these basins at least. But if we are to suppose that rock-basins can be formed by "the presence of water, and the alternate action of air and water," and if, as Mr. Brayley affirms, " we need not hesitate in admitting the solution of granite in water to an extent ca- pable of producing this effect of disintegration," then I ask, in what state ought we to find the granite in the beds, or rather at the sides of the rivers near the surface of the water, where it must be constantly exposed to the alternate and powerful action of air and water? Worn indeed it may be by the current, together with the sand and stones which the water carries along with it; but that it is corroded chemically, and that to a great degree, in conformity with Dr. MacCulloch's theory, by the operation of both these elements, does not ap- pear to be the fact j-. Again : if cavities can be formed in the rock in the manner Dr. MacCulloch supposes, then I maintain, the whole of the horizontal surface of the rocks would be corroded, and would be generally as full of hollows as a honeycomb, though with nothing of the regularity of the latter, for a drop of water would easily find a lodgement in numerous places. This however is not the case on any of the rocks in Devonshire ; on * Borlase states the diameter of some of them to be six feet. f A valuable correspondent of Plymouth, who has much informa- tion on these subjects, after expressing his concurrence with the brief remarks in defence of the artificial origin of rock-basins which gave occa- sion to Mr. Brayley's discussion of the subject, observes, " There may be instances in which Dr. MacCulloch's theory is verified, but I have never found moorstone decomposing under the drip of water; and why are the rock-basins so often upon the highest ridge of these stones, if they be not artificial ?" the in reply to a Paper by Mr. E. W. Brayley, jun. 105 the contrary, as my correspondent before quoted observes, " the basins are not only often of very regular figure, but are cut in the hardest rocks, where no other derangement of the surface is visible. And they are also very distinguishable from the hollows worn in the softer parts of some rocks by the effects of weather." These cavities are not only, as Dr. Mac- Culloch states, occasionally circular in their boundary, and as regularly spheroidal internally as if they had been shaped in a turning lathe, but their sides also are smooth and even ; and these circumstances appear to me to be decisive of the question. Dr. MacCulloch, it is true, ascribes this regularity of form to " the uniform texture of the granite," Now the constituent parts of the granite which most generally prevails in Devonshire, are stated to be quartz, felspar and mica; and we are told that these several materials are of different de- grees of hardness. Mr. Brayley has spoken of " the felspar of the base as dull, earthy and decomposing" ("Devon," p. 251), and of another ofthedecomponent parts as "almost indestruc- tible." This being the case, then, I maintain that the decom- position, which is admitted to be going on at present as here- tofore, would necessarily follow the softer particles of the rock ; and the consequence would be, that the figure of the cavities in question would become, in all cases, irregular, and bear little or no resemblance to the rock-basins as they now are, and as Dr. MacCulloch describes them. And not only would they be irregular in their form, but the surface of these ca- vities would also be rough and crumbly, the " soft, earthy part having decayed," and left the " indestructible" portions projecting. But this is not the fact ; and Mr. Brayley has ac- cordingly admitted (" Devon," p. 290) that in his examinations of the rock-basins on the summit of Carnbrea Hill, near Red- ruth in Cornwall, " he did not find the sides of the basins crumbly." The inference appears to me to be obvious and conclusive: — the sides of the basins ought to be rough and crumbly, if formed as Dr. MacCulloch represents, and if the constituent parts of granite, as is also affirmed, are of different degrees of hardness or durability ; but they are not rough and crumbly, and therefore not formed by the only natural pro- cess to which their formation is attributed. What Mr. Brayley however considers as the strongest evi- dence of the artificial origin of these cavities, but which, not- withstanding, has escaped Dr. MacCulloch's notice, is as fol- lows : — " Many of the rock-basins on Carnbrea are crossed by veins of porphyry or porphyritic granite, which traverse the earns, and which, offering a much greater resistance to the action of decomposing agents than the granite itself, have N.S. Vol. 9, No. 50. Feb. 1831, P been 106 Mr. Moore's Remarks on the Origin of Rock-basins ; been left in the form of ridges, their edges only having been rounded by the action of the elements. This fact is obviously conclusive," &c. Not having seen these cavities, I shall not venture to give any opinion decidedly respecting them. From Mr. Brayley's description of them they appear to be very ir- regular, and if he had not said that he did not find their sides crumbly, I should be disposed to consider them as belonging to that class of excavations which have been formed by natural causes. If their origin were artificial, it is possible the ridges might have been left through want of sufficient skill to re- move them; or, the softer parts of the rock may perhaps have been since worn away by the action of the weather, leaving the porphyry projecting. But at any rate the reasoning from these does not appear to me to apply to the rock-basins in Devonshire, where, though the component parts of the granite are said to differ greatly in durability, no projections occur. From the former of these instances therefore no serious ob- jection appears to arise to the artificial origin of the latter. Mr. Brayley, indeed, has himself felt a difficulty on this sub- ject; for admitting the insufficiency of Dr.MacCulloch's theory, he has proposed another objection to it, by saying (" Devon," p. 292), " And indeed it would appear that some further cause than the uniform texture of the granite must in reality operate in the formation of these basins; for if that only were the reason, the granite would be as much acted upon in a di- rection perpendicular to its surface, as in those directions which are parallel to it; and the depth of the basins ought always to be equal to their diameters, or nearly so ; which, as far as the writer's knowledge extends, is seldom, if ever, the case. And the occurrence of the rock-basins on the vertical faces of the granite at Scilly would seem to be a further cor- roboration of this idea; for it is difficult to conceive how the action of water could produce such cavities in this situation, unless it were aided by the tendency of the rock to disintegrate more easily in certain directions, with respect to the planes of its surfaces, than *in others." The reasonableness of these remarks is sufficiently obvious; and the further cause than the uniform texture of the granite necessary to the pro- duction of rock-basins, Mr. Brayley supposes to be found in the spheroidal structure of this rock. His reasoning appears to be thus: — The constituent parts of granite are spherically arranged ; in other words, a mass of granite consists of a num- ber of spheres; and as disintegration on the flat surface of the rock takes place, this kind of structure is favourable, in some way or other, to the formation of these cavities : and that the structure of granite is thus spheroidal in all cases, Mr. in reply to a Paper by Mr. E. W. Brayley, jun. 107 Mr. Brayley is of opinion that Dr. MacCulloch has rendered in the highest degree probable. To me however, I must take the liberty of saying, the proofs adduced are not by any means so satisfactory as Mr. Brayley supposes them to be. Some kinds of rocks, and even some rare specimens of particular sorts of granite, may be unquestionably spheroidal; but to infer hence that all granite is so, would surely be much too hasty, and can scarcely be satisfactory even to those who have a fa- vourite notion to support. But that the structure of the De- vonshire granite is not of this kind appears evident from the following considerations. In the first place, if it were so, this ought to be apparent on inspecting it. The crystals, for in- stance, are usually large and very distinct ; but have they any appearance of a concentric or spherical arrangement ? Cer- tainly not: they seem to be thrown together in confusion, and have in general no regular arrangement whatever. Again, the direction of the fissures in this granite are clearly adverse to the supposition of its spheroidal construction. Masses of this rock are divided into cuboidal or laminar blocks, bounded by fissures horizontal, perpendicular, or in- clined, often " mere mathematical planes and preserving an exact parallelism among themselves ;" whereas, if the consti- tuent parts of the granite had a spherical arrangement, these blocks surely ought to be spheroids, and the fissures of a cir- cular form. They would separate like the coats of an onion, " whether the fissures, as originally existing in the granite, are to be considered as the effects of contraction produced in the mass by the evaporation of water, or by the abstraction of heat." Much is said, it is true, about the boulders of this rock, and the rounded form of the edges and corners of the blocks and the laminae. To this it may be replied, that all the projections of the granite, the corners, and the edges, are most worn because they are most exposed to the action of the at- mosphere, to which their decomposition is attributed, and that this would be the case, whether there were anything spherical in the arrangement of their constituent parts, or not ; so that no argument in favour of such arrangement can be derived from this circumstance, of sufficient weight to decide the ques- tion. Proof therefore being wanting of the spheroidal structure of this granite, all reasoning from it in favour of the forma- tion of rock-basins by a natural process, falls to the ground*. On * Mr. Brayley has mentioned the Logan on the Teign in connection with this subject, and has taken it for granted that its form is spheroidal. But his account of it is in the main particulars erroneous. Having taken a slight sketch of it myself, on the spot, I can speak of it without hesitation. It is not properly seated, as he observes, " in the channel of the river," but P2 at 108 Mr. Moore's Remarks on the Origin of Rock-basins ; On the whole, therefore, I am still inclined, for the reasons now adduced, to retain my original opinion, that the rock- basins properly so called, and distinguished from other irre- gular cavities in the rocks, are artificial. At the same time I am not disposed to lay any undue stress on this opinion, and have undertaken the defence of it with reluctance. One or two other facts, however, in support of it, may be added. The rock-basins in Devonshire," Mr. Burt*, who was well ac- quainted with Dartmoor, has observed, " are always on the verge of the rock." What reason can be assigned for this, if these cavities are the result of the chemical operation of the elements? Does not such a position indicate some design in their formation ? They are also comparatively few in num- ber, for among the numberless rocks and tors on Dartmoor by far the greater part are without this distinction: and why should not rock-basins be found upon rocks and tors of the same texture generally, if formed by some natural process by which all are liable to be affected ? They are, moreover, some- times found singly, where there is no other derangement of the surface; and generally in the vicinity of other British remains. Cornwall, which abounds most with the latter, ex- hibits also, it seems, the greatest number of the former. All these circumstances serve to strengthen the belief of the arti- ficial origin of these singular cavities. Nor is there any evi- dence, from time immemorial, of their increase either in size or number. At the same time, I am contending only that their origin is artificial. By whom or for what purpose they were formed is not known ; nor is it my intention to hazard any conjecture on the subject. They are of two kinds ; one, simple cavities at the side of it, at the foot of a steep hill, the side of which is covered with blocks of granite of different sizes, and has every appearance of hav- ing rolled or slidden down the declivity with many other blocks, which lie on the banks and in the bed of the river, and of having rested and poised itself upon a slight elevation of a low rock beneath. Or if this were not the case, the fissure between itself and the rock on which it rests may have been worn larger than it was originally by the current, which is here very rapid, leaving a fulcrum near the centre on which it moves. It is now moved with difficulty, and could never have oscillated more than an inch or two. Its form moreover does not approximate to the spheroidal. I have seen in some publication, the title of which I do not now recollect, what was intended for a view of it, and in that view the form, indeed, that was given to it, was spheroidal : but it is no more like the real Logan than an apple to a cube. The true form of it is intended to be given in a future number of" The History and Topography of Devonshire," and a near re- semblance to it may be now seen with the ornamented letter at the begin- ning of Book II. of that work. * Notes to Carrington's " Dartmoor," p. 196. cut in reply to a Paper by Mr. E. W. Bray ley, jun. 109 cut in the surface of the rock ; the other, with lips, or com- munications between the different basins, in some instances one of them being lower than the other, and the communica- tion between the two sometimes extending to the bottom of the upper basin. Borlase*, who was the first writer, I be- lieve, that made any attempt to account for the origin and de- sign of these cavities, rejects the notion that they were used for libations of blood, wine, honey, or oil, and thinks they were intended to collect water from the rains or dews, in the greatest purity, for the purpose of ablutions, which were very common among the priests of all ancient superstitions, and probably therefore among the Druids. But he proposes this of course only as conjecture. That the ancient Britons were capable of forming them, there can be little doubt. We know that they had made at least some progress in the mechanical arts. We learn, for instance, from Caesar, who could not be mistaken, that they had chariots of war, armed with scythes, and there is other evidence of their possessing skill equal to the task in question. The Phoenicians, moreover, had made much greater progress in mechanical skill ; nor is it disputed that with the West of England especially they had much commercial intercourse, and there is some evidence of their having formed settlements here as they had done elsewhere. This being the case, they could scarcely have failed to communicate some portion of their own improvements to the Britons. What is there ex- traordinary in the supposition that these rock- basins might possibly be formed by these ancient inhabitants of the island? And if conjectures are to be hazarded, the most probable seems to connect them with Druidical superstitions. I cannot conclude without taking notice of one observation more of Mr.B/s ( " Devon," p. 289) : he has found, he say s, " other antiquarian friends are not willing to resign altogether that notion of these excavations, which in the hands of Dr. Borlase and his compeers has given rise to so imposing a pageant of the ceremonies of Druidism." I at least have not met with any writers who are at all disposed to rest their opinions on so slight a foundation. Their notions of Druidical cere- monies are usually derived from ancient writers, who were best acquainted with these matters, and are most worthy of credit. In the account which I have given of these super- stitions in the early part of the work on Devonshire, I have made very little use of Borlase's work; for I am aware that this writer appears to have been in the habit of bringing together statements favourable to his own notions, from va- * p. 230 of his work on the antiquities of Cornwall. rious 110 Mr. Moore's Remarks on the Origin of Rock-basins. rious sources, without sufficient examination into their value and authenticity. Not considering him therefore a guide that could be always followed with safety, I have referred to other and higher authorities. At the same time I am far from think- ing this writer to be deserving of contempt. His learning and the general extent of his researches entitle his opinions to attention. 1 must also be permitted to add, that I have not rested the proof of the existence of Druidism in the West of England on the existence of rock-basins, or on any other British remains in this district, but on the consideration, that as this superstition constituted the religion of the ancient in- habitants of this island, it was matter of course that it pre- vailed also in the West, and retained its hold longer there than elsewhere in England, as this was the last quarter from which the Britons were driven, or in which they were reduced to subjection. The British remains in Devonshire and Corn- wall may, or may not, be connected with this ancient supersti- tion ; but the probability appears evidently to be that they were. After observing justly (" Devon," p. 281) that every natural phenomenon and production that was not understood, was in early times generally attributed to supernatural agency, Mr. B. proceeds to remark, that " in modern times, natural phaeno- mena of the same description, which the existing state of sci- ence has not afforded the means of explaining, have been regarded as the works of ancient nations, and, in this country especially, as those of the Druids, or at least of the people whose operations were instigated or directed by them." And no doubt much error has arisen from this source : but it may be well to recollect that it is possible to run into the op- posite extreme, and in the eagerness to stand as far aloof as possible from the prejudices of ignorance and folly, credulity may still be discovered in ascribing to the agency of nature the results of human art and industry. In our efforts to assign natural causes for extraordinary productions, we must be stopped somewhere by reason and common sense, or in the future and accelerated progress of the sciences we shall doubt- less at length find out, not only that the rock-basins, but the cromlechs, and what are vulgarly supposed to be Druidi- cal circles, as Stonehenge for instance, are positively natural phsenomena. In these latter productions I discover marks of human agency and design, and therefore ascribe them to these causes; and for similar reasons I am still inclined to believe that rock-basins are artificial. Islington, Jan. 3, 1831. THOMAS MooilE. XX. An [ 111 ] XX. An Examination of those Phenomena of Geology, which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations. By the Ecv. W. D. CONYBEARE, M.A. F.R.S. F.G.S. $c. [Continued from page 23.] VIII. rpHE distribution of the rocks usually considered as -•• of volcanic origin, in the different formations, is such as to indicate the greater prevalence of volcanic agency during the earlier periods ; and the relations of the actual vol- canic vents are such as to prove that these are only the resi- dual portion of a much larger number which have coexisted in the antecedent epochs. Observations. — This article ought strictly to have occupied an earlier place in my arrangement, and to have immediately followed No. IV. but as it will be seen that many causes tend to throw obscurity on this part of our subject, and to prevent our arriving at more than approximate results, I have judged this departure from a more exact method justifiable, as I have thus been enabled to give precedence to the evidence which ap- peared to me most clear and satisfactory. From the intrusive position of these rocks, which appear very frequently to have been injected among the strata which they traverse, subse- quently to the deposition of those strata, a difficulty arises, in limine, as to the determination of their age. We know them to be subsequent to the beds traversed ; but who shall say how much so? In order to ascertain this point, the junction of these beds with the succeeding formations should be carefully examined, and the exact geological point noted where these intruding masses are cut off and cease to traverse those for- mations. For instance, if a trap dyke shall be found travers- ing the coal measures, but cut off by the incumbent mag^ nesian limestone, we may then be sure that the cause which produced this dyke was in action before the deposition of the magnesian limestone. We have, however, hitherto few obser- vations to this effect; but it yet seems to me that an approxi- mation is attainable ; for we find that the rocks usually con- sidered as igneous, materially vary in their characters in the different^formations ; granite occurring most generally in asso- ciation with the rocks termed primitive; peculiar greenstones and porphyries with those of transition ; others again with some varieties of basalt in the coal formation. Now whenever we find peculiar varieties always associated with a single for- mation, and excluded from the contiguous formations of more recent date, we may fairly, I think, infer that their production has taken place almost contemporaneously with that of the formations in which they so occur ; yet it must be owned that the 112 Rev. W. D. Conybeave on the Phenomena of Geology the different varieties of trap pass into each other by such insensible gradations, that much doubt must often hang over the subject. In the so called primitive epoch, we find a very large pro- portion, universally distributed, of rocks which have been re- ferred to an igneous origin by evidence which has produced an increasing effect on the minds of geologists, the more at- tentively it has been examined and weighed. I speak prin- cipally of the granitic rocks ; but I think we must refer most of the'felspathic and amphibolic series to this class. From their general relations, we may probably consider most of these rocks as having originated antecedently to the transition period; but I am far from supposing that any of them are necessarily confined to this age; on the contrary, I believe many granitic rocks, those especially passing into sienite, to belong generally to the transition period, and some to even younger epochs*. The transition period likewise embraces a very large pro- portion of rocks, such as greenstones, sienites, &c., apparently of igneous origin ; though here again the same difficulty as to limiting their exact age presents itself: for instance, in Pembrokeshire the graywacke is extensively associated with greenstone, which latter, when it approaches the superjacent carboniferous limestone, breaks through it, thus demonstrat- ing its more recent origin. Yet when we take a general view of the primitive and transition districts, and compare the pro- portion of the rocks generally esteemed of igneous origin, which universally occur associated with them, occupying ge- nerally nearly one-fifth of these districts, with the much smaller proportion of the igneous rocks in the more recent formations, and their frequent absence in the latter case, we cannot, I think, resist the conclusion, that the causes which have pro- duced them were in much more active operation in the earlier period. The carboniferous series still embrace many trap rocks, though in a far less proportion, and much more limited to particular localities. Thus they are very abundant in the Scotch carboniferous tract ; less so, but still far from scarce, in that of Northumberland and Durham ; that of Derbyshire scarcely exhibits them, except in the toadstones alternating with the limestone. We find them in overlying masses at Cleehill, and in Staffordshire at Dudley; but the great coal basins of our south-western counties, Somerset and South Wales, scarcely * Boue refers the granite of Zinwald in Bohemia to the transition period, and that of Baveno even to the carboniferous. Near Predazzo there is an upright mass of granitic porphyry, said to be younger than the lias. present bearing on theoretical Speculations. 113 present a trace of them, excepting in the single point in the west of Pembrokeshire, which has been already mentioned ; for the trap of Tortworth in Gloucestershire, though it nearly ap- proaches the Bristol coal-field, yet appears to be limited to the transition group. In the carboniferous districts our former difficulties again recur in limiting the age of the associated trap. In one in- stance, the Cleaveland trap dyke (in the north of Yorkshire) traverses not only the coal-measures, but also the incumbent red marl, lias, and inferior oolite. We must however, I think, consider far the greater part of the trap rocks to have been produced before the age of these formations ; for how other- wise can we account for the absence of trap in these last, which throughout England is, with this single exception, I be- lieve total. We have here, then, in the carboniferous series, an example of an intermediate group containing much less of volcanic rocks than those which preceded, and much more than those which succeeded. In the oolitic and other more recent formations of England, I am not acquainted with any instance of the occurrence of any rock of the trap family, excepting only the just- mentioned case of the Cleaveland dyke. On the continent, however, Elie de Beaumont has noticed, associated with the lias in the hill of Chardonnet(Alps of Brian9on), a petrosiliceous eurite (com- pact felspar?), with a little hornblende, in beds of considerable extent. In the Vicentin, at Predazzo, and in the Tyrol, au- gite porphyry occurs in the lias and oolite. Brongniart re- fers these rocks to his entritic group, which he considers as occupying a middle place as to age, between the older granites and younger trachytes and basalts in the volcanic series, and ranging from the transition to the older tertiary beds : this he defines as composed of rocks having their parts interspersed with crystals, nodules, and portions confusedly crystallized ; it seems to include the rocks more commonly called trap por- phyry, compact felspar with hornblende, and several varieties of toadstone (variolite, spilite agatifere, &c.). — See TabL des TcrreinS) p. 344. In the tertiary period, the north of Ireland presents us with an extensive area of basalt reposing on the chalk; the same rock occurs superior to the scaglia of the Vicentin, associated with trachyte. Trachyte and lava, evidently of more recent origin than the tertiary lacustrine deposits, also abound in the vol- canic districts of Auvergne,of the South of France, near Mont- pelier, and Toulon, of the lower Rhine, &c. ; and it seems probable that the basalt of Cassel, and even of Saxony, be- longs to the same period. Indeed, basalt and trachyte ap- N, S. Vol. 9. No. 50. Feb. 1831. Q pear 111? Rev. W.D.Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology pear generally to characterize the youngest sera of volcanic action. Brongniart is also of opinion that the period of activity of the extinct volcanos of Auvergne belonged to the close of the tertiary rather than the commencement of the actual epoch ; and believes it to have preceded the action of the causes, whatever they may have been, which produced the vast accu- mulations of gravel, which he designates " Clysmien," a term which, having the fear of Mr. Lyell before my eyes, I dare not translate 'diluvial' (Tall. p. 364). He admits, however, that any well authenticated example of the lava of those vol- canos actually overlying the said gravel, would negative this presumption ; but contends that the instances hitherto cited have been only beds of volcanic fragments, which might readily originate in the same causes which produced gravel of the other rocks. Proceed we now to the volcanic vents which still continue in a state of activity. If we compare the proportion of the surface actually thus occupied with that of one-fifth, which we have seen must have prevailed in the primitive and tran- sition periods, we shall again have a ratio which I can only express as tangent : cotangent of the infinitesimal part of a second, which (as far as I am acquainted) the advocates of existing causes alone consider as that of equality. It might however be objected that this is an unfair view of the case ; that in all the earlier formations we have the accumulated products of the volcanic action of many remote successive ages of immense duration; that perhaps but a very small proportion of this total resulted from the volcanos of any one single age ; and that the new vents which have in the actual sera succeeded to those now extinct may, therefore, be as numerous as those which previously existed at any single date. But to this we answer, that if the actual sites be examined, far from appearing to be new vents which have re- placed extinct old ones, they will be found to be only small residual portions of much more extensive volcanic districts, which appear from the rocks characterizing them, trachyte, basalt, &c., to have been contemporaneous with those of Au- vergne, the Rhine, &c. Thus in Iceland, Hecla only is active ; but the whole island is obviously the product of ancient vol- canos. In Italy, Vesuvius occupies but a small part of the Campi Phlegrsei; and there are many other like districts near Rome, about the Alban lake, &c. &c. On this subject I can- not do better than quote the very words of Brongniart, whose authority deserves the more attention, as he has most care- fully studied the whole subject, and drawn up one of the most complete bearing on theoretical Speculations. 115 complete accounts of volcanos extant, published in the Dic- tionnaire des Sciences Nalurelles : — " Pour rasseinbler ici toutes les observations qui concourent a etablir LE REPOS ACTUEL des grands phenomenes geolo- giques, et Pabsence de toute formation complete de terrain nouveau, je dois rappeler en abrege les faits qui dans Phis- toire des terrains pyrogenes volcaniques tendent a confirmer cette proposition. " 1. Toutes les bouches volcaniques en activite fontpartie d'une systeme volcanique dont Porigine ou Pepoque d'appa- rition a la surface du globe est absolument inconnu. On ne pent citer aucuiie nouvelle bouche volcanique, aucun nouveau cone ou butte volcanique terrestre, littoral, ou marin, qui ne fasse partie ou ne soit lie avec un systeme de terrain volcanique ancien." p. 61. — He adds, that the modern lavas are destitute of many rocks and minerals which characterize the ancient, e.g. true basalt, trachyte, metallic minerals, &c. ; and that the rocks which are produced by aqueous solution, such as the siliceous incrustations of the Geyser, and concretionary lime- stones in modern volcanic districts, are little varied and of small extent compared with the analogous deposits of the an- cient basaltic and trachytic tracts. I have been the more anxious fairly to state these argu- ments, because in a very valuable publication, which has ap- peared at the moment I am writing, by one of our first scien- tific names (which I had most earnestly hoped to have seen placed, where it undoubtedly ought to have been, at the head of our first scientific Society) , I mean Herschel's Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy, p. 147, — the author, speaking of the diminution of the temperature of the globe, states that some geologists have ascribed this to the immensely superior activity of former volcanos, which, however, he observes, can hardly be esteemed a vera causa; for, says he, " we are not sure that such supposed greater activity of former than of pre- sent volcanos really did exist." Now, unless I have entirely failed, I would hope that in my late communications I have shown some grounds for believing that we are as sure of this fact as we can be of any which is not submitted to the evi- dence of the senses, but requires to be established by a chain of inferential reasoning. Mr. H. himself inclines to refer this diminution of temperature to the diminution of the excentri- city of the earth's orbit. On a subject of this nature I feel myself altogether incompetent to hazard an opinion ; and I will therefore only inquire whether, seeing that the mean distance of the earth from the sun is necessarily a constant in- variable amid all the oscillations of the system, the proposed Q 2 secular 116"' Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology. secular variation be fully adequate to account for the pheno- mena. [To be continued.] P.S. I most reluctantly enter into anything which may re- semble a personal controversy with Mr. Lyell ; and therefore regret that, in a note to one of my communications, I may seem to have provoked it ; but it is best, perhaps, frankly to state the case. On comparing his second chapter with the passage re- ferred to in my Outlines, I did not doubt that it had been imme- diately suggested from that source, and I felt, foolishly perhaps, hurt at the absence of acknowledgement. All the passages per- haps may have been quoted by others before in scattered parts of different works; — but that they had been brought together ex- pressly with the purpose of illustrating the attention which the ancients had given to geological phenomena, before I, and subsequently Mr. Lyell, had so collected them, I am still ig- norant. That I am not desirous to claim originality for second- hand quotations, will, I think, sufficiently appear from the note in my Outlines referred to., where I have expressly acknow- ledged my obligations to Prichard's Egyptian Mythology, instead of citing directly the passages from Lipsius and Cen- sorinus, which I might readily have done. It was in fact our common citations from Prichard's work which most strongly persuaded me that Mr. Lyell had copied from me. That two independent authors should apply exactly in the same manner, and in the same connection, to geological subjects, the same extracts from a work on a subject by no means of universal interest, and altogether alien to geology (the argument of Prichard relating entirely to mythological cosmogony), ap- peared to me extremely improbable ; and I think those who examine the phaenomena of the case cannot consider my sus- picion unnatural. At the same time if Mr. Lyell will state in express words (which he does not appear to me to have done in his late notice) that the coincidence was really accidental, I shall be most happy to apologize for having used the ex- pression ironically ; on the other hand, if he was in any de- gree led to the materials of his chapter from my previous statements, I trust he will feel that an acknowledgement would have been more friendly. There are only two points incidentally introduced on which I have to observe : first, with regard to my quotation from Strabo. I am inexpressibly surprised that Mr. Lyell should consider it as altogether unconnected with the passage to which he has referred. Strabo concludes the general argu- ment, which Mr. Lyell has so ably condensed, by alleging certain Mr. S. Sharpe on the tidelike Wave of Lake Ontario. 117 certain examples to illustrate and confirm his views. " In or- der," says he, " to render less wonderful and incredible the re- volutions which we have just stated to be the causes of the deluges and the like catastrophes which have been mentioned at the Lipari Islands, &c., it is worth while to produce for comparison yet more examples of the like nature which exist or have happened in other places." Strabo, vol. i. p. 83, 84. ed. Ox. One of the first examples thus introduced (at the top of the very next page) is the case of the volcanic elevation of the country about Methone, which I have myself quoted : under these circumstances, it certainly appears to me per- fectly impossible for any one to have carefully verified my quotation, in the connection in which it stands, without being necessarily conducted to the general argument abridged by Mr. Lyell, of which as an illustration it certainly does form an essential part. I should have been quite at a loss to con- ceive how I could myself, as I have done, make this singular omission, did not Mr. Lyell now suggest a cause, by showing that the passage had been before quoted by Raspe; from whom, therefore, I candidly confess that I now suppose I must have taken it at second-hand, without even the trouble of verifica- tion. All I remember is, that I copied the reference from a note in my common-place book. My carelessness has been rightly corrected, by occasioning me to overlook by far the most important passage in the whole range of classical anti- quity, with reference to geology ; — a passage which has been now so ably put forward by Mr. Lyell, from whose merit I willingly confess it will little detract, whether or no he may have been originally led to it in the process of verifying Raspe's or my previous quotation. The last observation I have to make is on Mr. LyelPs re- mark, that I have represented the ancients as proceeding in the priori road rather than by induction ; which is grounded, I believe, on my having given an example in which Aristotle certainly has done so. XXI. On the tidelike Wave of Lake Ontario. By SAMUEL SHARPE, Esq. F.G.S.* TN a late Number of the Philosophical Magazine is a paper 1 by Dr. Bigsby, on the Lake Ontario, in which he slightly mentions the tidelike wave on the lake, but only in such a manner as to make us wish for further information. * Communicated by the Author. The 1 1 8 Mr. S. Sharpe on the tidelike Wave of Lake Ontario. The observations he records are : 1st, Observed by Mr. Gourlay; at the Whirpool there was a tide of three feet every four or five minutes. 2ndly, by Dr. Bigsby; a mile below the Whirlpool there was a flux and reflux of a foot every three or four minutes. 3rdly, by Mr. Gourlay, confirmed by Dr. Bigsby; atQueen- ston Wharf, on the river Niagara, there was a constant ebbing and flowing of one foot in a minute. 4-tlily, Related by Mr. Gourlay on the report of others, that the tide of Nappanee took fifty minutes to flow and a hundred minutes to ebb. Now if we suppose these undulations to be caused by the wind, and that like water in a basin, when it is highest on one side it is lowest on 'the other, the distance from shore to shore will be similar to half the space between the tops of two waves in the ocean, and having the distance given, we may by com- parison with the pendulum learn the time of undulation. As the first and second observations were made at different times, though at the same place, the wind had probably been blowing with different force, which accounts for the disagree- ment in the height to which the waves rose ; and might have been blowing in different directions ; in one case more along the lake, and in the other more across it, which might account for the difference of the time. Let us compare these two observations with the theory, neglecting the last two, which were made at different places ; the third being on the river, which will account for the shorter intervals between the flux and reflux ; and as there is no ob- vious reason for the longer period of the fourth observation, we may perhaps be allowed to think it less accurate, as being related at third hand. Making d = the distance from shore to shore, p = the length of a seconds pendulum 39*11 inches, t = the time between high- and low-water, we have by Newton's Princip. II. 4-6. d .<* 8> and taking d, first = 171* miles the extreme length of the lake, we have / = 6T2^j minutes. And again, d, as a minimum, at the average breadth of the lake, = 35 miles, we have t = 2-j% minutes. These are the longest and shortest periods that can be al- lowed for the undulation ; and as the first and second obser- vations are within these extremes, they agree as nearly with the theory as can be expected without further details. These Observations on the Origin and History of the Bushmen. 119 These remarks are offered with the hope that they may be the means of drawing out more information on the subject from those of your readers who have opportunities of making similar observations either on our own lakes or on those of other countries. XXII. Observations relative to the Origin and History of the Bushmen. By ANDREW SMITH, M.D. M.W.S. fyc.* rT^HAT the genuine Hottentot, at least in an uncivilized •*• state, will doubtless ere long only be known to us through the pages of history, is a position tenable, upon the rapid decay of the race, its intermixture with other varieties, and the gradual extension of civilized life; all now in active pro- gress, having a strong tendency to produce the state, and hurry on to the period in anticipation. This apparent certainty of the approaching extinction, of at least the savage portion of the race, points out the present as the latest stage calculated for observing and recording information concerning the pe- culiarities of their character and organization, which nature herself will soon cease to supply, and declares that every, even the most trifling, advance to this point will be something gained for posterity. Under such impressions the following remarks are offered to the notice of the Institution, not so much from their being adapted to supply the numerous wants, as for calling attention to the subject, and eliciting from others the various and requisite details. The Aborigines of South Africa, under whatever local names they may have passed, or still do pass, according to the special tribes to which they may have belonged or do yet belong, will be found to have consisted, and still to consist, only of two distinct races, namely, those of the Hottentot and Caffer. The first of these, or that which from the circumstances above alluded to has the greatest claim upon our immediate attention, was, and to a certain extent is, even now divided into distinct tribes or hordes; each having its own distinctive appellation, and, more or less, governed by its own laws. Amongst those, one division has always held, and still con- tinues to hold, a most conspicuous position, and has ever been proverbial with the rest, on account of its troublesome character and universally outrageous conduct. To this the other tribes, as well as its own members, apply the name of A * tf * From the South African Quarterly Journal, No. II. page 171 Saap 120 Dr. Smith's Observations relative to the Saap or Saan ; and history describes a portion thereof under the appellation of Bushmen, to which, as a subdivision of the former, the following remarks are intended to apply. The term Bushman, or more properly Bosjiesman, is of Dutch origin, and commonly employed at present by the colonists to designate a native of the wild and savage tribes residing immediately beyond the northern boundary of the colony, and supporting themselves either by plunder or the spontaneous productions of nature. The time when such communities began to exist must ever remain a matter of conjecture, yet it is certain that they occurred at an early period; for we find that the histories of such hordes are familiar to the better disposed Hottentots even far in advance of the colony, and stated by them to have existed from time immemorial. Considering the manner in which their num- bers are at present occasionally increased, we may, without much danger of error, attribute their origin partly to the consequences of war and poverty, and partly to the association of characters whom crime induced to seek a refuge in the desert, or the habits of a better state of society expelled from its haunts. In very early times the part of the country now known to us as the chief resort of the Bushmen was more densely populated than at present, and the outrages and violences perpetrated by its inhabitants were, according to tradition, even more frequent and horrible than they now are. In such days also, the barren districts lying between the Oli- phant and Groone Rivers, now a long way within the boundary of the colony, together with various other spots near the west- ern coast, were peopled by such characters; and the Great Karoo, as well as the country about the Camptoes River, were likewise at one period the retreats of persons like those in question. The belief of such having been the case is founded partly upon the traditions of the older Hottentots; partly upon the statements of the writer of the Diary of a Journey made by Governor Simon van der Stell, to the country of the Amaquas *, and partly upon the authority of a document quoted by the Rev. Dr. Philipf, which furnishes evidence, showing that in the year 1702 a party of armed Boors reached as far as the last-named district, and found there " no kraals, except hordes of Bushmen." Besides such * " Beschryvinge van de Kaap der Goede Hoope, door Francois Valen- tyn,1' p. 6, Amsterdam, l?26j or translation in the South African Quarterly Journal, vol. i. p. 39 et seq. f Researches in South Africa, by the Rev. John Philip, D.D. vol. i. p. 37. real Origin and History of the Bushmen. 121 real and presumptive proofs of their ancient existence in various situations, we also find them in the present clay scattered over all the deserts of Great Namaqualand and the Butchuana country*, and observing there a similar line of conduct towards the Hottentots, Damaras, and Gaffers, in their vicinity, that those within reach of the colony do towards its inhabitants. All such have certainly anything but a tendency to support the opinion entertained by not a few, that the tribes in question were originally called into existence through the outrages of the colonists; and though I am ready to admit that very great oppressions have been extended to the natives by the white population, yet it is impossible to allow, with such facts before us, that the latter were in any way instrumental in giving origin to a peculiar community of individuals, which there is every reason to believe existed long before European influence approached even the confines of their country. Though justice induces me thus to object to such a cause as that assigned, yet at the same time I am quite prepared to admit that the malpractices referred to by the advocates of that opinion, have had doubtless considerable share in aug- menting the number, — believing that whatever tends to create poverty, is calculated for producing and likely to produce Bushmen, wherever Hottentots occur. Instead then of as- cribing the origin of such to an individual, a recent and a limited cause, 1 would rather venture to attribute it to influ- ences which operated of old, as well as still continue to ope- rate,—namely, poverty and crime. The former I would re- gard as having been, and as still being, the most productive ; the latter as the most odious and dangerous : the first, as hav- ing been, as well as being, the consequence of misfortune, but more frequently of imprudence ; the last, as now and then the result of accident, but more generally of mental depravity; and both, as having operated and as still operating in many parts of South Africa, in producing and increasing the num- bers of the tribes under consideration. The majority of the Bushmen population, according to the restricted sense in which the term is here to be understood, consists of pure Hottentots; and the remainder of blacks, either the offspring of an intercourse with the former and other coloured persons, or else the actual outcasts of other * Mr. Anderson, who was some time a Missionary amongst the Corannas, when speaking of a spot near the Orange River, says, " The Coronnas occupied this place; they are hy no means so numerous as the Boschesman, who are every where to be found from east to west in the Briqualand." — Transactions of the Missionary Society, vol. iii. p. 54. .V. 5. Vol. 9. No. 50. Feb. 1831. R races 122 Dr. Smith's Observations relative to the races themselves. The number of inhabitants is small, com- pared with the great extent of country over which they are scattered, and which consists of the whole of that extensive plain lying between the northern boundary of the colony — the Kamiesberg range of mountains, and the confines of the Orange River. The distribution of the population varies according to the season of the year, the supply of game, and the relation of the tribes to the surrounding inhabitants. In situations where nature is liberal of productions convertible to the support of man, something like small communities are occasionally met with; but in places again, where food is scanty, or water defective, it is rare to find more than one or at least two families together; and those having little or no intercourse with their neighbours, unless when self-defence, or the spoils of some marauding expedition bring them for a time into contact. The fact of their being usually dispersed in such small parties when friendly and well disposed, and of their associating in hordes or troops when projecting and executing mischief, or enjoying the spoils often consequent upon that, frequently furnishes the farmer with a fair guide for judging of their views, and often enables him to discover the retreat of thieves, where those themselves had in the first instance escaped detection. The little intercourse which they thus have with each other, and the absence of almost every kind of property, render them quite strangers to the great objects of laws, and con- sequently unconscious of the benefits of a regular Government. They have, therefore, really either hereditary or permanently elected rulers; and few, if any, of them are disposed to acknow- ledge any superiority, except that which physical strength may secure. In situations where a temporary leader is advan- tageous, and which they consider as only so in war or the chace, they unconsciously give place in the former to the bravest and most dexterous, and in the latter to the most ex- perienced and cunning. They have no established laws by which offences are tried, nor determined punishments by which aggressions are avenged; every individual is his own lawgiver, and every crime is punished according to the caprice of the sufferer, or the relative positions and relations of the impli- cated parties. The absence of everything like system ren- ders punishments amongst them very unequal, and often ex- tremely disproportionate to the crimes they are employed to retribute. It permits injuries of the highest order often to be inflicted with impunity, and others of the most insignifi- cant character to be visited with the most hideous vengeance; yet, Origin and History of the Bushmen. 123 yet, nevertheless, such is the satisfaction of all with their present circumstances, in relation to such points, that they cannot be persuaded that it is better to be governed and pro- tected by acknowledged and constituted regulations, than be subject to the varying whims of every mind. The Hottentot Bushman presents most of the physical characters of the race as exemplified in other situations, and the mixed description, according to circumstances, exhibits more or less of the appearances of the Negro or Caffer. In size and strength, the former is at the very least equal to the Hottentot elsewhere, and is certainly not, as has been generally affirmed, of inferior stature to the members of the savage tribes by whom he is partially surrounded. All have an expression of acuteness and energy beyond that of their coloured neigh- bours, and a gait and activity peculiarly striking. Their eyes bespeak a habit of watchfulness and scrutiny particularly characteristic, and their demeanour indicates a constant habit of apprehension and fear. They appear to survey every stranger as if an actual enemy, and only waiting a favourable opportunity to injure them; and they do not, until after very considerable intercourse, appear easy in such company. This evidently arises from a consciousness of their offences, and a conviction that their habits and general conduct towards all other nations or tribes are of such a character as warrant anything but the kindness or friendship of strangers. On several occasions I endeavoured to convince them that the Cape Government and the fanners were, in spite of all the depredations and murders they had committed on the colo- nists, yet inclined to deal liberally with them ; but in none of these attempts did I perceive the slightest disposition to give a credence to these assurances, but a distinct persuasion that such was not the case, or rather, could not be so, considering their own aggressions ; and therefore must be only a pretence employed with a view to deceive them. The dictates of their own hearts, perhaps, never lead them to forgive an injury, so Unit it is only a conviction or belief of inability that induces them occasionally to forego a punishment ; and as they are in the habit of feeling and acting in relation to others, they naturally fancy others must be in regard to them. Hence arises the necessity of being acquainted with the characters and views of ^savages, in order to be able to judge how far principles fitted for the management of nations stored with botli civil and moral knowledge are suitable for such as are, in a great measure, strangers to either; and, consequently, without the very means necessary to enable them to compre- hend the more abstruse and complicated rules and regulations R 2 calcu- 1 24- Dr. Smith's Observations relative to the calculated for the guidance of man in a state of actual civili- zation. Most Bushmen pertinaciously avoid every communication with foreigners, and resort to the most unfrequented and inaccessible spots, upon the actual or even supposed approach thereof. They are deeply versed in deceit, and treacherous in the extreme, being always prepared to effect by guile and perfidy what they otherwise are unable to accomplish*. Such treachery, however, though glaringly conspicuous, appears certainly to be resorted to more as a means suggested by rea- son and observation, to compensate for the inequality that ex- ists between them and their more powerful neighbours, than to proceed from the operation of abstract vicious and disho- nourable principles. They are, therefore, not divested of that which under other circumstances such attainments would give reason to suspect, — namely, personal bravery. That, all of them enjoy in a very distinguished degree, and display in no mean proportion in every situation, but more especially when opposed to powers adventitious to those of their own tribes, and upon whom they have been led from infancy to look with impressions of horror, detestation, and dread. Though well aware of the inferiority of their own weapons, when compared with fire-arms, yet when they discover that it is necessary to oppose the latter, they manifest a remarkable degree of courage, and a perseverance and coolness which only the absence of fear could enable them to support. On such occasions, instances have been known of individuals who have had their left arms completely disabled, employ their toes to fix their bows, so as to be able to continue their defence; and many have been observed to persevere in re- sistance, after being wounded or maimed in such a way as to occasion almost immediate dissolution. Such violent opposi- tion, and often absurd inflexibility, appear to be excited partly by the influence of their unconquerable passions, and partly by the dread they entertain of falling into the power of enemies, whom they believe as certain either to destroy them at the in- stant, or convert them into slaves. The coolness and indif- ference with which almost the whole of the Hottentot race re- gard the approach of death, has often been commented upon; * The Rev. Mr. Kicherer, a Missionary, who laboured for some time amongst the Bushmen, at a station on the Zak River, says — "Another sin- gular escape from death deserves to be recorded. In the evening of a day which was uncommonly sultry, I was sitting near an open window, when a concealed party of Boschmen were just about to discharge a volley of poi- soned arrows at me ; but, by the same girl who saved the life of Brother Kramer from the danger of Vigilant, they were detected, and made off in haste." — Transactions of the Missionary Society, vol. ii. p. 21. and Origin and History of the Bushmen. 125 and though it must be acknowledged to be strongly marked in all of them, yet from what I have myself seen as well as heard, I feel disposed to consider it as most conspicuous amongst the Bushmen. These, though they show an inclination to escape where danger is imminent, yet if they find that not to be ac- complished with facility, they encounter their fate with scarcely the appearance of reluctance or concern; they yield up their lives without the slightest semblance of fear, and even view the approach of death with so little emotion, as almost to in- cline one to deny them the feelings of reasonable beings. As one example of such hardihood, I may instance the murderer of the late Mr. Trelfall, who, at the time^ when the executioners were in front of him, and ready with their weapons to inflict the punishment which his barbarous conduct so imperiously demanded, observed, in reference to some part of a person's conduct who was present, and which displeased him, that he only wished he had him — the offensive person — on the other side, (meaning of the Orange River,) and that he would do for him also. Cruelty is familiar to the Bushmen in its most shock i no- forms, and is exercised without remorse upon all such as, under untoward circumstances, fall within their reach. The love of revenge is one of the strongest feelings to which they are obnoxious; it urges often to the most barbarous proceedings, and induces to outrages of the most hideous character, merely to satisfy momentary irritation, or the ranklings of a long- fostered malice. Under such ascendancies, pitiable is the in- dividual who falls within their power, as he is certain of being subjected to the most agonizing tortures while life exists, and to mutilations and disfigurations the most intolerable to sym- pathy, and appalling to observation, at the very latest, the moment that has fled. Their eagerness after retribution is so urgent, as to render it a matter of indifference on whom it is practised, provided the sufferer be believed to be of the same country as the individual or individuals who may have injured or annoyed them, and in this way the innocent are constantly made to suffer for the guilty. From what I have been able to observe, as to their inclina- tion towards cruelty and revenge, I almost feel disposed to consider such as peculiarly vigorous in the Bushmen, more especially as I have on many occasions seen both of them ex- ercised towards their own relations, with as much rancour as they could be towards strangers; and several instances have come within my own knowledge, where parents were destroyed by their own children, as well as examples of the most decided inhumanity of the former to their offspring, both of which were Observations on the Origin and History of the Bushmen. were boasted of by themselves and lauded by their compa- nions*. The passion of anger has amazing influence over them, and numerous are the cases in which lives are destroyed while under its ascendancy. Such constant and unlimited submission to momentary feelings, disposes them to act almost constantly upon the impulse first received, and deprives them of the benefit of that consideration and reflection requisite to discover consequences beyond their immediate effects. Such total want of thought induces them to act with the greatest indiscretion, and tutors their minds for only the concerns of the moment: hence the idea of futurity seldom gives them uneasiness; and the prospects of tomorrow, or a time to corn e, are to them no subjects of importance. If they can only enjoy the passing hour, that is all they look for, and in doing that, they are often so much wrapt up in indifference to everything else, that they not unfrequently neglect the precautions which in their situations are necessary for their existence and pre- servation, which decided indiscretion necessarily renders them subject to much uncertainty in regard to the means of sub- sistence; and while it paves the way to abundance at one time, equally ensures want and scarcity at another. In mixed society, the Bushmen are less talkative and fro- licksome than other Hottentots, which appears to arise from their want of confidence in persons of any community, save of their own. Unlike others of their race, who unheedingly enjoy themselves in all societies, and in every situation, they exhibit signs of constant uneasiness and watchfulness; and instead of receiving with pleasure and cordiality the jokes of their associates, they seem to experience annoyance therefrom, and almost an inclination to acts of resentment, They are capricious in the extreme, and uncertain in every situation, and it is not without explanation that many of their proceed- ings can appear accountable to strangers. They are notoriously patient of toil, and vigorous in a very * They take no great care of their children, and never correct them except in a fit of rage, when they almost kill them with severe usage. In a quarrel between father and mother, or the several wives of a husband, the defeated party wreaks his or her revenge on the child of the conqueror, which in general loses its life. Tame Hottentots seldom destroy their off- spring, except in a fit of passion; but the Boschemen will kill their children without remorse on various occasions ; as when they are ill-shaped ; when they are in want of food; when the father of a child has forsaken its mother ; or when obliged to flee from the farmers or others, in which case they will strangle them, smother them, cast them away in the desert, or bury them alive. There are instances of parents throwing their tender offspring to the hungry lion, who stands roaring before their cavern, refusing to depart till some peace-offering be made to him. — Kicherer in Transactions of the Missionary Society, vol. ii. p. 8. high Mr. Sturgeon's Account of an Aurora Borealis. 127 high degree; and so accustomed are they to exercise of an active description, that their swiftness becomes remarkable, and their power of continuing it truly astonishing, being such as to enable most of them to keep pace with horses even for days in succession, and often to drive off cattle with more celerity than pursuers can follow. The disposition to laziness so decidedly characteristic of the more regular Hottentots, is equally developed in the Bushmen ; and were it not the ab- solute necessity of daily exertion to procure the scanty means of subsistence, they would doubtless pass their time in indolent practices similar to those pursued where resources are more certain and productive. The continual use to which they apply the eyes and ears, not only as means of discovering their food, but also as useful agents in self-preservation, renders their senses of seeing and hearing amazingly acute, and capable of furnishing a degree of assistance quite unknown to the inhabitants of quiet and civilized countries. In situations where the eye is unavailable, it is wonderful with what certainty and readiness the ear directs to an object; and again where distance renders sound inaudible, the eye often operates with a precision and force which a person who has never witnessed the like would scarcely be disposed to credit. By the latter alone, they will often discern with distinctness what others require a telescope to distinguish, and discover the nature and appearances of particular objects, when persons less versed in observation would scarcely be able to perceive the figures themselves. [To be continued.] XXIII. An Account of an Aurora Borealis observed at Wool- wick on the Night of January 7th> 1831. By MR. WIL- LIAM STURGEON. A BEAUTIFUL display of the aurora borealis was ob- ^ served at this place on Friday night, Jan. 7th, 1831. The aurora commenced with the evening, and was very distinctly seen at about half-past five o'clock, exhibiting an arch of faint yellowish light, bordering a dense black area, which was bounded by the arch and the northern horizon. The aurora became more brilliant as the evening advanced and got darker, darting occasional faint flashes of light upwards from the bright and comparatively steady luminous curve. About half-past six a second, and apparently concentric, bright arch made its appearance at a greater altitude than the former, and conti- nued nearly the whole time of the remainder of the display. These 128 Mr. W. Sturgeon's Account of an Aurora Dorcalis These two arches of light were frequently, after this time, very badly defined, ever varying in breadth, and softening gradually into shade, particularly at their convex edges, by the lambent streamers which gently played into the partially illuminated expanse above. These soft gliding streams seemed in conti- nual play between the bright arches, flashing from the convex edge of the lower or innermost, and sometimes blending the two curves into one confused light, but never to that extent as to obliterate the distinction of the two luminous arche-, which the eye could always trace by the superior refulgence of their light. Between nine and ten o'clock the altitude of the superior arch advanced from 20° to about 24°, but never ascended higher than that point. The inner, or inferior, arch advanced at the same time, and apparently in the same pro- portion, so that the same distance (about 10°) between the two curves of strongest light, was nearly, perhaps exactly , pre- served during the whole time. The extremities of these arches never completely reached the horizon, but were gradually lost in a dark gloom, resembling an exceedingly dense fog, al- though the atmosphere in every other part was perfectly clear. This appearance was particularly remarked on the eastern limbs, which were lost at various altitudes. The western limbs of the bright curves could not be so distinctly traced at the place where these observations were made, on account of their mixing with the reflected light in the atmosphere, of the burning gas in London, which, at Woolwich, is always seen, in the night, as a bright cloud hovering over the metropolis. About nine o'clock I called on Mr. Barlow, to inform him of the aurora. Mr. B., however, had seen it all the evening. I remarked before I left him, that the centre of the aurora in the horizon was considerably to the west of the north, and near to the magnetic meridian, a circumstance which he had already observed. I immediately returned home, and having a very delicately suspended magnetic needle, I placed it in a suitable situation for observation, and so far neutralized the magnetism of the earth, as to leave no more power acting on the needle than was barely sufficient to arrange it in the mag- netic meridian. I observed this needle, at intervals of two or three minutes, during the remainder of the display of the au- rora, but never detected the slightest change in its direction, nor was its repose in the least disturbed by any influence which I could ascribe to that phenomenon.* At half-past nine the aurora increased in splendour, and shot its beautiful broad streamers upwards, as radii, from the * See our " Intelligence," in the present Number. external observed at Woolwich on the Night of Jan. 7th, 1831. J29 external luminous bow nearly to the zenith. At a quarter before ten, an immense faint stream of light kindled in the eastern extremity of the external bow, and flashed directly between the two large stars in the tail of Ursa Major, and in one moment described an arch of 100°. This streamer was not undulatory, but advanced gradually and steadily, leaving the whole of its track, for about a minute, in a steady glow of faint light : it then languished in every part, at nearly the same moment, gliding into still fainter light, and soon became entirely lost. About this time faint undulatory streams of light sprang from various parts of the central aurora, and sometimes broad streaks of wavering light were seen glowing in the black area near the horizon. These latter displays, however, were not frequent, but on account of the contrasting blackness with which they were surrounded, appeared more brilliant than those flashes which occurred on the upper skirts of the aurora. At a quarter past ten, beautiful streamers were seen kind- ling upon the western limb of the superior arch of the aurora, some of which instantly expanded into an attenuated light, which became extinct at a short distance from the point of their origin ; whilst others, more permanent and brilliant in their display, stretched forth to an amazing distance in the heavens, and extended their lambent glow to beyond the planet Mars ; but, like those which had before measured a vast arch of the heavens from the eastern limb, they in a few mo- ments vanished for ever. Soon after these displays of extensive streamers, there seemed a steady pause, as if the electrical powers which gave them birth had become partially exhausted. The steady light of the two concentric arches, with a few faint flashes about their edges, were the only traces of the aurora. The cessation however was not of long duration, but the interval gave time for reflection. The night was calm and serene, not a breeze ruffled its repose, nor a cloud curtained any part of the hea- vens, save that dense black speck which seemed as a nucleus to the whole display of the aurora borealis. The atmosphere was cold and frosty, and the stars shone in all their splendour and glory. On turning towards the south, the spectacle pre- sented to the eye was truly grand and imposing, and formed a most beautiful and striking contrast with the phenomena dis- playing in the north. Taurus had passed the meridian, pre- ceded by the planet Mars, and Orion was now mounting the throne of night ; refulgent Sirius blazed in the south-east of the stellar train, and enhanced the splendour and solemnity of the scene. In one part of the heavens was displaying the N.S. Vol. 9. No. 50. Feb. 1831. S quivering 130 Mr. W. Sturgeon's Account of an Aurora Borealis. quivering blaze of a transient aurora ; in another, the sparkling light and steady march of a transcendent starry host : in the north, a splendid exhibition for the contemplation of the Elec- trician ; in the south, those glorious orbs which are the objects of the Astronomer's research. About half-past ten the eastern limb of the aurora again shot forth immensely broad streaks of light, with intervening dense shades. These streamers soon expanded, and mixing with each other presented a steady uniform field of light. Other similar streamers darted upwards from the western limb, and expand- ing like the former heightened the illumination, which now extended to nearly half the concave of the heavens. The light vanished gradually, and was succeeded by faint streamers of much less magnitude. The dark space below the inner arch was now, for a short time, well defined by the bright glow round its upper edge ; but it soon became confused and irregu- lar. At eleven a streak of bright light, like a yellowish cloud, stretched horizontally towards the east. In one moment after a streamer kindled at its eastern extremity, and shot gradually upwards; passed the meridian, and terminated in a very faint light between Aldebaran and the Pleiades. About this time the undulatory streamers became beautiful and grand, playing in every part of the northern heavens to nearly the zenith, and on each side of the meridian to about the north-east and north- west points. Some bright coruscations occasionally flashed in this part of the display, and gave to it an exceedingly inter- esting appearance. A few moments dispersed these corus- cations, which were succeeded by a diffused faint light. The dense central darkness now suddenly disappeared, and a bright light illuminated the northern horizon, for the first time since the setting of the sun. A dark broad streak soon stretched obliquely downwards, from east to west, nearly through the centre of the aurora, and bright coruscations flashed in rapid succession from its upper edge. About a quarter-past eleven the dark central speck again ap- peared, and some very bright streamers ascended from various parts of its upper or convex edge, which, as before, was now bordered by a bright steady light. Coruscations frequently about this time reached to between the pointers in Ursa Major ; they soon became very faint, and were succeeded by a dull steady light. At half-past eleven the streamers became less frequent, the dense nucleus was ill defined, and the whole display began to languish. A bright curved light however, with occasional ascending lambent streams, continued to direct to the general Centre of the aurora, which now appeared to approximate closer Notices respecting New Books. closer to the north point than in an earlier part of the display. The centre of the dark nucleus, however, was, from first to last, west of the north, and very near to the magnetic meridian. From twelve o'clock nothing occurred worthy of remark : the splendour of the aurora gradually declined, and at two on Saturday morning it had totally vanished. I observed, during the whole of the night, that the streamers, besides the vertical direction in which they generally shot, had also a horizontal motion from east to west; so that in what- ever part of the aurora a streamer was kindled, it travelled slowly towards the west, or towards the left hand of a spec- tator facing the north. It frequently happened that several were lighted up in rapid succession, each of which was always west of the preceding one. A meteoric star, which traversed the aurora about ten o'clock, also fell sloping in the same direction. Artillery Place, Woolwich, W. STURGEON. Jan. 10, 1831. N.B. On Saturday night (Jan. 8th) the aurora was again visible. 1 saw it about ten o'clock. It exhibited no corusca- tions, nor any flashes whatever. The only display was a broad arch of light, bordering the upper edge of a black area of the heavens in the north, and similarly situated to that which ap- peared the preceding night. At eleven o'clock no trace of the aurora was to be seen. XXIV. Notices respecting New Books. Sections and Views illustrative of Geological Phenomena. By H. T. DE LA BECHE, Esq.. F.R.S. F.G.S. Treuttel and Wurtz : London, 1830. NOTHING is so much calculated to facilitate the study of geo- logy as the representation of its phenomena through the me- dium of coloured views, sections and maps. Mr. De la Beche is known to our readers as the author of many valuable contributions to the Geological department of our Journal ; and the taste and skill with which he has applied his talent of draw- ing to illustrate the phenomena of geology have, for some time past, contributed to enrich the Transactions of the Geological So- ciety of London. His large tabular and proportional view of the superior, supermedial, and medial rocks, published a few years since, has entitled him to the gratitude of every student in geology ; and we hail the appearance of the work before us as a more exten- sive contribution of a similar kind, tending, more than any other publication that has yet appeared, to render easy and familiar many of the most difficult and complicated phenomena of the original S 2 structure 1 32 Notices respecting New Booh. structure of the earth's surface ; and also of the violent changes and physical revolutions by which it has been disturbed. It has been the object of the author to convey his information through the medium of 40 plates, accompanied by brief descriptions. The number and size of these plates are such as it would have been im- possible to publish at the price affixed to the volume, had they not been almost all lithographed by the author himself. Mr. De la Beche appears to have had a twofold object in this work: 1st, to present correct sections and views of the most re- markable geological facts that have been observed in various parts of the world ; 2ndly, to point out the importance of observing ac- curate proportions in these miniature representations of natural pheenomena. He disavows all intention of supporting any theory that has been yet advanced, conceiving that none has yet been published which is competent to solve the many difficult and com- plicated problems presented by geology. But whilst he is the ad- vocate of no theory, he points out the errors and unsoundness of many, especially of that fundamental article of the Huttonian theory, which attributes the excavation of valleys to the action of rain-water and of rivers that now flow through them ; — many of his sections represent facts which it is impossible to reconcile with such a theory. In his preface, he quotes from M. Boblaye the case of the valley of the Meuse, showing that if it had cut its own bed, it must have run up hill at least 300 yards to form its present channel through the Ardennes, instead of passing into the basin of the Seine over barriers not exceeding 30 or 40 yards in height. The Sections and Views are selected from numerous works through which they are scattered; and in collecting his facts together from these various sources, the author has endeavoured to exhibit their relations to one another, and to the whole earth, and to concentrate their force in pointing towards conclusions which may hereafter be fully established by induction from more numerous particulars. Besides the sections derived from other authorities in published works (chiefly the Geological Transactions), the author gives some new and unpublished sections made by himself in different countries. We subjoin one or two examples of his method of showing the value of proportional sections. — In Plate 1. are represented two pa- rallel columns, or vertical sections, one showing the thickness of all the strata that occur in Yorkshire, from the chalk descending to the carboniferous limestone (inclusive) ; the other showing the thickness of the same strata in Wilts and Somerset: thus, at once presenting to the eye the relative proportions of the same deposits in the Northern and Southern extremities of England. In PI. 2. he re- presents on a true scale the exact outline of the Alps from the Jura Mountains across the Lake of Geneva, and Mont Blanc to Italy, and contrasts these real representations with the false and carica- tured figures which are usually given in geological sections. A further example of the value of accurate measurement is pointed out in PI. 40 ; where he exhibits the relative proportion which the highest Royal Society. 133 highest mountains bear to the radius of the earth, and also the re- lation which the body of the earth itself bears to the sun. Measured by such a scale, the highest peaks of the Himalah appear utterly insignificant, and the greatest disturbances which have affected the surface of our planet seem too small and trifling to produce any appreciable effect upon the great mass of the interior of the earth. Figures of this nature, as the author observes, give more correct and definite ideas of the relative value of things than can be con- veyed by voluminous pages of description, unaccompanied by drawings that represent their true proportions. XXV. Proceedings of Learned Societies. ROYAL SOCIETY. 1830. A PAPER was read, entitled, Researches in Physical Dec. 16. — -flL Astronomy ; by John William Lubbock, Esq. V.P. and Treasurer of the Royal Society. The author has shown in a former paper, published in the last part of the Philosophical Transactions for 1830, that the stability of a system of bodies subject to the law of gravitation, is always preserved, provided they move in a space absolutely devoid of re- sistance. This conclusion results from the analytical expressions for the variations of the elliptic constants in the theory of the Planetary Motions. In the present paper he extends his researches to the problem of the precession of the Equinoxes, which admits of a similar solution to the former. Of the six constants which determine the position of the revolving body, and the axis of instantaneous rotation, at any instant, three have only periodic inequalities ; while the other three have each a term which varies as the time; but from the manner in which these constants enter into the resulting expressions, the equi- librium of the system may be inferred to be stable, as in the former case. By the stability of the system, the author wishes to be un- derstood to mean that the pole of the axis of rotation has always nearly the same geographical latitude, and that the angular velocity of rotation, and the obliquity of the ecliptic vary within small limits ; and that its variation is periodical. The author also gives new methods of obtaining the inequalities of longitude, and the radius vector, in the planetary theory, retain- ing the square of the eccentricities. When only the first powers of the eccentricities are retained, these expressions admit of sim- plification. He subjoins, as a numerical example, the calcula- tion of the coefficients of two of the inequalities of longitude in the theory of Jupiter disturbed by Saturn ; and points out the requisite substitutions for rendering the formulae applicable to the case of a superior planet disturbed by an inferior planet. Dec. 23. — A paper was read, On the Hour Lines of the Ancients; by W. A. Cadell, Esq. F.R.S. The hour lines on the sundials of the ancient Greeks and Romans correspond 134- Royal Society. correspond to the division of the time between sun-rise nd sun-set into twelve equal parts, which was their mode of computing time. An example of these hour lines occurs in an ancient Greek sundial, forming part of the Elgin collection of marbles at the British Mu- seum, and which there is reason to believe had been constructed during the reign of the Antonines. This dial contains the twelve hour lines drawn on two vertical planes, which are inclined to each other at an angle of 106° ; the line bisecting that angle having been in the meridian. The hour lines actually traced on the dial consist of such portions only as were requisite for the purpose the dial was intended to serve : and these portions are sensibly straight lines. But the author has shown, in a paper published in the Trans- actions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, that if these lines are continued through the whole zone of the rising and setting semidi- urnal arcs, they will be found to be curves of double curvature on the sphere. In the present paper the author enters into an inves- tigation of the course of these curves ; first selecting as an example the lines indicating the 3rd and the 9th hours of the ancients. These lines are formed by the points of bisection of all the rising and setting semidiurnal arcs ; commencing from the southern point where the meridian cuts the horizon, and proceeding till the line reaches to the first of the always apparent parallels, which being a complete circle, it meets at the end of its first quadrant. At this point the branch of another and similar curve is continuous with it : namely, a curve which in its course bisects another set of semi- diurnal arcs, belonging to a place situated on the same parallel of latitude as the first, but distant from it 180° in longitude. Conti- nuing to trace the course of this curve, along its different branches, we find it at last returning into itself, the whole curve being charac- terised by four points of flexure. If the describing point be consi- dered as the extremity of a radius, it will be found that this radius has described, in its revolution, a conical surface with two opposite undulations above, and two below the equator. The right section of this cone presents two opposite hyperbolas between asymptotes which cross one another at right angles. This cone varies in its breadth in different positions of the sphere : diminishing as the la- titude of the place increases. The cones to which the other ancient hour lines belong, are of the same description, having undulations alternately above and below the equator; but they differ from one another in the number of the undulations: and some of these require more than one revolution to complete their surface. The properties of the cones and lines thus generated, may be rendered evident by drawing the sections of the cones on the sphere, in perspective, either on a cylindrical or on a plane surface : several examples of which are given in the paper. ___ GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Dec. 15. — A paper was first read, entitled, An Explanatory Sketch of a Geological Map of Transylvania, by Dr. Ami Boue", For. Mem. G.S. The author premises that this sketch, having been written before his specimens Geological Society. 135 specimens were unpacked, is necessarily incomplete, both from that cause and from various impediments which obstructed his observa- tions. Transylvania is described as being chiefly occupied by a high tertiary basin, surrounded by four chains of mountains, viz.: 1. On the south by the primary range of Wallachia or Taganrasch. 2. On the west by another primary range, usually omitted by geographers; and connected with a high calcareous chain near Kronstedt, and a ridge of Carpathian sandstone near the pass Oytosch. 3. By the trachytic hills separating the low tertiary and saliferous districts from the great valley of the Secklerland. 4. By a large group of conical porphyritic hills, with metalliferous summits, ranging by Korosch Banya, Zala- thria, Vorospatak, &c. Many of these hills are stated to average from 3000 to 4000 feet in height, and the highest peaks to exceed 6000 feet. The author, describing the course of the rivers, remarks that the hydrographical features are inaccurately given in all maps, and that most of the streams cut through the above chains by gorges of very recent fracture. The primary rocks, he says, consist of gneiss and slate j and that in the latter, serpentine, granular lime- stone ; and metalliferous veins are found wherever sienite comes into contact with the slate. The Carpathian sandstone with Fucoids (Vienna sandstone) is mentioned as occurring in the N.E. and S.E. of Transylvania ; — that it surrounds the auriferous porphyries of Nagy and Banya, and that at Laposbanya the marls and slaty sand- stones of this formation are much altered by dykes of sienitic por- phyry, presenting exam pies of jaspideous rocks like those of Portrush, Skye*, &c. The author is disposed to think that there are evidences of two or even more periods of igneous eruption, and that the scoriaceous tra- chytic porphyries cut through and frequently overflowed the me- talliferous porphyries. These porphyry districts are cited as offering repeated and decisive proofs of the igneous origin of metalliferous veins 5 all the walls of which are altered and discoloured: — large masses of the rock are traversed by millions of auriferous rents, — and gold is found in the sandstone as well as in the porphyry. The remaining secondary formations are stated to consist of a kind of recent Jurassic, compact limestone, associated with conglome- rate, covered, here and there, by patches of sandstone and marl containing some of the fossils of Gosau. Near Sass Vorosch, Kis Numtschel, Kis Aranyos, &c., deposits of about the same age are said to have been observed by M. Partsch, and that they have been further described in the Buskowine by that gentleman, and by Messrs. Von Lill and Rudolph. The tertiary deposits, like those of Hungary, are considered to be entirely of the upper class, and they are shown to consist of clay, marl, and molasse, with salt, gypsum, lignite, &c. The molasse, the author says, is generally covered by shelly sands and gravel, but occasionally by a sandy, coarse limestone j and that near Illyefalvaa Arapatak, these sands contain many freshwater mixed with some marine shells. Near the Rothethurm pass, and west and north of Klaurenburg, he shows there are thick deposits of nummulitic and coral limestone, 1 86 Geological Society. limestone, equivalent to the highest tertiary limestone of Austria and Hungary. Fichtel is quoted as the earliest and best geological writer upon Transylvania, particularly as to the localities of shelly deposits and salt springs ; and it is stated that from his work alone M Beudant was enabled to compile a map of this country. For an account of the eastern chain of trachytes the author refers to what he has already written in Dr. Daubeny's work on Volcanos : — he inclines to the supposition that the scoriaceous trachy tic porphy- ries were erupted during the cretaceous or perhaps even during the old tertiary period ; and he dissents from M. Beudant as to the possibility of drawing any distinct line of demarcation between the trachyte and porphyry in those places where these rocks are contiguous, although when at great distances from each other he allows the dissimilarity of their respective characters. A stratified, pumiceous and trachytic conglomerate, it is stated, frequently overlies the salt in Transylvania, and contains impressions of dicotyledonous plants, leaves, and fishes. The extinct craters of St. Annalake and the solfatarra still burning in the trachyte of Budoskegy, and the many acidulated and mineral springs, are considered by the author clearly to indicate the recent age of some of the volcanic phaenomena in this country, to the principal en- trance of which, the Romans assigned the name of " Vulcan's Pass." A paper was then read, On the Astronomical Causes which may influence Geological Phaenomena ; by J. F.W. Herschel, Esq. F.R.S. F.G.S., &c., &c. The author states his object in this paper to be, an inquiry into the possible geological influence of slow periodical changes in the orbits of the earth and moon, such as have been demonstrated by geometers to take place in consequence of planetary and solar per- turbation. Such influence he regards as extending only to the pro- duction of changes in the amount of the tides and their consequent erosive action on our continents, and of periodical fluctuations in the quantity of solar heat received by the earth, every such fluc- tuation being of course accompanied with a corresponding altera- tion of climates^ and therefore, if sufficiently extensive and con- tinued, giving room for a variation in the animal and vegetable productions of the same region at different and widely remote epochs. The subject of the tides is first considered. Since any approach of the moon to the earth produces an increase of the lunar tide in the triplicate ratio of such approach, it follows that any diminution of the moon's mean distance must produce an increase in the ave- rage tide during the whole period that such approach subsists. The mean distance of the moon is actually on the decrease, and has been so for ages past, producing the astronomical phenomenon of her secular acceleration. The mean amount of the tides, there, fore, has long been, and will long continue to be, on the increase from this cause, but the effect of it is shown to be confined to such moderate limits as to be of no geological importance. The author next considers the possible effect of an increase in the excentricity of the lunar orbit, which would affect not the ave- rage Geological Society. 137 rage but the extreme rise and fall of the tides. Such an increase, however, he regards as necessarily limited, so as to be incapable of producing such an enormous increase of tides as would account for any of the greater diluvial phenomena, though possibly cases of great local devastation in estuaries and confined channels would arise, and the outlines of the continents, in particular parts of their coasts, might be materially modified by such increased occasional action. No change in the earth's orbit within the limits of possibility would produce any material change in the solar tides. He next considers the effect of planetary perturbation on the earth's orbit, and, dismissing the variation of the obliquity of the ecliptic, which is known to be confined within very narrow- limits, he regards the excentricity as the only element whose variation can possibly have any effect of the kind in view ; and that by affecting, first, the mean, and secondly, the extreme quantities of solar heat received by the earth in its annual revolu- tion, and at the different seasons of the year. First, with respect to the mean quantity, he announces as a consequence of geome- trical reasoning, the following theorem : — That the mean annual amount of heat and light received from the sun by the earth, is inversely proportional to the minor axis of the ellipse it describes at different epochs. And since the orbit of the earth is actually, and has been for ages, beyond the records of history, becoming less ellip- tic, and the minor axis consequently increasing, it follows that the mean temperature of its surface is on the decrease. The orbit being now very nearly a circle, this decrease cannot go much further; but should it ever have been very elliptic, the mean tem- perature must have been sensibly greater than at present. The au- thor regards the limits within which the earth's excentricity is con. fined, as (although calculable; not actually known ; and he denies in particular that the theorem demonstrated by Laplace, in the 57th article of the Second Book of the Mdcam'que Celeste, equation (M), which is usually cited as proving the narrowness of such limits, affords any ground for that conclusion in the case of the earth's orbit, however it may do so for those of the great preponderant planets. Under this uncertainty he considers himself authorized to assume, that excentricities actually existing in the orbits, both of superior and inferior planets, may not be impossible in that of the earth ; and admitting this, he calculates the mean and extreme amounts of solar radiation in an orbit so circumstanced. The mean amount he finds to exceed the present by about three per cent, a quantity apparently small ; but he adduces considerations tending to show, that on cer- tain suppositions not impossible or improbable in themselves, this per-centage on the whole quantity of solar heat may have influ- enced our climates to as great an extent as geological indications appear to require. Considering next the extreme effects of such a state of things, and adopting a view taken by Mr. Lyell in his Geology, he shows that by reason of the precession of the equinoxes combined with the mo- N. S. Vol. 9. No. 50. Feb. 1831. T tion 138 Linncean Society, — Astronomical Society. tion of the apogee of the earth's orbit, the two hemispheres vvou Id alternately be placed in climates of a very opposite nature, the one approaching to a perpetual spring, the other to the extreme vicis- situdes of a burning summer and a rigorous winter ; and that, du- ring periods sufficiently long to impress a corresponding character on the vegetable and perhaps the animal productions of each. LINN^AN SOCIETY. Jan. 18, 1831.— Edward Forster, Esq. in the Chair. The paper read was entitled, A Notice of several recent Disco- veries in the Structure and CEconomy of Spiders ; by John Black- wall, Esq., F.L.S. — The object of the author's particular investi- gation is the Clubiona atrox, of whose habits, and mode of fabri- cating its residence and its snare, he gives a detailed and curious account. ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. Nov. 12, 1830. — The following communications were read: I. Ephemeris of the occultations of a Tauriin 1831, for ten Eu- ropean Observatories, by Mr. Maclear. I I. Practical rules for the approximate prediction of occultations, by Mr. Henderson. III. A note by Mr. Gompertz, to a paper by M. Kreil on the rectification of the equatorial. IV. Occultations observed at Boston, Massachusetts, by Mr. Robert Treat Paine. Mr. Paine gives the mean solar time of six complete observa- tions of Aldebaran (immersion and emersion), five at Boston and one at Nantucky, with a 3J feet achromatic telescope, and a mag- nifying power of 60: the telescope was adjusted on a star. " In four of the observations nothing remarkable was noticed, except that when the immersion or emersion took place on the enlightened limb, the star became so tremulous as to cause an uncertainty of Is or 2s; but in two other instances (one at emersion and the other at immersion) the star did actually appear projected upon the face of the moon for about 2s ; and the light of the star was in both in- stances very much more brilliant than usual, although the emersion took place about sunset, and the immersion while the sun was above the horizon." " On September 17, 1829, about 10s before immersion, [the star spread out, and appeared like a star viewed through a telescope not adjusted to distinct vision, and then faded away so gradually that its final disappearance could not be noted with greater precision than 35 or 4\ The same appearance was seen by another gentleman observing at a place 2| miles distant from me." V. Observations upon the period of the variable star /3 Lyrse, by Mr.W. R. Birt. In the year 1784-, Mr. Goodricke remarked that /3 Lyrse varied from the third to the fifth magnitude, and fixed the period of this variation at 6d 9U. On the 22d May, 1830, Mr. Birt commenced a series Astronomical Society. 139 series of observations upon this star, and at 11 hours found it of the fifth magnitude, and equal to s and £ Lyras. Supposing the period to be that assigned by Mr. Goodricke, eight revolutions would have been performed in fifty-one days exactly; but when viewed by Mr. Birt on the 12th of July, at 10 o'clock, it was about 3-4- magnitude, and less than y Lyrae; while on the 13th it was decidedly of the fourth magnitude, and on the 14th of the third, or as bright as y. Mr. Birt therefore concluded that it came to its minimum brightness between the 12th and 13th, and that the period was therefore longer than that assigned to it by Mr. Good- ricke. This conclusion was confirmed by an observation on the 2nd of September, when, at 11 o'clock, the star was exactly equal to e and £, as on the 22nd of May, thus giving 103 days for sixteen revolutions, or a period of 6d 101' 40m, instead of 102 days, which would have been required if the period were 6d 9h. It would seem that the duration of its maximum, as well as of its minimum bright- ness, is somewhat irregular. Mr. B. gives several comparisons of the star with y, e, and £ Lyrae, from May 22 to September 15. VI. A paper on terrestrial refraction, by the late Mr. Henry Atkinson. On the fluctuations of the atmosphere near the earth's surface; and On the effect of such fluctuation upon the refraction at the horizon, and at very low altitudes, especially on the dip of the hori- zon at sea. (Unfortunately, these papers are unfinished: the ingenious author did not live to complete them.} In these investigations Mr. A. proposed to himself to demonstrate, 1st, The the fluctuations in the state of the atmosphere near the surface of the earth are not only fully adequate to account for the very great variations which have been observed in the horizontal refraction, but even for still greater variations. 2ndly, That the variations of the dip of the horizon at sea are caused by the fluctuations of the atmosphere, and can be calculated when the latter are known. The extreme uncertainty of the law of the variation of tempera- ture near the earth's surface has been remarked by every observer who has directed his inquiries to this subject, by a proper adapta- tion of course and distance to the circumstances of the problem. We find well-recorded cases where small alterations of elevation have produced very sensible effects upon the air, sometimes in- creasing and sometimes diminishing its temperature ; and, again, at other times, we find the temperature of the air nearly the same through very considerable altitudes. (See Wells, Humboldt, &c.) In order to subject to calculation the different hypotheses which may be imagined, Mr. A. supposes that the variations of tempera- ture may be actually observed within certain limits of altitude (he has here assumed fifty feet) ; and that the state of the atmosphere at great elevations, for example at 1125 feet above the surface of the earth, may be considered to be in a mean state. Considering the state of these upper and lower portions of the atmosphere to T 2 remain 140 Zoological Society. remain unchanged, he calculates the change in the whole horizontal refraction which would be produced by two arbitrary and very dis- similar suppositions as to the distribution of temperature in the in- termediate portion of 1075 feet, and draws the conclusion, that thi* variation of refraction arising from any conceivable derangement in this middle portion will be inconsiderable, compared with that which may be produced by changes in the lowest portion. In considering the problem of the dip of the horizon, Mr. A. first obtains an expression for it where there is no terrestrial refraction, and deduces this simple approximate formula, that the dip in se- conds = 63"*82 X V~hi where h is the altitude in feet above the level of the sea. But when account is to be taken of the terrestrial refraction, Mr. A. finds, that if the included arc of the earth's surface be to the terrestrial refraction as n: 1 (and this is to be determined from a table of terrestrial refraction according to the then existing state of the atmosphere), the preceding expression is thus modified. The y~^2, ~~?T X ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Dec. 28, 1830.— W. Yarrell, Esq. in the Chair. The form of a circular letter, to be addressed to the heads of Menageries and Museums in foreign countries, was submitted to the Committee, and approved of. A letter was read, addressed to the Secretary of the Society by J. V. Thompson, Esq., dated " Cork, Dec. 16, 1S30." In it Mr. Thompson urges, in support of the universality of a metamorphosis among the Crustacea, that he has ascertained the newly hatched animal to be a Zoea in eight genera of the Brachyura, viz. Cancer, Carcinus, Porlunus, Eriphia, Gecarcinus, Thelphusa?, Pinnotheres, and Inachus ; and in seven Macrourous genera, viz. Pagurus, Por- crllanci) Galathea, Crangon, Palamon, Homarus, and Astacus. " These embrace all our most familiar native genera of the Deca- poda." The Lobster, or Astacus marinus, Mr. Thompson states, " does actually undergo a metamorphosis, but less in degree than in any other of the above-enumerated genera, and consisting in a change from a cheliferous Schizopode to a Decapode ; in its first stage being what I would call a modified Zoea with a frontal spine, spatu- late tail, and wanting the subabdominal fins ; in short, such an ani- mal as would never be considered what it really is, was it not obtained by hatching the spawn of the Lobster." In the other indigenous species of Astacus, Ast.jluviatilis, the River Crawjish, it would appear from the excellent treatise of M. Rathke on the developement of its eggs, that the young are hatched in a form according with that of the fully grown animal. Mr. Thompson, however, suspects that some source of error may exist in these observations. " If it should be found otherwise, it can only be regarded Zoological Society. 141 regarded as one solitary exception to the generality of metamor- phoses, and will render it necessary to consider these two ani- mals for the future as the types of two distinct genera." In il- lustration of the change of form observed by him in the limbs of the Lobster, Mr. Thompson inclosed a sketch of the " cheliferous member of its larva" which is represented as divided to its base, and consisting of, 1. a cheliferous portion j 2. a portion of equal length with the preceding and terminated by natatory ciliae (described as the outer division of the limb, or future Jlagrwn) ; and 3. a short rudiment of one of the future branchite. A specimen of the Labrusmaculatus, Bloch, presented to the So- ciety by Sir A. Carlisle, was exhibited. When quite recent, its rich deep blue colouring was stated to have been extremely beautiful ; but this had already disappeared considerably, although the specimen had been but twelve days in spirit. Still enough remained to show how defective in this particular is the figure in Bloch's Ich- thyology [No. 294?.], which appears to have been taken from a dried specimen, and exhibits scarcely a trace of the rich colouring of the recent fish. The Chairman brought to the recollection of the Committee the recent addition to the British Fauna of a species of Warbler (the Sylvia Tithys, Scop.) nearly allied to the Redstart, Sylvia phcenicu- rus, L., but distinguished from that bird by its dark slate-coloured breast, and by the dusky-black colour of its two middle tail-fea- thers. The first occurrence of this bird in England was recorded in the 5th volume of the "Zoological Journal," page 102, by Mr. John Gould, who has since ascertained that two other individuals have been met with ; one in the neighbourhood of Bristol, the other at Brighton. Both these specimens were obtained during the last summer. The Chairman added, as a peculiarity of this bird, that its egg, as described and figured by continental writers, is white; while the eggs of all the nearly allied species are pale blue. A communication by J. C. Cox, Esq., F.L.S., &c., was read, on the subject of preserving a proper temperature for exotic animals. Mr. Cox commences by remarking on the capability of animals for enduring great extremes of temperature, and instances the experi- ments of Sir Joseph Banks and Sir C. Blagdon, in which a heat of at least 230° was borne without great inconvenience ; while, on the other hand, Captain Parry and his men were exposed to a tempera- ture of —40° and even lower : thus showing that the human frame is susceptible of a range of temperature of probably 300°, without injury to life. Such extremes can, however, be submitted to but for a short period. To keep animals, natives of tropical climates, in good health, they should be .preserved from too great extremes; and as it is important to imitate as much as possible the character of the climate from which they are brought, the hygrometric state of the atmosphere should be attended to almost equally with the temperature. The hot winds of the Desert (Mr. Cox remarks), to- gether with the absorbent nature of the sandy soil, render the general state of the atmosphere in the central parts of Africa that 1 4-2 Zoological Society. that of extreme dryness ; but this is an exception to intertropical regions in general. In Guiana and La Plata, for instance, and in Ceylon, the thick woods exhale a considerable degree of moisture, far exceeding that of our own country ; the mean dew point of the atmosphere of London being 44°,5, while that of intertropical regions is from 70° to 75°. Animals from such climates, it is suggested, require a moist atmosphere, and this may readily be produced by watering the flues used for heating the houses in which they are kept. Analogous to this is the advantage obtained in the cultiva- tion of stove plants by keeping the houses well watered. The neglect of supplying to the air a sufficient quantity of simple and innoxious moisture is attended with two evils. Not only are the animals kept in an atmosphere too dry for their healthy preserva- tion ; but the dry air, greedily absorbing moisture, becomes impreg- nated with the excreted fluids of the animals in confinement ; and thus the secreting surfaces of the lungs are at once exposed to a constant stimulus from increased and rapid exhalation, and to the additional stimulus inflicted by the continual breathing of air loaded with saline and irritating particles. In well constructed houses it is of the first importance that the fluids of the animals should be conducted from the buildings. Ventilation should also be perfect not only through the body of the building, but through each indivi- dual cage or den. This is doubly necessary where the air is viti- ated, not only by the animals themselves, but by numerous visitors. For the general regulation of the admission of cold air a convenient plan is to have a leaden or iron weight balanced in a vessel of mer- cury, attached to a sliding sash, which will thus rise or fall in proportion to the height of the mercury. Mr. Cox regards it as of no importance, as to the effect produced on the atmosphere, by what means an increased temperature is preserved, whether by flues or steam or hot water, if the degree obtained be the same : the only reason for preferring one to another is the greater facility it may afford of keeping up an equable temperature. Mr. Owen read a portion of his notes made at the dissection of the Beaver which died lately at the Society's Gardens. He limited himself on this occasion to the description of the organs connected with digestion. The salivary organs and those of deglutition were treated of in detail : the former parts, which are remarkably deve- loped in all the Glires, were especially examined on account of the peculiar nature of the animal's food 5 while the latter claimed par- ticular attention from the recent interesting discovery by Mr. Mor- gan of a peculiar construction of the fauces in the Capybara and some others of the Rodent order. Of the salivary glands the parotid are the largest. They are united, like the lateral lobes of the thyroid gland in man, by an anterior transverse portion ; and form together a conglomerate mass which extends across the front of the neck to within a short distance of the upper part of the sternum, covering the larynx and its muscles, and passing backwards on each side as far as the mas- toid process. There are, however, two ducts, one on each side, which Zoological Society. 143 which terminate in front of the molar teeth. The snbmaxillary glands are quite distinct from the parotid, and are each about the size of a walnut : their ducts pass under the jaw and terminate at the side of thefrcenum lingua. The sublingual glands are very small. Between the membrane of the palate and the bone, in the narrow space between the rows of molar teeth, a layer of mucous glands is situated : and a thick stratum of the same kind of glands exists also immediately exterior to the membrane of the fauces. The soft palate extends backwards from the posterior edge of the bony palate as far as the circular aperture of the posterior nares. The sides of the soft palate are continuous with the tongue, and, becoming gradually contracted, form fauces of a funnel shape, the posterior aperture of which just admits a black-lead pencil of the usual size for drawing. The membrane covering the posterior part of the dorsum of the tongue is continued smoothly and uninter- ruptedly to the epiglottis, without the production of any fold of membrane in front of this part, nor was there any corresponding duplicature above, or at the sides of, the fauces: so that here no structure existed that would allow any part of the fauces to be pro- truded in a conical form into the pharynx, beyond the opening of the glottis, as in the Capybara and Guinea-pig. The fauces of the Rat are formed after the same type as those of the Beaver -. a type which is peculiar, inasmuch as there is properly speaking no velum pendulum palati, the membrane forming the roof of the fauces being continued straight, without duplicature or re- flection, to the posterior aperture of the nares : this aperture is of a circular form, on a horizontal plane, and situated immediately above the glottis. The muscular apparatus of the fauces consists of a pair of muscles which arise, one from each side of the tongue, and ascend, the fibres diverging a little ; their action is to contract the commence- ment of the fauces, being analogous to the palato-glossi : besides these there are, at the narrower part of the fauces, circular fibres, apparently continued from the superior constrictor of the pharynx, and analogous to the palato-pharyngei. There are no palatal arches, neither were any tonsils detected. The peculiar cardiac gland much resembles tonsils in structure, being composed of numerous small glands or follicles, forming an aggregate of about 14- lines in length and half an inch in thickness, which pour a viscid secretion, by numerous apertures, into the inte- rior of the stomach. Thepancreas is of considerable extent, measuring in length nearly two feet, and following the course of the duodenum down to the iliac region and up again as far as the umbilical, being attached to the intestine by a process of mesentery : it is thin and narrow, and has one small branch or process lying parallel with its body where it passes behind the liver, and a few others at the curvature of the duodenum. Its duct, somewhat larger than a crow-quill, enters the small intestine at the extremity of the gland, one foot and nine inches 14-4 Zoological Society. inches from the pylorus, and one foot and six inches from the ter- mination of the auctus c/wlec/ochus. At the commencement of the colon there are two pouches of an oval form, from the union of which the rest of the intestine proceeds with very distinct sacculi. An analogous structure exists in the ccecum of the Guinea-pig, where however the two sacculi appear rather to belong to the ccecum, being partially separated from the colon by a circular production of the lining membrane in a valvular form. Jan. 11, 1831.— Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart, in the Chair. An Address by Mr. J. V. Thompson " To the Members of the Zoological Society, and the Zoologists of the United Kingdom in general," was read, soliciting such support, by subscription, as may enable him to continue, without further loss, his "Zoological Re- searches and Illustrations." This Address is printed, together with a list of the subjects of some of the succeeding Memoirs, on the cover of the Fourth Number of the Researches, which was at the same time laid on the table. An Extract was read from a Letter addressed by Daniel Sharpe, Esq., to Mr. Bennett, in which the writer describes the luminous appearance of the ocean as observed by him on several nights du- ring his passage to Lisbon. A considerable sparkling was visible in the water close under the vessel's side, particularly in the spray just thrown oft' from the bow, and also occasionally when a wave broke : it gradually vanished as the water became quieter. The appearance was that of a number of small sparks not brighter than the smallest stars. When a bucket full of the water was taken up, nothing was visible until it was stirred or shaken, when it was in- stantly filled with spangles, which disappeared as the water settled : the most elegant effect was when the waves or spray broke over the deck, which then became covered with stars for a few minutes. Mr. Sharpe states that he collected a great quantity in a glass, and exa- mined them carefully with a microscope the next morning, in the expectation of observing minute Crustacea^ &c., to which the ap- pearance he describes has frequently been attributed. He could, however, detect nothing but an abundance of small fibres and shreds of, apparently, animal matter, and did not find even one entire animal. Hence he is disposed to infer that, in some instances at least, the phosphorescence of the sea arises from the quantity of particles of dead fishes &c. always floating on its surface ; although he con- fesses himself unable to explain the reason why these shine only when the water is disturbed. It was remarked that Commerson and others have attributed the phenomenon described to the putrefaction of animal matters : and M. Bory de St. Vincent has declared that marine animalcula take no share in it. Sir Joseph Banks, Dr. Macartney, and others, on the contrary, have referred it to the presence of marine animals, prin- cipally Crustacea ; and the existence of such, as the cause of this appearance, has been recently insisted on by Mr. J. V. Thompson. Dr. Zoological Society. 1 4-5 Dr. MacCulloch has also attributed it to the latter cause ; and states that every marine animal that he has examined is luminous. Assuming the observations of M. Bory de St. Vincent and those of Dr. MacCulloch to be equally correct in the instances which fell under their notice, it is worthy of inquiry whether any, and what, differences exist in the luminosity of the ocean, when it is occasioned by marine animals, or when it is owing to other causes. Mr. Yarrell exhibited a female of the common game Fowl which had assumed the plumage of a male. The dull brown colour of the breast was varied by an intermixture of the jet black plumage peculiar to the male ; the feathers of the neck and those on the sides of the tail were long, slender, hackled and bright in colour; all the tail feathers were more or less curved; and the spurs were half an inch in length. This bird very closely resembled the representation attached to Dr. Butter's paper on this subject in the third volume of the " Memoirs of the Wernerian Society." A portion of the body of the bird was also shown, the disease of the sexual organ pointed out, and its appearance contrasted with preparations of the same parts from healthy birds. The cause of this change in the external character is fully detailed in John Hunter's "Animal Eco- nomy," in the Wernerian Memoirs before mentioned, and in a paper by Mr. Yarrell, published in the "Philosophical Transactions" for 1827. Mr. Vigors resumed the exhibition of the birds from the Hima- layan Mountains, which he had commenced at the Meeting of the 23rd Nov. ; and named and characterized the following apparently new species : ALCEDO GUTTATUS. Ale. cristatus, supra ater, maculis rotundis albis guttatim notatus ; sultus albus ; colli lateribus pectoreque atro maculatis. Statura Ale. maximi. MUSCIPETA PRINCEPS. Muse, capite, collo, dorso summo, alis, rectricibusque duabus mediis nigris ; corpore inferiori, dorso imo, fascia lata alarum, maculis paucis remigum secundariarum , rec- tricibusque later alibus aurantio-coccineis ; rostro fortiori. Longitude circiter novem uncias. LANIUS ERYTHROPTERUS. Mas. Lan. nucha dorsoque griseis ; capite supra, alis, cauddque atris ; corpore subtus, striga superci- liari, remigumque apicibus albis ; alis maculd lata rubra notatis. Foem. Capite griseo ; dorso, alls, rectricibusque virescenti-olivaceo notatis ; harum apicibusjlams. Statura Lan. Collurionis. PARUS MONTICOLUS. Par. capite, colh) pectorc, abdomine media, alis, rectricibusque atris ; genarum macula lata nuchalique parva, tegminum remigum secundariarum rectricumque apicibus, et re- migum primariarum rectricumque fateralium pogoniis externis albis ; abdominis lateribus Jlavis . Statura paulo minor Par. majori. PARUS XANTHOGENYS. Par. capite cristato, guld, pectore, abdo- mine medio, striga utrinque colli, scaindarium maculis, alis, cau- N.S. Vol. 9. No. 50. Feb. 1831. U ddque 146 Zoological Society. dayue atris, his albo notatis ; dorso scapularibusque virescenti- gnseis ; genis, strigd superciliari, macula nucfiali, abdominisquc later ibusjlavis. Statura praecedentis. PARUS MELANOLOPHUS. Par. griseus ; capite cristato pectore- que atris; genarum, nuchce, tegminumque alarum maculis albis ; remigibus rectricibusquejuscis , macula sub alls nifd. Statura Par. atro paulo minor. PARUS ERYTHROCEPHALUS. Par. supra pallide brunnescenti-ca- nus, subtus rufescenti-albus ; guld, strigd superciliari , rectricurn- que lateralium pogoniis externis albis ; capite supra rufo ; strigd laid per oculos ad nucham extendente, thoraceque atris. Statura Par. pendulini, Linn. FRINGILLA RODOPEPLA. Fring. supra brunnea ; capite, nuchd, dorsoque lineis fuscis rosaceoque nitore notatis ; strigd utrinque superciliari, guld, thorace, maculis alarum, uropygio, corporeque subtus rosaceis. Longitudo circiter 7 uncias. FRINGILLA RODOCHROA. Fring. supra brunnea ; capite, nucha, dorsoque lineis Juscis , illo rosaceo tinctis ; fronte, strigd utrin- que superciliari, guld, pectore, corpore subtusf uropugioque rosa- ceis ; alis immaculatis. Longitudo circiter B\ uncias. CARDUELIS CANICEPS. Card, brunnescenti-canus ; alis cauddque nigris ; circulo angustofrontem rictum gulamque circumcingente coccineo ; Jascid alarum aured ; thorace, maculis paucis alarum, uropygio, abdomine imo, crisso, rectricum externarum pogoniis internis, mediarumque apicibus albis. Statura Card, communis. Picus HYPERYTHRUS. Mas. Pic. corpore supra nigro, albo-ma- cidato, subtus rufescenti-badio ; capite crissoque coccineis ; strigd utrinque per oculos extendente alba ; mandibuld superiori nigrd, inferiori alba. Foem. Capite nigro albo-lineato. Statura Pic. medii, Linn. COLUMBA LEUCONOTA. Col. capite conescenti-atro ; crisso can- ddque nigris ; nuchd, corpore subtus, dorso medio, caudceque fas- cia latd media, albis; tegminibus alarum vinaceo-canis ; dorso superiori scapularibusque brunnescenti-canis ; remigibus, Jasciis- que alarum brunnescenti-fascis. Statura Col. Palumbi, Linn. OTIS HIMALAYANUS. Ot. niger ; alis albis ; dorso medio sca- pularibusque pallido-riifo brunneoque variegatis ; dorso imo pal- lido-rufo undulatim sparso ; cristce collique plumis anterioribus et posterioribus confertis, elongatis. Mr. Vigors exhibited a living specimen of a new species of Ground Parrakeet, which had lately been added to the Society's Menagerie. Its native place was not ascertained : but from the more graduated form of the tail and the plumbeous colour of the bill, .it was conjec- tured to have belonged to some of the Australian islands -, the Par- rakeets Zoological Society. 14-7 rakeets of which are distinguished by these characters from the allied groups of the same genus Platycercus of the Australian con- tinent. The lively and active gait of this bird, as distinguished from the slow and climbing motions of the Parrots in general, was particularly noticed. Its colour was a uniform green without any markings. It was named and characterized as PLATYCEKCUS UNJCOLOR. Plat, corpore viridi concolore ; rostra basi plumbeo, apice nigro. Mr. Vigors also exhibited a specimen of the lineated Pheasant of Dr. Latham [Gen. Hist., vol. viii. p. 201. sp. 14-.] which had lately been received from the Straits of Malacca. The bird ac- corded accurately with Dr. Latham's description, as communicated to him by Dr. Buchanan from a living specimen in an aviary in India, and afforded evident proof of being a distinct and strongly marked species. It may be characterized as follows : PHASIANUS LINEATUS, Lath. MSS. Phas. supra cano-griseus ; Jasciis gracilibus nigris undulatus ; capite, crista elongatd, gula, collo anteriori, corporeque infra nigris ; abdominis laterum plu- mis in media lineis gracilibus albis notatis ; caudd albo nigroque undulatim sparsa. A large collection of Insects, of various orders, presented to the Society by Dr. Leach, was exhibited. It was chiefly formed in the neighbourhood of Rome and Florence j and notes were ap- pended to the greater number of the species, indicating the precise locality of each, the time of its appearance, its food, comparative rarity, &c. The attention of the Committee having been directed to that part of the Minutes of the Council which referred to the prepara- tion of a Report on the animals which it was desirable for the So- ciety to import : It was resolved, That Sir Thomas Phillipps, Mr. Vigors, Mr. Owen, Mr. Cox, and Mr. Bennett, be requested to prepare, for the consideration of the Committee at its next Meeting, a Report on the animals for the importation of which the Council should be recommended to take measures. The following Resolution was also submitted to the Committee, and adopted : Resolved, That Mr. Morgan, Mr. Yarrell, and Mr. Vigors, be requested to prepare a series of questions on points relating to the generation, gestation, parturition, and suckling of the Kangaroo, in order that the same may be submitted to the Council, with a request that directions may be given to the Superintendents of the Society's establishments to obtain information thereon. U 2 XXVI. In- XXVI. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. ON THE SPONTANEOUS INFLAMMATION OF POWDERED CHAR- COAL. MAUBERT, colonel of artillery, has made numerous experi- • ments on the above subject : he states that charcoal when very finely powdered has the appearance of an unctuous liquid, and occupies only one third the space of sticks of charcoal of about six inches long. In this state of division, it absorbs air much more rapidly than when it is in sticks ; still however the absorption goes on slowly, requiring several days for completion ; it is accompanied with the disengagement of heat, which is to be regarded as the true cause of the spontaneous combustion of the charcoal ; the heat is equal to about 350° of Fahrenheit. The inflammation occurs towards the centre of the mass, at about five or six inches beneath the surface ; the temperature is constantly higher in this place than in any other ; there must consequently exist towards the edges of the mass a de- scending current of air, which lends towards the centre, and be- becomes vertical, without penetrating towards the lower parts of the mass, where the temperature is but little raised. It is on this account that a portion only of the charcoal appears to produce the phenomena ; the remainder serves as an isolating substance, and preserves the heat in the centre. The variations of the barometer, thermometer and hygrometer do not appear to have any sensible influence upon the spontaneous in- flammation of the charcoal ; if such influence exists, the experi- ments have not been sufficiently multiplied to prove it. Black charcoal, strongly distilled, heats and inflames more rea- dily than imperfect or slightly distilled charcoal. The black distilled charcoal, which is the most inflammable, ought to be in masses of about 60 pounds at least, that spontaneous in- flammation may take place; with less inflammable charcoal the inflammation occurs only in larger masses. In general the inflam- mation occurs more certainly and readily, as the time is short between the carbonization and powdering. Air is not only necessary for the spontaneous inflammation, but there must be free access of it at the surface ; the weight which the charcoal acquires to the mo- ment of its combustion, is derived not merely from the privation of air, but partly to the absorption of water. During trituration the air undergoes no change from the charcoal ; nor does it suffer any up to the moment of its inflammation. Sulphur and nitre, added to the charcoal, take away its property of inflaming spontaneously ; still however there is absorption of air and heating ; and although the increase of temperature is not very great, it is prudent not to leave these mixtures in too large masses alter trituration. — Ann. de Chim., Sept. 1830. ON Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 1 49 ON PUIIE IOD1C ACID AND THE DETECTION OF THE VEGETABLE ALKALIES. M. Serullas has found 1st, That when perchloride of iodine is mixed with water, there results iodic and muriatic acid from the decomposition of the water. 2nd, That the solid perchloride of iodine, previously slightly washed with water, or still better with a solution of the perchloride, when mixed with aether or concentrated alcohol, is suddenly con. verted, by the elements of water, into muriatic acid, which remains in solution, and very pure iodic acid, which is precipitated, on ac- count of its insolubility in alcohol. 3rd, That oxide of silver, agitated in proper quantity in a solution of perchloride of iodine, seizes only the muriatic acid, leaving free and pure iodic acid in solution. 4th, That iodic acid (and the solution of perchloride of iodine, on account of the iodic acid which it contains, produces the same effect) combines rapidly with the vegetable alkalies, forming very acid compounds with these bases, which are almost insoluble in concentrated alkohol ; this aftbrds a method of discovering very small quantities of these alkalies in solution in alcohol, which is a con- dition in which it is easy to place them. — Ann.de Chim., Sept.1830. PAHA-TARTARIC ACTD. M. Dulong communicated to the Academy of Sciences a letter from M. Berzelius, relating to several chemical compounds, which are perfectly similar to each other in the nature and proportion of the elements of which they are composed j but are very different in their physical and chemical properties. M. Berzelius has paid par- ticular attention to the new acid which M. Gay-Lussac has met with in tartar, and which has been called Thannic acid; M. Berzelius shows that this acid, which possesses very different properties from tartaric acid, gives by analysis a perfectly similar composition. It is also well known that common phosphoric acid, and that which has been recently calcined, and which has been called pyrophosphoric acid, offer very considerable differences in their properties ; it is also the same with stannic acid (deutoxide of tin), accordingly as it is prepared by treating tin with nitric acid, or by decomposing the deutochloride, or fuming liquor of Libavius. M. Berzelius, in order to connect all these observations, proposes to call those bodies isomeres (of equal elements) which possess the same composition, and to add the Greek preposition para to that of the two bodies which occurs most rarely, and is obtained with most difficulty ; — thus common phosphoric acid will be termed simply phosphoric acid, and the pyro-phosphoric will be termed para- phos- phoric, and we shall have also tartaric acid and para-tartaric acid, stannic acid and para-stannic acid.— Jbwrw. de Pharm, Oct. 1830. ON THE CHLORIDES OF IODINE AND THE DETECTION OF THE VEGETABLE ALKALIES. M. Serullas lately read a memoir on the above compounds before the 150 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. the Academy of Sciences, in which he states that the perchlo- ride of iodine, when put into water, suddenly decomposes it, and occasions the formation of iodic and muriatic acid. When it is put into alcohol the same effects are produced ; and as the iodic acid is insoluble in ulcohol, its action affords a ready method of separat- ing the two acids ; the iodic acid is deposited in the state of a co- lourless crystalline powder ; iodic acid is one of the most sensible reagents for detecting the presence of the vegetable alkalies, with which it combines to form compounds of very little solubility, so that, according to M. Serullas, the hundredth part of a grain of the alkali may be detected. These compounds, when dried, detonate strongly if heated much above the temperature of boiling water. —Le Globe, Nov. \\th. CHLORIDE OF GOLD AND POTASSIUM, &C. M. Berzelius finds this salt to consist of Chloride of potassium . . 1 7*525 Gold 46-800 Chlorine 25'050 Water 10-625 100-000 This salt crystallizes sometimes in striated prisms, truncated at the extremities, and sometimes in hexagonal plates ; the colour is yellow- ish-orange, and the crystals effloresce very readily in dry air. The chloride of gold and sodium consists of Chloride of sodium . . . 14-466 Chloride of gold .... 76002 Water 9'532 100-000 This salt crystallizes in prisms of an orange-red colour ; it does not part with its water of crystallization without at the same time losing chlorine. — Ann. de Chim., Sp.pt. 1830. VAUQUEIJN'S PROCESS FOR OBTAINING CHROMIUM. When an attempt is made to procure chromium by employing the oxide and charcoal, the operation never succeeds well, whatever may be the degree of heat to which the mixture is subjected. The chromic acid is more readily reduced than the oxide, and 72 parts yielded 24 parts of metallic chrominm. The muriate of chrome is that which suc- ceeded best, and in the following manner : — Treat chromate of lead in fine powder with 4 or 5 times its weight of muriatic acid, until it is per- fectly dissolved j then evaporate to dryness and dissolve the muriate of chrome by alcohol, that there may be no chloride of lead. Evaporate again at a moderate temperature, to the consistence of a syrup, and make it into a mass with a sufficient quantity of oil and a little charcoal, to make it into a paste ; put it in a small crucible, in- closed in another crucible filled with charcoal powder, and heat it in a good forge fire for about an hour.— Ibid. CARBURET Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 151 CARBURET OF SULPHUR NOT DECOMPOSED BY ELECTRICITY. According to M. Wohler, the black deposit on the sides of the tubes, which M. Becquerel supposed to be carbon derived from the decomposition of carburet of sulphur by electricity, is merely sulphuret of copper produced from the sulphur in the sulphuret of carbon. — Poggendorf's Annalen. Brf.wster's Journal, Jan. 1831. INFLUENCE OF THE AURORA BOREALIS ON THE MAGNETIC NEEDLE. Mr. Sturgeon has mentioned, in his paper on the Aurora Borealis of Jan. 7th, as witnessed at Woolwich (p. 128 of our present Number), that he could not observe the slightest change of direction or disturb- ance in the magnetic needle, during the display of the Aurora. As this is a subject of much importance, we deem it improper to publish this result, without stating, at the same time, that M. Arago, at the Observatory of Paris, was also engaged on the evening of the 7th, in observations on both the horizontal and the dipping-needle, during the appearance of the Aurora ; and that he found the former to be de- ranged 1° 6' 47" by the influence of that meteor, and the latter the enormous quantity of 21', the ordinary diurnal variation of the dip, at this season, scarcely exceeding 1 '. An account of M. Arago's ob- servations will be found in the Le National of January 12th. NITROUS ATMOSPHERE OF TIRHOOT. Tirhoot is one of the principal districts in India for the manufacture of saltpetre ; the soil is everywhere abundantly impregnated with this substance, and it floats in the atmosphere in such quantities, that during the rains and cold weather it is attracted from thence by the lime on the damp walls of houses, and fixes there in shape of long downy crystals of exceeding delicacy. From damp spots it may be brushed off every two or three days almost in basketsful. In con- sequence of all this, the ground, even in hot weather, is so damp, that it is extremely difficult either to get earth of sufficient tenacity to make bricks (the country being quite destitute of stones), or, when made, to find a spot sufficiently solid to sustain the weight of a house. Even with the greatest care the ground at last yields, and the saltpetre corrodes the best of the bricks to such a degree, that the whole house gradually sinks several inches below its original level. Houses built of inferior materials of course suffer much more ; one, of which the inner foundations were of unburnt bricks, absolutely fell down whilst I was at Mullye, and the family in it escaped almost by miracle. My own house, which was not much better, sank so much, and the walls at bottom so evidently giving way, that I was compelled with extreme expense and inconvenience, to pull down the whole inner walls, and build them afresh in a more secure man- ner. From the same cause a new magazine which Government di- rected to be built, with an arched roof of brick-work, was, when complete, found so very unsafe, that it was necessary to demolish it entirely, and rebuild it on a new plan, with a roof of tiles. In such a soil it will easily be concluded that swamps and lagoons prevail very 152 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. very much, of course, mostly during the rains, and till the sun ga- thers power in the hot weather ; and, in fact, what has been above &o much insisted on, as to the two contrary aspects of the country with respect to vegetation, may, by a conversion of terms, be equally applied to the water on its surface. In the cold and dry weather it is comparatively scanty; in the rains it is superabundant : and as the rivers in this district are frequently found to change their situa- tions, so, through a long course of time, it has resulted that hollow beds, being deserted by their streams, become transformed into what, during the rains, assume the appearance of extensive lakes, but in dry weather degenerate into mere muddy swamps, overgrown with a profusion of rank aquatic vegetations, particularly the gigan- tic leaves of the lotus, and swarming with every tribe of loathsome cold-blooded animals. Some of these lakes, during the height of the rains, communicate with their original streams, and thus under- go a temporary purification ; but others receive no fresh supply ex- cept from the clouds, and of course their condition is by much the worse. Some of the conversions of a river-bed into a lake have occurred in the memory of the present inhabitants, or at least within one descent from their ancestors.— Tytler on the Climate of Mullye, in Trans. Med. fy Phi/s. Soc. of Calcutta, vol. iv.— - -Jame- sons Journal, Jan. 1831. p. 177. ON THE OCCURRENCE OF CHALK-FLINTS IN BANFFSHIRE. BY JAMES CHRISTIE, ESQ., SEC. TO THE BANFF INSTITUTION.* Some time ago I took the liberty of submitting for your inspec- tion specimens of a quantity of flints found scattered and mixed with the water-worn stones and shingle along the shore of Boyndie Bayf , to the westward of Banff, and to state, that flints of a similar description are occasionally found to the eastward as far as Peter- head. I had not seen any organic remains in the flints of this part of Scotland, to enable me to form an opinion as to their being of the chalk- formation f . Since that time I have met with abundance of flints on the hill or rising ground between Turiffand Delgaty Castle. The surface of the ground there is irregular, rising occasionally into hillocks, and sinking into hollows, filled with bogs and swamps. These hillocks are composed of a conglomerate or pebbly mass, * At p. 381 of the last volume of this Journal, \ve noticed Mr. Christie's discovery of Hints on the shore near Banff. — Edit. Edinb. New Phil. Journ. f The flints sent me from Boyndie Bay are of the same description with those found near Delgaty. They contain traces of zoophytic Organic re- mains.— Edit. Edinb. New Phil. Journ. \. Some years ago, while examining the geognosy of the vicinity of Peter- head, our attention was directed to the chalk-flints found in that neighbour- hood, by previous information. We traced them extending over several miles of country, and frequently imbedded in a reddish clay, resting on the granite of the district. These flints contain sponges, alcyonia, echini, and other fos- sils of the chalkrflint, thus proving them to belong to the chalk formation, which itself will probably be found in some of the hollows in this part of Scotland.— Edit. Edinb. Neiv Phil. Journ. having Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 153 having a base or ground of white or gray colour, and apparently com- posed of decayed felspar, and very minute scales of mica or talc, or both, in which are imbedded rounded pebbles of grayish-white translucent quartz-rock. The quartz-pebbles are from the size of a pea to that of a hen's egg. This conglomerated mass is here and there alternated with or traversed by a white quartzy sand, with scales of mica. The whole conglomerated mass is mixed up with flints of various sizes and forms. The flints are yellow, brown, and gray, more or less translucent, often enveloped in a white sili- ceous opaque crust, and containing organic remains principally of sponges or alcyonia. In some flints the centre is hollow, and the walls of the cavity lined with calcedony. One of the hillocks has been opened to the depth of about fifteen or eighteen feet. The quartz-pebbles become more translucent the deeper the pit is open- ed ; and the flints, which, at the surface of the ground, are generally of a brown colour, exhibit other tints in the interior of the bed. The hollows between the hillocks are destitute of pebbles and gravel, and have a clayey bottom. The direction of the hollows appears in general to run east and west. These hollows may perhaps have been scooped out, and the beds containing flints and peb- bles of quartz carried off by some of those mighty inundations which have more than once swept over the face of nature. As to the extent of the deposit, I can say but little : in one di- rection, I have traced it for nearly a mile, occasionally interrupted by the hollows. The point where the specimens were taken up is about half a mile distant from another patch, through which the ditch I formerly mentioned has been cast. At that point, also, the flints and quartz-pebbles, and other deposits, are the same as those already mentioned. The spot where these deposits are found is in the interior of the country, about ten miles from the sea, and is the highest ground in the neighbourhood. I have not been able to as- certain the depth of the bed, as the pit filled with water on digging down, and the water became thick with the clayey or chalky matter. The workmen, however, told me, that further down the hill they had met with a bed of white clay, and they believed the deposit of peb- bles, flints, &c. rested on it. I have never seen the chalk-formations, but, as I understand it, this deposit has many features of its upper strata. The flints are abundant throughout the whole, and I found them on the surface at a mile distant from the hillock where the specimens were taken from*. — Edin. New Phil. Journ., Jan. 1831. * We trust Mr. Christie, and other members of the Banff Institution, will continue their researches in regard to these flints ; for possibly the chalk- formation itself may be found in situ in this part of Scotland. — Edit. Edinb. New Phil. Journ. N. S. Vol. 9. No. 50. Feb. 1831. X NEW 154 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. NEW SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. Just Published. Account of the " Traite sur le Flux et Reflux de la Mer," of Daniel Bernouilli ; and a treatise on the Attraction of Ellipsoids. By J. W. Lubbock, Esq. F.R.S. In the Press. A Geological Manual 3 by H.T. De la Beche, F.R.S. &c. In one volume, with numerous wood-cuts. The Utility of the Knowledge of Nature considered j with refe- rence to the Introduction of Instruction in the Physical Sciences, into the General Education of Youth : comprising, with many addi- tions, the details of a Public Lecture on that subject, delivered at Hazelwood School, near Birmingham, on the 26th of October, 1830. By E. W. Brayley, jun. A.L.S., Lecturer on Natural Philo- sophy and Natural History, and Teacher of the Physical Sciences in Hazelwood School. Preparing for Publication. Mr. MacCulloch, Professor of Political Economy in the University of London, is preparing for publication, a Theoretical and Practical Dictionary of Commerce and Commercial Navigation. In one large volume, 8vo, with Maps, &c. THE COMET. Extracts of Communications from Mr. Herapath and Sir J. South to the Editor of The Times, Jan. C25th, <28th, and 29th. On the 7th, at 6h 30m A. M., it was in 264° 1 1 ' right ascension, and 12° 33' south declination, from my observation. On the 9th, at 6h47m A. M, it had 261° 59' right ascension, and 12° 1' south declination, by the observation at Kensington Observatory ; and on the 18th I found it in 252° 18' right ascension, and 9° 2' south declination,, at 5h 43m A. M. The time was apparent or solar in each case. On the 7th the head was white and brilliant, with a tail of between 1° and 2° at Cran- ford, and the comet equalled, as I conceived, stars of the second mag- nitude. To Sir James South, on the 9th, the head was very luminous, and the tail about 1° long ; while to Mr. J. T., near Liverpool, on the 12th, the tail seemed 2°, or, as he informs me by letter, probably 3° long, the head being bright and the nucleus well defined. On the 18th the head appeared to me much less and more confused j but the tail had extended in length to full 3°, and was much more apparent. At these several epochs it was about 25°, 29°, and 47° distant from the sun. From all these circumstances, it appears that the apparent motion of the comet is retrograde j that it crossed the ecliptic about the lat- ter part of Capricorn, and is proceeding by a path rather concave towards the north, betweenrthe stars £ and S Ophiuchi, passing to the north of the former, and about 2£° to the south of the latter, which it will reach on the 28th inst. ; that its apparent motion is decreasing, and will probably before long cease, and at length become direct j that the comet has approached nearer to the sun, and most likely to the Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 155 the earth too ; and though its motion is now increasing towards the north, in all probability it will finish by declining towards the south. From its great elongation, it would seem the true path of the comet is without that of Venus, and that it is either between us and the sun, or on the other side of the sun. In the former case, its real motion is direct, in the latter retrograde ; but judging from the appearance of the body, I should think it is between us and the sun. Whether this be the comet said in the Morning Herald to have been predicted by the Chinese, or that of 1770, which Mr. J. T. imagines it might be, or indeed any one of the comets which have yet appeared, the present observations are not sufficient to determine. However, its great elevation above the ecliptic, and its long train, which mark it for a comet of a long period, are not, I conceive, favourable to an iden- tity with that of 1770. On the 7th I find it was south about 20h 21m A. M., and rose about 20' after 5 j on the 18th it was south 10' before 9, and rose at about 33' after 3 j on the 30th it will be south about 8' after 7, and rise about half-past 1. Its place on the 18th differed, I see, only 13' in right ascension, and about half a degree in declination, from the place it should have had by my computations from the observations of Sir James South and myself on the 9th and 7th. Should it therefore proceed as it has, on the 25th, it will be in about 244° -§-ds right as- cension, and 6°-fds south declination -} and on the 30th, in 239° £ right ascension, and 5° south declination : hence it may be easily found. Since the 18th I have not seen it. Jan. 26. — I this morning saw the comet for the last time I expect that I shall see it. It is diminished in splendour wonderfully since the 18th. At that time it was beautifully brilliant, but a little after 5 this morning it was totally invisible to the naked eye. The great light of the moon, no doubt, had some influence in this j but at 6, and a quarter after, when the moon had been for some time down, it could be seen by the eye at intervals only, and then as a very small star, destitute of any of the appendages of a comet. Even when viewed through a telescope, with a power of about 30, both before and after the setting of the moon, it merely exhibited a nebulous appearance, without, as far as I could discover, any tail or well-defined nucleus. From these circumstances it may easily be imagined, that it was impossible to ascertain its place by the sextant. As far as I could judge, it was very little to the right of a straight line joining e Ophi- uchi, and 17 or v Ophiuchi, by Bode's Catalogue. It seemed to be better than one-third of the distance of these stars from v, and not far from, but to the right of, a small star, I believe 16 Ophiuchi, which appeared in the field of the telescope. Its position appeared not to differ from the place my computation would have given it, except that 1 thought it was more to the south. It is, however, evident that this body will no longer be a subject for even tolerably good instruments, but must be left to such powerful means as are possessed by the fixed observatories. One thing which surprises me is, that in so short a period as 19 days it should have X2 had 156 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. had such unaccountable changes. On the 7th it was a brilliant comet, with a tail of from 1° to 2°, on the 12th from 2° to 3°, on the 18th at least 3°, and by the 26th it had sunk to a tailless and almost un- discoverable star. This excessively rapid rise and diminution of splendour is, to the best of my knowledge, a novelty in astronomy, and I presume must arise from some peculiarity in the comet's path round the sun, relative to that of the earth. It is therefore to be re- gretted that the weather has been so unfavourable as to preclude our daily tracing its successive and perhaps singular gradations. I should now imagine this body must have passed its perihelion for some time, probably before my second or even my first observation. In this case the greater apparent length of its tail on the 18th may have been owing to its greater elevation above the plane of the eclip- tic. However, I am anxious to know what has been seen of this body on the Continent; they have most likely had better opportunities of seeing it further south than we have had. JOHN HERAPATH. The following is from The Times of Jan. 29: — " It was observed here on Wednesday and this mornings. On the former occasion, it might, by a person knowing well where to look for it, be with difficulty detected by the unassisted eye ; this morning, certainly not. In either instance, under very slight illu- mination of the field, it became invisible. " At 141' 16m 38s sidereal time of Tuesday the 25th, its right ascension was 16" 14>m 46s and T^ths ; and its southern declination was 6° 36m and 6s; whilst at 14" 31m 16s and Aths, sidereal time of yesterday, the 27th, its right ascension was 16" 4m 6s and -frihs ; and its southern declination 5° 45m and 34-s. Hence its daily dimi- nution of right ascension, in time, is about 5m £0S and of southern declination about 25m 15s. J. S." Observatory, Kensington, Jan. 28, 1831. LUNAR OCCULTATIONS. Occupations of Planets and Jixed Stars by the Moon, in February 1831. Computed for Greenwich, by THOMAS HENDERSON, Esq. ; and circulated by the Astronomical Society. *: Immersions. Emersions. o CS Stars' 13 5 U *,°" Angle from Angle from 1831. Names. 1 oSfe Sidereal time. Mean solar time. fl<5 H S'dereal time. Mean solar time. •S aJ tj % d < ££ ff H I h m h m h m h m Feb. 1 k* Virginis 6 1500 13 2 16 16 81 8°3 14 19 17 32 227 243 19 48 Tauri 6 468 4 41 6 46 108 119 5 54 7 58 278 303 y Tauri 3'4 478 6 55 8 58 114 147 8 1 10 5 266 305 71 Tauri 5-6 503 9 59 12 2 69 109 10 48 12 51 303 341 *' Tauri 5 510 11 1 13 4 136 174 11 39 Li 42 236 272 6* Tauri 5-6 511 10 57 13 0 114 152 11 45 13 48 258 293 20 111 Tauri 6 640 9 52 11 51 52 93 10 37 12 37 312 353 LIST New Patents. 157 LIST OF NEW PATENTS. To J. Revere, Weybridge, Surrey, M.D. for a new and improved method of protecting iron chain cables, iron boilers, and iron tanks, from the corrosion produced upon them by the action of water. — Dated the 27th of November 1830. — 2 months allowed to enrol spe- cification. To W. Church, Haywood House, Warwickshire, esquire, for certain improvements in apparatus applicable to propelling boats and driving machinery by the agency of steam, parts of which improvements are also applicable to the purposes of evaporation. — 29th of November. — 6 months. To R. Dalglish, junior, Glasgow, calico-printer, for improvements in machinery or apparatus for printing calicoes and other fabrics. — 6th of December. — 6 months. To H. Blundell, Kingston-upon-Hull, merchant, for improvements in a machine for grinding or crushing seeds and other oleaginous sub- stances, for the purpose of abstracting oil therefrom, and which ma- chine, with certain improvements or alterations, is applicable to other useful purposes. — 6th of December. — 6 months. To R. Edwards, Dewsbury, Yorkshire, leather- and flock-seller, for an improvement on, or substitute for, glass, sand, emery, and other scouring-paper or substances. — 6th of December. — 6 months. To S. Brown, Billiter-square, London, commander in the Royal Navy, for certain improvements in the means of drawing up ships and other vessels from the water on land, and for transporting or mooring ships, vessels, and other bodies, on land, from one place to another. — 6th of December. — 6 months. To J. G. Lacy, Camomile-street, London, gun. manufacturer ; and S. Davis, East Smitbfield, gun-lock maker, for a certain improvement or improvements in the construction of guns and fire-arms. — 6th of December. — 6 months. To J. Dixon, Wolverhampton, and J. Vardy, of the same place, for certain improvements in cocks for drawing off liquids. — 13th of December. — 2 months. To T. Walmsley, Manchester, manufacturer, for improvements in the manufacture of cotton, linen, silk, and other fibrous substances, into a fabric or fabrics applicable to various useful purposes. — 13th of December. — 6 months. To W. Needham, Longour, Staffordshire, gentleman, for certain improvements in machinery for spinning, doubling, and twisting, silk and other fibrous substances. — 13th of December. — 6 months. To S. Parlour, Croydon, Surrey, gentleman, for certain improve- ments on lamps, which he denominates " Parlour's Improved Table Lamps." — 13th of December. — 2 months. To J. L. Benham, Wigmore- street, Middlesex, ironmonger, for certain improvements on shower and other baths. Communicated by a foreigner. — 13th of December. — 6 months. To R. Witty, Basford, in the parish of Wolstanton, Staffordshire, engineer, for certain improvements in apparatus for propelling car- riages, boats, or vessels, and for other purposes, by the power of steam. — 13th of December. — 6 months. Meteoro- 158 Meteorological Observations for December 1830. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR DECEMBER 1830. Gosport: — Numerical Results Jbr the Month. Barom. Max. 30-45. Dec. 15. Wind W.— Min. 28-86. Dec. 0. Wind S.E. Range of the mercury 1-59. Mean barometrical pressure for the month 29-607 Spaces described by the rising and falling of the mercury 8-130 Greatest variation in 24 hours . — Number of changes 22. Therm. Max. .r,>0. Dec. 6. Wind S.E.— Min. 16°. Dec. 24. Wind N. Range 36°.— Mean temp.of exter. air 38°'26. For 29 days with 0 in £ 41-53 Max. var. in 24 hours 200>00. -Mean temp, of spring-water at 8 A.M. 51-58 De Luc's Whalebone Hygrometer. Greatest humidity of the atmosphere, in the morning of the 29th ... 92° Greatest dryness of the atmosphere, in the afternoon of the 24th... 59 Range of the index 33 Mean at 2 P.M. 74°-4.— Mean at 8 A.M. 80°-8.— Mean at 8 P.M. 787 of three observations each day at 8, 2, and 8 o'clock 78'0 Evaporation for the month 0-80 inch. Rain in the pluviameter near the ground 2-430 inches. Prevailing wind, N.W. Summary of the Weather. A clear sky, 2£; fine, with various modifications of clouds, 12 ; an over- cast sky without rain, 10^ ; foggy, 1 ; rain, 5. — Total 31 days. Clouds. Cirrus. Cirrocuinulus. Cirrostratus. Stratus. Cumulus. Cumulostr. Nimbus. 16 4 31 0 14 10 18 Scale of the prevailing Winds. N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. W. N.W. Days. 5J 5£ 3 3£ li 2.i 3 6£ 31 General Observations. — This month has been generally wet and windy, and cold from the 10th to the 28th. In the night of the 5th a hard gale blew here from the South-east with rain, and there was a considerable de- pression of the mercury in the barometer. At Plymouth serious damage was done among the shipping, and many lives were lost during the gale from the same quarter : many merchant brigs were driven on shore, broken to pieces, and their cargos destroyed. Early in the morning of the 17th an inch in depth of snow fell here, which disappeared by the evening: there were also sprinklings of snow on the following morning. On the 21st the maximum temperature occurred in the night, and was followed by a little rain and wind from the South-west. In the afternoons of the 23rd and 24th it again snowed. The icy efflorescences which accu- mulated pretty thick on the inside of the windows in the night of the 23rd, did not dissolve during the following day, even in rooms with fire. A Fahrenheit's thermometer placed on the ground in the night of the 24th, receded to fourteen degrees, and to sixteen degrees in the nights of the 23rd and 25th. There was a difference of twenty-five degrees in the maxi- mum temperatures of the 22nd and 24th ! which was certainly a very great change in forty-eight hours. About this time a heavy fall of snow took place at Limerick in Ireland, which was succeeded by hard frost. In the night of the 26th half an inch in depth of snow fell. The mean temperature of the external air this year (1830) is a quarter of a degree lower than that of the coldest year since 1816, The Meteorological Observations for December 1830. 159 The atmospheric and meteoric phenomena that have come within our observations this month, are one solar and four lunar halos, nine meteors, four rainbows, five aurorae boreales, and ten gales of wind, or days on which they have prevailed, namely, two from the North-east, one from the East, two from the South-east, two from the South, and three from the South-west. AURORA BOREALES. — In the evening of the llth instant, a bright aurora borealis appeared at half-past eight, between an opening in a black cloud in the northern horizon. By 2 A.M. the cloud had dispersed, when the aurora was again seen with increased brightness, and as a segment cut off by the horizon, occupied a space of seventy degrees, from which emanated several flame-coloured perpendicular columns, some of which were two degrees wide, and thirty degrees in altitude. In half an hour after, they were succeeded by others, which ultimately exhibited red and purple tints, with an inclination to the horizon. Many persons in the country saw the aurora about this time, and described it as having a very awful appearance, from a mixture of the colours. 12th. An aurora borealis appeared from 6 till 10 P.M. and extended from North-north-east to North-west. The altitude of its arch was about eight degrees, and four meteors appeared over it. 13th and 14th. Faint aurorae appeared throughout the nights, much the same in height and extent as the one on the 12th. 25th. An aurora borealis appeared in the moonlight, from seven o'clock till after midnight, whose arch of light in the early part of the night ex- tended from North-north-east to West-north-west, and many coloured columnsVose from it. At half-past eleven, coruscations, just perceptible in the lunar light, emanated from the aurora, and it soon after sunk beneath the horizon. REMARKS. London. — December 1. Hazy. 2. Cloudy and cold. 3, 4. Drizzly. 5. Fine. 6, 7. Cloudy. 8. Overcast: rain at night. 9. Heavy rain in the morning, and at night. 10. Cloudy : clear, with frost, at night. 1 1. Fine. 12. Cold and cloudy; at night clear and frosty. 13, 14. Fine, with frost. 15. Foggy, with slight rain. 16. Foggy in the morning: showers: sharp frost at night. 17. Sleet. 18. Cloudy and cold, with some snow. 19. Fine in the morning: rain,with strong wind at night. 20 — 22.Fine. 23 — 26. Se- vere frost, with some snow. 27, 28. Overcast. 29. Frosty : fog in the morning : clear at night. 30. Fine. 31. Boisterous in the morning: fine at night. Penzance. — December 1. Fair. 2. Rain. 3. Fair : misty. 4. Fair: showers. 5. Fair: stormy : rain. 6. Fair : rain. 7. Fair. 8. Fair: rain. 9. Rain. 10. Showers, hail, and rain. 1 1. Fair: showers. 12. Showers. 13, 14. Clear. 15, 16. Fair. 17. Rain : fair. 18,19. Clear. 20—22. Showers. 23. Showers, hail, and rain. 24, 25. Snow. 26. Clear. 27. Showers, hail, and rain. 28, 29. Showers. 30. Rain. 31. Clear. Boston. —December 1—8. Cloudy. 9, 1O. Cloudy: rain A.M. and P.M. 11. Fine. 12. Snow. 13. Fine. 14. Cloudy. 15. Cloudy: rain A.M. and P.M. 16. Fine. 17. Rain. 18. Snow. 19. Fine. 20. Stormy : rain P.M. 21 — 23. Fine. 24. Cloudy and stormy: snow P.M. 25. Cloudy : snow P.M. 26. Fine. 27, 28. Cloudy. 29. Fine. 30, 31. Cloudy : snow melted. Meleoro- •ZU3J •puoi •dsor) _ -H Tt . . — O CO . . . -« 9 o « : 9 co-7 ; : : II •^3 •83 <* « "c ^ s ^ F: W ^ s •S Q EG £ E . .SS-'SfefeSScte^ctjcS *SO9 ^"3 w"5"« •* W'e5*« *13 z ^'ss'ra'cS •/; fc •*• »'«'« s S « g s i * 1 * s I zuaj g « g S ^ Pi W « 1' ^ ^ V | ^ ^ i ^ |£ g ^' g « jj | « g I TCV '^ — o o ob oo co LO 10 co ci i *JSO{J |T}«rt'^-oo>o>cocMoo y & § O O>iC'>O^O>iC>iCT\<^O>lob <^(^C>O O O O CT\O (^C>iO>i^O>iC^<^i<^p'^ S;c?^&o7o7So7o7oV^o7cgggggcggg^ggo^^ggg 9 CM g 0 O t^O rOCO'fVO ^* O^iOOOO lOiO 1 COCM«D o^o ^to ^ O^CM COCOO^ 'cMCMCMCMCMCMCMdOICMCOCO « o THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE AND ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY. [NEW SERIES.] MAR C H 1831 XXVII. On the Volatility of Oxalic Acid. By EDWARD TUR- NER, M.D. F.R.S. L., # E.9 Sec. G.S. Professor of Chemistry in the University of "London*. rP'HE object of this notice is to communicate a few facts respecting the volatility of oxalic acid. It is stated in chemical works, that when this acid is exposed to the destruc- tive distillation, part escapes decomposition and is sublimed, being deposited as a white sublimate in the neck of the retort; but whether this appearance is owing to real volatility, or is an instance of that spurious kind of sublimation, exemplified in the ascent of boracic acid along with aqueous vapour, and in the removal of fused chloride of silver when a current of hy- drogen gas is passing rather rapidly over its surface, does not seem to have been fully determined. Oxalic acid, in conse- quence, is not generally regarded as volatile, except at a tem- perature sufficiently high for producing its decomposition. Having been accidentally led to investigate this point, I found that oxalic acid may be sublimed at a very moderate temperature, even so low as 212°Fahr., without undergoing any chemical change, except that the common crystals lose two- thirds, corresponding to two equivalents, of their water of crystallization. When 63 parts of the common crystals are placed in a water-bath, efflorescence rapidly ensues, and 17*31 parts, somewhat less than two equivalents, of water are expelled. If the effloresced mass is then removed from the fire and exposed to the air, it speedily recovers from the at- mosphere precisely the quantity of water which it had lost ; but if it be still kept in the water-bath, the surface of the acid, * Communicated by the Author. N. S. Vol. 9. No. 51. Mar. 1831. Y instead 162 Dr. Turner on the Volatility of Oxalic Acid. instead of remaining pulverulent, becomes covered with nu- merous minute acicular crystals, and an acrid vapour rises, which condenses on cold surfaces in the form of needles. This vapour is accompanied with a small quantity of moisture, which completes the two equivalents of water required to be with- drawn, in order to constitute the sublimed acid. The sublimation of oxalic acid at 212°, though sufficient both to occasion loss in analysis, and to establish the fact of volatility, is too slow for affording a supply of the sublimed acid. A convenient process for this purpose is the following: About half an ounce or an ounce of oxalic acid, purified by repeated crystallization, is dried in a rather deep evaporating basin, exposed on the sand-bath to a temperature of about 350° or 4-00° Fahr. : as soon as sublimation commences, the vessel should be covered with a layer of smooth filtering paper, on which is laid a fold of common blotting-paper, and both are pressed tight upon the edge of the basin by means of another and somewhat larger capsule, placed with its convexity down- wards, and containing cold water or ice. During this rapid sublimation some of the acid is decomposed, and the water derived from this source is absorbed by the coarse outer fold of paper ; while the acid is condensed on the smooth paper below, and gradually falls down upon the sides of the dish. At intervals of about an hour the apparatus should be removed from the fire, and the sublimed portions, while still warm, be brushed away with a feather, and quickly secured in a well- stoppered bottle. Sublimed oxalic acid, as thus procured, is commonly in .he form of minute shining acicular crystals; but I have oc- casionally obtained it in slender prisms half an inch long, possessed of considerable lustre and transparency. On ex- posure to the air it becomes dull and opaque from the absorp- tion of moisture, 45 parts or one equivalent of the sublimed acid rapidly acquiring two equivalents of water, and thus re- gaining its original constitution. This water is again com- pletely expelled by a temperature of 212°. The vapour of the acid is very pungent, exciting cough and sneezing more readily than the fumes of nitric or muriatic acid. Sublimed oxalic acid rises slowly, as already mentioned, at 212°. As the temperature increases, the sublimation becomes more rapid ; and if the heat does not exceed 300° or 330°, the acid sublimes entirely without decomposition. At 360° the sublimation is very free; between this point and 400° it sub- blimes rapidly; and at 4-14>° it fuses and enters into brisk ebullition. At temperatures exceeding 330° more or less of the subliming Dr. Turner on the Volatility of Oxalic Acid. 163 subliming acid, as the beat is more or less intense, suffers de- composition ; a change immediately indicated by the appear- ance of water. The facts already mentioned leave little doubt of sublimed oxalic acid consisting of 36 parts or one equivalent of the anhydrous acid, and 9 parts or an equivalent of water. The correctness of this opinion was proved by analysis, the oxalic acid being precipitated with lime, and its quantity inferred in the usual manner by decomposing the resulting oxalate of lime. The sublimed acid, also, is readily decomposed by con- centrated sulphuric acid, yielding abundance of gas, which con- sists of exactly equal measures of carbonic oxide and carbonic acid. When neutralized with potash and ammonia it yields crystals similar to the well-known oxalates of those alkalies; and the crystals obtained from a solution of the sublimed acid in pure water, were measured by Mr. Miller of St. John's Col- lege Cambridge, and found identical with the crystals of the common acid. These facts leave no doubt concerning the nature and constitution of the sublimed acid. Before concluding this notice, I may add a few remarks on the solubility of ordinary oxalic acid in water, concerning which the statements of different authors are very discordant. The solvent power of water increases rapidly with the temperature. A hot solution of oxalic acid was set aside for twenty-four hours, when the clear liquid, kept at the temperature of 50° Fahr., was decanted from the crystals which had been de- posited. This solution consisted of one part of crystallized acid and about 15 '5 of water. The experiment was repeated by putting the pulverized crystals into water at 50°, agitating repeatedly during twenty-four hours, and then decanting the solution from the undissolved acid. The ratio of the ingre- dients was almost exactly the same as that above stated. Si- milar observations were made with water at 57°Fahr., of which 9*5 parts dissolve one of the crystallized acid. Crystallized oxalic acid dissolves in almost an unlimited quantity in water kept at 212° by immersion in boiling water. If the acid solution is kept boiling by the direct application of fire, the temperature rises considerably above 212°, and the quantity of the crystallized acid dissolved is then unlimited. This is not surprising; since the crystals fuse in their water of crystallization at about 220° Fahr. I may also add the following observations on the degree of permanence of crystallized oxalic acid. When the crystals are kept for some hours under a bell-jar, with quick-lime, at a temperature not higher than 50° or 55°, they contain all their water of crystallization, consisting of one equivalent of real Y 2 oxalic 164 Mr. Bevan on the relative Hardness of Road Materials. oxalic acid and three equivalents of water. If then exposed to a damp air, they increase slightly in weight by absorbing water hygrometrically, and its extent varies with the humidity of the atmosphere. In dry air at 70° Fahr. the crystals lose some of their water of crystallization, and effloresce on the sur- face. The efflorescing temperature is thus very little above the ordinary heat of summer. XXVIII. On the relative Hardness of Road Materials. By B. BEVAN, Esq. To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. Gentlemen, T AM not aware of any published experiments on the rela- L tive hardness of road materials; and having for my own use examined a considerable variety of substances, as to their power of withstanding the percussion of a given weight, falling a few inches, I take the liberty of sending the results for your Magazine, if you think them sufficiently interesting. They were chiefly made in 1825, and the weight used was of cast- iron, falling upon the several specimens broken to the ordinary size adopted in modern roads, resting upon stone, or upon iron. If the weather to which these materials were exposed had no effect towards their destruction, the table hereby given would nearly express their relative value for the purpose of support- ing the wear of a road. Such of the articles, therefore, which resist the action of frost and atmospheric moisture, and have the highest numbers, will be found the most valuable. Remaining, yours truly, B. BEVAN. Mount Sorrel sienite 100 White marble 37, 31 Chert pebbles, much used in Middlesex* 34, 27, 52, 56, 55, 65 Quartz pebble in Bedfordshire gravel 70 Ferruginous sandstone of Bedfordshire 20, 42 Hurlock, from lower chalk 10 Chalk 3 Granite, Scotch 110 Flint, yellow 33, 26 Greenstone or basalt, Quittlehill, near Coventry... 110 Sandstone, soft 13, 6 Tile fragment 20 Gritstone, near Brix worth, Northamptonshire ... 48,60 Limestone, near Brad well, Bucks 5 * These pebbles, we believe, are merely rolled chalk-flints, altered in colour by the protoxide of iron contained in them having been converted into peroxide. — EDIT. Dry Mr. Batchelor on Musca Volitantes in the Eye. \ 65 Dry clay 12 Flint, black 11, 30 Portland stone, hard 14 Quartz, white 56 Blue pebble, like Rowley rag 105, 110 Coarse limestone, near Stilton, Huntingdonshire 60 Gritstone on road, near Leeds 100, 115 Yorkshire paving-stone 20 Ketton, hard 20 Tetternhoe 4 Chert f?] from hills in Devonshire and Cornwall 57 Gray wether of Hertfordshire and Wiltshire .... 18 Grit of upper bed, Colly weston, near Stamford, Lincolnshire 40 Second bed, do 100 Slate at do 50 Stockton limestone, Warwickshire, (lias) 45 Newbold-on-Avon do 36 Limestone of Stoke Cruerne, Northamptonshire 35 The steady pressure, without percussion, required to crush a piece of the marble weighing \ oz. = 600 Ibs. To crush the gray flint of 1 -2 oz. weight = 2000 Ibs. To crush rolled white quartz pebble 2 oz. = 3400 Ibs. B.B. P.S. To-day we have summer weather. At half-past three this morning, in clear starlight, the exposed thermometer was at 48° At half-past seven in the morning 49° At half-past one in the day 60° At half-past five this afternoon 54° The larks and other spring birds are singing; and the yellow butterfly is in full action. B. B. Leighton Bussard, Feb. 10th, 1831. XXIX. Observations on a Species of Muscce Volitantes appa- rently existing in the Aqueous Humour of the Eye. By THOMAS BATCHELOR, Esq.* AMONG the numerous defects and diseases to which the component parts of the eye are subject, accidental cir- cumstances have led me to investigate several, which appear to have their seat in the humours ; and which, as far as 1 can learn by inquiries among medical men, are not very accurately understood. That disorder of vision, to which I shall chiefly * Communicated by the Author. confine 166 Mr. Batchelor's Observations on a Species of Muscat confine my attention in the following paper, is a species of inusca volitans apparently floating in the aqueous humour ; which, excepting a slight notice by Mr. Ware (Medico- Chirurgical Transactions, vol. v.), has been wholly overlooked, or referred to other sources, by writers who have devoted themselves to this branch of medicine. Mr. Ware describes them as consisting of " a number of intersecting motes or beams, floating before the eyes. Sometimes they appeared nearly spherical, sometimes little long knotted lines, varying in number, size, and opacity." This description is most ap- plicable when the observer looks towards a bright cloud, or gleam of sunshine through a window, immediately after waking in a morning. Where the light is more feeble they give the idea of dusky spots floating before the eye. Mr. Wardrop, in his work on the Morbid Anatomy of the Eye, speaking of floating muscae, goes so far as to say, that " if they are pro- duced by any spot or opacity in the transparent humours of the eye, it must be in the posterior part of the vitreous hu- mour; because experiments, and the principles of optics, prove that no opacity of the aqueous, crystalline, or anterior part of the vitreous humour can throw a partial shadow on the re- tina." The opacities of the retina are those only which Mr. Wardrop has taken into consideration. I have tried various means of illuminating the interior of the eye, in order to be enabled to examine these specks to the greatest advantage. They may be seen by looking through any small lens at a candle, but the optical reasons alluded to by Mr. Wardrop, render it advisable to use the smallest lens which can be procured ; and the light thus entering by a very minute point, is obviously more likely to admit of a shadow- being cast upon the retina by a small object between it and that membrane. By looking through a small hole in a plate of tin, I have also clearly seen a stratum of still smaller par- ticles than those which appear as specks, and interfere (in a trifling degree) with vision, under ordinary circumstances. Examining them by the above methods, these muscae are found not to be opaque spots, but pellucid globules, and, as nearly as I can judge of their seat, floating in the aqueous humour. Though frequently suspended for a short time, they seem to possess greater gravity than the medium in which they exist, and when the eye is at rest sink below the line of vision. From this situation they can readily be projected upwards by a rapid motion of the globe of the eye in a vertical direction ; and the best time for observing them is as they fall gradually to the lower part of the eye, passing across the field of vision. They are then seen distinctly to consist of globules, either detached, Foli 't antes existing in the Aqueous Humour of the Eye. 167 detached, arranged in lines, or mingled irregularly together. The insulated specks exhibit a bright spot in the centre, (I have sometimes however seen it dark,) surrounded by a dark circle. They are, in fact, small lenses capable of con- verging the rays which fall upon them to a minute focal point; and the dark ring surrounding the central point is the sha- dow of the circumference of the globule, from which the rays of light have been directed to pass through the centre. In a very bright light, no less than four dark circles may be seen, the outer narrower and better defined than the inner ones. In the lines or strings of globules, the dark shadow is also seen, but under a different form, a double line of shade passing along each side of the chain ; these lines appear to be indented at intervals, but not very clearly, as if the globules had been compressed by adhering to each other. On the slightest movement of the eye-ball they change their position, and are frequently lost sight of, but without any uniformity of direc- tion or motion. The lines and groups, as well as the insulated globules, are perfectly unconnected one with another. A close inspection in a good light discovers the minuter globules in great abundance; their density is so trifling as merely to give a spotted or mottled appearance to the fluid ; they move altogether as if they formed a connected stratum, and in my own case are interspersed with a few larger and brighter points which keep their relative position. They will not sink much below the centre of the eye, though they may be projected above it; their descent is much slower than the motes de- scribed above. But that they really do descend may be proved by fixing the eye steadily, when they pass slowly downwards across the centre of vision, most clearly; — a sufficient proof that they are not diseased points of the retina. It may perhaps be said that they are merely the appearances which are produced by the mucus and tears spreading over the cornea, brought into view by the mode of examination mentioned above; but their characters and position are not altered by winking, which must happen if their source is external. In fact, the minute divisions of mucus are sometimes seen; and, besides the cir- cumstance of their instant removal by winking, they differ so much from the internal globules as to be immediately distin- guished from them. What part of the eye, then, can be considered as the seat of muscae, possessed of the characters ascribed to these, parti- cularly their great and irregular mobility, — if not the aqueous humour ? XXX. On t 163 ] XXX. On Mr. WitchelPs Method of clearing a Lunar Di- stance. By C. RUMKER, Esq.* T HAVE remarked that a very imperfect approximate fo- -•- reign method for clearing the lunar distance (under some cir- cumstances liable to considerable errors) is now much in vogue amongst British mariners, although they have better methods of their own: amongst which WitchelPs appears to me one of the best. I think approximate methods better calculated for mariners than direct ones, since small errors are more likely to vitiate the result and more easily escape discovery than in the former, where the computer after a little practice can nearly judge from the altitudes and distance what each correction will amount to: and WitchelPs enables him morever to assign to himself by a rough sketch the reasons for his proceedings. But as analytical demonstrations are now more approved, I offer you the following one of his formula, preceded by a simpler practical rule than the one usually given. Add together the logarithms of, Cotangent of half the sum of both apparent altitudes. Tangent of half their difference. Cotangent of half the apparent distance. The sum of these logarithms is the tangent of an arc A, which must be added to half the apparent distance, and also sub- tracted from it. Then add together the logarithms of, Cotangent of the sum of A and half distance. Cotangent of the lesser apparent altitude. Proportional logarithm of the corresponding correction. Cotangent of the difference of A and half distance. Cotangent of the greater apparent altitude. Proportional logarithm of the corresponding correction. The sums are the proportional logarithms of two corrections in distance, whereof the difference must be subtracted f from the apparent distance as long as A is less than half the appa- rent distance ; but if A is greater, their sum must be added to the apparent distance if the moon's altitude is greatest, but subtracted therefrom if that altitude is least. With this cor- rected distance find from Table XXXV. of Norie's Req. Tables, the corrections answering to the moon's correction in altitude and in distance: their difference added to the corrected distance * Communicated by the Author. •f- I here suppose that the correction in distance depending on the moon's altitude is greater than that from the sun. In the very rare con- trary case their difference must be added ^li*n A is l^ss than half distance. if Mr. Rumker on the Formula for clearing the Lunar Distance.169 if this is less, but subtracted from it if it is greater, than 90°, gives the true distance. Demonstration. D = apparent distance L S. k — apparent sun's altitude, H = apparent moon's altitude. Then is, with the omission of the third correction, which we shall explain hereafter, the true distance Is = LS — Lm+ Sm = LS-L/cosL + SscosS. -o . T sin h — sin H cos D sin h But cos L = cos H sin D " cos H 2 sin J D cos J D sin H sin h sec2 \ D-sin H (1 -tang* j- D) _ cos H tang D 2 cos H tang \ D sin ft — sin H -f (sin h + sin H) tang * \ D _ 2 cos H . tang \ D s;n'*-slnH + tang9 i D tang H(S!n *~S!" "cotangSD+tangSD) sm h + sin H \sinA-fsinH / cotang H . 2 sin H tang \ D sin h -\- sin H — (sin h — sin H) siu A -j- sin H sin /i -j- sin H tang H ftaDC | D -f ^^nS.£. cotang J D^ * sin A -|-sin H / sin /t — sin H cotang I D . tang \ D tang h (*-H) cotang J. D 1 - tang i D - . _ tang ^ (A-H) and making tang A = cotang | D tangf(A+H) we have cos L = tang H . tang ( JD ± A) accordingly as 7^ ^ H. and also cos S = tang li tang (4 D + A). Q. E. D. In case that A > ^ D, the sign of the cosine of either L or S, and consequently that of the corresponding correction, will be changed. It may easily be proved that A is the part of the apparent distance intercepted between its middle and a perpendicular from the zenith upon it. It remains now to explain the third correction, which is nearly applicable to all approximate methods : We have hitherto supposed s 1 = s m, which is incorrect. N.S. Vol. 9. No. 51. Mar. 1831. Z Describe 1 70 Mr. Hen wood's Facts bearing on the Theory of theFormation Describe from s as pole the circle / o , then is o m the third cor- rection. Draw at m a tangent and make T I = tang D, then is sin T = sin / m . cotang D. but mo. sin 1" = tang D (1 —cos T) = tang D . 2 sin2 £ T 4 tang D 4 sin 2 | T = | tang D (2 sin J T)2 = £ tang D sin2 T = i tang D cotang2 D sin2 Im = sm * L l ~ s™ 1 — . 2 tang D Hamburgh, Jan. 16, 1831. C. RuMKER. XXXI. Facts bearing on the Theory of the Formation of Springs, and their Intensity at various Periods of the Year. By W. J. HENWOOD. r|^HAT those springs which exist during the winter and dis- -*• appear as summer approaches, owe their origin to rain, has not I believe been disputed. But whether we may ascribe to the same cause those on which changes of the seasons ap- ?ear to exert but little influence, has been frequently discussed, n the mining districts of Cornwall, registers of the perform- ance of the steam-engines employed for pumping water, is periodically published by Messrs. John and Thomas Lean, of Camborne. These documents supply information from which it is not difficult to calculate the quantity of water drawn by each engine in a' month, and consequently the intensity of springs at the spot. The particulars contained in the follow- ing columns are of some consequence in this investigation. In some of the extensive mines several steam-engines are required ; and as they are usually erected at a considerable di- stance from one another, each drains the whole of a certain district. Hence I think we may safely assume the water drawn by one engine as representing the intensity of the springs at that spot. The numbers in Table I. denote cubic feet of water drawn by one engine; in Table II. the averages of the respective mines are for one engine on each ; but in Table III. the numbers are intended for cubic feet of water drawn by all the engines on each of the respective mines. Mine of Springs, and their Intensity at various Periods of the Year. 171 E. of St. Day. N. of Redruth 1 ij 222 'a 'a a CO l-H I-H es S.E. of St ile. E. of St. Da St. Day. 1 m 1-5 1 1 -25 mile. mile. es «^£«3 lajjs Jj§ "II 12 COW 0-5 0-2 Ca 1 Dista from S CO O O O CN CO "* ,2^§S >---iO 1C CO* 6° at the foot of a hill which ris near the summit of the hil a plain at foot of a granite hill etween two small hills which rise about 8° foot of a granite hill which rises about 12 between two small hills which rise about 10° summit of a small hill near summit of a hill be at all hil about west at hill of a s*i« ilUi lllvl Ial|l rt rt rt 55 55 co t 7° rising abou ity abou n at foo bout 17 hills ms, accli oms, plai l rising a U3aj>3^ "I -1^1 8»s« :S?B 111 rt a B te at te at foot betw gran iff $ 222 ooo 11 as .2 O H U -H! -st 1 1 72 Mr. Kenwood's Facts bearing on the Theory of the Formation It appears to me desirable to determine the intensity of springs at various depths, beneath the same surface ; and this will be seen in the following columns, which denote the quan- tities drawn out of Huel Hope Mine, on which there is but one engine. TABLE I. Ij S| |S &a 1825. Cubic Feet of Water drawn out. Depth of Mine I in Fathoms. I 1826. Cubic Feet of Water drawn out. Depth of Mine 1 in Fathoms. 1 1827. Cubic Feet of Water drawn out. Depth of Mine! in Fathoms. 1 1828. Cubic Feet of Water drawn out. Depth of Mine in Fathoms. 1829. Cubic Feet of Water drawn out. 74 2,428,149 77 2699 121 88 * 11° 2,889,535 Feb... 71 2,123,209 2 536 137 108 3,292,749 2,748,953 Mar... April ... 2,562,010 2 309 617 • •• 3,362,051 3 073 158 3,125,796 2 872 23 1 ... 2,788,771 2 659 448 May. June.. July... Aug. . Sept. . Oct... 48 53 55 56 1,679,843 1,482,723 1,459,652 1,335,605 1,369,297 77 2,092,514 • 1,766,160 1,677,752 1,584,818 1,669,365 2,873,097 2,899,681 2,833,634 2,553,753 2,273,581 2,225,924 112 2,874,119 2,629,117 2,662,792 2,501,831 2,264,919 2,281,205 128 2,788,974 2,716,185 2,285,164 2,231,667 2,242,170 2,621,985 Nov... Dec.. 66 1,346,398 2,066,255 * 2,414,911 88 2.309,194 2,984,186 • 2,146,405 2,388,438 2,489,828 * I by no means intend to imply that the increase observable in the preceding is entirely due to the augmented depth; for the horizontal excavations are continued at the same time, and I think a more extended series of observations requisite for de- termining what part of the increase should be assigned to each. The water is seldom drawn directly to the surface, but passes off through a gallery ("the adit"), which is excavated (" driven") from the nearest deep vale to the engine shaft, and is thence extended to the veins, which are usually much worked at this depth. The adit is in some mines forty-five fathoms from the surface ; and by its great extension intercepts in its descent a large portion of the rain-water which has been absorbed by the earth. Of this quantity I have taken no notice. On the other hand there is a loss of water in the pumps, through im- perfection of buckets and other apparatus; through the en- gine not making at all times its stroke of the full calculated length, and by its being sometimes worked more rapidly than the flow of water will supply ("going in fork"), and conse- quently drawing air. Respecting the sum of all these defects practical men are by no means agreed ; the extremes may be taken at one-fifth and one-tenth of the whole. In an experiment at Huel Towanf, in which I had the honour to assist Mr. Rennie, the ob- served quantity was to the calculated as 83 : 92, or thereabout. I think we shall not be very far wrong if we consider the Phil. Mag, and Annals, N.S. vol. vii. p. 424. rain- of Springs, and llieir Intensity at various Periods of the Year. 1 73 rain-water carried off by the adit, counterbalanced by the de- ficiency of the engine's actual performance, when compared with its calculated duty. In which case the preceding numbers would nearly represent the intensities at that spot, provided we could apply a correction for the increase due to the hori- zontal increase in the extent of the mine. But the whole of this water is not drawn from the bottom, for in most of the gal- leries ("levels") there is some which is conveyed to the en- gine without being permitted to descend ; yet as the veins are usually very porous, the greater part (say four-fifths) comes to the bottom, and the larger portion of the remainder from but little above; this obtains, however the depth may be aug- mented. The columns in Table II. are independent of one another; the lowest number in each being unity, they exhibit the monthly intensity of the springs in the various mines, on a mean of seven years ; the column " ratio" denotes the relation of the average number of strokes per minute made by all the engines in Cornwall, and " rain," the ratio of rain ; both for the same period. I purposely select mines in various parts of the county, the most distant being about thirty-three miles apart. Perhaps it may be expected that I should offer some expla- nation of the differences in the following columns ; but were I to attempt it, it must after all be very hypothetical. I there- fore decline affording any. It may not be out of place to observe, that when the United Mines were worked to a depth of 208 fathoms, the mean monthly quantity of water drawn out was about 13,000,000 cubic feet ; at present they are worked to 90 fathoms depth, and the mean may now be about 4,350,000 cubic feet. The area of the portion ofGwenap parish, which would be included by a line drawn in an east-north-east direction from Pennance to Huel Friendship, thence west -north -west to Huel Derrick, and from there south to Pennance, is about 1969 acres. Within this line are all the mines mentioned in Table III., there being steam-engines worked on them ; be- side others on which there are no engines, they being drained by the adjacent mines. Within the bounding line there are not more than three or four wells, but along the south and west lines there are several at a little distance ; whilst about a quarter of a mile north of the north line is the stopped mine of Huel Busy, in which the water is at the adit This affords a tolerably favourable opportunity for comparing the quantity of rain, falling on a known area, with the evaporation, and the quantity of water afforded by springs in a given time, from the same spot. The following columns, Table III., contain such a comparison ; the evaporation being estimated from the register of W. Snow Harris, Esq. of Plymouth, who kindly permits me to'use his numbers ; and the rain from tbe register, published by E. C. Giddy, Esq. of Penzance, in this Journal. 174? Mr.Henwood'sZfac/sfofl/77/g on theTheory of the Formation I believe I correctly follow Mr. Daniell* in estimating the evaporation " from water, vegetation, or ploughed land " as ecjual; although this does not coincide with Mr. Dalton's ob- servations on the same subject f. It has been already remarked, that the computed quantity exceeds that actually delivered ; and if we consider the differ- ence to be one-seventh of the whole, there will still be an ex- cess of 104,407,394?-15 cubic feet J ; nor will our conclusions be much falsified, by omitting the quantity afforded by wells, which probably does not much exceed 10,000 cubic feet per month. Whence then this excess ? Mr. Fox (whose kindness to me in innumerable instances has exceeded that of a parent) has in several cases detected muriate of soda in water from some of the mines situated se- veral miles from the sea, and thence remarks : " It may be in- ferred from such facts as these, that the sea-water must in some places penetrate into the fissures of the earth, and conse- quently may in a greater or less degree assist in supplying the loss of moisture carried off by evaporation^," &c. The slate strata of Cornwall are usually considerably inclined, and the veins by which they are traversed being unconformable to the stratification, they must receive much of the water which per- colates through the strata. * Meteorolog. Essays, p. 122. f Manchester Memoirs, O.S. v. p. 361,670. J Mr. Dalton's experiments on the evaporation from mould and vegeta- tive surfaces, to which I have already referred, are the only ones on these points which I have seen described in detail. If we follow the numbers there given by this illustrious philosopher, it will give a different value to the 8th and 10th columns of Table III. thus: Evaporation from a Surface of Water being for each Month unity, that from a Surface of Vegetation will be The Evaporation on 1969 Acres, therefore Differences between Water drawn and Evapor., and Rain. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. April -9893 -672 ...: -264 -178 •33 cubic feet. 4848712-69 3293576-19 1335643-8 1246293-71 3018614-62 cubicfeet. — 9045621-78 + 15012644-77 + 10146946-25 -|- 24972680-8 3861611-79 May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. -5412 -3366 -7276 -5589 -7577 1-1365 1-0063 8336444-65 4/89535-2 7641600-89 7826444-45 9241229-49 9946719-14 7500325-66 + 39824522-25 + 4823217-9 - 1198998-76 — 1903063-6 — 10528726-26 + 19607897-3 + 26487825-57 69,025,140-49 + 114,337,712-65 cubic feet of water drawn, and evaporated more than the rain fallen ; and when corrected for imperfection of apparatus, the excess still amounts to 59,881,580-54 cubic feet. The author has mentioned some of the objec- tions to which his experiments are open. I shall therefore only remark that they seem to need repetition. § Cornwall Geol. Trans, iii. p. 324. ofSpri?igs, and their Intensity at variomPeriods of the Year. 1 75 w r-« O< —i CS C5 ^ 00 «O >0 » OS Q* CO O> i— i «-H O O O t O •— t c* & •tpnoui « (5)^_if5 OOG^ G* G* O5 t>» • G* co ^ -,g ^ •SUAiOQ •asoy pnH CO CO *O ^"^ Oi t^^ O^ CO CO '00 *O OQpC5CpOpiO»C'p»pl>« CO T1 CO U5rtH CO •— i G* C5 F-iG*iO i— iOO»-HOi— iG^i— IP- i— < «O O5 O5 !>. CO QO QO ^-(G^G^COr-(r-<^-i 00 00 O5 t^. O* — « CO O5 •^ G^ >Q CO ^ G^ I-H 0 O •-< ^ «O G^^HCOlO l^.^H OOTf* — i OOOO 0 O —i O G* ^uouuujj S_ TABLE 176 Mr. Hen wood's Facts bearing on theTJicory oftheFormation of Springs, and their Intensity at various Periods of the Year. 177 But as the metalliferous veins, which have a direction of from east to west, or thereabouts, suffer frequent intersections and dislocations by the cross veins, they do not convey the liquid to a very great distance in their longitudinal extent. But the cross veins, which have a direction of about north and south, are in many cases supposed to traverse the Cornish peninsula from sea to sea, and although sometimes, are not frequently, dislocated, and consequently may be the medium through which sea-water may enter the mines. There are some mines in which the water stands at the. adit, (North Downs and Huel Busy,) which intervene between those in which the muriate of soda was detected and the sea; but as the latter are by far the deeper, it may be readily admitted that the percolation may have taken place at or near the lowest levels. But it has not yet been shown that sea-salt does not exist in the water of North Downs and Huel Busy; and until a long continued series of observations shall show its absence, I think we may reasonably adopt Mr. Fox's suggestion. The level at which the water stands in some stopped mines is not unworthy of notice. Poladras Downs is about a mile north of Huel Vor ; before its working was resumed, the water during the winter stood at the adit, but in summer it sunk be- low that level, which is fourteen fathoms deep. Great Work and Huel Breage are about a mile west of Poladras; in winter the water runs out at the adit, but in summer it sinks three or four fathoms; the adit is about thirty fathoms deep. These facts have been communicated to me by G. S. Borlase, Esq. F.R.S. In Huel Falmouth, before the resumption of opera- tions, the water rose to the adit, twenty-five fathoms deep, in winter; whilst in summer it sank about six or seven feet be- neath it. I believe it may be assumed as a general fact, to which there are not many exceptions, that, cateris paribus> mines worked in the slate of Cornwall afford much more water than those in granite. I believe my numbers do not coincide with Mr. Dalton's on the same subject*; but through the kindness of John Taylor, Esq. F.R.S., I am to be favoured with engine-reports and other information from his mines in Mexico ; and if leisure permit, I hope to submit them to calculation, as they may assist in determining the question on which I feel compelled to differ from such high authority. Perran Wharf, near Truro, W. J. H. January 28th, 1831. * Manchester Memoirs, O. S. v. p. 346. N. S. Vol. 9. No. 51. Mar. 1831. 2 A XXXII. On [ 178 ] XXXII. On the Calculation of the Orbits of Double Stars. By Professor ENCKE*. TT was the immortal Herschel who, among his many grand - views, first directed the attention of astronomers to the highly remarkable phenomenon that so many stars are placed closely together, and to the conclusion which he drew from this circumstance, that there is great probability that two such stars, separable only by highly magnifying telescopes, are not only apparently near each other, owing to the place whence they are viewed, but that they really form in space a coordinate system ; that they act upon one another, and in consequence undergo changes in their relative positions, which, after longer or shorter intervals, may be capable of observation, and whose laws may be developed in the course of time ; and from that moment a new field has been opened for practical astronomy, the extent of which it is not yet possible to determine. Herschel was not satisfied with merely advancing this hypothesis, but he, in the beginning of his career, thoroughly examined the heavens, and recorded a number of observations on the rela- tive positions of stars thus placed closely together, in order to transmit to future times safe points of comparison; and he en- joyed the satisfaction of learning, that on a new examination, after a lapse of more than twenty years, such sensible changes were observed, in several double stars, as left no doubt re- garding the truth of his hypothesis. After him, Struve ofDorpat first resumed these investigations, confirmed the observations of Herschel, and after a due appreciation of his wonderful zeal, and the eminent skill evinced by him in the management of inferior means, he obtained, in the great refractor of Frauenhofer, one of the most powerful instruments for accu- rately investigating this subject. Herschel (the son), and South, had in the mean time likewise devoted their eminent talents to the observation of double stars; and since the new cata- logue of Struve has proved the vast number of such systems ; since the comparison of the observations made with different instruments, and after different methods, promises a by far greater degree of accuracy than was formerly expected ; since, lastly, practical optics, in England, France, and Germany have, with regard to the size of instruments and the distinct- ness of images, reached a perfection hitherto deemed unattain- able, the observations of double stars have obtained much additional interest. Our experience is, indeed, as yet too short to derive from it any thing permanently correct; the whole space of time to * From Encke's Ephemeris, for 1832. which Prof. Encke on the Calculation of the Orbits of 'DoubleStars.il '9 which it extends being hardly fifty years, during which time even the subject has neither been continually nor closely pur- sued, as it is at most fifteen years during which the attention of several astronomers has been simultaneously directed to it. As there are, however, a few systems of stars the observations of which embrace nearly a full revolution, and as in the case of others considerable portions of the curve in which they move may be determined, it cannot be deemed an idle speculation to apply to those distant systems the laws by which our solar system is governed, in order to perceive how far these laws may then be confirmed. The only course we can adopt in this respect is to apply the Newtonian law of gravity, whose truth, within the limits of our solar system, may be considered as rigorously demon- strated, and whose extension beyond those limits possesses the highest degree of probability. Agreeably to that law the relative orbits of two celestial bodies, subject only to their present mutual action on one another, will be a conic section, or, in the case here under consideration, an ellipse. The point in which most probably such systems of stars will differ from our solar system, viz. that the difference be- tween the two mutually attracting masses will not in them be so considerable as in the case of the sun and planets, has no in- fluence on the orbit; and instead of considering the motions of both bodies around their common centre of gravity, we may with perfect rigour suppose the one to be at rest, as it were, in the seat of the central force. If we denote the mass, and the three coordinates, referred to an arbitrarily assumed system of three rectangular axes, of the one star by m, #, ?/, z9 those of the other by m1, d,y'9 z1, their distance by §, and the time by t, the differential equations of the motion of the one star, as far as it is only acted upon by the attractive forces of the other, will be, agreeably to the Newtonian law of gravity, 1 80 Prof. Encke on the Calculation and from their combination we obtain the following : .-_,)=o, which are the lar co- ordinates of the moveable star, when the angles are reckoned, sometimes from the circle of declination, sometimes from the parallel of the star at rest. Let the angles reckoned from any one of the principal axes, in the direction of the motion, from 0° to 360°, be designated by pl9 />2, p3, p4; and let the di- stances be expressed by g} , g2» g3, g4. In comparing linear dimensions it is more convenient to have rectangular coordi- nates. If we consider, therefore, the principal axis as the axis of one of the coordinates, and an axis perpendicular to it as that of the others, we have, with due regard to the signs of the trigonometrical functions, = ft cospi, & = fa cos p2, £3 = p3 cps#j, £4 = p4 cos ^4 = ft Sin pl9 >J2 = pz SU1 P<2 9 *)3 = PS Sm ^35 *)4 = P If we designate the origin of the coordinates by 0, and the respective places of the star by 1, 2, 3, 4, and the double areas of the triangles inclosed by any three of these five points, by the respective three numbers in parentheses, we have the fol- lowing six expressions : (012) = g, g2 sin fa-pj = ij2f, - >j, £2 (0 1 3) = $!& sin (#,-/>,) = %^ - ^ £3 /AN (014-) = Slg4 sin (Pt-pj = 114?! - >), £4 (023) = ga g3 sin (p3- p9) = >j3 £2 - ij2 ^3 (0 2 4) = §2 g4 sin (p4- (034) = ^ sin From their combination the triangles between the places themselves may be derived. We have (1 2 3) = (0 1 2) + (0 2 3) - (0 1 3) (1 2 4) = (0 1 2) + (0 2 4) - (0 1 4) (1 3 4) = (0 1 3) +(03 4) -(014) (2 34) = (0 2 3) + (0 3 4) - (0 2 4) which, however, are connected together by the following equa- tion of condition : (C) (1 2 3 4) = (1 2 3) + (1 3 4) = (1 2 4) + (2 3 4). Agreeably to the nature of the ellipse, the signs of the areas (B) must always be positive. A negative sign in the areas (A) denotes that if the triangle be conceived to be formed by the movement of the distance to which the greater index belongs, a movement through an angle of more than 180° in the positive direction has taken place. If we denote, in a similar manner, the chords between any Mr. Haworth's Botanical Description o/TIermione Cypri. 183 any two of the four places by the respective two numbers in parentheses, we have (12)3= (fa- fi)* + Ok - 1i)' (13)*= (£3-£l)*+(>,3 ->,,)* /™ The equations (A) (B) (C) (D) contain the data of the ob- servations. [To be continued.] XXXIII. A Botanical Description of Hermione Cypri. By A. H. HAWORTH, F.L.S. 8?c. fyc. To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. Gentlemen, TN my last communication to your useful Magazine, N. S. •*• vol. viii. p. 130, it was stated, under the description of Hermione tenuiflora, that the double and semi-double flowering varieties, hitherto proposed doubtingly under it, were pro- bably of another and distinct species, supposed to come from the Island of Cyprus, which I there designated H. Cypri. At that time the flowers, in their single state, had not fallen under my examination. In fact I never could procure or find the plant in that state until the present time ; when the acute eye of my friend Mr. Sweet detected a specimen of it, nearly in full bloom, amongst Mr. ColvilFs forced bulbs, at his noble Nursery in the King's Road ; whither I went to examine it, and there saw along with other bulbous plants, in full bloom, the most showy and best managed collection of Hybrid Amaryl- lidae I ever beheld. I had no sooner pronounced the Hermione Cypri new to me, and to be undescribed, by any modern writer at least, in its single state, than Mr. Colvill, with his usual kindness towards helping me to elucidate this beautiful tribe of plants, made me a present of it; although it was the only one in his extensive collection. I am the more flattered at this, because it enables me to show that the conjecture I made, as above cited, concerning the distinctness of this species, has not proved incorrect. And I hope to persuade Mr. Sweet to give the botanical world a representation of it, from the pencil of his excellent artist Mr. Smith, in an early Number of his beautiful British Flower Garden. 184? Mr. Haworth's Botanical Description o/'Hermione Cypri. Garden. I have carefully drawn up the following botanical description of H. Cypri, for your Magazine ; and remain, Gentlemen, yours, &c. A. H. HAWORTH. Genus, HERMIONE Nob. in Narciss. Revis. p. 121. Sectio secunda ALBJE. Cypri. H. (slender early white) scapo subquadrifloro, gracili; corollas laciniis obovatis, mucronatis, subimbricantibus, semireflexis; corona cupulari lutea, truncata, sesqui- duplo longioribus. N. Cypri Nob. in Phil. Mag. N.S. viii. 133-4. Habitat in Insula Cypri. Floret in caldario in Januario, sed in aere aperto forsan in Martio. DESCRIPTTO. Herba tunicatim bulbosa, subpedalis. Folia erecta, lorata, hujus generis ordinaria, superne primo fere plana, obtusa, viridia, post florescentiam longiora, oblique flexa. Scapus gracilior quam in af- finibus proximis, striatus, virens, fere solidus; basi teretiusculus, superne sensim parum compressus et anceps ; florendi tempore foliorum altitudine ; demum illis brevior, et superne cavus. Spatha in exemplo nostro quadriflora, ordinaria, erecta, altitudine pe- dunculorum minorum. Pedunculi erecti, inaBquales, 1— 2-unciales, graciles, acute triangulares, laet& virides, elevatim striatuli, genuine (florendi tempore) parvo, oblongo, obtuse triangulari, striatulo, saturatiore. Flores eleganter rectangulatim nutantes, vel plus; sed nunquam cernui : corolla^ laciniis obovatis vel oblongo- obovatis seu fere ellipticis albis, extus basi luteis (inte- rioribus minoribus, ut in omnibus et minus mucronu- latis), tubo respectu primo fere horizontalibus, planis, vel varie paululum flexis et imbricantibus; demum se- mireflexis, et varie flexuosim obliquis ; tubo prismatico laete viridi, gracili, parum longioribus. Corona lutea, crassa, iinna; ore integro, ruptatim subinde unifissa subregularis, et paulo latior quam altior. Stamina or- dinaria et pollen coronae concolora, 3 interiora tubo humiliora; antheris ordinariis inclusis, tria alia tubi altitudine, antheris protuberantibus. Stylus gracilis, albicans, coronam aequans, stigmatibus tribus exiguis seu minimis, planis, patulis, subrotundis, albis. Obs. N. Tazettae Linn, in Fl. Grccc. tab. 308, pul- cherrime representata, simillima, ut ovum ovo; at differt Mr! Ivory on the Equilibrium of Fluids. 185 differt bulbo triplo major e ; scapo basi solid iusculo non cavo; foliis (in caldario) non glaucescentibus ; planis, nonjlexulis; florurn pedunculis acuto-triangularibus,?z07z teretiusculis, laciniis corollae valde albis, nee lacteis; tubo parum longioribus, nee tubi longitudine; corona lutea, nee aurantid, sesquiduplo nee triplo Ion gioribus, et laevi, non plicata, ut in Fl. Grceca supra citata. /3. semiplena. Park. Parad. 85. jig. 2. y. plena. Park. Parad. 85. f. 3. 4. I dare not cite the beautiful figure of tab. 1011, in the Bo- tanical Magazine, there called Narcissus orientalis, var. Fl.Pl.9 because that plant shows eight flowers on its slender scape, which in that respect very well agrees; but I much doubt whether ours would ever have more than four or five. But it may be the double state of JV. Tazetta ofFl. Gr. I. c., as the latter is there said to bear, when cultivated, many flowers. If this conjecture proves correct, it will afford another in- stance of extremely similar species often occurring, as it were, in pairs ; as in H. pracox of Tenore ; and PL tenuiflora Nob. H.papyratia, Bot. Mag. 947, and//. Jasminea Salisb. et Nob. and many others. That zealous and indefatigable Botanical Professor Dr. Schultes, assisted by his son Dr. Schultes, have greatly aided my endeavours to elucidate the Narcissece^ by completely copying the whole of my last contribution to your excellent Magazine, on these much favoured plants, into the Addenda at the end of the 7th volume of their new edition of Linn. Syst. Veg. just published; which will doubtless spread the matter much more extensively than has hitherto been accomplished. Chelsea, Feb. 7th, 1831. XXXIV. On an Omission in Clairaut's Theory of the Equili- brium of a homogeneous Fluid; in some Remarks on the 56lh Article of the " Bulletin des Sciences Mathematiques " for August 1830. By JAMES IVORY, Esq. M.A. F.R.S.* A N article in the Bulletin des Sciences Mathematiques for •*•*• August 1830, demands some observations from me. We may begin with stating, in what Clairaut's theory of the equilibrium of a homogeneous fluid consists. This is a point not in any respect doubtful. According to the inventor of the theory and all other authors, two conditions are neces- sary and sufficient for the equilibrium. Supposing the equi- librium possible, it gives only one equation for determining the figure of the fluid. No accelerating forces are taken into * Communicated by the Author. N.S. Vol. 9. No. 51. Mar. 1831. 2 B account 186 Mr. Ivory's Remarks on the 56th Article of the account except those in action at the outer surface ; and it is implied that the like forces, expressed by the same functions of the coordinates, and no others but these, act upon every interior particle of the mass. It follows from this view of the matter that the level surfaces depend entirely on the outer surface, and attempts are made to demonstrate this. — Vide Mec. Ccl. livre iii. J 22. On the other hand I contend that the figure of the fluid will depend upon the forces that actually urge every particle to move from its place : that, in a homogeneous planet in a fluid state, there are forces prevailing in the interior parts, which Clairaut has neglected: and that the equilibrium is impossible, unless such a figure of the fluid can be found as will set free the interior particles from those irregular forces. For this purpose the true figure of equilibrium must possess a property not deducible from Clairaut's theory ; and this new condition, although it relates only to a particular problem, or to similar problems, it is usual to call my new principle of hydrostatics. In the 27th volume of the Annales deChimie ctde Physique, p. 231, M. Poisson considers a homogeneous planet AB C, supposed fluid and in equili- brium. The interior surface abc is similar and similarly posited to the outer surface ABC, on which supposition the interior mass abc will be separately in equilibrium if the exterior stratum were taken away. The narrow canal AabB has its ends in the up- per surface ABC, and the part between a and b is wholly within the interior mass abc. M. Poisson proves that the equilibrium of the whole canal re- quires this equation, 8 = q — p9 or p = q — 8 ; p and q being the weights of the canals A a and BZ>, and 8 the effort of the fluid in the canal a b, acting from a to b and caused by the attraction of the matter between the two sur- faces. Now I observe that M. Poisson, by allowing that the stratum attracts the particles within it, and by calculating the pressure 8 produced by its action, admits the omission made by Clairaut, and in reality proves that the theory of that geo- meter is insufficient for solving the problem. For there is no force at the outer surface A B C, similar to the attraction of /^\\ /r^\ s~^ v / /^ ^b^ \ I ( ) V ^^-~-^_—~^^ J >v c . ^\ ^^^ Bulletin des Sciences Mathematiques./or August 1830. 187 of the stratum between the two surfaces upon the particles within the lower surface. Such an attraction therefore can have no place in the theory of Clairaut, which notices no forces except those in action at the outer surface. It is implied in the theory that the only forces urging a particle, whether si- tuated in the surface or in the interior parts of the fluid, are the centrifugal force and the attraction of the whole mass ; these forces produce the pressures of the canals a A and b B ; but they have no connection with the pressure 5, which has quite a different origin. The theory of Clairaut is therefore insufficient for determining the equilibrium, because it leaves out some of the causes tending to change the figure of the fluid. Further, I shall prove that the equation found by M. Pois- son leads to two independent conditions for the figure of equilibrium. These conditions are, first, the equation of the outer surface, which is all that Clairaut's theory requires; se- condly, the equality of pressure at all the points of every in- terior surface, as a b c, similar and similarly posited to the outer surface. For we may suppose that one end a of the canal a b remains fixed, while the other end b is successively applied to every point of the surface a b c ; in every position of the canal we shall still have the equation, P = ?-&; from which it follows that q — 8 is equal to the constant quan- tity of p at every point of the surface. Now, q being the weight of the canal b B, and 3 the effort of the canal a b towards 6, caused by the attraction of the stratum, the intensity of pressure at every point of the surface a be, will be the same. By means of this property, the equation of the surface a b c will be de- rived from the equilibrium of the whole mass ABC; the same equation is deducible from the separate equilibrium of the interior mass a be; and as the two equations must be iden- tical, we thence obtain a condition which is independent of the outer surface of the fluid. When the conditions for the equilibrium are more atten- tively investigated, it will appear that the attraction of the stratum upon the particles in the inside must produce no in- ternal pressure. From this it follows that 8 = 0 in M. Pois- son's equation. In a paper in the Phil. Trans, for 1824, in which I first considered this problem, I have fulfilled what is physically required for the equilibrium by supposing that the stratum attracts every particle in the inside with equal force in all opposite directions. I have since found that this is not exact in all laws of attraction. But the fluid within the stratum 2B2 will 1.88 Rev.W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Otology will be freed from all pressure caused by the attraction of the exterior matter, if the stratum exert no attractive force upon the particles situated in its lower surface; and this property, more general than the other, is indispensably required for the equilibrium. The paper alluded to must therefore be cor- rected by substituting the second property in place of the first; for which purpose nothing more is necessary than a change of the language in some parts, without any alteration of the cal- culations or the results. In a homogeneous fluid in equilibrium it may be proved that the whole matter above any level surface must act upon the fluid below it by external pressure only, without exerting any accelerating force upon the particles that may cause in- ternal pressure : and, as this is general whatever be the nature of the accelerating forces, it may properly enough be called a new principle of hydrostatics. The embarrassment attending the application of Clairaut's theory arises from that author having failed to lay down the independent conditions of the equilibrium. Of the two con- ditions which are asserted to be necessary and sufficient for the equilibrium, one is included in the other : for it is easy to prove that the equation of the outer surface is deducible from the other condition. Feb. 12, 1831. JAMES IVORY. XXXV. An Examination of those Phenomena of Geology, which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations. By the Rev. W. D. CONYBEARE, M.A. F.R.S. F.G.S. $c. [Continued from page 116.] Part the Second. — Of Aqueous Action, and the excavating Forces which have operated on the Strata. HPHE phenomena of geology (to assign an adequate cause •*• for which, is the legitimate aim of theory) appear to me reducible to two classes: — 1. those which indicate igneous action and the operation of elevating and dislocating forces on the strata; and, 2. those which indicate aqueous action and the operation of excavating forces. My former observa- tions, which I would consider as constituting the first part of my present essay, have been dedicated to the first class of these phaenomena ; and I now propose to enter on the second. On these two heads, the difference between Mr. Lyell and myself amounts simply to this : Mr. Lyell believes that the forces which act on our planet have been, and are, ever con- stant and invariable ; that therefore as to the first topic, all the bearing on theoretical Speculations. 189 the dislocations of the strata and all the probable ignigenous products have resulted from volcanos acting precisely with the same energy and under the same circumstances as at pre- sent ; and that it would not be in the least improbable that all these phenomena should be reproduced to-morrow. I, econtra, have endeavoured, by a tolerably detailed examination of those phenomena, to show, that the only fair inference from them is the direct contradictory of the above proposition ; and that they universally indicate forces acting most violently in the earliest epochs, but gradually decreasing in intensity through the subsequent periods : so that the actual state of the planet is one of comparative repose, — the present convulsions which partially affect its surface being only, as a French writer has observed, the last faint struggles of the expiring giants. Now as to the second head, of Aqueous Action, &c., we find in several geological positions, but most especially and most generally as a superficial covering indifferently investing every other formation, vast accumulations of gravel, evidently con- sisting of debris originally torn from the rocky strata of those formations, and subsequently rounded by attrition under water. We also find the strata themselves traversed by breaches and ploughed by deep furrows, so that the surface has been not unaptly compared to a block of stratified marble irregularly cut into by a graver's tool. Now, associating together these fragmented ruins and yawning breaches, it is as natural to refer them to the same cause, as if we should notice a breach in a? wall regularly constructed of masonry, and observe its loosened and removed blocks piled beneath it; — but what is that cause? what is the graver's tool which has thus sculptured the face of our planet? Mr. Lyell says that the streamlets actually flow- ing through our valleys are adequate to account for all, if we will but throw all prejudice aside, and allow a sufficient num-' ber of millions (I should rather say iiifinit-illions) of ages since their continued action. This may be called the Fluvial theory ; or more properly, the Atmospheric theory: for it evi- dently amounts to this, " that the atmospherical waters fall- ing on any given district and draining off from it are adequate to produce, by their continued action, all the phsenomena of water-worn gravel and excavation which we observe in that tract." Now it will be my endeavour to show, from the ar- rangement and investigation of those phsenomena, that the at- mospheric drainage, even if continued for ever and a day (that with the liberality of common parlance I may allow all the time I can), is altogether incapable of accounting for them; and 190 Rev. \V. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology and that they indicate the effects not of drops and rills*, but of violent currents and of vastly extended sheets of water. This I shall call the Diluvial theory, premising that I use the term diluvial only in a general and philosophical sense. Theo- logically, I am well contented to let the Scriptural narrative rest on its appropriate moral evidence, and should only fear to weaken that evidence by mingling it with my own crude sci- entific speculations. I hold indeed, that Science, by exhibit- ing to us the independent evidence of analogous convulsions, may well be cited, as removing from that narrative all ob- jections arising from alleged antecedent improbability: but whether the diluvial traces we still observe geologically, be the vestiges of the Mosaic deluge, or whether that convulsion were too transient, &c. to leave such traces, is quite another question. Before entering more particularly on the examination of the phenomena which indicate the operation of diluvial cur- rents, I would first observe, that the existence of such currents is itself a necessary corollary from the points which have been previously established; and indeed, I am quite unable to con- ceive any possible geological theory which must not necessarily involve the supposition of such currents. In the first place it must be universally admitted, that the mass of our continents was originally formed beneath the ocean, and that they have subsequently emerged. Now I would ask, how it can be possibly conceived that this elevation of die continents from the bosom of the waves could have been unattended with violent currents: also, it is nearly impos- sible that the configuration of the original surface may not have been such, that vast lakes should not have stagnated in many of its portions; these lakes must have subsequently dis- charged themselves by the disruption of their barriers (as that of Thessaly is traditionally said to have done) : hence must have arisen another class of diluvial currents. Again, we find (from examining the dislocations of the strata) that violent convulsions affecting vast masses must have occurred after other portions of the continents had previously emerged. Thus for instance, the Isle of Wight and sixty miles of the adjacent coast have been apparently abruptly thrown on the beam-ends of the strata, at a time when we must suppose much of Eng- land to have been previously above the sea level. Now I would ask, is it possible to conceive that such a convulsion * The Atmospheric theory always reminds me of the celebrated line in Coleridge's tragedy : " Drip, drip, drip, drip ; there's nothing here but dripping." could bearing on theoretical Speculations. 191 could have occurred without creating so violent a disturbance in the level of the then existing sea, as to have caused an im- mense diluvial wave to overwhelm much of the continents previously emerged ? Having thus seen that the most elementary phsenomena of geology necessarily involve the existence of such currents, and that therefore they must be by the same necessity ad- mitted in evei-y theory whatever which pretends to account for these phenomena ; let us (as in the former part) proceed to examine the case more in the detail. I. The conglomerate rocks and strata of gravel interposed in several of our geological formations indicate several periods of violent diluvial action, of which the last was more recent than the deposition of all our regular strata, and appears to form the precise limit of demarcation between the epochs of the geological formations and the actual epoch ; and in every instance the disposition and distribution of the water-worn materials is such, as to be absolutely incompatible with the theory of their fluvial origin. Observations. — The British strata which have been most care- fully examined present four principal accumulations of water- worn detritus of preceding rocks, and the Continental series, as far as known, appears to be analogous. These deposits are as- sociated : 1. with the old red sandstone ; 2. with the lower beds of the new red sandstone; 3. with the plastic clay above the chalk ; and 4. they form the most superficial deposit covering all the regular strata. We may examine these in order : — 1. Although we occasionally find beds of a conglomerate texture associated with the grauwacke, yet these appear neither very extensive nor well defined ; it being occasionally difficult to distinguish between true pebbles derived from the fragments of previous rocks, and nodules formed in the settle- ment of a compound mass by the concretion of particular ma- terials round particular centres, through an attraction of aggregation : but in the old red sandstone we often find beds of great extent composed of the conglomeration of indisputable fragments derived from the earlier rocks, and rounded by at- trition. The most common of these pebbles are quartz, derived from the veins of that mineral abounding in all the transition formations. We also find fragments of the harder and more siliceous varieties of slate, jasper, greenstone, &c. It would be interesting to compare more fully than has yet been done, the fragments of this conglomerate with the earlier rocks, and thus to trace them to their original habitats. As to the dis- position of these accumulations of what must have once been gravel, — as they form extensive beds, they must have been spread 1 92 Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology spread abroad by oceanic waves, like the gravel now lining the beaches of our coasts : for it is clear that river courses can only convey gravel over the lines of their channels, or over the flats exposed to their floods. When therefore we find gravel uniformly distributed over extensive plains which we cannot conceive to have been in such a predicament,! see not how we can avoid having recourse to oceanic waves ; indeed, comparing the level of these beds with those of the posterior rocks of submarine formation, (so far as the subsequent disloca- tions and disturbances which have much deranged the relative position of these strata will allow us to make the observation,) we very generally find these masses of gravel deposited be- neath what appears to have been the sea level at the epoch of their accumulation. It certainly may be said, on the part of the Fluvialists, that although the distribution of these gravel beds must be referred to oceanic waves, still they may have originated in the action of the rivers traversing the then existing continents, and have been by these rivers transported to the bed of that ocean. That this may have been partially the case is, indeed, true ; just as it is with regard to the gravel of our present sea-beaches. But surely in both instances it must principally be referred to the more powerful agent, as we must from the preceding argument be equally convinced of the presence of " Earth-shaking Neptune" in both cases. In the earlier period indeed, there is every reason to believe that the currents of the then ocean must have been much more violent than those which now exist, inasmuch as the disloca- tions of the strata which appear then to have taken place, are such as cannot be supposed to have occurred without having occasioned the most impetuous waves and diluvial currents by the impulse communicated to the circumfluent waters. The quartzose conglomerate of the millstone grit incumbent on the carboniferous limestone occurs under circumstances exactly similar, and in geological age so nearly approaches the former, that it seems superfluous to separate it as indicating a distinct diluvial period. 2. The vast beds of conglomerate constituting very gene- rally the lowest members of the new red sandstone, present a still more striking instance of similar phenomena: they form indeed, one of the most magnificent and illustrative oi all geo- logical exhibitions. The materials of this conglomerate being generally derived from the most contiguous chains of the older rocks, vary in different districts : thus where the new red sand- stone abuts against transition chains of grauwacke, &c. (as in Devonshire,) the pebbles are quartz, hard slates, porphyry, &c. (e. g. the celebrated Heavitree conglomerate) ; where the for- mation bearing on theoretical Speculations. 1 93 mation approaches calcareous chains (as along the Mendips, on the Bristol Avon, on the south edge of the South Welsh coal basin, &c.)> its materials have been derived from the car- boniferous limestone. In this case the blocks included are often of considerable size, as especially in the section exhibited by the new road ascending Clifton Downs from the end of St. Vincent's Rocks: here they must sometimes weigh several tons. The pebbles exhibit all the characteristic organic remains of the original rock, and the outline of those remains is often truncated by their rounded surface. This conglomerate has most evidently originally formed beds of gravel lying against the chains whence that gravel was derived, in a manner exactly similar to that of an actual sea- beach ; they are thickest at the nearest points to those chains, and regularly decrease as they recede from them. Thus the calcareous conglomerate covering the coal-measures near the Mendip chain is twenty-three fathoms in thickness ; about ten miles distant from that chain it does not exceed one or two fathoms, and still further off quite disappears. These deposits forming the lowest members of the nearly horizontal strata (the comparatively undisturbed position of which shows that no material changes of relative level have been occasioned by subsequent convulsion), we may confidently infer from the superior level of the superincumbent lias, oolites, &c. that these gravel beds were distributed beneath the then sea-level; and the extreme dislocation of the subjacent carboniferous rocks, &c. will sufficiently account for violent diluvial currents in the then ocean. When we examine points where sections are pre- sented of these conglomerates resting on the older rocks, we find the edges of the strata of the latter truncated and smoothed, and their surface often irregularly excavated, in a manner which we cannot but ascribe to the operation of such currents. The Rothe todte liegende of the German geologists is ge- nerally identical in age and position with the conglomerates now considered. I can at least answer that this is the case with those portions of it which I have myself examined in the neighbourhood of the Thuringerwalde. 3. We do not meet with any other extensive accumulation of water- worn pebbles in the strata, until we arrive at the ter-> tiary deposits next above the chalk (the gravel associated with plastic clay) : we indeed, in the intermediate formations, find some traces of this kind ; for instance, in the calcareous grit beneath the coral rag, and in the iron-sand below the chalk ; but they cannot be compared with the conglomerates before N.S. Vol. 9. No. 51. Mar. 1831. 2 C described, 191? Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology described, containing only very small pebbles, such as we may consider at all times to be pretty generally distributed over the channel of the ocean. Now this absence of large water- worn fragments, as well as the circumstances attendant on the instances of their presence, appears to me to furnish data in- dicating the true theory of their origin ; for otherwise, it might be said that the ordinary action of the waves on the sea coast was quite adequate to explain the existence of these gravel beds, without any necessity of having recourse to ex- traordinary diluvial currents. But if so, why do we not find them universally intermixed among our formations ? for at every period there must have been lines of sea coast, and the ordinary action on these coasts must, of course, have been constant and uniform. Why, on the contrary, do we only find them among the products of periods which, on independent grounds (the dislocation of the strata), we must conclude to have been epochs of extraordinary convulsions, and of such convulsions as we cannot conceive to have taken place, with- out having been accompanied by much disturbance in the level of the then existing oceans, and, consequently, by vio- lent diluvial currents ? Thus, during the deposition of the oolites and chalk (as we have already observed in the first part of our essay), we observe few, and comparatively trifling indications of the operations of the dislocating forces : and here, also, we find few and trifling indications of diluvial cur- rents. But, as we have already seen, in the tertiary period the convulsions that elevated the strata of the Isle of Wight and the Dorsetshire coasts, and those which elevated much of the Alps, took place ; now we may well represent to our minds what must have been the effect of these convulsions on the sea level, if we should, for a moment, endeavour to imagine what would be the consequences of their repetition. Supposing, for example, that a new island, 800 feet high, were suddenly to be protruded from the bosom of the sea on the Lincolnshire coast, and that, at the same time, 60 miles of the adjacent flats on that coast were broken up, and their beds thrown from an horizontal into a vertical position, — what, in such a case, must be the agitation of the waters ! would not the resulting flood spread far and wide ? and may we not conceive that the diluvial waves would overtop the neighbouring chain of the Wold hills, scoop out deep valleys in them, and reduce much of their materials to the state of gravel ? The gravel associated with the plastic clay is principally composed of flints derived from the chalk strata : it may be well studied in the neighbourhood of London, as it underlies all the elevated grounds of the plain of Blackheath ; and may be bearing on Theoretical Speculations. 195 be seen in all the pits of Woolwich, Charlton, Chislehurst, and Bexley. It is distinguished from the overlying superficial gravel, by its containing the shells, &c. of the plastic clay. The upper surface of the chalk, wherever it can be examined, appears to have been deeply eroded by the currents which produced this gravel. 4. I cannot better describe the most recent accumulations of gravel, &c., than by abridging Brongniart's excellent article on the " Terrains Clysmiens ou Diluviens," in his Tableau, p. 66, &c. ; and I am happy to join to my own arguments the views of a geologist so superior. " These deposits," he says, " are the most superficial of all the rocks of the period imme- diately preceding the actual epoch : to the common characters which belong to all the formations of alluvial origin (such as are actually proceeding) they join the peculiar feature of present- ing themselves under circumstances which must oblige us, of necessity, to admit great differences, both as to the forms and elevations of the surface of the earth at the period of their deposition from the actual state, and also as to the mass and force of the aqueous currents which then prevailed. Sometimes these characters are found in their position, for they present themselves at elevations or distances whither no water-course moved by the actual forces, even the most violent, could ever possibly arrive. " Sometimes these are distinguished from all actual alluvial deposits by the volume and nature of the fragments which compose them ; for they are often of such a volume, that no actual water-course could possibly transport them, and of such a nature, that they cannot be attributed to the rocks of the soil where they are found ; but must have been detached from rocks so distant, that they must have been transported by a force, of which, in the actual state of nature, no examples are known, that can fairly bear an application to the objects and localities under observation. " The organic remains, such as elephants, hippopotami, &c., and the absence of all remains of man and his arts, offer an- other ground of distinction." I would only add to these extracts from Brongniart, whose whole article is well worthy of examination by all who wish fully to understand the subject, a few arguments drawn from particular examples. I have often been truly curious to know whether the writers who ascribe these diluvial phaenomena to the actual operations of atmospheric waters draining off the surface of the earth, ever could have attempted to present to their minds any thing like a precise view of the districts in question, and of the phae- 2 C 2 nomena 196 Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology. nomena they undertake to explain : for instance, of the struc- ture of Luneburg Heath, and all the vast diluvial flats of the North of Germany. These are occupied by one vast accumu- lation of gravel, partly chalk flints, derived, probably, from a zone of that formation, which must originally have occupied this tract (as may be seen from the chalk-pit at Luneburg), but every apparent mass of which has been swept away, and buried beneath its own ruins: but with these are intermingled vast blocks of granite, often as large as small cottages, for which, at a little distance, I have more than once mistaken them; — this granite being derived from the Norwegian moun- tains, on the opposite side of the Baltic. Now I will attempt to explain all this on the Fluvial theory. First, the rivers now flowing through the North of Germany must have changed their course so frequently, as to have covered, successively, every inch of the North of Germany, since this gravel is uni- versally distributed : and this they must have done, though we do not find from the earliest records preserved of the topo- graphy of the country, that they are in the habit of changing their course in the least. Secondly, they must have washed away every projecting mass of the chalk formation, although we do not find that the slightest mound of the most ancient entrenchments in the neighbourhood has been sensibly affected by atmospheric causes for some thousand years. Thirdly, they must have carried blocks of many tons in weight for some hundred miles, though they have now unaccountably left off transporting any thing of more than a few ounces, and that only for short distances. Fourthly, they must have trans- ported these blocks up their currents ; since the granite is de- rived from the opposite side of the Baltic, but the actual course of all the streams is towards the Baltic. I have always admired the seemingly sarcastic ingenuity of the ancient geo- metricians, in adopting the reductio ad absurdum as a mode of demonstration ; but I doubt whether even the fertile ima- gination of these worthy elders ever conceived any thing quite equal to this. But I will come nearer home. The great plain of London is deeply and universally covered with flint gravel, apparently derived from the chalk ridges of Hertfordshire, &c. : in that plain arise many insulated hills, as Highgate, Harrow, &c., and these hills are equally capped with flint gravel. Now, as no stream (not even Father Thames) can roll gravel up hill, we must suppose that the original surface of the plain was once at the same level as the tops of these hills, in order to allow the chalk flints to have been transported thither : and while things were in this state, we must suppose the then Thames to have changed Dr. A. Smith on the Origin and History of the Bushmen. 197 changed its course often enough to bear the gravel to all the points now constituting the hill tops, since they are by no means in any single line. Next, we must suppose the Thames still wandering from bed to bed, to have excavated down to the present level, that is, some 400 or 500 feet, a district of several thousand square miles. And lastly, to have univer- sally distributed the gravel over the surface so excavated : yet, since in the time of the Romans, Londinium was already an emporium, the river has been remarkably reclaimed from the fickle habits of its youth, having been ever constant to a single channel ; and the camps of that people on Wimbledon Com- mon and Holwood Hill have resisted the atmospheric action of some eighteen centuries, without material degradation. I have, about a year since, in a paper communicated to the Geological Society on the valley of the Thames, of which an analysis was given in this Journal at the time5*, mentioned instances connected with that valley, in which the diluvial peb- bles must have been derived from districts having their drain- age in directions exactly opposite to that by which they must have been transported to their present locality. (To be continued.) XXXVI. Observations relative to the Origin and History of the Bushmen. By ANDREW SMITH, M.D. M. W.S. fyc. rT^ •*• [Continued from p. language spoken by the Bushmen is decidedly a dia- lect or dialects of that in use amongst the Hottentots else- where; but in most situations is so altered and modified, as that its origin and dependence can scarcely be traced. Some express themselves almost exactly in the same manner as the Namaquas ; others by the same words, only with a peculiar pronunciation, and a third division in a style partly varied by the mode of utterance, and partly by the introduction of new words or expressions either resorted to for the purpose of com- municating newly acquired ideas, or with the design of confu- sing their tongue and rendering it only intelligible to the mem- bers of their own communities. Of the three, the latter mo- dification is by far the most general, and forms what is known amongst the colonists by the appellation "Cnese tal." From the plan just adverted to being frequently adopted, and consi- dered as of advantage in carrying on their dangerous and un- lawful exploits, very considerable modifications are even cur- * See Phil. Mag. and Annals, N.S. vol. vi. p. 61. rent 198 Dr. A. Smith's Observations relative to the rent amongst families or associates themselves ; all of which, however, are more or less perfectly understood by the popula- tion at large, though very incompletely by strangers, who are well versed in the more regular language upon which such rude and slang jargon is ingrafted. That clapping noise oc- casioned by various motions of the tongue, and which is truly characteristic of the Hottentot language, is particularly con- spicuous amongst the Bushmen, and by many is so incessantly employed, as to make it appear that they gave utterance to no articulate sounds, but only an uninterrupted succession of claps apparently unfitted for conveying any meaning, and yet com- pletely recognised and understood by those to whom they are directed. Lest the foregoing observations, setting forth the dialects of the latter as in a great measure unintelligible to the former, may yet, as has already been the case, be urged in proof of their existence as a distinct race, it may be observed that the modifications in use amongst other tribes would not be understood by the different inhabitants, were it not for the occasional intercourse and association of persons of different divisions, whereby all become acquainted with the discrepan- cies of each other. Such communications, however, do not generally take place between the Bushmen and other tribes, and consequently the dialects of the latter, instead of having been and continuing to be familiar to others, are distinctly known merely to themselves; and only, if at all, understood by strangers after long and serious consideration. That it is the seclusion and not a radical distinction that renders it incom- prehensible, is distinctly evinced by the circumstance of those who live on friendly terms with other Hottentot tribes, and unite more or less therewith, expressing their own words by such a modified pronunciation, as to render them quite intel- ligible, and to bespeak the same root for all varieties. Their articles of clothing are very simple, rude, and ineffi- cient. A kaross, somewhat in the form of a mantle, is sus- pended over the shoulders, and is according to the season of the year, or the temperature of the moment, either permitted to hang loose behind the body, or made to envelope as much thereof as its usual scanty dimension will possibly effect. Such is usually composed of sheep-skin, with the woolly side in- wards, and forms almost their only protection against the weather, being required to answer all the purposes of a dress by day, and all the offices of a covering by night. Besides that, both sexes have a more limited and partial one for hiding what the dictates of modesty forbid to be exposed ; and though the extent to which such concealment is carried is different in each, yet to a certain extent the same objects are kept in view. In Origin and History of the Bushmen. 199 In the men, a portion of skin, usually either of a jackal or of a wild cat, is suspended in front of the body from a leathern girdle which encircles the loins, and frequently a portion of dried leather hangs from the same behind to conceal at least a portion of the after parts, when the principal article of covering is too short to perform that office. Amongst the women again, the article in question is more extensive, and commonly consists of some ragged skins or pieces of leather, variously fixed together and attached round the loins, thereby enveloping more or less the whole of the parts between those and the middle of the thighs. The members of this sex also universally endeavour to procure some sort of covering for their heads, which they usually compose of the same article as that which forms the other parts of their dress; and if obtain- able of sufficient size, apply it somewhat like a turban. The men on the other hand are commonly regardless of the part just adverted to, and generally appear bareheaded, unless when hunting or exposed to the influence of a very strong sun, on which occasions they usually employ a sort of cap made of the dried skin of some animal they may have killed in the chase. The inefficiency, however, of such clothing induces them to have recourse to other means of protection besides those which have been detailed, and particularly to that of anointing their bodies and limbs with fat, either pure or variously adul- terated. In the practice of this, they have always a twofold object in view ; namely, the protection of their skin against the parching effects of heat and wind, and the agility and pliability ensured to the muscles and joints ; and whatever may be said against the custom, it is certainly a necessary and highly bene- ficial one to such as are without those complete coverings, which more civilized life supplies. The necessity of often ex- posing themselves during the great heat of the day, doubtless soon made them aware of the want of some protection against a powerful sun, and suggested the present method they pursue of forming a sort of umbrella by the disposing of ostrich fea- thers round the extremity of a common walking stick. All, as well male as female, betray a remarkable anxiety after or- naments, and evince a marked desire for every article that appears to them either gaudy or uncommon. Amongst such, the most in esteem are perhaps beads, buttons, and pieces of copper, brass, or polished steel; and what of those they hap- pen to procure, they attach to different parts, — such as the neck, ears, hair, loins, extremities, &c., and not unfrequently also to their different articles of clothing. Indeed so strong is their love of decoration, that they will, in the absence of the more desired objects for that purpose, employ those of their own 200 Mr. D. Gilbert's Statement respecting the own construction,— such as sashes formed of circular pieces of the shell of the ostrich egg, pieces of wood, teeth of wild animals, shells, young tortoises, &c. and those they display in different positions and forms, according to the fancies of the wearers. The circumstance of their having no fixed abodes goes to prevent them from having any established huts ; and the con- stant necessity of moving from one place to another in quest of an uncertain and scanty subsistence, inclines them to bestow little care or labour on their temporary dwellings. They either erect a shelter of bushes for the night, under the shade of which they repose, or dig a hole in the ground, into which they creep, or else seek a refuge in some natural crevice of a rock, or under a projecting stone, either of which they consider as quite sufficient for a transient residence. Though such is the general method they follow, in protecting themselves against the effects of the weather during the periods of their repose, yet some are more particular, and extend their consi- deration so far as to supply themselves with a sort of mat, which they place nearly upright by means of a couple of poles, viz. one at each extremity, and under the protection of that they seek their rest. [To be continued.] XXXVII. Statement respecting the Legacy left by the late Earl of Bridgewater, for rewarding the Authors of Works, to be published in pursuance of his Will, and demonstrative of the Divine Attributes, as manifested in the Creation. By DAVIES GILBERT, M.P. F.P.R.S. To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. Gentlemen, THE following short statement respecting the late Earl of Bridgewater's legacy of eight thousand pounds, and of the final arrangements made in consequence of it, may pos- sibly be thought not unworthy of a place in your Journal. The Reverend and Right Honourable Thomas Henry Egerton Earl of Bridgewater died in the month of February, 1829, at Paris, leaving his last will and testament bearing date on the 25th of February, 1825, in which he desired and directed his trustees to lay out and invest in their own names in some or one of the public Stocks or Funds of Great Britain, the sum of eight thousand pounds sterling ; the said sum with all accruing dividends thereon to be held at the disposal of the President, for Legacy left by the late Earl of Bridgewater. 201 for the time being, of the Royal Society of London, to be transferred, paid and applied, according to the order and di- rection of the said President of the Royal Society, in full, and without any diminution or abatement whatsoever, in such proportions and at such times, according to his direction and judgement, and without being subject to any controul or re- sponsibility whatsoever, to such person or persons as the said President, for the time being, of the aforesaid Royal Society should or might nominate or appoint and employ. And he thereby declared his will and particular request to be, that some person or persons should be nominated and appointed by the said President, to write, print, publish, and expose to public sale, one thousand copies of a work on the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation ; illustrating such work by all reasonable arguments, as for instance, the variety and formation of God's creatures in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms ; the effect of diges- tion and thereby of conversion, the construction of the hand of man, and an infinite variety of other arguments ; as also by discoveries, ancient and modern, in arts, sciences, and the whole extent of literature.... And he desired that the profits arising from and out of the circulation and sale of the afore- said work should be paid by the said President of the Royal Society, as of right, as a further remuneration and reward to such person or persons as the said President of the Royal Society should so nominate, appoint, and employ; with a further power to advance the sums of 300/. and of 5GO/. during the writing and printing of the said work. The testator appointed John Charles Clarmont, Thomas Phillips, and Eugene Auguste Barbier, Esquires, executors and trustees of his will. And these gentlemen, on the 14th of July 1830, invested the devised sum of 8000/. in the purchase of 3 per cent, consolidated Bank Annuities, which now stand in their names for the above specified purposes. The late President of the Royal Society having ascertained from a Noble Lord immediately connected with the deceased, that his family were desirous of having the objects of the be- quest executed, proceeded as follows : — He was fully aware of the duty imposed on him to select persons amply qualified for discharging in an adequate man- ner the task they would have to perform ; and he was also impressed with the conviction, that however carefully a se- lection might be made, several gentlemen must be omitted, possessing the requisite qualifications, equally, perhaps, with those who received the appointment. For the purpose therefore of acquiring the most able assist- N. S. Vol. 9. No. 5 1 . March 1831. 2 D ance, 202 Notices respecting New Books. ance, and of placing the whole transaction above even .the suspicion of favouritism or partiality, the late President was induced to request the aid of two individuals, as highly distin- guished by their abilities and by their learning as by the emi- nent stations which they hold in the hierarchy of the country, where able and intrepid champions have never been wanting to vindicate the natural and moral attributes of the Divinity against the equally dangerous attacks of infidelity, fanaticism, and imposture. The two distinguished prelates, the Arch- bishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, most readily condescended to afford their assistance; and after much de- liberation, and with the concurrence of the Noble Lord above alluded to, the work has been placed in the hands of the fol- lowing eight gentlemen : — The Rev. William Whewell, M.A. F.R.S., Fellow of Tri- nity College, and Professor of Mineralogy in the University of Cambridge. The Rev. John Thomas Chalmers, Professor of Divinity at Edinburgh. John Kidd, Esq. M.D. F.R.S., Regius Professor of Medi- cine in the University of Oxford. The Rev. William Buckland, D.D. F.R.S., Canon of Christ Church, and Professor of Geology in the University of Ox- ford. Peter Mark Roget, Esq. M.D., Sec. R.S. Charles Bell, Esq. F.R.S., Surgeon. The Rev. William Kirby, M.A. F.R.S. ^ William Prout, Esq. M.D. F.R.S. Each being pledged to take a part, as designated by the testator, most adapted to his acquirements and to his pursuits: and thus it is confidently hoped and expected, that a work entrusted to such individuals will appear, as a whole, worthy of the age and of the country about to give it birth. XXXVIII. Notices respecting New Books. Six Maps of the Stars. Published under the superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. London, KS30. 4to. WE congratulate our astronomical readers, as well as that large portion of the public which is interested in the science of astronomy, on the appearance of these beautiful maps. They would have formed u valuable addition to astronomical literature, had they been published on terms corresponding with those which works of this description on a similar scale ordinarily bear. But published, as they are, at a price so low as to enable every individual, who feels an in- terest in the subject, to possess himself of an atlas of all the stars visible Notices respecting New Booh. visible to the naked eye, adequate in plan and in execution to the present state of astronomy, their value becomes greatly enhanced. They form, perhaps, in a scientific point of view (with the exception of the Life of Galileo and that of Kepler, each of which must be re- garded as being, on the whole, of equal importance to them) the most valuable single part of the works published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and the precursor, we hope, of many more, characterized by similar excellence. The projection according to which these maps are laid down, is that which was suggested, for representing the sphere of the heavens, by Mr. Lubbock, (under whose immediate direction, we understand, they have been executed,) in his paper on the perspective represen- tation of a circle, published in our fifth volume, of the present series. This is the Gnomonic Projection j the stars being projected on the maps in perspective; that is, as they would be, if it were possible, at a given moment, by a Camera Lucida. The celestial sphere is thus projected upon six planes, (each of which is represented by a map,) forming the sides of a cube, the eye being supposed to be at the centre. The distortion at the corners is too trifling to interfere sensibly with the effect. The heavenly sphere is thus contained in six maps j and the poles being taken for the respective centres of the upper and lower surfaces of the cube, the sides of the cube are symmetrical, the parallels of declination on them being portions of hyperbolas, and the meridians straight lines j the upper and lower surfaces are also sym- metrical, the parallels of declination on them being circles, and the meridians straight lines. From the properties of this projection, these maps have the advantage of enabling any one to find any star or con- stellation with the greatest readiness j for, as stated in the " Expla- nation" prefixed to them, those stars which are in the same great circle in the heavens, and therefore appear to be in the same straight line, are still in the same straight line in the map. The circles of right ascension and of declination for every degree of right ascension and of declination, having been projected agree- ably to this method, the stars were laid down, we are informed in the tf Explanation," by Mr. W. Newton (author of the well-known globes) from the Catalogue of the Astronomical Society, taking all the stars in that catalogue up to the sixth magnitude, exclusive, which are about all that can be seen by the naked eye. The magnitudes as- signed to the stars represented are those of Piazzi, as given in the Catalogue of the Astronomical Society j the difference of magnitude being indicated by the number of "petals" (rays) in the asterisk denoting each star ; those which vary in magnitude (taken from Westphal's list, as quoted in the Bull des Scien. Math, for 1827,) being distinguished by the letters Var. placed over them, as well as by a different symbol from that of the invariable stars. The nebulae, it is stated, are laid down from a catalogue with which the Society was favoured by the kindness of Sir James South, and which had been reduced to the year 1 822, by Mr. Mosley, from that given by Messier in the Conn, des Terns for 1786, and from the catalogue given by Lacaille, in the same volume, of the nebulae observed by him in the 2 D 2 southern 204- Notices respecting New Books. southern hemisphere. The former, in these maps, have Messier's number underneath, those of Lacaille have no reference. The pla- netary nebulae discovered by M. Struve are also inserted, from his Catalogue novus Stellarum ciuplic.ium et multiplicium. The Milky-way is taken from Wollaston's Catalogue, "as far as that catalogue gives its boundary, that is, to about 30° south declina- tion j beyond that/' it is observed, " we know no good authority for its limits." When a star has a Greek letter in the Astronomical Society's Ca- talogue, this letter is placed against it in the map ; when the star has no Greek letter, the number which stands in the second column of that catalogue is used ; and in some few cases, when neither of these references exists, the Italic letter which corresponds to the star in the catalogue is employed. Some stars are without either of these refe- rences. The double stars have two dots following the reference, as a : Andromedse j they are taken from Sir James South's Catalogue of Double Stars in the first volume of the Transactions of the Astrono- mical Society, from the catalogue given by the same astronomer in the Philosophical Transactions for 1826, and from M. Struve's catalogue before referred to. The prefatory explanation, in addition to the statements we have abridged in the foregoing paragraphs, consists only of an interesting extract from the preface to Flamsteed's Historia Ccelestis, respecting the figures assigned to the constellations, and which contains nearly all that is known of their history. The figures assigned to them by that astronomer, after a careful examination of Ptolemy's Catalogue, which is the most ancient work in which they are found, (although it is manifest from Ptolemy's statement that similar figures had been used from a period long anterior to his,) have been closely adhered to in the present maps, having been copied from Flamsteed, for this pur- pose, by Mr. W. Clarke. The maps have been engraved, with great clearness and precision, as well as delicacy of touch, by Messrs. J. and C. Walker ; and from the union of these qualities, they have an appearance of beauty and softness unusual in maps and engraved linear representations of scientific subjects, while they are at the same time perfectly adapted — by the distinctness of every line and symbol — for reference and consultation. Their size is ten inches and a half by about ten and three quarters, being very nearly the same as that 01 the Society's Geographical Maps. Nos. I to 4 are occupied by those portions of the northern and southern celestial hemispheres which extend to about 40° of north and south declination ; No. 5 in- cludes the stars circumjacent to the North Pole -, and No. 6, those which are circumjacent to the South Pole. Having so fully expressed our approbation of this celestial atlas, an extension of which by a series of maps including stars up to the twelfth magnitude, we are glad to hear, has been determined upon by the Society, we may be permitted to mention an omission or two which we have observed in it. In the "Explanation" the only au- thorities cited for the Nebula are Messier and Lacaille as noticed above, the latter for those of the southern hemisphere j and these appear Notices respecting New Booh. 205 appear to have been the only authorities employed in laying down those objects. But in the Philosophical Transactions for 1828 is a catalogue of 629 nebulae and clusters of stars in the southern hemi- sphere, observed at Paramatta by Mr. Dunlop, no use of which ap- pears to have been made in the construction of these maps. Lacaille, we believe, observed only about 40 or 50 nebulae and clusters oi stars in the southern hemisphere ; 26 of which, besides the Nebula Major and Nebula Minor, are given. Now although a large number of those described by Mr. Dunlop may be too small, (like the remainder of Lacaille's,) to be laid down in the present series of maps, and may require to be reserved for that which, as we have mentioned, is now in preparation, yet it seems probable that out of nearly 600 nebulae and clusters observed solely by Mr. Dunlop, some must be equal in apparent magnitude to the 26 of Lacaille's which have actually been inserted, and must therefore require inser- tion in the present series equally with them. The " Planetary Nebulae" discovered by Struve, of which it is re- marked in the " Explanation " that " they deserve to be reckoned amongst the most interesting objects in the heavens," have with great propriety been inserted j and No. 8 of Struve is the only one of them which appears in the maps representing the southern hemi- sphere. Now Nos. 266 and 267 of Dunlop probably belong to this interesting class of bodies, especially the latter. Annexed to Mr. Dunlop's Catalogue are two elaborate plates, very correctly laid down from observations, of the Nebula Major and Ne- bula Minor, no use of which seems to have been made in representing those nebulae in the maps. In Mr. Dunlop's plates their forms appear to differ considerably from those given in the maps ; and the places assigned to them by Mr. Dunlop, differ from those given by Lacaille. In laying down the Milky-way, Mr. Dunlop's detailed map of it, from the Robur Caroli to Scorpio, does not appear to have been referred to. Lacaille is quoted in the "Explanation " as the only authority respecting the dark space in the southern cross ; and this phaenome- non, it is observed, " does not seem to have been attended to in any celestial globes or maps." This also is particularly mentioned by Mr. Dunlop, and is very accurately laid down by the telescope in his map of the Milky-way. If we are correct in our estimation of the value of Mr. Dunlop's observations, and if also the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge should agree with us in the propriety of introducing such of their results as come within the range of magnitude of the present maps, in future impressions, probably, the omissions which we have noticed will be supplied. [B.] XXXIX. Pro- t' 206 ] XXXIX. Proceedings of Learned Societies. ROYAL SOCIETY. Jan. 13 & 20, A PAPER was read, On the Equilibrium of Fluids 5 18M I. •£*• and the figure of a homogeneous Planet in a fluid stale ; by James Ivory, Esq. A.M. F.R.S. The author considers the essential property of a fluid, and that on which its definition should be founded, as consisting in the perfect mobility of its particles among one another. If abstraction be made of the force of gravity, or other accelerating force, when a conti- nuous fluid is at rest, and consequently in a state of equilibrium, all its particles are equally pressed in every direction, are equally distant from one another, and are similarly arranged about every in- terior point. No fluid is absolutely incompressible ; but the degree of compressibility may be conceived to be so small as not to affect the results j and it is accordingly disregarded in the investigations which occupy the present paper. These investigations are built on the assumption that the hydro- static pressure at every point of the fluid is the same function of the three rectangular co-ordinates of the point drawn to three planes intersecting one another at right angles. The author shows that the algebraical expressions of the accelerating forces producing the pres- sure are not entirely arbitrary ; because they must necessarily be equal to the partial differential co-efficients of a function of three in- dependent variables, and therefore they are likewise the same func- tions of the co-ordinates of their point of action in every part of the mass. This is one of the conditions required for the equilibrium of a mass of homogeneous fluid; and a second necessary condition is, that these functions of the ordinates are capable of being integrated. When these two conditions are fulfilled, the determination of the figure of equilibrium is reduced to a question purely mathematical. For we can form an equation expressive of an equilibrium between the accelerating forces and the variation of pressure, and by integra- ting this equation we may obtain the hydrostatic pressure ; whence maybe deduced the equation of all those points at which there is no pressure, that is, of the outer surface of the fluid. All that is then requisite for securing the permanence of the figure of the fluid, is that the pressures propagated through the mass be either supported, or mutually balance one another. The upper surface, which is at liberty, and where there is no pressure, and all interior surfaces, where the pressure is constant, have the same differential equation ; and from this the author infers that such surfaces are perpendicular to the resultant of the accelerating forces acting upon the particles con- tained in them. These interior surfaces were denominated by Clai- raut level surfaces ; and they are distinguished by the two proper- ties of being equally pressed at all their points, and of cutting the re- sultant of the forces at right angles. The author next extends the investigation to heterogeneous fluids, the different parts of which vary in their density, and deduces a si- milar Royal Society. 207 milar conclusion to the former with respect to the perpendicularity of the interior level surfaces to the resultant of the accelerating forces, which act upon the particles situated in each surface respectively. He discusses the hypothesis of Clairaut, of narrow canals traversing the mass in various directions, and shows that the same results follow from it as from the general theory. The conditions laid down by Clairaut, and all other authors, as those which are necessary for the equilibrium of a homogeneous fluid, are these two : — first, the accelerating forces must be expressed by the partial differential co-efficients of a function of three independent co-ordinates j secondly, the resultant of the forces in action at the upper surface at liberty must be perpendicular to that surface. The author shows that the second condition is a consequence of the first ; and he states the independent conditions of equilibrium to be these: — first, the expressions of the forces must be the same func- tions of the co-ordinates in every part of the mass ; secondly, the same expressions must be the partial differential co-efficients of a function of three independent co-ordinates. In a very extensive class of problems, the difference in the two ways of laying down the conditions of equilibrium disappears. But the theory of Clairaut cannot be extended to the cases in which the particles mutually attract or repel one another, or where the accelerating forces depend on the figure of the mass of fluid. Such is the condition of a homogeneous planet in a fluid state, in which there are forces which prevail in the interior parts, but vanish at the surface ; and which are, therefore, not taken into account in Clairaut's theory. But since these forces tend to change the figure of the fluid, that theory is in- adequate to give an exact determination of the equilibrium in those cases. In the second part of the paper, the author applies his theory of the equilibrium of fluids to the determination of the figure of the pla- nets, under the supposition that they are composed wholly of fluid materials. For this purpose he first considers the problem of deter- mining the equilibrium of a homogeneous mass of fluid entirely at liberty, when the accelerating forces are known functions of the co- ordinates at their point of action. In the investigation of this pro- blem, he supposes that the centre of gravity is at rest, and undis- turbed by the action of any accelerating force. He then supposes the fluid to be in equilibrium, and that three planes are laid down, intersect- ing one another at right angles in the centre of gravity of the mass, to which planes the particles of the fluid are referred by rectangular co-ordinates. The algebraical consequences of this supposition are then pursued, the conditions necessary to equilibrium pointed out, and the conclusion deduced, that the resultant of the accelerating forces is perpendicular to the outer surface, and also to the interior level surfaces of the fluid, at every point of which there is the same inten- sity of pressure. The figure of the fluid being determined, it remains to inquire, whether the equilibrium is secure ; and the result of the inquiry furnishes an equation which proves that the particles have no tendency to move, from any inequality of pressure. A further 208 Royal Society. A further discussion is entered into in order to prove that the pres- sures propagated from the surfaces into the interior parts balance and destroy one another, which completely establishes the permanence of the figure of the fluid. It is also shown that the mass of fluid, under these circumstances, has no tendency to turn upon an axis. To illustrate the foregoing problem, the author applies it to the de- termination of the figure of equilibrium of a homogeneous mass of fluid entirely at liberty, of which the particles attract one another with a force directly proportional to the distance, at the same time that they are urged by a centrifugal force caused by rotation about an axis. He then enters upon the investigation of the second problem, in which the law of attraction of the particles is that of the inverse du- plicate ratio of the distance j and finally arrives at the conclusion, that the form of the fluid in equilibrium is, exclusively of all other figures, an oblate elliptical spheroid of revolution, and that its axis of rotation is the lesser axis of the spheroid. He also shows that within the spheroid there are no more than two sets of surfaces equally pressed by the action of the exterior fluid ; arid no more than two diffe- rent spheroids of equilibrium answering to the same rotatory motion. If the whole spheroid be one of small oblateness, the greatest of the interior surfaces of equable pressure, which is not a level surface, stands upon the equator ; and the rest are within this, and are simi- lar to it, and similarly posited. When it is very oblate, the greatest of these surfaces is described about the lesser axis -, and the rest are within it, and are similar to it, and similarly posited. The existence of two sets of interior surfaces, that are equally pressed at all their points by the action of the exterior fluid, is inconsistent with Clairaut's theory, and is a proof of its insufficiency for determining the figure of a homogeneous planet. Jan. 27. — A paper was read, On the probable electric origin of all the phenomena of Terrestrial Magnetism, with an illustrative ex- periment ; by Peter Barlow, Esq. F.R.S. Corr. Mem. Inst. France, and of the Imp. Acad. St. Petersburg!!. The author begins his paper by a retrospect of the several discove- ries on terrestrial magnetism made since the commencement of the present century. Humboldt, by his numerous and accurate observa- tions on this subject, laid the foundation of all the scientific know- ledge relating to it, which we hitherto possessed. The task of reducing these observations to definite principles, by subjecting them to calcu- lation, was undertaken by Biot ; and the conclusion which he drew from them was, that, on the hypothesis of the earth's being a great magnet, the facts would best accord with the supposition that its two poles are coincident, or indefinitely near to each other, at the centre of the globe. The same result was also obtained, though by a different process of reasoning by M. Kraft of St. Petersburgh. It followed as a necessary consequence that terrestrial magnetism ob- serves a law different from that of a permanently magnetic body, but identical with that of a body in which transient magnetism is excited by induction. The law which obtains in the case of a sphere of iron rendered Royal Society. 209 rendered magnetic by induction was first investigated, in 1829, by Mr. Barlow j and also, by Mr. Charles Bonnycastle, Professor of Mathematics in the University of Virginia -, it has since been amply confirmed by the more elaborate analytical investigations of Pois- son. But the result of all these inquiries, instead of affording us clearer notions of the action of terrestrial magnetism, tended rather to perplex and obscure our views respecting its nature and operation. While our knowledge was in this imperfect and almost retrograde state, a new light broke in upon us in the great discovery of Oersted, which, by disclosing the intimate relation which electricity bears to magnetism, must be regarded as forming a new era in the history of this department of physical science. The operation of the tangential force between a galvanic wire and a magnetic needle was pointed out by the author, in a paper which was read to the Royal Society in the year 1822 j and was still more fully examined by M. Ampere, who extended the investigation to the law of the reciprocal action of gal- vanic currents on one another ; and thence deduced a general theory of magnetic action. Having established the general fact that the magnetism which is induced on an iron ball resides only on its surface, and acts accord- ing to the same laws as the magnetic influence of the earth, the author was desirous of ascertaining whether he could succeed in imi- tating the effects of terrestrial magnetism by distributing galvanic currents round the surface of an artificial globe. This conjecture he put to the test of experiment, by having a hollow wooden globe constructed, sixteen inches in diameter, with grooves cut at all the parallels of latitude distant by 10° from each other. Copper wires were then laid in these grooves, and disposed so as to allow of the transmission of a galvanic currrent in similar directions through the whole system of these circular wires. This being effected, it was found that a magnetic needle, properly neutralized, so as to be ex- empt from all influence from the earth, and freely suspended in different situations on the surface of this artificial globe, assumed positions ex- actly analogous to those of the dipping-needle in different parts of the earth. The author has no doubt that if the electrical currents in this experiment could be increased indefinitely, the apparatus might be made accurately to represent every circumstance of mag- netic dip and direction actually observed in nature. It thus appears that all the phenomena of terrestrial magnetism may be produced by electricity alone : for it is evident, that in place of the needle employed in the experiment above described, the gal- vanic needle of Ampere might have been substituted, to the complete exclusion of the only magnetic part of the apparatus. The discovery of Seebeck, that heat applied to a circuit of metallic conductors developes galvanism, and consequently gives rise to magnetic induction, supplies another link in the chain of evidence, that terrestrial magnetism is purely an electrical phenomenon, de- riving its origin, during the diurnal revolution of the earth, from the action of the sun's rays on successive portions of its surface, in d.» rections parallel to the equator. The probability, therefore, is now N. S. Vol. 9. No. 51. March 1831. 2 E much 210 Linnaean Society. much increased, that magnetism is a quality not essentially distinct from electricity. Feb. 3. — A paper was read On the Lunar Theory. Communicated by the Rev. Dr. Lardner, F.R.S. The subject treated of in this paper is introduced by a review of the labours of Clairaut, Euler, D'Alembert, and Thomas Simpson. The theories of these eminent men, the author remarks, were very defici- cient in accuracy, and were not at all adequate, without correction from observation, to the construction of tables. They could serve only to point out the arguments of the equations, and not all even of these. The inequalities of the moon's motion are investigated by ap- proximating processes, which lead to results more or less accurate, according as the approximations are carried to a greater or less ex- tent. The writers above mentioned had contented themselves with short and easy approximations j and though they had accomplished much, had yet left much more to be done. Subsequently to these, Mayer published an elaborate theory of the moon j but his coefficients required much correction, the results of his computations being in some cases found to differ very widely from observation. A much greater degree of accuracy was attained by Laplace, who bestowed particular attention to the influence of minute quantities, in every part of his theory. In the present paper the author has endeavoured to introduce further improvements into the lunar theory, by carrying the approximations considerably further than had hitherto been ac- complished. In the solutions of the problem given by former mathematicians, the chief obstacle to the attainment of accuracy was the extreme length and labour of the necessary computations. Another object, therefore, which the author has had in view, is to facilitate these com- putations, and render them less laborious. This he endeavours to effect by the employment of certain artifices, by which the multiplicity of small terms will, with their coefficients, be reduced within a prac- ticable compass, and their numerical computation rendered less ap- palling. The coefficient of the equation depending on the moon's distance from the sun, affords the means of calculating the sun's horizontal parallax. For this purpose Laplace has computed this coefficient with greater accuracy than the rest j and he makes the sun's pa- rallax nearly 9". The author's theory gives it little more than 8J", which is very near the mean of the various results obtained by the observation of transits. He thinks that there is, therefore, great reason to conclude that its true value is about this quantity. LINN.EAN SOCIETY. Feb. 1. — A. B. Lambert, Esq. in the chair. A communication from John Blackwall, Esq. F.L.S. was read, in- titled Remarks on the Pulvilli of Insects. In this paper the writer con- troverts the statement of Dr. Derlmm in his Physico-Theology, sup- ported by Sir E. Home, and generally adopted by naturalists, that the feet of flies and other insects are furnished with " skinny palms," which enable them to stick on glass, £c, by means of the pressure of Geological Society. 211 the atmosphere. Mr. Blackwall states that he found that minute hairs very closely set and directed downwards so completely cover the in- ferior surface of the expanded membranes, improperly called suckers, with which the terminal joint of the tarsi is provided, that it cannot possibly be brought into contact with the objects on which these in- sects move. He concludes, from observation and experiment, that the insects traverse the vertical sides of smooth bodies, by means strictly mechanical, as Dr. Hooke had suggested. Feb. 15. — The reading of Mr. Blackwall's paper on Spiders was concluded. • • GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Jan. 5. 1831. — A paper was read entitled, " On the general struc- ture of the Lake Mountains of the North of England, and on the great dislocations by which they have been separated from the neighbouring chains ;" by Prof. Sedgwick, Pres. G.S. The country, of which the author hopes to give a detailed descrip- tion in a series of communications, is bounded to the west and the south by the waters of the Irish Sea and Morecambe Bay. Towards the north it descends into the plain of the new red sandstone within the basin of the Eden ; and on the east side it presses against, and partly encroaches on, the central carboniferous chain of the north. Within these limits are found two distinct classes of rocks, all the cen- tral region being composed of crystalline unstratified rocks, irregu- larly associated with great formations of schist, which are subdivided (agreeably to the system first published by Mr. Otley of Keswick,) into three well defined groups ; while on the outskirts of these older formations is a broken zone of carboniferous limestone, and exten- sive deposits of superior [secondary] strata. The author avoids all mineralogical details ; and after noticing the effects produced by the several formations on the external features of the country, describes at great length the range of a band of transition limestone (from Millam in Cumberland, to the neighbourhood of Wasdale Head in Westmoreland) nearly across the whole physical region under con- sideration ; and states that it is finally cut off by a protruding boss of granite, which he regards as newer than the limestone. Upon this description he founds the following conclusions. 1st. Great cracks and fissures were formed at a very ancient pe- riod, diverging from the central regions, and intersecting the line of bearing of the strata. All the great valleys in the range described, are scooped out in the prolongation of these breaks, which were in all cases accompanied with internal movements ; the present po- sition of the systems of strata on the opposite sides of a transverse valley sometimes indicating a relative lateral movement of more than a mile in extent. These singular changes of position are re- ferred partly to a true lateral shift, and partly to subsidence. Reasoning from analogy, the author concludes that all the great diverging valleys of the Lake Mountains took their origin in fissures probably formed during the period of the protrusion of the central syenite and granite. 2ndly. He observes that the upper and lower systems of the slate 2 E 2 rocks 212 Geological Society. rocks are often violently contorted; while the central system, thougb cracked and fissured as above described, hardly ever exhibits the in- dicationsof any flexures. This is explained by the presence of enor- mous unbending masses of compact felspar, porphyry, &c., which are so intimately associated with the middle division of the slate that the formations cannot be separated. The appearance is explained by referring the felspathic rocks to some modification of sub-marine volcanic action ; by supposing that igneous and aqueous causes acted together, and that the operations were many times repeated. Srdly. The mean line of bearing of the different systems is shown to be nearly N.E. by E., and S.W. by W. This makes them, one after the other, to abut against the carboniferous zone ; from which it follows that they must also be unconformable to it. The author confirms this inference by referring to detailed sections ; and, from the whole of the evidence, he concludes, that the central Lake Moun- tains were placed in their present position, — not by a long-cor.- tinued, but by a sudden movement of elevation, before or during the period of the old red sandstone. Lastly, He enters into some details, from which he endeavours to show, that if lines be drawn in the principal bearing of the fol- lowing chains (viz. the southern chain of Scotland from St. Abbs Head to the Mull of Galloway ; the grauwacke chain of the Isle of Man, the slate ranges of the Isle of Anglesea; the principal grau- wacke chains of Wales, and the Cornish chain), they will be nearly parallel to each other, and to the line of bearing of the Lake Moun- tains, as above indicated. The elevation of all these chains is referred to the same period ; and the parallelism is not regarded as acci- dental ; but as a confirmation of one of the great principles upon which are founded some of the most beautiful generalizations of the Essays recently published by M. Elie de Beaumont. The author next describes the system of faults by which the Lake Mountains were broken off from the central carboniferous chain. After some speculations on the original extent of the carboniferous deposits, which were spread out from the Scotch border to the central plains of England, and perhaps continuous with the similar deposits on the Bristol Channel, he points out some peculiarities of the western coal-fields. Istly. The axes of the several contemporaneous basins are not parallel. 2ndly. The causes which produced this arrangement appear to have partially affected the then neighbouring grauwacke regions. Thus the transition slate of North Devon does not range parallel to the mean bearing of the grauwacke chain, but to that of the Welsh coal-field. Srdly. These coal-fields are contrasted with the carboniferous chain of the north, extending from the latitude of Derby to the mouth of the Tweed : and it is inferred, from the nature of the beds resting on the edges of the dislocated strata, that the eleva- tions of the south-western and northern systems were not perfectly contemporaneous. 4thly. The Geological Society. 213 4thly. The coal-fields of the Bristol Channel have no well- fined line of bearing, and have produced but small effects on the range of the superior secondary formations, which from the south coast to the latitude of Derby are nearly parallel to the mean range of the grauwacke chains above indicated. On the contrary, the great carboniferous chain north of Derby has produced a direct influence on the bearings of the newer formations. He then briefly describes the structure of the great carboniferous chain of the North of England. The forces of elevation appear on the whole to have acted (though not without considerable devia- tions) on a line bearing nearly north and south. The position of the High Peak limestone, and the great north and south faults on its western side, are first noticed ; and the axis of elevation is con- tinued by help of an anticlinal line through the region of millstone grit, separating the Yorkshire and Lancashire coal-fields. The reap- pearance of the carboniferous limestone, its high elevation, and pro- longation to the Scotch border, and the faults which range near its western escarpment are then noticed ; and the great Craven fault (de- scribed in detail by Mr. Phillips) is traced still further towards the north from the hills of Barbondale to the foot of Stainmoor. The na- ture of the dislocations is illustrated by sections ; and it is shown that the prolongation of the Craven fault from Mollerstang, to Stain- moor foot has thrown down the carboniferous system with an in- verted dip into the valley of the Eden, and produced a dislocation precisely similar in kind to that near Ingleton, described in detail by Mr. Phillips, and indicated in one of Mr. Conybeare's sections. — It is further shown that these dislocated mountain masses, becom- ing more expanded and less inclined, are prolonged without any further break of continuity into the northern zone of the lake moun- tains. A great fault which ranges at the foot of the Cross Fell Chain, and meets the Craven fault at the foot of Stainmoor at an obtuse angle, is then described ; and it is shown that when it strikes the carboniferous chain above Brough, an effect is produced precisely similar to that which accompanies the prolongation of the Craven fault. By the intersection of these faults, the very complex rela- tions of the mountain masses, in the last ramifications of the Eden, and the insulated position of the Lake mountains are at once ex- plained. Lastly. The author speculates on the origin of the phenomena described, and points to the different crystalline rocks appearing near the carboniferous chain. He proves that the great breaks took place immediately before the oldest deposits of the new red sand- stone, and endeavours to show that they were produced by a vio- lent and transitory, and not by a long-continued action. Jan. 19. — The reading of a paper, entitled " Supplementary Observations on the structure of the Austrian and Bavarian Alps,'' by Roderick ImpeyMurchison, Esq. Sec. G.S. F.R.S. was begun. Feb. 2. — The reading of the paper, by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. Sec. G.S. F.R.S., begun at the last Meeting, was concluded. This 214 Geological Society. This memoir contains the results of observations made by the au- thor during last summer, with the view of extending the researches of Professor Sedgwick and himself* : the present remarks being limited to the consideration of that portion of the Alps, on the northern side of the axis, which is included between the lake of Constance on the west, and Vienna on the east, followed by a short description of the valley of the Danube. 1 . Primary Rocks. — He notices that Mr. Partsch and himself discovered that traces of the primary axis of the Alps reappear in the Leitha-gebirge, and are there overlaid on each side by tertiary deposits. 2. Transition Rocks tvith Iron Ores are briefly alluded to, merely for the purpose of marking their place in the series. 3. Rauchwacke or Magnesian Limestone. — The author shows that the formation is much developed near the eastern termination of the Austrian Alps, (St. Johann, Kirchbiichel, Sobenstein, &c.) that it there dips under red sandstone and Alpine limestone, and is quite similar to rocks occupying the same position in the Tyrol (Schwatz, Soil, &c.). 4?. New Red Sandstone with Salt and Gypsum. — In former sections, (published by Professor Sedgwick and the author,) this formation is only designated in one line of valleys, i. e. along the great es- carpment of the Alpine limestone j recent observations have, how- ever, convinced the author, that it is reproduced in other longitu- dinal depressions, further removed from the axis of the chain. In the valley of Abtenau, for instance, he ascertained that the red sandstone containing thick masses of gypsum and several salt- springs, dips conformably on one side under black shale and lime- stone, of the age of the lias, and on the other is overlaid uncon- formably by the shelly deposits of Gosau. He also cites Berchtes- gaden, with its salt-mines, as another case of a valley in which the new red-sandstone is denuded, and he shows that the strata there dip beneath the whole of the oolitic series of the Kneifel- berg and Untersberg. 5. Lower Alpine Lime&tone, or Lias and Inferior Oolite. — It is stated that the dark-coloured limestone and shale which surmount the red sandstone at Abtenau, range northwards with various con- tortions, and are well exposed in the gorge of the Mertelbach be- low Crispel ; where, accompanied by M. Von Lill, the author col- lected several fossils, viz. : Ammonites, two species, (one very near to A. Conybeariy) Pecten, three species, small Gryphaea, Mya, Perna, two species, Ostraea, Corallines, &c. In mineral characters these beds, it is said, closely resemble some of those of Whitby, from which, together with the complexion of the fossils, and their place in the series, the author refers the group to the lias. An * Prof. Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison's paper on the Austrian Alps, here alluded to, will be found in the Philosophical Magazine and Annals, vol.viii. p. 81 — EDIT. overlying Geological Society. 2 1 5 overlying red, encrinite limestone, contains at least five or six species of Ammonites and some Belemnites ; amongst the former is the A. multicostatus. This red limestone crops out on both sides of the valley of the Salza near Hallein, and reappears in various places in the Salzburg Alps (Aussee, Ebensee, &c.). 6. Salt Deposits — The place assigned to most of the salt-mines of the Austrian Alps in the memoir of last year, has been confirmed ; and additional sections are given at Halstadt and Aussee to prove that the salt masses in these places are fairly encased in Alpine lime- stone. In other localities, however, as above indicated, this mine- ral is shown to occur in the same formations as in England. . 7. Upper Alpine Limestone, or Upper Oolite. — In this group the author comprehends semi-crystalline, brecciated, scaly, compact and dolomitic limestones. The Hippurite limestone, though with some doubt, is considered to mark the superior limit of this series, the author having been led to this conclusion from the relations seen on the north flank of the Untersberg, at Windischgarsten,Gosau and the Wand, in all of which places there are passages from the Alpine limestone into the Hippurite rock. 8. Sandstone, Calcareous Grit and Shales, Slaty Limestone, #c.— The Gres de Vienne is placed by the author as the lowest member of this group ; although in the eastern termination of the Alps he agrees with M. Bou6, that its separation from the Alpine limestone cannot well be effected. All along the chain, however, from the Enns to the lake of Constance, he thinks that the grits and shales with fucoids constitute a natural group distinguished in external charac- ters from the Alpine limestone, and that they there form the lowest term of the green sand. He then describes several transverse, pa- rallel sections across that zone. The first of these is in the valley of the Allgau or Sonthofen, in the upper end of which, near Miesel- stein, the grits and fucoid shales are broken through by gneiss, which appears to have been heaved up in a solid form posterior to the deposition of the former j whilst in an adjoining gorge dikes of igneous rocks seem to have made unavailing efforts to pierce through the overlying mountain of the Schwarzenberg. The dis- locations and inversions of dip in the parallel ridges of the Allgau are described in detailed sections. At the mouth of the valley the Grinten, a narrow serrated mountain, ranging E.N.E. and W.N.W., is composed of many of the same rocks described last year at Nes- selwang, but owing to a complete reversal of dip the lowest beds or inferior green sand are thrown into juxtaposition with a ridge of conglomerate of tertiary age, which dips to the north beneath the molasse of the plain. The lowest beds are nearly vertical, and consist of brown chert ; these are succeeded by green, calcareous sandstone and grit highly inclined, containing Inoceramus concentric cus, Myaplicata, Plicatulapectinoides, a small Gryphsea, Ammonites and Belemnites, — fossils characteristic of the middle and lower green sand. The overlying strata are a cream-coloured limestone with ammonites, passing up into a slaty red marly limestone undi- stinguishable from Scaglia, The formations seen in the Grinten, therefore, 216 Geological Society. therefore, are a part of the lower, all the upper green-sand, and probably a portion of the chalk. 9. Lower Nummulitic Limestone and Shale, fyc. (Sonthofen Iron Ores). — The strata containing the iron ores at Sonthofen surmount the preceding series in the gorge of the Starzlach. The author considers them, from the character of their fossils, particularly Spa- tangi, certain species of Nummulites, Belemnites, Terebratulae, and Trigoniae, to be more connected with the cretaceous than with the superior formations. To show the essential difference be- tween the age of these iron ores of Sonthofen and those of the Kressenberg, a detailed section is described from south to north on the banks of the Traun, where a vast thickness of lower, nummu- litic, calcareous grit, with shales, marls, and cretaceous beds, as ex- hibited in vertical strata opposite the town of Arzt, are shown to be of the same age as those of Sonthofen, and are clearly proved to be overlaid by the nummulitic iron ores of the Kressenberg. 10. Upper Nummulitic Iron Ores. — It is to the shelly iron ores at Kressenberg, and not to those of Sonthofen, that Professor Sedg- wick and the author assigned the place of transition -tertiary beds, — a place, the correctness of which, it is contended, is now established as clearly by the evidences of superposition, given in this memoir, as it formerly was by Count Minister, from the vast predominance of tertiary fossils. The natural section on the Traun is then completed, by showing that the iransition-tej-tiarybeds are conformably overlaid by inclined strata of pebbly sandstone and marls, in the higher part of which, near Traunstein, there are a number of shells unquestionably of tertiary age. All these inclined strata are capped by a thick range of horizontal coarse conglomerate. Sections made on the flanks of the Untersberg confirm the observations of the previous year, and show the Hippurite limestone dipping under the green sand and shale, — the green sand and cretaceous beds surmounted by a vast thickness of nummulitic, green grit; and this again overlaid by blue marls with shells of the age of Gosau and Kressenberg *. Other localities are noticed, where detached remnants of both the lower and upper nummulitic groups were visited by the author, (St. Pancratz, Mattsee, &c.), and the Gryphite abounding in these beds is stated to be not the Gryphcea columba, but a new spe- cies. Through the labours of Mr. Lonsdale, eight species at least of Nummulites have been distinguished, some of which characterize the lower or secondary strata at Sonthofen, Arzt, and Mattsee, others together with a coral (Nummulina complanata) prevail in the transi- tion-tertiary groups of Kressenberg, Schweiger Mill, &c. Having thus, both by superposition and by fossils, shown the existence on the' flanks of the chain of a deposit with a predominance of tertiary and very few secondary shells, as distinguished from a lower group * This section as given last year was necessarily terminated by the river Saal, because the Hogl on its northern bank consists of an unconformable mass of secondary grit and shale (green sand), which is thrown off from the Stauffen, a promontory of Alpine limestone. in Geological Society. 217 in which secondary fossils prevail, the author proceeds to point out accumulations of the same age, at various heights, within the great secondary chain of the Alps. In the valley of Gosau several new facts are enumerated. The edges of the shelly deposit are seen to rest on red sandstone, on Alpine and Hippurite limestone, and on green sand. Besides the underlying conglomerate *, the shelly system is considered to be clearly divisible into two parts, of which the inferior contains many secondary as well as tertiary fossils, with Tornatella (Turbinel- lus, Sow.), Nerinea/rolled Hippurites, &c. ; whilst the superior blue marls abound with myriads of shells of a tertiary aspect, and many corals, of species figured by Goldfuss, from the tertiary formations at Castel Arquato, Bassano, &c. As all the conchologists who have seen the unmixed shells of these upper blue marls have declared that they belong to formations newer than the chalk, the author conceives this case, therefore, to be now established beyond dispute, both by stratigraphical and zoological evidence : and he further is of opinion that the slaty overlying psammites of the Horn and the Ressenberg clearly repre- sent the molasse. A case of more extraordinary elevation than that of Gosau was this year discovered by the author, in the Alpine pasturage of Zlam above Aussee and Grundelsee, where blue marls with Cerithea, sharks' teeth, &c., overlie calcareous grits and conglome- rate, with Tornatella and Nerinea, and are carried up in a cleft of Alpine limestone to at least 6000 feet above the sea. Several lo- calities mentioned by Dr. Boue are then alluded to : Windisch- garsten is a valley similar to Gosau, of which, according to the au- thor, it exhibits only the lower shelly beds, and amongst the conti- guous rocks on which these repose, are grits, fucoid shales, Hippu- rite limestone, younger Alpine limestone, &c. Formations of the transition-tertiary age are then described on three sides of the Wand, a mountain of Alpine limestone, at the eastern extremity of the Alps, where the author made various sec- tions assisted by Mr. Partsch of Vienna. At Piesting Meyersdorf, Dreystetten and Griinbach, they found that the shelly, blue marls invariably occupied the same place in the series as at Gosau. At Griinbach, the ascending order, as seen in vertical strata, is Alpine and Hippurite limestones, green grit and shale, coal beds with freshwater shells, nummulitic grit, marls with Gosau shells and corals. In none of these sections could Mr. Partsch or the author detect the trace of Belemnites, said to have been found here by Dr. Boue. II. The memoir next describes the valley of the Danube. It is stated that the phenomena on the flank of the Bohemian chain, even where it approaches very near to the Alps, are entirely different from any that have been previously described. In a section from Vilshofen, on the Danube, to Schaerding, true clu'Ik with flints and characteristic fossils is seen, at Ortenburg, rest- * See former Memoirs. N.S. Vol. 9. No. 51. March 1831. 2 F ing 218 Geological Society. ing horizontally on black granite. The surface of this chalk is cor- roded, and the fissures are rilled, and covered by sands with oysters, and these again by blue marl, all wearing the aspect of the lower tertiaries in England. These beds in the Inn-kreis, at Pielach near Molk, &c. &c. stretch horizontally round promontories of gneiss and granite, and offer a remarkable contrast to the vertically and dislo- cations of the strata of the same age in the opposite and principal chain of the Alps. These discrepancies of arrangement, when coupled with the dif- ferences in the direction of the two chains, are cited as corroborating some of the views of M. Elie de Beaumont : for the Bohemian mountains trending from N. W. to S. E. are seen not to have been moved from a very ancient period ; whilst the principal chain of the Alps running from W.S.W. to E.N.E. is found to have undergone one of its last convulsions posterior to some of the most recent ac- cumulations. The tertiary deposits in the valley of the Danube and basin of Vienna are cursorily enumerated. At Pielach and other places near Molk, the lower blue marl or " Tegel " alternates with, and is sur- mounted by, yellow sand ; and the lowest beds of this system are presumed to be the equivalents of the London clay and lower Sub- apennines. The middle and higher tertiary deposits are alone well seen in the basin of Vienna, and this the author attributes to the gradual declen- sion in the height of the Alps in their range to the east, by which the older tertiaries, which rest on their edges, are not brought to day in that neighbourhood. These lower beds have, however, been reach- ed by borings near Vienna, where 300 feet of the inferior blue Tegel have been traversed, even to the white sands. The lower blue marl is covered by yellow sands containing many species of shells, and this again passes up into upper blue marl. It is from these upper sands and marls, although of not half the thickness of the lower, that nearly all the known shells of the basin of Vienna have hitherto been collected ; and hence the author infers that it is impossible to decide upon the comparative age of all the formations in this basin until the species of the different deposits be separately ascertained, — a work which he hopes to see accomplished by M. Partsch. The blue marls and sands are proved to be overlaid by a pebbly, calcareous conglomerate, which graduates upwards into the Leitha- Kalk or great, white, coralline building-stone of Vienna, containing bones of Tapir, Mastodon, &c. (Loretto, Margarethen, Eisenstadt, Wollersdorf ) } and this rock is identified, by the author, with the coral limestone of Lower Styria, formerly described by Prof. Sedg- wick, and himself. It is stated that freshwater limestone, with Lymnaea, Helix, and Planorbis, is seen in patches (Eich Kogel, &c.), but that where this formation is absent, the Leitha-Kalk is usually succeeded by thick accumulations of gravel and sand, with concretions, and bones of Tapir, Mastodon, Anthracotherium, &c. ; these gravel beds being of the Geological Society. 219 the same age with the superior deposits of Lower Styria, through which it has been asserted in a former memoir, that basaltic and trachytic eruptions have penetrated. Lastly. The superficial covering of the low countries of Austria, called Loss *, is mentioned as being of great thickness and extent, containing bones of extinct species of elephants, mixed up with ter- restrial shells of existing species, which character, combined with its loamy structure, is considered to indicate a tranquil period of deposit. Recapitulating the principal points illustrated in this memoir, the author recurs to that essential part of it, in which, following up the idea of Prof. Sedgwick and himself, he endeavours to prove the large development and persistence in the eastern Alps of certain shelly deposits, of an age intermediate between the chalk and the tertiary formations ; and he concludes by expressing an opinion, that with more extended examination, geologists may arrive at the con- clusion, that the disturbing forces which in the West of Europe have destroyed the formations succeeding to the chalk, were local phenomena, which operated through a limited portion only of the earth's surface. Feb. 16. — A letter was first read from Peter Cunningham, Esq. dated Newcastle on Hunter's River, New South Wales, Oct.16,1829 ; and communicated by John Barrow, Esq. F.R.S. &c. This letter is written with a view to give some insight into the former state of the interior of New South Wales, and the writer accompanies it jAvith a few organic remains ; amongst others, with the second cervical vertebrae of a large animal found, on the surface. He states, that a great ridge separates the eastern and western waters, running from N.N.E. to S.S.W. and that in Liver- pool plains the oldest rock appeared to be a hard, blue granite with red sandstone on its flanks. Granite has also been seen at the Wallanbai rivulet, at Carrington, and at Waybong, — distances of 35, 55, and even 100 miles from the sea. In the Liverpool range, it is said, there is a slaty, blue rock resembling grauwacke, and that this is succeeded, about 26 miles up the Patterson, by a coarse, red sandstone, and that again by a blue limestone. Another limestone is described as having an oolitic structure with corals on its surface. Most of the alluvial tracts in this part of the colony (Liver- pool plains, &c.) are spoken of as consisting of rich, black, loose mould, formed by depositions from the hills, which on the slopes arrays itself into ridges, and in the plains into alternate hillocks and cavities. Much red sandstone with salt springs is stated to exist in the inte- rior, as well as on the coast of the colony, and the red, loose, sandy soil is said to be generally covered with the " iron tree", and with long, weak spikes of flaccid grass. It is to the want of an admixture of clay, or any retentive stratum, with the sands, that the author attri- butes the great deficiency of water in the colony, boring having been found quite useless throughout the absorbent sandstone country, al- though in the immediate flanks of the primary ridges water gushes * See former Memoir, Phil. Mag. & Annals, N.S. vol. vii., p. 49. 2 F 2 out 220 Astronomical Society. out freely, and chalybeate and saline springs occur at short distances from each other. The coal of the colony appears to be a lignite, and is associated with grey marlstone containing impressions of leaves of dicotyledonous plants. The secondary rocks contain casts of Terebratulae and other shells j but the author does not attempt to make out precisely the order of superposition, or the equivalents of the strata. A memoir was then read " On the Geology of the Island of Juan Fernandez, in the Pacific Ocean, by Alex. Caldcleugh, Esq. F.G.S." After a sketch of the past history and present state of this island, celebrated as the place of exile of Alexander Selkirk and the scene of the fabulous adventures of Robinson Crusoe*, the author proceeds to state that it is about twelve miles in length and four in breadth, pos- sessing three ports, and consisting of very high land, the culminating point of which rises to about 3005 feet above the sea. The author could discover no trace of a volcano said to exist here by former visitors j all the rocks, according to him, consist of basaltic greenstone and trap of various mineralogical structure, both amorphous and vesicular, together withtrappean concretions, no other contained minerals being observable except olivine and metastique [?] . It is fur- ther mentioned that the basalt in parts is almost columnar, and in others has a peaked and serrated outline, the mass being, here and there, traversed by dykes. Owing to the peculiar character of this basalt, and especially from the great quantity of olivine, the author compares its age with that of Bohemia, the Rhine, the Vivarrais, and Beaulieu in Provence. ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. Dec. 10, 1830. — The following communications were read : — I. On a Method of determining the Declinations of Stars with one Mural Circle, by J. Pond, Esq. A.R. II. A Letter from Capt. Philip P. King, R.N.on a Comet seen near the South Pole. " This comet was discovered by Lieut. Wickham, of H.M.S. Adventure, on the night of the 1 8th of last March. An ima- ginary line from y Crucis through a Crucis to the smaller nebula, being crossed by another from Sirius through the larger nebula, their intersection would be very close to the comet's position. It was very bright and large. At midnight the following angular dis- tances were measured with a sextant. Comet and a Crucis 31° 50' 30" Sirius 71 0 0" Three weeks after, when Captain King had arrived at the Strait of Magalhanes, the comet was too faint to be observed: it was seen near 0, j/, <5 Junonis Pavo. * There appears to be some confusion in this statement, aiising proba- bably from the prevailing, though, we believe, erroneous supposition, that the fiction of Robinson Crusoe was founded on the real adventures of Alex- ander Selkirk in Juan Fernandez. The scene of the adventures of Robin- son Crusoe, as is evident from the particulars related in the narrative, is an island supposed to be situated on the north-eastern coast of South America, opposite the mouth of the river Amazons. — EDIT. A notice Astronomical Society. 221 A notice of the same comet, from Sir Alexander Johnstone, was communicated by Mr. Baily. It was discovered by Prof. Dabadie, at the Mauritius, on the evening of the 16th of March. It was first seen between the Chameleon and the great nebula. The next day it had advanced about 5° towards the north, and it continued in this direction with a diminished velocity, till it reached the eastern wing of Cygnus, where it disappeared about the end of May. The length of its tail never exceeded 5°. Professor Dabadie had no observa- tory; but he made a great number of observations of its distance from several stars, and from three of these he deduced the follow- ing elements. Longitude of ascending node = 228° 31' Inclination of the orbit = 49 46 Place of the perihelion =238 13 Perihelion distance = 0-897 Passage of the perihelion, April 11, at 2lh Motion direct. The distances from which these elements are deduced are as follows : — 1830. True time at Port Louis. March 19 at 8" 45m 50s Comet and Canopus = 36° 11' 920 Comet and a Centauri= 34 50 April 1 16 48 0 Comet and a Centauri= 69 34 17 21 0 Comet and a Aquilse = 43 50 April 15 16 25 50 Comet and a Aquilae = 21 50 40 50 Comet and a Centauri == 97 39| III. A letter from Sir Thomas Brisbane, with occultations of fixed stars by the moon, observed at Makerstown, lat. 55° 34' 45" N. long.0h 10m4s W. IV. An Account of a private Observatory, recently erected at Bedford, by Capt. W. H. Smyth, R.N. Capt. Smyth gives sixty observations of standard stars, for each of which the zenith point was determined by the collimator, and de- duces from the mean of the whole, The latitude of the Bedford observatory 52° 8' 25"-45 By eight observations of Polaris, above and below"j pole, face east and face west, instrument ad- >52 8 29 *71 justed by the plumb-line and levels J Mean 52 8 27-58N From six observations of the moon and raoon-culminating stars, half of the first and half of the second limb, and compared with corresponding Greenwich observations, The longitude of the Bedford observatory =lm 51s<975West. From four corresponding occultations . .*. 1 51*486 From thirty-eight non-corresponding ocO cultations and eclipses of Jupiter s sa- > 1 47 *948 tellites J Capt. Smyth is inclined to adopt, for the present, lm 5P*7. ZOOLOGI- Zoological Society. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. January 25, 1831. Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart, in the Chair. A specimen of the Cereopsis Novce HoUandice, Lath., which had recently died at the Society's Menagerie in the Regent's Park, was exhibited.— Mr. Yarrell stated that having examined the body of the bird, he had remarked that its trunk was much shorter than that of the true Geese, and more triangular in its shape : the pectoral muscles were large and dark coloured. The trachea was of large, but nearly uniform, calibre, without convolution, and attached in its descent to the right side of the neck as in the Heron and Bit- tern -j in the form of its bone of divarication and bronchia it most resembled the same part in the Geese. The muscles of voice were two pairs ; one pair attached to the shafts of the osjurcatoriumt the other to the inner lateral surface of the sternum. The lobes of the liver were of large size, morbidly dark in colour j their substance broke down under the finger on the slightest pressure. The sto- mach, a true gizzard, was of small size as compared with the bulk of the bird. The first duplicature of intestine was six inches in length, at the returning portion of which the biliary and pancreatic ducts entered ; from thence to the origin of the cceca four feet six inches ; the cceca nine inches each ; the colon and rectum together five inches : the whole length of the intestines was seven feet five inches. The stomach and intestinal viscera were loaded with fat 5 the other parts exhibited nothing remarkable. Internally this bird,which was a male, resembled the true Geese ; but externally, in the character of the bones, particularly in the rounded form of the edge, and great depth, of the keel of the ster- num, and the lateral situation of the trachea in reference to the cer- vical vertebrtz, it was decidedly similar to the Ardeidce. Mr. Yarrell availed himself of the occasion to remark that the Natatores of Mr. Vigors's systematic arrangement in Ornithology were placed between the Grallatores or Waders on the one side, and the Raptores or Birds of Prey on the other: and that the order con- tained five groups, two of which, the Alcadae and Colymbidce^ were called normal, containing those birds which were considered to be the types of the true Swimmers, and three groups, Anatidce^ Peleca- nidce, and Laridce, called aberrant, as deviating from the type, and exhibiting some characters which connected them either with the Grallatores or the Raptores. Some of the Laridcc and Pelecanidce in the length of their wings, their consequent power of flight, and the mode of taking their food in the air, exhibited their obvious affinity to the Birds of Prey on the one hand ; while some of the Anatidce, by their lengthened legs and neck, and their habit of passing much of their time on land or frequenting shallow pools of water, showed an equal affinity to some of the Waders. This was the case with the Cereopsis, and occurred also in the Semipalmated Goose and in another Goose now living in the Society's Gardens, the Anserju- batus, Spix. It was stated that in proportion as these birds departed from the characters of the true Gccsc in their external appearance and habits, and Zoological Society. 223 and in both approached to the Ardeidce, they would also be found on examination to resemble them in their internal organization. In proof of this an extensive series of parts of the skeletons of birds from the true Divers to the Cranes was exhibited, and the peculia- rities pointed out. The keel of the breast-bone in the Ducks and true Geese was shown to be of considerable depth, with its inferior edge nearly straight ; those of the Semipalmated Goose and Cereopsis were shown to be much deeper in the keel, and the inferior edges much more convex ; and comparison with the same parts from the Spoonbill, Herons, Bitterns, and Storks, showed the approximation to the Ardeidce in form. The peculiarities of the whole series indi- cated, between the two extreme points, the developement of the powers of flight as contrasted with the maximum of the powers of diving, in a succession of characters as easily recognisable in the skeletons as in the external appearances of the birds themselves, and supplied a valuable auxiliary chain of affinities to assist the natura- list in his views of arrangement. On the subject of the Cereopsis Mr.Bennett observed, that having lately had occasion to investigate the history of that bird, hehad met with some facts respecting it which might not be without interest. After noticing the mistakes in Dr. Latham's original description and figure, which have been already corrected by MM. Temminck and Vieillot, he pointed out certain errors in those given by the two last-named writers, as compared with the bird on the table, and with seven living specimens in the Society's Collection, all of which, he believed, had been hatched in this country. Thus in the description of the latter author it is said, " la tete est couverte d'une peau nue, ridee et jaune, depuis la base du bee jusqu'audela des yeux"; and in that of the former, " une peau ridee et jaunatre couvre le front"; but this supposed naked skin does not exist in nature, and although represented in M. Vieillot's figure, is very properly omitted in that of M. Temminck. The latter indeed is, with the exception of the legs being coloured of a dingy yellow instead of a deep orange, a very characteristic representation. No synonyms had hitherto been added to the original name ; but Mr. Bennett stated that he had little doubt, both from the description and locality, that a bird mentioned by Labillardiere as seen at Esperance Bay, on the south coast of New Holland, and named by M. Vieillot, in the " Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle," Le Cygne cendrc, was of the same species. To this bird it would ap- pear, from d'Entrecasteaux's Narrative, that the unfortunate Riche had applied in his MSS. the name of Anas Terrce Leeuiuin. On a specimen, in all probability not distinct, brought home by Labillar- diere, M. Vieillot founded a new species of Goose, Anser griseus, described at length in the second edition of the " Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat." If this assumption be correct, the same individual must have afterwards served as the type of his figure of the Cere- opsis ; for only a single specimen of that bird existed until very lately (or indeed probably still exists) in the gallery of the Paris Museum, in which Labillardiere's specimen was deposited. A speci- 224 Zoological Society. A specimen was exhibited of a small species of Deer from Chili, which had lived in the Society's Menagerie for upwards of twelve months, and which Mr. Bennett stated that he believed to be new. It is a female, and consequently does not offer the accessory cha- racters which zoologists have been in the habit of deriving from the horns. The other distinctive marks are as follows : CERVUS HUMILIS. Cerv.parvus, obesus, brevipes jfacielatd, brevi, obtusa ; Jissurd infra-orbitali mediocri ; cauda subnulla : cor- pore totonifo, antice nigrescenti, postice fronte pedibusque infe- rioribus saturatioribus, infrh dilution. Alt. ad humeros vix 1 £ ped. : long, cauda? vix unciam superans. Mr. Bennett added that he was informed by Captain P. P. King, R.N., that a second skin of the same species had been brought to England by him ; that the young was spotted with yellow, and had a yellow stripe on each side of the back ; and that the animal was plentiful at Conception, and found even as far south as the Archi- pelago of Chiloe, living, he believed, in small herds. A hybrid Pheasant belonging to the Society having lately died at the Garden, Mr. Yarrell observed that he had examined its body, a preparation of a part of which, together with the preserved skin, was then on the table. He remarked that in mules produced be- tween animals placed at different degrees of distance from each other in the scale of Nature, it was a point of some interest to as- certain the relative state of the sexual organs, which it might be expected would be found more or less perfect, depending on the extent of the distance interposed between the parent animals. The bird in question was a male, bred between the pheasant and the common Jowl) but most allied in appearance to the former. The sexual organs appeared to be perfect and of large size for the pe- riod of the year. Three examples of the Ardea Nycticorax, Linn., were placed on the table. On these Mr. Yarrell observed that the Menagerie of the Society had furnished an interesting link in this species, in a young bird which united in its plumage the brown spotted wing of the Gardenian Heron with the black head and ash-coloured back of the Night Heron : thus exhibiting the change from the young to the adult bird, and proving that the two supposed species are really but one. Two living specimens were exhibited of the Suricate, Ryzccna tetradactyla, lllig., which had recently been added to the Society's Collection. Both individuals were extremely gentle, and suffered themselves to be handled and played with, without evincing any uneasiness. At the request of the Chairman, Mr. Martin reported the morbid appearances observed in the Lion which recently died at the So- ciety's Gardens. Before removing the skin, the whole of the body presented a remarkably bloated appearance, which was found on exa- mination to be owing to general emphysema. This was suspected by Mr.Martin to be the result of morbid arterial secretion ; it could not have been caused by putrefaction, the animal having been dead but a few Zoological Society. 225 a few hours, and (he body being still warm. The same appearance had been not unfrequently observed by Mr. Spooner, the Veteri- nary Surgeon of the establishment, in animals worn out by linger- ing chronic disease. On examining the lungs, their cellular struc- ture was found completely obliterated, except in one small portion, where alone any oxygenation of the blood could have taken place. They presented a dark appearance on the surface, with a hardness or density of structure which must have resulted from long-conti- nued inflammation. They were also studded with tubercles. On cutting into them, purulent matter oozed from the incision, and several abscesses, though not large, were discovered. The liver was dark, and so soft as to break down with the slightest touch. The spleen presented no decided trace of disease. The intestines adjacent to the liver were tinged with a dark and somewhat purplish hue ; but although distended with air presented nothing remark- able. The stomach contained only a little bile and mucus. The muscles generally were pale and flabby, as might have been anticipated, where a chronic disease had wasted the vital energies, and where the blood, impeded in its passage through the lungs, had long ceased to be sufficiently oxygenated. Mr. Owen commenced the reading of his account of the Myology of the Simla Satyrus, L. He confined himself to the notice of such muscles as are peculiar to that animal, and have not any ana- logues in the human frame ; of those which, if analogous, deviate remarkably in their proportions and attachments; and lastly, of such as have been considered as of doubtful existence in the Orang. The occipito-frontalis, which escaped the observation of Tyson and Dr. Traill (Wernerian Trans, iii.) in the Chimpanzee, and which some physiologists have asserted to be peculiar to man, is distinctly developed in the Orang Utan. Portions of this muscle were also found on the head of a Chimpanzee that had been flayed with great care, the rest having been removed with the scalp, to which the tendinous part closely adheres. The following muscles of the face were described, corrugator supercilii, levator labii superioris alceque nasi, levator anguli oris, zygomaticus major, depressor anguli oris, orbicularis palpebrarum and orbicularis oris. On reflecting the inner membrane of the lips, the depressores labii superioris and levatores labii inferioris were found of considerable breadth and strongly developed : their action in protruding the lips in a conical form has been frequently noticed by those who have had opportunities of observing the living animal, The platysma myoides is of greater extent than in the human subject, and some of the fibres have a different direction, bearing a greater resemblance to the cervical portion of the panniculus carno- sus in some quadrupeds, as the Beaver and Guinea-pig. The muscles of mastication, and the articulation of the lower jaw were described. The digaxtricus has not any connection with the os hyoides, the anterior fleshy portion being altogether wanting in the Orang Utan. It is inserted by a strong round tendon into the angle of the lower N. S. Vol. 9. No. 51. March 1831. 2 G jaw. 226 Zoological Society. jaw. This circumstance is interesting in connection with the me- morable dispute between Dr. Monro (primus) and the French ana- tomists, concerning the actions of this muscle; and it is remarkable that Winslow, with his accustomed ingenuity, should have alluded to such a disposition, in illustrating his opinions of the actions of the digastricus on the lower jaw in the human subject. Some peculiarities in the mylo-hyoideus, genio-hyoideus, sindomo-hyoideus were noticed. The peculiar muscle discovered by Tyson in the Chimpanzee, and called by him levator clavicular, arises in the Orang Utan from the occiput and transverse process of the atlas. In the Chimpanzee which Mr. Owen dissected, he also found it arising from the trans- verse process of the atlas, and not from the second or third cervical vertebra. It is inserted broadly into the humeral extremity of the clavicle. Neither in the Orang Utan nor in the Chimpanzee is there any true ligamentum nuchtz. The part commonly so called in the human subject, consisting also in these animals only of the inelastic com- missural tendons of the trapezii, the rhomboidei and the serrati postici superiores. To give additional support, however, to the head of the Orang Utan, which preponderates so far anterior to the oc- cipital foramen, the origins of the rhomboidei are extended upwards to the occipital bone, to which they broadly adhere, beneath the trapezii. In the Chimpanzee this disposition does not occur, but in both animals the rhomboideus is a single muscle, without division into a greater and lesser portion. Three muscles supply the place of the pectoralis major in the Orang Utan. Their proportions and attachments were minutely described; and while speaking of these with reference to each other, it was found convenient to apply to them the names of sterno- humeralis, costo-humeralis, and sterno-costo-humeralis. The reading of the remainder of this part of the anatomy of the Orang Utan was postponed to a future meeting of the Committee. Several species of Birds belonging to the collection recently made by Capt. Philip P. King, R.N., during his survey of the Straits of Magellan, were exhibited. Other birds from the same collection had been named and characterized! at the Meeting on the 14-th of December : and on the present occasion Capt. King pointed out the distinctive characters of the following species which he believed to be new. SYNALLAXIS ANTHOIDES. Syn. supra brunnea, plumis in media fusco late striatis, tectricibus alarum superioribus rufo tinctis ; subtus pallide cinerea ; rectricibus lateralibus ad marginem exler- num,fa. c, three parhelia all nearly of the apparent size of the sun; d, e, a column of white light meeting the horizon downwards, and indefinitely extended upwards \f)g, /*, portions of a broken solar halo, exhibiting distinctly the prismatic colours; it &, lj three luminous trains of light terminating in points, the train k being highly coloured with yellowish-red vapour, probably owing to its being situated in the centre of the column of light rf, e ; it was also much longer than the other two, i and /, which were very faintly tinged : the train m terminated very abruptly, but was more di- stinct than the train n, which terminated in a point. These interesting phenomena were refracted upon dense atte- nuated cirrostratus vapour; but as it was rapidly moving out of the refracting angles of the sun's rays, they did not continue visible for more than twelve minutes. — W. H. WHITE, H.M.C.S. AURORA BOREALIS OF THE ?TH OF JANUARY. Gosport Observatory, Jan. 7th, 1831. In the afternoon of this day there was a peculiar brightness in the atmosphere near the horizon, for several degrees on each side of the true north point, which indicated the approach of an aurora : in- deed we have reason to suspect that it was a faint appearance of one, while the sun shone in all his splendour, without the interpo- sition of cloud or vapour. Shortly after sunset an aurora borea- lis gradually rose above the northern horizon, and at a quarter past five o'clock it had assumed the form of an arch of refulgent light ten degrees high, and seventy degrees wide. From this time till half-past five it continued to increase in the intensity of its light, expanding to the western point of the horizon and 55 degrees to the eastward of north, which made the chord of the aurora 155 degrees. Now a bright flame-coloured rainbow-like arch, between three and four degrees broad, and pretty well defined at its upper edge, ema- nated from the curved edge of the aurora to an altitude of 35 degrees; and while it remained apparently stationary, a beautiful rainbow- like arch, still more brilliant, formed about ten degrees south of the zenith, by streamers suddenly springing- up from the N.E. by E. and W. by S. points of the horizon and meeting in the zenith, so that these two bows presented themselves at the same time. At thirty-five minutes past five the latter bow, in some parts four and in others six degrees wide, divided a little to the eastward of its vertex ; and the long streamers which formed it passed off gently to the southward in very bright patches, two in the S.E. and one in the S.W. quarters, like luminous clouds, and continued in sight nearly a quarter of an hour. One of these bright patches nearly covered Orion several minutes. At forty minutes past five another rainbow-like arch, equally wide and bright, was formed by long streamers from about the same points of the horizon, whose point of convergence was the same, and its course through the feet of Gemini, near the Pleiades, through Aries, the square of Pegasus, the head of Equuleus, and the bow of N.S. Vol. 9. No. 51. March 1831, 2 H Antinous 234 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. Antinous. It passed off gradually towards the south, and at a quar- ter before six the planet Mars, tlien near the meridian, and about 45 degrees in altitude, rested, as it were, conspicuously on it. At six it had gone far towards the southern horizon, and could scarcely be perceived, leaving the sky unusually clear and bright. By this time the bow over the aurora had much increased in altitude, and was nearly effaced. At a few minutes past six, after a great many coloured columns of light had risen from the N.E. and N.W. quarters, and passed the zenith, the aurora sunk considerably towards the horizon ; but its upper edge remained bright and very well defined. Some of the streamers or columns were long, others short, and the widest gene- rally remained long enough to pass through a gradation of prismatic colours. At half-past six the aurora again increased in altitude, and vivid coruscations radiated from every part of its arch, and on intermixing with each other formed wide columns, which were so grand with crimson tints as to astonish every spectator. Between seven and eight the aurora had spread at least two-thirds over the heavens, and as far as the shoulders of Orion on the eastern side of the meridian, when large perpendicular columns, and short pointed luminous coruscations, rising from the aurora like glitter- ing spears and conical points in nearly parallel rows, now mixing and then dividing, all passed through red, orange, lake, crimson, green, and purple tints, so that the appearance altogether over so great an extent of the heavens was awfully grand and sublime, par- ticularly when contrasted with the cerulean sky, and its spangled constellations in the southern portion of the hemisphere. At ten minutes before eight, when the aurora was in its greatest splendour, several thousand persons had assembled in groups in va- rious parts of the town and neighbourhood, and where they could get an uninterrupted sight of Portsdown Hill, behind which the finest part of the aurora appeared. At five minutes before eight another luminous rainbow-like arch stretched across the heavens from the eastern point of the horizon, and displayed several prismatic colours while passing southward. Soon after eight a large tenebrious space, in and near the horizon, presented itself several degrees on each side of the magnetic north, and the aurora still far over the heavens, gradually diminished. At nine it again ascended, and wide columns rose from every part of its arch, and passed through the same colours as before mentioned. Between nine and ten the magnetic needle, which in the early part of the evening stood at 24 degrees West of the true North, was disturbed, and receded upwards of half a degree northward, either by the influence of the aurora, or by a change of wind from N.E. to S.W. and of course a change in its electrical state. At a quar- ter before eleven there was a grand display of about twelve or four- teen glowing columns from the aurora, several of which passed beyond the zenith, when a perfect red rainbow-like arch, ten de- grees above the aurora, was visible. At eleven another bow 3^ degrees wide rose from the aurora, and passed through Aries, Cassiopeia, Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles". 235 Cassiopeia, Ursa Minor, and the square of Ursa Major: it soon reached the zenith and gradually disappeared. At half-past eleven the aurora again began to sink slowly, and did not rise afterwards. At five minutes before twelve a large bril- liant meteor, the only one observed through the night, passed under Ursa Major. At one o'clock A.M. the highest part of the aurora about the magnetic north had sunk to within six or seven degrees of the horizon ; yet bright coruscations occasionally emanated from it till two, when the observations were discontinued, as no more interesting meteoric appearances were likely to occur. The vertex of each of the rainbow-like arches that were formed by streamers from or near'the intersecting points of the aurora with the horizon, coincided with the magnetic north within one or two degrees, and uniformly preserved this parallelism in passing off towards the south. During the evening and night, while the aurora was pretty high, the light which it spread through the atmosphere was equal to the light of the moon shining through a very attenuated cloud j and the stars which formed the square and tail of Ursa Major were almost imperceptible, inconsequence of the refulgence of the aurora. Of all the auroras boreales that have been observed here the last twenty years (some say forty years), this was the most exten- sive, the most beautiful in colours, and the most interesting, on ac- count of the singular phaenomena which it displayed, in the number of distinct luminous bows, which were presented in the course of the night. This aurora borealis was seen at Paris and at Brussels. In two days and a half after the aurora a very strong gale of wind came on from the north-east, and continued about twenty-four hours. There were also faint auroras on the preceding and following evenings ; and a luminous one, though not high, from six till nine in the evening of the 1 1 th, which would have been interesting but for the interposition of clouds throughout the night. A MODE OF ASCERTAINING THE VALUE OF MANGANESE ORES. Dr. Turner, Professor of Chemistry in the London University, has given a method of ascertaining the commercial value of the ores of manganese, in the last Number of the Royal Institution Journal, the object being solely to ascertain the relative quantities of chlorine, which an equal weight of each ore was capable of supplying. The method of manipulating is as follows : — About ten grains of the ore in fine powder is introduced into a flask capable of containing about an ounce of water, and into its neck is fitted by grinding a bent tube about two inches long, which conducts the chlorine from the flask into a tube about sixteen inches in length, and five-eighths of an inch wide, full of water, and inverted in a small evaporating capsule, employed as a pneumatic trough. The apparatus being adjusted, the flask is half filled with concentrated muriatic acid, the conducting tube in- stantly inserted, and heat applied by means of a spirit-lamp. The air of the flask, together with the chlorine, is then collected, the greater part of the latter, if the gas is not very rapidly disengaged, being ab- 2 H 2 sorbed 236 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. sorbed in its passage j and, consequently, the receiving tube, at the close of the process, will be about half full of gas. When the ore is completely dissolved, the last traces of the chlorine are expelled from the flask by muriatic acid gas. In order that the chlorine thus col- lected may be entirely absorbed, the aperture is closed by a ground stopper, or still more conveniently with the finger, and the gas is well agitated until the chlorine is wholly absorbed. As the solution in the inverted tube may become too saturated to dissolve all the chlorine, it is convenient to fill a pipette with pure water, and, with the aid of the mouth, force a current to ascend into the tube, and thereby cause the heavier solution to flow out into the capsule. The absorption being complete, the solution of chlorine is intro- duced into a six- or eight-ounce stoppered bottle, and a dilute solution of green vitriol, made, for example, with a hundred grains of the crystallized salt and a pintof water, is added in successive small quan- tities until the odour of chlorine just ceases to be perceptible. The quantity of liquid required for the purpose may be conveniently mea- sured in a tube about sixteen inches long, and three quarters of an inch in diameter, divided into two hundred parts of equal capacity, and supplied with a lip, so that a liquid maybe poured from it without being spilled. In conducting this part of the process, the operator will perceive two odours : — at first, the characteristic odour of chlo- rine, accompanied with the peculiar irritation of that gas ; and, sub- sequently, an agreeable, somewhat aromatic odour, unattended with the slightest irritation. The object is, to add exactly so much solution of iron as suffices to destroy the former of these odours, without at- tempting to remove the latter j a point which, with a little practice, may be readily attained. The whole of the iron is thus brought into the state of peroxide. The first trial is generally accompanied with some loss of chlorine, and should only be used as a guide to a second and more precise ex- periment. Accordingly, a weighed portion of the same ore is dissolved, and the chlorine collected as before, except that the solution of green vitriol, in quantity rather less than sufficient, is at once introduced into the inverted tube and capsule. A more ready and perfect ab- sorption of the chlorine is thus effected, and the subsequent addition of a small quantity of sulphate of iron suffices for completing the process. The principal sources of error in this method are the two following : — loss of chlorine, by smelling repeatedly, and exposure to the air •when the gas is absorbed by pure water ; and oxidation by the air when the absorption is made directly by means of the solution of iron. The small flask and inverted tube are apt to retain the odour of chlo- rine, and should therefore be rinsed out with the absorbing liquid. It should be remembered, also, that a given quantity of chlorine will emit a more or less distinct odour, accordingly as it is more or less diluted. But by operating always in the same manner, and employ- ing such weights of different ores, that equal quantities of the solution may contain nearly equal quantities of chlorine, it is easy to be inde- pendent of these errors of manipulation by causing them to aftect each Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 237 each experiment to the same degree -, it will accordingly be found, with a little practice, that results of surprising uniformity may be thus obtained ; and even the constitution of pure oxides of manganese may be ascertained by this method, almost with the same accuracy as by directly determining the quantity of oxygen. The substance first used by Dr. Turner to determine the quantity of chlorine was a solution of indigo; but a weak solution of green vitriol, employed by Mr. Dalton for ascertaining the strength of bleaching powder, was found to be more precise in its indications. ELECTRO-CHEMICAL DECOMPOSITION OF THE VEGETO-ALKA- LINE SALTS. Mr. Brande states that Sir H. Davy suggested the possibility that morphia, when electrified in contact with mercury, might afford re- sults corresponding to those which Berzelius had observed in respect to ammonia, thinking that the nascent elements of the morphia, as liberated by electrical decomposition, might effect a similar apparent amalgam of mercury : he probably made a few experiments on the subject, which do not appear to have been recorded. Mr. Brande electrified moistened morphia and mercury, the metal being rendered first feebly, and afterwards more powerfully, negative. No change occurred in the fluidity of the metal, nor when mixed with water did it exhibit any appearance of having united to foreign metallic matter j cinchonia similarly treated exhibited similar results. Quina, when moistened and electrified in contact with mercury on a. disc of positive platina, presented different appearances : the metal became filmy, butyraceous, and had its fluidity diminished. When put into water, a peculiar motion was perceptible on its surface, small globules of gas were liberated, and it slowly regained its usual aspect. These appearances were eventually referred by Mr. Brande to the ob- stinate adhesion of a small quantity of lime to the quina,and of which he has not been able to deprive it. The electro-chemical decomposition of the salts of the vegeto- alkalies is very characteristic, in consequence of the difficult solubility of their bases. When a solution of sulphate of morphia, cinchonia, or quina is decomposed between two plates of platina, the negative plate, if the solutions be strong, is soon covered with a white crust of the alkaline base, which gradually falls off in films ; when the solution is more dilute, they fall in the form of a white cloud. No appearances of metallization were obtained by electrifying mer- cury negatively in contact with the above-named "salts. When in- fusions of opium, bark, and nux vomica were treated in this way, no distinct separation of their difficultly soluble alkaline matter occurred, as might have been expected, probably in consequence of the multi- plicity of substances present. — Royal Institution Journal, Feb. 1831. LUNAR 238 Meteorological Observations for January 1831. LUNAR OCCULTATIONS. Occupations of Planets and Jixed Stars by the Moon, in March 1831. Computed for Greenwich, by THOMAS HENDERSON, Esq. ; and circulated by the Astronomical Society. 1 Immersions. Emersions. Stars' 1 j 0. Angle from Angle from 1831. Names. "c -^ ^ Sidereal Mean Sidereal Mean of time. solar time. faj s time. solar time. *5 CJ 0 J5? OT •3 w 1J tj ^ fc* > fc^ > h m h m o h m h m o Mar. 1 65 Virginis 6 1531 8 27 9 51 116 7°9 9 12 10 36 200 166 66 Virginis 6 1532 9 5 10 29 85 50 10 12 11 36 227 198 I* Virginis 6 1545 14 36 15 59 35 49 15 42 17 5 277 301 5 m Scorpii 5 1907 13 41 14 49 72 46 15 1 16 8 256 242 24 18 Leonis 6 1177 7 37 7 31 345 319 j) almost touching Star. — Occulted to places fur- ther North. 28 k* Virginis 6 1500 8 10 7 48 40 3 9 9 8 47 274 241 31 y Librae 4-5 1764 14 50 14 15 102 96 16 2 15 27 222 228 METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR JANUARY 1831. Gosport: — Numerical Results for the Month. Barom.Max.30-60.Jan.7. Wind N.E.—Min. 29-08. Jan. 21. WindS.E. Range of the mercury 1-52. Mean barometrical pressure for the month 29-823 Spaces described by the rising and falling of the mercury 6-500 Greatest variation in 24 hours 0-800. — Number of changes 18. Therm. Max. 53°. Jan. 23. Wind E.— Min. 25°. Jan. 25. Wind N. Range 28°.— Mean temp.of exter. air 38°'69. For 30 days with 0 inV? 37'57 Max. var. in 24 hours 180>00.— Mean temp, of spring-water at 8 A.M. 49-42 De Luc's Whalebone Hygrometer. Greatest humidity of the atmosphere, in the morning of the 1 7th ... 99° Greatest dryness of the atmosphere, in the afternoon of the 31st ... 62 Range of the index 37 Mean at 2 P.M. 78°-0.— Mean at 8 A.M. 83°-3.— Mean at 8 P.M. 82-0 of three observations each day at 8, 2, and 8 o'clock 81'1 Evaporation for the month 0-85 inch. Rain in the pluviameter near the ground 2-30 inches. Prevailing wind, E. Summary of the Weather. A clear sky, 3£ ; fine, with various modifications of clouds, 8 ; an overcast sky without rain, 13; foggy, i; rain, sleet and snow, 6. — Total 31 days. Clouds. Cirrus. Cirrocumulus. Cirrostratus. Stratus. Cumulus. Cumulostr. Nimbus. 11 7 27 0 9 7 31 Scale Meteorological Observations for January 1831. 239 Scale of the prevailing Winds. N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. W. N.W. Days. 4 5i 8 5| 2* 1 i 4 31 General Observations. — The first part of this month was dry, the latter part was wet and alternately mild and cold, with occasional gales of wind. After the aurora borealis in the evening of the llth, the sky was hidden by clouds till the 24th, with the exception of about one day. On the 23rd the thermometer in the shade rose to fifty-three degrees, and on the 26th only to thirty-four degrees : in the night of the 22nd it receded only to forty-six degrees, but in the night of the 25th, to twenty-five de- grees, the minimum temperature for the month. On the 25th and 26th there was a uniform elevation of the mercury in the barometer, but a very sudden depression of four-fifths of an inch on the 27th, with rain. On the 28th and 29th-the mercury rose half an inch in the tube, and a little snow came on with an easterly wind. On the de- scent of the mercury on the 31st between three and four inches of snow fell here in the night, even with a strong gale from the south. In the neighbourhood of London upwards of two feet in depth of snow are said to have fallen upon a plane surface about the same time ; and in place? where it had drifted, the stage-coaches could not pass before it was cleared away, consequently they were several hours behind their usual time. The atmospheric and meteoric phaenomena that have come within our observations this month, are one lunar halo, four meteors, four aurorae boreales, and seven gales of wind, or days on which they have prevailed, namely, four from the North-east, one from the East, one from the South, and one from the South-west. REMARKS. London. — January 1, 2. Fine. 3, 4. Overcast. 5. Foggy. 6. Fine: clear and frosty at night. 7. Clear, with frost : dense fog at night. 8. Frosty. 9. Overcast. 10. Hazy, with small rain. 11. Cloudy and cold. 12, 13. Drizzly and foggy. 14. Hazy. 15, 16. Cold and clamp. 17. Cloudy: slight rain at night. 1 8. Rain : lightning at night. 19 — 23.Wet. 24. Sleet: frosty at night. 25, 26. Clear and frosty. 27. Sleet. 28, 29. Fine. 30. Fine: foggy at night. 31. Frosty: fog in the morning, succeeded by a heavy fall cf snow. Penzance. — January 1. Fair: rain at night. 2. Rain : fair. 3. 4. Fair. 5. Misty. 6. Fair. 7— 9. Clear. 10— 16. Fair. 17— 19. Misty: rain. 20. Fair: rain. 21,22. Rain. 23. Fair: misty. 24, 25. Showers, hail, and rain. 26. Showers. 27. Rain. 28. Showers. 29, 30. Fair : rain. 31. Fair. Boston.— January 1 . Fine. 2,3. Cloudy. 4. Misty. 5. Cloudy. 6. Fine. 7. Fine : northern lights very brilliant in the evening. 8, 9. Fine. 10 — 16.Cloudy. 17. Cloudy: rain P.M. 18. Fine. 19. Mist)'-. 20.Cloudy: stormy with rain P.M. 21, 22. Cloudy: rain at night. 23. Rain. 24. Cloudy. 25. Fine : snow early A.M. 26. Fine. 27. Cloudy. 28. Fine. 29, 30. Cloudy. 31. Fine. Meteoro- •jsog •dsog • 2. • • -P •zuaj c* OOiOO ,O .OOOO .OIO coo^rio . -^ . co o o o :c<5— ' ' loi . m . co --— i o ?* e< . ,o . . . . : ¥ '. T *? *? T T T1 *? : I*? i : : : •dsog • =&= : • : t?» dso£) O O rJ* O C^ O 00 O^ l>* l>» i-O THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE AND ANNALS OF PHILOSOPHY. [NEW SERIES.] APRIL 1831. XLI. On the Computation of the Moon's Motion in Right Ascension. By FRANCIS BAILY, Esq. F.R.S. fyc. $c.* A S the method of determining the longitude of places, by -*•*• means of moon-culminating stars, is daily coming into more general use, I trust the following table will be accept- able to such of your readers as may have occasion to make calculations connected with inquiries of that kind. I have already shown (in my paper on this subject, inserted in the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. ii. p. 1), that " in order to deduce, from the observations, the correct dif- " ference of meridians between the two places, we require " only one element from the lunar tables, viz. the moon's " horary motion in right ascension ; or, more properly, the " true increase of the moon's right ascension between the two " apparent times of culmination :" and that, for the purpose of determining the correct value of this element, it will be best, when the difference of longitude is very great, to com- pute the right ascension of the moon for the two given times of observation ; using the equation of second, third, and some- times even fourth differences. But it appears that in many cases, of frequent occurrence, where the difference of meri- dians does not exceed three hours, we may adopt a much more concise and easy method for the solution of the pro- blem, by computing accurately the semi-diurnal motion of the moon in right ascension, from an ephemeris, by means of dif- ferences only. In No. 33 of Professor Schumacher's Astronomische Nach- richten, M. Bessel has given a series which is applicable to this purpose ; together with a short table of the value of that * Communicated by the Author. N. S. Vol. 9. No. 52. April 1831. 2 I series, 242 Mr. Baily on the Computation of series, for every hour of the day. The table, however, which he has computed, being frequently found too limited for ge- neral use, I have here enlarged it, by calculating the terms of the series for every ten minutes during the clay; whereby the requisite quantities for any intermediate time may be taken out almost on inspection ; or at least, in the most essential points, with very little trouble: since it will seldom be found necessary to interpolate, except in the values given in the co- lumn B. M. Bessel's formula is as follows ; viz. make <7, b, c9 d, e respectively equal to the first difference, the mean of the two middle seconcl differences, the third difference, the mean of the two fourth differences, and the fifth difference of the moon's right ascension, as taken from the Nautical Almanac. Then will 2 , n—\ "ISO" denote the moon's semi-diurnal motion in right ascension corresponding to that fractional part of the twelve hours, from the preceding noon or midnight, indicated by n : and which must always be assumed equal to the middle point of time between the two observations. Or, preserving the same value of c and x as are adopted in my Memoir above mentioned, the value of n must be assumed equal to J (c + x). If there- fore we express the co-efficients of b, c, d, e by the letters B, C, D, E, respectively, the semi-diurnal motion (M) of the moon in right ascension will be denoted by M = a + Rb + Cc + Dd + Ee. The following table contains the logarithms of B, C, D, E, for every ten minutes of the twelve hours from the preceding noon or midnight, as above mentioned; to which must be added respectively the logarithms of b, c, d, e; the natural numbers thence resulting, being added to the first difference, will give M, or the semi-diurnal motion required. And, re- taining the value of the symbols x> s and A> as adopted in the Memoir above quoted, the true difference of longitude will be which is (I believe) the most simple form in which the general solution of the problem can be at present expressed : but, when the new Nautical Almanac appears, 7%s will be a con- stant the Moon's Motion in Right Ascension. 243 stant quantity, and equal to 7*5 X 86636-555 (log=r 1-4927720); and other quantities will be given that may still further abridge the arithmetical operations. Argument = *('+*) Logarithms of Argument = *('+*) B C D s Oh Om 10 20 30 -9-69897+ 9-68674 9-67415 9-66118 +8-92082+ 8-88358 8-84404 8-80626 + 8-92082- 8-91452 8-90759 8-90003 -7-92082- 7-89017 7-85648 7-81975 12" Om 11 50 40 30 40 50 I 0 9-64782 9-63403 961979 8-75663 8-70776 8-65455 8-89188 8-88307 8-87361 7-78085 7-73788 7-69085 20 10 11 0 1 10 20 30 9-60506 9-58983 9-57403 8-59603 8-53085 8-45706 8.86347 8-85259 8-84096 7-64050 7-58207 7-51555 10 50 40 30 40 50 2 0 9'55764 9-54061 9-52288 8-37169 8-26986 8-14267 8-82845 8-81520 8-80121 7-45244 7-36098 7-24118 20 10 10 0 2 10 20 30 40 50 3 0 9-50440 9-48509 9-46489 9-44370 9-42142 9-39794 7-97108 7-70031 +6-93855+ -7.48946- 7-83556 8-01773 8-78709 8-77180 8-75534 8-73650 8-71619 8-69442 7-07557 6-83372 -6-51562- +5-98986+ 6-73015 6-97498 9 50 40 30 20 10 9 o 3 10 20 30 9-37312 9-34679 9-31875 8-13964 8-22982 8-30028 8-67203 8-64795 8-62217 7-10460 7-21709 7-31246 8 50 40 30 40 50 4 0 9-28880 9-25661 9-22185 8-35722 8-40426 8-44370 8-59442 8-56398 8-53085 7-37997 7-43406 7-47473 20 10 8 0 4 10 20 30 9-18406 9-14267 9-09691 8-47707 8-50544 8-52961 8-49507 8-45486 8-41021 7-51249 7-54447 7-57067 7 50 40 30 40 50 5 0 9-04576 8-98777 8-92082 8-55015 8-56750 8-58200 8-36245 8-30477 8-23716 7*59366 7-61309 7-62895 20 10 7 0 5 10 20 30 8-84164 8-74473 8-61979 8-59390 8-60340 8-61064 8-16105 8-06131 7-93794 7-64222 7-65284 7-66078 6 50 40 30 40 50 6 0 8-44370 8-14267 - 00 + 8-61575 8-61878 -8-61979- 7-76219 7-46136 + 00 - 7-66657 7-66996 +7-67094+ 20 10 6 0 I shall now proceed to give an example of the use of this formula and table, a duty which I hold to be incumbent on every person who proposes any new ones for general use. On the 9th of February 1830, the second limb of the moon was 212 observed 244 On the Computation of the Moon's Motion in Right Ascension* observed at Greenwich at 13h 36m apparent time, and at the Cape of Good Hope at 12'1 20ra apparent Greenwich time; each being estimated to the nearest minute. Consequently the middle point of time, between the two observations, is \ (c + x) = Oh 58m from the preceding midnight : and the successive differences of the moon's right ascension, taken from the Nautical Almanac, will be as follow : viz. oii* ° ^ c d e Feb. 8. at M = 154 31 52 o , n + 5 54 21 / // 9. at N = 160 26 13 —5 8 " -f 5 49 13 -f 51 // at M = 166 15 26 —4- 17 -f 7 „ + 5 44 56 +58 -4, 10. at N = 172 0 22 -3 19 -f 3 + 5 41 37 +61 atM = 177 41 59 -2 18 + 5 39 19 11. atN = 183 21 18 Therefore, by entering the table with the argument \ (c + x), we have the respective logarithms of the several quantities as under : viz. £=-2-35793 c = + l-76343 d =+0-69897 e =—0-60206 B=-9-62264 C = + 8-66519 D =+8-87550 E =-7-70026 Bb = + 1-98057 Cc= and, taking the natural numbers of these logarithms, we shall find the value of M to be as follows : viz. a = 5 44 56-000 Eb = + 1 35-625 C c = + 2-683 Dd = + 0-375 Ee = + 0-020 M = 5 46 34-703 (log = 4-3179526) which is the moon's motion in right ascension for the twelve hours, of which J (c + x) is the middle point of time. So that if we had s = 24h 3m 57$'6, and A = + 2m 26S<315, the operation would be as follows : viz. 7 is = 5-8127677 M = 4-3179526 1-4948151 A = Oh 2m 26S>315 = 2-1652889 A = 1 16 11-976 = 3-6601040 x = 1 13 45-661 In Errata in Weisse's Planetary Tables. 245 In this example, it will be seen that I have interpolated for the odd minutes, in order to show the method of obtain- ing, in all cases, the correct values of the logarithms of the table required : but it is evident that, with the exception of the logarithm of B, this was unnecessary ; and that no error would have arisen if we had taken, even in all the quantities, the tabular values opposite to the nearest tenth minute. And I would further remark, that it will seldom be necessary to extend the series to so many terms as are here given : since we may generally stop at the third difference (and sometimes even at the second difference), if we see that the subsequent differences are not sufficiently large to affect the result. Before I conclude, I would remark that the logarithms of D and E were calculated for every half hour only, and the values interpolated for the intermediate ten minutes, using second differences in the computations. F. B. XLII. Errata in Weisse's Planetary Tables. By A CORRE- SPONDENT. number of individuals who in this country are en- •*• gaged in science, except in what may not inaptly be de- signated as fancy-work [?], is so very limited, that considering the heavy duty on the importation of books*, it is a most hazardous speculation for a bookseller to introduce foreign scientific works into England. The consequence is, that many of the highest value in point of utility, but of which the sale would necessarily be limited, are either altogether unknown in this country, or have fallen into the hands of individuals without the means, or possibly the inclination, to bring their merits before the public. The industrious zeal of Mr. Baily and the hitherto discreditable state of our Nautical Almanac, led to the speedy adoption of Encke's Ephemeris ; but the in- estimable Tabula Regiomontancc Reductionum of Besself have scarcely been heard of. The Formeln der Geometric und Tri- gonometric, published at Berlin in 1827, and Hesterman's most useful Leges Trigonometric, have met with no better fate. The * While in Russia, a nation which we are accustomed to contemn ,as something more than semibarbarous, no duty, arid in France a duty equi- valent to only six shillings per hundred weight, is levied upon the importa- tion of books ; — in England, they are subjected to five pounds per hundred weight. f This work, indispensable to practical astronomers, consists of one large octavo volume, printed with a degree of clearness which should serve as a model for all books of tables, and is published by Bachelier of Paris, and Treuttel, London. same 246 Errata in Weisse's Planetary Tables. same may be remarked of Bagay's Tables *, by far the cheapest and best volume of the sort which ever appeared; and as to Weisse's Planetary Tablesf, we much doubt if two copies have as yet reached England. The compendious nature and simplicity of these tables are such as to recommend them especially to the notice of every astronomer, but their merits in these respects are counterbalancedaby indistinct type and numerous errors, of which no corrections are furnished by the author. To supply this deficiency, and with a hope that a cor- rect reprint of this convenient little book may either be un- dertaken here or introduced from the continent, a list is sub- joined of all the errata in the more valuable parts of the work, detected by a complete and systematic examination. Page 5 b. •rAprilisll pro 0*9310 lege +Q'93IQ z 0*1489 + 0-1489 6. z Julius 1 0-3989 + 0-3989 x 8 0-2839 0-2889 7. x September 27 0-9679 0-9979 r no O.Qfifil O.QQfil y October 7 — 144 14-42467 14-42267 X • — 159 16-98680 16-98580 x 1900 — — 163 17-44115 17-44415 z 1840 — — 171 1-32734 1-32744 x 1900 — — 180 418-30949 — 18-30949 66. x 1840 — — 231 10-53344 10-55344 x — 251 4-81669 4-51669 z . — — 240 6-81877 6-81477 x 1900 — — 259 1-86783 1-89783 67. z — 273 7-72260 7-76260 x 1840 — — 313 14-43359 14-32359 68. y — 330 8-68794 8-64794 Chislehurst, Feb. 10th, 1831. N. S. Vol. 9. No. 52. April 1831. 2 K XLIII. On [ 250 ] XLIII. On the Rectification of Curves, By Mr. CHARLES GILL. To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. Gentlemen, Y/l^HILE investigating the properties of a family of curves, I was lately led to remark, that the elegant property demonstrated by Mr. Beverley, in your Number for June 1 826, is capable of considerable extension. Unde«r the idea that anything tending to the simplification of this abstruse problem will be viewed with satisfaction by your mathematical readers, I submit to you the result of my labours. The proposition may be more generally enunciated thus : Let C be any point in a given curve line of any order, and B, a point any how given by position : join B C, and draw BQ, C Q to meet in Q, and contain a given angle (/3), C Q being also a tangent to the curve. Then the rectification of the curve which is the locus of the point Q may be generally ex- pressed by f D C cosec /3 . a 6, 0 being the angle B Q makes with a fixed axis, taken at pleasure. Let B M be a fixed axis, and let ^ M B C = .8'(p)),and ACcr = 180°-/3-0+p; hence, tan (/3 + 0-) = - -- = - ......... (*)• Now B Q — . W. . sin (/3 + 0— ) _ 8(4>)cos(|3 + fl-^)]J. But («), S'()sm(/3+0- and its tangent, T, terminated by a perpendicular upon it from the centre = - _________ _ _ — . Which between = 0°, 9 99 V a9 — and $ as arc whose sine is = -7- becomes = cosec ft ( 2 a -f b* — — (quadrantal arc of the ellipse + difference between the infinite arc of the hyperbola and its asymptote) j for the length of the branch M Q B, and (using the under signs) the A* length of the other branch P Q' Q" = cosec ft ( — C2a + -— x 2 d the above factor) hence the whole length of the curve = twice 2b the sum of these = - - cosec ft (quadrant of the elliptic arc + excess of the asymptote of the hyperbola, infinitely pro- duced). When B is in the circumference, or b = «, E be- comes = its abscissa, and T — H = semi-transverse of the hyperbola .-. whole length = 8 a cosec ft, the same as Mr. Be- verley's, when ft = 90°. This integral only applies when B is without the circle, or b ~7 a : when b Z «> we shall have M'Q = cosec $fdq>(<2,b cos 9 a? + b* cos 2

H -- __ r=^ >/«*-£* sin 24>/ I >/a2-^sinap — b (E — H + T) > ; and here the semiaxes of E are -T-, and * * i • i • fl2 cos

1^_- . This, a 2 between

; B b = a sin /3, Ab = a cos /3 ; P c = — 8' (0) cos (0 -f x), and B c = 8' (0) sin (0 + x). .'. 8 (p) sin 4> = « sin /3 - 8' (0) cos (0 + x) ... .-. («), and 8 () cos

dy .,, , fl N du, dy ... du, bemg =-^--^ wdl be =/(y) ^- . -g =f(y) _J.. Consequently . 1 = . 2 ; and differentiating, , 8' = , dw, and by supposition "B~* = f(yY~l—r^'> hence by substitution we obtain dnu From which we may now infer the truth of the lemma. Laplace' 's Theorem. — If y = F [z + x .f (j/)] and ul = (^); also if ?{*>)} = F^*) and/{F(^)} =/x (s); then _ the nth term being - d2.-s T ' i .8.3..(«-l) For by Maclaurin's theorem 2/! = U0 -f- . I . — ; — U X 4 term where U0 , , l , -^ — |- &c. represent what ?/L , and its dif- , , A XQ U XQ ferential coefficients become when x — 0. Now, since y = F \_% 4- ^./(j/)]* .*. some function of y must be = z -f- xf(y) ; we therefore have by the lemma - We may now evidently infer the truth of the theorem. Lagrange's Theorem. — If y = z + xf(y) and 2/j = p ( then the preceding theorem becomes u\ — 9(2) +/ (2) JV.& Vol. 9. No. 52. 4pr«7 1831. 2 L XLV. [ 258 ] XLV. An Examination of those Phenomena of Geology, which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations. By the Rev. W. D. CONYBEARE, M.A. F.R.S. F.G.S. fyc. (Part II.) [Concluded from page 197.] Art. II. nPHE configuration of the valleys which appear to •*• have resulted from excavation, especially the intersection by transverse valleys of continuous longitudinal valleys, themselves opening possible outlets to the drainage, — is inconsistent with the theory which assigns the drainage of the atmospherical waters as the excavating agent. Observations. — If any difficulty should be felt at first sight in exactly appreciating any of the terms employed in the above short general enunciation of the principle here maintained, I shall trust fully to explain them in proceeding with the de- tail. In the first place, I would propose to class our valleys according to the apparent difference of their probable origin ; although the excavating action of water may very probably have materially modified them generally, yet it would be clearly inconsistent with the phenomena to refer their origin exclusively to this cause; the convulsive forces which have acted on the surface of our planet have often dislocated its strata, elevating one portion and depressing another from the level of their planes of deposition, and again contorting and bending them into the zigzag form of the letter (W). Now in the first case the lines of subsidence, and in the second the concave reentering angles, would naturally form valleys ; these I would term generally valleys of dislocation : or if it should be expedient to distinguish those referable to the one or the other of the above cases, they may be characterized as valleys of subsidence or of contortion*. On the other hand, the valleys traversing the districts of which the nearly horizontal strata are scarcely at all affected by dislocation f, cannot have origi- nated in such causes; and if there be sufficient grounds for be- lieving the strata to have been originally continuous, we must of course suppose the valleys actually intersecting them, to have * While I am sending these lines to the press, an interesting analysis of Professor Sedgwick's paper read at the Geological Society, On the Cum- berland district, has appeared in your last Number. He describes the valleys in that district as valleys of dislocation. f These nearly horizontal strata having been deposited at the bottom of the sea, appear indeed to have been subsequently raised by some ele- vating force : but in this case, such a force must have acted gradually and uniformly, so as not to dislocate their planes (which remain perfectly con- formable), or disturb their relative levels. Now in the objections which Mr. Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology. 259 have been formed by excavation. Moreover this account of their origin seems to follow as an almost necessary corollary from the phaenomena, of the gravel derived from the water- worn fragments torn from the mass of those strata, which were detailed in the foregoing article: for the existence of this gravel obviously presupposes the partial destruction of the strata which yielded it. I shall now, then, more particularly examine the physical structure of the districts which are thus especially affected by valleys of excavation. These districts are occupied by strata disposed in planes approximating to the horizontal, from which they seldom de- viate more than 5° or 6° ; their emergence from the super- strata, therefore, usually forms acclivities of gentle slope along the back of the strata ; their termination against the substrata (or, as it is technically termed, their basset edge) presents, on the contrary, an abrupt escarpment, traversing the strata. Beneath these escarpments, therefore, we generally find ex- tended valleys ranging in a direction parallel to the strata, which have usually been distinguished as longitudinal valleys. But besides these, other systems of valleys occur cutting across the ridges presented by the escarpments of the basset at nearly right angles. Now as these strata usually, at one extremity at least of their course, abut against an oceanic basin, the longi- tudinal valleys naturally appear to open one line of drainage: that presented by the transverse valleys is, however, the chan- nel usually pursued by the actual rivers. In my paper before alluded to on the Valley of the Thames, I have shown that its waters thus cut transversely through three chains, which seem to oppose themselves as barriers to their course, although the longitudinal valleys ranging at the base of those barriers ap- pear to open more obvious outlets to the drainage ; and it is quite obvious, that since those longitudinal valleys have ex- isted, the waters could never have risen within several hun- dred feet of the summits of the chains, over which on the flu- vial hypothesis they are once supposed to have flowed. It must be argued, then, that at first no such longitudinal valleys existed ; that is, that the strata did not, as at present, terminate Mr. Lyell has urged to some of the arguments which the geologists of my school employ, — such as the transport of gravel, &c. in directions contrary to the actual drainage of the valleys, — he seems to have overlooked the di- stinction between such districts, and those of inclined and dislocated strata ; for the examples have been taken from the more horizontal districts : to which his remark, that we may suppose the actual drainage to have been altered from that which originally prevailed, by earthquakes, &c. will not apply. 2 L 2 in 260 Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology in abruptly escarped basset edges, but that their planes were prolonged so as to expire insensibly against the more elevated portions of the substrata, which, on emerging, usually rise to higher levels ;— so that the whole surface at first presented one uniform declivity, nearly uninterrupted. The Fluvialists must then suppose that the drainage across this declivity excavated the transverse valleys as its main channels, while the lateral drainage into these main channels excavated the longitudinal valleys. But in order to constitute the supposed original uniform declivity, the mass of materials formerly upfilling the whole space, and which we must imagine to have been subsequently removed, is stupendously great ; for these longitudinal valleys usually present very extensive plains at the foot of the basset escarpments, whereas the transverse valleys are comparatively narrow defiles. If then we attribute the latter to the main course of drainage, and the former to its lateral action, we attribute an inferior effect to what must surely be considered as the most favourable line of action, and a vastly superior effect to that least favourable. I would refer to the analysis of my paper on the Thames, in your Magazine for July 1829, for the particulars of my argument, as far as that district af- fords any grounds of illustration. With regard to the evidence then adduced, it was remarked by a writer, anxious at the same time to point out the neces- sity of confining the inferences so as to leave untouched all the districts in which facts of an opposite tendency might be observed, " similar facts are supplied by nearly all the greater valleys of England ; and on the whole they point to one con- clusion, that fluviatile erosion, as a mere solitary agent, has produced but small effects in modifying the prominent features of our island." ( President Sedgwick's Address to the Geological Society, 1830.) Mr. Lyell, on the contrary, in a passage ap- parently designed as an allusion to this paper, has objected to reasoning from the actual form of the surface in any given district as to what may have taken place (as to drainage, &c.) under the original configuration of the district, which he con- ceives may have been entirely different. I can only reply, that the actual configuration must in some manner have resulted from that original one. He supposes the agent employed in the transformation to have been fluviatile erosion. Now the scope of my argument was intended to prove that no original form of surface could be assigned from which fluviatile erosion could have educed the actual form. This, 1 repeat, was the aim of my argument; whether or not I succeeded in that aim is another question. On this, as on other controverted subjects, temperate discussion can alone elicit truth ; and I shall feel gra- tified bearing on theoretical Speculations. 26 1 tified if any Fluvialist shall hereafter undertake the examina- tion of the same phaenomena, and explain in detail, on his own hypothesis, the exact manner in which the valleys of the Thames and its tributaries can have been formed. Lest it should be imagined that the circumstances of this river are in any manner peculiar, I will add a short examina- tion of the various streams which traverse the portion of our island occupied by the more horizontal strata, and in which therefore the valleys are attributable to excavation rather than dislocation. This district, as it is known, extends diagonally across the island, from the south of Durham to the east of Devon ; the more horizontal formations occupying all the tract south-east of the diagonal line. Beginning our examina- tion at the north extremity, the Derwent and its tributaries first present themselves. 1. First, as to the Rye, — Did not a transverse valley open across the oolitic chain of the Howardian hills, the waters of Ryedale would form a lake discharging itself along the Vale of Pickering at the base of the chalk escarpment, into Filey or Scarborough bay. 2. Had not the great transverse breach between the chalk wolds of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire given vent to the outlet of the Humber, all the flats near the junction of the Trent and Derwent would have formed an immense lake, whose waters would have been so dammed up as to have flooded all the lower portions of the Ouse and Swale, and discharged them- selves finally by the mouth of the Tees; as the escarpments of the chalk wolds, and afterwards of the eastern moorlands, would have presented an insuperable barrier, preventing any other egress to the sea basin excepting Teesdale, previously to their fracture by transverse valleys. Now in order to get over this difficulty, the Fluvialist must, I conceive, argue that at the time when his streams commenced their operations, the said escarpments presented no barriers at all, all the valleys on the west of them having been at that period filled up (by materials since removed) to such a level as to overtop the chalk and oolitic ranges ; since by such a configuration of surface alone could the streams have been brought to act on these ranges so as to cut transversely through them. Let the Fluvialist, however, so reconstruct the district in question : I next ask what it will require to reduce it from this " its form ten million years ago " to its actual features ? Why simply the excavation of the entire vales of Lincoln and York (a district about 100 miles long and more than 15 broad) to a depth of 700 feet beneath its supposed original level. I will ask but one other question, How long would atmospherical drainage take to effect this ? 262 Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology this ? Seeing that since the Romans occupied Eboracum 1 700 years ago, that agency has not effected a degradation of 7 inches on any one of the valla of their encampments, we may perhaps have sufficient data to calculate upon. I leave the Fluvialists to work out the question at leisure, offering in the meanwhile, as a mere approximation, an infinitillion of ages in the ?/th power. 3. We next come to the breach of the river Witham, through the oolitic range at Lincoln, where a dam of very trifling ele- vation would at once turn it into the Trent. 5. South of this the oolitic range is broken through by the transverse valleys of the Welland and Nen : but as the head waters of these streams rise almost within the limits of these valleys, I shall not insist on them ; though as the breaches tra- verse the whole chain, I do not see how the Fluvialist can ac- count for them without filling up the subjacent plains on the north-west as before. 6. I now arrive at my old ground, the district containing the Cherwell and other head waters of the Thames ; and must refer to my former observations. 7. The chalk range is broken through not only by the Thames, but by a very considerable number of valleys, a complete transverse valley occurring almost every 10 miles throughout the course of that formation. Many of these valleys afford a passage to actual streams; and many others, quite an equal number I believe, are totally destitute of such rivers, and yet bear every character of being truly valleys of excava- tion. The chalk, indeed, as must be familiar to those who have resided long in any district chiefly composed of it (the locality of much of my own youth), abounds in valleys devoid of water, the stratum being so absorbent as generally at once to swallow up the atmospheric showers without allowing them to collect into rills. Now I very earnestly wish that the Fluvi- alists would inform me how tljese valleys, which neither have nor ever have had streams flowing through them, have been formed by the erosion of the said non-existing streams. 8. The valleys of excavation at the south-western extremity of our district, Dorset and Devon, have been fully described in an essay by my friend Buckland in the Geological Transac- tions, vol. v. ; and wherever he has preceded me, I am always content with reference only. 9. I will conclude therefore with the south-eastern extre- mity, the Weald of Kent. It is well known that the axis and saddle of this district consists of a range of sand denominated (from the place where it terminates on the coast) the Hastings Sand. Round this axis mantle the upper and ferruginous green sand bearing on theoretical Speculations. 263 sand and the chalk. On the north, both these formations form chains of steep escarpment separated by deep longitudinal valleys from the central axis and from each other: but on the south, from the general degradation of the sand, the chalk alone forms a regular escarpment. Now most of the main streams of this district have their head waters in the central axis; whence those running northwards into the Thames have to intersect by transverse valleys the two barriers of the Kentish rag hills and of the northern chalk downs, neglect- ing the two intervening longitudinal valleys, into which a dam of less than 100 feet high erected in any of these breaches, which are about 600 feet high, would turn the drainage towards the Straits of Dover. Such are the circumstances of the Wey, the Mole, and the Medway ; the Darent and the Stour rising almost within the limits of the rag hills, indeed, can scarcely be said to break through more than one of these barriers, the chalk. On the south side we have the Arun, the Ader, the Ouse, and the Quckmere, which in like manner break through the single opposing barrier of the chalky South Downs (as the sands do not on this side present a regular escarpment). Now it is I think quite inconceivable that fluvia- tile erosion could possibly have produced such a configura- tion, unless we suppose that the surface originally, when the drainage commenced its work, presented uniform slopes from the central axis to the aestuary of the Thames on the one side, and the sea on the other, the intermediate longitudinal valleys having been then filled up ; and that while the direct drainage excavated the transverse valleys, the lateral drainage exca- vated the longitudinal valleys : in which case I would ask, first, why has the lateral drainage produced so much more considerable effects than the direct drainage? and secondly, how has it happened that the lateral drainage into so many distinct main channels has coincided so as to form one uniform longitudinal valley, instead of ramifications extending from one principal stream without any relation to those of the next principal stream ? While the geologist is studying the valleys, the antiquary will observe throughout this tract the boldest prominences of the escarpments studded with ancient earth- works, which, though placed in the most exposed situations, have resisted the action of atmospherical causes for some twenty centuries : and should the two parties meet under these circumstances, it will be somewhat difficult for the former to persuade the latter that these deep defiles have been worn down by an agency which his own observations naturally lead him to believe to be next to null. But it may well be said that the Diluvialist, if he thus assails the Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology the theory of the Fluvialist, is bound in fairness to state his own, that it may lie equally open to investigation. I shall en- deavour to do so then, premising that while I frankly combat that which appears to me improbable, I can only pretend to suggest that which to me appears more probable; and that should I fail in this, in the opinion of others, it by no means follows that fhifialism is the correct explanation. As to my own views, then, I offer them simply as those of one individual, often, I am sensible, likely to require correction ; and when that is not the case, yet susceptible of a far better development than any I can give them. In the first place, then, as to the longitudinal valleys and the basset escarpments of the strata bounding them. It seems very possible that this configuration of surface is not exclusively and entirely to be ascribed to excavation, although its features may have been greatly modified and exaggerated by this ope- ration. We may easily conceive forces in action during the period of the original deposition of the strata, which may have caused the strata to terminate with truncated edges, facing towards the elevated ridges of the older rocks, against and upon which they were precipitated, instead of having allowed their planes uniformly to extend until they abutted against those older ridges : for we must suppose the oceans which deposited these strata to have possessed some lines of shore ; these we may naturally conceive to be indicated by the most elevated crests of the older ridges : against such lines of coast, currents most probably have ranged. While therefore the depositions were proceeding quietly in the deeper and more tranquil waters, they would be interrupted in the range of these littoral currents, — may not the longitudinal valleys have originated in this cause? The usual disposition of the actual submarine sand- banks is, I believe, analogous ; they are cut off' from the coasts by deep intervening channels, beyond which they rise with escarpments often of considerable abruptness. To examine into the causes which may have modified and increased these longitudinal valleys, and produced the trans- verse defiles, we should, I apprehend, in the first place pro- ceed regularly to investigate what would be the probable ac- tion of the waters in their gradual retreat from the summits of the strata originally formed beneath them to their present level. We have reason, with regard to the more horizontal strata, to which our attention is now confined, to conclude, from the conformity of the stratification and absence of dislo- cation, that the elevating forces must have in this instance pro- ceeded with an uniform and gradual action, and consequently that the retreat of the sea and relative depression of its level would bearing on theoretical Speculations. 265 would be likewise gradual. Now the lines indicating the main direction towards which the waters in their subsidence must, tend, being coincident with the dip of the strata over the backs of which the descent was taking place, must of course have been transverse to the bearing of those strata : the ge- neral currents of the so descending waters would therefore naturally tend to produce transverse furrows in the strata: hence would the transverse valleys originate ; while at the same time the longitudinal valleys would be materially modi- fied; the descending currents setting against the escarpments of the strata would naturally tend to undermine them, and from the direction of the inclination of their planes would act to advantage, especially as we usually find the longitudinal valleys extending into the softer alternating strata, such as clay, and sand, and the harder rocks constituting the over- hanging escarpment: hence the undermining agency of the waves operating with facility on these softer materials, would considerably increase the breadth of the longitudinal valleys and render the escarpments steeper and more abrupt. In proportion as the depression of the sea-level was gradual, there may have been a long continued reiteration of tidal waves sweeping over the same tracts. I happen at the present mo- ment to have directly beneath my eyes a complete illustration of the necessary consequences of the action of tidal waves on strata gradually inclined, — residing within a few yards of a coast formed by such strata (of magnesian limestone) ; these dip towards the sea under a very gentle angle, only about 2°. The ebb consequently exposes a band of them of considerable breadth, more than a furlong; the whole of this band has been eroded by the tidal waves into a complete and most illustra- tive model, presenting on the small scale all the phenomena above described, escarpments overhanging expanded longi- tudinal depressions, transverse breaches, &c. &c. And I may add, that the tidal action very commonly does actually pro- duce what Mr. Lyell, following Mr. Scrape, fancies can result only from fluvial action, namely, serpentine and meandering furrows often of considerable depth and length. I need not add what pleasure it would give me to see either gentleman here, and convince him of the fact by ocular demonstration. I have indeed been surprised how this argument could have been so strongly urged by two observers, to the combined acuteness and accuracy of both of whom geology is so deeply indebted : for it has ever appeared manifest to me, that even a diluvial current, supposed to be excavating the strata over which it rushes, can continue to pursue a straight inflexible line no longer than the constitution of those strata is such as N.S. Vol. 9. No. 52. April 1831. 2 M to 266 Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology to oppose an uniform resistance to it ; when any circumstance occurs which creates a variation in the resistance, such as the change from softer to harder strata, faults traversing them, and the like, a corresponding deflexion in the course of the current seems a necessary consequence. The origin of the valleys of excavation, then, I am inclined to refer in part to the currents of the ocean in which they were first deposited, in part to those accompanying the gradual retreat of that ocean. But since we have also sufficient evidence that subsequent convulsions, such as the elevation of the Isle of Wight for instance, must have disturbed the oceanic level sufficiently to have occasioned renewed diluvial waves sweep- ing over tracts which had previously emerged, we have hence a third class of currents, which must undoubtedly have tended greatly to modify the results of the two former. Do I then deny that fluvial erosion has ever produced a single valley? and if so, how do I dispose of the evidence which has been brought forward in favour of this view ? I will avow the tendency of my arguments openly and frankly. I deny that all valleys of excavation have been so produced: I deny that many have been so produced : I deny that any have been so produced, except under extraordinary circumstances. And to the evidence I reply, that it relates to districts in which these extraordinary circumstances undoubtedly exist, — volcanic di- stricts for instance, such as Auvergne and the neighbourhood of lEtna. Now I cannot admit the action of torrents occa- sioned by, and cooperating with, volcanic convulsions, as an example of the ordinary action of common streams; — but that under these extraordinary circumstances, and even under such more common but still comparatively rare incidents as the late floods in Scotland, fluvial action may occasionally produce considerable effects, / do not deny. Art. III. — The phenomena of cataracts are inconsistent with the fluvial hypothesis. The fluvial hypothesis requires me to believe, that since the emergence of our continents the atmospheric drainage has commonly furrowed them into valleys hundreds of miles in length, and hundreds of feet in depth ; — that the streamlets forming the Thames, for instance, have done this. But if such have been the effects of these comparatively tranquil streams, what must the effects have been of a volume of water like that of Niagara precipitated in thundering fury ! 1 here indeed take it for granted that Thames and Niagara have been acting on the surface for the same period. If this be denied, I shall certainly require a reason for that denial, and shall wish to be informed what is the exact seniority of old Father Thames bearing on theoretical Speculations. 267 Thames over young Niagara. Meanwhile considering them as coaeval, I will ask how 1 am to account for the mighty effects ascribed to the Thames, within a period during which the ut- most effects that can be ascribed to Niagara are the gradual wearing away of the bar over which it rushes, for a distance not exceeding 7 miles ; for the general range of the mountains which occasions those falls extends only that distance eastwards from their present site, when the hills entirely subside into the flats bordering Lake Ontario, and of course the original site of the falls cannot have been beyond the extreme escarpment of those hills. Mr. Lyell, taking for his datum that the falls have receded near 50 yards within the last 40 years, calculates that they must have occupied 10,000 years in retrograding from the original to the actual position, and that it will require 30,000 more for them to reach Lake Erie. But if both the actions commenced together, must it not have completed this effect ages before the Thames could have excavated even a third of its present valley? Taking Mr. Lyell's own determinations, I do not know a more striking instance of the comparatively inconsiderable power of fluvial erosion acting under circum- stances that must every way give it its maximum of intensity : but I must confess my doubts whether the falls actually do recede, as far as their general line is concerned, at the rate of 50 yards in 40 years. I suspect that some partial degrada- tion of the strata has here been mistaken for the general re- trogradation. My grounds of suspicion are these : The falls are, as is well known, divided in the centre by an extremely small islet; but from the periods of our earliest accounts it should appear that this islet has occupied exactly the same relative position, with regard to the falls, that it holds at the present moment. The celebrated narrative of the Indian whose canoe drifted against this islet, whence he was subsequently so wonderfully rescued, more than a century ago, involves a full description of all the particulars of this locality, and proves it to have been then very nearly the same as at present. Cataracts indeed appear generally to have undergone sur- prisingly little change from the earliest periods to which hi- story extends. The cataracts, or rather rapids, of the Nile above Syene, when examined by the scavans of Buonaparte's expedition, agreed pretty closely in locality, features, and extent, with the description given by the Grecian Father of History. I have always inclined to consider the cascades of Tivoli as another evidence of the slight changes effected in this way during a long series of centuries. But Mr. Lyell's remarks on this locality (although I cannot say they have changed my opinion) in every way claim an attentive exami- 2 M 2 nation, 268 Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology nation, which I shall accordingly endeavour to give them. My argument would stand thus: All the localities of this scene still appear the same as when its beauties inspired the muses of Horace and Statius some 18 centuries ago; the fane of the sibyl, the " domus Albuneae resonantis," still re-echoes with the dash of the fall beneath : — though did rivers travel at the rate the Fluvialists think they do, the said falls must surely have removed far beyond ear-shot of the old sibyl long ago. Mr. Lyell, however, dwells at length on the fall of a little bit of vertical cliff, 1 5 paces wide and a few yards long, occasioned by the floods in 1 826 : as if the undermining such a fragment were the same thing as the excavation of a valley of denudation. At such an event Vesta, he thinks, must have trembled in her beautiful temple for the stability of the planet over which she presides. If the turret-crowned goddess were indeed thus affected, the proximate sibyl whom I have al- luded to, may, I think, well have stept in, in the neighbourly character of a comforter. " My dear Sister," — methinks I hear her saying, — " banish all such apprehensions ; from long experience I myself can assure you they are as totally unfounded as any of the dreams with which the Clouds, the great patrons as you know of all theories of atmospheric drainage, ever inspired the Aristophanic Sophists. Many many years have I myself lived in this self- same old house; and from the first moment I came here, I have ever heard the torrent below, dash dash dash — thun- dering away at the very same spot : yet during the whole time it has not been able to work away enough to remove five inches yet. Believe me, according to a proverb which I un- derstand to prevail in the island whence those wild savages come, whom, as you may remember our friend Cicero cau- tioned Atticus, were far too stupid to buy as slaves, ' 'tis all much cry and little wool.' If you are not to be shaken from your seat till this fluvial action can shake you, trust me, you may sit still long enough." Never myself having had the pleasure of visiting this most interesting spot, I should not, however, have ventured to ques- tion the views which Mr. Lyell appears to have formed after personal examination, had 1 not found my own opinion of the nearly permanent position of the fall strongly confirmed by the minute descriptions of a scientific friend perfectly acquainted with the locality. The inferences drawn by this friend from the phaenomena of this Classical cascade are altogether in agree- ment with the conclusions I am endeavouring to establish. In- dependently of the historical records, and all the remains of antiquity, according to his opinion, the natural phaenomena of the bearing on theoretical Speculations. 269 the spot appeared to prove that the place of the great cascade had been stationary, or nearly so, from the moment when the river commenced its course through the valley of excavation previously traced out for it by some cause far different from any action of the river itself. The circumstances of the spot are the following: The Anio above Tivoli flows gently onwards towards the edge of the precipice, through a gorge of Apennine lime- stone of the oolitic period. Near the entrance of Tivoli, a dyke has been constructed across it, diverting a part of its waters through an artificial tunnel on the left or southern side, and thus conducting them so as to issue in several artificial casca- telli out of the side of the hill below the main and only na- tural cascade, that of the Grotta di Nettuno. With the arti- ficial cascatelli we have nothing to do, further than to observe, that one of them turns the machinery of an iron-foundry now established within the half-ruined walls of the Villa of Maecenas (Dom us antiqua heuquamdisparidominaris domino). This branch, by its relations to the domain of that great pa- tron, shows that no change has taken place since his time along the line of its descent, from his palace to the bottom of the valley beneath, excepting the deposition of travertin ; the waters of the Anio while foaming in a state of precipitation have always deposited travertin; and this travertin accumulating on the bar of limestone over which it fell, as may especially be seen at the great and only real cascade of the Grotta di Nettuno, immediately became a defence against all further erosive action of the river on the subjacent Apennine limestone. This perpetually increasing shield of travertin would probably go on accumulating more rapidly in its upper parts than the agitated state of the bottom would allow below ; and hence periodical breakings away of its unsupported overgrowings would take place, as of the curling edges of drifted snow. But this failure of support would not affect the inferior sheets of travertin in immediate contact with the limestone : these once formed, will have remained from the day of their formation, arresting all further destruction of the stratified rock beneath. From the base of the cascade to the plain of Rome is about a mile ; and in this mile the river descends a valley narrow at its base, and flanked on both sides by slopes of moderate in- clination, most steep at the cascatelli on the left bank, and on the right bank nearly opposite them. Now it is observed, had this cascade been working gradually backwards through the eternity of the fluvialist theory, it must have deposited travertin all along the gorge it was forming at each succes- sive station, which it occupied from time to time, just as it has done at its actual station the Grotta di Nettuno; every part of 270 Mr. S. Sharpe on the Reduction to the Meridian. of the gorge below this point should have been a precipitous ravine uniformly incrusted with travertin, such as now covers the site of the actual cascade : instead of this, we have a valley included by gentle slopes, except at its upper extremity, where its sides for a short interval become more steep ; nor is there a single particle of the travertin which, on the theQry, ought to have prevailed through its whole extent, except in the neigh- bourhood of the artificial cascatelli, which of course must ne- cessarily produce it, just as the natural cascade does. I have now concluded the cursory view which I proposed to take of the phaenomena of geology bearing on theoretical points, and of the inferences which the observers of the school to which I am attached, have thought themselves justified in deducing from them. And I am now happy to leave, I hope for a long time, the field of theoretical, and especially controversial discussion. Having heartily tired myself, and I fear far more tired your readers, I can well say with the copyists of the middle ages: "Explicit, expliceat; ludere Scriptor eat." XLVI. On the Reduction to the Meridian. By S. SHARPE, Esq. F.G.S* TN the well-known formula for the reduction to the meridian "• of a zenith distance observed near to the meridian (see Baily's Tables, page 93) : x being correction required ; P hour angle ; L latitude of the place ; A polar distance of the body observed; Z zenith distance of ditto ; _ . eP/cosLsinA\ „ . , P/cosLsinA\2 , „ sm,r=2sin2-—( r— ~ — ) — 2sm4 — -( ^—^ — Vcot Z. 2 \ sin Z / 2 V sin Z / When the sun or a planet is the body observed, the additional term + 8.P is usually added: SP being its change of de- clination, proportional to the time P. But when this is done, the first term ought to be 2 sin • ^(-^gz + gp > °r> wha< is the same thing, we should add a fourth term ± 2sin*-|sin(PS)-^£. Remembering that these two terms containing 8 are to be of * Communicated by the Author. different Geological Society. 271 different sines when some of the observations are on one side of the meridian and some on the other. And this new term is too important to be neglected, 1st, In low latitudes, when ~ is large. 2nd, At a*distance from the meridian, when P is large. 3rd, Near the equinoxes or planet's nodes, when 8 is large. 4th, When the observations are principally on one side of the meridian. If we make cos L sin A , , /cos2 L sin2 A cot Z\ , XT cos2 L - — jj— -, — —., . M= ( . „ . — r. — ) and N = . . ^ sm Z sin 1" \ sm2Zsml" / sin2 Z K = x = versin P . K — (vers P — vers2P which is the form most easily calculated for a repeating circle, with a table of natural sines and versed sines, when Mr. Daily's convenient Tables are not at hand. S. SHARPE. XLVII. Proceedings of Learned Societies. ANNIVERSARY OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Address to the Geological Society, by the President, the Rev. ADAM SEDGWICK, M.A. F.R.S. #c., on announcing the first award of the Wollaston Prize. (February 18, J 831.) Gentlemen, BEFORE you proceed to elect the Officers and Council for the coming year, it remains forme to announce from the Chair the ad- judication of the Wollaston Prize. The affecting circumstances under which it was founded, so short a time before the death of one of the most illustrious men who have adorned our lists, the earnest wishes he expressed, almost with his dying breath, for the honour and well-being of this Society, and the peculiar public interest attached to a first award, have thrown a more than usual responsibility upon the Coun- cil. We were deeply conscious of this responsibility ; we have not come to our decision lightly ; and in what we have done we look for your entire approbation. I am anxious, in the first place, to recall to your recollection the powers committed to the Council, and the spirit of the instructions by which they were directed in their award j and I have no means of doing this so effectually as by quoting a portion of the communication, in which Dr. Wollaston first informed us of his intention of establish- ing the " Donation Fund." After stating that he had invested one thousand 272 Geological Society. thousand pounds in the three per cent, reduced bank annuities, in the joint names of himself and the Geological Society, he directed that after his decease "the Society should apply the dividends in pro- moting researches concerning the mineral structure of the earth, or in rewarding those by whom such researches might hereafter be made j or in such manner as should appear to the Council of the said Society for the time being, conducive to the interests of the Society in parti- cular, or the science of geology in general," &c. And he afterwards enjoined the Society " not to hoard the dividends parsimoniously, but to expend them liberally, and, as far as might be, annually, in further- ing the objects of the trust." Such, Gentlemen, was the letter of our instructions : and as we were enjoined to expend the proceeds of the Donation Fund, as far as might be, annually j I will read an extract from the Report of the Council at the preceding Anniversary, as it will explain our motives for withholding, on that occasion, the distribution of the dividends. "The Council have not thought it expedient to make as yet any distribution of the dividends arising from this fund, but have appro- priated the first year's income to the acquisition of a die for a medal which is to bear the head of Dr. Wollaston : and they hope that the Society will approve of this endeavour to perpetuate in the minds of geologists the memory of their illustrious benefactor. The first an- nual distribution, therefore, of the Wollaston Medal, as well as a cer- tain sum of money, will be awarded at the next anniversary according to the provision of the bequest." — (Feb. 19th, 1830.) Mr. Chantrey kindly undertook to carry the resolution of the Council into effect; and under his directions Mr. Wyon of the Royal Mint was employed to execute a die, which we hope before long to see finished. We met, therefore, in the early part of this year to act upon the letter of our instructions, and we recorded our award in the following Resolutions. Extract from the Minute-book of the Council, Jan. 11, 1831. Resolved unanimously — 1 . " That a Medal of fine gold, bearing the impress of the Head of Dr. Wollaston, and not exceeding the value of ten guineas, be procured with the least possible delay." 2. "That the first Wollaston Medal be given to Mr. William Smith, in consideration of his being a great, original discoverer in English Geology; and especially for his having been the first, in this country, to discover and to teach the identification of strata, and to determine their succession by means of their imbedded fossils." The first gold medal struck from the die now in progress will therefore be sent to Mr. Smith ; and we have added to it a purse of twenty guineas, from the dividends of the " Donation Fund," which it is now my duty publicly to present to him in the name of the Geo- logical Society. His great and original works are known to you all; and I might well refer to them for our justification, and without any further preface place the prize in his hand, offering him my hearty congratulations. But since his arrival in London, within the last few hours, he has given me a short account of his early discoveries, and has Geological Society. 273 has shown me a series of documents of no ordinary interest to this Society, and important to the correct history of European geology. I should ill perform my present task were I to withhold this infor- mation from you ; I proceed therefore to communicate it with what brevity and simplicity I can. Mr. William Smith was born at Churchill in Oxfordshire — a place abounding in fossils, the playthings of his childhood, and the objects of collection in his early youth. This is one of many instances where things, in themselves inconsiderable, act powerfully on peculiar minds, so as to influence the whole tenour of after-life. During his boyhood his habits of observation became confirmed by lessons in practical sur- veying : he remarked the alternations of argillaceous and stony strata, and thence became acquainted with the origin of springs and the true principles of draining j and fortunately many practical works of this kind were carried on under his immediate inspection. In 1787 (when eighteen years of age) he was employed in survey- ing and inclosing extensive tracts of common-land : this gave him a further insight into the minutest modifications of structure in his native country ; and within the two next years his surveys extended beyond the oolite hills into the plain of the new red sandstone. The regular stratification of the lias and the peculiarities of the red ground, at that time new to him, made a lasting impression on his mind. Carry- ing with him his acquired habits of accurate observation, he continued his surveys (during 1790) to the coast of Hampshire, and to the country round Salisbury and Bath j and he became gradually familiar with the outline of the chalk downs, and the external characters of large agricultural districts. In 1791, while employed in making ex- tensive surveys in a part of Somersetshire, he remarked the identity of the red marl and lias of that county with the corresponding for- mations of Gloucestershire, and recognized their discordant position on the coal measures. During the same year he made several detailed sections of the coal strata; collected fossil plantvS which he found cha- racteristic of particular beds in his sections j and remarked that none of the many fossils of the lias were found either in the coal strata or the red marl : and at this time he also began to make practical obser- vations and inquiries with a view of ascertaining the range and extent of the successive deposits, and the reality of a general line of clip to- wards the east, of which he had already seen so many local instances. I think these facts of great importance, as they contain the germ of all Mr. Smith's future discoveries. And we must bear in mind — that his attention was distracted by the duties of a laborious profession — that he had barely reached the age of manhood — and that he had not received a glimmering of direction in his general speculations. In the course of the two following years, while continuing the duties of a surveyor and civil engineer, he became gradually acquainted with all the minute facts of stratification in the country round Bath : and for the purpose of bringing to the test the inquiries suggested by his surveys in 1/91, he made two transverse sections along the lines of two parallel valleys intersecting the oolitic groups (determining the actual elevation of these lines by means of levels carried from the N. S. Vol. 9. No. 52. April 1831. 2 N Somerset 274 Geological Society. Somerset Coal Canal) j and ascertained that the several beds, found in the high escarpments around Bath, were brought down by an eastern dip, in regular succession, to the level of his lines of section. During these two years Mr. Smith was in the constant habit of ma- king collections of fossils, with strict indications of their localities ; and in completing the details of his transverse sections, he found, where the beds themselves were obscure, that he could by organic remains alone determine the true order of succession. During this period he also extended his surveys through the Cotteswold Hills, and became acquainted with the general facts of the range of the oolitic escarp- ment towards the North of England. In the year 1794- he crossed the whole series of formations, and marked their escarpments between Bath and London ; and afterwards extended his surveys to the Durham and Northumberland coal- field: while on his way, partly by actual sections and partly by the help of external contours, with which his eye was now familiar, he ascertained the range of the chalk to Flamborough Head, and of the oolitic series, through a regular succession of escarpments, to the Hambleton Hills and the cliffs of Yorkshire. Combining the facts discovered in this excursion with the distribution of the for- mations in the south-western parts of England, he began to record his observations by colouring geological maps. Several documents of this kind are now unfortunately lost : but I have been informed by Mr. Phillips (Curator of the museum of the Yorkshire Philo- sophical Society), that he possesses a valuable geological map, co- loured by Mr. Smith in the year 1800, connecting the structure of the North of England, which at that time he had not again visited, with the structure of the South-western districts ; and delineating the whole oolitic series through England, in some places very cor- rectly, and in all with a general approach to accuracy. Mr. Smith in 1795 became for the first time a housekeeper; and no sooner had he apartments of his own, than he turned them to account by arranging his large collection of organic fossils (the accumulations of several years) stratigraphically. I am certain, Gentlemen, that this stratigraphical collection, preceded by many years any other similar collection formed in this country : and with- out pretending to any exact knowledge of the history of Continental geology, I greatly doubt whether a stratigraphical collection of or- ganic fossils, derived from a long series of formations, and specially intended to assist in identifying their subordinate strata and deter- mining their relations, was ever made before the year 1795 in any part of Europe. Local collections of organic remains were undoubtedly made in this country long before the time of Mr. Smith, and in the works of our older writers we may sometimes find the glimmerings of his dis- coveries.— Woodward formed a magnificent collection of organic re- mains ; and he separated from the rest a series of fossils of the Hamp- shire coast, and was aware that many of the species were the same as those of the London clay : but this fact, and many others of like kind, were with him but sterile truths j and being led astray by his theory, he knew nothing either of the real structure of the earth, or Geological Society. 275 or of any law regulating the distribution of organic forms. — Michell was a man of great talents, and undoubtedly made out the true rela- tions of the secondary deposits in one portion of this island: but he was, 1 believe, ignorant of the importance of organic remains, and did not use them as a means of identifying strata. — Lister is distinguished among the writers of the seventeenth century as the first to propose the construction of mineralogical maps, and he had some limited no- tions of the distribution of organic fossils, though he misunderstood both their nature and importance. The works of these authors were, however, entirely unknown to Mr. Smith during his early life, and every step of his progress was made without any assistnnce from them*. But I will go further, and affirm, that had they all been known to him, they would take nothing from the substantial merit of his discoveries. Fortunately placed in a country where all our great secondary groups are brought near toge- ther, he became acquainted in early life with many of their complex relations. He saw particular species of fossils in particular groups of strata, and in no others j and giving generalization to phenomena, which men of less original minds would have regarded as merely local, he proved (so early as 1791) the continuity of certain groups of strata, by their organic remains alone, where the mineral type was wanting. He made large collections of fossils j and the moment an opportunity presented itself he arranged them all stratigraphically. Having once succeeded in identifying groups of strata by means of their fossils, he saw the whole importance of the inference — gave it its ut- * I am anxious to do no injustice to those who preceded Mr. Smith. No part of Woodward's collection was arranged stratigraphically — Michell, who occupied the Woodwardian Chair several years, was of course intimately acquainted with every part of this collection: but I do not think he made any use of it as a means of determining the order of superposition. There is, however, one passage in his celebrated paper " On the Cause and Phsenomena of Earthquakes" (Phil. Trans, vol. li. p. 587), which I am bound to notice. It is as follows : " These inequalities are sometimes so great, that the strata are bent for some small distance, even the contrary way from tlie general inclination of them. This often makes it difficult to trace the appearances I have been relating ; which, without a general knowledge of the fossil bodies of a large tract of country, it is hardly possible to do." I am almost certain, that by the term fossil, he did not intend organic re- mains. In the works and catalogues of Dr. Woodward (with which of course Michell was most familiar), and in the language of naturalists of the last century, every mineral substance was designated under the general term fossil; and organic remains were almost always distinguished by the name of extraneous fossils, organic fossils, &c. &c. The memorandum, by which it is proved that Michell had a knowledge of the true relations of several of our secondary groups, was found by accident among the papers of Sir Joseph Banks, and published in 1810. It could not, therefore, have possibly been known to Mr. Smith during the progress of his discoveries. (See Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine, vol. xxxvi. p. 102.) Since the Anniversary, I have looked over the paper in which Lister recom- mends the construction of mineral maps (Phil. Trans, vol. xiv. p. 730 : 1684). It is clear that he had no correct notions on the nature of stratification ; and his opinions on organic remains was, as is well known, most erroneous and un- philosophical. All these questions are discussed at considerable length, and with great ability and candour, in an article of the Edinburgh Review (vol. xxix. p. 311, &c.), now known to be from the pen of Dr. Filton, To this article I par- ticularly wish to refer the reader. 2 N 2 most 276 Geological Society. most extension — seized upon it as the master principle of our science — by help of it disentangled the structure of a considerable part of England — and never rested from his labours till the public was fairly in possession of his principles. If these be not the advances of an original mind, I do not know where we are to find them ; and I affirm with confidence, after the facts already stated, that the Council was justified in the terms of their award, and that Mr. William Smith was o .otoo.^c.o..tn.o..u^oo. : : th : : rr : o : :oot^ too :co : .3* .r-. . :^oco . • • \n • «oo • ro • •'T'T'O •'P'T' * *? 9 C*T^9 dsog . o . . o . . o c* . . •»~a fld-a-irf-s-a dsoo i %* ^ |fi « « o ^^5 ^^ 5> ^ « S :1 SI ^ ZU3J * | g s * «• « M „' ^ c» -H30 14 0-01 82 43| 0-62 123* 85 6-67 41 2! 0-02 83 444 0-65 54, South Bridge, Edinburgh, 14th March 1831. N.S. Vol. 9. No. 53. May 1831. WM. GALBRAITH. 2 X LIV. On LIV. On the Effect of a Change of Polar Distance on the Re- duction to the Meridian of a Zenith Distance observed out of the Meridian. By A CORRESPONDENT. To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. Gentlemen, T TROUBLE you with a few lines on the effect of a change -•- of polar distance on the reduction to the meridian of a zenith distance observed out of the meridian. Retaining the symbols used in a paper in your last Number, where A and Z are understood to refer to the time of meridian transit; let us suppose that for the hour angle P we have the polar di- stance = A +& A, and the zenith distance Z + #. The cor- rection x to be applied to the zenith distance Z + .r, in order to obtain Z, the zenith distance on the meridian is to be found from these two equations : sin L cos A + cos L sin A = cos Z sinLcos(A +8 A) +cosL . sin (A + 8A) cos P = cos (Z + x) Considering the square of 8 A and oc? as evanescent, we shall find cos L. sin A „ . , ™ cos L2 sin2 A n n • i™ x = - — TJ - 2 sin \ P2 -- ^—^f - cotang Z2sin^P* sm Z sm2Z sin LA The part 8 A is owing to the change of polar distance, which from A +8 A at the time P of the observation, is become A at the time of the body's transit over the meridian, and 8 A - : — rj — • 2 sin i P2 is the increase of the first term sin LA of the value of x by the substitution of A + 8 A for A, as that term belongs to a polar distance A ; whereas the real polar distance belonging to the hour angle P was A The equation may be thus written : cosL.sin(A+SA) _ 2 ^ p_ _ sm Z sm Z1 The correction of x depending on 8 A is hardly ever re- quired ; but the preceding formula shows how easy it is to take it into account. LV. Ob- [ 339 ] LV. Observations relative to the Origin and History of the Bushmen. By ANDREW SMITH, M.D. M.W.S. $c. [Continued from page 200.] Tj^OR subsistence, the Bushmen, as has alreadybeen observed, •*• trust principally to the fruits of the earth, and to the game which their plains afford : but when either of those are found deficient, few have any hesitation in supplying their wants from the flocks of the neighbouring farmers. With even such a variety of resources, they are nevertheless often sufferers from extreme want, and are thereby necessitated to consume almost every article which is to be found within the range of their retreats. Of the vegetable productions, many roots, both fibrous, fleshy, and bulbous, form articles of their food ; and of berries and other fruits, they employ almost all that are met with whose qualities are not prejudicial to health, and many of which are doubtless possessed of no properties beyond those of filling and distending the stomach. Amongst the most useful and nutritious of the vegetable products, is the seed of a species of grass which grows in their country, as well as in the northern parts of the colony, and which, when cleaned and boiled, has considerable resemblance in taste to barley similarly prepared. This at the proper season occurs in considerable quantities, and is acquired in two ways, — either by directly collecting the tops of the grass and then separating the seed, or by robbing the black ants which there occur, and who carry quantities of it as food to their subterranean abodes. Subservient as the vegetable kingdom is thus rendered, the animal one is made not less so ; for, from the largest quadrupeds that inhabit their wastes, to the most disgusting reptile or the smallest insect, almost all are in some way or other employed as articles of provision. The hippopotami, zebras, quaggas, dif- ferent species of antelopes, jackals, &c. as well as the ostrich and bustard, form the favourite objects of pursuit with the men; and the pursuit of the hares, dassies, moles, rats, snakes, lizards, grasshoppers, ants, and such like forms, the occupation of the women and boys. There is scarcely a four-footed animal which they can destroy that they do not convert to food, and there is hardly a portion of any one of those, with the exception of the bones, that they do not devour. The flesh in every situation they greedily consume ; the stomach and intestines they esteem as delicacies; the liver and kidneys they often swallow even raw, and the contents of the stomachs of many animals they drink or eat either pure or diluted with water. The blood of most animals they highly prize, and though usually cooked before 2X2 it 34-0 Dr. A. Smith's Observations relative to the it is used, yet it is often, either from choice or necessity occa- sioned by a want of water, swallowed as it flows from the body. The skins, at least of the larger animals, are not even rejected, and those they often feed upon with a degree of rapacity, which nothing but extreme hunger would support. Some of the articles just stated are regularly made use of in their natural state, but the majority only when cooked. The vegetable productions that require such preparation, are either boiled or roasted; and those belonging to the animal kingdom are mostly treated in the latter way, with the exception of grass- hoppers, larvae of ants, and ostrich eggs, which are commonly consumed without being submitted to the influence of cooking ; all the others are, when choice can be exercised, more or less prepared ; and what requires most labour, is the dried skins of the larger animals. Those are first moistened by water, and then stamped and roasted ; or else roasted first, and stamped afterwards. Though the employment of articles like the last mentioned is calculated to create a degree of wonder in those who have never suffered severely from the pangs of want, yet how much more adapted for such a purpose is the observance of a fact, which almost daily occurs amongst the Bushmen, — namely, the preparation of pieces of old shoes, &c. for the purpose of furnishing a scanty and tasteless meal. The vegetable products are principally obtained without much labour; and if we except the different roots, few require much exertion. The latter it is necessary to dig out of the ground, and for that purpose they employ either a piece of pointed wood hardened by having been previously a little burnt, or else a gemsbok horn, and by either of those they loosen the surrounding soil with amazing rapidity. The ani- mal productions are partly procured without much trouble, but the majority not without very considerable exertion, as well as the exercise of no small degree of dexterity and cun- ning. The bow and arrow are the means upon which they mostly rely for obtaining the latter ; and next to those, snares and dogs. In employing the former, they either endeavour to approach the animal within a suitable distance to wound him severely, or else to conceal themselves so as to be in the way as he may be pursuing his progress, or, lastly, by the practice of decoys to bring him into a fitting position. The facility they have of creeping, and the similarity between the colour of their skin and the arid wastes over which they hunt, when conjoined to the amazing sharpness of their sight, enable them often to advance within a very little distance of game, and often by a wound of a poisoned arrow to intimate to the ani- mal its unfortunate situation. He observes every motion of its Origin and History of the Bushmen. 341 its head during his approach, and whenever it is possible for its range of vision to extend to him, he remains most perfectly quiet ; but when that is not the case, he advances with circum- spection, and is sustained by such patience, that he will some- times pass a whole day in the pursuit, without any particular prospect of success. When again he adopts the second plan, he remarks the direction the animal is following, and the posi- tion of the best vegetation in the quarter towards which he is proceeding ; and having fully satisfied himself as to its probable course, he digs a hole in the ground, and there conceals him- self till fate determines what shall be the result. The third mode, or that by decoys, is practised generally with success where the requisites for forming such are procurable. They are principally, if not invariably, executed through the instru- mentality of young animals, which, when obtained, are fixed a little way in advance of a low bush fence, behind which the hunter is 'secreted, and from whence he destroys the dam, as she visits her offspring. Another description of plan he fol- lows, and one not less successful, in '^hunting the ostrich, — namely, that of digging a hole close to a nest, and concealing himself therein. When in that position, and having previ- ously provided himself with a dog, he throws it upon the eggs ; and as soon as the bird sees the animal in that position, it has- tens to the spot to drive him away, when it instantly falls a victim to the ingenuity of its betrayer. Snares they construct in various ways, and by such they often greatly increase their supplies. Some are formed of nooses placed in positions through which animals are accus- tomed to pass, and others consist of large and deep holes dug in the ground, and so covered over with grass and other arti- cles as not to be distinguishable from the surrounding parts till discomposed by the steps of a visitor, when it is usually too late to discover the fraud. By this method, when prac- tised in situations where water or grazing ground occurs, sea- cows, zebras, quaggas, and various of the antelope species, are frequently obtained. By the formation of trenches or long narrow ditches, grasshoppers are also commonly entrapped, particularly when driven in great abundance towards them, as when the^1 fall therein they are totally unable to escape again. The resort of the white ants they discover by observing the hole at which they enter the ground ; and when that is accom- plished, and the object is to secure the young, they dig away the earth till the nest is discovered, when it is immediately exposed, and the larvae, as well as many of the older specimens, are selected. In the pursuit of these, they often dig holes several feet in depth, and three or four in diameter ; and after that, 34?2 Notices respecting New Books. that, they are not unfrequently disappointed of the objects in view. When, however, they are successful, they carry the fruits thereof to their temporary residence, and there, by the assistance of a small piece of dried skin, remove all the earth and other impurities, after which they either devour the re- mainder, or else place them in a pot upon the fire and warm it a little ; during which time they keep agitating the contents, so as to prevent them from burning, &c. After a few minutes of such treatment, they are considered as prepared and adapted for food. In this state they are not unpalatable, and it is only the knowledge of their nature that gives anything like a dis- inclination to relish them. By the Bushmen, the food under consideration is highly esteemed, and that and the ostrich egg are perhaps the most admired articles of their subsistence. After what has been stated as to the variety of articles employed in diet, it will doubtless appear a little strange, that on many occasions they are scarcely able to exist. Such evidently arises from the scantiness with which the varieties alluded to are distributed, particularly at certain seasons, as well as from the difficulty with which many of them are obtained. It matters little, how- ever, what the cause or causes are, as the fact is established, and is what doubtless induces them to plunder both the colo- nists and their various Hottentot neighbours. Lest, how- ever, this remark should be construed as expressing my be- lief, that unavoidable want is the only incentive to plunder, I may observe, that I am quite convinced that laziness and a love of animal food are very often what alone urge them to thieving. [To be continued.] LVI. Notices respecting New Books. Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire ; or a Description of the Strata and Organic Remains of the Yorkshire Coast : accompanied by a Geological Map, Sections, and Plates of the Fossil Plants and Ani- mals. By JOHN PHILLIPS, F.G.S., Keeper of the Museum of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, &c. York, 1829, 4 to. pp. 192. Twenty-four Lithographs. GEOLOGY naturally divides itself into two branches, according as its cultivators study the crystalline aggregates or the strati- fied deposits which combine to form the crust of the earth ; and ac- cordingly we have always had two distinct classes of geologists. For the examination of Plutonic rocks, Mineralogy is required ; for the Neptunian deposits we must refer to the sciences of Botany and Zoo- logy. The most brilliant discoveries, the most striking and most successful generalizations with respect to the structure of the earth, which have yet been made, have originated in the study of or- ganic Notices respecting Nc*w Booh. 34-3 ganic remains. The thousands of extinct animals and plants, which fill the dark mansions of the earth, yield to the geologist as sure a record of the revolutions by which our planet, after it had become a mass of mere mineral matter, was prepared for the habitation of man, as the mummy and the pyramid, the coin and the urn, the inscription and the column, declare the subsequent vicissitudes of human society. By announcing, forty years since, the important fact that each suite of analogous strata, — the result of a peculiar set of natural operations, — contains a peculiar suite of organic reliquiae, derived from the beings then living in the waters, or transported thither from the land, and consequently that the different fossil species of plants, corals, shells, and vertebrated remains, belong to different epochs, and mark the successive periods of the earth's formation, Mr. W. Smith changed entirely the whole face of geological science. His principles, success- fully applied to determine the stratification of England, received a splendid confirmation from the researches of Cuvier and Brongniart in France, and are at this moment universally admitted as the basis of the laborious researches by which Buckland, Sedgwick, Murchison, Lyell, De Beaumont, Von Buch, Voltz,Dufresnoy, Deshayes, Necker, Brocchi, and others, have established the general accordance with each other of the stratified deposits of Europe, and the existence of more or less perfectly analogous deposits over all the world. Mr. Smith's map of the strata of England and Wales, published in 1815, but prepared as early as 1800, will long remain a venerable monument of the then state of knowledge on that subject. And if the amiable and excellent author, oppressed less by age than by heavy afflictions, has been so regardless of his reputation as to neg- lect the corrections of his noble work which his own unwearied in- vestigations have furnished, is there one among the more eager and more fortunate aspirants after such fame, so ungrateful for the light which guides his steps as to reproach the modest self-oblivion of the father of English geology ? Townsend, in his character of Moses, published, with a slight ac- knowledgement, what he had learned from his friend "Stratum Smith." Farcy's Derbyshire contains a similar abstract j and Mr. Smith's own publications have partially exposed in print those views which were the theme of all his conversations. The author of the present publication, the nephew and pupil of Mr. Smith, has dedicated to him a performance calculated in a remarkable degree to develope and confirm his opinions. We have long intended to give this work a degree of attention in our pages in some respect corresponding to its merits, although they have been repeatedly re- corded in them by Mr. De la Beche, Professor Sedgwick, and other geologists. The present time, when the Geological Society has awarded to Mr. Smith the first Wollaston medal, for his discovery of the means of identifying strata by organic remains ; and when the late President of the Society has exposed in so luminous a manner the benefits which Geology has derived from his researches, in an address officially delivered from the Chair,— cannot but be appropriate for re- calling Mr. Phillips's work to the attention of the public. The 344- Notices respecting New Booh. The organic reliquiae of the Yorkshire coast have been for a long time celebrated j and the most distinguished geologists of England have employed themselves in investigating the relations of the strata, there exposed in the sea cliff's and inland ranges of hills. But though in these researches a certain part of the history of the strata was de- termined, and represented on Mr. Smith's and Mr. Greenough's maps, and described by Messrs. Conybeare and Sedgwick, still the whole district was most imperfectly known, and the oolitic series in parti- cular was not at all understood. In 1822, the Rev. G. Young and Mr. John Bird, residing at Whitby, published a volume of observations on the subject containing some good descriptions, but altogether destitute of zoological accuracy and sound geological generalization, and consequently leaving the stratification of the Yorkshire coast in greater obscurity than ever. To remedy this state of things, by dis- closing the true history and relations of the several rocks and their imbedded organic remains, is the object of Mr. Phillips's work. The first chapter is an essay on the Principles of Geology, and contains a condensed view of the discoveries respecting the structure of the earth, which have produced the modern practical system of geology. This is a necessary introduction to the subsequent discus- sions ; for, though no science in modern times has made greater pro- gress than geology, its zealous cultivators are not numerous, and few of the persons likely to possess this book would be supposed familiar with its real principles. The general laws relating to the stratifica- tion of the crust of the earth, the distinctions of primary, secondary and independent rocks, the distribution of organic remains in the earth, and their relations to the existing races of animals and plants, the effects of internal convulsions in the earth during the deposition of the strata, are successively considered. Next follow observations on the changes which the surface of the dry land has undergone by the agency of ancient floods. In this part of his work Mr. Phillips avows himself very decidedly opposed to that part of the Huttonian theory of the earth which ascribes the excavation of valleys to the streams which now run down them, and agrees with Dr. Buckland and Mr. Conybeare in their opinion, that the same great flood of waters which destroyed so many of the land animals of the ancient world was the principal agent in producing the present inequalities of the earth's surface. The modern changes occasioned by the action of water in the sea, rivers and streams, on the ancient framework of the earth, are next sketched, and the whole terminates in a bold and striking summary view of the series of changes which appear to have visited the earth, from the period of its earliest physical condition, of which induction from known facts furnishes any indications. " Having thus traced the outlines of a practical system of geology, I shall conclude with a very orief sketch of the series of changes which appear to have visited the earth. From chemical researches it seems highly probable that the whole crust of the earth is to be viewed as originally produced by oxidation of fluid metals and metalloids. From a careful study of the effects of heat, under different circumstances, and of the habitudes of earthy compounds under its influence, it seems probable Notices respecting New Books. 345 probable that the granitic rocks, which are the lowest of the primary series, owe their present condition and appearance to the effect of partial or general fusion. Above this granitic series we find, certainly, the effects of deep and overruling water. Many of the primary, and all of the secondary rocks owe their present appearances and arrange- ments to the action of water. These strata exhibit the results both of agitated and of tranquil waters, — mechanical aggregates, — sedi- mentary deposits, — and chemical precipitates, in frequent repetition. This circumstance, combined with the facts relating to organic re- mains, teaches us, that during a long period the sea flowed rich in living beings over rocks which contain no reliques of life. At times tranquil, at intervals tumultuous, this ocean, perhaps of elevated temperature, even in the northernmost regions, varied its deposits at different periods, yet preserved among them a general conformity of arrangement, from the oldest to the most recent, and a similarity over large regions. The aquatic animals and other remains, which are entombed in the earth, exhibit a long series of beings, whose origin dates from some of the earliest strata, and whose forms, differ- ing according to the antiquity of the rocks, successively come nearer and nearer to the modern productions of the land and the ocean. During this process, at intervals, vegetable forests swept into estua- ries, or lakes, furnished the materials of coal, and the intermitting action of submarine volcanoes frequently broke the consolidated strata, and formed basaltic and other overlying rocks. At times, too, more violent exertions, probably of the same cause, uplifted groups and ranges of mountains with great disruption and dislocation. Ope- rations of the same kind are to this day continued, but so feebly*, that we commonly speak as if the causes which concurred to produce the crust of our planet had ceased to exist. They appear, however, to have been gradually weakened j and when the last series of the se- condary beds, partly marine, partly lacustrine, was deposited, a large portion of pre-consolidated rocks became tenanted by land animals. But again the waters returned and overflowed the inhabited world -, removed rocks, excavated valleys, and destroyed the terrestrial inha- bitants, from whose anatomical construction, as displayed in their remains, it may be inferred that the antediluvian face of the earth was like our own, diversified by lakes, and forests, and mountains. " This transient flood retires from the desolated continents j again the forest is clothed with foliage j birds fly in air, and animals roam the earth ; the mountains gather clouds, rain falls, the streams flow down their new channels, the sea resumes its appointed boundary; cliffs are wasted, low shores are extended, valleys are filled up, vol- canoes are in action ; nature revives again, and man, by contempla- tion of the phenomena, reads the awful history of his birth-place, gathers ideas of the immense agency exerted in the construction of the earth, compares this planet with the other members of the solar system, and views the solar system itself as only a small part of the immeasurable works of God !" * Absumptis per longum viribus aevum. N.S. Vol. 9. No, 53. May 1831. 2 Y 346 Notices respecting New Books. This part of the work is clear and methodical, and agrees with the most generally received opinions of English geologists. The evidence adduced in support of Dr. Buckland's diluvial theory deserves particular attention ; and if the author has rather exceeded what his evidence will warrant, when he says " the deluge covered the whole earth," he has certainly imposed a serious difficulty on those who deny that such a flood has overswept the hills of England. In Chapter II. we find the following tabular view of the series of Yorkshire strata. "Tabular View of the Series of Yorkshire Strata. Utmost Thickness. Feet. Chalk for- f 1 White Chalk 500 /TheWold hills from Flam- mation. \ 2 Red Chalk 5 \ borough to Hessle. ( Speeton, Knapton. Kirby-Moorside, Helms - ley, Settrington, El- loughton. Silpho Brow, Sinnington, Wass Bank. Scarborough Castle, Pick- ering, Malton. Clay vale C formation.! [» (Smith.) l4KimmeridgeclayJ 5 Upper calcareous grit 6 Coralline oolite I 4> I calcareous) J 8 Oxford clay 9 Kelloways rock 10 Cornbrash lime- stone vening. f Scarborough Castle, Sal- 150 < tergate Brow, Rievaulx L Abbey. 40 5 < Gristhorpe, Scarborough. 200 < Gristhorpe, Scalby. Gristhorpe, White Nab, ker. 13 Lower sandstone,! ^nn jCloughton, Peak, Burton shale, and coal. J \ Head, &c. 200 150 500 15 Upper lias shale 1 6 Marlstone series 1 7 Lower lias shale Cliffs near Whitby, Hills near Guisbrough, &c. Cliffs near Staiths, Head of Bilsdale, Eston Nab, &c. RobinHood's Bay,Boulby, Redcar. Notices respecting New Books. 34-7 Feet. s~>> "18 Red marl and red A%Q o % sandstone. 111 II -Brotherton lime- 45 O >> stone ** ^r •< 19< Red clay and 50 ** •£» gypsum J 1 Magnesianlime- 120 <; inches. The stomach, ccecuni, and portions of the skeleton were laid on the table. Mr. Brookes remarked that the cartilage which, passing from the carpus, affords support to the volitant membrane in the Flying- Squirrels, is found in all the Pteromyes and Sciuropteri ; but that it does not exist in Galeopithecus. One of the specimens of Suricate (Ryzana tetradactyla, Illig.), which were exhibited to the Committee on the 25th January, having died, the following notes respecting its anatomy were read by Mr. Owen. "The 368 Zoological Society. " The specimen was a female, and measured, from the end of the snout to the vent, 1 1 inches. On opening the body it was observed that the bile had exuded through the peritoneum, and had stained the ensiform cartilage close to which thejundus of the gall-bladder lay. The viscera of the abdomen presented a beautiful appearance when exposed ; the liver occupied the hypochondriac and epigastric re- gions ; below this appeared the stomach with its vessels injected, and along the convexity of this organ the spleen swept across the abdomen from the left to the right lumbar region ; the convoluted intestines occupying the lower part. " The oesophagus has a course of about half an inch in the abdo- men, and enters the stomach half an inch from the left extremity of that viscus. The stomach is of a full oval shape, without any contraction in the middle, and retaining the same circumference to very near the pylorus : its longitudinal diameter is 2 inches j its depth 1 inch 10 lines. There is a large omentum, broadly attached to the stomach and spleen, which was hidden among the convolu- tions of the small intestines. The duodenum makes a large curve at the right side of the abdomen, is a loose intestine throughout its whole course, having a mesoduodenum which becomes shorter as it approaches the spine at the lower part of its curve ; it is continued into the jejunum before it crosses the spine. The small intestine then descends into the left iliac region, makes a sudden turn up- wards, and after a few convolutions again at the lower part of the abdomen, terminates in the ccecum which is situated in the left lum- bar region just above the left kidney. The circumference of the small intestines is nearly the same throughout their course, viz. 1 inch ; their length 3 feet 2 inches. " The caecum is nearly an inch in length, with a rounded extremity, and rather contracted at its commencement ; but its position and direction are the reverse of the caecum in the human subject, having the blind end pointing to the diaphragm, and lying, as in birds, by the side of the small intestine, and in the direction of the large intes- tine, which is continued almost straight down to the anus. There is not any natural division into colon or rectum, the large intestine being without longitudinal bands or sacculi, and measuring in length only six inches. The circumference is rather more than that of the small intestines. " The liver is tripartite, with a lobulus Spigelii ; the right division is bilobed; the middle division has three lobes, with the gall bladder lodged deep in the right fissure, and the coronary ligament in the left; the left division is entire. The gall-bladder is large • it had an irregularly contracted surface. The ductus choledochus enters the duodenum half an inch from the pylorus. hocfusco graciliter fasciato -, abdomine cris- soque ferrugineis ; alls caudaque brunneo-fuscis, apicibus patti- 3 B 2 dioribus; 372 Zoological Society. dioribus ; dorso imo tcctricib usque caudce superioribus subrufes- centibus. Tectrices alarum inferiores ferrugineo fuscoque notatae. Statura paullo minor quam in specie precedent!. This bird also was observed to be closely allied to the last, and to differ from it probably only in sex or age. Until such points however could be ascertained, it was considered advisable to regard it as specifically distinct. Another interesting modification of form was exhibited among the Shrikes, in which the forked tail, acuminated wing, and short and feeble legs of the birds allied to Dicrurus appeared united to the head and bill of some of the Stares, particularly the genus Pastor. Mr. Vigors characterized the form under the generic name of HYPSIPETES. Rostrum subelongatum, debile, parum curvatum, apice leviter emarginatum ; naribus basalibus, lateralibus, longitudinalibus, mem- brana partim clausis; rictus setis paucis, parum rigidis. Alee subelongatae, subacuminatse ; remige prima brevi, secunda longiori septimae aequali, tertia et sexta sequalibus, quarta et quinta" aequalibus longissimis. Pedes brevissimi, debiliores ; acrotarsiis scutellatis. Cauda subelongata, forficata, rectricibus extrorsum spectantibus. HYPSIPETES PSAROIDES. Hyps, capite supra subcristato, remi- gum apicibus, rectricibus que nigris ; corpore alisque cineraceo- griseis ; abdomine imo crissoque pallidioribus . Rostrum pedesque flavi. Tectricum alarum remigumque pogonia interna fusca. Tectrices alarum inferiores cineraceo-grisege. Lon- gitudo corporis, 11^-; alee a carpo ad apicem remigis Stiae, 5; rvstri 1 ; tarsi, 4 ; caudce, 4<^. The following species were also exhibited and described. MUSCIPETA BREVIROSTRIS. Mas. Muse, capite, collo, nucha, dorso superiori, alis, rectricibusque mediis splendenti-nigris ; corpore hifra, dorso imo, pteromatum apicibus, fascia remigumt rectricibusque lateralibus splendide coccineis ; rostro brevi, sub- debili. Foem.? Fronts, corpore infra, dorso imo, fascia alarum, rectrici- busque lateralibus Jlams ; capite, nuchd, scapularibus, dorsoque superiori griseis ; alis rectricibusque mediis nigris. Longitudo corporis, 8-i- ; alee, 3-£- ; rostri, -rV ; tarsi, £ ; caudce, 4-. CARDUELIS SPINOIDES. Mas. Card, fronte, occipite, collo corpo- reque infra, ptilis, pteromatum apicibus, fascid remigum, rectri- cumque lateralium basibus flavis ; capite supra dorsoque oliva- ceis ; alis caudaquefuscescenti-nigris. Foem. ? Coloribus minus saturatis ; abdomine dorsoque olivaceo- fusco striatis. Statura paulo major quam Card. Spini. Picus AUKICEPS. Mas. Pic. capite supra aureo; occipite, abdomine imo, crissoque coccineis ; colli parte posteriori et striga utrinque later all, corporeque supra nigris ; colli parte Jrontali et lateribus, corporeque infra albis, hoc nigro striato ; scapularibus, pteroma- tibus, Zoological Society. 373 tibus, remigibus, rectricibusque lateralibus albo-maculatis ; dorso media griseo, albo nigroquejasciato. Foem. Sine not a coccined occipitali. Statura Pic. medii. Picus PYGMJEUS. Mas. Pic. capite supra dorsoque media griseo- canis, hoc albo nigroque fasdato ; striga utrinque per oculos ad nucham extendente, guld, maculisque pteromatum remigum et rectricum lateralium albis ; pectore abdomineque albescentibus , Jusco graciliter striatis ; notd longitudinali gracili utrinque post oculos coccined. Foem. Sine notd coccined postocularL Statura minor quam Pic. minoris. The male exhibited of this species was observed to have the two middle tail feathers elongated beyond the rest, and the lateral fea- thers were shown to be altogether soft and flexible, like those of the genus Picumnus, Temm. CINNYRIS GouLDi2E. Cinn. capite supra, guld colloque infronte, regione auriculari, striga utrinque gracUi ad latera colli usque ad humeros extendente, uropygio, caudce tectricibus, rectrici- busque duabus mediis elongatis pur pur eo et cceruleo metallice splendentibus; capitis lateribus, occipite, nucha, scapularibus, dorso summo, ptilisque sanguineo-rubris ; dorso tmo, pectore, abdomi- neque sulphureisy his sanguineo sparsis ; remigibus rectricibusque lateralibus Juscis. Longitudo circiter 5 uncias. Mr. Vigors expressed the pleasure which he felt in dedicating this species to the accomplished artist, Mrs. Gould, who executed the plates of these Himalayan birds. March 8, 1831. Sir Thomas Phillips, Bart, in the Chair. The Report on the animals for the importation of which the Coun- cil should be recommended to take measures (prepared in pursuance of a Resolution of the Committee, Jan. 1 1.), was presented and read by Mr. Vigors. It was directed that it should be suspended in the Meeting Room for the consideration of ^the Members of the Com- mittee until the next Meeting, to which it shall be again submitted, and its adoption be recommended. An extract was read from the ' Lecture faite a la lere Stance Annuelle de la Societe d'Histoire Naturelle de 1'Jsle Maurice, 24 Aout, 1830, par M. Julien Desjardins, Secretaire de la Socie"te,' a manuscript copy of which had been transmitted by that Society. The zoological labours of the Mauritius Natural History Society have, during the first year of its existence, embraced numerous de- partments of animated nature. The Mammalia of the island have been treated of by M. J. Desjar- dins. They are twenty-six in number, of which twelve only exist in the wild state. These are enumerated as the Simla Aygula, L. j Pteropus vulgaris ; Pter. rubricoUis, Geoff. ; Nyctinomus acetabulo- sust Geoff, j I'aphozous Mauritianus, Geoff, j Erinaceus setosus, L. ; Sorex Indicus, Geoff. ; Mus Rattus, L. j Mus Musculusf L. j Lepus nigricollis; Sus scrofa, L. ; and Cervus Elaphus, L. Various 374- Zoological Society. Various Birds of Mauritius have been brought before the Society, including the Fulica Chloropus, L, ; the Numenius Madagascariensis, Briss. ; and a Snipe, known in the island as the Cul blanc. To the latter M.L. Desjardins has given, with some doubts, the name of Sco- lopax Mauritinna. Several birds from Madagascar have also occupied the attention of the Society, and M. J. Desjardins has identified them as follows : two species of Falco, Cuv. ; Strix flammea, L. ; Loxia Madagascariensis, L. ; Corvus Dauricus, Lath, j a species of Regulus, Cuv. ; Cuculus canorus, L. j Tetrao Coturnix, L. ; Scopus Umbretta ; Rallus Mada- gascariensis, n. s. j Fulica Chloropus, L. ; Fulica cristata, Gmel. j Scolopax Capensis, L. ; Colymbus minor, L. $ and four species of the genus Anas, L. There are very few Reptiles met with on the island. An instance has occurred of the discovery of a living Snake, the second within the memory of the inhabitants. It was the Coluber rufus, LaCep. j and had probably been brought from India in some ship. The earlier travellers speak of the existence of Tortoises, but none are now found. M. J. Desjardins has, however, discovered three deposits of the re- mains of these animals, all of which are evidently of modern date, their age not exceeding two or three centuries. There are two Saurian Reptiles, which, although common, remained undescribed until M. L. Desjardins gave to them the names of Scincus Telfairii and Seme. Bojerii : he has also described a third, smaller and much more uncommon than the others, the Seine. Boutonii. Three new species of Fishes have been described and figured by M. T. Delisse. They are a Heniochus, Cuv. ; a Holacanthus, Cuv. ; and an Ophidium, L. In invertebrated animals, especially those which inhabit the sea, Mauritius is rich. Among the Annelida, M. Lienard, sen. has de- scribed an Amphitrite, which he believes to be new : he has also described the Amph. voluticornis and Amph. splendida, Lam., together with three new species, the Amph.fuscata, albicans, and tricolor. A lacustrine Erpobdella has been described by M. L. Desjardins, who has preserved to it the trivial name of sex-lineata, doubtingly given by MM. Quoy and Gaimard. Three new species of Crustacea, of the genera Lupa, Plagusia, and Cancer, have been described by M. Lie- nard, jun.: and M. De Lisse, sen., has proposed to regard as the type of a new genus the Homard sans cornes of the fishermen ; to this group he gives the name of Scyllibacus, and places it between Scylla- rus, Fab. and Ibacus, Per. The species is named Scyllibacus orientalis. Many Insects have been exhibited at the meetings of the Society, and M. J. Desjardins has read a description and history of the metamor- phoses of the Coccinella sulphurea, Oliv. Among the Cirrhipeda a new species of Anatifa, allied to An.striata, Lam., has been described by M. Desjardins under the name of An. Mauritiana. The Radiata which have been described, are a species of Fistularia, Lam., and anew species of Cephea, the Ceph. lamellosa, so named by M. Lienard, jun. on account ,of the foliaceous lamella which cover the under surface of its arms. Among Zoological Society. 375 Among the Mollusca, six species of Doris have been described by M. Lie"nard, sen., to one of which, regarded by him as new, he has given the name of Dor. marginata. The same gentleman has also de- scribed a Pleurobranchus. M. Lie"nard, jun. has described another species of Dom, and has given a description of a Dolabella, with an account of its anatomy. Such is a brief outline of the zoological labours of the Mauritius Natural History Society, which within the short period of its exist- ence has received no less than fifty memoirs, descriptions, and notices on different branches of natural science. At the request of the Chairman, Mr. Martin read his notes of the dissection of a specimen of the Testudo Indica, L,, which recently died at the Society's Gardens. The animal was of large size, although considerably less than one formerly in the possession of the Society, the dissection of which, by Mr. Yarrell, has been published in the Zoological Journal. The carapace or dorsal shell measured 2 feet 1 1 inches in length, and the plastron or ventral shell 2 feet 4- inches. The breadth was 1 foot 9 inches. The length of the stomach was 2 feet ; the circumference in the largest part 1 foot 3 inches ; its shape a flattened oval, contracting gradually towards the pylorus. On opening it, the coats, and espe- cially the middle or muscular, were found extremely thick and firm, and increasing in thickness towards the pylorus, which protruded in a singular manner, to the distance of nearly an inch into the duo- denum, at which part a few longitudinal rugcc were observed, the rest of the lining membrane being perfectly smooth. It contained a little fluid only. The liver presented nothing remarkable ; it con- sisted of two principal lobes, in the right of which the gall-bladder was buried, so as just to show itself; the length of the gall-bladder was 2 inches. The small intestines were thick and firm, their length being 3 feet 6 inches. The gall-duct enters the duodenum 3 inches, and the pancreatic duct 10 inches, below the pyloric orifice. On laying open the small intestines, their lining membrane appeared corrugated with numerous longitudinal rugce, and they were found perfectly empty. The large intestines were smooth on their internal surface, and filled with an immense mass of condensed vegetable matter, which was green and fibrous, and appeared to have only partially under- gone the process of digestion. In the colon near the entrance of the small intestines were two or three small black patches, seemingly gangrenous. There was no ccecum. The circumference of the colon measured 9 inches. The length of the large intestines was 6 feet 8 inches, exclusive of the cloaca, which was 1 foot. At the lower part of the abdomen, (in a singular cavity, formed by a diaphragm-like expansion of peritoneum, from which, to the oppo- site or extreme side, passed numerous bands, bearing a resemblance to the chorda tendine&,)the urinary bladder, of enormous capacity, was lying loose, irregularly folded, but containing a considerable quan- tity of viscid fluid : its parietes were thin, but very fibrous in texture. When 376 Geological Society. When moderately distended with air, its shape was made manifest, as trilobed, or rather, as consisting of one large central bag, from each side of which, a conical process jutted out ; the extent from point to point being 1 foot 10 inches. It opened by a neck of about 3 inches in length, and closely invested with lung, into the cloaca, about 6 inches from its termination ; the penis was long and deeply furrowed, and the glans large at the base, with a pointed apex. The lungs were very florid in colour, and extremely light, spongy, and cellular, the cells being large and distinct. They extended the whole length of the carapace. The kidneys were situated at the back of the abdomen, in shape oval; flat on one side, convex on the other; about 5 inches long, 2^ inches broad, and consisting of numerous lobes, which gave to their surface a furrowed or brain-like appearance; the relative proportion of the venous ramification in them was found to exceed that of the arterial. As regards the death of the animal, nothing positive could be determined ; but it appeared to Mr. Martin, from the black patches about the colon, and the quantity of undigested matter in the large intestines, to have resulted principally from an unnatural accumu- lation of faecal matter, and the attending evil consequences. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. March 2nd. — A paper was first read On the rippled markings of many of the forest marble beds north of Bath, and thefoot-tracks of certain animals occurring in great abundance on their surfaces. By George Poulett Scrope, Esq., F.G.S., F.R.S. The wavy and wrinkled figuring of these and other sedimentary strata, the author considers to be identical in all its various acci- dents, as well as in its origin, with the markings of the sea-sands exposed at low tide on many of our shallow shores. He attributes it to the vibratory movement of the lower stratum of water, when agitated by winds or currents, by which sediment, either in the act of precipitation or stirred up from the bottom, is led to arrange itself in ridges corresponding to the intervals between the contigu- ous arcs of oscillation. Since it cannot be supposed that such movements reach to any very considerable depths, these ripple-marks make it probable that the beds in which they occur were formed on a shallow shore ; and this idea is further confirmed, and their analogy with the littoral deposits of our modern coasts brought still closer, by their compo- sition of rolled fragments of shells, of corals, spines of echinus, and Crustacea, by the imbedded remains of fuci, and above all by the frequent intersection of their surfaces by the sharp well-defined and fresh-looking tracks of some small animal, impressed upon the sand, apparently when left dry by the ebbing of the tide. Here then, says the author, we have brought together in the compass of a small slab, several interesting memoranda of the day, however distant, when the waves of the ocean were beating against a line Geological Society. 377 a line of coast now in the centre of our island ; and a new class of facts to assist in better deciding the question as to the date of emergence of the different successive formations from the bosom of the deep. Mr. Scrope does not hazard a conjecture respecting the genus or even the class to which the animal may have belonged ; leaving it to zoologists to determine whether it be marine, terrestrial, or amphibious. He, however, earnestly recommends geologists in every quarter of the globe to examine minutely the surface of sand- stones, and other sedimentary strata, particularly where ripple- marked or alternating with clay seams (which effectually preserve the surface in all its original freshness), little doubting that the re- sult will be to throw much new light on the early history of our planet, and on the habits and characters of its successive races of ani- mated inhabitants. The reading of a paper, entitled " A description of longitudinal and transverse sections through a portion of the carboniferous chain between Penigentand Kirkby Stephen/' by the Rev. Adam Sedgwick, F.G.S., F.R.S., Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cam. bridge, — was begun. March 16. — The reading of the paper by the Rev. Professor Sedg- wick, begun at the last Meeting, was concluded. The author having in a former paper (read Jan. 5th, 1831*) de- scribed some of the characters of the great central carboniferous chain of the North of England, here describes, in great detail, the composition of a very remarkable portion of it, which forms a con- necting link between the structure of the High Peak of Derbyshire and the region of Cross Fell. The principal section, commencing at the top of Penigent in Hocton parish, passes over the highest mountains of the chain, and ends in the valley of the Eden, near Kirkby Stephen, among the conglomerates of the new red sandstone. From the top of Penigent and of Whernside, branch out two other sections connecting the mountains along the principal line, with those which range between Wensleydale and Swaledale. The suc- cessive groups of strata appearing along these lines are described in the ascending order, and their modifications in the successive val- leys where they crop out are shortly noticed, It is impossible to notice the seventeen groups enumerated in this paper; but they may be subdivided more simply into three principal groups as follows : 1st. Great scar limestone ; the maximum thickness of which is more than 500 feet. The author compares this group with the limestone of the High Peak, and shows that they have many cha- racters in common. He particularly notices the reciprocating wells and caverns, about the origin of which he briefly speculates. Ho notices the chief changes of mineralogical character ; and states that among the very rare fossils of the mountain limestone, Ammo. nites, Trilobites, and Orthoceratites, appear to be confined to this group. He further states, that although carbonaceous and bituminous * See Phil. Mag. and Annals, for March, p. 211 N.S. Vol. 9. No. 53. May 1831. 3 C matter 378 Geological Society. matter are the colouring principle of the limestone strata in this group, there are no workable beds of coal subordinate to it on any of the lines of section. 2nd. The next great group comprehends no less than eleven groups of the author's sections, and in several mountains is more than 1000 feet in thickness. It is essentially composed of mountain limestone, sandstone, and shale. The limestone groups are stated to be five in number, and to be very remarkable for their regularity in all the various sections : the lowest contains the black compact beds now extensively quarried in the North of England for marble ; the highest group represents the twelve-fathom- limestone of the mining districts; it contains beds made up of an incredible number of encrinital stems, and is also quarried for marble. The shales are carbonaceous, and contain three or four beds of coal, some of which are of good quality, and are extensively worked for domestic use : the most remarkable of these beds occurs under the twelve-fathom- limestone. 3rd. The highest complex group includes all the deposits con- nected with the millstone grit, and is stated to be more than 500 feet in thickness. It includes three distinct deposits, to which the author gives the name of millstone grit; and several beds of carbo- naceous shale, one of which contains a bed of coal three feet thick and of good quality. Besides this there are one or two other coal- beds, but of very inferior value, seen here and there along the lines of section. After entering on many minute details, which it is impossible to notice in this abstract, the author describes five transverse sec- tions, drawn nearly east and west from different points in the prin- cipal line of section across the prolongation of the great Craven fault, described in a former paper. By the help of these sections he points out the peculiar relative movements of the grauwacke and carboniferous chains during the period of elevation which pre- ceded the new red sandstone. At the foot of Barfell, above Sed- burgh, a mass of the carboniferous system, six or seven hundred feet in thickness, has been torn up from the foundations of the mountain and placed in an inverted position. From all the previous details the author draws a series of con- clusions, and shows : 1st. That the region described in the paper, forms a connecting link between the northern and southern ends of the carboniferous chain ; and that the carbonaceous deposits are gradually more and more interlaced with the limestone in the range towards the north. 2ndly. That many of the coal-beds alternating with the mountain limestone must have been deposited in the waters of a deep sea ; that no fresh. water shells appear associated with the fossils of these beds; and that the highest part of the Yorkshire coal-fie!ds was probably deposited in shallow bays and estuaries, inasmuch as Pec- tens and Ammonites are there found associated with fresh-water genera. 3rdly. That, with limited exceptions, the same species of fossils are found in all the beds of limestone ; but wherever there is a change of Geological Society. 379 of mineral character, that there we may remark an equally sudden change in the fossil species. Thus the vegetable impressions abounding in the sandstone and shale are not found in the lime- stone ; on the contrary, the corallines, encrinites, &c. of the lime- stone, with rare exceptions, do not occur in the shale or sandstone beds. 4thly. That the beds of limestone appear to have been formed by a slow and tranquil deposit, assisted by the action of organic bodies, which lived and died on the spots where they are now found ; that on the contrary, the beds of shale and sandstone appear to have been formed mechanically, and contain fossils drifted from a di- stance. Hence these beds are less continuous and regular than the groups of limestone; but some of them, especially two of the coal- beds, may be traced through the greater part of the several lines of section. 5thly. That the valleys of the carboniferous chain, near the lines of section, are not excavated on lines of fault, but on true valleys of denudation. Notwithstanding this, there has been some change in the distribution of the water channels, at a period very recent, compared with that of the elevation of the carboniferous chain — just before the deposit of the new red sandstone. March 30th. — A paper was read, entitled " Geological remarks on the vicinity of Swan River and Isle Buache or Garden Island, on the coast of Western Australia ; by the Rev. Archdeacon Scott. F.G.S." The author, who was accidentally detained for several months at the settlement recently established on the western side of Australia, describes a line of coast, of more than thirty miles in length, as composed of a highly calcareous sandstone, presenting very similar mineralogical characters throughout its whole extent. At a pro- montory, about five miles to the north of the river Swan, the cal- careous sandstone exhibits a surface in which are numerous concre- tions having the appearance of inclosing vegetable matter. This character is by no means confined to that spot, but is very commonly observed; and on a rising ground, to the east of a space marked out for the intended town of Fremantle, the sandstone assumes the appearance of a thick forest, cut down about two or three feet from the surface, so that to walk on it becomes extremely difficult, and even dangerous. The author gives a detailed account of the sections which accom- pany the paper, and notices the beds passed through in sinking various wells in the calcareous sandstone. At Mont Eliza, which rises above Perth, ten miles from the mouth of the Swan, and the principal place in the settlement, the calcareous sandstone attains the height of about 300 feet, and is observed to be based upon a ferruginous sandstone fitted for the purposes of building. From Perth to the foot of Darling's Range, red clay and white marl are found after passing the Helena River. Darling's Range is estimated at about 1500 feet above the level of the sea, and is composed, where visited, of greenstone and sienite ; 3 C 2 and 380 Royal Institution. and he was also informed that clay-slate had been discovered more to the southward in the same range. Isle Buache, or Garden Island, consists of the same highly cal- careous sandstone which forms so considerable a portion of this part of the Australian coast. FRIDAY-EVENING PROCEEDINGS AT THE ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN. Jan. 21. — Mr. Faraday on a peculiar class of Optical Deceptions. — These deceptions depend principally upon the general effect produced upon the eye when two or more bodies are presented in such rapid succession to it as to produce no distinct impression for each, but pro- duce a general impression often very clear and distinct in appearance, but entirely unlike the real appearance of the active bodies. Thus, if two equal cog-wheels be placed one before the other, and put in rapid motion in opposite directions but with equal velocities, a spectral fixed cog-wheel will appear -, although if either cog-wheel be looked at alone, nothing but a plain uniform tint, corresponding to the place of the cogs will be seen. The various deceptions depending upon this effect were traced and illustrated, and it appears that many of them are of common occurrence. In the Library numerous Wheel-animalculee were exhibited by powerful microscopes belonging to Cuthbert and Varley, for the pur- pose of illustrating the appearances, which were referred to the class of deceptions above spoken of. Jan. 28. — Mr. Ainsworth entered into a geological investigation of the methods of determining the ages of the rocks considered as of igneous origin, from a consideration of their composition and struc- ture. Feb. 4. — Mr. Brande discussed the relation of the vegeto-alkalies to the common alkalies, and to certain proximate principles of vege- tables. After briefly stating what Davy had done in decomposing the alkalies and alkaline earths, he proceeded to detail the exertions made by himself and others to obtain anything analogous to a metallic base from those alkaline bodies which were known to be compounds of elements not metallic. All exertions of this kind had failed j but as to the effect of the Voltaic pile upon the salts of the vegeto-alkalies, it was precisely the same as upon the metallo-alkaline salts, the base proceeding to the negative pole, and the acid to the positive pole. The properties of the new febrifuge principle Salicme were dwelt upon, and also a new vegeto-alkali discovered by Mr. Hennell, but not yet described, namely, Elateria. Feb. 1 1. — Mr. Harris of Plymouth gave an account of certain in- vestigations which he had made relative to the power possessed by different bodies of intercepting magnetic action, and showed the ex- periments by which the existence of such power was proved, and its force estimated. Thus it has been supposed that iron had an intercept- ing power, but copper, and many other metals and substances, none. He found, however, and showed, that when the copper, silver, zinc, or other substance interposed was in sufficient quantity, these metals also Jloyal Institution. 381 also intercepted the magnetic influence j and in a ratio corresponding with that in which different bodies in rotation are affected by or affect a magnet. The results of these and other modes of investigation were fully described. Feb. 18. — Mr. Faraday gave an experimental account of the new substance discovered by M. Dumas, and called by him oxamidi or oxalamidi. See our present volume, p. 67. Feb. 25. — Mr. Cowper exhibited models of, and described the most recent improvements in, paper-making -, and especially his own machine for cutting paper made in sheets of unlimited extent into such as were of proper size for ordinary uses. Some extraordinary advantages of the powers of mechanism in paper-making and print- ing were developed and illustrated in the course of the evening. In the Library was placed a beautiful series of anatomical models in wax by M. Schloss. March 4-. — Dr. Edmund Clarke gave an account of the present state of Vesuvius and of Pompeii. This gentleman has ascended that volcano several times, and attended particularly to its natural history: the results of his observations were communicated in this evening's discourse, and illustrated by many specimens of minerals, plants, &c., and by numerous drawings. March 11. — The beautiful machinery employed by Mr. Mordan in the manufacture of pencils of the ordinary construction, the points for the ever-pointed pencil, and the Bramah pens, was ar- ranged in the Lecture-room in perfect working-order, and the ope- rations were all explained by Mr. Ainger, whilst they were per- formed by Mr. Giordan's men. In the Library, amongst many other objects of interest, was a peculiar mountain barometer invented by Robinson, which could be divided in halves and packed in a case not more than sixteen inches long. There was also a portable transit instrument by the same maker. March 18. — The subject this evening was the Elasticity of matter in general; particularly the elasticity of torsion in threads of glass; with the application of this property to delicate physical research. Mr. Ritchie, who treated this subject, resumed and illustrated what he has already published upon it in the Philosophical Transactions, adding several very beautiful experimental demonstrations of cer- tain physical laws which have been established by mathematical calculation. March 25. — Mr. Faraday spoke on Light and Phosphorescence; his object being to introduce to the members of the Royal Institution certain experiments recently made in the laboratory by Mr. Pear- sail, the Chemical Assistant, in which, after bodies phosphorescent by heat, such as apatite, chlorophane, &c. &c. had been deprived, by strong calcination, of their power of emitting light, it was proved that it could be restored to them again. This was effected by passing ten or twelve strong electrical discharges over them, and it was observed, that at the same time there was a tendency to the restoration of the colour of the fluor spar. Specimens 382 Cambridge Philosophical Society. Specimens of well-manufactured New Zealand flax were in the Library, with various chemical apparatus, &c. The meeting was then adjourned over two Fridays, to the 15th of April. CAMBRIDGE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 'A meeting of this Society was held on Monday evening, Fe- bruary 21, Dr. F. Thackeray, the Treasurer, in the chair. Various books were presented to the Society, among which were three volumes of the Correspondance Mathematique et Physique, pub- lished by M. Quetelet, of Brussels, and presented by him ; Dr. Morton's Travels in Russia, from the author, and a Russian Dic- tionary presented by the same gentleman ; Mr. Jones's new work On the distribution of Wealth, from the author ; The second edition of the first volume of the Translation of Niebuhr, from the transla- tors. The following presents to the museum were also announced : — several skins of birds and a collection of insects from China, presented by the Rev. G. Vachell ; a collection of foreign insects, by J. G. Children, Esq. ; and two specimens of Charr from Wales, by W. Yarrell, Esq. A Daniell's hygrometer was presented by R. W. Rothman, Esq. Fellow of Trinity College. W. Swainson, Esq. well known as an ornithologist, was elected an honorary mem- ber.— A paper was read by Professor Airy, " On the nature of the rays formed by the double refraction of quartz;" of which the fol- lowing is an abstract : — It is well known to those who have followed the recent discoveries respecting the properties of light, that the phaenomena exhibited by quartz are very different from those of any other substance of similar crystalline character — as for instance, calc spar. Thus, when exposed to plane-polarized light, a plate of calc spar exhibits a series of rings, of which the colours commence from Newton's black at the centre ; and these rings are intersected by a black cross : — quartz, on the other hand, displays a series of rings, the central point of which exhibits a colour different according to the thickness of the plate : there is no cross, but at a distance from the centre, rudiments of black brushes begin to appear. Again, in the case of calc spar, — on turning the analysing plate, the rings change in colour, but are always circular, and of unchanged dimensions. On turning the analysing plate in the experiment with quartz, the rings become square figures, with a curious defect of symmetry, and dilate or contract continually. If we put together a plate of right-handed and a plate of left-handed quartz in the same apparatus, we obtain a most singular and beautiful appearance, consisting of four co- loured spirals cutting a number of concentric circles. On exposing these substances respectively to light circularly- polarized, the appearances are still more remarkable : calc spar ex- hibits rings dislocated at each quadrant, with a gray cross ; while the colours in quartz are seen in the form of two spirals inwrapping each other, with no black or gray cross. Professor Airy, after describing these phaenomena, the most striking of which are new, proceeds to state and develop the hy- pothesis Cambridge Philosophical Society. 383 pothesis which they have suggested to him ; of which the main point is this : that the two rays in quartz are elliptically-polarized, one to the right, the other to the left ; the major axes of the ellipses being respectively in and perpendicular to the principal plane. Cal- culations founded on this supposition represent with a very close agreement, the various and complex phenomena which have been noticed; and, what is more remarkable still, they not only coincide in the general facts, but lead also to deviations from sym- metry, such as are observed to exist in the figures. After the meeting, Professor Airy exhibited, 1st, A model to il- lustrate Fresnel's idea, that circularly-polarized light is formed from plane-polarized (when the plane of polarization is inclined 45° to that of total internal reflexion), by retarding the undulations per- pendicular to the plane of reflexion by one quarter of an undu- lation ; and that double such a retardation shifts the plane of po- larization 90°; — which was also shown to be the fact with Fresnel's rhomb. 2d, A new polarizing machine : the advantages of which are ; — that complete rings may be seen with a very small specimen : that by placing the specimen in another position, the macled structure may be very well seen : that circularly-polarized light may be used as well as plane ; and that lamp-light may be used as well as day- light. 3d, An attempt to exhibit the coloured rings by the light of heated lime ; which succeeded so far as to show the practicability of this application. March 7. — The Very Reverend the Dean of Peterborough, the President, in the chair. — The following presents were laid on the table : A pair of the Scaup Duck (Fuligula Mania), by the Hon. Richard Neville ; An egg of the Cayman, presented by Dr. Jermyn; and an egg of the Great Bustard, found in Cambridgeshire, pre- sented by Mr. Barren. A paper was read by R. Murphy, Esq. Fel- low of Caius College, " On the general solution of equations." After the meeting, the Rev. R. Willis, of Caius College, exhibited a num- ber of experiments on the transverse and longitudinal vibrations of strings, membranes, and solid bodies, illustrative of the recent re- searches and discoveries of M. Savart. March 21. — Dr. F. Thackeray, the Treasurer, in the chair. A paper by Mr. Miller, of St. John's College, was read, " On the elimination of the time from the differential equations of the motion of a point, acted upon by a central force, and affected by disturb, ing forces, or by the resistance of a medium." A paper, by the same gentleman, was also read, containing Determinations of the form and measurements of the angles of several artificial crystals ; viz. sulphuret of nickel, borate of potash, nitrate of ammonia, car- bazotic acid, carbazotate of potash, benzoic acid, nitrate of silver and ammonia, and sulphate of copper and ammonia. The latter compound appears, by comparison with the measurements of Mr. Brooke, to be isomorphous or plesiomorphous with respect to various other double sulphates ; viz. the sulphates of ammonia and magnesia, 384 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. magnesia, of nickel and potash, of nickel and zinc, of potash and magnesia, and of copper and potash. — After the meeting, Mr. Willis exhibited a machine constructed for the purpose of illustrating the motions of the particles of a fluid in which undulations of various kinds are singly or jointly propagated. April 18. — The very Rev. the Dean of Peterborough, the Pre- sident, in the chair. The first part of a paper by Professor Whewell was read, containing A mathematical exposition of some of the leading doctrines of Mr. Ricardo's " Principles of Political Economy and Taxation." There was also read, by Professor Airy, A description of an apparatus constructed under his direction, and of the properties of elliptically-polarized light exhibited by means of it ; it was stated that the phenomena had been found to agree in the most precise manner with the results previously obtained by calculation. — After the meeting, Professor Henslow exhibited a number of the appearances of what have been called *« spectral wheels/' produced by the rotation of two wheels, one behind the other. LVIII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. FALL OF THE BROUGHTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE, NEAR MAN- CHESTER. WE have been favoured by an esteemed correspondent at Man- chester, with some extracts from the Manchester Chronicle and Manchester Guardian newspapers, of April 16th, respecting the giving way of a suspension bridge over the river Trwell, at Broughton, about two miles from Manchester. Our correspondent informs us that the editors of both papers have been at great pains to investigate the circumstances. Both give the same account, sub- stantially, of the accident and of its causes. The following particu- lars are chiefly extracted from the Manchester Guardian, with some additions from the Manchester Chronicle. A very serious and alarming accident occurred on Tuesday, April 12th, in the fall of the Broughton suspension bridge, erected a few years ago by John Fitzgerald, Esq., whilst a company of the 60th Rifles were passing over it; and, although fortunately no lives were lost, several of the soldiers received serious personal injuries, and damage was done to the structure, which will require a long time and a very considerable expense to repair. It appears that, on the day when this accident happened, the 60th regiment had had a field-day on Kersall Moor, and about 12 o'clock were on their way back to their quarters. The greater part of the regiment is stationed in the temporary barracks in Dyche-street, St. George's Road, and took the route through Strangeways; but one company, commanded, as it happened sin- gularly enough, by Lieut. P. S. Fitzgerald, the son of the proprietor of the bridge, being stationed at the Salford barracks, took the road over the suspension bridge, intending to go through Pendleton to Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 538 to the barracks. Shortly after they got upon the bridge, the men, who were marching four abreast, found that the structure vibrated in unison with the measured step with which they marched ; and as this vibration was by no means unpleasant, they were inclined to humour it by the manner in which they stepped. As they pro- ceeded, and as a greater number of them got upon the bridge, the vibration went on increasing until the head of the column had nearly reached the Pendleton side of the river. They were then alarmed by a loud sound something resembling an irregular discharge of fire-arms ; and immediately one of the iron pillars supporting the suspension chains, viz. that which was to the right of the soldiers, and on the Broughton side of the river, fell towards the bridge, carrying with it a large stone from the pier, to which it had been bolted. Of course that corner of the bridge, having lost the sup- port of the pillar, immediately fell to the bottom of the river, a de- scent of about sixteen or eighteen feet; and from the great inclina- tion thereby given to the road-way, nearly the whole of the soldiers who were upon it were precipitated into the river, where a scene of great confusion was exhibited. Such of them as were unhurt got out as well as they could, some by scrambling up the inclined plane which the bridge presented, and others by wading out on the Broughton side; but a number were too much hurt to extricate themselves without assistance, which was immediately rendered by their comrades. The company consisted of seventy-four officers and privates ; and of these about sixty, including one officer (Lieut. Fitzgerald), were upon the bridge at the time ; the remainder had not reached the bridge, and were left standing on the Broughton side, when the bridge gave way. Lieut. Fitzgerald being on a line with the leading file, had nearly reached the Pendleton side, where of course the incli- nation of the road-way was not so great as it was nearer the Brough- ton side. He, and a few of the men near him, did not fall from the bridge, being merely thrown down on the road-way, but upwards of forty men were either precipitated into the water, or thrown with great violence against the side chains of the bridge. Of these, more than twenty received injuries of different kinds, six were so much hurt that it was found necessary to procure two carts (some of the men being taken out on one side and some on the other), for the purpose of sending them to the barracks. Four of them, whose injuries are of a very serious nature, still (April 16th) remain in the hospital. As the bridge, in the inclined position into which it was thrown by the accident, blocked up a considerable portion of the water-way of the river, and it would inevitably have been carried away in case of a flood, — a number of men were promptly set to work to dis- mantle the flooring at the end which had fallen down, which has been completely effected ; and preparations are now making to re- pair the injury which the structure has received from this alarming accident, and at the same time to remedy some defects in its con- struction, by which the risk of future accidents will be avoided. N. S. Vol. 9. No. 53. May 1831. 3D Causes 386 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. Causes of the Accident. — As we conceive the public have a right to be fully informed with respect to the.causes of an accident of this alarming nature, we have made some particular inquiries on the subject, the results of which we shall lay before our readers j not only that they may form an opinion upon this particular case, but also that they may be enabled to judge how far it is calculated to render doubtful the security of structures of this kind, — a con- siderable number of which have now been erected in different parts of the kingdom. Immediately after the accident, it was discovered to have arisen from the breaking of one of the chains, by which the iron pillars supporting the bridge are stayed and supported ; and which chains, as our readers are no doubt aware, are carried to some distance on each side of the river, and secured to a great mass of masonry sunk into the ground. By the breaking of this chain, the pillar was of course deprived of its support, and the weight of the bridge immediately drew it from its situation, as we have already de- scribed. It remains then to ascertain the causes of the failure of the chain. There is no doubt that the immediate cause was the powerful vibration communicated to the bridge by the measured and uniform step of the soldiers. If the same, or a much larger number of persons had passed over in a crowd, and without ob- serving any regular step, in all probability the accident would not have happened, because the tread of one person would have counteracted the vibration arising from that of another. But the soldiers all stepping at the same time, and at regular intervals, communicated, as we mentioned in describing the accident, a powerful vibration to the bridge, which went on increasing with every successive step j and which, causing the weight of the bridge to act with successive jerks on the stay-chains, had a more powerful effect upon them than a dead weight of much larger amount would have had, and at length broke one of the cross bolts by which the links of the chain are joined together. Perhaps this accident, alarming and injurious as it has been, may have the effect of pre- venting some more dreadful catastrophe in other quarters. From what has happened on this occasion, we should greatly doubt the stability of the great Menai bridge (admirable as its construction is), if a thousand men were to be marched across it in close column, and keeping regular step. From its great length, the vibrations would be tremendous before the head of the column had reached the further side, and some terrific calamity would be very likely to happen. If any considerable number of troops should be marched across that bridge (which, from its being one of the principal routes to Ireland, is not improbable), we hope the commanding officer will take the precaution of dismissing his men from their ranks be- fore they attempt to cross : indeed, that precaution should be ob- served by troops crossing all chain bridges, however small they may be*." But * The following remarks on this part of the subject are given in the Manchester Chronicle': — " It has been stated by some scientific men, and we fully concur in the opinion, that the peculiar manner in which the soldiers Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 387 But although the immediate cause of this accident was, the vi- bration arising from the measured step of the soldiers, it is not at all probable that so small a number as were present on the occasion would have brought down the bridge, unless there had been errors of the most glaring description committed in its construction, as well as something very faulty in a part at least of the materials of which it was composed. The principal error of construction, and the only one to which we feel it necessary to call the particular attention of our readers, will be tolerably well understood by a reference to the subjoined engravings, and the explanation which accompanies them. The following sketch represents the manner in which the links of the chain are generally joined together. The main links of which the chains are composed (A, A) (each of which consists of two round bars of iron, two inches in diameter, and about five feet long, but represented in the sketch __ ^^ as broken off near their Ij j ; p extremities) are joined ^ L j jj H ! j -^ together by means of three A£H | \l — ^A short links and two bolts, ^Q3 ^ir in a manner which will be much better under- stood by a reference to the sketch, than by any verbal descrip- tion which we could give. This is obviously a very good and strong joint ; for the bolts, being held both in the middle and at each end by the short links, would resist an enormous tension on the main links, and could not easily give way unless they were in a manner shorn asunder. This excellent mode of joining the links, however, appears to have been strangely departed from, and one of a very inferior description adopted, precisely where the strain was the greatest, and where the greatest strength ought to have been em- ployed, namely, in each of the stay-chains or land-chains by which the whole weight of the bridge is supported. Those chains, as we soldiers marched whilst on the bridge had no slight share in causing the accident. Before they reached the bridge we are told that they were walking ' at ease,' but when they heard the sound of their own footsteps upon it, one or two of them involuntarily began to whistle a martial tune, and they all at once, as if under a command from their officer, commenced a simultaneous military step. This uniform motion naturally gave great agitation to the bridge, the violent effects of which would be most severely felt at each end. As a familiar illustration of our meaning, we may remark, that if a rope, the ends of which being fastened to opposite walls, should be much agitated in the centre, its motion would be far more violent at the ends than in any other part. " It will not be irrelevant here to state that the rifle party, when they passed over the bridge in the morning, walked across it in an easy manner, without using the military march ; that several waggons traversed it the same morning ; and that the Royal Artillery, under the command of Major Chester, whilst stationed in this town, regularly crossed it with horses, guns, &c., when on their way to and from Kersall Moor." 3 D 2 have \ 388 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. have already mentioned, are fastened to large masses of masonry beneath the surface of the ground, and this fastening is made, in each case, by means of a large disk of cast-iron, to which the first link of the chain is bolted. That link, instead of being composed like the others of two round bars of iron, and joined to the next link in the manner above described, is composed of a strap of iron, about 3| inches broad, and is joined to the second link by a bolt in the manner represented in the subjoined sketch. Now it must be very obvious to any person who has the slightest acquaintance with matters of this kind, that the bolt in this link, not being supported at the ends as in the one above mentioned, could not offer a resistance nearly equal to the A former, unless its dimensions j were increased. But the bolt used in each case was of the same dimensions, namely, two inches in diameter. The weakness of the latter joint was also greatly increased by a circumstance, which is not very well represented in the engraving, but which we can probably explain to our readers. The bars forming the link A being round, only a very small portion of their surface touched the bolt ; and as they were two inches in diameter, the point of contact was an inch distant from the side of the iron strap to which they were joined by the bolt. The tension of the .chain therefore might be considered as acting on the bolt with a leverage of an inch ; and, under those circumstances it was not at all surprising that the bolt should give way. Indeed it is probable that, even if it had been iron of a fair average quality, the joint would not have borne more than one-fourth, or perhaps one-fifth of the tension which the other joints would bear. But the bolt, instead of being good metal, was composed of iron which was either originally bacl, or had been rendered brittle by mismanagement in the process of forging the bolt. It broke with a granular and crystalline fracture, exactly like that of cast-iron, and did not exhibit anything of the fibrous appearance of good iron. Under these circumstances, the wonder is, not that the bridge should have given way now, but that it should have stood a single week after its erection. We understand it is intended to remedy the defect to which we have alluded, not only in the chain which has given way, but in all the other stay-chains, in which it equally exists ; and there can be then no doubt that the bridge will be of abundant strength to bear any load which is likely to pass over it. A defect occurred a long time ago in the disk or plate with which the bolt was connected, and the necessary repairs were lately made under the superintendence of Mr. Stephenson, a gentleman possess- ing extensive knowledge in mechanics, and who resides on Mr. Fitz- gerald's estate. It is due to him to state that the plate and bolt have been minutely examined, and the fact has been clearly esta- blished Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 389 blished that the accident was caused solely by the fracture in the bolt, the plate being as sound and firm as on the day on which it was attached to the masonry. Before closing this article, we may observe that some very ex- cellent | papers on chain bridges (one of them on this particular structure) have been read at the Literary and Philosophical Society in this town, by Mr. Eaton Hodgkinson, and, we understand, are likely to appear in the forthcoming volume of the Transactions of that Society. In the paper on the Broughton bridge, some defects in its construction were pointed out, and particularly the insufficient strength of the stay-chains, as compared with that of the suspen- sion-chains; but the particular defect which principally led to the failure of the bridge, having been concealed under ground, was not seen by the author of the paper, and of course was not men- tioned in it. In an appendix to this paper, Mr. Hodgkinson strongly enforces the necessity of proving by a very high test, the chains used in the construction of bridges of this kind ; and he details a variety of experiments for the purpose of showing that a test of this kind does not, as is generally supposed, diminish the strength of the metal in any sensible degree. The accident which has just occurred will go far to bear out this suggestion. If the different parts of the Broughton bridge had been carefully and adequately proved before its erection, no such joint as that which gave way could ever have existed in it. It has been suggested to us by a friend, that great advantage would probably result if a system of periodical inspection of sus- pension bridges by eminent engineers were adopted by the pro- prietors of the bridges. In order to render the plan effectual, it would be requisite that the results of the periodical examination of every part of each bridge on which its stability depends, should be published, on the authority of the engineer employed, and for the correctness of which he should be considered responsible. By this means the attention of all parties concerned, to the most important points of construction in chain bridges would be kept alive ; acci- dents arising from defective materials, or accumulated strains upon them, would be anticipated, and great security attained by the constant responsibility of the inspectors. UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. At a congregation on Wednesday, March 9, a grace to the fol- lowing effect unanimously passed the Senate : — " To petition the King that, if it should be His Majesty's pleasure to comply with the prayer of a petition lately presented to His Ma- jesty for a charter to incorporate under the title of the University of London,' the proprietors of an institution recently founded there for the general advancement of literature and science, a clause may be inserted, declaring that nothing in the terms of the charter is to be construed as giving a right to confer any academical distinctions designated by the same titles or accompanied with the same privi- leges, as the degrees now conferred by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.'* MANGA- 390 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. MANGANESE IN HUMAN BLOOD. Professor Wurzer, in analysing human blood according to Engel- hart's process by liquid tests, was led to suspect that he obtained a small quantity of manganese : not being however quite satisfied as to the correctness of his analyses, he was induced to repeat them in the following manner. The blood, which had been obtained by venesec- tion, on the day before the experiment, was ignited in an open cru- cible, the incinerated mass oxidized by nitre, and then diluted with water } the residuum was dissolved in muriatic acid, and the iron pre- cipitated from the solution by succinate of ammonia. As the precipitate contained also some phosphate of lime, it was again ignited, and then dissolved in muriatic acid j the phosphate of lime was separated from the solution by alcohol, the excess of the latter expelled by heat, and the iron precipitated by ammonia. By boiling the filtered" liquid with carbonate of soda, the manganese was precipitated, and then dissolved in nitric acid and again ignited. In two grammes of the incinerated residue there were found IH08 of oxide of iron, and 0'034 of protoxide of manganesf. — Poggendorff's Annals. ON SULFO-SINAPISINE, ORIGINALLY TERMED SULFO-SINAPIC ACID. MM. Henry, jun. and Garot have re-examined a peculiar matter found in the seed of the Sinapis alba, and which they some time since considered as an acid j they have now arrived at the following con- clusions, viz. That there exists in white mustard-seed a peculiar crystallizeable substance (sulfo-sinapisine), constituted of the elements of sulfo- cyanogen, and an organic matter which develops the volatile oil of mustard. It does not, however, contain any sulpho-cyanuret of cal- cium, as has been stated by M. Pelouze, and the sulpho-cyanic acid which he obtained was derived from the action of acids upon the mustard-seed. The properties of sulfo-sinapisine are, that it is white and inodorous, its taste is bitter, resembling that of mustard ; it is very light, com- pared with its bulk, more soluble in hot alcohol or water than when they are cold j the solution is always yellowish, though the substance may be perfectly colourless. On cooling, crystals, resembling a cauliflower in appearance, are obtained ; sometimes they are in the form of pearly needles, or pris- matic and stellular. It crystallizes quite well in acidulated water, without altering its properties. When heated it first gives out a yellow liquid, and then decomposes into very foetid compounds, con- taining carbonate and hydrosulphuret of ammonia, brown oil, and a bulky charcoal. No traces of lime, soda, or potash are discoverable. Test papers are not altered by a solution of sulfo-sinapisine. Ni- tric acid speedily acts upon this substance j a bright colour, red vapours, and sulphuric acid are produced. Muriatic acid dissolves and renders it green, and when heated, a strong smell of prussic acid is observed ; when sulphuric or phosphoric acid is added to this sub- stance Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 391 stance mixed with water, and distilled, much sulpho-cyanic acid is produced, and with the former acid sulphuretted hydrogen is also evolved ; the volatile product reddened blue paper strongly, and gave an intense crimson tint with permuriate of iron ; carefully saturated with potash, it gave a coloured salt, but which possessed the proper- ties of a sulpho-cyanuret. The alkalies produce singular phenomena with sulfo-sinapisine; ammonia dissolves it and renders it either yel- low or orange-yellow; by evaporation small brilliant crystals are produced, which are sometimes red ; they contain no alkali, and ap- pear to consist of the substance scarcely altered : in time, the am- moniacal mixture becomes green. A solution of potash or soda renders the colour yellow, which changes to orange and green ; the solution evaporated to dryness, gives out an abundant odour of the volatile oil of mustard. When the residue is calcined it fuses, especially with potash, as the sulpho- cyanuret of this base does ; the remainder is charcoal mixed with several salts, such as sulphates and sulphurets. The organic substance decomposed the sulphocyanurets which were formed; for when the mass was not calcined, but dissolved, accurately saturated with sulphuric acid, evaporated to dryness and treated with alcohol, crystals were obtained by evaporation, which though not well defined possessed all the principal characters of the sulphocyanurets; namely, those of strongly reddening the persalts of iron, and of forming a white precipitate in the persalts of copper, when influenced by a deoxidizing body. The action of salts upon the aqueous solution of sulfosinapisine is various ; — the salts of lime, zinc, manganese, the acetate and subacetate of lead, produce no effect ; the persalts of iron redden it strongly; persulphate of copper, the protonitrate of mercury and nitrate of silver all give white precipitates. Sulfosinapisine yielded by analysis Carbon 50-504 Hydrogen 7*795 Azote 4-940 Sulphur 9-657 Oxygen 27-104 100OOO Journal de Pharmade, Jan. 1831. EMISSION OF LIGHT DURING THE COMPRESSION OF GASES. An evolution of light has been observed when certain gases have been compressed suddenly. M. Soissy stated, in opposition to what had been previously asserted, that it happens only with atmospheric air, and with oxygen and chlorine. M. Thenard has however found that when the pistons are moistened only with water instead of grease, no light was evolved; these trials were made on the sup- position that water or muriatic acid might be formed by action upon the fatty matter. Various substances were then subjected to compressed oxygen and 392 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. and chlorine gases, &c. ; and M. Thenard has stated the following as the results of his experiments : No gas, by itself, is rendered luminous by pressure exerted in pistons in the usual manner j pressure by hand cannot raise the temperature of a gas in a glass tube much above 4.00° Faht. ; powders which remain undecomposed at this tempera- ture explode instantly in azote, hydrogen, or carbonic acid gas, when compressed suddenly; wood and paper suddenly compressed in oxygen inflame, and oiled paper in chlorine. — Ann. de Chimie, xliv.181. ACTION OF CHLORIDE OF BROMINE UPON WATER AND -ETHER. M. Serullas has found, that chloride of bromine, though perfectly saturated with chlorine, does not decompose water; the formation of muriatic acid, which occurs when it is agitated with aether, results from the action of the chlorine upon the aether, and the same action produces bromide of carbon. When chloride of bromine is agitated with aether and water, the chlorine may be entirely separated in the form of muriatic acid, before the bromine, which is isolated at the same time in the aether, is converted into bromic acid and bromide of carbon ; the alka- line chlorides and bromides, even in very small quantity, mixed with oxide of manganese, slightly diluted sulphuric acid, and heat- ed in a proper apparatus, give a chloride of bromine, which is col- lected and treated as above with aether, to separate its elements ; by this method the co-existence of chlorine and bromine may be determined, how much soever either of them may predominate in a saline mixture; taking care, when the chlorine is in excess, to calcine the product of the saturation of the aqueous part, to reduce the chlorate formed to the state of chloride, that all the chlorine may be precipitated by a solution of nitrate of silver. By means of a spirituous solution of quina or cinchonia, either free or combined, the instant that an aqueous and concentrated solution of solid chloride of iodine is sufficiently dilute to decompose water, it may be discovered; the acidulous iodate, which is precipi- tated in this case, and which is not produced when it is concen- trated, serves as an indication. — Ibid. xlv. 202. CRYSTALLIZATION OF BISMUTH. The following process is given by M. Quesneville, jun. for pro- ducingfine crystalsof bismuth: — Fuse the metal in a crucible, adding portions of nitre occasionally, and raising the heat so as to decom- pose the nitre, and mix the whole well by stirring ; when the opera.' tion has been continued for some hours the metal assumes green and yellow colours, which remain even after it has cooled : if the metal presents only rose, violet or indigo colours, and becomes co- lourless when cold, good crystals will not be procured. When the metal has acquired the proper colours, it is to be poured into a hot ladle, and the surface should be prevented from cooling faster than the bottom, by being covered, or having a hot iron held near it. The cooling should be rather sudden, or otherwise the metal crystallizes in layers: when a crust has formed at the surface, a hole should be made Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. S93 made through it by means of a hot coal, and not 5y percussion, which would disturb the crystals; the liquid metal is then to be poured out: in about half an hour the remainder of the crust may be broken, and the crystals will be found in great perfection. — Journal de Pharmacict 1830, p. 534-. REACTION OF PERSALTS OF IRON AND CARBONATES. M. Sorbeiran finds that the persalts of iron decomposed by neu- tral carbonates yield a carbonate of peroxide equally neutral: this carbonate is soon destroyed to produce a double salt, formed by the neutral alkaline sulphate and the subsulphate of iron, yielding a new sulphate of iron, before unknown, and containing three times as much base as the neutral salt : a weak alkali in excess precipitates another subsalt, which has not been before noticed, but is a true double salt, composed of the subsulphate of iron and the hydrated peroxide. The aperient saffron of Mars is a hydrate of the peroxide of iron, containing 3 atoms of water mixed with variable and acci- dental quantities of sesquicarbonate of iron, and sometimes neutral carbonate of iron — Ibid. 1830, p. 535. INFLAMMATION OF PHOSPHORUS BY CHARCOAL. Dr. Bache of Philadelphia states, that, at the temperature of 60° Fahr. or upwards, carbon in the form of animal charcoal or lamp- black causes the inflammation of a stick of phosphorus powdered with it: the effect takes place either in the open air, or in a close receiver of a moderate size — Sillimans Journal, xviii. 373. OBSERVATIONS ON AURORA BOREALES WITNESSED AT BEDFORD, AT VARIOUS TIMES, FROM APRIL 19, 1830, TO JANUARY 11, 1831. BY W. H. WHITE, H.M.C.S. To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. Gentlemen, The frequent appearance of the aurora boreales at Bedford, lat. 52° 8' 48" north, long. 2' 49" east, may perhaps form some apology for my troubling you with a short account of them. The first that I ob- served was on the 1 9th of April, 1830. Soon after sunset a bright light appeared in the horizon about the magnetic north, which in-, creased in brightness as the twilight decreased. I watched it till a little after nine P.M., before any coruscations could be distinguished, when a few faint flame-coloured flashes darted about 12° or 14° above the horizon about the north-west. About eleven P.M. several columns of light rose in the north-west in quick succession, which continued for upwards of an hour; some of them extended as far as the north, and were slightly tinged with red. During the appearance of the aurora up to midnight, several bright meteors appeared above it, but none of them were visible more than two seconds. Sept. 7th. — A little before the moon rose I observed an aurora which extended from the north nearly to the north-west, from which ema- nated several columns of light j the rising moon soon overpowered its light, so that I could not distinguish any other coruscations. N.S. Vol.9. No. 53. May 1831. 3 E Sept. 394- Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. Sept. 8th. — The aurora again appeared, more extended than on the preceding evening. I watched it for upwards of half an hour, when clouds intervened and prevented further observation. Sept. 17th. — The aurora borealis again appeared, soon after eight P.M., in the horizon between the north-west and north-by-east, from which emanated seven or eight reddish columns of light, two of which reached the star Benetrasch in Ursa major. Soon after nine P.M. the aurora disappeared. Oct. 5. — At a quarter past seven P.M. an aurora again appeared between the north and north-west. A few very thin columns of light emanated. About eight P.M. a few coruscations were visible, but the rising of the moon overpowered them in light. Oct. 16. — About half-past nine P.M. the aurora again appeared about the magnetic north, from which several columns of light, slightly tinged with red, emanated, and attained the altitude of about 40°. In one hour no traces of the aurora were visible. Oct. 1 7. — An aurora again appeared and bore a strong resemblance to a morning twilight j no coruscations were visible, and it soon dis- appeared. Nov. 1. — A little before nine P.M. a bright aurora was visible be- tween the north and west points of the horizon ; soon after nine, not- withstanding the moon shone very brightly, several columns of light darted up near the magnetic north, some of which attained the height of 20°. Clouds intervened about half-past, nine, and the aurora was no longer visible. Nov. 4. — An aurora appeared soon after seven P.M., which ex- tended from the north nearly to the west. About eight a few co- lumns of light were perceptible. The rising of the moon prevented any further observation, and the aurora soon disappeared. Two very bright meteors appeared soon after eight. Nov. 7. — A faint aurora was visible for more than two hours, but no coruscations were distinguished. One bright meteor appeared about half-past seven. Dec. 1 1 . — At seven P.M. a very bright aurora borealis appeared be- tween the north-west and north-by-east points of the horizon j at eight, clouds intervened, but at nine the sky again became clear, and very large columns of red light were seen to rise quite to the zenith -} it increased in splendour till past midnight. Some of the columns ap- peared as if tinged with black, and had the resemblance of dense columns of smoke. Two persons who were guarding their master's property against the attacks of incendiaries, assured me that the red columns continued to play in every direction, and on every point of the compass between the east and west, till past four A.M. A respect- able gentleman in this neighbourhood, who has been an attentive ob- server of meteorological appearances for upwards of forty years, assured me, that he never recollected during that period the Northern Lights so powerful in this country, nor did he ever observe so many meteors in any one night in his life-time ; the number he could not ascertain, but he thought nearly twenty. Dec. 12. — The aurora again appeared at six P.M. between the north- Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 395 north-east and north-west, but few coruscations were visible till about ten P.M., when several columns of white light darted in quick succession up to the zenith. Huge masses of white light, if I may so term them, rose in the north-west, and, as it were, sailed majestically along the horizon to the true north, and some as far as north-east, and then shot up in massy columns. These appearances lasted till half-past eleven, when the aurora began to diminish in brightness, and in about two hours disappeared. Two bright meteors appeared in the north. Dec. 13. — The aurora again appeared light in strong twilight, but no coruscations were visible. Dec. 14. — At six P.M. the aurora was again visible, but fainter than on the preceding evening. Jan. 7, 1831. — An aurora borealis appeared in the north-east, which had a reddish tinge, and had a similar effect to the rising moon on a hazy evening. At a quarter past five a zone of white light rose from the centre of the aurora, passed over the Pleiades just below Aries, and to the west-south-west point of the horizon, forming a complete arc. After remaining in a perfect state for about three minutes, the centre of the bow began to disappear, and in a few seconds the whole vanished. Several patches of white light were afterwards formed in the south-east and south-west, which remained for some time. At twenty minutes past five, perpendicular columns of red and white light darted up to the zenith, and some even passed the zenith and reached Orion, having an altitude of about 30° south. At half-past five the northern hemisphere appeared to be covered with a complete canopy of various coloured lights, which extended from north-east to west, and exhibited one of the most magnificent appearances ever witnessed in this latitude. Columns of light continued to emanate till past midnight. The aurora did not finally disappear till about four A.M. Jan. 8. — An aurora was again visible for about two hours, but no coruscations were visible. Jan. 1 1. — Was a very cloudy evening, but having occasion to go out about ten o'clock, the northern parts of the heavens appeared unusually light -, the clouds dispersed, and an aurora presented itself extending from north to north-west j two or three coruscations were visible, but clouds again intervened, and at eleven the aurora could no longer be seen. N.B. After the aurorae in November and December, we had strong gales of wind from the south and south-west 5 but since the appearances of the present year we have had a calm. Should these notices, copied from my journal, merit a place in your Magazine, your insertion of them may cause naturalists in dif- ferent parts of the country to make some useful remarks upon them. I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, Your most obedient Servant, Bedford, W. H. WHJTE, H.M.C.S. January 12th, 1831. 3 E 2 REV. 396 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. REV. w. D. CONYBEARE'S PRELIMINARY ADDRESSES TO THE COURSE OF LECTURES ON THEOLOGY, DELIVERED AT THE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTION OF BRISTOL. A Collegiate Institution for the diffusion of the superior branches of Education has been recently established at Bristol, by the joint subscriptions of a proprietary body : it has been placed under the superintendence of a Principal and Vice-Principal, who are distin- guished graduates from the University of Cambridge. As it was de- sired to place the Institution on an extensively useful and liberal basis, impartial admission to the advantages it offers is conceded without distinction to the members of different religious commu- nities : at the same time a large portion of the Council (being members of the Established Church) have felt it their duty in no manner to neglect the providing due means for the religious in- struction of the pupils, belonging to the same persuasion, in the tenets of that Church. They have accordingly formed themselves into a special committee, for the purpose of arranging an appro- priate course of Theological Lectures. The Rev. W. D. Conybeare, who is Visitor of the College and Superintendant of its Examina- tions, has undertaken the commencing course of these lectures, and recently delivered three preliminary addresses, which are now in the press, and will shortly be published by Mr. Murray. The sub- jects are : — I. On the proper application of classical and scientific educa- tion to the purposes of theological instruction. II. On the natural evidences of religion as deduced from the several branches of science. III. On the argument from analogy, and on the peculiar evi- dences and doctrinal character of the Christian revelation. As Editors of a Philosophical Journal, our concern is of course principally with the Second Part. In this we understand the author has endeavoured to exhibit a compendious and condensed view of the arguments derived from the proofs of design in the physical organiza- tion of the universe, following the steps of Ray, Derham, and Paley, but with a special view to point out the additional illustrations de- duced from the more recent discoveries of science. As delivered to a collegiate body, one of the objects of which must naturally be con- sidered as directed to scientific instruction, it has been the aim of the author of this address so to treat his subject as to present its inferences as applications arising from the facts developed in the several sciences exhibited in a systematic arrangement. Thus the heads of his sub- divisions are Dynamics j the Cosmical sciences ; Astronomy, and Geology : those relating to the constituent principles of Nature, Light, Heat, Electricity, Chemistry; and Animal and Vegetable Physiology, including under the former an article on Entomology. DR. WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY. The Proprietors of the Edition of Dr. Webster's English Dic- tionary publishing in this country, have purchased from the family of the late Rev. Jonathan Boucher, Vicar of Epsom, the valuable and voluminous MSS. which he had, during the last fourteen years of Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 397 of his life, prepared for a Glossary of Provincial and Archa?ological Words, intended as a Supplement to Dr. Johnson's Dictionary ; and they mean to publish these MSS. in one volume 4-to, containing Six Numbers of twenty sheets each, as a Supplement to Dr. Web- ter's English Dictionary. The larger portion of the MSS. is now in a state fit for publication; and the Supplement will be com- menced as soon as the work of Dr. Webster, of which Eight Num- bers have already appeared, is completed. They also intend to pub- lish an octavo edition of Dr. Webster's English Dictionary, which will contain all the technical and scientific definitions from the quarto work ; but without the copious etymological matter, which will not be required by ordinary readers, for ordinary purposes. A multitude of words, collected by the Editor, and not found in the quarto edition, will be inserted, and also a large collection of Archaic terms from the MSS. of the late Rev. Jonathan Boucher. LUNAR RAINBOWS. To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. Gentlemen, An hour after moonrise on the showery night of the 31st ult., I observed an entire lunar rainbow, of a whitish hue, the prismatic colours not being clearly distinguishable. The moon was then shining beautifully bright from beneath the dark brow of an over- hanging cloud ; but her light was above one-fourth part less than at her full, four complete days having nearly elapsed since her op- position. Since witnessing the above I have made numerous inquiries both in this neighbourhood and in Penzance, to ascertain whether lunar rainbows are of frequent or of rare occurrence in Cornwall; and the result of these inquiries is, that there is scarcely an individual in the habit of being out late at night in this rainy county who has not repeatedly seen them. I mention this, as all the writers on meteorology which I have read, consider these phenomena of much rarer occurrence than in reality they are. I am, Gentlemen, your very humble Servant, Redruth, Feb. 28, 1831. Rn. EDMONDS. LUNAR OCCULTATIONS. Occupations of Planets and fixed Stars by the Moon, in May 1831. Computed for Greenwich, by THOMAS HENDERSON, Esq. • and circulated by the Astronomical Society. 1831. Stars' Names. Magnitude. f Immersions. Emersions. Sidereal time. Mean solar time. Angle from Sidereal time. Mean solar time. Angle from 11 I .C . 1 May 21 22 y Virginis* V- Virginis 4 6 f 14651 \1466/ 1545 h m 13 27 16 31 h m 9 32 12 31 0 122 37 o 132 66 h m 14 9 17 30 h m 10 13 13 31 0 186 281 o 203 315 * Dou bie star. METEO- 398 Meteorological Observations for March loo*. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR MARCH 1831. Gosport: — Numerical Results for the Month. Barom. Max. 30-443. Mar. 31. Wind N.E.— Min. 29-213. Mar. 6. Wind W. Range of the mercury 1-230. Mean barometrical pressure for the month 29-906 Spaces described by the rising and falling of the mercury 7*943 Greatest variation in 24 hours 0-605. — Number of changes 16. Therm. Max. 58°. March 27. Wind S.— Min. 32°. March 23. Wind E. Range 26°.— Mean temp, of exter. air 46°'98. For 30 clays with 0 in ^ 46'56 Max. var. in 24 hours 180>00.— Mean temp, of spring-water at 8 A.M. 48-84 De Luc's Whalebone Hygrometer. Greatest humidity of the atmosphere, in the evening of the 2nd .... 96° Greatest dryness of the atmosphere, in the afternoon of the 19th... 51 Range of the index 45 Mean at 2 P.M. 67°-0.— Mean at 8 A.M. 75°-6.— Mean at 8 P.M. 77'2 of three observations each day at 8, 2, and 8 o'clock 73*3 Evaporation for the month 2-40 inches. Rain in the pluviameter near the ground 1-770 inch. Prevailing wind, West. Summary of the Weather. A clear sky, 4J; fine, with various modifications of clouds, 11 ; an overcast sky without rain, 10; rain, 5^. — Total 31 days. Clouds. Cirrus. Cirrocumulus. Cirrostratus. Stratus. Cumulus. Cumulostr. Nimbus. 15 6 25 1 17 18 18 Scale of the prevailing Winds. N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. W. N.W. Days. H 4| 3| 2 4i 5 6J 3| 31 General Observations. — The first part of this month was wet and windy ; the latter part was dry, with great changes in the temperature of the at- mosphere, and frequent strong equinoctial gales, which on several occa- sions were blighty. The general mildness of the weather the last two months, has made the spring nearly a fortnight earlier than that of last year. From the 2nd to the 16th instant a quick budding and leafing of the trees were observed ; but the cold northerly and easterly gales nearly suspended these operations of nature during the latter part of the month. In the mornings of the 10th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 28th, hoar frost appeared in the grass fields before sunrise, and there was some ice on the ground in the morning of the 24th. In the evenings of the 13th and 14th the inosculation of passing nimbi produced lightning and thunder. In the morning of the 24th from 8 till 12 o'clock, there were frequent falls of snow, sleet and hail. The atmospheric and meteoric phenomena that have come within our observations this month, are four meteors, four auroras boreales, lightning on two evenings and thunder on one ; and seventeen gales of wind, or days on which they have prevailed, namely, three from the North-east, three from the East, two from the South, five from the South-west, and four from the West. LUNAR ECLIPSE. — On the 26th the moon rose about East by North, very nearly half eclipsed, at 5h 28m P.M. mean time here; but the red haze in and several degrees above the eastern horizon, prevented the earth's shadow from being well defined on her disc. The Meteorological Observations for March 1831. 399 The eclipse continued interesting till one minute after six, when clouds intervened, and it was not seen afterwards by the naked eye. But at twenty minutes past six, mean time, there was an opening in the cloud, when by the aid of a telescope it appeared that the moon's southern limb had just emerged out of the earth's shadow, as the penumbra was then se- parating from the moon's limb. AURORJE BOREALES. — In the evening of the 7th of March 1831, an aurora borealis appeared from seven till ten o'clock. It rose slowly the first half-hour, and the arch of light, extending from the North-east by North to North-west by West, attained its greatest altitude about half- past eight. Soon after eight two columns of light emanated from the aurora about sixty degrees West of North, and were followed by many others till nine. At a quarter before nine several broad flame-coloured columns rose through Cassiopeia, and suddenly changed to red and lake colours ; and on receding, parts of them were left behind, which continued several minutes in the form of red patches. The mean of several altitudes of the upper edge of the arch of the aurora when best denned (not a rainbow-like arch) between 8 and 9 o'clock, taking the vertex to be in the magnetic north, was 10° 3'. At nine the aurora began to sink, and disappeared by ten. In the night of the 8th, when the clouds disappeared at 11 o'clock, a faint aurora presented itself, and kept up till 1 A.M. In--the evening of the llth, at half-past eight, an aurora borealis rose slowly from the northern horizon, and at forty minutes past nine its arch of light was brightest and at its greatest altitude, which was nearly the same as that in the evening of the 7th, described above. At ten minutes before ten there was a range of twelve flame-coloured columns along the whole extent of the arch, about seven degrees distant from each other, one degree wide, and twenty-five degrees in altitude, which had a fine and rather a singular appearance. A few drops of rain now fell from a distant nimbus towards the North, which soon passed off to the eastward, and the aurora appeared again, but sunk slowly, with oc- casional coruscations from it till twelve, when it disappeared. REMARKS. London. — March 1. B'ine. 2, 3. Rain. 4. Slight fog in the morning : very fine. 5. Overcast. 6. Stormy and wet. 7. Fine. 8. Overcast : rain at night. 9. Fine. 10. Foggy. 11. Rain. 12. Fine in the morning : windy, with rain at night. 13. Stormy and wet. 14. Fine: showery: fine at night. 15. Stormy and wet. 16. Cloudy: small rain: fine. 17 — 20. Fine. 21 — 23. Cold and dry. 24. Sleet: cold rain, with some hail in the afternoon. 25. Windy, and cold : rain at night. 26. Wet in the morning: fine. 27. Very fine: at night windy with showers. 28. Fine. 29 — 31. Cold and dry, with north-east wind. Penzance. — March 1. Fair. 2. Misty. 3. Rain. 4. Misty. 5. Rain. 6, 7. Fair. 8. Rain. 9. Fair. 10. Fair': rain. 1 1 . Rain : fair. 12. Rain. 13, 14. Showers. 15, 16. Rain. 17— 21. Clear. 22, 23. Fair. 24. Clear: rain. 25. Fair : rain. 26. Rain. 27, 28. Clear. 29. Fair. 30. Clear. 31. Fair. Boston. — March 1. Fine. 2. Cloudy: rain early A.M. 3. Cloudy: rain at night. 4. Cloudy. 5. Rain. 6. Cloudy: rain at night. 7. Fine. 8. Fine: rain at night. 9, 10. Fine. 1 1. Rain and stormy. 12. Fine: rain P.M. 13. Fine: hail-storm at night. 14. Fine. 15, 16. Cloudy. 17. Fine. 18— 23. Cloudy. 24. Snow. '25. Fine. 26. Rain. 27, 28. Fine. 29. Cloudy. SO. Fine: rain early A.M. 31. Fine. Meteoro- jsog fc 4 ^ :o : : : •+ i -i o : —• : o : . 6 ' ' :§g :§||2|| i 6 * ' ' o : ~ m o o i i : :?<$ ': ' i i i : £ zuaj puoTioi, : o : « e ^i ^^ ^> O ^"S 13 lfi I! .SI "&>•?" II !§ °§ 1°^ is P> «r '»s°a \i i *Z I * » i -« i I j I *' ^' -3 13 6e » 1 13 -3 13 L___L« U V O O U U O ' --- •dsoo ^ ^* & | « ^ S •zuad -'ii>"'Sl 6 6 »»'S-» S^" > »» f * tS 4- S'S fi i ^ ii.11 IP ONO — C*OCNC<eneus, 460. Vegeto-alkalies, electro-chemical de- composition of, 237. Vigors (Mr.) on the genus Ortyx, 54 ; on Strix personata, 46 1 . Warrington's (Mr.) examination of a native sulphuret of bismuth, 29. Watches, new alloy for the pivot-holes of, 71. Water cement, an artificial, 442. Webster's (Dr.) English Dictionary, 396. Weisse's planetary tables, errata in,245. Whewell (Prof.) on Ricardo's princi- ples of political economy, 462. Willis (Mr.) on sound, 462. Winch (Mr.) on the geology of the banks of the Tweed, 13, 85. Yarrell's (Mr.) dissection of a chin- chilla, 227 ; notes on the Ctenodac- tylus Massoniit 449. Yates (Rev. J.) on the formation of alluvial deposits, 48. Yorkshire, review of Phillips's Geology of, 342, 430. Zenith distance, on the effect of a change of polar distance on the re- duction of a, 338. Zoological Society, 52, 140, 222, 366, 449. %* A General Index to thejirst ten volumes of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals, will be published, (after the termination of the next volume, which will be the tenth of the New Series,) with the Number for January 1832. END OF THE NINTH VOLUME. » L A M M A M LONDON: FRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR, HKD LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 1831. PROGRESS OF THE TIDE ROVXD GREAT BRITAIN. Ihf Rf>nifoi figures m,li,iitf tfif tinii- ofOiqh Wottr ,,t full and .-in,,,.,,- \ AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. Just received, price 7s. 6d., No. 39. of THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS; with Six Plates, one coloured. Conducted by BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, M.D., &c. And Professor of Chemistry, Mineralogy, &c. in Yale College. Also price Is. 3d., No. 8. of THE AMERICAN MECHANICS' MAGAZINE. O. Rich, No. 12, Red Lion Square, Holborn. Just Published. ANEW ANALYTICAL SCALE OF EQUIVALENTS. Com- prising, in portable compass, expressed in Analytical Symbols, clas- sified for prompt reference, most of the Salts, Reagents and Precipitates used in Analytical and Operative Chemistry : Multiples of the leading Constituents, viz. Oxygen 1 to 12, Hydrogen 8 to 50, Carbon 2 to 10, Nitrogen 1 to 5, for adjusting the Atomic Results of Organic Analyses ; Silica 1 to 6, and Alumina 1 to 3, for those of Minerals ; and Water 1 to 25 for Crystallized Salts, Hydrates, &c. : all the Elementary Bodies : all the principal Binary Oxides, Chlorides, Iodides, Bromides, Sulphurets, &c. ; and the greater number of Acids, Mineral and Organic, both as Anhydrous and Crystallized : — forming a comprehensive Scale of Equi- valents ; and a General Table of Atomic Weights, adjustable, by moving the Slider, to the Oxygen or Hydrogen Standard. The Numbers de- duced, chiefly, from comparison of the Tables of Thomson and Berzelius, with the Experiments on which they were founded. By Mr. JOHN PRIDEAUX, Member of the Plymouth Institution. For Sale, price 8s., at Messrs. Newman, Regent Street: Messrs. Knight, Foster Lane, London ; and Maclaghlan and Stewart, College Street, Edinburgh. CONTENTS OF N° 49.— New Series. I. Reply to a Note in the Rev. Mr. Conybeare's Paper entitled " An Examination of those Phenomena of Geology, which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations." By C. LYELL, Esq. F.R.S. For. Sec. G.S. &c page I II. Memoir of the late J. S. Miller, A.L.S. Curator of the Mu- seum of the Bristol Philosophical Institution. By A CORRESPON- DENT 4 III. On the theoretical Determination of the Motion of Fluids. By the Rev. J. CHALLTS, Fellow oif Trinity College, Cambridge, and of the Camb.Phil. Soc 7 IV. Remarks on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed, from Carham, in Northumberland, to the Sea Coast at Berwick. By N. J. WINCH, Esq. Secretary of the Natural History Society of Newcastle-iipon-Tyne. (To be continued.) 11 V. An Examination of those Phenomena of Geology which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations. By the Rev. W. D. CONYBEARE, M.A. F.R.S. F.G.S. &c. (To be continued) 19 VI. On the New Nautical Almanac 23 VII. On the Visitation of Greenwich Observatory: with a Copy of the New Warrant 27 VIII. Examination of a Native Sulphuret of Bismuth. By Mr. R, WARRINGTON 29 IX. Recent Discovery of the Ladder of M. de Saussure in the Mer de Glace ; with Inferences respecting the Progressive Movement of Glaciers , 32 X. Facts and Observations relating to the Theory of the progres- sive Development of Organic Life. By ROBERT BAKEWELL, Esq.. . 33 XL Proceedings of Learned Societies : — Royal Society ; Linnaean Society; Geological Society ; Zoological Society 37-66 XII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles ; — Chloroxalic Acid ; Potash from Felspar ; Native Phosphates of Manganese and Iron ; On Oxamide, by M. Dumas ; On two Kinds of Fulminating Gold, by M. Dumas ; On the State of Mercury in Mercurial Ointment, by M. Mitscherlich j Mr. Bennet's New Alloy for the Pivot Holes of Watches ; Earthquakes at the Cape of Good Hope ; List of New Pa- tents ; Meteorological Observations for November 1830, Table, &c. 66-80 %* It is requested that all Communications for this Work may be addressed, post paid, to the Care of Mr. R. Taylor, Printing Office, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London; where complete Sets of the Old Series of the Phi- losophical Magazine may be had at half of the original price. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTION. AMONG the Original Papers in the SECOND NUMBER, published on the 3st of February, 1831, are the following: — On the Decomposition of the Vegetable Alkaline Salts, by W. T. Brande, Esq. F.R.S., &c. &c. — On a peculiar Class of Optical Deceptions, by Michael Faraday, Esq. F.R.S. &c. &e.— On the Mode of ascertaining the Commercial Value of Manganese, by Edward Turner, M.D., F.R.S., &c. &c., Professor of Chemistry in the London University. — On the Mag- netic Curve, by Peter Mark Roget, M.D., Secretary of the Royal Society, £c. — On the Construction of Arches, by M. Lassaulx, Architect to the King of Prussia, communicated by Professor Whewell. — On Vomiting, by Marshall Hall, M.D., £c. &c. — On Stuttering, by the Same. — On the Aurora Borealis of the 7th January, 1831, by S. H. Christie, Esq. F.R.S., &c. &c. — On the Performance of the Magnetism in Steel Bars, by the Same. — On the Invention of the Telescope, by Professor Moll of Utrecht. — On the Rainbow, by Alfred Ainger, Esq. — On the last Erup- tion of Mount Vesuvius, by Dr. Donati. — On a New Comet, by Professor Dabadie. — On Induced Phosphorescence, by Thomas Pearsall. — Descrip- tion of a new Hydraulic Syphon, by Mr. Almond. — With the usual Mis- cellaneous Scientific Intelligence, &c. &c. JOHN MURRAY, Albemarle Street. Just Published, by J. SOUTER, School Library, 73 St. Paul's Church-yard, A N ELEMENTARY ESSAY on the COMPUTATION of LO- • A\. GARITHMS, intended as a Supplement to the various Books on Algebra. By J. R. YOUNG. Price C2s. 6d. 2. AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE on ALGEBRA, THEORE- TICAL and PRACTICAL ; with an Attempt to simplify some of the more difficult Parts of the Science, particularly the Demonstration of the Binomial Theorem in its most general Form j the Solution of Equations of the Higher Orders ; the Summation of Infinite Series, &c. By J. R. YOUNG. 8vo, boards, 10s. 6d. 3. ELEMENTS of GEOMETRY; containing a New and Universal Treatise on the Doctrine of Proportion : with NOTES, in which are pointed out and corrected several important Errors that have hitherto remained unnoticed in the Writings of Geometers. By J. R. YOUNG. 8vo. boards, 8s. 4. THE ELEMENTS of ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY ; compre- hending the Doctrine of the Conic Sections, and the general Theory of Curves and Surfaces of the Second Order ; with a variety of Local Pro- blems on Lines and Surfaces. Intended for the Use of Mathematical Students in Schools and Universities. By J. R. YOUNG. 12mo. 7s. cloth. 5. A BRIEF TREATISE on the USE AND CONSTRUCTION OF A CASE OF MATHEMATICAL INSTRUMENTS ; containing a copious Explanation of each, particularly of the Sector, the Lines on which are separately treated of, and their Use shown in solving several Cases of Trigonometry : the whole designed to give the young Student a Knowledge in using his Instruments, and constructing Geometrical Figures with accuracy. By GEORGE PHILLIPS, Queen's College, Cambridge. New Edition. 2s. 6d. CONTENTS OF N° 50.— New Series. XIII. On the Construction of the Berlin Astronomical Ephemeris for 1832. By Professor ENCKE page 81 XIV. Remarks on the Geology of the Banks of the Tweed, from Carham, in Northumberland, to the Sea Coast at Berwick. By N. J. WINCH, Esq. Secretary of the Natural History Society of Xewcastle-upon-Tyne T 85 XV t On the Limits upon the Earth's Surface within which an Oc- cultation of a Star or Planet by the Moon is visible. By J.W. LUB- BOCK, Esq. F.R.S 90 XVI. Tables of the Decimal Parts of a Day and an Hour. By A CORRESPONDENT 92 XVII. On the alleged Production of Heat in Mines by the Con- densation of the Air which ventilates them ; and on the Fallacy of other Objections to the Opinion that a high Temperature exists in the interior of the Globe. By ROBERT W. Fox, Esq 94 XVIII. On the Stability of the Solar System. By J. W. LUBBOCK, Esq. F.R.S 99 XIX. Remarks on the Origin of Rock-basins; in reply to a Paper by Mr. E. W. BRAYLEY, Jun. By the Rev. THOMAS MOORE 101 XX. An Examination of those Phaenomena of Geology which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations. By the Rev. W. D. CONYBEARE, M.A. F.R.S. F.G.S. &c. (To be continued) .... Ill XXI. On the tidelike Wave of Lake Ontario. By SAMUEL SHARPE, Esq. F.G.S 117 XXII. Observations relative to the Origin and History of the Bush- men. By ANDREW SMITH, M.D. M.W.S. &c. (To be continued.) . . 119 XXIII. An Account of an Aurora Borealis observed at Woolwich on the Night of January 7th, 1831. By Mr. WILLIAM STURGEON . 127 XXIV. Notices respecting New Books: — Mr. De la Beche's Sec- tions and Views illustrative of Geological Phaenomena 131 XXV. Proceedings of Learned Societies : — Royal Society ; Geological Society ; Linnaean Society; Astronomical Society; Zoo- logical Society 133-147 XXVI. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles ; — On the spon- taneous Inflammation of powdered Charcoal ; On pure lodic Acid, and the Detection of the Vegetable Alkalies ;,Para-tartaric Acid; On the Chlorides of Iodine and the Detection of the Vegetable Alkalies ; Chloride of Gold and Potassium, &c. ; Vauquelin's Process for ob- taining Chromium; Carburet of Sulphur not decomposed by Elec- tricity; Influence of the Aurora Borealis on the Magnetic Needle j Nitrous Atmosphere ofTirhoot; On the Occurrence of Chalk-flints in Banffshirej NewScientfic Books ; The Comet ; Lunar Occultations of Planets and fixed Stars by the Moon, in February 1831; List of New Patents ; Meteorological Observations for December 1830, Table, &c 14-8-160 \* It is requested that all Communications for this Work may be addressed, post paid, to the Care of Mr. R.Taylor, Printing Office, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London; where complete Sets of the Old Series of the Phi- losophical Magazine may be had at half of the original price. Articles in the Philosophical Magazine and Annals for June, July, August, September, and October, 1830. Vernon (Rev. W. V.) F.R.S. Chemical Examination of artificial Brusite. Andrews (J.). Separation of Baryta or Strontia from Lime. Herapath (W.). On the Combustion of the Diamond. Galloway (E.). On the new Paddle-wheel. Schmidt (Dr. E.). On the Dimensions of the Earth. Ivory (J.) F.R.S. On the Figure of the Earth. And, On the shortest Di- stance between two Points on the Earth's Surface. Lubbock (J. W.) F.R.S. On the Census. Farey (J.). On Improvements in the Steam-engine. Taylor (J.) F.R.S. On the Duty of Steam-engines in Cornwall. MacLeay (W.S.) F.L.S. On the Dichotomous Method in Natural H'istory. Roget (P. M.) Sec. R.S. Letter in refutation of an alleged Inaccuracy in the Minutes of the Council of the Royal Society. Gilbert (Davies) Pres. R.S. On the same subject. Babbage (C.). F.R.S. Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, Cambridge, on the same Subject. Nixon (J.). On the Measurement (by Trigonometry) of the Heights of the principal Hills of Swaledale, Yorkshire. Galbraith (W.) M.A. On the Obliquity of the Ecliptic. Witham (H.) F.G.S. On the Vegetable Fossils found at Lennel Braes, near Coldstream, upon the Banks of the River Tweed. Bevan (B.). On the Power of Horses. Alison (R. E. ). Narrative of an Excursion to the Summit of the Peak of Teneriffe in February 1829. De la Beche (H. T.) F.R.S. On the Geographical Distribution of Organic- Remains in the Oolite Series of England and France. Sabine (E.) Capt. R.A. Sec. R.S. Notices occasioned by the Perusal of a late Publication by Mr. Babbage. Rumker (C.) Elements of the Comet in Pegasus ,- with Observations and Elements of the same Comet, by M. Valtz, of Nimes. Fleming (Rev. Dr.). Note on Mr. MacLeay's Abuse of the Dichotomous Method in Natural History. Sedgwick (Professor) and Murchison (R. I.), Esq. Sketch of the Struc- ture of the Austrian Alps. Prideaux (J.). On the mean Atomic Weights of Simple Bodies, according to Thomson and Berzelius. Yarrell (W.) F.L.S. On a new Species of Swan. Challis (Rev. J.). Attempt to explain theoretically the different Refran- gibility of the Rays of Light. Noggerath (Prof. J.). On the Magnetic Polarity of two Rocks of Basalt near Niirburg in the Eifel. Meikle (H.). On the CEconomy of the Steam-engine. Conybeare (Rev. W. D.). On Mr. Lyell's '« Principles of Geology." Squire (T.). On the computed times of a late Occultation of Aldebaran. Dakin (G.). On an improved Electrical Machine. Sharpe (S.). On the Solid of greatest Attraction. Children (J. G.). F.R.S. On Ochsenheiraer's Genera of Lepidoptera CONTENTS OF N°5l.—A7ew Series. XXVII. On the Volatility of Oxalic Acid. By EDWARD TURNER, M.D. F.R.S. L. & E., Sec. G.S. Professor of Chemistry in the Uni- versity of London page 161 XXVIII. On the relative Hardness of Road Materials. By B. BEVAN, Esq 164 XXIX. Observations on a Species of Muscse Volitantes apparently existing in the Aqueous Humour of the Eye. By THOMAS BAT- CHELOK, Esq 165 XXX. On Mr. WITCHELL'S Method of clearing a Lunar Di- stance. By C. RUMKER, Esq 168 XXXI. Facts bearing on the Theory of the Formation of Springs, and their Intensity at various Periods of the Year. By W. J. HEN- WOOD 170 XXXII. On the Calculation of the Orbits of Double Stars. By Professor ENCKE 178 XXXIII. A Botanical Description of Hermione Cypri. By A. H. HAWORTH, F.L.S. £c.&c 183 XXXIV. On an Omission in Clairaut's Theory of the Equilibrium of a homogeneous Fluid ; in some Remarks on the 56th Article of t\\Q " Bulletin des Sciences Mathematiques" for August 1830. By JAMSS IVORY, Esq. M.A. F.R.S 185 XXXV. An Examination of those Phenomena of Geology which seem to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations. By the Rev. W. D. CONYBEARE, M.A. F.R.S. F.G.S. &c. (To be continued) .... 188 XXXVI. Observations relative to the Origin and History of the Bushmen. By ANDREW SMITH, M.D. M.W.S. &c. (To be continued.) 197 XXXVII. Statement respecting the Legacy left by the late.Earl of Bridgewater, for rewarding the Authors of Works, to be published in pursuance of his Will, and demonstrative of the Divine Attributes, as manifested in the Creation. By DA VIES GILBERT, M.P. V.P.R.S. 200 XXX VIII. Notices respecting New Books: — Six Maps of the Stars : published under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge 202 XXXIX. Proceedings of Learned Societies : — Royal Society ; Linnsean Society; Geological Society; Astronomical Society; Zoological Society 206-232 XL. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles ; — Parhelia, &c. lately seen at Bedford ; Aurora Borealis of the 7th of January as seen at Gosport; A Mode of ascertaining the Value of Manganese Ores ; Electro-chemical Decomposition of the Vegeto-alkaline Salts ; Lunar Occultations of Planets and Fixed Stars by the Moon, in March 1831 ; Meteorological Observations for January 1831, Table, &c 232-240 It is requested that all Communications for this Work may he addressed, post paid, to the Care of Mr. R.Taylor, Printing Office, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London ; where complete Sets of the Old Series of the Phi- losophical Magazine may be had at half of the original price. Early in the Month will be published, in 1 vol. 8vo, the Second Edition, Price 8s. 6d. of A TRANSLATION of the PHARMACOPOEIA LONDINENSIS ; •** with copious Notes and Illustrations, exhibiting the Nature of its various Medicinal Compounds, the Processes of their Composition, and the Decompositions which take place during their Preparation. Illus- trated by Diagrams, and Wood Engravings of the Crystalline Forms of the Alkaline, Earthy, and Metallic Salts. By RICHARD PHILLIPS, F.R.S. L. & E. &c. Printed for S. Highley, 174? Fleet-street, and Webb-street, Maze Pond, Borough. This Day is published, in 8vo, Price 15s. cloth, A TREATISE on LIGHT and VISION. By the Rev. HUMPHREY LLOYD, M.A. Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. Printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green. Now ready, embellished with Twenty plain, and Ten coloured, Engra- vings, 4to, of New and Rare Plants, Price only 11. Is. Nos. V. and VI. of THE BOTANICAL MISCELLANY. By W. J. HOOKER, LL.D., F.R.S. and L.S., &c. &c., and Regius Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow. Volume I. of the BOTANICAL MISCELLANY, containing Nos. I. II. and III., is now complete, with Seventy-four Plates, Price 11. 11s. 6d. A few Copies of Nos. I. and II., with coloured Plates, 15s. each. John Murray, Albemarle Street. CONTENTS OF N° 52.— New Series. XLI. On the Computation of the Moon's Motion in Right Ascen- sion. By FRANCIS BAILY, Esq. F.R.S. &c. &c page 241 XLII. Errata in Weisse's Planetary Tables. By A CORRESPON- DENT 24-5 XLIII. On the Rectification of Curves. By Mr. CHARLES GILL. 250 XLIV. Remarks on the Demonstrations of the Theorems of La- grange and Laplace for the Expansion of Functions, given by Dr. Lardner and M. Lacroix ; with a Demonstration of those Theorems. By Mr. JAMES GORDON 253 XLV. An Examination of those Phenomena of Geology, which seem to bear most directly on Theoretical Speculations. By the Rev. W. D. CONYBEARE, M.A. F.R.S. F.G.S. &c 258 XL VI. On the Reduction to the Meridian. By S. SHARPE, Esq. F.G.S 270 XL VII. Proceedings of Learned Societies : — Anniversary of the Geological Society — Address to the Geological Society, by the Pre- sident, the Rev. ADAM SEDGWICK, M.A. F.R.S. &c., on announcing the first award of the Wollaston Prize to Mr. Smith ; Address to the Geological Society, delivered on the evening of the Anniversary by the Rev. Professor SEDGWICK, M.A. F.R.S. &c. on retiring from the President's Chair 271-317 XL VIII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles : — On the Hard- ness of Copper Slag as a Material for Roads, by B. BEVAN, Esq. ; Lectures on Geology at the University of London, by Mr. J. PHIL- LIPS, F.G.S. ; New Scientific Books ; Lunar Occultations of Planets and Fixed Stars by the Moon, in April 1831; Meteorological Ob- servations for February 1831, Table, &c 317-320 It is requested that all Communications for this Work may be addressed, post paid, to the Care of Mr. R.Taylor, Printing Office, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London ; where complete Sets of the Old Series of the Phi- losophical Magazine may be had at half of the original price. This day is published, Part. I. (ORIONIS and LEPORIS,) on Super-Royal Folio, price 5*. of THE HERSCHELIANj or, COMPANION to the TELESCOPE. Not to exceed 30 Parts j in which nearly 3500 interesting Celestial Telescopic Objects will be so arranged, (by means of Tables, and superior Pictorial Maps of small Zones, ) as to facilitate amateur observations, and form a useful addition to the Library. By JAMES HOLLAND. Longman and Co., Paternoster- Row ; J. and A. Arch, Cornhillj and G". and J. Gary, 86, St. James's-street, and 181, Strand. M EMOIRS of the LITERARY and PHILOSOPHICAL SO- CIETY OF MANCHESTER. A number of Volumes of the Society's Memoirs (of the first series) remaining unsold, the Council of the Society have resolved to offer them for Sale, JOT a limited period ^ at reduced Prices, as under: namely, First prices. Reduced prices. Published. Vol. 4, Part 2nd, . . boards. 6s. boards. 2*. 1796. Vol. 5, Part 1st, — . 6s. — 2s. 1798. Part 2nd, — Ss. — 2s. 6d. 1802. Sold by Mr. G. Wilson, Essex-street, Strand : where the succeeding Volumes published by the Society may be had. CONTENTS. — Vol. 4, Part 2nd. — Mr. Gough, on the Pile-engine. Dr. Falconer, on the History of Sugar. Dr. Beddoes, on the Flints of Chalk-Beds, &c. Mr. Gough, on the Vegetation of Seeds. Mr. Hoffman, on Plica Polonica. Mr. Cop- land, on the Combustion of Dead Bodies. Mr. Richardson, on Planting Waste Lands. Mr. Dawson, on the Inverse Method of Central Forces. Dr. Ferriar, on Ancient Terrassed Works. Dr. S. A. Bardsley, on Hydrophobia. Mr. Gough, Fur- ther Experiments on the Vegetation of Seeds. Mr. Barrit, on Ancient Carved Pil- lars and Obelisks. Dr. Garnett's collection of Meteorological Observations. CONTENTS.— Vol. 5, Part 1st.— Dr. Bardsley, on Party Prejudice. Mr. Dai- ton, on an extraordinary Case of Vision of Colours. Mr. Uvedale, on the Name of the Founder of Huln Abbey. Mr. Gough, on the Variety of Voices. Rev. Mr. Gis- borne, on the Institution of Literary and Philosophical Societies. Dr. Anderson, on an Universal Character. Mr. Dawson, on the Inverse Method of Central Forces. Mr. Collier, on Iron and Steel. Mr. Rupp, on Dr. Priestley's Experiments on Air. Mr. White, on three Kinds of Timber-Trees. Mr. Lambe, on the Analysis of Lea- mington Springs. Dr. Guthrie, on the Persian Cotton-Tree. Mr. Hoyle, on the Hypev-oxymuriate (.Chlorate) of Potash. Mr. Collier, on Fermentation and Distil- lation. Dr. Brown, on an Universal Written Character. Mr. Rupp, on Chemical Bleaching. Mr. Fisher, on the Change of Colour in a Negro. CONTENTS. — Vol. 5, Part 2nd. — Rev. Mr. Walker, on Tragedy, and the In- terest in its Representation. Mr. Dalton, on Rain, Dew, Evaporation, and the Origin of Springs. Mr. Dalton, on the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. Mr. Banks, on the Force and Velocity of Air from Bellows, &c. Anon. Essay on Beauty in the Human Form. Rev. Mr.Walker's Defence of Learning and the Arts, against the Charges of Rousseau. Dr. Hull, on Defects in the Nervous System. Mr. Dalton, on Heat and Cold, produced by the Condensation and Rarefaction of Air. Mr. Barrit, on some Antiques found in the Ribble. Mr. Dalton, on Mixed Gases, the Force of Steam, Evaporation, and the Expansion of Gases by Heat. Dr. Henry's Review of Experiments relating to the Materiality of Heat. Mr. Gough, on Judg- ment as to the Direction of Sounds. Mr. Gough, on the Theory of Compound Sounds. Mr. Dalton's Meteorological Observations at Manchester. Appendix. Mr. Barrit, on a Roman Inscription ; with a Note by Dr. Holme. Dr. Henry's Note on his paper on Heat. CONTENTS OF N° 53.— New Series. XLIX. On the Impediments to the Study of Natural History; illustrated by a Reference to certain technical and incidental Ob- scurities, in the Arrangement of the Diurnal Family of Lepidopterous Insects by various celebrated Naturalists. By A CORRESPON- DENT page 321 L. On the recent Change of Form of the Summit of Mont Blanc. By A CORRESPONDENT 328 LI. Notice of the Discovery of the Plesiosaurus in Ireland. By JAMES BRYCE, Jun. A.B 331 LII. On the Tides on the Coast of Great Britain. By J. W. LUB- BOCK, Esq. F.R.S. (With a Map) 333 LIII. On the Reduction of the North Polar Distances of Stars observed at Greenwich, and corrected by Bradley's Refractions, to Distances according with Ivory's Refractions. By W. GALBRAITH, Esq. A.M 335 LEV. On the Effect of a Change of Polar Distance on the Re- duction to the Meridian of a Zenith Distance observed out of the Meridian. By A CORRESPONDENT 338 LV. Observations relative to the Origin and History of the Bush- men. By ANDREW SMITH, M.D. M.W.S., &c. (To be continued). . 339 LVI. Notices respecting New Books : — Phillips's Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire 342 LVII. Proceedings of Learned Societies : — Royal Society ; As- tronomical Society ; Linnaan Society ; Zoological Society ; Geo- logical Society ; Friday Evening Proceedings of the Royal Institu- tion of Great Britain ; Cambridge Philosophical Society 354-384 LVIII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles: — Fall of the Broughton Suspension Bridge, near Manchester ; Cambridge Uni- versity ; Manganese in Human Blood ; On Sulfo-Sinapisine, origi- nally termed Sulfo-Sinapic Acid ; Emission of Light during the Com- pression of Gases ; Action of Chloride of Bromine upon Water and ^Ether ; Crystallization of Bismuth ; Re-action of Persalts of Iron and Carbonates ; Inflammation of Phosphorus by Charcoal ; Obser- vations on Aurorae Boreales witnessed at Bedford, at various times, from April 19, 1830, to January 11, 1831, by W. H. White, H.M.C.S.; Rev. W. D. Conybeare's Preliminary Addresses to the Course of Lectures on Theology, delivered at the Collegiate Insti- tution of Bristol ; Dr. Webster's Dictionary j Lunar Rainbows ; Lu- nar Occultations of Planets and Fixed Stars by the Moon in May 1831 ; Meteorological Observations for March 1831, Table, &c. 384-400 It is requested that all Communications for this Work may be addressed, post paid, to the Care of Mr. R. Taylor, Printing Office, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, London ; where complete Sets of the Old Series of the Phi- losophical Magazine may be had at half of the original price. Now ready, embellished with Twenty plain, and Ten coloured, Engra- vings, 4to, of New and Rare Plants, Price only ll. Is. Nos. V. and VI. of THE BOTANICAL MISCELLANY. By W. J. HOOKER, LL.D., F.R.S. and L.S., &c. &c., and Regius Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow. Volume I. of the BOTANICAL MISCELLANY, containing Nos. I. II. and III., is now complete, with Seventy -four Plates, Price I/. 11s. 6