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QUA RTEili.X^ o OURNAL

LITERATURE, AND ART.

JULY TO DECEMBER, 1827.

LONDON:
HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON-STREET.

MDCCCXXVII.

CONTENTS

July— Oct. 1827.

Page

On the Beauties contained in the Ovals and in the Elliptic Curves,
both simple and combined, generated from the same Figure or
Disk. By R. R. Reinagle, Esq., R.A. .... 1

On the Art of forming Diamonds into single Lenses for Micro-
scopes. By Mr. A. Pritchard. . . . , . .15

' ' . .' V • r^i^nvered Spring, at Stanley, near Wakefield.

21

^ in this Country. 25

uii itxc D., F.R.S., &c, 39

Dr. Turner s iiYemew^* 0/ u/tc»..: ... 60

Experiments on Audition. Communicated oy Ay, C. Wheat-
stone 67

On the Petromyzon Marinus . . . . . . . .72

Observations upon the Motion of the Leaves of the Sensitive Plant 76

Experiments on the Nature of Labarraques' Disinfecting Soda
Liquid. By M. Faraday, F.R.S., Cor. Mem. Roy. Acad.
Sci. Paris, &c. 84

Hieroglyphical Fragments, with some Remarks on English Gram-
mar. In a Letter to Baron William Von Humboldt. By a
Correspondent 92

Dr. Mac Culloch's * Malaria; an Essay on the Production and

Propagation of this Poisony rewiewed 100

Account of a New Genus of Plants, called Reevesia. By J. Lind-

LEY, Esq., F.L.S., &c. Sec 109

Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

i. Fresnel on the Undulatory Theory of Light . . .113
• ii Rule for the Correction of a Lunar Observation. By Mr.

W. Wiseman, of HuU 135

* De V Influence des Agens Physiques sur la Vie. Par W. F. Ed-
wards, D.M.' &c., reviewed . ., .. . . .137

Account of Professor Carlini's Pendulum Experiments on Mont

Cenis 153

Analysis of the * Transactions of the Horticultural Society, Vol. vii.

Part I.* 159

On the Recent Elucidations of Early Egyptian History . .176

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
I. Mechanical Science.

Page

1 On the Combined Action of a

Current of Air, and the Pres-
sure of the Atmosphere 193

2 Considerations relative to Capil-

lary Action 194

Page

3 Novel Use of the Plough I97

4 Discovery of Rocks under the

Surface of the Sea 193

5 Paper to resist Humidity .... I'ft^

6 Professor- Amici's Microscopes ift;

a 2

CONTENTS.

II. Chemical Science.

Page

1 On the Specific Heat of Gases 200

2 On the Incandescence & Light

of Lime ..., 201

3 ^Evolution of Heat during the

Compression of Water .... ib.

4 On Electrical Excitation .... ib.

5 Magnetic Repulsion 202

6 Diminished Solubility of Sub-

stances by Heat - '

7 Composition of Cyanic

8 lodous Acid

9 Manganesic Acid ....

10 Heavy Muriatic Ethe

Chloric Ether ... tu.

11 Test for the Presence of Nitric

Acid .205

12 Peculiar Formation of Nitre .. ib.

13 Experhnents on Fluoric Acid

and Fluates ib.

14 Crystallization of Phosphorus. . 206

15 Solution of Phosphorus in Oils ib.

16 On the Inflammation of Powder,

when struck by Brass 207

17 Cementation of Iron by Cast

Iron ib.

18 On the Preparation of Ferro-

prussiate of Potash ib.

19 Sulphocyanide of Potassium in

Saliva 208

20 Decomposition of Sulphate of

Copper, by Tartaric Acid . . ib.

21 Separation of Arsenic from

Nickel, or Cobalt 209

Page

22 Chemical Researches into Cer-

tain Ancient Substances . . 209

23 Compounds of Gold 210

24 On the Bitter Substance pro-

duced by the Action of Ni-
tric Acid on Indigo, Silk,
and Aloes ""'

25 On thp ^--- ; .

1 oi wme 215

"28 Test of the Presence of Opium ib,

29 Denarcotized Laudanum .... ib.

30 Extraction of Morphia from Dry

Poppy Heads 216

31 Preparation of Morphia ib.

32 Easy Method of Obtaining Me-

conic Acid . . . . , 217

33 On a New Vegetable Acid . . ib.

34 Altheine, a New Vegetable

Principle ib,

35 Rheine, a New Substance from

Rhubarb 218

36 On Dragon's Blood, and a New

Substance which it contains ib.

37 Purification of Madder 219

38 On Indigo, and Indigogene . . 220

39 On the Mutual Action of

Ethers, and other Substances 221

40 Faraday's Chemical Manipu-

lation . ib.

III. Natural History.

1 On the Supposed Influence of

the Moon 222

2 Luminous Appearances in the

Atmosphere ib.

3 On the Determination of the

Mean Temperature of the
Air ...• 223

4 Indelible Writing ib,

6 Peculiar Crystals of Quartz . . . ib.
. 6 Native Iron not Meteoric .... 224

7 Native Argentiferous Gold. .. . 225

8 Protheeite, a New Mineral. . . . 226

9 Volcanic Bisulphuret of Copper ib.

10 Fall of the Lake Souwando, in

Russia 227

11 Vegetable Torpor in the Root

of the Black Mulberry Tree 228

12 Method of increasing the Odour

of Roses ib.

13 Pine Apples ib,

14 Mode of Condeasin^ Vegetable

Substances for Ship's Provi-
sions .....: 229

15 Rewards for the Discovery of

Quinia, and for Lithotrity... ib,

16 Upon the Gaseous Exhalations

of the Skin 230

17 Effects of Galvanism in Cases

of Asphyxia by submersion- ib.

18 Recovery from Drowning 231

19 Preservation of Cantharides ... ib.

20 Chloride of Lime in cases of

Burns ih.

21 Cure of Nasal Polypi. 232

22 Bite of the Viper ib.

23 Experiments on the Poison of

the Viper ib,

24 Destruction of Moles ib,

25 On growing Salad Herbs at

Sea 233

26' Chinese Method of Fattening

Fish 234

TO OUR READERS AND CORRESPONDENTS.

The drawings, illustrating the construction of a Blow-pipe, are not
sufficiently accurate to enable us to publish them. Our Correspondent
•will observe that we have noticed another part of his letter.

We regret that we are unable to offer our Correspondent, upon the
subject of Gas Works, any precise information. There can be no doubt
tliat an atmosphere tainted by coal gas is injurious to animal and vege-
table life, but much will depend upon the extent of the contamination,
and other causes, of which our hmits prevent mention. To say nothing
of danger from fire and from explosion, it has always been matter of
surprise to us that gas-works are tolerated by the government in close
and confined situations — that the Thames is suffered still to be polluted
with their offal, and that they are sometimes placed close by the road
side, (as at Brentford,) to the nuisance of every one who passes. These
matters want looking into.

Q. will find an answer to his question, in the *• Gazette of Health" for
last July.

F. R. S. must remain unanswered till after St. Andrew's Day.

Dr. Heinecken's paper is disposed of as he desired.

' Mr. Brande and Mr. Faraday will commence their Lectures and
Demonstrations in Theoretical and Practical Chemistry, in the Labo-
ratory of the Royal Institution, otz Tuesday, the 9th of October, at Nine
in the Morning precisely. Fuiiher particulars, and a Prospectus, maybe
obtained at the Royal Institution, 21, Albemarle- street, or by application
to the Lecturers.

In the Press — A Collection of Chemical Tables, for the use of
Students, in Illustration of the Theory of Definite Proportionals, in
which are shewn the Equivalent Numbers of the Elementary Sub-
stances, with the Weights and Volumes in which they combine, together
with the Composition of their most important Compounds, and the Au-
thorities for their Analysis. By William Thomas Brande.

THE

QUARTERLY JOURNAL

OF

SCIENCE, LITERATURE, AND ART,

On the Beauties contained in the Oval, and in the Elliptic
Curves, both simple and combined, generated from the same
Figure or Disk, By R. R. Reinagle, Esq., R. A,

Being the subject of a Discourse delivered at the Royal Institution of
Great Britain.

After an apposite discourse to introduce the subject, the first
course taken, was to demonstrate the advantages of understand-
ing the right use of geometrical terms in our descriptions of the
•varieties of shape, both in nature and art.

Every thing deserving the title of beautiful, and every grand
object, assume an outline of definite character : these are to be
found in the different classes of geometrical figures ; the former
in undulating fines of elliptic curves, and grandeur in angular
dispositions of figure. All motion assumes a curved direction *.
The primary and leading object of the discourse was to prove
the fact of original beauty : and that a curved line was beautiful
in an abstract point of view, free from all associations. For
this purpose there were designed many diagrams on large black
painted boards.

* A great number of geometrical diagrams were exhibited, from a
single line, to angles, squares, oblongs, circles, ovals, cones, cylinders,
spiral lines, and various serpentine lines, &c*

JULY — OCT. 1827, B

Mr.

Reinagle on the Beauties

The explanation commenced with six or more parallel lines
at equal distances, and equal length, in an horizontal position
to the eye of the audience, Fig. 1 ; and another set of the
same number of lines drawn perpendicular, Fig. 2 : these were

b;?. 1.

i^^. 2.

demonstrated to possess not the slightest character or principle
of beauty in them, either as separate lines, or collectively,
however lAany.

The next diagram consisted of six or more radiating hues
from a centre, Fig. 3, and a corresponding number in an hori*
zontal direction, but of unequal quantities ; they diminished
like a flight of steps. Fig. 4. It was then shown that the first

Fig,Z. Fig.A,

means of combining the six or more lines, which had been first
drawn, so as to please the eye, without creating any geometrical
figure, was the radiating principle. Our eye not only can. tole-
rate that union of lines, but receive the impression as pleasing
in character ; while all lines parallel to each other, being right

contained in the Oval and in the Elliptic Curves, 3

lines, and viewed as a flight of steps, or pile of planks, opposite
the observer, are disagreeable. Upon the former principle it
is, that the rays of the sun, and rays of light generally, are so
attractive and beautiful. It is from this circumstance that right
lines drawn in an inclined position to the plane of the picture,
derive an interest from the angles engendered through the
imagination.

To follow up the principle by regular steps, and to open a
clear view of the laws of beauty in lines, there were traced some
inclined right lines {Fig. 5), with a regular set of right angles
upon it, like the stems of leaves on each side. This exhibited
no sort of beauty, nor any other advantage than mere combi-*
nations of formal angles. The next diagram {Fig. 6) was an
mclined line as before, with similar angular projecting stemis,
to which were added elliptic curves on the upper side of each
branch, that produced the form of a leaf. Fig. 7 was another
inclined line, having oval curves upon it. Both these were
shown to possess principles approaching to beauty, by progres-
sive advances in combination and original structure. Fig, 8

Fig. 5.

Fig. 6. Fig. 7.

Fig. 8.

was an inclined line with the oval curves upon it ; to which a
similar addition of elliptic curves Were adjoined to the stems,

B 2

4 Mr. Reinagle on the Beauties ' '

as in Fig. G. This addition made a new advance towards
beauty. Fig. 9 commenced a more perfect principle of beauty,
having an elliptic stem with oval branches rising from it, as in
the others. If to this, the principle of gradation had been
given, the eye would prefer it ; I mean, by a scale of increase
from the top to the bottom of the projecting stems : and if there
had been superadded the external contour of a lengthened egg,
like the form of a sage leaf, we should, step by step, advance
into the region of beautiful character of exterior shape. Fig,
10 is a retrograde, showing how uncongenial angular forms are
to curved lines, when producing ornament ; at least how little
our eye can bear the angular projections from the elliptic or
oval turned stem. Fig. 11 was a curve of exactly the same
disk, with the same oval stems, to which a small serpentine

Fisr,9,

FigAO,

i^^.ll.

addition was made, expressing a leaf. Of all the last seven dia-
grams, this abounded with the greatest portion of beautiful
lines, and is indisputably the most agreeable and beautiful.
Combinations are like numericals ; many of these forms, placed
together with judgment and discretion, will attract us from the
larger proportion of beauty that meets the eye at once, like a
head of beautiful hair : one hair, however gracefully bent, can-
pot impress us like an entire lock of the hair ; nor will this

contained in the Oval and in the Elliptic Curves. 5

curl charm us as the whole will on the human head. We owe
to construction and combination all our pleasurable feelings of
beauty : no person is allured by a single feature of any species
of objects: but a thousand, or a million, arouses our anxious
notice. Thus, the last diagram of the eUiptic stem and the
foliage upon it, exhibited, by the continuity of curved lines,
the greatest approach to beauty, of all the figures presented to
the notice of the audience.

These preliminary designs opened the way for richer combi-
nations ; but the subject affording such an immense field of
variety, I confined myself to the narrowest limits, and to one
oval disk of seven inches transverse diameter, from which seven
different designs were shown on paper. The first had a variety
of serpentine lines placed at random, all produced by the disk
of the oval just named, and the confluent lines of two such>
placed side by side, or end to end. Fig, 12 ; which oval disk

was put upon the lines to prove the construction. These fines,
without expressing or forming any sort of figure, exhibit a set
of elegant curves, of varied quantities of convex and concave,
with which our eye will be more pleased than any set of right
lines similarly distributed, as in Fig. 13, which follows.

9. Mr. Reinagle on the Beauties

Fig, 13»

Two other diagrams were placed before the company, each a
circle of 12 ovals, from the same disk, revolved upon an axis,
resting upon one end of the transverse diameter, (the length-
ways of the oval,) which figure in the skeleton was a duode-
cagon. Fig. 14 is one of the diagrams ; the ovals folding re-

Fig.U.

gulaiiy over each other. By suppressing the continuity of the
oval disk, where the lines would traverse, a very pleasing figure

contained in the Oval and in the Elliptic Curves, 7

is created. It may be easily converted into foliage, and can
be amazingly varied in principle, by having fewer ovals, and
making them revolve upon an arm or continuation of a line
from the transverse diameter. Fig, 15 is the same diagram,

Fig,l5.

with all the oval lines described, which forms a figure of ele-
gant intricacy ; each member, or curvilinear subdivision, as^
sumes a most agreeable shape : the whole, at the first sight, does
not carry the evidence of being generated from the same disk.
These agreeable figures may be varied to an extraordinary ex-
•tent : the two that were presented were mere examples of some
X)f the numerous changes that any given oval disk may create.

The objects next presented, were three vases of very dis-
similar appearance, all produced from the same diagram
of the oval ; each in a separate drawing. The first was like a
Greek vase with handles ; its character established by employ-
ing certain proportions of quantities, in seven parts. The
body has four parts, the foot or pedestal one ; the neck two.
The handles were l-egulated in the position and projection by
lines drawn from the bottom of the vase, through the ovals
which compose the outline of the two sides ; and passing
through the transverse diameter. These handles were made
from an. oval that was the length of half the line of the
^transverse diameter, Fig. 16. The skeleton of angles that

a

Mr. Reinagle on the Beauties

F?g. 16.

govern the shape of this vase, is a very pretty figure of itself.
The form does not proceed from any caprice of irregularity,
but is consistent with rational organization, and symmetrical
proportions. The figure of the plate sufficiently describes the
mode of making the diagram without entering into the detail.
Fig, 17 represents a tazza with handles; the same disk is

Fig. 17,

appare nt, by the dotted lines that made the first vase. The ovals

contained inihe Oval and in the Elliptic Curves,

Fig. 18

are placed right and left of a central perpendicular line, dividing
the cup in two parts ; the transverse diameters meet in one line
parallel to the base of the tazza ; a dotted outline expresses the
angular position of the handles : the concave lip of the tazza is
made by the same oval disk, whose transverse diameter leads to
the under line of the folding edge of the cup. The leg of the
tazza is produced by the same small disk that served for the
handles of the first vase. The body of the vase and the leg
form two equal parts; the whole upper extent ought to be
seven parts, so that it is seven and two * ; the width of the
base of the leg measures two parts, and the altitude three, of
the seven parts. These proportions cannot produce any other
than agreeable appearances, apply them as we may.

The third vase, exhibited an Hebe
cup, with a handle, which presented
a totally different appearance in form
to the two previous ones. It was
proportioned by similar principles:
the larger disk made the body, in-
clined right and left upon the end of
the oval. The neck and the leg
were both made from the smaller
oval disk; the dotted lines to the
ovals of the leg sufficiently show the
fact. The handle and concave lip
of the cup were made by an appli-
cation of the same disk. The alti-
tude contained four parts. The body
two parts, the leg one part, and the
neck one other part; the handle
rises one-eighth above : every por-
tion of this figure is created by
the two disks previously named.
The foliage rises from below and
descends from above, one-fourth of the whole height of the body

* The whole extent of the tazza, includingtheprojection of the handles,
should be seven parts ; and the height of the vase two of such seven
parts, • '

10

Mr. Reinagle X)n the Beauties

to the commencement of the concavity of the neck, where the
beading runs round.

I remarked, that by adhering to regular proportional quan-
tities of 1 and 2, 3 and 5, 2 and 5, 7 and 5, 7 and 2, Sec,
and using elliptic disks or curves, very great beauties are
derived.

A skeleton of the tazza in angles was drawn on a black
painted board, together with oval disks placed upon those lines,
which clearly demonstrated the whole system of the construc-
tion. The explanation of these various diagrams necessarily
involved a circumstantial description of each created figure,
which were thoroughly analysed. Quantity and variety were
particularly dwelt upon, as absolutely necessary to the produc-
tion of perfect beauty ; equalities being unfriendly to that sym-
metry which accords with nature. Some other diagrams were
drawn, to show the inelegant appearance of radiating lines from
^e concave or convex half of an oval or an ellipse. Fig. 19 :

Fiic. 19.

but by drawing another convex half of an oval, and placing those
lines as tangents, greater beauty was formed by the alternate
changes and varieties of inclination of each tangent. Fig. 20.

Fig. 20.

This was capable of an immediate adaptation to elegant vege-

. contained in the Oval and in the Elliptic Curves, IL.

tation; a few convex and concave elliptic curves added to
each tangent, produced an ear of barley, or an ear of rye, the
elegant construction of which, is rarely noticed in our remarks
on nature, Fig, 21.

Fig, 21.

The discussion on these various designs being concluded, some
important compositions of three great and renowned painters
were produced, to corroborate what had been advanced in sup-
port of the native beauty of the oval and ellipse. Raphael's
grand composition of the dispute on the Sacrament is in three
grand oval curves.

The Doctors of the Church on the ground plan are ranged in
an oval convex line ; and the heavenly Choirs engage two con-
cave oval shapes of the same proportion, but of unequal quan-
tities. This is also a proof of a composition of parts, bearing
two to one.

The facility of expressing such a composition, by being geo-
metrical, is extremely easy.

The second illustration was the Aurora, by Guido, of the
Aldobrandini palace. This was pointed out to depend upon
an oval curve, and continued curvilinear details : the striking
beauty of this fine composition is owing to its great and simple
elliptic curve, which includes the whole group ; the attendant
hours have the principle of radiating to a centre of the oval :
thus harmonizing and uniting forms congenial both to principle
and nature.

The third grand composition was by Rubens, the Coronation
ceremony of Mary de Medicis, one of the grand Luxemburg
pictures.

This very fine composition is contained in an oval con-

12

Mr. Reinagle on the Beauties

cave curve, and the figures in several points radiate to a
centre. Some of the group pass the great leading line, but
only to the degree and with the licence that a genius can effect,
which destroys the too great, and the too palpable construction
of the composition. The allegorical figures of Fame and Genius
hovering over the royal personage, establish a centre to the
oval, which prevents a void that would have been weak in the
composition.

Three designs were next produced from Etruscan vases, to
carry the evidence further, and to show the original source of
the demonstrations of beauty in Grecian art. One was a cha-
rioteer driving a pair of magnificent horses of the highest spirit,
Fig. 22. The composition is elliptic, and serpentine within.

Fig, 22.

Mt/f

The youthful conductor of the steeds is in a crescent or
boat-shaped car, and his form is elegantly bent to meet the
action and motion ; his mantle flows behind in curved and ser-
pentine folds, expressing the wind occasioned by the velocity of
action. A more graceful or beautiful group and composition
cannot be imagined.

The next design was a female in an elegant and very gentle
serpentine action of the figure. Every portion of the outlines
was elegant, from the varied succession of convexity and con-»
cavity ; not a single angle could be traced throughout the whole

contained in the Oval and in the Elliptic Curves, 13

of this beautiful creature. She held in her left arm a very
handsome oval vase ; and in the other a sort of scarf with
ribands, all serpentine in form. By her side is placed a young
man selected from another Etruscan design.

Fig. 23.

The line of this figure was the outline of an ellipse ; it is
•perfection in every respect ; and the grace was shown to de-
pend upon gentle curved lines of convex and concave, alter-
nately blended, and confluent. The motion of ships at sea is
described in gentle elliptic curves ; the wings and plumage of
birds assume the oval and elliptic curves ; all the fibres of their
feathers have that form ; some flattened, others more rounded :
the pine-apple and numberless fruits have all an oval character
of outline.

Many4ake the character of eggs, pointed at one end, and
large and blunt at the other extremity. The leaves of trees

14 Mr. Reinagle on Oval and Elliptic Curves.

have the oval shape more than any other ; the bend of the
branches, and the whole external form of many trees is oval.

There is no form of created things which may not be found
to correspond in all its dependent shapes to ovals and ellipses
of various disks, even objects which at first sight seem to con-
tradict the possibility of meeting this system.

The lecture was closed by some extracts and quotations from
Lomazzo, Dryden, Hogarth, Du Fresnoy, and the Abbe du
Bos ; the tendency of which was to show that lines had been
mentioned, and had been written upon without any explanation
given that could lead to certain conclusions. That all these
authors attributed to supreme genius alone, and something of
the divinely inspired character in artists, the power to produce
those indescribable lines that affect the human eye so strongly.
These lines I described as belonging to the oval and the ellipsis,
and the confluent lines by conjunction and combination ; that
these indescribable lines, which from Plato to Dryden had
never been detected or obtained a name ; that puzzled all
equally alike, are those alone I attempted, and I believe
proved in this lecture, to be the elliptic combinations.

I stated that the great Greek artists confined themselves to
certain rules and principles of unerring consequences in the
production of beauty, grace, or grandeur in their figures ; that
all their compositions depended upon the same species of rule
and order. I pointed out, that fashion is in all countries the
destroyer of taste, that it unfits the mind for fixed principles ;
that where it dominates, there taste will be always fluttering
and never settle, nor have a sure dominion. The Greeks,
having no such vile tormentor to divert them from a pure course
in their progress, arrived at the summit of perfection in every
scientific pursuit, by following sure principles as their guides,
and by never abandoning a path traced by nature, and matured
by the most sublime philosophy.

15

On the Art of forming Diamonds into single Lenses for

Microscopes. — By Mr. A. Pritchard.

[Communicated by Dr. Goring.]

Of the various improvements in Microscopes originated by
Dr. Goring, that which he conceives to be the most important
is the construction of single magnifiers from adamant. The
details relative to this novel class of instruments, I have been
induced to lay before the public. Single microscopes natu-
rally aplanatic, or at least sufficiently so for practical pur-
poses, possess an incontestable superiority over all others, and
must be recognised by the scientific as verging towards the
ultimatum of improvement in magnifying glasses. The ad*
vantages obtained by the most improved compound engi-
Bcopes over single microscopes resolve themselves into the at-
tainment of vision without aberration with considerable angles
of aperture; but against this must be set the never-to-be-forgot-
ten fact, that they only show us a picture of an object instead
of nature itself; now a Diamond Lens shows us our real
object without any sensible aberration like that produced by
glass lenses ; and we are entitled, I think, to expect new dis-
coveries in miscrosopic science, even at this late period, from
very deep single lenses of adamant*. I shall not fatigue my

♦ It seems generally admitted that, within a certain range of power not
exceeding that of a lens of s'cth of an inch focus, the beauty and truth of
the vision given by the new compound microscopes cannot be equalled
by that of any single instrument, at least of glass. It is no less true,
however, that the picture of the compounds, however perfect, is not
like a real object, will not admit of amplification beyond a certain
point with advantage. Under the action of very deep eye-glasses, the
image of opaque objects especially, first loses its strong, well-deter-
mined outline— then grows soft and nebulous, and finally melts away in
shadowy confusion. Let the experiment be made of raising the power
of a compound up to that of a Jgth inch lens — then try it against the
single microscope of that power (having, of course, the utmost opening
the nature of the object viewed will permit). The observer, if open to
conviction, will soon be taught the superior efficacy of the latter — for it
will show the lines on the dust of Menelaus with such force and viva*-
city, that they will always be apparent without any particular manage^
merit of the light— nor can their image be extinguished by causing the
illumination to be directed truly through the axis of the lens (as it al-
uays may in the compounds), A due consideration of the teeth and
inequalities on the surface of a human hair, together with the transverse

16 Mr. Pritchard on Diamond

readers by describing the difficulties which were encountered
in the prosecution of the design of making diamond lenses.
Nature does not seem to permit us to produce any thing of
surpassing excellence without proportional effort, and I shall
simply say, that in its infancy the project of grinding and
polishing the refractory substance of Adamant was far more
hopeless than that of making achromatic glass lenses of 0.2 of
an inch focus. I conceive it just to state that Messrs. Rundell
and Bridge, of Ludgate-hill, had, at the time of the com-
mencement of my labours, many Dutch diamond cutters at
work, and that the foreman, Mr. Levi, with all his men, assured
me, that it was impossible to work diamonds into spherical
curves ; the same opinion was also expressed by several others
who were considered of standard authority in such matters.

Notwithstanding this discouragement, in the summer of
the year 1824, I was instigated by Dr. Goring (at his ex-
pense) to undertake the task of working a diamond lens ;
(being then under the tuition of Mr. C. Varley, who was
however at that time absent.) For this purpose, Dr. G,
forwarded to me a brilliant diamond, which, contrary to the
expectation of many, was at length ground into a spherical

connecting fibres between the lines on the scales of the curculio imperialism
viewed as opaque objects, will suffice to complete the illustration of the
subject ; though the last object is not to be well seen by that kind of light
which is given by silver cups — and a single lens of e^gth inch focus can
of course have no other. The effectiveness and penetrating faculties of
simple magnifiers are invariably increased by an accession of power
however great — that of compounds seems to be deteriorated beyond cer-
tain limits. An opinion may be hazarded that the achromatics and reflec-
tors yet made do not really surpass the efficacy of equivalent single lenses ^
even of glass, when their power exceeds that of a 5^0 th lens, from 201th to
4'oth the vision may be about equal — but from ^'oth upwards infinitely
inferior.

The superior light of the single refraction can need no comment — and
it is evident that there must be a degree of power at which that of the
compounds will become too dim and feeble for vision, — while that of the
single instrument will still retain a due intensity. For these reasons it
is conceived that the close and penetrating scrutiny of lenses of diamond
of perhaps only the ^ioth inch focus, and an equal aperture (which their
very low aberration would easily admit of,) must enable us to see further
into the arcana of nature than we have yet been empowered to do. Glass
globules of 5U(jth inch focus and indeed much deeper have been executed ;
but the testimony of lenses of diamond would certainly be far more re-
spectable, and is at least worthy of trial and examination. — C. R. G.

Lenses for Microscopes, 17

figure, and examined by Mr. Levi, who expressed great
astonishment at it, and added that he was not acquainted with
any means by which that ligure could have been effected :
unfortunately this stone was irrecoverably lost. Mr. Varley
having returned from the country, becoming now thoroughly
heated with the project, permitted me to complete another
diamond, which had been presented to me by Dr. G. : this
is a plano-convex of about ihe^^jth of an inch focus : it was
not thought advisable to polish it more than sufficed to enable
us to see objects through it, because several flaws, before
invisible, made their appearance in the process of polishing.
In spite of all its imperfections, it plainly convinced us of the
superiority which a perfect diamond lens would possess by its
style of performance, both as a single magnifier and as the
object lens of a compound microscope. After the completion
of my articles with Mr. V., being entirely under my own com-
mand, I devoted some time to the formation of a perfect
diamond lens, and have at length succeeded in completing a
double convex of equal radii of about ^th of an inch focus,
bearing an aperture of ^yh of an inch with distinctness on
opaque objects, and its entire diameter on transparent ones ;
it was finished at the conclusion of last year. The date of its
final completion has by many been considered a remarkable
epoch in the history of the microscope, being the first perfect
one ever made or thought of in any part of the world*. I think
it sufficient to say of this adamantine lens that it gives vision
with a trifling chromatic aberration, but in other respects
exceedingly like that of Dr. G.'s Amician reflector, but
without its darkness: for it is quite evident that its light
must be superior to that of any compound microscope whatever,
acting with the same power and the same angle of aperture.
The advantage of seeing an object without aberration by

* In Dr. Brewster's treatise on new Philosophical instruments, Book 5,
chan. 2, Pag^e 403— Account of a new compound Microscope for objects
of Natural History — is the followinjr passage : *' We cannot therefore ex-
*' pect any essential improvement in the single microscope, unless from
I* the discovery of some transparent substance, which like the diamond
*' combines a high refractive with a low dispersive power." From which
it seems certain that the Doctor never contemplated the possibility of
working upon the substance of the diamond, though he must have been
aware of its valuable properties.

JULY— OCT. 1827. C

18 Mr. Pritchard on Diamond

the interposition of but a single magnifier, instead of looking
at a picture of it (however perfect) with an eye-glass, must
surely be duly appreciated by every person endowed with
ordinary reason. It requires little knowledge of optics to be
convinced that the simple unadulterated view of an object must
enable us to look farther into its real texture, than we can see
by any artificial arrangement whatever ; it is like seeing an
action performed instead of a scenic representation of it, or
being informed of its occurrence by the most indisputable and
accurate testimony.

Previous to grinding a diamond into a spherical figure, it is
absolutely necessary that it should be ground flat, and parallel
on both sides (if not a Laske or plate diamond), so that we
may be enabled to see through it, and try it as opticians try a
piece of flint glass : without this preparatory step, it will be ex-
tremely dangerous to commence the process of grinding, for
many diamonds give a double, or even a species of triple refrac-
tion, forming two or three images of an object ; this polariza-
tion of the light, arising from the primitive form of the crystal,
of course totally unfits them for making lenses*. I need not
observe, that it must he chosen of the finest water, and free
from all visible flaws when examined by a deep magnifier. It
was extremely fortunate for diamond lenses that the first made
was free from the defect of double vision, otherwise diamonds
en masse might at once have been abandoned as unfit for opti-
cal purposes. The cause why some stones give single vision,
and others several peculiar refractions, may also arise from
different degrees of density or hardness occurring in the same
stone. Diamond-cutters are in the habit of designating stones
male and female, sometimes a he and she (as they have it)
are united in the same gem, — their he means merely a hard
stone, and their she a soft one. When a diamond which will
give several refractions is ground into a spherical figure and
partially polished, it is seen by the microscope to exhibit a

* There are fourteen different crystalline forms of the diamond, and of
this number, from the laws which govern the polarization of light, the
octohedron and truncated cube are probably the only ones that will give
single vision. It is unfortunately very difficult to procure rough dia-
monds in this coimtry, so we are compelled to use stones already cut,
and to subject them to trial in the way mentioned in the text.

Lenses for Microscopes. 19

peculiar appearance of an aggregation of minute shivery cris-
tallized flaws, sometimes radiated and sometimes in one direc-
tion, which can never be poHshed out : I beheve I could dis-
stinguish with certainty a bad lens from a good one by this
phenomenon without looking through it*. Precious stones,
from their crystalized texture, are liable to the same defects for
optical purposes as diamonds.

Having ascertained the goodness of a stone it must next be pre-
pared for grinding ; it will in many cases be advisable to make
diamond lenses plano-convex, both because this figure gives a
very low aberration, and because it saves the trouble of grinding
one side of the stone. It must never be forgotten, that it may
be possible to neutralize the naturally low spherical aberration
of a diamond lens by giving it an improper figure, or by the
injudicious position of its sides in relation to the radiant.
When the lens is to be plano-convex, cause the flat side to be
polished as truly plane as possible, without ribs or scratches ;
for this purpose the diamond should be so set as to possess the
capability of being turned round, that the proper direction with
respect to the laminae may be obtained : when the flat side is
completed, let the other side be worked against another dia-
mond, so as to be brought into a spherical figure by the abra-
sion of its surface. When this is accomplished, a concave tool
of cast iron must be formed of the required curve in a lathe,
having a small mandril of about j^ths of an inch in diameter,
and a velocity of about 60 revolutions per second ! The dia-
mond must now be fixed by a strong hard cement (made of
equal parts of the best shell lac and pumice-stone powder, care-
fully melted together without burning) to a short handle, and
held by the fingers against the concave tool while revolving.
This tool must be paved by diamond povvder, hammered into it
by an hardened steel convex punch : vvhen the lens is uniformly
ground all over, very fine sifted diamond-dust carefully washed
in oil must be applied to another iron concave tool (I may here
remark, that of all the metals which I have used for this pur-
pose soft cast iron is decidedly to be preferred) : this tool must

* As many amateurs of science might take an interest in the inspection
of the pecuhar etfect these lenses have on transmitted light, I shall be
happy to exhibit them, as also the pertfect lens.

C 2

20 Mr. Pritchard on Diamond

be supplied with the finest washed powder till the lens is com-
pletely polished. During the process of grinding, the stone
should be examined by a magnifying lens, to ascertain whether
the figure is truly spherical ; for it sometimes will occur that
the edges are ground quicker than the centre, and hence it will
assume the form of a conoid, and thus be rendered unfit for
microscopic purposes.

The spherical aberration of a diamond lens is extremely small,
and when compared with that of a glass lens the difference is
rendered strikingly apparent. This diminution of error in the
diamond arises from the enormous refractive power possessed
by this brilliant substance, and the consequent increase of am-
plification, with very shallow curves. The longitudinal aberra-
tion of a plano-convex diamond lens is only 0.955, while that of
a glass one of the same figure is 1.166 ; both numbers being
enumerated in terms of their thickness, and their convex surfaces
exposed to parallel rays. But the indistinctness produced by
lenses, arises chiefly from every mathematical point on the sur-
face of an object being spread out into a small circle ; these
circles, intermixing with each other, occasion a confused view
of the object. Now this error must necessarily be in the ratio
of the areas of these small circles, which being respectively as
the squares of their diameters, the lateral error produced by
a diamond lens will be 0.912, while that of a glass lens of like
curvature is 2.775 ; but the magnifying power of the diamond
lens will be to that of the glass as 8 to 3, their curves being
similar ; (or, in other words, the superficial amplification of an
object, with the perfect diamond lens before mentioned, is
22500 times, while a similar magnifier, made of glass, amplifies
only 3136 times, reckoning 6 inches as the standard of distinct
vision :) thus the diamond will enable us to gain more power
than it is possible to procure by lenses of glass, for the focal
distance of the smallest glass lens which can be well made is
about the jr^Qih. of an inch, while that of a diamond, worked in
the same tools, would be only the -^Jo^h of an inch.

If we wish to compare the aberrations of the two lenses when
of equal power, the curvature of the glass must be increased ;
and as it is well known the lateral aberration increases inversely
as the square of the radius, (the aperture and position remain-

Lenses for Microscopes. 21

ing the same,) the aberration of the diamond lens will only be
about -j^th of that produced by the glass one, even when their
thickness is the same ; but as the curvature of the diamond is
less, the thickness may be greatly diminished.

The chromatic dispersion of the adamant being nearly as low
as that of water, its effects in small lenses can barely be appre-
ciated by the eye, even in the examination of that valuable class
of test objects, which require enormous angles of aperture to be
rendered visible, which it is evident must be of easier attainment
by diamond magnifiers than by any other sort of microscope.

A mathematical investigation of the spherical aberration of
the diamond when formed into lenses, I hope to lay before the
public at a future opportunity. The comparative numbers
here taken from the longitudinal aberration are, I believe,
sufficiently accurate for practical purposes.

18, Picket' Street i Strand,

Analysis of a newly -discovered Spring, at Stanley, near
Wakefield,^-By Mr. William West.

Mineral springs, dependent for their characteristic properties
on carbonate of soda, appear to have been little noticed by
chemists, and to have been still less attended to as curative
means ; at least in proportion to the multitude of cases in which
that substance is administered in various other forms. Indeed
the inference to be drawn from the silence respecting the
modes of analysis adapted to such waters in our best elementary
treatises, is that they have hitherto been very seldom met with.
In one district, however, of Yorkshire, carbonate of soda is of
frequent occurrence ; it is found in the ordinary springs ; often
at the same time with substances with which, in artificial solu-
tions, or when concentrated, it. would be considered wholly
incompatible ; while at other times it is the predominant, or
the only remarkable saline constituent. An analysis of a water
of this kind, known by the name of the Holbeck Spa, has
lately been published in the Annals of Philosophy, by my friend
E. S. George; similar springs are found, I understand, as far^

22 Mr. West on a newly 'discovered Spring

westward as Bradford ; they are numerous from the borings
in and near Holbeck ; while eight miles south, a water si-
milar in its character, but differing in containing about twice
as much alkali iu the same measure, has been discovered at
Stanley.

About two miles from Wakefield, near the Aberford or York
road, is an ancient mansion called Hatfield Hall ; near the
park or inclosure of which, in boring for coal, the spring in
question suddenly gushed up, when the workmen had got to
the depth of eighty yards, and has continued to run spontane-
ously, in all seasons, at the rate of six gallons per minute.

The water at the spring is limpid and very sparkling ; the
portion which is allowed to escape, deposits upon the trough
and in the channel through Avhich it runs a quantity of sulphur ;
the smell is that of sulphuretted hydrogen ; the taste, from the
stimulus of the bubbles of gas modifying the softness of the
alkali, rather pleasant than otherwise.

The appearances presented by re-agents are, —

With tincture of soap, a slight opalescence.

Nitrate of silver, an abundant precipitate, partially re-dis-
solved by pure nitric acid.

Sulphate of silver, a precipitate only partially soluble in
nitric or acetic acid.

Muriate of barytes, a slight precipitate.

Lime-water, a precipitate soluble with effervescence in acetic
acid.

Oxalate of ammonia, no precipitate.

On boiling, a slight pellicle appeared, soluble in nitric acid.

Carbonate of ammonia, no precipitate, nor any on the sub-
sequent addition of phosphate of soda.

The water restored the colour of Ktmus paper slightly
reddened.

With tincture of galls and ferrocyanate of potash, no change.

With muriate of lime, the water remained unchanged until
heated ; but when boiled, a copious precipitate took place.

When concentrated by boiling, the water reddened turmeric
paper, and effervesced strongly on the addition of an acid.

Nitromuriate of platina produced no precipitate, however
concentrated the water might be.

at Stanley, near Wakefield. W

The results of the previous experiments indicate the pre-
sence of

Soda, Lime in small proportion,

Muriatic acid. No magnesia,

Sulphuric acid, No iron.

Carbonic acid. No potash.

A. To ascertain the proportion of sulphuric acid, sixteen
ounces by measure, previously saturated by acetic acid, were
treated with muriate of barytes ; the precipitate, washed and
dried, weighed one grain ; this indicates, in the imperial gallon,
3.2 grains of sulphuric acid, equivalent to 5.8 sulphate of soda,
dry, or 13 grains crystalHzed.

B. For the muriatic acid ; nitrate of silver, added to six-
teen ounces of the water boiled, and the alkali previously satu-
rated, gave a precipitate weighing 2.8 grains ; reduced to the
proportion in the imperial gallon, this amounts to 26.9 grains
chloride of silver, equivalent to 11 grains chloride of sodium
(muriate of soda. )

C. The crystalline pellicle separated from a pint of sixteen
ounces, on boiling, weighed 0.2 grains.

This was carbonate of lime ; but in the water the lime would
be combined with muriatic acid, forming 0.22 ; or, in the impe-
rial gallon, 2.1 dry chloride, or 3.75 crystallized muriate of
hme.

D. The precipitate formed on boiling with muriate of lime,
weighed from the pint, 3.6 grains ; from the imperial gallon, 34.6
grains ; showing the water to contain in that quantity a car-
bonated alkali equivalent to 53 grains of dry, or 59.5 crystal-
lized bi-carbonate of soda.

E. Muriate of barytes, added to the water left on evapo-
rating sixteen ounces to two, gave a precipitate weighing 8.2
grains ; deducting one grain for sulphate of barytes, as found
in experiment A, we have 7.2 carbonate of barytes ; this indi-
cates in the gallon 53 grains of dry, and 59.5 of crystallized
carbonate of soda, as in the last experiment.

Lastly, a pint of sixteen ounces of the water, evaporated to
dryness, furnished in three trials of saline residuum, weighed
after short exposure to a. dull red heat, six grains, or 57.6 from

the im

perial gallon,

sist of

5,

.8

11.

1

^9

18

/7

38

.9

24; Mr. West on a 7iewly -discovered Spring

Now we have seen that this would con-
Dry sulphate of soda (exp. A).
Chloride of sodium ( — B).
Carbonate of lime ( — C).

57.6

The remainder, 38.9, having been converted by the heat into
proto-carbonate of soda, is equivalent to 54.5 dry, 61 grains
crystallized bi-carbonate, agreeing nearly with the quantities
found from experiments D and E.

Following, as 1 do, that doctrine which supposes the bases
to be distributed among the acids in a mineral water in the
combinations which possess the greatest solubility, we must
suppose the lime to be in the state of muriate ; we shall then
have to diminish the muriate, and increase the carbonate of
soda: so that on this view, the saline constituents of an imperial
gallon, in the state in which they exist in the water, are, —

Soda in combination with carbonic acid, equivalent to

Bi-carbonate or super-car--^

bonate of soda /^^ S^' ^^' ^^'^ crystallized

Sulphate of soda . 5.8 ditto 13 ditto

Muriate of soda (chloride 1 ^ ^^ ,. ^ „^

f. ,. X ^ I 8.75 ditto 8.75 ditto

or sodium) . j

Muriate of hme . , 2.1 ditto 3.75 ditto

The gaseous contents of the water consist of variable pro-
portions of carbonic acid^ sulphuretted hydrogen, and carburet-
ted hydrogen ; the latter gas is continually emitted from the
spring, in greater quantity than the water can absorb ; and a
portion of the other two also escapes from its surface. I have
made many experiments on the gas, separated by boiling; but
find the results, as I might anticipate, altogether inconclusive
and uncertain. In waters containing, as at Harrogate, these
gases with muriates or sulphates, boiling may be expected
almost wholly to disengage them ; but in this case the affinity
of the soda in dilute solution, is likely to retain the carbonic

at Stanley, near Wakefield, * 28K

acid, and even to cause a decomposition of the sulphuretted
hydrogen, so as to prevent our obtaining, in a gaseous form, the
quantity really existing in the water, and imparting to it sen-
sible or medicinal properties.

On the subject of medicinal qualities I am at all times
cautious of giving an opinion : but I may observe, first, that as
this spring is dissimilar to any of those which have already at-
tained celebrity, so none of them can form a substitute for
this ; it is not Harrogate, or Cheltenham, or Buxton, or Tun-
bridge water : the alkaline springs of the West Riding, of which
this is by far the strongest, stand as medicinal waters hitherto
alone ; the active ingredient, the bi-carbonate of soda, being
spoken of in chemical works, as ** rarely found in mineral
waters."

Secondly, from the known properties of this substance, car-
bonate of soda, and the frequency of its administration in a
long train of arthritic, calculous and dyspeptic complaints, the
water must be highly useful as an anti-acid and as a diuretic ;
and as the advantages which native mineral waters possess
over artificial solutions of the substances, in the great degree
of dilution, and the impregnation with gases, and still mor^ in
the adjuncts of leisure, exercise, pure air, regulated diet and
early rising, are of especial consequence in the latter very nu-
merous class of diseases, those called stomach and nervous
complaints ; we may fairly suppose that such a spring will be
found to be a valuable addition to those previously known,
applying, as it does, to cases of such frequent occurrence.

Observations on the State of Naval Construction in this

Country.

It appears that there is at present a tendency to improvement
in every branch of science ; monopoly in intellect may now
be said to be vanishing ; and empiricism is obliged to seek dark
corners, to escape the light which is penetrating into regions
from which it had but very lately been excluded. The admi-
nistration, too, encourages advance of knowledge ; yet notwith-
standing these favourable circumstances, there still exists, in

26 Observations on the State of

some minds, an inaptitude of scientific perception, which induces
unwiUingness to acknowledge the advantage that results from
the application of the exact sciences to the useful arts.

This neglect of scientific principles is nowhere more manifest
than in the affairs of naval architecture, and it is not confined
to the Royal Navy, but extends also to our mercantile shipping ;
and hence it is that our commercial marine is in some respects
behind foreign nations, especially the Americans, in the forma-
tion of its ships : our merchantmen are, almost without excep-
tion, the most unsafe* and slowest ships in the world. The
ship-owners, therefore, would do well to consider this circum-
stance, and endeavour to devise means of introducing science
into the merchant yards. The establishment of the new
university in the metropolis affords an opportunity of doing
it at a comparatively small expense, by the foundation of
Lectures on the theory of Naval Architecture ; and the
support even of a separate institution in the vicinity of the
merchant yards of this great port, for the education of ship
surveyors, would soon be repaid by the improved character of
our merchant shipping.

If the science of Naval Architecture depend on certain
physico-mathematical laws, as no doubt it does, it is monstrous
to imagine for a moment that such laws can be developed by
a flight of fancy, or that a man is born with unintuitive optical
perception of the lines of least resistance, &c., or, in the jargon
of the craniologists, that he has a naval-architectural bump on
his skull ; yet one would think that such was the case, when
we see men, we cannot say philosophers, start up and loudly
assert that they are in possession of the secret of construction ;
and they are believed because their hypotheses are never sub-
mitted to the examination of those who are capable of detecting
their fallacy.

The Experimental Squadrons have, with a multitude of per-
plexing results, elicited, it must be confessed, at least an
interesting fact, viz. that there has been an establishment
seventeen years in this country, in Portsmouth dockyard, for
the scientific education of naval architects, for the Royal

■ * By referring to Lloyd's List, it will appear, upon a moderate average,
that three English merchant vessels are lost every two days ?

Naval Construction in this Country, if§^

Navy.* From the plan of education, as laid down by the
Commissioners of Naval Revision in 1810, it appears that, to a
requisite knowledge of the practice of their profession, the
gentlemen composing this body of naval constructors unite a
sound and competent one of its theory^.

It can only be from such a source that we can look for the
improvement of our men of war, and it is to be regretted that
every means should not be taken to avail ourselves of it : but
unhappily such is the force of prejudice that, unless some alter-
ation should be adopted in this institution, it will be in vain to
expect advantage from it.

The objection urged against this establishment, namely, that
the scientific education it gives to its members precludes them
from the attainment of a due knowledge of the practical con-
struction of our ships, is so absurd, that none but weak or
jealous minds could ever have brought it forward. Shall it be
laid down, in the present age, as an axiom, that a profound
ignorance of the principles of his art is the one thing essential
to the formation of what is generally meant by the term '* prac-
tical man ?" We contend that, having made, in vain,^ a long
and most indulgent trial of a system without science, if we may
use such an expression, we must extend to one in alliance with
it, a like patronage, before we can be allowed to pronounce a
fair and legitimate judgment upon its efficiency.

But even in the peculiar path in which the naval architects
educated at Portsmouth might be supposed to excel, we do not
find that any opportunity is allowed them to come forward, nor
shall we see this until some effort is made by the heads of our
naval departments, to allow a broad and open competition to
take place. It may be urged, that the learned Professor at
Portsmouth (Dr. Inman) in himself includes all that can have

* See No. 11. of the Naval and Military Magazine, published in June
last.

t This will be readily acknowledged by those who will choose to read
the " Papers on Naval Architecture," and the *' Essays and Gleanings
on Naval Architecture," two periodical works proceeding from the mem-
bers of this institution.

% See the Third Report of the Commissioners of Naval Revision, and
the Resolutions of the Society for tlie Improvement of Naval Architec-
ture, in which the old system of providino; ship-builders for the Royal
Navy i| condemned in the most unqualified terms.

28 Observations on the State of

possibly been taught or understood in the establishment over
which he presides, and that therefore he is the representative
of it in the late and present trials for the palm of excellence ;
but we cannot by any means assent to this : many of the
students must have left his tuition seven, eight, and nine years,
and must be between thirty and forty years of age ; and it
would be strange indeed, if during such ^ period, and in the
prime of life and intellect, some of these, if not all, had not
cultivated the science after their own bent of mind, and formed
original ideas on the subject : we say, therefore, that Dr.
Inman's constructions cannot be called the production of the
establishment — they are merely the effort of one man, whose
attention it appears is distracted by a multiplicity of occupations,
and can only, along with the vessels of Capts. Symonds, Hayes,
and Sir R. Seppings, be deemed criterions of the particular
views of an individual.

Mysticism and ignorance always accompany each other ;
and we may reckon that in proportion as the latter disap-
pears from amongst our ship-builders, so will the absurd
vagaries of the former recede, and the subject be placed
at last on the true principles of philosophical induction,
instead of the caprices of imagination. We look forward,
therefore, to this new body of naval architects for the expulsion
of all quackery from their profession, and for the exposition
not only of what we really do know, but also of what we do not
know about it : this is the only way to arrive at truth, which
should be the sole object of all investigation ; but which we
are afraid has hitherto been sadly garbled and perverted
wherever it has had to do with naval architecture in this
country.

But we repeat that we do not see that the nation is at all
likely to benefit from the science or exertions of those gentle-
men so long as they are placed in situations where a superior
education can have no other effect than producing disgust and
chagrin in the mind of the possessor ; and if the institution at
Portsmouth be designed for no better purpose than that of
supplying house-carpenters, joiners, and still more inferior
trades, with foremen, it had better be abolished. Some would
regard it, as at present used, as a gross mockery on the public

Naval Construction in this Country, 29

at whose expense it is supported ; it is certainly a cruel one
of those who have been induced, by the fair and brilliant pros-
pects held out to them of support and encouragement, to devote
their lives to this branch of the public service.

But to return to the Experimental Squadron : it is with regret
that we must conclude, upon a careful consideration, that,
although the experiments are carried on with so much vigour
and interest, they are evidently founded on imaginative views,
and that there cannot exist any thing like legitimate data where
so many failures and anomalous results obtain. Who can read
the account of the first Experimental Squadron^*, without im-
mediately perceiving that the constructors of the contending
vessels, however sanguine each might have been of the success
of his particular fancy, met with nothing but the most perplex-
ing results ? We see sometimes one and sometimes the other
vessel claim the palm of excellence, and finally leaving the sub-
ject as much in the dark as ever. This is the natural conse-
quence of the non-application of inductive philosophy to the
question before us, and the most important conclusion that can
be gathered from the experiment is, that we have begun at the
wrong end, and that it is high time to employ analysis instead
of synthesis to effect the desired objects : for in the present
state of the theory of naval construction in this country, there
are yet no data existing to effect with precision and confidence
the synthetical composition of a ship.

We cannot refrain here from noticing the paucity of informa-
tion contained in the reports hitherto made on the first Experi-
mental Squadron. The best one* is but little removed from a
ship's log book, and in some respects is inferior to it : it is of
such a scanty nature, that we can scarcely inform ourselves on
any point, and that only in a relative degree, of the qualities of
the vessels composing it : we cannot find out any mention of
their absolute velocities on the different points of sailing, which
is a most important omission. We are neither informed in what
way the observations were conducted, whether they were made
simultaneously or not : unless the former, any attempt at com-
parison must be very doubtful, if not entirely fallacious. Cir-
cumstances of wind and weather may very widely alter in the

♦ Vide No. 1 of the Papers on Naval Architecture.

30 Observations on the State of

course of a short time, and every endeavour at legitimate ana-
logy be destroyed by such variation. We strongly suspect that
this is one cause of perplexity ; and another prolific one is the
vague idea given of the strength of winds by nautical language.
Nothing but the determinations of the anemometer should ever
be allowed to appear in an account of such experiments. Every
circumstance attendant on the quantity and trim of sail, the
heeling, the rolling and pitching of the ship, position of the
rudder, &c. should be accurately ascertained and tabulated ;
for it is next to an impossibility and a wilful waste of time to
attempt to institute comparisons without pursuing a system of
tabulated results, which should be kept in the same form on
board each ship.

We must also express our regret that the scientific professor
at Portsmouth does not appear to have ascertained the position
of the centre of gravity of any of his ships, with regard to
height, by the simple and easy experiment long known in prin-
ciple, and described lately with geometrical rigidity in two or
three publications by some of his pupils*. The knowledge of
the position of this point would have placed him so far above
his competitors, in so many important particulars, that we are
surprised he should have thrown away his advantage, and de-
scended to a level with his less scientific opponents. We are
afraid that, here again, imaginative views have stepped in, and
taken the sober mathematician from the only path by which
excellence can be attained. We are at a loss to conceive how
the stabilities of his ships can be said to be ascertained without
the knowledge of the position of this point.

Some of the obscurity which pervades this difficult subject
may be overcome, as to broad and general principles, by atten-
tively and coolly observing the progress of marine architecture,
since the introduction of cannon into naval warfare, and more
particularly during the last century and a half We shall then
clearly perceive that the French, who, as early as the beginning
of the reign of Louis XIV., employed men of first-rate talent
in their naval arsenals, and neglected no opportunity for the

* Vide Annals of Philosophy, for November, 1826 ; No. 1 of the
Papers on Naval Architecture, and No. 11 of the Essays and Glean-
ings on Naval Architecture.

Natal Construction in this Country^ .'^

advancement of science in them, increased and kept increasing
the dimensions of their ships, more especially the length, thie
ratio of which to the breadth has been augmented by them from
about 3:^.1, to 4.1 within the last century. While this princi-
ple was acted on, the improvement of their ships was gradual ;
and by referring to our own progress in the art, in tardy imita-
tion of the practice of the French, we shall likewise conclude
that our navy has derived precisely similar advantages from the
same causes. Here we have at once two grand but concurring re-
sults derived from an experiment, not made on one or half a dozen
different vessels, but on the whole navies of the two most pow-
erful maritime states in the world : and if to these we choose to
add the result of the practice of the same means on the Spa-
nish and other navies, we might surely be warranted in saying,
from this broad but certain analysis of facts, that, in relation
to the hull, the general increase of dimensions, with a greater
relative length, is one cause of the improvements that have
been made in the sea-going qualities of the ships composing
the fleets of the present maritime powers : the question there-
fore that remains to be decided on in relation to this principle
is, whether we have arrived at its utmost practicable limits, or
rather, whether we have arrived at the maximum of improve-
ment it is capable of producing.

This brings us again to the experimental squadrons, as far as
they are connected with, and illustrative of, our observations ;
and the first question naturally put forward about them is,
whether there be any thing very peculiar in the formation or
dimensions of the rival vessels ? We suspect that the answer
cannot otherwise than disclose, that neither in principle, dimen-
sions, nor in the formation, can they be said to differ very ma-
terially from each other, or from ships of the common construc-
tion : indeed we perceive in some a retrogression of ideas and
a violation of the principle, that the increase of the ratio of the
length to the breadth, in conjunction with a general increase of
dimensions, has been a predominant cause of improvement.
The fact also of so immaterial a difference necessarily includes
a system of masting and sails equally confined, and totally ina-
dequate to produce any great superiority of sailing over ships
to which they are so nearly equal in principal dimensions.

32 . Observations on the State of

' After so many years of trial with the present nearly invaria-
ble set of principal dimensions, during which period it may be
said, that every possible contour of hull has been experimented
on with them, we are inclined to think that almost all has been
done that could be done under such restrictions, and that some
great step must be made in one or other of the principal dimen-
sions themselves, with correspondent alterations in the masting,
before Ave can expect to see a decided and great improvement
in the sailing of our ships. The depth is an element which has
arrived at its limit from very apparent external causes ; but the
length and breadth remain to the skilful constructor without any
such clogs to his endeavours; and he has only to accommodate
their relation to each other in the manner most conducive to ve-
locity, which in our opinion is the very capital object of naval
construction, both in ships of war and of commerce. That it is so
in the former, no one will, we apprehend, on due reflection deny ;
but there will be many who will assert that it cannot be ob-
tained, in the latter, without a sacrifice of capacity, which will
defeat the object of carrying large cargoes : to this we may
reply, that if a vessel with an expense of one quarter the capa-
city can make three voyages instead of two, will not the mer-
chant be still a considerable gainer in capacity, and still more
so by a ready return of his capital* ?

AH observations on well-conducted experiments concur in
proving that velocity is gained by increasing the length, to a
much greater degree in relation to the breadth, than has ever yet
been done in ships ; and that the increase of the same element
contributes to their weathering powers is too obvious to need in-
sisting upon : it is also generally advantageous, when not carried
to an extent which would seriously retard the manoeuvring of the
ship. This limit has not yet by any means been determined ;
for it must be recollected, that although the additional length
increases the resistance to rotation about a vertical axis, yet
the power of the sails to give rotation about the same is also
increased, although not in so high a ratio. The power of the
rudder to produce rotation is also greater in a long ship than in

* Foreign nations, and more particularly the Americans, find their
advantage in having swiil merchant ships, and therefore our assertion is
warranted by facts.

Naval Construction in this Country. 33

a short one, not only on ax:count of the greater distance it Is from
the axis of rotation, but also on account of the greater velocity,
and the more direct impulse of the water on it.

The increase of the ratio of the length to the breadth to pro-
duce velocity should not interfere with the increase of breadth
necessary to produce stability or capacity ; for both these qua-
lities, varying as higher powers of the breadth, a very small in-
crease of breadth may be attended with a considerable increase
of length. If we compare the Caledonia's (120 guns) dimen-
sions with those of the Royal George and Queen Charlotte*,
of 1788 and 1789, we shall find, that 13 or 14 times as much
length as breadth has been added to the first rates of our navy.
If we refer to the dimensions of the Commerce de Marseilles,
and those of the next preceding three-decker of the French
navy (for instance, the Ville de Parisf , taken in Lord Rodney's
action), we shall find that the French naval architects gave in
her 21 times as much increase to the length as to the breadth.
If this could be done with safety in a three-decked ship, with
such a vast top weight, much more could it be carried advan-
tageously into effect in ships of two decks, and frigates ; but we do
not find, in the latter classes of the ships of the French navy, the
increase of length to go beyond six times that of the breadth.
If we refer to the Old Bellerophon, built in 1772, and the New
Bellerophon, built in 1819, we shall find an increase of 24 feet
in length, to 1.58 feet increase of breadth ; or the former more
than 15 times the latter J.

To those who oppose the objection that a greater length than
at present used would make the manoeuvring of a ship too
slow, we answer, that as the Caledonia and the present first
rates of our navy, although from 10 to 15 feet longer than
our two-deckers, are found to be capital ships in this respect,
there is a sure ground to believe, that the addition of 20 feet in
length to the present two-deckers would not render their cele-

* Caledonia, lens^th 205 feet, breadth 53.5 ; Royal George, len^h 187
feet, breadth 52.33 feet ; Queen Charlotte, length 190 feet, breadth 52.33
feet.

t Ville de Paris, length 185.62 feet ; breadth 52.7 feet ; Commerce de
Marseilles, length 208.33 feet, breadth 54.79 feet.

% Old Bellerophon, length 168 feet, breadth 47.33 feet; New Bellero-
phon, length 192 feet, breadth 49 feet.

JULY — OCT. 1827. D

Si Observations on the State of

rity of evolution less than that of the three-decker ; and since,
from the reduction of weight aloft, the centre of gravity would
be lowered, and the displacement required to be less, a some-
what smaller breadth might be allowed to a two-decked ship of
206 feet long, than to one of 196 feet (especially since the
quantity of sail, remaining the same, is lowered by one whole
depth between deck), a smaller midship section would be, ccsteris
paribus f required ; the velocity of this ship might be consider-
ably increased. Nothing however can be precisely determined
on, with such a complication of circumstances, beyond a general
idea. Calculation and a strict analysis of ships must be re-
sorted to, in order to fill up the outline of our reasoning.

But for the same reason that we imagine that an addition of
20 or perhaps 40 feet would not sensibly injure the celerity of
manoeuvring of our two-deckers, we should think that the same
increase of this dimension might be tried without much risk to
our first rates, with an increase of breadth not exceeding -gi^th
part that is given to the length.

We repeat that the very capital object of the science of
Naval Construction is velocity ^ and we are decidedly of opinion
that it is attainable in a much higher degree than at present,
without compromising other necessary qualities, for which we
have the concurrence of facts as far as they gd.

* The Anglo-Americans, in the last war, took every possible
advantage suggested by views similar to those we have been
adverting to, in the construction of their large frigates. They
had, it may be said, to create a martial navy, and they had to
oppose it against fearful odds ; but, free from the prejudices
and errors so blindly cherished by their opponents, and which
constantly oppose reform by always declaring the present prac-
tice to be the best, they did not retread the old path, but began
at its last step, and boldly advanced on this principle into all
the branches of the art. They built vessels upon the most en-
larged dimensions, and of a superior weight of metal, and gave
an increased ratio of length to the breadth. The result of such
a procedure, justified the confidence of the American naval
architects in only one maxim, founded upon the scientific ob-
servation of facts, and may give us a faint idea of what might
be effected by a still more enlarged and mathematical analysis.

Naval Construction in this Country. wo

Our frigates were so inferior to theirs in every way, that they
brought nothing but disasters iipon us, excepting in the action
between the Shannon and Chesapeake, and one or two others,
where, assured by their previous successes, our gallant oppo-
nents threw awiy the advantages possessed by their ships, by
coming to close quarters at once, and deciding the contest hand
to hand. — Our ships of the line could never bring these frigates
to action, and owing alone to their extraordinary sailing, did
they evade and mock a large British fleet. We were finally
obliged to build 60-gun frigates after their method, but when
it was too late for the exigency of the period ; and thus it has
ever been our fate, for want of science in the constructors of
our navy, to follow the steps of our enemies at a humble dis-
tance, and to be only then driven out of the old track by a
terrible experience of its inefficiency.

Nor have the Americans stopped here ; — Mr. Huskisson
plainly tells us that "America is, year after year, augmenting
its military marine, by building ships of war *of the largest
class*." According to Capt. Brent on, they have built a first-
rate f of 245 feet length on the gun deck, and 56 feet broad J,
to carry 42-pounders on the lower deck, and 32-pounders on
the other decks.

Our small class of 74-gun ships lately converted into frigates
carrying fifty 32-pounder guns, we are fearful can only produce
disappointment if ever brought against the American frigates
(not byconversion, but by construction), which carry sixty-two
guns of the same calibre, and are 180 feet long oil the gun
deck.

We must not forget also that our active neighbours the
French have now adopted a most formidable description of

* Vide this gentleman's speech on the Shipping Interests in the
House of Commons, May 1827.

t Called by Capt. Brent on the Ohio ; but it appears from Lieut. De
Roos' personal narrative, just published, that the Ohio is a two-decker
of 102 guns. It is to be supposed, therefore, that the three-decker of 135
ffuns, called the Pennsylvania by the latter, is the ship alluded to by the
former. It is a matter of gieat regret that Lieut, de Roos has not pre-
sented us with the precise dimensions of these ships.

X These dimensions carry tlie ratio of the length to breadth above
4i to I.

D2

36 Observations on the State of

frigates, with curvilinear sterns*, and many other important
improvements. They mount 60 guns and carronades — viz. 24-
pounders on the gun deck, and 36-pounder carronades on the
flush deck. — The former caUbre is equivalent very nearly to
26, and the latter to 391bs. avoirdupois. i>

When we reflect on these circumstances, we cannot but feel
surprised that so many frigates of inferior force and dimensions
should be building in our dockyards. In time of emergency
they will only bring on us a repetition of former disasters and
deficiency. We contend that, instead of building ships of only
equal force to those of our rivals, and thus waiting for the
developement of their designs before we can venture on a single
step, we should build beyond them in every respect. It must
and ought to be recollected, that peace in these matters pro-
duces a contest of intellect, and those will have the advantage
in it who attack instead of standing on the defensive. We
ought to lead the way, and to be at the head of the maritime
world, not in number alone, but also in the individual force
and qualities of our ships.

Having expatiated on the advantages of an increased ratio
of length to breadth in relation to the hull of a ship, we will
just glance at some of the principal effects it would have upon
the masting and sails ; and here again we conceive that Pro-
fessor Inman has, in common with many others, relinquished
the many good effects resulting from it, for the inadequate one,
of being able to carry a somewhat greater quantity of sail,
which must necessarily be lofty, and which, (setting aside this
detracting circumstance,) as the velocity of a ship varies only
as 2i fractional power of the surface of canvas spread, cannot
produce the degree of fast sailing to be wished for, but at an
immense and impracticable quantity of sailf.

A greater proof of the inadequacy of the present system of

* The French Admiral Willaumez, in his " Dictionnaire de Marine,"
published in 1 820, says under the article Fregate, that as far back as
1804, he had proposed a plan for a frigate of the largest size, with a
round stem, wherein the quarter galleries were suppressed : the first
frigate upon his plan was built at Brest about 1821 .

t As the square root, so that to get twice the velocity, /owr times as
much canvas must be spread ; and this is the most favourable estimate
that can be made.

Naval Construction in this Country, '^

lofty sail cannot be cited than the fact of its not procuring,
under the most favourable circumstances, a rate of sailing
rarely exceeding one-fourth the velocity of the wind.

As the number of masts should be so regulated as to create
facility in managing the canvas, which is well known to be at
present hardly manageable in a gale of wind, on board large
ships, from the enormous size of each individual course and
topsail, we should not hesitate, therefore, to have four ver-
tical masts, as recommended by Bouguer, instead of three, in
ships built in accordance with the principles we have been dis-
cussing. This would, cceteris paribus, require shorter masting
and smaller yards, and the sails being much less, individually,
would be more easily managed and not so liable to accidents.

From what has been said, and the actual experiments now
pending, it is apparent that the theoretic construction of ships
is at a very low ebb in this country; yet a fine opportunity now
presents itself, if we choose to avail ourselves of it, for rescu-
ing the nation from this generally acknowledged odium. Let
a proper use be made of the corps of Naval Architects we
have, somehow or other, at last got, and let their exertions, under
a degree of encouragement equal to that bestowed on the old
ship-builders in vain for so long a period, be directed towards
the improvement of their art. If they fail, they cannot claim
the excuse of having their endeavours repressed ; if they suc-
ceed, as no doubt they will, in advancing their profession to
something beyond mere carpentry, we shall be enabled to bid
adieu to the old and ruinous method of blundering, under the
reign of which nothing but disappointment can ever be reason-
ably expected.

We have seen and do still see the immense advantages de-
rived by our country from the encouragement of those branches
of science connected with its manufactures and agriculture ;
and if we wish to keep our present superiority, we must follow
up vigorously this principle in all its universality. To the cavils
of ignorance and bigotry against such a mode of proceeding
we would answer, in the words of one of the most enlightened
members of the present administration, " This country can-
not stand still, whilst others are advancing in science, in in-

86 Observations on Naval Construction.

dustry, in every thing which contributes to increase the power
of empires, and to multiply the means of comfort and enjoy-
ment to civilized man."*

It is to be hoped, therefore, that His Royal Highness the
Lord High Admiral will extend to this most important national
institution, the School of Naval Architecture, the same vigilant
and scrutinizing eye that every other branch of our naval sys-
tem is at this moment experiencing from him, and that he will
extend to it that fair play and encouragement which has
hitherto been denied to it. As a seaman, he can fully appre^
ciate and understand how much the bad qualities of a ship
may neutralize the best exertions of the most experienced and
skilful sailor ; and, on the contrary, what a degree of confidence
may be insured in naval operations with excellent ships. We
feel persuaded, therefore, that he will not allow others to think
for him in a matter of so much national importance, and thus
allow private ends to interpose to the disadvantage of public
views ; but that he will investigate and judge for himself. We
would humbly suggest to His Royal Highness to inquire into the
individual acquirements and productions, both of a theoretical
and practical nature, of those who have been educated in this
establishment, and he would soon be able to decide whether
they be fitting or not for the important task of constructing
our ships, and for the confidence and protection which we
think we have shown has hitherto been ill-advisedly withheld
from them. Such a line of conduct would very soon carry
our naval architecture to a pitch of excellence worthy of imita-
tion, and instead of being indebted to foreigners for models, we
should be able, with just pride, to point to the productions of
British science and intellect in this noble art.

* Vide Mr. Huskisson's speech on the Shipping Interests.

39

On Malaria, No. II.

[Communicated by J. Mac CuUoch^ M.D., F. R.S.^ &c. &c.]

Having pointed out, in the former paper on this subject, the
nature of the soils or places, of whatever description, by -which
malaria is generated, it remains to notice a few other circum-
stances connected with its natural history, a knowledge of
which is essential for the purposes of prevention ; and finally to
describe such modes of prevention, applicable to these several
circumstances, as have been found useful in guarding against
the attack of diseases from this cause. Under the first head,
there remain to be considered, the effects of climate and season ;
the changes which occur in the production and propagation of
malaria, from various natural and artificial causes ; and also,
the various modes in which it is propagated.

It has already been remarked, that a certain elevation of
temperature was necessary to the production of this poison,
though what the precise degree is, has not been ascertained;
and as this is, chiefly, what distinguishes the regions or periods
of the year which generate malaria, I need not make two divi-
sions of season and climate. If, however, this temperature is
not fixed, it will perhaps suffice for our present purposes to say
that the greater part of Scotland, whether as to climate or
season, seems incapable of generating the disease from this
cause ; though there are exceptions of a permanent nature, or
exceptions of climate, as was perennially true of the Carse of
Gowrie before its drainage ; while there are others which happen
when, as in the last year, there has been a pecuharly hot
summer, and which are exceptions of season.

And thus it is as to more northern regions; where a hot
summer becomes more than an equivalent for an average low
temperature ; as an example of which, there is no place where
intermittents are more severe and abundant than at Stockholm.
But the extreme of evil from this cause occurs, as is well
known, in the tropical climates; appearing almost proportioned
to the heat of the climate, and what is important to observe
to the moisture also. The destructive effects of certain parts of
Africa, India, America, and so forth, are famiharly known ; and

40 On Malaria.

it is in these countries especially, that the diseases from this
source constitute nearly the entire mortality of the human race.
And thus, for Europe, it is in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and
chiefly on their Mediterranean shores, that the activity of mal-
aria scarcely yields to that of the intertropical climates ; while
in France, Holland, Germany, Hungary, and with us, in a far
less degree, the production will be found regulated by the heat
of the summers, all other circumstances being the same.

And if we thus account for the variations in the quantity and
virulence of diseases in any given country, for noted seasons of
epidemic in the countries which I have just named, and for the
great prevalence of fevers among ourselves during the last few
years, and particularly in the last summer, there is another
point of scarcely inferior importance to be taken into the con-
sideration, independently of that which relates to peculiar
winds as connected with the propagation of this poison ; — and
this is, moisture.

I need not repeat that water in some form is necessary to
the production of that peculiar vegetable decomposition which
is the source of this poison ; and so true is this, that even in
the tropical regions, the diseases from this cause are nearly
miknown]in districts of peculiar dryness, as they are in the
drier seasons of those countries. Thus, for example, Egypt is
free from such fevers, except at the period of the subsidence of
the Nile, unless where, as at Damietta, the cultivation of rice
is pursued ; and the same is true of Mesopotamia very remark-
ably: and if I dare not extend these illustrations, I must
remark that in all these cases, the action of moisture is two-
fold, inasmuch as it not only accelerates vegetable decompo-
sition, but renders the atmosphere a fitter conductor of this
poison.

Taking these two causes of the increase in the quantity and
in the action of malaria, we can explain many particulars which
relate to its power in producing diseases ; and as the knowledge
of these is important as far as relates to the main object of this
paper, prevention, it becomes necessary to explain them at a
little more length.

As to season, the simplest case is that of the intertropical
climates; and Africa offers the plainest instance among the

On Malaria, 41

whole. There, the malaria and the fever commence at the
moment the rain falls; diminishing as the ground becomes
thoroughly wetted, and recommencing as it dries. The expla-
nation of all this ought to be obvious ; and the same analogy
governs all the hotter climates, as, though less conspicuously,
it does our own. Hence we explain, both as to our spring and
our autumn, the effects of heat following rain, or the reverse,
and the diseases which are consequent on those changes : and
thus it is, though more remarkably, in Italy, that a rainy
autumn increases the number and severity of fevers ; or, if the
summer has been unusually dry, that they often do not appear
till the commencement of the autumnal, or even the winter rains.
And hence, also, even with us, the occurrence of a single rainy
day or week, in the midst of the heats, will produce fevers ;
while the effect of this influence is such, that should there even
be an entire rainy summer, and the subsequent one be hot and
dry, this will be attended by an unusual production of malaria
and disease.

And if I cannot detail all the various modes in which
these circumstances may be modified, and how their effects
may vary, it will be useful to make one remark on an error as
relating to it which is universal among us, and into which even
Lind has fallen. The error is, to think that the rain, the moisture,
or the cold is itself the cause of the diseases which follow this
state of things ; while it is obviously a case analogous to that
of Africa, if less severe, and the malaria is produced by these
circumstances on soils which I formerly pointed out, and which
Lind, like every one else, had neglected. But if I must pass
over many interesting and useful conclusions to be drawn from
these general principles, there is one fact which I must notice,
and it is this : —

In spring, the combination of heat and moisture, easily ex-
plained, generates, most commonly, intermittents ; or the effect
of the malaria at this season differs from what it does in
autumn : while as the heat advances and the ground dries, this
kind of fever ceases to be produced, a new species, or the sum-
mer remittent, taking its place when the heat and the moisture
of autumn begin to act. But under peculiar seasons of heat
and moisture with us, it sometimes occurs, as it has doue

43 On Malaria,

within the last years, that the intermittent season runs into the
remittent one, or there is no midsummer interval of freedom
from disease ; while it has also happened, and in some parts of
England in this last year, that what would have been intermit-
tent fever in other years has been remittent ; or the common
fever has occupied the whole summer, continuously, even from
March to November, as is the case in the worst regions of
southern Europe.

Now, under these exceptions, which I was bound to explain,
the commencement of intermittent, or of vernal ague, may be
fixed about the middle or end of March, and its termination
similarly in May ; while that of remittent may be placed in the
beginning of August, and its termination with the middle or
end of October. How these periods may otherwise be affected
by the more or less insalubrious nature of the district or place,
will easily be judged of by those who will reflect for them-
selves on what I dare not explain, lest I should infringe too far
on my limits. All else that I can venture on, as to this part of
the question in hand, relates to the effects of the different
times of the day on the production, propagation, or influence
of malaria, and it is one which is of no small importance in a
practical view.

AVhether the changes as to temperature and moisture which
occur within the space of twenty-four hours, affect the produc-
tion or propagation of malaria^ I will not here inquire minutely,
from the fear of prolonging this very limited paper ; but the
general facts, as to its effects, are these : If we commence with
the sun on the meridian, there appears, even in the worst cli-
mates, very little hazard of fever ; while in Italy, it is believed that
there is, generally, little or no hazard, except in some peculiarly
pestilential places, and under particular kinds of inattention or
neglect. Either the malaria is decomposed or destroyed by
the heat, or else the air from its dryness ceases to be a con-
ductor; but as evening approaches, its influence becomes pow-
erful and dangerous, being supposed most generally to extend
all through the night; while in some parts of that country it is
a popular belief that it terminates before midnight, or with the
precipitation of the atmospheric moisture. Whether this last
opinion is true or not, the general fact explains the popular

On Malaria^, 48

belief, and truth, respecting the poisonous effects of dew in the
hot climates; the supposed pernicious quality of this depending
evidently on the malaria by which its formation is accompa-
nied. And in this case it is probable that the evil arises, not
from a fresh or peculiar generation of malaria, but from the
mere fact that the moist atmosphere is a better conductor than
a dry one.

Not to be unnecessarily minute, we thus also explain the
danger of exposure to the morning air in similar situations ;
the facts, as they relate to the conducting of malaria, being the
same, though the meteorological circumstances are somewhat
different. Hence, also, we see why the grey mists which hang
over wet grounds in the evening in our own climate, are
esteemed pernicious ; the truth, however, being, that they are
perfectly innocent at certain seasons and in certain places — as
in the greater part of Scotland, for example, or in those places
and at those periods where malaria is not produced. The dis-
tinction is valuable, because of the inconvenience of restric-
tions on this subject, and because to know where the hazard
really lies is to reduce those, and also to prevent the infraction
of rules by not extending them beyond what is necessary ; and
thus also by seeing what are the real dangers of what is called
night air, we more easily avoid them. Night air is avoided
now, under a false philosophy, because it is cold or damp, or
for some other vague reason; while the dangers from mere
dampness or cold are as nothing compared to those here pointed
out; which also occur precisely where they are least feared,
namely, in warm summer evenings, after refreshing showers,
and so forth. Hence it is that fevers are produced in summer,
in rural situations, and especially perhaps amid the most
engaging scenery, by evening walks and exposure to what is
naturally considered, as it is felt to be, a balmy and refreshing
sequel to a hot day. Let this be enjoyed where it can with
safety, and as it often may ; but such evening walks will not be
safe in any of those situations which I need not repeat here,
after having detailed them as I have done in the former paper.
And lest I should be accused of wishing to excite unnecessary
alarm, I consider, on the contrary, that it ought to be dimi-
nighed by these remarks ; because, if we taJie the whole of

■44 On Malaria.

England, there is perhaps not one acre in a hundred thousand
where there is danger from night air, or from malaria in any
mode ; so that to distinguish where that lies, is to have relieved
from useless fears all those who may learn to make the distinc-
tions under review.

To pass from what relates to climate and season, and to pro-
ceed to the propagation, simply, of malaria, it is almost super-
fluous to say, that its influence, as to the production of disease,
is much regulated by proximity, which implies a state of con-
centration or accumulation. Hence the danger arising from
vicinity; while, as I formerly remarked, where the generating
source is small, this becomes necessary to its effect, since dilu-
tion may be expected to destroy the power of the poison.

For analogous reasons, its effect in the production of disease
is increased by concentration or condensation ; and such a
state of things takes place in narrow and confined valleys, or
in places surrounded by woods, or in woods themselves; in
any situation, in short, where the poison is produced, and is
so sheltered from winds that ventilation becomes difficult. And
if it is probable that this is one chief reason of the peculiarly
insalubrious nature of woods and jungles in hot climates, so is
it an universal remark in Italy, that the short valleys in which
the air cannot circulate are among the most pestilential spots.
And if this explains, also, in some measure, the bad effects of
calm weather, so does it account for the unusually pestiferous
nature of rivers and lakes confined within wood, as are those
of the tropical climates, and as there are many also in different
parts of Europe. That we ourselves are not exempt from
these additional causes of the influence of malaria, would be
easily shown by many references, were it not for the reason
which has caused me to exclude them.

It is another important question for practice, how far and in
what manner malaria can be conveyed by the winds to places
where it is not produced, so as to act in exciting disease.
That it is conveyed to certain distances by winds is amply
proved by an abundant experience, and I may first detail a
few of the most useful particulars as to this fact. In Italy and
Greece, it is obser\^ed, that where long valleys terminate on sea
shores, on which the exits of the rivers are swampy, it is an

On Malaria, 45

effect of the sea breeze, by crossing such marshy ground, to
convey the malaria up into the interior country, to considerable
distances, and to places which are in themselves not insalu-
brious. Thus, also, does such a breeze, especially when it is a
warm wind, convey the poison up the acclivities of hills, even
to a considerable range of distance or elevation; a process
facilitated by the natural tendency of such winds to ascend.
And as a striking proof of this migration of malaria, it appears
from Capt. Smyth's statistical account of the insalubrious vil-
lages in Sicily, that out of more than seventy, about one-half
are not seated near or on lands producing this substance, but
on acclivities, at varying distances — thus receiving it through
migration. The same is remarked by Montfalcon of many
towns in France ; while in some, the place at a distance is even
more unhealthy than that which is immediately situated in the
marsh itself: and in our own country, this is equally said to be
true of the backwater at Weymouth, and of the marshes of St.
Blasey in Cornwall, acting more powerfully at some distance
than in the immediate spot.

With respect to the absolute distance to which the malaria
can be conveyed, it is yet an obscure circumstance, or at least
the maximum has not been fixed ; but it is at least ascertained
that the convent of Camaldoli receives it from the Lake
Agnano, at a distance of three miles; while from certain
naval reports, a distance of five miles has been proved to
permit its transmission, — and from an evidence that cannot be
doubted, inasmuch as it was the sudden breaking out of fever
in a healthy ship, anchored at that distance from the shore, on
the coming off of the land wind, attended by its peculiar and
well-known smell.

These facts are satisfactory thus far, and it would be abund-
antly easy to add to them; but there is reason to suspect that
it can be conveyed to far greater distances, in certain favour-
able circumstances: those reasons, in the first place, being
derived from certain meteorological analogies and considera-
tions, and in the next confirmed by experience. It is notorious
that the ague appears on our eastern coasts with the first east
winds of spring ; and while this circumstance is most common
on those of England, as for example, in Kent, Essex, Norfolk,

4S On Malaria.

Suffolk, and Lincolnshire, it is not thus hmited, since it is
known to happen further north, and even in Scotland, where
malaria is not indigenous to the soil. It is very true that if we
take any inland position in the places thus noted, the natural
solution is, that the malaria is generated in the very soil itself
of England, and merely propagated, perhaps even to very
moderate distances, through those winds. But the occurrence
of disease cannot be explained thus, when the place in ques-
tion is so situated that there is no land to the eastward, or
when the breeze is, most literally and rigidly, a sea breeze ;
while, when ague thus occurs on the east coast of Scotland,
where it is not produced by the soil, it must be imported by
the east wind.

. These are the facts; while as malaria is not produced by the
6ea itself in any known circumstance, though a vegetating sea
beach may give rise to it, we must seek the cause in lands far
distant, and consider this as a case of propagation of the
poison from the shores of Holland ; and those shores are un-
questionably competent to that effect : so that the only question
that remains, the fact being admitted, is, whether, a priori, or
theoretically, such a view is probable, or whether it is con-
sistent with those physical principles that are concerned in the
propagation of malaria.

I am aware that such a view will excite the incredulity of
those who have not attended to this subject ; though it appears
to me that it comprises nothing averse to our knowledge of the
philosophical circumstances concerned. In the first place, let
us remark that the east wind, and particularly the east winds
gf spring, are notorious for their moisture, and that a moist air
is the best conductor of malaria, as moisture in the air, under
the form of evening mists, or in other modes, appears even to
be its proper vehicle, or residence, if I may use such a term;
and though I have not as yet separated the case of a fog, I
may now remark, that the effect in question, or the production
of agues by fogs arriving from the sea, is e\en more notorious
than their generation by an ordinary clear wind. So notorious
and popular, indeed, is this fact, that the fog itself is deemed
the source of the disease, as the east wind under any form is,
in other circumstances ; while I hope it will even now appear,

On Malaria. 47

that the real cause lies in the malaria transported or conveyed
by those winds or fogs, and of which they are the true and
best repository and vehicle.

And these are the reasons for thinking that the malaria, with
the wind, may be transported to a distance as great as that
which the present view requires ; most easily perhaps in a fog,
but without difficulty even in a clear wind. It is remarkable
that the east wind, as it is the most persevering, is that one
also which preserves the most steady horizontal and linear
course. J have also shown, in a former work, that it is a pro-
perty of winds to travel in distinct lines through a tranquil
atmosphere, and often in streams of a very limited breadth ; that
opposing streams will also move, in absolute contact ; and that
even rapid streams of wind will cross each other's courses with-
out difficulty. This proves that, in any such stream, there is
a principle of self-preservation or integrity, and renders it pro-
bable that the several portions retain the same relative places
to each other, at any distance, during the career of the whole :
and there is a proof of this afforded in the fact of those
columns or streams of insects which are brought over by such
winds, and very frequently from those very countries, or from
Holland and Flanders, in the most regular order, or without
disturbance or dispersion.

Hence it may be argued, that if a malaria, generated any
where and conveyed by the winds, can be transported to a dis-
tance of three miles, as has been proved, there is no reason
why it should not travel much farther, or to any distance that
can be assumed : and if this be true of a clear wind, the case
of a fog is even a much stronger one; since there is little
reason to doubt that the individual parts of such fog, in any
assumed mass, will retain their relative places to each other, as
perfectly after a journey of any given number of miles, as they
did at the point of production ; and if a portion of malaria has
been united to a portion of fog, in the marsh which produced
both, or whence both have come, there is every apparent
reason why it should be found in that same portion at any
farther or assumed distance, because there is no cause for
either its dispersion or its decomposition.
• A fog is a cbud, simply ; and it is notorious that a single

4^ On Malaria*

cloud, and often of very small dimensions, will remain at rest
in the atmosphere, or travel very many miles without the loss
of its integrity; however we may imagine it assailed by the
various meteorological causes of destruction, as well as by me-
chanical violence. This in itself proves the consistency with
which a current of wind preserves the relative positions of its
integral parts; because it is plain that a disturbance among
these must disturb or destroy the cloud which, in reality, forms
a portion of that current, as a gaseous body: and since that
cloud is a mist, since it might have been the very evening mist
embodying a malaria, and since it is its real vehicle and repo-
sitory, it is plain that had it, or any individual cloud, contained
such a portion of malaria, it must have had the power of trans-
mitting that, and would actually have transported it to any
distance to which itself might travel. Thus, it is evident, may
a fog, generated in Holland, carry without difficulty to the
limits of its range, or to the coast of England, that malaria
which became entangled with it at its birth-place or in its
passage; and thus, I have little doubt, is the fact of those
agues explained, and this transportation to such distances
established.

I cannot, at least, conceive any demonstration as to facts of
this nature more convincing, nor anything wanting to the proof;
while I may proceed to make some remarks on the east wind,
and on fogs, simply, because they concern this question.

The proof that it is a malaria in the fog, and not the fog
itself, which is the cause of disease, is evinced by the following
fact; while it ought surely to be unnecessary to say, that if
fog alone could produce such fever, water itself must be the
poison : since a fog is a cloud, and its constituents, when pure,
are only atmospheric air and water. No intermittents are ever
produced on the western or northern shores by the sea fogs,
and for the plain reason, that there is no land whence they
arrive. The clouds of mountainous regions do not produce
fevers, though these also are fogs; and what forms a most
absolute proof of this is, that in Flanders, it is the fogs which
come with a southwest wind, or the southerly winds themselves,
which transport and propagate malaria and disease ; while, as
soon as the winds shift, and blow from the sea, the fevers dis-

On Malaria^ 49

appear, though those particular winds are so charged with fog,
as to darken the whole country for days : and it will be found
an invariable rule all over the world, that when a fog is the
apparent cause of disease, or when an east wind is such, it is
because these have been generated in a land of marshes, or
have traversed one ; and that, under other circumstances, or
where no pernicious land lies in the way, they are as innocent
as any other fogs and winds, and that the hazard and the suf-
fering will arise from those, be they whatever they may, which
traverse pestilential lands.

But I must defer this particular and interesting subject to
another occasion, lest I make this article too long ; and proceed
to examine some other circumstances connected with the
transportation of malaria.

First, however, I must notice one fact as to this transporta-
tion from Holland, partly because it is a necessary fact in the
history of malaria, and partly because it might be used as an
argument against the view which I have just given. The east
winds of autumn are not supposed to bring remittents, as those
of spring bring agues, though I cannot assert that this is abso-
lutely true. Being assumed, the solution is easy. If the winds
of this nature in spring are notedly moist, and thus vehicles of
malaria, the case is exactly the reverse with the east winds of
summer and autumn ; or as the east wind may be the most
moist of winds, so may it be the most dry ; while it is a conse^
quence of its extreme dryness, in fact, that it is always the
very cause of our burning summers. This is the history of our
last summers, and it is invariable, whether as it relates to sea-
sons or single days ; and it is plainly owing to its permitting
the more ready transmission of the sun's rays. That it is the
very harmattan of Africa, it is almost unnecessary to say ; and
as dry wind is not a conductor of malaria, as that poison is in
fact decomposed or destroyed in these circumstances, daily and
invariably, it is easy to see why the remittents of Holland
should not be transported, like its intermittents, though even
this may possibly happen under particular circumstances.

To proceed; and to the next remarkable facts connected
with the propagation of malaria. — The most singular of these is
its limitation, or that yet unexplained property by which it is

JULY— OCT. 1827. E

60 On Malaria,

determined in a particular direction, or confined to a particular
spot, while it is a piece of knowledge of some practical value.
There is an appearance of incredibility about many of these
facts, and, accordingly, they have not only been disbelieved
but ridiculed, although nothing in the whole history of this
substance is better established.

With respect to direction, in the first place, it is remarked in
Italy, currently, that this poison will enter the lower stories of
houses, particularly with open windows, when the next above
escape; and hence, in many places, no one ventures to sleep
on ground floors ; and the truth of this was confirmed in the
barracks at Jamaica by Dr. Hunter; as the cases of fever
occurring among the men in the lower rooms much exceeded
those which happened in the upper ones. But I am also in-
formed, that in some places in Norfolk this peculiarity is
reversed ; or that there are houses where it is remarked that
the ground-floors are safe, while no one can sleep in the upper
stories without hazard.

That malaria may in some manner be attached to the soil
is also well known by its effects, and especially in Italy. There
it is remarked that it is extremely hazardous to cut down cer-
tain bushy plants which appear to entangle it, and that fevers
are a frequent consequence of such carelessness. Thus, also,
does fever seize on the labourers who may incautiously sit down
on the ground, while they would escape in the erect posture ;
being thus, indeed, sometimes suddenly struck with apoplexy,
which is one of the effects of this poison, or even with death.

It has similarly been observed that it is often retained in the
shelter of drains, or in the ditches of fortifications; whence
frequent fevers among the sentries on particular guards, when
the other soldiers escape. And thus was it even proved at
Malta, that it was transported from the sea-shore, and thus
lodged in a dry ditch of the works at Valetta ; all these facts
being possibly to be explained, by supposing it possessed of a
greater specific gravity than the atmosphere, or else attached
to vapour thus weighty, exhibiting effects analogous to those
which carbonic acid displays in the Solfatara.

But the circumstance most difficult of explanation is, that in
Rome, and numerous places in Italy, and even where it is

.On Malaria. 61

transported from a distance by the winds, not generated on the
spot, it is found, perennially, and through the whole course of
successive years, to occupy certain places, and to avoid, as
constantly, others quite near, and, as far as the eye can judge,
equally exposed, and in all respects similar. Thus, one side
of a small garden, one side of a street, or one house, will be
for ever exposed to disease, or uninhabitable, when, at a few
feet or yards distant, the very same places are as constantly
free of danger : and thus it was found at the village of Faro,
in Sicily, that all the troops of our army quartered on one side
of the single street which formed it, were affected by fevers,
and suffered great mortality, while those on the other remained
in health.

But the most remarkable case of this nature known to me,
is a domestic one, and which rests on the testimony of thou-^
sands of persons, or of the whole country, however incredible
it may appear. It is, that between Chatham and Brighton,
including every town and single house, and Sittingbourne
among the rest, the ague affects the left hand side of the turn-
pike road, or the northern side, and does not touch the right
side, though the road itself forms the only line of separation.

We cannot as yet conjecture the cause of this very singular
circumstance or property, at least in cases of this nature;
though, under certain events of this kind, there are some facts
in meteorology that may offer a solution. These are the
notorious ones, that a hoar frost, or a dew, will sometimes be
found most accurately limited, both vertically and horizontally,
by a definite line ; stopping, for example, at a particular hedge,
and reaching to a certain altitude on a tree : but for the other
cases, we must yet wait for a period of more accurate know-
ledge as to this singular substance.

There is now one circumstance of importance, relating to
the destruction or decomposition of malaria, which must not
be passed over, from the interest of the facts depending on it:
this is, that its propagation is checked by the streets of a
crowded town, and apparently owing to this very cause, decom-
position. Thus it is observed, that the fever never appears in
the Judaicum of Rome, and, similarly, that the crowded streets
and the poor people escape, when the opulent houses and open

£ 2

58 On Malaria,

streets are attacked ; and hence the Villa Borghese, amon^
many other palaces and opulent houses in Rome, has been
abandoned, while such desertion, being limited exclusively to
houses where the air is most open and free, naturally excites
wonder : the cause, however, is now plain ; and thus it now
appears why it was that the Penitentiary in Westminster suf-
fered formerly from dysentery, originating in this cause, when
no such disease appeared among the neighbouring inhabitants.

And if this fact is of value as it may relate to the erection of
open streets in any place of this nature, it is most important
to point out what has been the continuous effect at Rome, as
the ultimate consequences threaten to be extremely serious.

It appears that from cutting down some forests which many
years ago occupied the declivities of the hills to the southward
of Rome, the malaria was let in upon that city from the Pon-
tine marshes; and, further, that the extirpation of a similar
wood to the eastward had let in the same poison upon another
quarter. Thus it has been found to enter the city through the
Porta del Popolo, while, for many years past, it has been gra-
dually extending its influence through the streets; leading
annually and successively to the abandonment of many houses
and palaces, and still annually increasing and extending its
ravages ; so as, at length, as I understand, to have even become
sensible at the Vatican. And the lines which it follows are
distinctly traced out by the inhabitants; while, as I have
already said, it is only the houses of the opulent Avhich suffer,
further than as the abandonment of these may also influence
the inferior ones in their neighbourhood.

Whatever the original cause may be, and however the direc-
tion, abstractedly, may be regulated by the winds and the
forms of the streets, or by local and fixed circumstances, it is
plain that the annual extension is the consequence of deser-
tion, and that as the inhabitants retire from before it, it
acquires the means of making a new step and a further pro-
gress; because thus they withdraw those fires and smoke, or
whatever else it be, dependent on human crowds, which decom-
poses and destroys this substance. And hence it must follow,
that as Rome shall become still further abandoned and depo-
pulated, from want of industry, or from political feebleness

On Malaria^ 53^

added to this cause, the effects must be expected to increase
in a sort of geometrical ratio ; almost leading to the fear that
the whole city itself may, in time, fall a victim to it, or be-
come abandoned to the wolves and mosquitoes.

If I dare not inquire more minutely in|o the remaining cir-
cumstances connected with the propagation of malaria, lest I
should extend this article to an inconvenient length, it is
necessary now to offer some remarks on prevention, and espe-
cially as it relates to this circumstance — the propagation of the
poison ; since the rules for prevention, as far as this relates to
production, may be deduced from what was said in a former
paper on this subject, and relate chiefly to the drainage of
lands, and to other practices, more or less obvious, which a
little reflection will, without much difficulty, deduce from what
was there said.

It is plain, in the first place, that as far as the winds are
concerned, it is by opposing obstacles to their course that we
must attempt to counteract or divert their influence ; and that,
in this case, it is through the use of trees alone that we possess
any power. Thus reversely, as in the case just stated, the
cutting down of trees and forests has often been a serious
cause of diseases in certain countries, by admitting a malaria
to particular spots; though it is easy to see that where any
given spot suffers from malaria, through condensation or con-
finement, the clearing away of these would be the remedy, by
attaining a free ventilation. To detail the particular modes in
which remedies may be applied through this species of aid, is
obviously unnecessary, and not easy, as it must depend on
local circumstances, differing for each place ; but I may re-
mark, as an example in illustration of my meaning, that where,
as in many of the narrow and prolonged valleys of Greece, the
sea shore is a marsh, the remedy would be to plant a screen of
trees beyond it, and thus to prevent the sea winds from passing
into the interior. And thus did the ancient Romans compel
the planting of trees on the shores of Latium, to check the
current from the Pontine marshes; rendering groves sacred,
under heavy penalties, and enacting other laws with the same
intentions.

With respect to such temporary precautions in these cases

f^ On Malaria,

as may concern armies in the field, or in camps, it is plain
that they will depend on attention to the courses and seasons
of the winds; while it would be abundantly easy to accumulate,
from the histories of campaigns, the most fearful examples of
mortality produced by neglect of these and similar precautions,
and even down to almost the very date at which I am writing :
and there can be no hesitation in saying, that an intimate and
accurate knowledge of every thing which concerns the produc-
tion and propagation of malaria, forms a most important branch
in that information necessary to a soldier, and above all to the
quarter-m aster-general's department and the medical staff:
while, did I dare to record but a very small portion of the
mortality experienced, not only in our own armies, but in those
of Europe at large, during even the last war, from ignorance
or neglect on this subject, it would, I believe, be found that
it almost equalled the mortality produced by the actual colli-
sion of war itself. Walcheren will not soon be forgotten ; if
we have ceased to think of our mortal Havannah expedition ;
and if a French army at Naples was diminished by twenty
thousand men, out of twenty-four, in four days, from this
cause ; if OrlofF lost nearly his entire army in Paros ; if Hun-
gary has more than once destroyed ten times the number of
men by fever that it did by the sword, — these are but trifles in
the mass of reasons for saying, that no subject can well be
more important, and no knowledge much more necessary to
the commander of an army.

Some other points relating to prevention may deserve a few
words of notice, before I pass from this subject; if here, also, I
must be brief Not to repeat the cautions founded on what
relates to the power of evening and morning, it has been
asserted that the use of a gauze veil will prevent the effect of
inalaria; and it is not improbable that the air accumulated
within that, may have the power of decomposing the poison :
it is an opinion, at least, which is universal among the people
in Malta, and very general in Spain and Portugal. It is also
found that fires and smoke are useful, and especially on military
service; the experiment having been tried on a very large
scale by Napoleon before Mantua, and on a smaller one in
Africa* with the most perfect success. With respect to per-

On Malaricu 85

sonal precautions, it is universally recommended to use wine
and a good diet, and especially never to leave the house in the
evening in situations peculiarly insalubrious, without the pre-
vious use of wine or spirits ; whence the universal practice of
Holland in this respect. Thus, also, narcotics prevent its
influence ; whence the wide use of tobacco, of which the salu-
tary effects appear to be most amply established.

As to the tropical countries, there is here also one important
remark, which, from the great neglect of the fact, and its ruin-
ous consequences, appear particularly to demand a statement
in this place. It is the universal experience of the inhabitants}
that the attack of malaria, or the production of fevers, is aided
by the use of a full or animal diet; by the use of some parti-
cular articles of food, such as butter; by excess in eating, gene-
rally ; and, above all, by eating in the heat of the day. This is
not merely well known to the negroes, but the fact is distinctly
stated to travellers, and the caution urged, however often it has
been neglected, and especially by our own countrymen. Of
this, in particular, Major Denham is a strong testimony ; while
he attributes his own exclusive preservation to his having
rigidly followed the recommendations of the natives, which
Were always urged with the greatest earnestness. And if we
examine the causes of death, in most cases, of our African
travellers especially, I think there will be strong reasons for
believing that their lives have often been sacrificed to this very
negligence or obstinacy ; while it is most evident that Niebuhr's
party, in particular, owed the loss of their lives to ^^ilat may be
safely called gluttony : and it is to be suspected that this will
also explain the loss of Captain Tuckey's party; while, with
respect to nations, it has long been known that the English,
the Dutch, and the northern voracious people in general, who
habitually indulge themselves in the customs of their original
country as tropical colonists, have always been greater sufferers
from the effects of those climates than the French and the
Spaniards, and apparently from this very difference. And
there seems little doubt, generally, that the \,egetable diet of
Africa and Hindostan is the best security against the evil
influence of those climates, and that the chief sufferings of our

S6 On Malaria^

own colonists arise from transferring to those situations their
ancient habits of full and free living.

As I must not prolong this subject much further, I shall
now pass to a few remarks, but very brief ones, on the
geography of malaria as it relates to those parts of the conti-
nent of Europe most frequented by English travellers; not
daring to take room for actual and useful information on that
head, but wishing to point out merely the importance of such
geographical knowledge to those persons, on account of the
hazards which they so universally incur from that ignorance or
neglect, and of the great mass of suffering, and also of mor-
tality, which has been the lot of persons who had resorted to
those climates as travellers, or migrating residents, from various
motives, and not unfrequently Avith views to health. How
often health has been lost where it was sought, will be but too
apparent to any one who has chanced to possess an extensive
acquaintance of this nature.

Of Italy I can but afford to say generally, that except at a
very few points where the Alps or Apennines reach the sea,
the whole of its shores are pestilential, and often to such a
degree as to lead to their entire desertion, more frequently to
their abandonment in summer. And to avoid wet lands, or
low lands, is not always a sufficient precaution ; since the most
pestilential parts of the maremma of Tuscany are dry, and
since the annual mortality of Sienna from fevers, even without
epidemics, is one in ten. In the north of Italy, the great plain
is similarly insalubrious ; though the more unhealthy district
does not commence until we arrive at Mantua, extending thence
to the sea. Of the Mediterranean islands, I can only afford
room to say, that the same rule holds good as to the sea coasts,
while the entire of Greece in the same circumstances is simi-
larly unhealthy, and subject to autumnal fevers in as great a
degree as the worst parts of Italy. The same is true of Spain
and Portugal, and the same rule also will be a guide ; namely,
that malaria is to be expected in all the flat grounds, even
when under cultivation, and at all the exits of rivers on the
sea, even though no marshes should be present: and if I were
desirous to name any tract of land in Spain peculiarly insalu-

On Malaria, QK

brious, it would be the province of Valencia; while Carthagena
is almost invariably fatal even to those who, as labourers, are
compelled to resort to it for the needful work of its port, even
during a few days.

Of France, little as it has hitherto been suspected by those
who, associating the term malaria with Italy, have been accus-
tomed to consider it as peculiar to that country, it would
scarcely be untrue to say that it contains as large a portion of
insalubrious territory as Italy itself, and produces fever and
disease of as great severity and extent, not merely on its sea
coasts, but over very extensive tracts in its interior. And this
insalubrity may be conjectured, when there are entire districts
in which the average of life does not exceed twenty, and in
which the entire people are diseased from their births to their
graves. Such tracts are found chiefly on the course of the
Loire, and some other of the great rivers; and among them,
Bresse in the Lyonnais, the plain of Forez, and Sologne in the
Orleannais, are of the most notorious ; while the coasts of
Normandy, and the whole of low Britanny, are similarly sub-
ject to eternal intermittents, or to epidemic seasons of autumnal
fevers, amounting to absolute pestilences. And how English
families have suffered in this country from the incautious
choice of residences in such places, will be easily ascertained
by whoever shall be at the trouble of making the necessary
inquiries.

But as I dare not pursue this extensive subject, I can only
suggest to our countrymen the utility of making themselves
acquainted with this matter, and with this dangerous geo-
graphy, before encountering the hazards which await them;
Avhile to physicians I need still less name the necessity of that
knowledge, since it is so often their duty to choose and recom^
mend for their patients, and since no man can feel much at his
ease who finds that he has sent into a land of malaria the
patient who has already been suffering from its diseases, or
that where he speculates on the cure of a consumption, that
cure is attained through the death of the patient, at Avignon,
or at Poitiers, or Nantes, or in some or other of the numerous
places subject to this most fearful poison.

It remains only to give a brief enumeration of the disesises

6S On Malaridk

which are the produce of malaria, and of the general condition
of the inhabitants in the countries subject to it. With respect
to this latter, the most remarkable general fact is the con-
tracted duration of life. In England, the average may, if not
very accurately, and indeed considerably under the mark, be
taken at 50 ; and when in Holland it is but 25, it follows that
the half of human hfe is at once cut off by this destructive
agent. In the parts of France to which I have alluded, it
becomes as low as 22 and 20, and Condorcet, indeed, has cal-
culated it as low as 18. With this, very few attain the age of
60 ; and in appearance and strength, this term is equivalent to
80 in ordinary climates ; while 40 forms the general limit of
extreme and rare old age. The period of age, indeed, com-
mences after 20 ; and it is remarked, in particular, that the
females become old in appearance immediately after 17, and
have, even at 20, the aspect of old women . In many places,
even the children are diseased from their birth ; while the life
which is dragged on by the whole population, is a life of per-
petual disease, and most frequently of inveterate and incurable
intermittents, or of a constant febrile state, with debility, affec-
tions of the stomach, dropsy, and far more than I need here
enumerate.

While the countenances of the people in those countries are
Sallow or yellow, and often livid, they are frequently so ema-
ciated as to appear like walking spectres, though the abdomen
is generally enlarged, in consequence either of visceral affec-
tions or dropsy. With these, rickets, varices, hernia, and, in
females, chlorosis, together with scorbutic diseases, ulcers, and
feo forth, are common ; and it is even to be suspected that the
cretinage may depend on this cause, since goitre is also one
of the results of malaria, and since, in the Maremma of
Tuscany, idiotism is a noted consequence of this pestilential
influence.

The general mental condition is no less remarkable ; since
it consists in an universal apathy, recklessness, indolence, and
melancholy, added to a fatalism which prevents them from
even desiring to better their condition, or to avoid such portion
of the evils around them as care and attention might diminish:
aad while it is asserted that even the moral character becomes

On Malaria, 59

similarly depraved, I prefer a reference to Montfalcon for a
picture which it would not be very agreeable to transcribe.

As to the absolute or positive diseases, besides those which
I have already named, 1 need scarcely say that remittent and
intermittent fevers, under endless varieties and types, form the
great mass; and next in order to them, may be placed dysen-
tery and cholera, together with diarrhoea. To these I must
also add, those painful diseases of the nerves, of which sciatica
stands foremost, and the remainder of which may be ranked
under the general term of neuralgia ; and further, a consider-
able number of inflammatory diseases of a more or less remit-
tent type, among which rheumatism under various forms is
the most general, and the intermittent ophthalmia the most
remarkable. Lastly, I must include the various paralytic
affections ; since apoplexy is one of the primary and direct
consequences of malaria, as various paralytic affections are the
produce of intermittent, or the consequences of the diseases of
the nerves which are associated with it.

It is still a curious and interesting fact, that this poison
affects, in an analogous manner, many different animals, and
appears, in reality, to be the cause of all the noted endemics
and remarkable epidemics which occur in the agricultural
animals in particular. This has been noticed even by Livy:
and in France and Italy it is equally familiar that the severe
seasons of fever among the people are similarly seasons of
epidemics to black-cattle and sheep, while the symptoms are
as nearly the same as they could be in the circumstances, and
the appearances on dissection also correspond. Thus also
does it appear probable, that the rot in sheep is actually the
produce of malaria, as is indeed the received opinion among
French veterinarians; while Mr. Royston has observed that
the animals of this class are subject to distinct intermittents.

And while it is not less familiar in the West Indies, and in
Dominica particularly, that dogs suffer from a mortal fever in
the same seasons and periods as the people, the epidemic
always breaking out in them first, I have the most unexcep-
tionable medical evidence of the occurrence of a regular and-
well-marked tertian in a dog; that evidence consisting in the
concurring decision of many surgeons, by whom the case was

6(1 On Malaria.

frequently examined, during a very long period. But it is
time to terminate a paper, which, if it is but a sketch of an
important subject, will at least convey to those to whom mal-
aria has not hitherto been an object of attention^ a general
notion of the leading particulars which appertain to its natural
history. J. M.

Elements of Chemistry, including the recent Discoveries and
Doctri7ies of the Science. By Edward Turner, M.D.,
F.R.S.E., &c., &c. Edinburgh, 1827.

This is a closely- printed octavo of 700 pages, and presents
us with something more original, clear, and accurate than
we have lately met with in modern chemistry. It compre-
hends a perspicuous view of the present state of chemical
science ; and, as far as its limits admit, the theoretical parts
are, with some exceptions, well and distinctly worked out ;
nor are the practical details of manipulation neglected,
though they evidently occupy a secondary place in our
author's estimation. To the arrangement we must at once
decidedly object — it is indeed evident that Dr. Turner has
pitched upon Dr. Thomas Thomson as his magnus Apollo ^
and here and elsewhere the book is tainted accordingly.

This work is divided into four principal parts; — the first
relates to what Dr. Turner, following his prototype. Dr.
Thomson, calls imponderables, and a definition of them fol-
lows, which leads us to suggest the term inexpressibles, as
equally appropriate. But, waiving this objection, the details
relating to them are well and clearly given. Thus, after
some prefatory remarks upon the subject of caloric or heat,
(we prefer the latter term, and cannot allow its ambiguity,)
its modes of communication are considered, first, as being
conducted through bodies, and then as radiating through
free space. In regard to the theories affecting the latter,
our author wisely, as we think, prefers that of Prevost to
that of Pictet. The effects of heat are next discussed, such
as expansion, including an account of the thermometer,
and of the relative capacities of bodies for heat; lique-
faction, vaporisation, ebullition, evaporation, and the con-
stitution of gases ; and lastly, the sources of heat are
mentioned, but the details are referred to other parts of the
work.

Dr. Turner's Elements of Chemistry. 6t

Light is next treated of, but we think too hastily, and too
much in the abstract.

Now the subjects of heat and light are obviously of the
utmost importance to the chemical philosopher, and they are
very extensive, and intricate and difficult to treat of, inasmuch
as the writer is necessarily upon the confines of chemical and
mechanical philosophy, and should be expert in both. When,
therefore, elementary works on chemistry are so written and
arranged as to serve as text-books for lectures, and indexes
of reference to more accurate information, we can make due
allowance for brevity ; but when the subject is intended to
be formally and completely developed to the student, inde-
pendent of other ocular and oral aids, much more extensive
description and detailed explanation is required, than is to
be found either in our author's '* Elements," or in any other
analogous condensation of chemistry. Dr. Henry under-
stands the requisite mode of conveying information in these
cases better than most writers ; and when he takes pains,
and speaks for himself, has the talent of being brief, and at
the same time minute, deep, and clear. Dr. Ure, as his
dictionary shows, is an eminent example of such a writer — >
he of course is neglected, where, as with our author, Dr.
Thomson is in the ascendant; but the article caloric, in his
dictionary, will at once explain and illustrate our meaning,
and would furnish an admirable foundation for a detailed
essay or treatise upon the subject. So extensive, indeed,
are the precincts of chemistry now becoming, that either
our systems must become very voluminous, or we must
adopt the plan, which to us appears preferable, of distinct
treatises upon different branches of the science. Thus, a
separate work on heat and light ; another on electricity and
magnetism ; another on attraction and the theory of combi-
nation ; a fourth on the constitution and properties of the
unmetallic elementary bodies ; a fifth on the metals and their
compounds; a sixth on vegetable, and a seventh on animal
chemistry and physiology ; an eighth on the chemistry of the
arts ; and lastly, a treatise on chemical manipulation in ge-
neral, would include all that appears essentially requisite ;
and as no one is supposed to be equally well versed in all
branches of the science, or in all details of the art, an
opportunity of selection would thus be afforded, so that each
writer might choose that particular department which he is
most accurately acquainted with, or which has formed his
favourite study. Mr. Faraday has already, as may be said,
led the way in such a plan, by the publication of his Chemi-

M Dr. Turner'^ Elements of Chemistry,

cat Manipulation, a work hitherto exceedingly wanted in
the laboratory, equally useful to the proficient and to the
student, and eminently creditable to the industry and skill
of the author, and to the school whence it emanates. We
shall of course take an early opportunity of introducing this
book in a more formal way to the attention of our chemical
readers.

In looking over Dr. Turner's first and second sections on
caloric and light, in the Elements now before us, we find
little but brevity to complain of; — there are, however, one
or two trifling historical inaccuracies : thus, at page 14, the
discovery of invisible heating rays is ascribed to Saussure
and Pictet ; but it is, in fact, of much more remote origin — •
it was well known to the Florentine academicians, and we
may even trace the idea in Lucretius, (De Rerum Naturd^
lib. V. 1. 609.)

Forsitan et rosea Sol alte lampade lucens
Possideat multum ccecis fervoribus ignem
Circum se, nullo qui sit fulgore notatus, <^c.

At page 31 we have an account of Wedgwood's pyrome-
ter, which is said to be *' little employed at present, because
its indications cannot be relied on ;" — the fact is, that it is
never used, and that we owe to Sir James Hall ample rea-
sons for placing no confidence in it.

The subject of specific heat is clearly explained, and so are
the phenomena of liquefaction and evaporation. In regard
to the constitution of gases, the author remarks, that the ex-
periments of Sir H. Davy and Mr. Faraday on the liquefac-
tion of gaseous substances, appear to justify the opinion that
gases are merely the vapours of extremely volatile liquids.
Mr. Faraday has proved this in regard to several of the gases,
and analogy leads us to apply it to the rest ; — but what share
Sir H. Davy had in the discovery, we know not ; for Mr. Fa-
raday actually condensed chlorine into a liquid before Sir H.
had heard or thought about the matter. Light, and its
phenomena as connected with chemistry, is superficially
passed over in the second section, and the third brings us
to the important article '* Electricity."

We are willing to admit that the subject of electricity is
a very difficult one for the chemist to deal with — he must
necessarily say much upon it, and is equally obliged to omit
abstract details which are often necessary to its explanation,
and yet too prolix and bulky for an elementary chemical
work. So that it requires considerable acquaintance with
the subject to give a perspicuous and yet concise abstract,

Dr. Turner's Elements of Chemistry, 63

such as may be useful to the student. Dr. Turner has not
been very successful in effecting this desideratum, and has
unnecessarily introduced two sections, the one on electricity,
the other on galvanism. He also talks of the ** science of
galvanism," which is in bad taste, and erroneously asserts
that the energy of the pile is proportional to the degree of
chemical action which takes place ; a statement by no means
correct, inasmuch as the energy of De Luc's column is directly
proportional tothe number of alternations, andappears entirely
independent of chemical action ; and again, a series of 2000
plates, arranged in the usual Voltaic apparatus, when per-
fectly bright and clean, and the cells filled with distilled
water only, give a much more powerful shock, and cause
a greater divergence of the leaves of the electrometer than
when the apparatus is charged with diluted acids. Here,
those very singular phenomena, which electricians distin-
guish by the terms quantity and intensity, appear perfectly
distinct ; and between these our author does not sufficiently
discriminate, but jumbles the whole under the term activity.
In describing the chemical energies, too, of the pile, or its
decomposing powers, the Doctor entirely overlooks the im-
portant andf curious influence of water. He says that acid^
and salts are all decomposed, without exception, one of their
elements appearing at one side of the battery, and the other
at its opposite extremity ; {i. e. we presume, at its positive
and negative poles.) But the fact is, that, excepting where it
merely acts as a source of heat, nothing is decomposable by
electricity without the intervention of water ; the hydrogen
and oxygen of which respectively accompany the elements of
the other compounds. Not an atom of potassium can be
obtained unless the potassa be moistened ; nor can any salt
be decomposed except water be present. Sir Humphry
says, it is required, to render the substance a conductor ;
but its operation is more recondite, and there is something
mysterious and still unexplained in the uniform appearance of
hydrogen and oxygen at the opposite poles, when far apart
in water, and in all other cases of true polar electro-chemical
decomposition. At page 86, the unfortunate protectors of
ships' bottoms are introduced — a subject about which the less
is said the better ; — ^and, as to electro-magnetism, it is merely
mentioned as to its leading phenomena, in the space of three
or four pages; nor is anything new suggested upon the
♦' Theory of the Pile," as it is called, which concludes the
subject, and which is dismissed in the brief limit of a pag«
iMid a half.

64 Dr. Turner'^ Elements of Chemistry,

The second part of Dr. Turner's work is said to comprise
^* Inorganic Chemistry," and therefore embraces a very ex-
tensive field of inquiry. To the arrangement we have
already objected; and many of the typographical and verbal
errors that occur, have been noticed in a contemporary
Journal, so that we shall chiefly attend to the details of the
sections.

Under the head *« Affinity," some of the leading facts
and doctrines of chemical attraction are perspicuously set
forth; but we could have wished that a variety of exploded
opinions and erroneous notions had been altogether passed
over, as they occupy space which might have been better
employed, and can never prove of any other use to the stu-
dent than to show him the errors and fallacies to which acute
philosophers are sometimes liable. Of this kind, espe-
cially, are Berthollet's notions upon the subject of affinity.
The doctrine of definite proportion is, on the whole, well and
clearly explained ; but it would have been much better
and clearer, had Dr. Turner confined himself to facts, and
meddled less with opinions concerning their cause ; he is
moreover, in many respects, historically inaccurate. He
ascribes much to Dalton that honestly belongs to Higgins; —
is much too merciful to Berzelius and his Canons ; and
lenient beyond all endurance to the plagiarisms of *' Dr.
Thomson's admirable Treatise on the first Principles of Che-
mistry."

In the third and following sections, the simple non-metallic
substances are described in an order of arrangement which
must be very perplexing to the student ; otherwise the details
are well given, except that here and there the line between
theory and fact is not sufficiently marked. Thus we are
told that " hydrogen is exactly 16 times lighter than oxygen,
and therefore that 100 cubic inches must weigh il±liL, or

2.118. Its specific gravity is consequently 0.0694, as stated
some years ago by Dr. Prout." Now this is a theoretical
deduction, founded upon the specific gravity and constitution
of ammonia, (and not upon the composition of water,) and
probably correct as applied to jjure hydrogen ; — but if we
weigh the gas, as usually obtained, even with the utmost
caution, and of the utmost purity, we shall never procure it
so light as here stated, notwithstanding all the learning and
argument that our worthy friend. Dr. Thomas Thomson, has
issued upon the subject in his various essays in the Annals,
and in his magnum opus. We also object to the stress
which is often laid upon the whims of individuals, and upon

Dr. Turner'5 Elements of Chemistry, 65

exploded opinions; instances of which will occur to the
reader under the subject of the composition of nitrogen,
and the constitution of the atmosphere. We further caution
our author against admitting hints, allusions, and inuendos
as to the possibility of future inventions and discoveries,
as claims upon the merits of such discoveries, when they are
actually made. Berzelius has talked a vast deal of non-
sense about the composition of nitrogen ; and should that
discovery ever be made, he will doubtlessly assume the credit
of having suggested the steps which led to it. Some foolish
persons are apt to think that the Marquis of Worcester was
the inventor of Watt's steam-engine, because he said he
had means of raising water by steam, in his Century of
Inventions; and we have heard that an eminent chemist of
the present day considers himself entitled to all the merit
that may belong to Mr. Brunei's carbonic acid engine, be-
cause he had previously stated the possibility of such an
application of Mr. Faraday's important discoveries. The
fact is, that these are woeful days for science ; all the good
feeling and free communication that used to exist among its
active cultivators in this country, has given way to petty
jealousies and quibbling scandal ; one person is exalted for the
purpose of depreciating another ; and those causes of disgust,
which some years ago induced one of our most amiable and
able men of science to quit the field, and even leave the coun-
try, are becoming daily more prevalent. Were it not an invi-
dious task, we could easily explain and unfold the sources of
all this mischief, and shall indeed feel it our duty so to do,
should not matters in due time take a more favourable turn ;
but the task is at once serious and disagreeable, and we
therefore postpone it, in the hope of more favourable events.
We really believe that, had it not been for the scientific con-
versationes held during the last seasonat the houses of a few
private gentlemen connected with the learned societies, and
more especially the weekly meetings at the Royal Institution,
which kept up a friendlv intercourse among those who were
willing to profit by it, tliat the whole scientific world would
have been at loggerheads, and in that state of anarchy of
which the evils may be learned by a short residence at a
•* northern seat of learning."

The main object of this digression is to deprecate party in
science ; and we were led to it by observing, or thinking
that we observe, something of such a tendency in the writer
whose book is before us — we hope we are mistaken.

The next section comprises <* the compounds of the simple
JULY— OCT. 1827. F

^ Pr. Turner's Elements of Chemistry^

.non-metallic acidifiable combustibles with each other." It
includes the important subject of ammonia, of the varieties
of carburetted hydrogen, sulphuretted and phosphuretted
hydrogen, and cyanogen and its compounds. The metals are
then treated of, and to these succeed their salts ; and
though the execution of this part of the work betrays some
.haste, it shows also considerable reading, and some origin-
ality : the general views are well and clearly sketched, but
there are many points upon which we are entirely at variance
with our author ; and we more especially object to his ac-
count of the action of chlorides upon water, and to his notions
concerning the ** muriates of oxides," a class of compounds
of which, with one or two exceptions, we are disinclined to
admit the existence. If common salt be a chloride of sodium,
and experiment obliges us so to regard it, what is there in
its aqueous solution that should lead us to consider it as
containing a muriate of soda ; what evidence of any new
arrangement of elements ? Dr. T. is certainly in mistake,
when he says, " for all practical purposes, therefore, the
solution of a metallic chloride in water may be viewed as
the muriate of an oxide, and on this account I shall always
regard it as such in the present treatise." This inconside-
rate dogma taints much of the reasoning upon the chlo-
rides, &c., and is manifestly culled in the Thomsonian school,
though we have indeed heard that a Professor at Edinburgh
thus addresses his pupils upon the above subject: "The
elaborate researches of the illustrious Davy have taught us
that common salt is a binary compound of chlorine and
sodium, a chloride, therefore, or a chloruret of sodium. But
it is only chloride of sodium whilst quiescent in the salt-
cellar ; for no sooner does it come into contact with the
salivary humidity of the fauces, than, by the play of affini-
ties, which I have elsewhere explained, the sodium becomes
Boda, and the chlorine generates muriatic acid ; — that,
therefore, which upon the table is chloride of sodium, is
muriate of soda in the mouth ; and this again, when desic-
cated or deprived of humidity, retrogrades into its former
state."

Dr. Turner again falls into error, as we humbly conceivCj
in calling certain salts, such, for instance, as those of the per-
oxide of iron, sesquisalts, a term properly applied in those
cases only where one proportional of a protoxide unites with
one and a half of an acid, such for instance as the sesquicar-
bonate of soda, &c., but in the sesquisulphate of iron, one
proportional of the peroxide contains 1.5 of oxygen, and ne-

Dr. Turner's Elements of Chemistry. 67

cessarily, therefore, (according to Berzelius' canon, if the Doc-»
tor pleases,) requires 1.5 of acid to convert it into a salt; just
as the commonly constituted peroxides (containing two pro^
portionals of oxygen) require two of acid. Dr. Thomson,
with all his nomenclatural pretensions, has fallen into the same
error.

The part of our author's work which treats of the che-
mistry of organic bodies is, upon the whole, an unexception-
able and accurate epitome of that complicated branch of the
science. It has its inaccuracies, but they apparently arise out
of the difficulty of condensing into the space of a few pages,
matter which, as we have elsewhere remarked, would require
an ample volume for its extended and perspicuous details.

In our hasty account of this work, we have rather dwelt
upon its defects than its merits, in the hope of seeing another
and more extended edition, free from what we consider as
serious obstacles to the success and usefulness of the present
production. We hope that Dr. Turner will not feel offended
at the freedom with which our remarks are offered. We are
anxious that a writer of such good information should be in-
duced to think for himself; at least, that he should accurately
weigh the pretensions, and inquire into the originality of those
views and researches upon which he bestows such unquali-
fied and, in our opinion, undeserved praise, and to which he
assents with a facility unbecoming one who evidently possesses
the means of testing their merits.

Experiments on Audition.

[Communicated by Mr. C. Wheatstone.]

The recent valuable experiments of Savart* and of Dr, Wollas-
ton have added to our stock of information several important
and hitherto unnoticed phenomena relating to audition; bu^
notwithstanding the investigations of these distinguished experi-
mentalists, and though the physiology of the ear has beeh'^an
object of unceasing attention for many centuries, yet we are far
from possessing a perfect knowledge of the functions of the
various parts of this organ. The description of new facts illus-
trative of this subject cannot, thereforie, be devoid of interest;

* Recherches sur les usages de la membrane du tympan et de I'oreiUe
exteme^ par M. Felix Savart. AnncUes de Chimie, torn. xxvi. p. 1.

F 2

€8 Experiments on Audition.

and though I do not anticipate that the observations contained
in this communication will lead to any important results, their
novelty may claim for them some attention from the readers of
your Journal-

5 1-

If the hand be placed so as to cover the ear, or if the en-
trance of the meatus auditorius be closed by the finger without
pressure, the perception of external sounds will be considerably
diminished, but the sounds of the voice produced internally will
be greatly augmented : the pronunciation of those vowels in
which the cavity of the mouth is the most closed, as e on, &c,,
produce the strongest effect ; on articulating smartly the sylla-
bles te and kew, the sound will be painfully loud.

Placing the conducting stem of a sounding tuning-fork* on
any part of the head, when the ears are closed as above de-
scribed, a similar augmentation of sound will be observed.
When one ear remains open, the sound will always be referred
to the closed ear, but when both ears are closed, the sound will
appear louder in that ear the nearer to which it is produced.
If, therefore, the tuning-fork be applied above the temporal
bone near either ear, it will be apparently heard by that ear
to which it is adjacent ; but on removing the hand from this ear
(although the fork remains in the same situation) the sound
will appear to be referred immediately to the opposite ear.

In the case of the vocal articulations, the augmentation is
accompanied by a reedy sound, occasioned by the strong agita-
tions of the tympanum. When the air in the meatus is com-
pressed against this membrane by pressing the hand close to the
ear, or when the eustachian tube is exhausted by the means
indicated by Dr. Wollaston, the reedy sound is no longer heard,
and the augmentation is considerably diminished. The ringing

• The tuning-fork consists of a four-sided metallic rod, bent so as to
form two equal and parallel branches, having a stem connected with the
lower curved part of the rod, and contained within the plane of the two
branches. The branches are caused to vibrate by striking one end
against a hard body, whilst the stem is held in the hand. The sound
produced by this instrument when insulated is very weak, and can only
be distinctly heard when its branches are brought close to the ear ; but
instantly its stem is connected with any surface capable of vibrating, a
great augmentation of sound ensues from the communicated vibrations.
ThQ facility of its insulation and communication renders it a very conve-
nient instrument for a variety of acoustical experiments.

Experiments on Audition* 69

noise which simultaneously accompanies a very intense sound,
proceeds from the same cause, and may be prevented by the
same means. This ringing may be produced by applying the
stem of a sounding tuning-fork to the hand when covering the
ear, or by whistling when a hearing trumpet is placed to the ear.
As a proof that the resulting augmentation, which, when great,
excites the vibrations of the tympanum, is owing to the recipro-
cation of the vibrations by the air contained within the closed
cavity, it may be mentioned, that when the entrance of the
meatus is closed by a fibrous substance, as wool, &c., no in-
crease is obtained.

If the meatus and the concha of one ear be filled with water,
the sounds above-mentioned will be referred to the cavity con-
taining the water in the same way as when it contained air, and
was closed by the hand ; it will be indifferent whether any par-
tition be interposed between the cavity and the external air, as
the water is equally well insulated by a surface of air as by a
solid body*

The preceding experiments have shown, that sounds immedi-
ately communicated to the closed meatus externus are very
greatly augmented ; and it is an obvious inference, that if ex^
ternal sounds can be communicated, so as to act on the cavity
in a similar manner, they must receive a corresponding aug-
mentation. The great intensity with which sound is trans-
mitted by solid rods, at the same time that its diffusion is pre-
vented, affords a ready means of effecting this purpose, and of
constructing an instrument, which, from its rendering audible
the weakest sounds, may with propriety be named a Microphone.

Procure two flat pieces of plated metal, each sufficiently large
to cover the external ear, to the form also of which they may
be adapted ; on the outside of each plate directly opposite the
meatus, rivet a rod of iron or brass wire about 16 inches in
length, and one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and fasten the
two rods together at their unfixed extremities, so as to meet in
a single point. The rods must be so curved, that when the
plates are applied to the ears, each rod may at one end be per-
pendicularly inserted into its corresponding plate, and at the
other end may meet before the head in the plane of the mesial

TO Experiments on Audition,

line. The spring of the rods will be sufficient to fix the plates^

to the ears, but for greater security ribands may be attached
to each rod near its insertion iii the plate, and be tied behind
the head.

A more simple instrument may be constructed to be applied
to one ear only, by inserting a straight rod perpendicularly into
a similar plate to those described above.

The Microphone is calculated only for hearing sounds when
it. is in immediate contact with sonorous bodies ; when^ they
are diffused by their transmission through the air, this instru-
ment will not afford the slightest assistance.

It is not my intention in this place to detail all the various
experiments which may be made with this instrument, a few
will suffice to enable the experimenter to vary them at his
pleasure.

• 1. If a bell be rung in a vessel of water, and the point of the*
microphone be placed in the water at different distances from
the bell, the differences of intensity will be very sensible. 2. If
the point of the microphone be applied to the sides of a vessel
containing a boiling liquid, or if it be placed in the liquid itself,
the various sounds which are rendered may be heard very dis-
tinctly. 3. The instrument affords a means of ascertaining,
with considerable accuracy, the points of a sonorous body
at which the intensity of vibration is the greatest or least ;
thus, placing its point on different parts of the sounding board
of a violin or guitar, whilst one of its strings is in vibration, the
points of greatest and least vibration are easily distinguished.
4. If the stem of a sounding tuning-fork be brought in contact
with any part of the microphone^ and at the same time a musi-
cal sound be produced by the voice, the most uninitiated ear

Experiments on Auditimi. W

will be able to perceive the consonance or dissonance of the
two sounds ; the roughness of discords, and the beatings of im-
perfect consonances, are thereby rendered so extremely dis-
agreeable, and form so evident a contrast to the agreeable har-
mony and smoothness of two perfectly consonant sounds, that
it is impossible that they can be confounded,

§3-

Apply the broad sides of two sounding tuning-forks, both being
unisons, to the same ear ; on removing one fork to the opposite
dar, allowing the other to remain, the sensation will be consi-
derably augmented.

It is well known, that when two consonant sounds are heard
together, a third sound results from the coincidences of their
vibrations ; and that this third sound, which is called the grave
harmonic, is always equal to unity, when the two primitive
sounds are represented by the lowest integral numbers. This
being premised, select two tuning-forks, the sounds of which
differ by. any consonant interval excepting the octave ; place the
broad sides of their branches, while in vibration, close to one
ear, in such a manner that they shall nearly touch at the acoustic
axis, the resulting grave harmonic will then be strongly audible,
combined with the two other sounds ; place afterwards one
fork to each ear, and the consonance will be heard much richer
rn volume, but no audible indications whatever of the third
sound will be perceived.

§4.
Very acute sounds, such' as the chirping of the gryllus cam-
pestris, &c., are rendered inaudible by exhausting the air from
the Eustachian tube, and thereby producing a tension of the
membrane of the tympanum ; the different thicknesses or ten-
sions of this membrane may therefore occasion that diversity of
the limits of audibility, with regard to the acute sounds which
Dr. Wollaston has pointed out as existing in different indivi-
duals ; if so, it would be desirable to ascertain this limit in in-
dividuals in whom the tympanum is perforated, or destroyed.

§5.
When the auricula is brought forward, all acute sounds are
rendered much more intense, but no sensible difference is per-

72i Experiments on Audition^

ceived with regard to the grave sounds. The higher tones of
glass staccados, or of an octave flute, the ticking of a watch, all
kinds of sibilant sounds, &c. are thus greatly augmented : the
experiment is easily tried, by whistling very shrill notes. A
still greater augmentation of the acute sounds is obtained, by
placing the hands formed into a concave behind the ears, and
by bending downwards the upper part of the auricula, so as to
obtain a more complete cavity.

I will conclude with the following observation : 1 had, in con-
sequence of a cold, a very slight pain in my left ear ; on sound-
ing the regular notes of the piano-forte, C and C* were much
louder than the others, and the loudness was much increased,
by placing the hand in the manner above described to the left
ear. When it was pressed close, or when the Eustachian tube
>vas closed, the intensities of all the notes were equalized, I
attribute this affection to the diminished tension of the mem-
brana tympani, which was again increased by the operation
described.

On the Petromyzon Marinus.

On entering the harbour of Dublin a few weeks ago, we were
becalmed off the Hill of Howth, and to pass the tedious time
until a breeze sprung up, we found some lines on board, and
began to fish from the quarter-deck. We caught a number of
grey gurnet ; but our attention was particularly attracted by a
pull of uncommon force on one of the lines. Having rendered
assistance to the person who held it, we were all astonished to
see rise out of the water a large fish, with apparently a double
body, which, after floundering on the surface of the water, we
pulled on deck. On examining this phenomenon for a short
time, we were again surprized to see it separate into two parts ;
and then found that there were two large fish taken up on the
same hook, the head of one having been buried under the throat
of the other, to which it had firmly attached itself. When se-
parated by force, it wriggled about on the deck with extraordi-
nary strength and agility, and again darted on its prey, to which

On the Petromyzon Marinus,

79

it adhered so firmly, that it required very considerable exertion
to detach it ; for it suffered itself to be raised up by the tail
and shaken, still holding the other fish suspended from its jaws.
When finally separated, it showed great ferocity, darting at every
thing near it, and at last seizing the deck, which it held very
fast, writhing with its tail and body as if in the act of tearing it
to pieces. When detached, its teeth left a deep circular im-
pression on the wood, the fibres of which were drawn into the
cavity of its jaws, so as to be raised up in the form of a cone.
I now directed, that it should be put into a bucket of sea water,
in the hope of preserving it alive until we arrived in Dublin, but
it died in a shorter time than could be expected, from the energy
and activity it had displayed, long after the other fish was dead.
We had handled it very roughly, and so perhaps had mortally
hurt an animal otherwise very tenacious of life.

On examining the fishes, I found that which had taken the

hook, was the gadusPolachius, or whiting Pollack. It was about
two feet long, and it is probable its active enemy had fastened

fS On the Petromyzon Marinus,

on it after ft had been hooked ; if before, it would indicate an
extraordinary insensibility to pain in an animal that could
attend to the calls of appetite, whilst another was preying on
its vitals. The fish which had fastened on the pollack, was the
petromyzon marinus, or sea lamprey. It was nearly three feet
long, and resembled a large eel in shape. Its general colour
was a dull brownish olive variegated with bluish blotches ; the
back darker, and the belly paler, inclining to yellow. The eyes
were small, and the mouth large and oval ; but when distended,
circular. The inside of the jaws was deeply concave, and
studded with circular rows of sharp triangular teeth, that issued
from corresponding orange-coloured papular protuberances,
which formed the gums ; the tongue was short and crescent-
shaped, furnished with a row of very small teeth round the
edge. On the top of the head was a small orifice, or spout-hole^
from whence it discharged the superfluous water taken at the
mouth. But the circumstance that more particularly distin-
guished it, was that which gave rise to the vulgar error that it
had sixteen eyes. On either side of the neck, commencing just
below the real eyes, was a row of seven equidistant spiracles
exactly resembhng eyes ; they are, however, holes lined with a
red membrane, and all opening into the mouth, an apparatus
to supply the place of gills, whose functions are to extract
oxygen from the water, and so perform the office of lungs in
aquatic animals. It had two dorsal fins, one on the lower part of
the back, narrow, with a roundish outline ; the other commencing
where the first termin.ated. The spine was cartilaginous, without
processes. The pericardium, containing a small heart, was a re-
markably strong membrane, and the liver was as green as grass.
This fish is not uncommon in the North Seas, though it most
abounds in the Mediterranean, where, from earliest times, it was
esteemed a luxurious dish. Fish-ponds were purposely con-
structed to preserve it. On our coast, Pennant observes, that it
is found most frequently at the mouth of the Severn, which river
it sometimes ascends, where it is occasionally taken, firmly
attached to a stone by its mouth, while its tail and body are
waving freely to the current. Its adhesion at such times is so
strong, that it may be lifted with a stone of twelve pounds
weight appended to its mouth. This faculty is owing to its

On ihe Petromyzon Marinu84 79

power of suction ; while the circumstance of its circular jaws
coming in close contact with the surface of the body excludes
the external air within the cavity of the mouth, and so adhereg
like the hand placed on the cup of an air-pump. It is from
this remarkable property, that its scientific name has been im-
posed*. Its vulgar name, lamprey, from lampetra, has a simi-
lar derivation. By the Romans it was named muraena. As
this fish was well known and highly prized by the ancients, there
is none that has been so frequently described and alluded to*
Aristotle, PUny, Tacitus, Columella, iElian, Seneca, and Oppian,
have mentioned its properties and habits, which correspond
exactly with those I have described above. Pliny says, in the
northern parts of France, and consequently contiguous to the
British Isles, the lampreys have seven spots in the jaws, re-
sembling the constellation of the plough, evidently the same as
the eyes, which vulgar opinion assigns to the fishf. Their ex-
treme voracity was such, that criminals were thrown among
them to be devoured. Seneca relates, that Vedius Pollio, a
Roman knight, ordered his seryant, who had broken u crystal
vase, to be thrown into a large pond of lampreys J ; and Colu-
mella writes, that they were sometimes seized with a rabid fury;
that resembled canine madness ; in the access of which, they
seized upon other fish, so that it was impossible to keep them
in the same pond § ; and to account for this extraordinary fero-
city, Oppian and others assert, that the lamprey is impregnated
by a serpent ; the one issuing from the sea, and the other rush-
ing down to the rocks, inflamed with madness, to consummate
the impregnation ; and adds, that the extraordinary intercourse
was effected by the lamprey seizing the serpent's head in its

* Petromyzon, a tst^ov, saxura, and /^v^eta, sugere.

t In Gallia septentrionale mursenis omnibus dextra in maxilla septenae
maculae ad formam septentrionis aureo colore fulgent.

Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. ix. cap. 39.

X Fregerat unus ex servis crystallinum ejus ; rapi eum Vedius jussit,
nee vulgari quadam morte periturum, muraenis objici jubebatur quas
ingens piscina continebat. — Seneca de Ira, lib. ii. cap. 40.

§ Commisceri eas cum alterius notae piscibus non placet, quasi rabie
vexantur quod huic generi velut canino solet accidere. Saevitia perse-
quuntur squamosos plurimosque mandendo consumunt.

Columella de Me Busticdj lib. ix. cap. 1 7.

76 On the Petromyzon Marinus*

mouth*. This singular copulation was the reason "why the
jRomans, who were immoderately fond of lampreys, did not
wish to eat them, when impregnated by the supposed serpent.
Horace, therefore, makes Nasidienus, among the blunders of
his supper, serve it in that state -j-.

. Lampreys w^ere a favourite dish with our own early monarchs.
Henry II. died by eating them to excess. The celebrated Pope
also owed his death to a surfeit of them. Doctor Johnson re-
marks in his life of the poet, that he was in the habit of cook-
ing them himself in a silver saucepan. The Corporation of
Oxford still make up a periodical pye of this fish for the king,
in compliance with ancient usage. But lampreys have lost
their rank at corporation feasts, in consequence of the more de-
licious and wholesome turtle being introduced into modern
cookery.

I have never noticed lampreys in the Dublin fish-market ;
and though they are frequently used in the South of Ireland, I
do not know if they have ever been made an article of food in
Dublin, or the north, where they are rarely met with.

C.

Observations upon the Motion of the Leaves of the Mimosa

Pudica.
[To the Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Science J
Dear Sir,

Towards the latter part of this summer, Mr. Gilbert Burnett
and myself made several experiments with a view to ascertain
the nature of the movements exhibited by the sensitive plant.
We aftenvards found that the greater part of the facts which
we had observed, had been previously described by Mr. Lind-

"Clg fiiv ya.[jt.u n xcci i^ oikos ip;\^iTixi aurn

Tlpo(p^uv Ifcitovcra •xa.f tfjiUfovTi ya.fJi.oio

Hrei 0 fiiv (pXoyvA rshufiivo; ivloSt Xvffff^

Ma7vtTa/ 'iti (piXorriToc kcci 'iyyv^i ffVfUTcr.t ccxrn;

Uixpo; o(pis. x.r.x. — OrPiAN, Halieut. lib. i. V. 554.

t Adfertur squillas inter mvirsena natantes.
In patina porrecta : *' haec gravida," inquit,
*' Capta est;'— Hon. lib. ii. Sat. 8. lin. 46.

On the Leaves of the Sensitive Plant. 77

say and Dr. Dutrochet. Mr. Lindsay's observations are to be
met with in a MS. preserved in the hbrary of the Royal
Society, which is dated July 1790 : this essay is alluded to by
Dr. Smith in his ♦* Introduction to Botany." Dr. Dutrochet's
experiments were published in his " Recherches anatomiques
et physiologiques sur la Structure intime des Animaux et des
Vegetaux," which appeared in 1824. With the latter author
the reputation of originality is likely to rest : not undeservedly,
indeed, as there is no reason to suppose that his experiments
were suggested by a knowledge of those performed by Lindsay.
It is, however, an act of literary justice to secure to Mr. Lindsay
the credit of undoubted priority in describing the phenomena
which he noticed in common with Dutrochet. I have drawn
up the following remarks partly for this purpose — partly to have
an opportunity of mentioning some circumstances which escaped
the observation of both experimentalists.

The leaves of the Mimosa Pudica consist either of one or
two or three pairs of leaflets, and occasionally terminate by an
odd one. Each leaflet bears from twenty to sixty subleaflets,
which are disposed in pairs. The petiole or stalk of each leaf,
at the extremity which is attached to the branch or stem of the
peant, swells into an intumescence varying from three to five
in length. A similar intumescence, of proportionate dimen-
sions, is seen upon each subpetiole, where it is articulated with
the petiole, and upon the base of the stalk of each subleaflet ;
the intumescence is the part in which motion takes place.

During the day-time the petioles are obseiTed to have a
direction upwards, or rather to form an acute angle with the
upper part of the stem or branch, to which they are attached :
the subpetioles are divergent : the subleaflets are spread out, so
as to lie nearly in one plane. {Fig. 1.)

During the night the petioles are found to be depressed ;
the subpetioles to be drawn together, the subleaflets folded,
the upper or solar surfaces of each pair being brought into
contact. {Fig, 2.)

The leaves rise, the leaflets diverge, and open by throwing
down their subleaflets, at daybreak : the opposite changes occur
about sunset. The experiments that are to be described, are
supposed to be performed in the day-time..

TO

Observations upon the Motion of
Fig,u

If a terminal subleaflet be pinched
with forceps, or cut with scissors, it
rises, together with its fellow ; then the
.next pair rise ; then the next ; and so
on in succession, till all the pairs of
subleaflets upon the same subpetiole
are folded. In a little time afterwards,
the petiole is bent downwards at its
intumescence ; and in a few seconds
more the remaining leaflets upon the
same petiole fold their subleaflets in
pairs, from the base towards the point
of the leaflet.

If a subleaflet be burnt, instead of
being cut or pinched, the phenomena
above described occur more rapidly:
and after they have taken place, the
adjoining leaves upon the same branch
are bent down in succession, their leaf-
lets brought together, and their sub-
leaflets folded. If the plant be very
vigorous and lively, an impression

Fig. 2.

the Leaves of the Sensitive Plant

19

made upon one leaf affects the rest In succession. It is well
known that the stem, branches, flowers, and roots of tlie sensi-
tive plant have no motion. But M. Desfontaines observed
that, on touching the roots with sulphuric acid, the leaves
become folded ; and M. Dutrochet obtained a similar result on
burning either the flower or the stem.

If the plant be shaken, all the leaves are simultaneously
thrown down, and their leaflets folded. Mr. Lindsay attempted
to elucidate the action of the intumescence in raising and
depressing the petiole, in the following manner. He cut out
a portion from the upper or solar surface of the intumescence ;
after which he found that the petiole, upon recovering, rose
higher than before, {Fig. 3.) From another leaf he removed
the inferior portion of the intumescence : he found, upon this
injury, that the leaf declined more than before, and did not
again rise, (Fig. 4.) He noticed that a thin slice, pared from

Fig. 3.

Fig. 4,

Fig. 5,

either surface of the intumescence, has a like effect, but in a
less degree than a deep excision : and he found that when
similar experiments are made upon the intumescence of the
subpetiole, there is no essential difference in the result.

Thus Mr. Lindsay discovered, that the force which raises
the petiole exists in the lower part of the intumescence, and
that which depresses it, in the upper. He seems to have con-
sidered that the temporary excess of force in either part is
produced by an impulsion of the sap from the vessels of the
jdelding portion into those of the opposite portion.

BO Observations upon the Motion of

Dr. Dutrochet viewed these phenomena in some respects
more justly. He remarked, in addition to what Lindsay had
observed, that if, instead of the upper and under surface, the
lateral part of the intumescence be removed, the petiole be-
comes not raised or deflected, but inclined towards the side
on which it is injured {Fig. 5) ; and that if longitudinal slices
of the upper, or under, or lateral portions of the intumescence
are immersed in water, these separate slices immediately
become incurvated, that edge being concave which looks to-
wards the axis of the intumescence. From these facts Dutro-
chet inferred that the texture of the intumescence possesses
some modification of irritability; that, when excited, each
length of the intumescence (to use a very imperfect expression)
forcibly assumes an incurvated figure, like a curved spring
returning from a state of temporary extension ; that the petiole
is raised, when the action of the lower part of the intumescence
predominates ; is depressed, when the upper portion acts with
increased energy.

Mr. Burnett and myself had arrived at very similar conclu-
sions respecting the agency of the intumescence, before we
became acquainted with the inquiries of Lindsay and Dutrochet.

In Dutrochet's able researches, a more exact analysis, how-
ever, was obtained of the functions of this part. He discovered
that the cortex of the intumescence is the seat of its irritability:
for upon wholly removing the bark, so as to expose the ligneous
substance, the petiole was found to have been rendered motion-
less. Nevertheless, the intumescence, thus mutilated, remains
capable of transmitting an impression made upon its leaflets to
the leaves adjoining, Dutrochet further ascertained, that the
ligneous substance alone is fitted to convey the peculiar stimu-
lus, which spreads, from a point of the plant that has been
irritated, to the adjoining leaves.

The experiments already mentioned appear to explain the
mode in which the elevation and depression of the petiole, and
the divergence and approximation of the subpetioles are pro-
duced. It is probable that the contrivance for folding and
expanding the subleaflets is of a similar nature. Mr. Burnett
and myself conjectured that each subleaflet is raised by the
under part of the intumescence that exists at its base, and de«»

the Leaves of the Sensitive Plant,

81

pressed by some action of the upper portion of the same intu-
mescence. In trying the soundness of this hypothesis, we met
with the following evidence in its favour : —

Mr. Lindsay had observed, that at the moment when the
petiole is depressed, the under part of its intumescence assumes
a deeper colour. But the under part of the intumescence of
the petiole is the portion which is shortened during its depres-
sion, and which is overcome on this occasion by the superior
force of the upper portion.

Now it is to be remarked that in the subleafiets the upper
part of the little intumescence belonging to each corresponds,
in one respect alluded to, with the lower portion of the intu-
mescence of the petiole ; it is the portion shortened when the
leaf is folded. And we found, upon examination, that it like-
wise distinctly changes colour at the moment when the sub-
leaflet rises, while the under surface of the intumescence of the
subleaflet does not change its hue.

In pursuing this inquiry, another point of correspondence
between the mechanism which depresses the petiole, and that
which raises the subleaflets, was stated, which has yet additional
interest.

When the plant is not in its most lively state, the under sur-
face of the intumescence of the subleaflet (6, Fig. 2,) and the
upper surface of the intumescence of the petiole (a, Fig. 6,)

Fig. 7.

/k

Fiff. 8.

may be pricked with a needle, without producing action.
But if the opposite surfaces, those namely, which change colour
and are shortened when the petiole is depressed and the
subleaflets folded, are touched with the point of the needle
these actions are instantaneously produced. Here the sub-

JULY — OCT. 1827. G

S8 Observations upon the Motion of

leaflet is most delicately sensible ; a slight touch with the
pomt of a needle upon the upper surface of the intume-
scence of the subleaflet (c, Fig. 1,) causes the single sub-
leaflet so stimulated to rise ; and in this manner all the sub-
leaflets upon one side of a leaflet may be raised, their fellows
remaining expanded : if the touch be something sharper, the
fellow subleaflet rises at the same time ; if ruder still, the next
pair of leaflets fold directly afterwards, and the irritation then
proceeds entirely through the leaflet. But the most satisfactory
and curious results are obtained on stimulating the extension
surface of the intumescence of the petiole. The needle may
be applied to every point upon the upper or solar half of the
intumescence of the petiole (a, Fig. 6,) without producing any
visible effect ; but if the irritation be applied upon the under
half, (c^, Fig. 6,) either quite below or laterally, the petiole is
immediately depressed. The transition is abrupt from the sur-
face against which the needle may be made to prick, without
exciting action, to one which, when the needle reaches it, causes
the petiole to be instantaneously thrown down.
l^lt appears, therefore, that each intumescence has a surface
especially adapted to receive mechanical impressions ; which
surface is placed on the side of the intumescence opposite to
that, by which the consequent motion is produced. A curious
but vague analogy may be traced between these surfaces of the
sensitive plant and the organs of sense in animals.

We painted with a thick layer of lamp-black in oil the intu-
mescence of different petioles in different ways ; the upper sur-
face of one, the under surface of another, the side of a third.
The experiment was followed by no sensible effect. After a
few minutes the petioles, which had been thrown down by the
operation, rose again in each case, and fell again as readily as
before upon being stimulated afresh.

We tried what result would ensue upon slitting the intume-
scence of the petiole horizontally. The petiole, after this in-
jury, did not recover its usual direction ; the intumescence ap-
peared to have wholly lost its properties ; the leaf seemed to
depress the petiole by its weight alone, yet the leaflets ex-
panded, and exhibited their usual irritability, upon the depend-
ing stalk. The same effect, however, was observed, when the

the Leaves of the Sensitive Plant, 83

intumescence was divided by a longitudinal incision, made ver-
tically instead of horizontally.

I have already mentioned that Dutrochet discovered that the
ligneous fibre is the channel, along which an impression is
conveyed from one part to another. Mr. Burnett and myself
had made one or two experiments upon the course which the
irritation follows when spreading from leaflet to leaflet, where
several are placed upon the same petiole.

If the upper third of a petiole bearing four leaflets be di-
vided longitudinally, the irritability of the leaflets remains for
many days unimpaired ; upon cutting with scissors one snb-
leaflet after the plant has recovered itself, the irritation is ob-
served to descend the wounded leaflet, and then to pass to that
adjoining upon the same side of the petiole : afterwards the
petiole falls, but there the effect stops ; it does not extend to
the two other leaflets ; the direct route is cut through, and the
irritation seems to find no circuitous way, as might have been
expected, perhaps through the intumescence of the petiole back
again to the leaflets, on its summit. If on a petiole, bearing
four leaflets, a lateral incision be made, cutting the petiole half
through it at a point between the two leaflets which are situated
on one side, upon irritating either of the leaflets, between which
the incision has been made, it folds its subleaflets ; then the
two opposite leaflets fold their subleaflets ; and last of all, the
leaflet next adjoining that first irritated, but isolated from, it
by the incision, becomes folded.

In the few remarks which I have thus put together, I have
quoted Lindsay and Dutrochet only as far as their researches
anticipated my own : I leave unnoticed many experiments, in
several of which these authors are again found to have acci-
dentally coincided. The experiments to which I allude do
not, however, serve to illustrate the nature of the motion ex-
hibited by the sensitive plant, to the examination of which sub-
ject alone my attention was, in the present instance, directed,
in the expectation that it might throw light upon the obscure
and interesting subject of muscular action.

I remain, my dear Sir, Your's truly,

Herbert Mayo.
19, George Sireety Hanover Square,
August 29, 1827.

G ^

• . "A ^

84^ Mr. Faraday'5 Experiments on the Nature of

Experiments on the Nature of Labarraque^s disinfecting Soda
Liquid. By M. Faraday, F.R.S., Corn Mem. R. Acad.
Sciences, Paris, &c. &c.

1. The following experimental investigations relate to the
nature of that medicinal preparation which M. Labarraque has
lately introduced to the world, and named Chloride of oxide of
Sodium. They were occasioned by the accounts which were
given of this and other substances of similar power, to the
members of the Royal Institution, at two of their Friday even-
ing meetings * ; the value of the preparation, the uncertainty
of its nature, and the inaccuracy of its name, all urging the
inquiry.

2. In the first instance the inquiry was directed to the na-
ture of the action exerted by chlorine gas upon a solution of
carbonate of soda, questions having arisen in the minds of
many, whether it was or was not identical with the action ex-
erted by the same gas on a solution of the caustic alkali, and
whether carbonic acid was evolved during the operation or not.
Chlorine gas was therefore carefully prepared, and after being
washed was sent into a solution of carbonate of soda, in the
proportions directed by M. Labarraque ; i. e. 2800 grains of
crystallized carbonate of soda were dissolved in 1.28 pints of
water ; and being put into a Woulfe's apparatus, two-thirds of
the chlorine evolved from a mixture of 967 grains of salt with
750 grains of oxide of manganese, when acted upon by 967
grains of oil of vitriol, previously diluted with 750 grains of water,
were passed into it ; the remaining third being partly dissolved
in the washing water, and partly retained in the open space of
the retort and washing vessel. The operation was conducted
slowly, that as little muriatic acid as possible might be carried
over into the alkali. The common air ejected from the bottle
containing the solution was collected and examined; but from.
the beginning to the end of the operation not a particle of car-
bonic acid was disengaged from the solution, although the chlo-
rine was readily absorbed. Ultimately a liquid of a very pale

« See the last volume of this Journal, pp. 211, 460.

LabarraqueV Disinfecting Soda Liquid, 85

yellow colour was obtained, being the same as M. Labarraque's
soda liquor, and with which the investigations were made that
will hereafter be described.

3. An experiment was then instituted, in which the effect of
excess of chlorine,, upon a solution of carbonate of soda of the
same strength as the former, was rendered evident. The solu-
tion was put into two Woulfe's bottles, the chlorine well washed
and passed through, until ultimately it bubbled through both
portions without absorption of any appreciable quantity. As
soon as the common air was expelled, the absorption of the
chlorine was so complete in the first bottle, that no air or gas
of any kind passed into the second, a proof that carbonic acid
was not liberated in that stage of the experiment. Continuing
the introduction of the chlorine, the solution in the first bottle
gradually became yellow, the gas not being yet visible by its
colour in the atmosphere above the solution, although chlorine
could be detected there by litmus paper. Up to this time no car-
bonic acid gas had been evolved ; but the first alkaline solution
soon acquired a brighter colour, and now carbonic acid gas
began to separate from all parts of it, and passing over into the
second bottle, carried a little chlorine with it. The soda solu-
tion in the first bottle still continued to absorb chlorine, whilst
the evolution of carbonic acid increased, and the colour became
heightened. After some time the evolution of carbonic acid
diminished, smaller quantities of the chlorine were absorbed
by the solution, and the rest passing into the atmosphere in the
bottle, went from thence into the second vessel, and there
caused the same series of changes and actions that had occurred
in the first. The solution in the first bottle was now of a
bright chlorine yellow colour, and the gas bubbled up through
it as it would through saturated water.

4. When the chlorine had saturated the soda solution in the
second bottle, and an excess of gas sufficient to fill several large
jars had been passed through the whole apparatus, the latter
was dismounted, the solutions put into bottles and distinguished
as the saturated solutions of carbonated soda ; they were of a
bright greenish-yellow colour, and had an insupportable odour
of chlorine.

5. The saturated solution (4) was then examined as to the

86 Mr. Faraday's Experiments on the Nature of

change which had been occasioned by the action of the chlo-
rine. It bleached powerfully, and apparently contained no
carbonated alkali : but when a glass rod was dipped into it
and dried in a warm current of air, the saline matter left, when
applied to moistened turmeric paper, reddened it considerably
at first, and then bleached it ; and this piece of paper being
dried and afterwards moistened upon the bleached part, gave
indications of alkali to fresh turmeric paper.

6. A portion of the saturated solution (4) being warmed, in-
stantly evolved chlorine gas, then assumed a dingy appearance,
and ultimately became nearly colourless ; after which it had an
astringent and saline taste. Being evaporated to dryness at a
very moderate temperature, it left a saline mass, consisting of
much common salt, a considerable quantity of chlorate of soda,
and a trace of carbonate of soda. This mixture had no bleach-
ing powers. The dingy appearance, assumed in the first in-
stance, was found to be occasioned by a little manganese which
had passed over into the solutions, notwithstanding the care
taken in evolving and washing the gas.

7. From these experiments it was evident that when chlorine
was passed in excess into a solution of carbonate of soda (3),
the carbonic acid was expelled, and the soda acted upon as if
it were caustic, a mixture of chloride of sodium and chlorate of
soda being produced ; with the exception of the small portion
of carbonate of soda which, it appears, may remain for some time
in the solution in contact with the excess of chlorine at com-
mon temperatureis, without undergoing this change. The quan-
tities of chloride of sodium and chlorate of soda were not ascer-
tained, no doubt being entertained that they were in the well-
known proportions Avhich occur when caustic soda is used.

8. The Labarraque's soda liquor which had been prepared
as described (2), was now examined relative to the part the
chlorine played in it, or the change the alkali had undergone,
and was soon found to be very difi'erent to that which has been
described, as indeed the experiments I had seen made by
Mr. Phillips* led me to expect. The solution had but little
odour of chlorine, its taste was at first sharp, saline, scarcely at

♦ See Vol L of this Journal, p. 461 ; and Phil. Mag. N. S., I. 376.

Labarraque's Disinfecting Soda Liquid. 82

all alkaline, but with a persisting astringent biting effect upoa
the tongue. When applied to turmeric paper, it first i^ddened
and then bleached it.

9. A portion of the solution (2) being boiled, gave out no
chlorine ; it seemed but little changed by the operation, having
the same peculiar taste, and nearly the same bleaching power
as before. This is a sufficient proof that the chlorine, though
in a state ready to bleach or disinfect, must not be considered
as in the ordinary state of solution, either in water or a saline
fluid ; for ebullition will freely carry off the chlorine under the
latter circumstances.

10. A portion evaporated on the sandbath rather hastily,
gave a dry saline mass, quite unlike that left by the saturated
solution already described (6) ; and which, when dissolved, had
the same astringent taste as before, and bleached solution of
indigo very powerfully : when compared with an equal portion of
the unevaporated solution, which had beeii placed in the mean
time in the dark, its bleaching power upon diluted sulphate of
indigo was 30, that of the former being 76. Another portion,
evaporated in a still more careful manner, gave a mass of damp
crystals, which, when dissolved, had the taste, smell, and bleach-
ing power of the original solution, with almost equal strength.

1 1. These experiments shewed sufficiently that the whole of
the chlorine had not acted upon the carbonate of soda to pro-
duce chloride of sodium, and chlorate of soda ; that much was
in a peculiar state of solution or union which enabled it to
withstand ebulUtion, and yet to act freely as a bleaching or dis-
infecting agent ; and that probably little or none had combined
with the sodium, or been converted into chloric acid. To put
these ideas to the test, two equal portions of the Labarraque
solution were taken ; one was put into a large tube, closed at
one extremity, diluted sulphuric acid was added till in excess,
and then air blown through the mixture by a long small open
tube, proceeding from the mouUi, for the purpose of carrying
off the chlorine ; the contents of the tube were then heated
nearly to the boihng point, air being continually passed through.
In this way all the chlorine which had combined with the car-
bonated alkali without decomposing it, was set free by the sul-
phuric acid, and carried off by the current of air and vapour,
whilst any which had acted chemically upon the alkali would.

88 Mr. Faraday'5 Experiments on the Nature of

after the action of the sulphuric acid, be contained in solution as
muriatic and chloric acids, and from the diluted s.tate of the
whole, would not be removed by the after-process, but remain
to be rendered evident by tests. The other portion being di-
luted, had sulphuric acid added also in excess, but no attempt
was made to remove the chlorine. Equal quantities of these
two portions in the same state of dilution were then examined
by nitrate of silver for the quantities of chlorine sensible in them,
and it was found that the latter portion, or that which retained
the whole of the chlorine thrown into it, contained above sixty
times as much as the former.

12. Now although it may be supposed that in the former
portion that part of the chlorine, which, in acting energetically,
had produced chloric acid, could not be detected by the nitrate
of silver, yet more than a sixth of the small portion which re-
mains cannot be thus hidden ; and even that quantity is dimi-
nished by the sulphuric acid present in excess, which tends to
make the chlorine in the chlorate sensible to nitrate of silver :
so that the experiment shews that nearly 59 parts out of 60 of
the chlorine in M. Labarraque's liquid are in a state of weak
combination with the carbonated alkali, and may be separated
by acids in its original condition ; that this quantity is probably
wholly available in the liquid when used as a bleaching or disin-
fecting agent ; that little, if any, of the chlorine forms chloride
of sodium and chlorate of soda with the alkali of the solution ;
and that the portion of chlorine used in preparing the sub-
stance which is brought into an inactive state, is almost insen-
sible in quantity.

13. The peculiar nature of this compound or solution, with
the results Mr. Phillips had shewn me (8), obtained by evapo-
ration of a similar preparation to dryness, induced me to try the
effects of slow evaporation, crystallization, heat, and air upon it.
In the first place five equal portions of the solution prepared
by myself were measured out : two were put into stoppered
bottles, two were put into basins and covered over with bibulous
paper, and one was put into a basin which was left open ; all
were set aside in an obscure place, and remained from July
16th to August 28th. Being then examined, the portions in
the basins were found crystallized and dry ; the crystals were
large and flat; striated and imperfect, re&embling those formed

Labarraque's Disinfecting Soda Liquid. 89

in a similar way from carbonate of soda. They were not small
and aciciilar, were nearly alike in the three basins, and had
effloresced only on a few minute points. A part of one portion,
when dissolved, gave a solution, having an alkaline taste, with-
out any of the pungency of Labarraque's liquid ; and which,
when tested by turmeric paper, reddened, but did not bleach it.

14. One of these portions that had effloresced least was
selected, and being dissolved, was compared in bleaching power
upon diluted sulphate of indigo, with one of the portions of solu-
tion that had been preserved in bottles. The former had
scarcely any visible effect, though sulphuric acid was added to
assist the action ; a single measure of the indigo liquor coloured
the solution permanently blue, whereas seventy-seven such
measures were bleached by the portion from the bottle. Hence
the process of slow crystallization had either almost entirely
expelled the chlorine, or else had caused it to react upon the
alkali, and by entering into strong chemical combination as
chloride and chlorate, had rendered it inert as a bleaching or
disinfecting agent.

15. From the appearance of the crystals there was no reason
to expect the latter effect ; but to put the question to the proof,
one of the evaporated portions, and one of the fluid portions
contained in the bottles, were acted upon by sulphuric acid,
heat, and a current of air, in the manner already described (11),
to separate the chlorine that had not combined as chloride or
chlorate. They were then compared with an equal portion of
the solution, which retained all its chlorine, nitrate of silver being
used as before : the quantity of chloride indicated for the latter
portion was 60 parts ; whilst that of the fluid portion deprived
of as much free chlorine as could be, by sulphuric acid and
blowing, was 6 parts ; and for the evaporated and crystallized
portion, similarly cleared of free chlorine, only 1.5 parts.

16. This result, as compared with the former experiment of
a similar kind (11), shewed, that though reaction of the chlo-
rine on the carbonate had taken place in the evaporated portion,
it was only to a very slight extent, since the chlorine was
almost as much separated from it by the process altogether, as
it had been from the recent preparation by sulphuric acid,
blowing, and heat The experiment shewed also that there

00 Mr. Faraday'5 Experiments on the Nature of

was a gradual reaction of the chlorine and alkali in the fluid
preparation, proceeding to a greater extent than in the evapo-
rated portion ; for chlorine, equal to five parts, was found by the
nitrate of silver to remain. Hence this preparation is one
which deteriorates even in the small space of forty-three days.
Whether the effect will proceed to any great extent, prolonged
experiments only can shew.

17. From an experiment made upon larger quantities of the
Labarraque liquor, it would appear that the force of crystalliza-
tion alone is sufficient to exclude the chlorine. A quantity
was put into an evaporating basin, and left covered over with
paper from July 16th to August 28th. Being then examined,
a few large crystals were found covered over with a dense
solution ; the whole had the innocuous odour of Labarraque's
fluid, and the fluid the usual acrid, biting taste. The crystals
being separated, one of the largest and most perfect was chosen,
and being well wiped on the exterior, and pressed between folds
of bibulous paper, was rubbed down in water, so as to make a
saturated solution. This had no astringent taste like that of
Labarraque's fluid, or the mother-liquor, but one purely alka-
line ; and when applied to turmeric paper, reddened, but did
not bleach it. Equal portions of this saturated solution and
of the mother-liquor were then compared in bleaching power,
acid being added to the former to assist the effect : it was found,
notwithstanding that portions of mother-liquor must have
adhered to the crystal, that its solution had not ^th part the
power of the mother-liquor. This, in conjunction with the
other experiments, is a striking instance of the manner in which
the carbonate of soda acts, as a simple substance, with the
chlorine in the solution. The crystal itself had never been in
contact with the air : but whether it should be considered as
the excess of carbonate of soda only which crystallized ; or
whether it is essential to the formation of these crystals that
chlorine should simultaneously be given off into the air; or
what would take place, if the water were abstracted without the
evolution of chlorine, I have not determined.

18. Notwithstanding the perfect manner in which the chlo-
rine may be thus separated by crystallization and slow evapo-
ration to dryness, yet it is certain that by quick evaporaticm a

Labarraque'* Disinfecting Soda Liquid. 91

substance apparently quite dry may be obtained, which yet
possesses strong bleaching power. In one experiment, where,
of two equal portions, one had been evaporated in the course
of twenty-four hours to dryness upon the warm part of a sand-
bath, when compared with the former, it had not lost more
than one- third of its bleaching power.

19. With the desire of knowing what effect carbonic acid
would have on Labarraque's fluid, and whether it possessed
in a greater or smaller degree the power of ordinary acids
to expel the chlorine, portions of the solution were put into
two Woulfe's bottles, and a current of carbonic acid gas passed
through them. The gas was obtained from sulphuric acid
and whitening in a soda-water apparatus, and was well weished
in water. The stream of gas brought away small portions
of chlorine with it, but they were not sensible to the smell,
and could only be detected by putting litmus paper into
the current. An immense quantity of gas, equal to nearly
1300 times the volume of the fluid, was sent through ; but yet
very little chlorine was removed, and the bleaching powers of
the fluid were but little diminished, though it no longer appeared
alkaline to turmeric paper. Air was then passed through the
solution in large quantity ; it also removed chlorine, but appa-
rently not quite so much as carbonic acid.

20. One other experiment was made upon the degree in
which the carbonate of soda in Labarraque's liquor resisted
decomposition by the chlorine, even at high temperature. Two
equal portions of the fluid were taken, and one of them boiled
rapidly for fifl:een minutes ; both were then acted upon by
sulphuric acid, blowing, and heat, as described (11), and the
two were then tested by nitrate of silver, to ascertain the quan-
tity of chlorine remaining : it was nearly three times as much
m the boiled as in the unboiled portion ; and by comparing
this with the results before obtained (11), it will be seen that,
after boiling for a quarter of an hour, not more than a twentieth
part of the chlorine had acted upon the alkali, to form chbride
and chlorate.

21. It would seem as if I were unacquainted with Dr. Gran-
ville's paper upon this subject, published in the last volume of
this Journal, p. 371, were I to close my remarks without taking

9B Hieroglyphical Fragments.

any notice of it. Unfortunately, Dr. Granville has mistaken
M. Labarraque's direction, and by passing chlorine, to *' com-
plete saturation," through the carbonate, instead of using the
quantities directed, has failed in obtaining Labarraque's really
curious and very important liquid ; to which, in consequence,
not one of his observations or experiments applies, although
the latter are quite correct in themselves.

Royal Institution^ Sept. 3, 1827.

Hieroglyphical Fragments ; with some RemarJcs on English
Grammar. In a Letter to the Baron William Von Hum-
boldt. By a Correspondent.

My dear Sir,

I am happy to tell you that our prospects of new documents
from Egypt are very rapidly increasing: Mr. Burton has had
the good fortune to discover at length, in a mosque, the triple
inscription for which he has been some years in search ; and he
has been negociating with the Pacha for its removal. From its
magnitude and state of preservation, there is every reason to
believe that it will rival the pillar of Rosetta in its importance,
and I sincerely hope that it will tend to check the wildness of
conjecture, which has been rioting without bounds in the regions
of Egyptian literature. Mr. Tattam is printing a Coptic
grammar, and I am preparing an Appendix, which is to contain
the rudiments of an Enchorial Lexicon : I ardently wish that
Mr. Burton's inscriptions may come to my assistance before 1
complete it. I have received nothing from France or from
Germany for these four years past : even what is published
seems by some fatality to have been withheld from me;
and the booksellers send no answers to my commissions. I
trust your brother will not forget his kind promise to think of
me at Berlin.

I have to thank him and you for your obliging present of
your Letter to Abel Remusat on the Genius of the Chinese
Language, which has greatly interested me : the best return
that I can make will be to give you some remarks which have
occurred to me on the language of hieroglyphics in general,

Hieroghjphical Fragments, 93

and on the character of the English language, which seems to
approach, in its simplicity, as you have yourself observed, to
the natural structure of the oldest languages, immediately
related to the hieroglyphical form of representation. I fear,
however, that I must apologize to you for the want of method
with which I shall be obliged at present to throw my fragments
together: but it may be allowable to make some difference
between a letter and a finished essay.

Hieroglyphics, in their primitive form, are scarcely to be
considered in any case as simply a mode of expressing an oral
language : they may be a direct and independent representation
of our thoughts, that is, of recollections, or sentiments, or
intentions, collateral to the representation of the same thoughts
by the language of sounds. We find, in many of the Egyptian
monuments, a double expression of the same sense : first, a
simple picture, for instance, of a votary presenting a vase to a
sitting deity ; each characterized by some peculiarity of form,
and each distinguished also by a name written over him ; and
this may be called a pure hieroglyphical representation, though
it scarcely amounts to a language, any more than the look of
love is a language of a lover. But we universally find that
the tablet is accompanied by a greater variety of characters
which certainly do constitute a language, although we know
little or nothing of the sounds of that language ; but its import
is, that ** such a king offers a vase to the deity;" and on the
other side, that " the deity grants to the king health and
strength, and beauty and riches, and dominion and power." It
is common to see, in these inscriptions, a number of characters
introduced, which are evidently identical with some of those
in the tablets: and however some of them may occasion-
ally have been employed phonetically, there can be no question
of the nature of the changes which their employment must
have gone through before they assumed the character of sounds :
but this is altogether a separate consideration, and foreign to
the present purpose.

Now it is obvious that objects, delineated with the intention
of representing the originals to the eye by their form, must
necessarily be nouns substantive ; and that the picture, con-
taining no verb whatever, can scarcely be said to constitute

941 Hieroglyphical Fragments.

either a positive or a negative assertion. At the same time, it
must be allowed that a picture of King George the Fourth's
coronation, with the date 19 July 1821, could scarcely be con-
sidered otherwise than as asserting a historical truth ; and if
any emblem of Truth were attached to it, or if it were deposited
among the records of other historical facts, it would be equiva-
lent to the expression, " George IV. crowned in July 1821,"
which scarcely wants the verb was to convert it into a positive
assertion of a fact.

Strictly speaking, however, there seems to be no direct mode
of supplying the want of the verb is or was iii pure hierogly-
phical writing; and if any such sign was employed in the
Egyptian or the old Chinese hieroglyphics, its introduction
must have been arbitrary or conventional ; like the employment
of a postulate in mathematics. Every other part of a language
appears capable of being reduced, with more or less circumlo-
cution, to the form of a noun substantive ; and the English
language appears to approach to the Chinese in the facility
with which all the forms of grammar may be shaken off.

There is, however, often occasion, in such cases, for a certain
degree of metaphor approaching to poetical latitude ; and hence
it may happen that the least literary nations are sometimes the
most poetical. It is, in fact, impossible to exclude metaphor
altogether from the most prosaic language ; and it is frequently
difficult to say where metaphor ends and strict logical prose
begins j but by degrees the metaphor drops, and the simple
figurative sense is retained. Thus we may say liquid ruby
with the same exact meaning as crimson wine; and yet ruby
would never be called an adjective, though employed merely to
express the colour : in coral lips, however, the coral, first used
metaphorically, is converted by habit into an adjective, and the
expression is considered as synonymous with labri corallini.

The general custom in English is to place the figurative
substantive, used as an adjective by comparison, or by abstrac-
tion, before the name which retains its proper sense : thus a
chestnut horse is a chestnut like or chestnut coloured horse ;
a horse chestnut is a coarse kind of chestnut: and in this
manner we are enabled to use almost every English noun sub-
stantive as an adjective, by an ellipsis of the word like, which.

Hieroglyphical Fragments. 95

if inserted entire or abridged, would make a real adjective of
the word, as yf&rlike, friendly. But this omission of the termi-
nation, like other figures of speech, is easily forgotten in the ordi-
nary forms of language ; and the Germans, as well as the English^
make use of almost all their substantives in the place of adjec-
tives, though they are more in the habit of continuing them
into single long words. When, however, the substantives are so
used, they generally become by abstraction real adjectives : for
we seldom think of a chestnut, in speaking of the colour of a
horse ; but the idea of a light brown coat, with an ugly pale-
red mane and tail, and a fidgety temper, is very likely to occur
to us : arid in a horse chestnut the idea of a horse is out of the
question ; we only think of a coarse fruit which a man cannot
eat : so that the true sense, in both these instances, is that of a
quality ; but coral lips and ivory hands are rather elliptical
expressions, composed of two substantives, which might fairly
be represented hieroglyphically by the assistance of a branch
6f coral and an elephant's tusk. But to describe an abstract
quality by any hieroglyphic character, representative of form
only, would be generally impossible : colours might be imitated,
if we supposed coloured figures to be employed ; but other
simple ideas, such as those of sound or touch, could never be
immediately presented to the eye ; and some circuitous inven-
tion would always be required for their representation.

Home Tooke has shewn, with considerable felicity of illus-
tration, that all the parts of speech may be resolved into the
noun and the verb ; but he has not pointed out so clearly that
every verb may be resolved into a noun and the single primi-
tive verb is or was, which, in this sense, may be said to be the
only essential verb in any language ; as we find, indeed, in the
Coptic, that almost every noun becomes a verb, either by the
addition of pe, or sometimes even without it. Thus, the morn-
ing BLUSHES is synonymous with the morning is red ; he loves
justice, with he is a lover of justice ; and / am an Englishman,
with the person now speaking is an Englishman. But this must
be understood of is, was, or will be, in all its tenses ; the idea
of time, if expressed, being an essential part of the verbal sense.

I confess that some of these reflections have occurred to me
in looking over a very singular work, which I had the curiosity

SS. Hieroglyphical Fragments.

to take up, in order to see what kind of information could be
possessed by a person notoriously and professedly ignorant of
the origin and relations of the language which he attempts to
teach ; and, in short, what kind of light could be diffused by
an apostle of darkness. Blunders, and some of them ridiculous
enough, must, of course, be found in the works of such a person,
but most of them are such as every schoolboy might correct ;
and there really is so much of sagacity in some of Mr. Cob-
bett's remarks on the errors of others, that they well deserve the
attention of such as are ambitious to write or speak with perfect
accuracy.

I shall not attempt to enter into a regular criticism of this
Grammar ; I shall merely make a few miscellaneous observa-
tions, as they have occurred to me in reading it, several of
which would be equally applicable to the best of the existing
works of a similar nature.

In Letter III we are told that long and shorty though adjec-
tives, do not express qualities, but merely dimension or dura-
tion ; from a singular misconception of the proper sense of the
word quality. We find, in Letter IV, the rule given by most
grammarians, though not by all, that the article A becomes
AN, when it is followed by any word beginning with a vowel ;
but it is surely more natural to follow the sound than the spell-
ing, and, as we should never think of saying an youthful bride,
it seems equally incorrect to say an useful piece of furniture ;
for the initial sound is precisely the same. In the same manner
A unit and a European^ seems to sound more agreeable than
AN ; and the best speakers appear to adopt this custom.

Letter VIII gives us a rule for doubling the last letter of a
verb in the participle if an accent is on the last syllable : but it
should be observed that the L is doubled, whether accented or
not, as in caballing, travelled^ levelled, cavilled, controlled.
The same letter contains a '^ List of verbs, which, by some
persons, are erroneously deemed irregular," and which have
been so deemed from the time of our German and Saxon an-
cestors, though Mr. Cobbett thinks it would be more philoso-
phical to conjugate them regularly. Thus we may see at once
ihsX freeze may as well give us frozen, asfrieren gives the Ger-
mans gefroren ; that hang may make hung or hanged, accord-

Hieroglyphical Fragments. 97

ing to its sense, as in German we have hienge from hangen, and
hdngte from hangen, to execute. For sling and slungy we have
authority in schlingen, gesc/dungen, for spring and sprung in
springen and gesprungen; for swollen, swam or swum, and
swung, in geschwollen, geschwommen, and geschwungen. And
it is quite clear from these examples that '^ the bad practice
of abbreviating, or shortening," has nothing to do with the
matter.

In Letter XIV we have a very distinct examination of a rule
in punctuation which has been commonly adopted by good
printers, without so distinct a description of its foundation.
*' Commas are made use of, when phrases, that is to say * por-
tions' of words, are * throwed^' into a sentence, and which are
not absolutely necessary to assist in its grammatical construc-
tion." In a word, two commas are very nearly equivalent to
the old fashioned parenthesis. Again, *' the apostrophe ought to
be called the mark not of ehsion, but of laziness and vulgarity;'^
a remark made in truly classical taste, which might have been
extended with perfect propriety to the subject of the next para-
praph, the Hyphen, the insertion of which is, to make it uncer-^
tain whether the words united by it are one word or two. He
goes on admirably in the next page. ^' Notes, like parentheses,
are interrupters, and much more troublesome interrupters,
because they generally tell a much longer story. The em-
ploying of them arises, in almost all cases, from confusion in
the mind of the writer. He finds the matter too much for him.
He has not the talent to work it all up into one lucid whole ;

and, therefore, he puts part of it into Notes" " Instead of

the word and, you often see people put Sf. For what reason I
should like to know. But to this Sf is sometimes added a c ;
thus, 8fc. And is, in Latin, et, and c is the first letter of the
Latin word caetera, which means the like, or so on. This
abbreviation of a foreign word is a most convenient thing for
such writers as have too much indolence or too httle sense to
say fully and clearly what they ought to say. If you mean to
say and the like, or, and so on, why not say it ? . . . The abbrevi-
ation is very frequently made use of without the writer having
any idea of its import." But it is surely a mischievous maxim,
never to " think of mending what you write. Let it go. No

JULY— OCT. 1827. H

^8 'Hieroglyphical Fragments.

patching ; no after painting.'' On the other hand he is right
in protesting *' against the use of what, by some, is called the
dash. Who is to know what is intended by the use of these
dashes ? .... It is a cover for ignorance as to the use of points ;
and it can answer no other purpose."

In Letter XV, there is a singular conceit with regard to the
keeping up a distinction between a and an, where it is insisted
that we must not say " a dog, cat, owl, and sparrow/' because
owl requires an ; " and that it should be, a dog, a cat, an owl,
tind a sparrow ;" which is certainly better, and would be so, even
if there were no owl in the question.

Letter XVII. The criticism on Milton's *' than whom none
higher sat," is perfectly correct. TAaw is never a preposition,
and is simply a variation from the older then, both in English
femd in German. John is better than James means simply
John is good first, then James : £r is eher or e'er. Who would
sound awkwardly, but would be more grammatical.

Letter XIX gives a definition of the ellipsis, which would be
^ lesson to Apollonius himself: the compasses, it seems, '' do
iiot take their sweep all round, but leave out parts of the area
or surface." The objection to Blackstone's language is very
questionable. "The \ery scheme and model was settled,"
may, perhaps, be defended, because scheme and model are con-
sidered as one thing, the words being intended to illustrate each
other, but not to point out different attributes of the adminis-
tration of justice ; and both words may be admitted, as a col-
lective term, to govern a singular rather than a plural verb.
It seems also to be an error to make with a conjunction rather
than a preposition, and to say " The bag, with the guineas and
dollars in it were stolen," or " zeal, with discretion, do much."
^ I expected to have seen," is justly noticed as a common
ferror for *^ I expected to see." The meaning of an active verb
is erroneously confounded with that of a transitive verb, in th6
temarks on the word elope, which m^ans to go off, or to run
bff, and we should naturally say was gone off, but had run off.
The nature of the subjunctive mood is dismissed in the same
Letter without better success than has been obtained by former
grammarians. An essay was published about thirty years ago
in a periodical-work, which brings the subject into a small com-

Hieroglyphical Fragments. ^99

; suggesting that the subjunctive mood ought always to be
considered as a conditional future. The exami)les given are,
^ If the Elbe is now open, we shall soon have the ihails, and
then, if there be any news from the army, I will send it you im-
mediately." '^ If Catiline was generous, it was in order to
serve his ambition." The subjunctive past, if I were, becomes
present, by being the future of the past ; going back to the time
when the present was future, and therefore contingent ; and
this conditional sense involves no difficulty, except when a mis-
taken adherence to the fancied rules of grammar forces it in
where it has no business : thus the rules of some grammarians
would lead us to say, if Catiline were ambitious ; which is to-
tally contrary to the true sense of the subjunctive. Mr. Cob-
bett seems to have some such distinctions in view when he says
that " if has nothing at all to do with the government of the
verb. It is the sense which governs." By this he means that
if does not require a subjunctive unless is relates to a future
contingency. He is right in saying '* Though her chastity
is becoming, it gives her no claim to praise" : but most decid-
Mly wrong in adding ^* she would be criminal if she was not
chaste" ; for was is hei'e used as relating to the present cir-
cumstances, which are the future of the past, and therefore re-r
quire the subjunctive were to denote the condition intended.
He has, however, done signal justice to the cause of this injured
verb, by introducing it for was, in his sixth lesson, where he says
it should have been '* Your Lordship were apprized of every
important circumstance."

Such errors as this, however, are easily corrected, and many
of the acute remarks which have been here copied are well
worthy the attention of practical grammarians ; at the same
time enough has been said, without any disparagement of
Cobbett's talents, to show that a man cannot be well qualified
to teach that which he has not had the means of properly learn-
ing. For although the English language appears at first sight
to be extremely simple and philosophical in its structure, it
has, in fact, been derived from a variety of heterogeneous
sources ; it has undergone a variety of vicissitudes, and has
served for the expression of a multiplicity of discussions on the
most refined subjeeia in literature and history and science, for

H 2

100 Dr. Mac CuUoch's Essay on the

the feelings of oratory, and the passions of })oetry, and it has been
worn away by degrees, as the crystal in the stream is worn to a
pebble, till it has returned to a simplicity which wears the aspect
of the immediate offspring of the Chinese or Egyptian or Mexi-
can Hieroglyphics. But with all this, it has still some spots, some
idioms, which invariable custom obliges us to retain ; and which
can only be distinguished from corruptions and vulgarisms by
tracing their history through the different stages of its progress,
including, of necessity, the corresponding idioms in the parent
languages out of which it has arisen.

Believe me always, my dear Sir,

Your's very sincerely,

* # * *

Malaria : an Essay on the Production and Propagation of
this Poison, and of the Nature and Localities of the Places
by which it is produced, with an Enumeration of the Dis-
eases caused by it, and of the Means of diminishing and
preventing them, both at Home and in the Naval and
Military Service. By J. Mac Culloch, M.D., F.R.S.,
&c. &c. Longman and Co. 1827.

Though we have given a place in our Journal to two
articles on Malaria from Dr. Mac Culloch, we have thought it
expedient to take some notice of his book under the form of
a review ; particularly as some matters have come under
our cognizance, which may add some illustrations to this
subject where the author appears to have been in a state of
deficient information, or to have shunned the question for
reasons which appear to us somewhat over refined.

We allude principally here to the localities and the facts,
as they are now before us ; circumstances and events which
seem to us of the greatest importance, as enforcing the value
of the details which he has collected, and as holding out
warnings to the people respecting the preservation of their
healths, in addition to those which the work before us has
given in describing the soils or characters of ground in
England from which this destructive poison is generated.
And before we proceed to the analysis of his book, we shall
state what those are, or at least a few of them., while won-
dering that he should have overlooked them, or regretting
that any fancies should have prevented him from stating
what would have been of so much utility.

Production and Propagation of Malaria. 101

It 18 notorious that, m the last autumn, the remittent
fevers in various parts of the country amounted to a species
of pestilence, such as has scarcely been known in England
from this cause, or we might almost indeed say, from any
other disease since the days of Sydenham. Wherever ague
had ever existed, or even been supposed possible, in those
places was this fever found : so that in all the well-known
tracts in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, Essex, Sussex,
Hampshire, and so forth, there was scarcely a house without
one or more inhabitants under fever, while the event, as might
be suspected, was a considerable mortality. In the parish
of Marston, in Lincolnshire, for example, it amounted to 25 in
300 inhabitants ; in some other places, it reached one in
sixteen, one in thirteen, one in nine. And so extensive was
its range, that even Hastings did not escape ; while it should
be almost superfluous to say that every other town on the
sea-coast was so much infested by it, that they who resorted
to them for bathing, as usual, found themselves most awk-
wardly situated, and also suffered in considerable num-
bers.

To come nearer home, and to what must interest us of the
metropolis more, the same fevers were extremely abundant
in various parts of the outskirts of London, as also in the
villages or towns which are connected with it, within a range
of from six to ten miles. Not to enumerate all these, this
was the case throughout the range of streets or houses which
extends from Buckingham Gate to Chelsea ; in which long
line, it is said, that almost every house had a patient or more
under this fever : though, as the author has truly observed,
these were mistaken for typhus, or at least thus misnamed.
Thus it was also about Vauxhall and Lambeth ; and to a
great extent among all that scattered mixture of town and
country which follows from Whitechapel, from Bishopsgate,
and so forth, and very particularly along Ratcliffe Highway,
and so on, to an indefinite range along the river, not only on
this side but on the opposite one, so as to include Rother-
hithe, and then proceeding onward to Deptford, Greenwich,
Woolwich, Plumstead, so as to carry us beyond the boundary
which we proposed to notice.

And in addition to the towns or villages which we have
just named, we may enumerate Lewisham, in which we knew
one house in which there were nine patients under this fever,
which proved mortal to one. Dulwich, especially subject
to this disorder, Fulham, Ealing, and the several other Vil-
lages along the Thames, as far as Chertsey ; and even Rich-

ICQ? Dr. Mac Culloch's Essay 07i the

mond, where, as at Lewisham, there was one house known
to us. inasmuch as being intimate friends, where ten indivi-
duals at one time were suffering under this disease.

We must not prolong this enumeration, since we might
easily occupy a dozen of our pages with similar details, rang-
ing, in fact, all over England ; but we must still observe, that
whatever was the pestilence last year, it promises to be much
greater in the present one. This is easily judged from the
manner in which the season has set in ; but still more decid-
edly from the extraordinary prevalence of ague in the spring ;
since that which is intermittent fever then, will be remittent
in the autumn, or rather, as the author has justly remarked,
there will scarcely be a definite season of vernal intermittent,
but the remittent will commence immediately, increasing in
extent and severity as the summer advances, and promising
to become, in the autumn, the greatest season of disease that
England has known for this century.

As an example of this, it must suffice to enumerate two or
three facts, while these are as satisfactory for our purpose as
a thousand would be. The most general of these is, that
ague is at this moment extremely abundant where it was for-
merly so little known as not to be noticed, and that where
single cases used to occur, there are now hundreds. Thus
has it prevailed at Fulham and Ealing, and in the out-
skirts of London, and even in the town itself; and thus does
it so prevail at Greenwich, Deptford, and in the associated
vicinity, that a medical friend informs us, that it comprises
more than two-thirds of his entire practice, which is very
extensive ; whereas a few years ago he had rarely a patient
in a year. Thus also in the Military Hospital at Woolwich,
there were in the spring three hundred patients with this
disease ; while in former times, we are assured, that an ague
was scarcely known once in five or six years.

These are a few of the facts within our knowledge, but not
one in a thousand, which evince the necessity of the publica-
.tion before us ; a book which seems to have been singularly
well-timed, in as far as its purpose is, by a dissection of the
sources of malaria, to diminish the ravages of both these
kinds of fevers. And in this view we consider it a work of
very considerable utility, inasmuch as it points out all the
needful circumstances, as to prevention, in great detail; while
these seemed particularly called for in England, from the
entire and not less singular neglect which this subject has
jBxperienced, not only from the people at large, but from the
medical profession. Beyond this, all that we need say of

Producti(m and Propagatioit of Malaria. 10^

the character of the work is, that it contains the only regular
and complete attempt at the natural history of Malaria that
has been executed ; since the several foreign writings on this
subject are partial, or imperfect, or local in their investi-
gations ; and having said thus much, we shall proceed to give
a brief analysis of its form and matter. And this analysis
may be truly brief, without inconvenience ; since the two
Essays from the pen of the author, to which we have given
a place in our Journal, will supersede the necessity of mak-
ing that useful and practical abstract which we should othei;-
wise have felt ourselves bound to give.

To pass over an introductory chapter of the usual neces^
sity, the author commences by pointing out the several dis-
orders, in a general way, which are produced by malaria, fop
the purpose of proving the sources of this poison ; and as we
are of those who take the facts as already proved, we need
not notice it further.

The third chapter details the characters of those soils or
situations which are most commonly or generally admitted to
produce this poison: and though it contains some facts not
very universally known, we shall also pass it over as of less
moment than that which follows.

This is the fourth chapter, containing the details of the
circumstances producing malaria, which have been eithei*
.denied or overlooked ; and it is one of the most important
practical chapters in the book, inasmuch as it is to the po-
pular ignorance of these that we must attribute a large pro-
portion of the cases of fever occurring in common life.
These, therefore, vve shall mark briefly ; and even the briefest
notice will be of use in the way of precaution, while we
must refer to the book itself for those proofs of the truth of
the several views which we could not take room to give.
Generally, however, we may state this leading argument of
,the author, because it is brief, and, to us, appears satisfac-
.tory. : It is this : that as the quantity of the poison which
any person can inspire is necessarily small, and as this small
quantity can be produced by a small marshy spot as well as
a large one, it is the same, as to the production of disease,
whether the marsh is a foot square or a mile, provided the
exposure be complete : while also, any piece of ground where
vegetables decompose under the action of water, is virtually
a marsh, or must produce malaria.

. This enumeration, therefore, under that view, comprises,
.in addition to marshes, whether fresh or salt, all the cases
where water is present in such a manner as to act upon vege-
tables ; and the chief are the follp^ng.

104 Dr. Mac CiiUoch's Essay on the

It is shown, and by facts, that the rushy swamps of high
moorlands, however small the extent, do produce this dis-
ease ; and we must not here forget to name what, however,
belongs to the preceding chapter, woods and coppices, little
suspected in England, yet shown to be the cause of fevers in
Wales, and also in Sussex; very probably, every where else.
It is also shown that meadows and moist pastures, whether
in flat lands or on elevations, generate fevers ; and very par-
ticularly, should they have been affected by inundation or
unusual moisture, and if that should be followed by heat.
And while it is also specifically shown how, in all cases, it is
the produce of the drains or ditches required in meadow
lands, it is distinctly proved that, even without these, ma-
laria is produced, or that it is generated by the meadow or
moist pasture itself.

It is also shown that this poison is produced by rivers, by
all flat rivers at least, or those of which the progress is slow
and through meadow lands ; while this is pointed out as one
of the causes, especially, which is not suspected or not be-
lieved in England. And here we can add a fact to our
author's statement, which is decisive : this is the case of the
barracks at Morne Bruce, in Dominica, situated on a steep
and rocky hill, perfectly dry, and free from all other causes
of suspicion, while eternally subject to the most severe fevers.
And the cause is, a mountain stream, about 300 yards be-
low this building, in the valley, always covered by a mist
in the evenings, and ascertained, by direct experience, to be
the very cause of the diseases in question.

Our author also notices canals, mill-ponds, ornamental
waters, and all other pools and ponds, even to so small a
dimension as those formed in gravel-pits; pointing out those,
in particular, as common causes of fever about London, and
apparently much inclined to pass a very severe judgment on
the canal in St. James's Park, and also on the pond in St.
James's Square, while apparently restrained by his pruden-
tial reasons, which appear to us sufficiently misplaced, or, as
we should fairly call them, somewhat absurd. But as we
must not affront a writer whose papers we have admitted,
we shall say no more on this matter. In noticing drains, he
also speaks of moats and modern fortifications ; attempting
to show that the fevers so common in the sieges of ancient
castles were produced by their moats, and noticing the fami-
liar fact of the frequency of fevers in fortified towns. Lakes
also are pointed out as situations generating this poison : and
it is here especially noticed that if, in those and other cases,
malaria is produced by the vegetable growth and decompo-

Production and Propagation of Malaria, 105

sitlon, so is it the consequence of the exposure of the mud of
such receptacles of water ; a cause which is again treated of
at greater length in the subsequent chapter.

This chapter relates to what the author calls obscure and
disputed cases. We shall pass over these, which, as not
implying precautionary measures, are of the least interest,
and commence by noticing the case of vegetable putrefaction.
It is attempted to show, tnat the vegetable need not be living
to produce malaria, but that, even if utterly decomposed, its
elements, acting on water, can generate this poison. Among
the cases under this head, are flax and hemp ponds, common
sewers and drains, dunghills, and tide harbours ; and the
evidences under each are sufficient to make good the asser-
tion. But the most important of all, in our view at least,
is bilge-water : since our author has pretty clearly shown that
all the fevers of ships (excepting, of course, a few casual in-
stances of contagion) arise from this cause, and that if ships
were kept clean, fever or sickness would be nearly unknown
at sea. This we do indeed conceive one of the most import-
ant points in the work before us ; and if the author has re-
ferred to Sir Henry Baynton, as a stranger, we can quote
him, as a friend, that warrants for all that is here asserted,
and for far more ; since his collection of facts on this subject
is most important, and we think him almost culpable in not
having long ago given them to the public. If the Leviathan
was always the healthiest ship in the navy ; if she even left
the West Indies, after a long anchorage and service, with a
crew of 500 men, and not one sick, it is a case in the navy
which never occurred before, nor since, and which arose
entirely from the knowledge of this able and careful officer
respecting the subject that we are discussing.

A sixth chapter explains, under the head of revolutions in
the production of malaria, a variety of circumstances not
easily admitting of abridgment. The chief of these are, the
effects produced by drainages, and reversely, those which
arise from inundations or other incidental causes affecting
the state of the soil. But the most important view which it
contains is that which relates to the effect of embankment in
rivers, and to the geological changes produced by the distri-
bution of alluvia. As, however, we cannot well state this in
a small space, we shall pass to the chapter on the Propaga-
tion of Malaria.

This is the largest, and, as it strikes us, the most interest-
ing of the whole ; while the author has made it the depo-
sitory of a variety of remarks and recommendations on this

106 Dr. Mac Culloch's Essay on the

subject, very particularly as it relates to the army. If he is
correct, — and we see no reason to doubt it, from the nature
of the statements, — the ignorance of this subject, even among
the medical department of the army, has been most extraor-
dinary and moat unaccountable ; while if Walcheren is proof
enough of this, the writer before us has pointed out facts
enough to show that it was not a solitary case, while evidently
restrained by fear of some sort — we are almost inclined to
call it cowardice — from telling all that he might have told*
And we do think it wrong to retain or suppress that which
is important to the public safety, under a fear that the feel-
ings of individuals may be hurt ; since the business of a
writer is with justice and utility, and the security or welfare
of thousands is of infinitely greater moment than the comforts
of a few, and those also culpable.

Under this head, propagation, the author describes how
this poison is conveyed by the winds, while the facts add
much to the number and variety of the precautionary mea-
sures. And here also we find a speculation of no small
curiosity, respecting the East wind, attempting to prove that
wherever this is insalubrious or pernicious, it arises from its
being the vehicle of malaria ; while attempting also to prove
that this substance can be conveyed from Holland to the
coasts of England in that wind. We shall not pretend to
give an opinion on this subject ; and, since the author himself
has noticed it in the paper printedj in our present number,
we shall suffer our readers to form their own judgments
respecting it.

One also of the most curious facts mentioned in this chap^
ter, is the singular limitation of malaria ; and we must admi^
that the instance quoted as to the Chatham road is so re-
markable as to be almost incredible ; though, as we find that
all the people agree in it, we cannot pretend to say it is not
a fact. Indeed the facts of this nature, so familiar at Rome,
are fully as inexplicable ; so that all we can conclude is, that
we are ignorant of the philosophy of this subject : no very
great cause of surprise, unless it were proved that we could
explain every thing else which belongs to meteorology.

In the eighth chapter we have an explanation of the effects
of climate and seasons in the production of malaria ; and
.while we need not analyse the facts which it contains, we
may introduce in lieu of this, the explanations which its
statements afford as to that recent increase of the diseases
of malaria which we noticed at the commencement of this
^article. The last few years have been distinguished for an

Production, mid Propagation of Malaria, 107

uncommon prevalence of East winds, and to such a degree
indeed, that we can find no meteorological records at all to
be compared with the history of these years. And while the
history of the intermittent and remittent, in London at least,
from the time of Morton and Sydenham downwards, shows
that all its periods of such diseases have been periods of
Eiast winds, it is not difficult to see how it acts as to both
classes of marsh fever. To London, in particular, it is the
best conductor, propagating the malaria from all the moist
lands to the eastward. To the East coast, if our author's
theory is valid, it brings the malaria from Holland ; and,
moreover, as it forms our hottest summers, it causes our own
climate to approximate more to the southern ones, and thus
enables our lands to produce a greater quantity of malaria
than in ordinary summers.

To pass from the eighth chapter, the ninth is a partial
sketch of the geography of malaria ; a chapter for which the
author apologises, but which is nevertheless a very interest-
ing collection of facts on a subject where a volume is, doubt-
less, a desideratum. And it would require a volume; while,
in spite of our author's fears, we can really see no reason
why such a statistical account of health should not be drawn
up for England, when the utility of it is unquestionable. It
is true that people cannot abandon their homes or change
their residences, because their lots happen to be cast in an
insalubrious country. But it is not less important to know
what and where these dangers are ; because, though the
inhabitants may be compelled to abide, they can still correct
much of the evil by the various modes pointed out, or avoid
much of the hazard by resorting to the obvious precautions.
To be ignorant, is to be exposed to the full evil : to know
where it lies, is to know how and where to avoid it in nume-
rous ways ; since it will be found that by far the greater
number of diseases occurring, were not necessary or una-
voidable, but have been the result of ignorance as to the
precise fact or spot which did produce the effect in question.
And this we conceive to be the great use of the book before
us ; and that if ever it, or a code of rules founded on it,
shall become popular, or form a vade mecum, particularly
in the country, the effect will be to reduce most materially
the quantity of disease, and very particularly that which is
by far the most serious, the summer and autumnal fevers.
On this ground, we should be glad to see a geography of
malaria for England ; and we do hope that it will be under-
taken hy some person of sufficient industry, and of mor^

108 Dr. Mac CuUoch on Malaria,

courage than our author ; while we cannot doubt that who-
ever attempts it would at least find it a profitable specula-
tion. With these remarks we must pass over this chapter,
as we could take no statement from it which would serve
any useful purpose ; though, as far as it goes, it will form
a very useful guide to travellers on the continent of Europe,
or to those who, as emigrants, are in search of a residence
abroad.

The tenth chapter examines the inquiries which have been
instituted into the chemical nature of malaria, leaving the
question just where it was. In fact we, as chemists, do not
believe tnat this science is yet in possession of the means
required for analyses of this delicate nature ; but we see no
reason whatever why it should be despaired of, when che-
mistry has already, within a very few years, effected things
which seemed far more impracticable and hopeless.

The eleventh and last chapter contains an enumeration of
the diseases produced by malaria, presenting a most formid-
able list, and absolutely making us shudder in some of the
details which relate to the worst parts of France and Italy.
The representation here given of the average of life in these
districts is particularly striking ; while of the truth of all
the facts, we can speak from personal knowledge. Our
author has also noticed the effect of this poison on animals ;
showing that it is the cause of the noted epidemics in cattle,
and also of the rot in sheep. If he will look into Livy, he
will find a confirmation, which he appears to have passed by
when quoting that author for epidemic seasons : this being,
that in the same years in which epidemic '' pestilences" ap-
peared among the people, there was also a great mortality
among the cattle.

We do not know what his own profession will say of his
attempt, or rather proposal, to prove that the celebrated
disease of the nerves called Tic Douleureux is the produce of
malaria and a mode of intermittent fever ; nor how they will
receive his proposal to arrange Sciatica and Rheumatic pains,
with many other local diseases, under this head. But this is
not our affair : and as he has promised us two other volumes,
on all the diseases which are produced by malaria, including
these, we must wait with patience ; knowing at least that he
is a dealer in facts and not in hypotheses, and expecting,
that even if he should fail to establish his point, he will try
to do it, as he has been used to do in the other sciences
which he has attempted, through the road of facts and
evidence.

Mr. Lindley on a New Genus of Plants. 109

An Account of a new Genus of Plants called Reevesia. By
John Lindley, Esq., F.L.S., &c. &c.

In a collection of dried specimens of plants sent to the Hor-
ticultural Society from China, by Mr. Reeves, are a few
branches, with flowers, of a remarkable genus which is at pre-
sent undescribed, but which is of so curious a nature, and of
such importance with reference to the determination of some
natural affinities, that I have thought it deserving immediate
record ; especially as drawings of the fruit, which have been
subsequently obtained from the same indefatigable correspon-
dent of the Society, render its history tolerably complete.

The branches appear to be fragments of an evergreen tree ;
they are slender, rounded, and smooth. The nascent gemmce
are covered with a dense rufous pubescence. The leaves are
alternate, becoming, towards the extremities of the branches,
opposite by approximation ; their form is ovate-lanceolate
acuminate, and in size they vary from three inches to nearly six
in length ; the surface, even of the youngest, is perfectly smooth
on each side ; their veins are inconspicuous, the lowest pair of
vena primarise being divergent at an angle of about 40'', while
the others spread outwards at an angle of 55° or 60° ; the venae
arcuatae and externse are obscurely seen, but form together a
number of rhomboidal spaces, equal in diameter to nearly one
third of each side of the leaf; the proportion borne by the pe-
tiole to the lamina is variable, sometimes equalling one-fourth
of the length of the latter, and not un frequently being less than
one-sixth of its lengtli : this proportion not depending upon the
station of the leaves ; the petiole is smooth, half-round, and
thickened at the extremity, where it unites with the lamina.
StipulcB are none. The flowers are greenish-white, in terminal
thyrsoid compound racemes ; the upper part of the rachisy and
of its branches, is slightly protected by stellate pubescence ;
the pedicles are closely covered with pubescence of the same
nature, and have one subulate downy deciduous bracteola at the
base, and another towards the apex. The calyx is inferior,
campanulate, tapering a little towards the base, densely clothed
with stellate pubescence, bursting irregularly at the apex into

Il# Mr. Lindley on a New Genus of Plants,

four or five ovate teeth, which are somewhat imbricated during
aestivation, but which are separated by the growth of the petals
long before the expansion of the flower ; the veii|s of the calyx
are remarkably reticulated, and when cut, a considerable quan-
tity of mucilaginous viscid fluid is exuded. The petals are
whitish-green, hypogynous, with a convolute aestivation ; their
ungues are spatulate, and as long as the calyx ; their lamims
oblong, spreading flat, and then overlapping each other at the
base ; at the point of separation of the unguis and lamina is a
small callus, and on each side a notch upon the margin. The
stamens are seated upon a long, filiform, subclavate, smooth
torus } the filaments are consolidated into a capitate five-toothed
cup, nearly closed at the orifice, and on the outside of this cup
are placed the antherce, three to each tooth ; the latter are two-
celled, wath divaricating cells, which open longitudinally, and
are so entangled with each other that the whole surface of the
cup appears, when the antherse have burst, to consist of a single
many-celled anthera. The pollen is spherical and smooth. he
ovarium is seated within the cup of stamens, and is so entirely
concealed that it cannot be discovered till some part of the cup
is removed by violence ; it is ovate, smooth, and formed of five
inseparable cells, each of which has two ovula placed one above
the other, and attached to their placenta by their inner margin ;
the stigma is sessile, with five radiating lobes. From the
Chinese drawing, the half-ripe fruit appears to be fleshy, with
five deep angles, and five cells, without any remains of calyx,
and with a slight appearance of separation between the lobes.
The ripe fruit is an obovate, five-angled, five-celled, five-
valved, retuse, woody capsule, with a loculicidal dehiscence,
and no separable axis. The seeds are attached one to each
side of the valves, and are expanded at their lower end into a
wing.

From this description it is obvious that, with the single ex^
ception of the contents of the seed, we are in possession of all
that it is essential to know of the structure of this plant. The
next subject of consideration is its affinity.

The stellate pubescence, the thickening of the petiole at the
point where it expands into the lamina, the station of the sta-
mens-upon a long, filiform torus, the external position of th«

•Mr, Lindley on a New Genus of PlantSw ill

iantherfp, and the union of the filaments by threes into a cup
surrounding the ovarium, are all characters that forcibly call to
recollection the genus Sterculia. The calyx, indeed, in that
genus is generally divided much more deeply than in the plant
now under consideration, and the antherae are usually seated at
the base of the ovarium; but, on the other hand, in Sterculia
colorata of Roxburgh, which, if a distinct genus, (Erythropsis)
as I am inclined to believe, is nevertheless next of kin to Ster-
culia, the calyx is of the same figure and divided in the same
degree, and the antherse are also combined in a capitate cup
inclosing the ovarium. If, however, we pursue this compa-
rison further we find that, with the characters now adverted to,
the similarity ceases ; in Sterculia there are no petals, the
calyx has a valvular not imbricate aestivation, the cells of the
fruit separate into distinct folliculi, and do not combine into a
solid woody capsule, and the seeds are destitute of wings.

The fruit suggests so obviously some affinity with Ptero-
spermum, that it is next necessary to institute a comparison
with that genus. Stellate pubescence, a calyx divided into five
portions, five hypogynous unguiculate petals, and fifteen fertile
stamens united into a cup, seated on a stipitiform torus, and
surrounding the ovarium, a five-celled ovarium, a woody five-
celled capsule, with a loculicidal dehiscence, no axis, and
winged seeds ; all these characters are common to Pterosper-
mum and our plant; but on the other hand the points in which
they differ are of much importance. The aestivation of Pterosper-
tnum is valvate recurved not imbricate ; its calyx is five-parted,
not four — five-toothed ; its anthers have parallel not divaricating
cells, and are seated upon long distinct filaments, not sessile,
Hpon the outside of a capituliform cup ; and finally the petioles
of the leaves are not connected with the lamina by a thickened
space. The seeds are also winged at the apex, not at the
base, but upon this point it is not my wish to insist.

If the comparison thus instituted with Pterospermum and
Sterculia be attentively considered, we cannot fail to remark
that the subject of these observations is nearly equally related
to both ; to Pterospermum in its petals and fruit, to Sterculia
in its calyx and stamens. It must, therefore, be stationed be-
tween those two genera, thus confirming the propriety of M.

112 Mr. Lindley on a New Genus of Plants^

Kunth's combination of the Sterculiacese of Ventenat with the
Byttneriaceae of Mr. Brown ; and, in fact, breaking down every
barrier between them. )/,^Ujilci,

There are many other points that will suggest themselves to
the Botanist, in which this plant is highly worthy of considera-
tion, but for the present it wall be enough to give the botanical
characters with which it may stand recorded. It is named in
honour of John Reeves, Esq., now resident at Canton, to whom
we are indebted for our knowledge of it, from whose unwearied
exertions in the cause of science the botany of China has re*
ceived material assistance, and to whom our gardens are in-
debted for many of the fairest ornaments they contain.

REEVESIA.

Ord. Nat. Byttneriaceje ; Sterculiam {Erythr opsin) inter et
Pterospermum.

Calyx campanulatus, 5-dentatus, sestivatione imbricata, pube stellatii
tomentosus, bracteolatus. Petala 5, hypogyna, unguiculata, aestivatione
convoliita, callo inter unguem et laminam. Stamina in toro longo fili-
formi insidentia. Antherse 15, sessiles, in cyatho capituliformi, apice
tantum pervio, obsolete 5-dentato connatae, extrorsae, bilociilares, loculis
divaricatis intricatis, longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. Pollen sphsericiim
glabrum. Ovarium sessile, intra cyathum antheriferum, ovatum,
glabrura, 5-angulare, 5 -locnlare, loculis dispermis. Ovula margini locu-
lorum unum super alterum affixa, superiore basi concavo in inferiorem
incumbente. Stigma 5-lobum, simplicissimum, sessile. Capsula stipi-
tata, lignosa, obovata, 5-angularis, 5-loGularis, loculicido 5-valvis, axi

nullo. Semina cuique loculo duo basi alata. Arbor (Chinse) folii?

alternis exstipulatis, racemis terminalibus compositis, floribus albis.

1 . Reevesia thyrsoidea.

Habitat in China (v. s. sp. in Herb, et iconera in Biblidtheca Soc.
Hort.)

i i)ift lo

113

ASTRONOMICAL AND NAUTICAL
COLLECTIONS.

i. Elementary View of the Undulatory Theory 0/ Light.
By Mr. Fresnel.

[Continued jfrom the last Number.]

I SHALL not undertake to explain here in detail the reasons
and the calculations which lead to the general formulas that
I have employed to determine the position of the fringes and
the intensity of the inflected rays : but I think it right to
give at least a distinct idea of the principles on which this
theory rests, and particularly of the principle of interference^
which explains the mutual action of the rays of light on each
other. The name of interference was given by Dr. Young
to the law which he discovered, and of which he has made so
many ingenious applications.

This singular phenomenon, so difficult to be satisfactorily
explained in the system of emanation, is on the contrary so
natural a consequence of the theory of undulation, that it
might have been predicted from a general consideration of
the principles of that theory. Every body must have ob-
served, in throwing stones into a pond, that, when two groups
of waves cross each other on its surface, there are points at
which the water remains immoveable, when the two systems
are nearly of the same magnitude, while there are other places
in which the force of the waves is augmented by their con-
currence. The reason of this is easily understood. The
undulatory motion of the surface of the water consists of ver-
tical motions, which alternately raise and depress the particles
of the fluid. Now, in consequence of the intersection of the
waves, it happens, that at certain points of their meeting,
one of the two waves has an ascending motion belonging to
it, while the other tends at the same instant to depress the
surface of the liquid : consequently, when the two opposite
impulses are equal, it can neither be actuated by one nor the
other, but must remain at rest. On the contrary, at the
points in which the motions agree in their direction, and con-
spire with each other, the liquid, urged in the same direction

JULY—OCT. 1827. I

114 Astronomical and Nautical Collections,

by each of the forces, is raised or depressed with a velocity
equal to the sum of the effects of the two separate impulses,
or to the double of either of them taken singly, since they
are now supposed to be equal. Between these points of per-
fect agreement and complete opposition, which exhibit, one
the total absence of motion, the other the maximum of oscil-
lation, there are an infinity of intermediate points, at which
the alternate motion takes place with more or less of energy,
accordingly as they approach more or less to the places of
perfect agreement, or of complete opposition of the two
systems of motion which are thus combined, or superinduced
on each other.

The waves which are propagated in the interior of an
elastic fluid, though very different in their nature from those
of a liquid like water, produce mechanical effects by their
interference, which are exactly of the same kind, since they
consist in alternate oscillatory motions of the particles of the
fluid. In ^fact,.it is sufficient that these motions should be
oscillatoiy, that is, that the particles should be carried
by them alternately in opposite directions, in order that
the effects of one series of waves may be destroyed by those
of another series of equal intensity ; for, provided that the
difference of the route of the two groups of waves [derived
from the same origin] be such, that for each point of the
fluid the motions in one direction, belonging to the first series,
correspond to the motions, belonging to the second, in the
opposite direction, they must perfectly neutralise each other,
if their intensity is equal : and the particles of the fluid must
remain in repose. This result will always hold good, what-
ever may happen to be the direction of the oscillatory mo-
tion, with regard to that in which the undulations are propa-
gated ; provided that the direction of the oscillatory motion
be the same in the two series to be combined. In the waves
which are formed on the surface of a liquid, for example, the
direction of the oscillation is [principally] vertical, while the
waves are propagated horizontally, and consequently in a di-
rection perpendicular to the former ; in the undulations of
sound, on the contrary, the oscillatory motion is parallel to
the direction of the propagation of the sound, [or rather is

Astronomical and Nautical Collections, 115

identical with it] ; and these undulations, as well as the waves
of water, are subject to the laws of interference.

The undulations formed in the interior of a fluid have here
been mentioned in a general manner : in order to form a dis-
tinct idea of this mode of propagation, it must be remarked,
that when the fluid has the same density and the same elas-
ticity in every direction, the agitation produced in any point
must be propagated on all sides with the same velocity : for
this velocity of propagation, which must not be confounded
with the absolute velocity of the particles, depends only on
the density and elasticity of the fluid. It follows thence that
all the points, agitated at the same instant in a similar man-
ner, must be found in a spherical surface, having for its centre
the point which is the origin of the agitation : so that these
undulations are spherical, while the waves, which are seen on
the surface of a liquid, are simply circular.

We give the name oirays to the right lines drawn from the
centre of agitation to the different points of this spherical
surface ; and these rays are the directions in which the motion
is propagated. This is the meaning of the term sonorous
rays in acustics, and oiluminous rays or rays of light in the
system which attributes the phenomena of light to the vibra-
tions of a universal fluid, to which the name of ether has been
given.

The nature of the different elementary motions, of which
each wave is composed, depends on the nature of the different
motions which constitute the primitive agitation. The sim-
plest hypothesis that can be entertained concerning the form-
ation of the luminous undulations, is, that the small oscilla-
tions of the particles of the bodies, which produce them, are
analogous to those of a pendulum removed but little from its
point of rest ; for we must conceive the particles of bodies,
not as immoveably fixed in the positions which they occupy,
but as suspended by forces which form an equilibrium in all
directions. Now, whatever the nature of such forces may be,
as long as the displacement of the particles is but small in
proportion to the extent of their sphere of action, the accele-
rating force which tends to restore them to their natural po-
sition, and which thus causes them to oscillate on each side of it,
may always, without eensible error, be considered as propor-

12

116 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

tional to the magnitude of that displacement : so that the law
of their motion must be the same as that of the motion of the
pendulum, and of all small oscillations in general. This
hypothesis, which is suggested by the analogy with other
natural phenomena, and which is the simplest that can be
formed respecting the vibrations of the luminous particles,
may be considered as experimentally confirmed by the obser-
vation, that the optical properties of light are all indepen-
dent of any circumstances which cause the greatest difference
in the intensity of the vibrations : so that the law of their
motion must be presumed to be the same for the greatest as
for the smallest.

It follows from this hypothesis respecting the small oscil-
lations, that the velocity of the vibrating particle at each
instant is proportional to the sine of an arc, represent-
ing the time elapsed from the beginning of the motion,
taking the circumference for the whole time required for
the return of the particle to the same point, that is,
the time occupied by two oscillations, the one forwards
and the other backwards. Such is the law according to
which I have calculated the formulas which serve to deter-
mine the effect of any number of systems of waves of which
the intensities and the relative positions are given. These
formulas will be found in the Annals of Chemistry, vol. xi.,
page 254 : [they may be applied with security to the pheno-
mena there considered, though the perfect accuracy of the
hypothesis in all possible cases may be questioned, upon the
grounds of the microscopical observations on the motions of
vibrating chords, published by Dr. Young in the Philosophi-
cal Transactions for 1800. Tr.] Without entering into the
details of the calculations, I think it necessary to show in what
manner the nature of the undulation depends on the kind of
motion of the vibrating particles.

^Let us suppose, in the fluid, a little solid plane which is
removed from its primitive position, towards which it is urged
by a force proportional to the distance. At the beginning of
its motion, the accelerative force produces in it an infinitely-
small velocity only ; but its action continuing, the effects
become accumulated, and the velocity of the solid plane goes
on continually to increase, until the moment of its arrival at

Astronomical and Nautical Collections, 117

the position of equilibrium, in which it would remain, but
for the velocity which it has acquired ; and it is by this velo-
city only, that it is carried beyond the point of equilibrium.
The same force which tends towards this point, and which
now begins to act in a contrary direction, continually di-
minishes the velocity, until it is completely annihilated ; and
then the force continuing its action produces a velocity in the
contrary direction, which brings the plane back to its place
of equilibrium. This velocity again is very small at the com-
mencement of the return of the particle, or plane, and in-
creases by the same degrees as it had before diminished, until
the instant of the arrival of the particle at the neutral point,
which . it passes with the velocity previously acquired : but
when it has passed this point, the motion is diminished more
and more by the effect of the force tending towards it, and
its velocity is reduced to nothing when it arrives at the place
of the commencement of the motion. It then recommences,
at similar periods, the series of motions which have been de-
scribed, and Avould continue to oscillate for ever, but for the
effect of the resistance of the surrounding fluid, the inertia
of which continually diminishes the amplitude of its oscilla-
tions, and finally extinguishes them at the end of a longer or
shorter time, according to circumstances. [It must not be
inferred from this explanation, that the particles of a fluid
transmitting an undulation have any tendency to vibrate for
ever : on the contrary it has been admitted by the best writers
on the theory of sound, that all the motions which constitute
it, as considered in a fluid, are completely transitory in their
nature, and have no disposition to be repeated after having
been once transmitted to a remoter part of the fluid. Tr.]

Let us now consider in what manner the fluid is agitated
by these oscillations of the solid plane. The stratum imme-
diately in contact with it, being urged by the plane, receives
from it at each instant the velocity of its motion, and com-
municates it to the neighbouring stratum, which it forces
forwards in its turn, and from which the motion is com-
municated successively to the other strata of the fluid ; but
this transmission of the motion is not instantaneous, and it is
only at the end of a certain time that it arrives at a deter*

118 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

minate distance from the centre of agitation. This time is the
shorter, as the fluid is less dense, and more elastic ; that is,
composed of particles which possess a greater repulsive force.
This being granted, let us assume, in order to facilitate the
explanation, the moment when the moveable plane is returned
to the initial situation, after having performed two complete
oscillations in opposite directions : at this moment, the nascent
velocity, which it had at first, is transmitted to a stratum of
the fluid removed from the centre of agitation by a distance
which we may represent by d. Immediately afterwards, the
velocity of the moveable plane, which has a little augmented,
has been communicated to the stratum in contact with it :
** hence it has passed successively through all the following
strata ;" and at the moment when the first agitation arrives
at the stratum of which the distance is d, the second has
arrived at the stratum immediately before it. Continuing
thus to divide, in our imagination, the duration of the two
oscillations of the moveable plane into an infinity of small
intervals of time, and the fluid comprehended in the length d,
into an equal number of infinitely thin strata, it is easy to
perceive, by the same reasoning, that the different velocities
of the moveable plane, at each of these instants, are now dis-
tributed among the corresponding strata ; and that thus, for
example, the velocity which the plane possessed at the middle
of the first oscillations in the direction of the motion, must
have arrived, at the instant in question, at the distance | d :
so that it is the stratum at this distance which possesses at
the moment the greatest direct velocity ; and in the same
manner when the plane arrived at the limit of its first direct
oscillation, its velocity was extinguished, and the same absence
of motion will be found at the distance J d.

It is always supposed, that the oscillations of the plane are
so minute in comparison with the length d, that their extent
may be neglected in this calculation : and this hypothesis is
actually consistent with the fact, since there is every reason
to suppose that the excursions of the incandescent particles
are very small in comparison with the extent of an undula-
tion, which, though an extremely minute space, is still an ap-
preciable quantity, and may be actually measured. Besides,

Astronomical and Nautical Collections. 119

even if the amplitude of these oscillations were not in the first
instance so wholly inconsiderable, it would be sufficient to
consider an undulation at a greater distance from the centre
of agitation, in order that their extent might be diminished in
any required proportion.

In the second, or retrograde oscillation, the plane, return-
ing through the same space, must communicate to the stratum
of fluid in contact with it, and to the rest in succession, a mo-
tion in a direction contrary to that of the first oscillation ;
for when the plane recedes, the stratum in contact with it,
urged against the plane by the elasticity or the expansive
force of the fluid, necessarily follows it, and fills up the vacuum
which its retrograde motion tends to produce. For the same
reason, the second stratum is urged against the first, the third
against the second, and so forth. It is thus that the retro-
grade motion is communicated, step by step, to the most dis-
tant strata : its propagation is efiected according to the same
law that governs the direct motion ; the only diff*erence is in
the direction of the motions, or, in the language of mathe-
matics, in the sign of the velocities which are imparted to the
molecules of the fluid. We see then that the different velo-
cities which have existed in the solid plane, during its second
oscillation, must exist at the moment which we are considering,
in the different strata comprehended in the other half of o?, but
with contrary signs. Thus the velocity, for example, which
the plane had in the middle of the second oscillation, which
is its maximum of retrograde velocity, must now be found in
the fluid stratum situated at the distance | d from the centre
of agitation, while the maximum of direct velocity is found,
at the same instant, in the stratum which is at the distance | d
from the centre of agitation.

The extent of the fluid, agitated by the two opposite oscil-
lations of the solid plane, is what we call the breadth of
an entire undulation, and we may consequently give the
name of semiundulation to each of the parts actuated by the
opposite undulations ; the whole constituting a complete oscil-
lation, since it comprehends the return of the vibrating plane
to the initial situation. It is obvious, that the two semiundu-
lations, which compose the complete undulation, exhibit, in

120 Astronomical and Nautical Collections,

the fluid strata which they contain^ velocities absolutely equal
in magnitude, but with contrary signs, that is to say, carry-
ing the particles of the fluid in opposite directions. These
velocities are the greatest in the middle of each of the
semiundulations, and decrease gradually towards their extre-
mities, where they entirely vanish : so that the points of rest,
and of the greatest velocities positive and negative, are sepa-
rated from each other by intervals of one fourth of an undu-
lation. .' Olio z>iiS .aoiii!

The length of an undulation, d, depends o» two things :
first, on the promptitude with which the motion is propa-
gated in the fluid ; and secondly, the duration of the complete
oscillation of the vibrating plane ; for the longer this dura-
tion, and the more rapid the propagation of the motion, the
greater will be the distance to which the first agitation has
been extended at the instant of the return of the solid plane
to its initial situation. If the oscillations are all performed
in the same medium, the velocity of propagation remaining
the same, the length of the undulations will be simply pro-
portional to the duration of the oscillations of the vibrating
particles from which they originate. As long as the vibrating
particles continue to be subjected to the same forces, it
follows from the principles of mechanics that each of their
minute oscillations will occupy the same time, whatever their
extent may be ; so that the corresponding undulations of the
fluid will continue to be of the same length ; they will only
difi'er from each other in the greater or less extent of the ele-
mentary vibrations of the particles, which will be propor-
tional to the extent of the luminous particles ; for it appears
from what has already been stated, that each stratum of the
fluid repeats exactly all the motions of the vibrating particle.
The greater or less amplitude of the oscillations of the strata
of the fluid determines the degree of absolute velocity with
which they move, and consequently the energy, but not the
nature of the sensation which they excite, which must depend,
according to every analogy, upon the duration of the oscilla-
tions. It is thus that the nature of the sounds, transmitted by
the air to our ears, depends entirely on the duration of each
of the oscillations executed by the air, or by the sonorous

Astronomical and Nautical Collections, 121

body which puts it in motion ; and tliat the greater or less
amplitude or energy of the oscillations only augments or di-
minishes the intensity of the sound, without changing its
nature, that is, its tone, or pitch.

The intensity of the light must depend then on the inten-
sity of the vibrations of the ether ; and its nature, that is to
say, the sensation of colour that it produces, will depend on
the duration of each oscillation, or on the length of the un-
dulation, the one of these being proportional to the other.
[We find, however, nothing in light of the same colour that
is at all analogous to the different register, quality, or timbre
of a sound, by which, for instance, the sound of a violin differs
from that of a flute in unison with it : the subordinate, or
harmonic tones of the sound having nothing in light to cor-
respond with them. Tr.]

The duration of the elementary oscillation remaining the
same, the absolute velocity of the ethereal particles, at the
corresponding periods of the oscillatory motions, is, as we have
seen, proportional to its extent. It is the square of this velo-
city, multiplied by the density of the fluid, that represents
what is called the living force in mechanics, or otherwise the
energy or impetus of the particles, which is to be taken as
the measure of the sensation produced, or of the intensity of
the light : thus, for example, if in the same medium, the
amplitude of the oscillation is doubled, the absolute velo-
cities will also be doubled, and the living force, or the inten-
sity of the light, will be quadrupled.

We must, however, take care not to confound this abso-
lute velocity of the particles of the fluid with the velocity of
the propagation of the agitation. The first varies according to
the amplitude of the oscillations ; the second, which is nothing
but the promptitude with which the motion is communicated
from one stratum to the other, is independent of the inten-
sity of the vibrations. It is for this reason, that a weak sound
is transmitted by the air with the same velocity as a stronger
one ; and that the least intense light is propagated with the
same rapidity as the brightest. When we speak of the velo-
city of light, we always speak of the velocity of its propaga-
tion. Thus, when we say that light passes through 200 thou*

122 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

sand miles in a second, we do not mean, according to the
undulatory system, that such is the absolute velocity of the
ethereal particles ; but that the motion communicated to
the ether employs only a second to pass to a stratum at the
distance of 200 thousand miles from its origin.

In proportion as the undulation becomes more distant from
the centre of agitation, the motion, spreading over a greater
distance, must be weakened in every part of the wave. It
is shown by calculation, that the amplitude of the oscillatory
motion, or the absolute velocity of the particles concerned in
it, is inversely proportional to the distance from the centre
of agitation. Consequently, the square of this velocity is
inversely proportional to the square of the distance, and the
intensity of the light must be inversely as the square of the
distance from the luminous point. It must be remarked, that,
for the same reasons, the sum of the living forces of the whole
undulation remains unaltered ; for, on one side the length of
the undulation d, which may also be called its thickness, is
invariable, and its extent of surface augmenting in propor-
tion to the square of the distance from the centre, the quan-
tity, or mass of the fluid agitated, is proportional to the same
square : and since the squares of the absolute velocities are
diminished in the same proportion as the masses have aug-
mented, it follows that the sum of the products of the masses
by the squares of the velocities, that is to say, the sum of the
living forces, remains unaltered. It is a general principle of
the motion of elastic fluids, that however the motion may be
extended or subdivided, the total sum of the living forces re-
mains constant ; and this is the principal reason why the living
force must be considered as the measure of light, of which the
total quantity always remains very nearly the same, at least
as long as it continues to pass through perfectly transparent
mediums.

It may be remarked, that black substances, and even the
most brilliant metallic surfaces, by no means reflect the whole
of the light which falls on them ; bodies which are imper-
fectly transparent, and even the most transparent, when of
great thickness, absorb also, to use a common expression, a
considerable portion of the light that is passing through

Astronomical and Nautical Collections, 123

them : but it must not be inferred that the principle of living
forces is inapplicable to these phenomena ; it follows, on the
contrary, from the most probable idea that can be formed of
the mechanical constitution of bodies, that the sum of the
living force must remain always the same, as long as the
accelerating forces tending to bring the particles to their na-
tural positions, remain unchanged, and that the quantity of
jiving force which disappears in the state of light, instead of
being annihilated, is reproduced in the form of heat.

In order to obtain a correct idea of the manner in which
the oscillation of a small solid body occasions undulations in
an elastic fluid, it has been only necessary to consider a
complete oscillation of the solid plane, which produces an
entire undulation. If we suppose the oscillations of the plane
to be continually repeated, we shall have a series of undula-
tions instead of a single one : and they will follow each other
without intermission, provided that the vibrations of the par-
ticle first agitated have been regular. Such a series of re-
gular and uninterrupted luminous motions I call a system of
undulations.

It is natural to suppose, on account of the prodigious ra-
pidity of the vibrations of light, that the luminous particles
may perform a great number of regular oscillations in each
of the different mechanical situations in which they are placed
during the combustion or the incandescence of the luminous
body, although these circumstances may still succeed each
other in extremely short periods ; for the millionth part of a
second is sufficient to exhibit, for example, 545 millions of
undulations of yellow light ; so that the mechanical distur-
bances, which derange the regular succession of the vibra-
tions of the luminous particles, or which even change their
nature, might be repeated a million times in a second without
preventing the regular succession of more than 500 millions
of consecutive undulations in each state of the particle. We
shall soon have occasion to apply this observation to the de-»
termination of the circumstances in which the interference
of luminous waves is capable of producing sensible effects.

We have seen that each undulation produced by an oscil-
latory motion was composed of two semiundulations, which

124^. Astronomical and Nautical Collections,

occasioned in the particles of the fluids velocities exactly equal
in their intensity, though opposite in the direction of the
motions. Let us at first suppose that two whole undula-
tions, moving in the some line and in the same direction,
differ half an undulation in their progress : they will then be
superinduced on each other through one half of their length,
or of their breadth, as we should say in speaking of the waves
of a liquid : but I here use in preference the term length as
applied ta; the interval between the two points which are
similarly affected by the motions of two consecutive undula-
tions. In the supposed case of the coincidence of one half of
each of the undulations, the interference will only take place
with respect to the parts so coinciding : that is, to the latter
half of the first undulation, and the preceding half of the
second : and if these two semiunJulations are of equal inten-
sity, since they tend to give, to the same points of the ether,
impulses directly opposite, they will wholly neutralise each
other, and the motion will be destroyed in this part of the
fluid, while it will subsist without alteration in the two other
halves of the undulations. In such a case, therefore, half of
the motion only would be destroyed.

If now we suppose that each of these undulations, differ-
ing in their progress by half the whole length of each, is
preceded and followed by a great number of other similar un-
dulations; then, instead of the interference of two detached
undulations, we must consider the . interference of two sys-
tems of waves, which may be supposed equal in their number
and their intensity. Since, by the hypothesis, they differ
half an undulation in their progress, the semiundulations of
the one, which tend to cause in the particles of ether a mo-
tion in one direction, coincide with the semiundulations of
the other, which urge them in the opposite direction, and
these two forces hold each other in equilibrium, so that the
motion is wholly destroyed in the whole extent of these two
systems of waves, except the two extreme semiundulations,
which escape from the interference. But these semiundu-
lations will always constitute a very small part of tbe whole
series to be considered. •>«(; ^< '^^

This reasoning is obviously applicable to such systems only

Astronomical and Nautical Collections, 125

as are composed of undulations of the same length; for if
the waves were longer one than the other, however small
their difference might be, it would happen at last that their
relative position would not be the same throughout the ex-
tent of the groups ; and while the first destroyed each other
almost completely, the following ones would be less in oppo-
sition, and would ultimately agree completely with each
other: hence there would arise a succession of weak and
strong vibrations analogous to the beatings which are pro-
duced by the coincidence of two sounds differing but little from
each other in their tone ; but these alternations of weaker and
stronger light, succeeding each other with prodigious rapi-
dity, would produce in the eye a continuous sensation only.
-»iflt is very probable that the impulse of a single luminous
semiundulation, or even of an entire undulation, would be
too weak to agitate the particles of the optic nerve, as we
find that a single undulation of sound is incapable of causing
motion in a body susceptible of a sympathetic vibration.
It is the succession of the impulse, which, by the accumu-
lation of the single effects, at last causes the sonorous body
to oscillate in a sensible manner ; in the same manner as the
regular succession of the single efforts of a ringer is at last
capable of raising the heaviest church bell into full swings.
Applying this mechanical idea to vision, supported as it is
by so many analogies, we may easily conceive that it is
impossible for the two remaining semiundulations, which
have been mentioned, to produce any sensible effect on the
retina ; and that the result of such a combination of the
two systems must be the production of total darkness.

If again we suppose the second system of undulations to
be again retarded half an undulation more, so as to make
the difference of the progress an entire undulation,, the coin-
cidence in the motions of the two groups will be again
restored, and the velocities of oscillation will conspire and
be augmented in the points of superposition; the intensity
of the light being then at its maximum. ; , ;->

Adding another semiundulation to the difference in the
progress of the two systems, so as to make it an interval and

126 Astronomical and Nautical Collections,

a half, it is obvious that the semiundulations, superinduced
on each other, will now possess opposite qualities, as in the
case of the half interval first supposed : and that all the
undulations must in this manner be neutralised, except
the extreme three semiundulations on each side, which will
be free from interference. Thus almost the whole of the
motion will again be destroyed, and the combination of the
two pencils of light must produce darkness, as in the case first
considered.

Continuing to increase the supposed difference by the
length of a semiundulation at each step, we shall have alter-
nately complete darkness and a maximum of light, accord-
ingly as the difference amounts to an odd or an even number
of semiundulations : that is, supposing always that the sys-
tems of undulations are of equal intensity : for if the on6
series were less vivid than the other, they would be inca-
pable of destroying them altogether : the velocities of the
one series would be subtracted from those of the other, since
they would tend to move the particles of the ether in con-
trary directions, but the remainders would still constitute
light, though feebler than that of the strongest single pencil.
Thus the second pencil would still occasion a diminution of
the light : but the diminution would be the less sensible as
the pencil is supposed to be weaker.

Such are the consequences of the principle of the inter-
ference of undulations, which agree perfectly, as we have
seen, with the law of the mutual influence of the luminous
rays which is deduced from experiment : for the results are
expressed precisely in the same words, if we give the name
of length of undulation to the difference of routes which had
been represented by the symbol d. Admitting, therefore,
as there is every reason to believe, that light consists in the
undulations of a subtile fluid, the period d, after which the
same effects of interference are repeated, must be the length
of an undulation.

It appears from the table already given for the seven
principal kinds of coloured rays, that this period d, or the
length of the undulation, varies greatly, according to the

Astronomical and Nautical Collections. 127

colour of the light, and that for the extreme red rays, for
example, it is [more than] half as great again as for the violet
rays situated at the other extremity of the spectrum.

It may easily be imagined that the number of different
undulations is not limited to the seven principal ones which
are indicated in the table, and that there must be a multi*
tude of intermediate magnitudes, and others beyond the red
and the violet rays : for the ponderable particles, of which the
oscillations give rise to them, must be subjected to forces that
are infinitely varied, in the combustion or the incandescence
of the bodies which excite the motions of the ether: and it is
on the energy of these forces that the duration of each oscilla-
tion depends, and consequently the length of the undulation
produced by it. It is found that all the undulations com-
prehended [in the air] between the lengths .0000167 E. L
and .0000244, are visible ; that is, are capable of exciting
vibrations in the optic nerve : the rest are only sensible by
their heat, or by the chemical effects which they produce.

It has been remarked, that when two systems of waves
differ half an undulation in their progress, two of the semi*
undulations must escape from interference ; that six must be
exempt when the difference amounts to three semiundula-
tions; and that, in general, the number of undulations exempt
from interference is equal to the number of lengths of a semi^
undulation separating the corresponding points of the two
systems. While this number is very small in proportion to
that of the waves contained in each system, the motion must
be nearly destroyed, as in the case of the exemption of a
single undulation. But it may be imagined that, as we in-
crease the difference of the progress of the two pencils, the
undulations exempted from interference may become a mate-
rial portion of each group, and that it may finally become so
great as to separate the groups entirely from each other ;
and in this case the phenomena of interference would no
longer be observable. If, for example, the groups of undu-
lations consisted but of a thousand each, a difference of one-
twentieth of an inch in their routes would be much more
than sufficient to prevent the interference of the rays of all
kinds.

128 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

But there is another much more powerful reason which
prevents our perceiving the effects of the mutual influence of
the systems of waves when the difference of their routes is
considerable; which is the impossibility of rendering the
light sufficiently homogeneous : for the most simple light
that we can obtain consists still of an mfinity of heteroge-
neous rays, which have not exactly the same length of undu-
lation ; and however slight the difference may be, when it is
repeated a great number of times, it produces of necessity,
as we have already seen, an opposition between the modes of
interference of the various rays, which then compensates for
the weakening of some by the strengthening of others ;
[while the shades of colour are not sufficiently distinct to
allow the eye to remark the difference.] This is without
doubt the principal reason why the effects of the mutual
interference of the rays of light become insensible when the
difference of the routes is very considerable, so as to amount
to 50 or 60 times the length of an undulation.

It has already been laid down as one of the conditions
necessary for the appearance of the phenomena of interfer-
ence, that the rays which are combined should have issued
at first from a common source : and it is easy to account for
the necessity of this condition by the theory which has now
been explained.

Every system of waves, whicli meets another, always exer-
cises on it the same influence when their relative positions
are the same, whether it originates from the same source or
from different sources ; for it is clear that the reasons, by
which their mutual influence has been explained, would be
equally applicable to either case. But it is not sufficient
that this influence should exist, in order that it may become
sensible to our eyes : and for this purpose the effect must
have a certain degree of permanence. Now this cannot
happen when the two systems of waves which interfere are
derived from separate sources. For it is obvious that the
particles of luminous bodies, of which the vibrations agitate
the ether, and produce light, must be liable to very frequent
disturbances in their oscillations, in consequence of the rapid
changes which are taking place around them, which may

Astronomical and Nautical Collections, 129

nevertheless be perfectly reconciled, as we have seen, with
the regular continuance of a great number of oscillations in
each of the series separated by these perturbations. This
being admitted, it is impossible to suppose that these per-
turbations should take place simultaneously and in the same
manner in the vibrations of separate and independent par-
ticles ; so that it will happen, for example, that the motions
of the, one will be retarded by an entire semioscillation, while
those of the other will be continued without interruption,
or will be retarded by a complete oscillation, a change
which will completely invert the whole effects of the inter-*
ference of the two systems of undulations Avhich originate
from them; since ifthey had agreed on the first supposition,
they would totally disagree on the second. Now these oppo-
site effects, succeeding each other with extreme rapidity, will
produce in the eye a continuous sensation only, which will
be a mean between the more or less lively sensations that
they excite, and will remain constant, whatever may be the
difference of the routes described.

But the case is different when the two luminous pencils
originate from a common source : for then the two systems
of waves, having originated from the same centre of vibra-
tion, undergoing these perturbations in the same manner and
at the same instant, undergo no changes in their relative po-
sitions : so that if they disagreed in the first instance at any
given point, they would continue to disagree at all other
times ; and if their motions cooperated at first, they would
continue to agree as long as the centre of vibration continued
to be luminous : so that in this case, the effects must remain
constant, and must therefore be sensible to the eye. This
is therefore a general principle, applicable to all the effects
produced by luminous undulations ; that in order to become
sensible, they must be permanent.

We have hitherto supposed that the two systems of waves
were moving exactly in the same direction, and tliat conse-
quently their elementary motions, to be combined with
each other, were precisely limited to one single line : this is
the simplest case of interference, and the only one in whicH
the one motion can be completely destroyed by the other:

JULY— OCT. 1827. K

J.30 Astronomical and Nautical Collectidri»,

for in order that this effect may be produced, not only the-
two forces must be equal and in contrary directions, but they
must also act in the same right line, or be directly opposed,
to each other.

The phenomenon of coloured rings, and that of the colours
developed by polarised light in crystallised plates, present a
particular case of interference, in which the undulations are
exactly parallel. But in the phenomena of diffraction, or in
the experiment with the two mirrors, which has been already
described, the rays which interfere always form sensible
though very small angles with each other. In these cases
the impulses to be combined with each other at the same
points, as belonging to the two systems of undulations, will also
act in directions forming sensible angles with each other :
but on account of the smallness of these angles, the result of
the two impulses is almost exactly equal to their sum, when
the impulses act in the same direction, and to their differ-
ence, when they are in contrary directions. Thus, in the
points of agreement or disagreement, the intensity of the
light will be the same as if the directions agreed more per-
fectly ; at least the nicest eye will not be able to discover
any difference in them. But although, with respect to the
intensity of the light, this case of interference resembles that
which has already been considered, there are other differ-
ences which modify the phenomenon very greatly, both with
respect to its general form, and to the circumstances neces-
sary for producing it.

We may take, as a convenient example, the case of di^
verging rays originating from the same luminous point,
and reflected by two mirrors slightly inclined to each other,
so as to produce two pencils meeting each other in a sen-
sible angle : the two systems of waves will then meet each
other with a slight inclination ; and it follows from this
obliquity, that if a semiundulation of the first system coin-
Ciides perfectly in one point with, a semiundulation of the
second, urging the fluid in the same direction, it must sepa-
rate from it to the right and left of the point of intersection*
and must coincide, a little further off, on one side with the
preceding semiundulation which is in a contrary direction^

Asttonomkal and Nautical Collection^. 131

and on the other side with the following semiundulation,
and then be separated from this again, and at a distance
twice as great as the first, must coincide with the second
semiundulation before and behind it, of which the actions
will coincide with its own : whence there will arise, on
the surface of this undulation, a series of lines, at equal
distances from each other, in which the motion is destroyed
and doubled alternately by the action of the second series.
Thus if we receive this luminous undulation on a white card,
we shall observe on it a series of dark and bright stripes, if
the light employed is homogeneous ; or coloured fringes of
different tints, if we employ white light for the experiment. >'

R A C B _1SL.

INI JV r

\ \ //xx

• 'This will be more easily understood by the inspection of a
figure, which represents a section of the two mirrors and of
the reflected undulations, formed by a plane drawn from the'
luminous point perpendicularly to thfe mirrors represented
by DE and DF. The luminous point is supposed to be
S, and A and B are the geometrical positions of its two'
images, which are determined by the perpendiculars SA and
SB falling from Son the mirrors, taking in them PA = SP.

K 2

132 Astronomical and Nautical Collections,

and QB = SQ. The points A and B, thus found, are the
centres of divergence of the rays reflected from the respective
mirrors, according to the well known law of reflection.
Thus, in order to have the direction of the ray reflected at
any point G of the mirror DF, for example, it is sufficient
to draw a right line through B and G, which will be the
direction of the reflected ray. Now it must be remarked,
that, according to the construction by which the position of
B is found, the distances BG and SG will be equal, and
thus the whole route of the ray coming from S and arriving
at b, is the same as if it had come from B. This geometrical
truth being equally applicable to all the rays reflected by
the same mirror, it is obvious that they will arrive at the
same instant at all the points of the circumference n'bm, de-
scribed on the point B as a centre, with a radius equal to
Bb ; consequently this surface will represent the surface of
the reflected undulation when it arrives at b, or, more cor-
rectly speaking, its intersection with the plane of the figure :
the surface of the undulation being understood as relating to
the points which are similarly agitated at the same instant :
the points being all, at the commencement of the whole oscil-
lation, for example, or at the middle or the end, completely
at rest ; and in the middle of each .semioscillation, possessed
of the maximum of velocity.

In order to represent the two systems of reflected undu-
lations, there are drawn, with the points A and B for their
centres, two diff'erent series of equidistant arcs, separated from
each ether by an interval which is supposed equal to the length
of a semiundulation. In order to distinguish the motions in
opposite directions, the arcs on which the motions of the ethe-
real particles are supposed to be direct, are represented by full
lines, and the maximum of the retrograde motions are indi-
cated by dotted lines. It follows that the intersections of the
dotted lines with the full lines are points of complete dis-
cordance, and of course show the middle of the dark stripes ;
and, on the contrary, the intersections of similar arcs show the
points of perfect agreement, or the middle of the bright
stripes. The intersections of the arcs of the same kind are
joined by the dotted lines by, br, b'p, and those of arcs of

Astronomical and Nautical Collections, 133

different kinds by the full lines n'o\ no, no, no : these latter
representing the successive positions or the trajectories of
the middle points of the dark stripes^ an^^ \]xf ^i^vmer the
trajectories of the bright bands, , , ,{ • t .. ', ,,.

It has been necessary to magnify very greatly in this
figure the real length of the luminous undulations, and to
exaggerate the mutual inclination of the two mirrors, so that
we must not expect an exact representation of the pheno-
menon, but merely a mode of illustrating the distribution of
the interferences, in undulations which cross each other with
a slight inclination, h nto 0

It is easy to deduce from geometrical considerations, that
the length of these fringes is in the inverse ratio of the mag-
nitude of the angle made by the two pencils which interfere,
and that the interval, comprehended between the middle
points of two consecutive dark or bright bands, is as much
greater than the length of the undulation, as the radius is
greater than the sine of the angle of intersection.

In fact the triangle b7ii, formed by the right line bi, and
the two circular arcs ni and nb, may be considered as recti-
linear and isosceles, on account of the smallness of the arcs ;
and the sine of the angle b n i, considered as very small, may

lb
be called — : so that bn being the radius, ib will represent
bn

the sine of the angle b n i, which has its legs perpendicular

to those of the angle AbB: consequently, these angles being

equal, one of them may be substituted for the other ; and

representing by i the angle A ^ B, formed by the reflected

rays, we have bn == — — ; consequently nn, which is twice

bn^ wm be equal to -r— .. But nn is the distance between

the ihfddle points of two consecutive dark stripes, and is
the distance which has been called the breadth of a fringe ;
and i5 being the breadth of a semiundulation, according to
the construction of the figure, 2ib will be that of a whole
undulation ; consequently the breadth of a fringe may be
said to be equal to the length of an undulation divided by
the [numerical] sine of the angle made by the reflected rays

134 Astronomical and Nautical Collection^..

with each other, whicli is also the angle under which the
interval AB would appear to an eye placed at b. We find
another equivalent formula, by remarking that the two tri-
angles, b 711 and AbB, are similar, whence we have the pro-

portion ^w: ^2 = A^:AB, and bn = — ,or2bn =:

^ AB

: which implies that we may find the numerical

breadth of a fringe by multiplying the length of an undula-
tion by the distance of the images A and B from the plane
on which the fringes are measured, and dividing the product
by the distance of the two images.

It is sufficient to inspect the figure, in order to be con-
vinced of the necessity of having the two mirrors nearly in
the same plane, if we wish to obtain fringes of tolerably large
dimensions ; for in the little triangle b n z, the side b ^, which
represents the length of a semiundulation, being little more
than the hundred thousandth of an inch for the yellow rays,
for example, the side bn^ which measures the half breadth of
a fringe, can only become sensible when bn \% very little
inclined to 2 7i, so that their intersection may be remote from
ib ; and the inclination oi bn to in depends on the distance
AB, which is the measure of the inclination of the mirrors.

If A and B, instead of being the images of the luminous
point, were the projections of two very fine slits cut in a
screen RN, through which the rays of light were admitted
from a luminous point placed behind the screen in the conti^
nuation of the line ^DC, the two paths described between
the point and the slits A and B being equal, it would be suf-
ficient to compute the paths described by the rays, beginning
from A and B, in order to have the differences of their
lengths; and it is obvious in this case, that the calculation^
which we have been making of the breadth of the fringes,
produced by the two mirrors, would remain equally applir
cable, at least as long as each slit remained narrow enough
to be considered as a single centre of undulation, relatively
to the inflected rays which it transmits. It may therefore
be said that the breadth of the fringes, produced by two very
fine slits, is equal to the length of an undulatioij supposed

Astronomical and Nautical Collections^ I3i5

to be multiplied by the interval between the two slits, and
divided by the distance of the screen from the wires of the
micrometer employed for measuring the fringes.

This formula is also applicable to the dark and bright
stripes which are observed in the shadow of a narrow sub-
stance, substituting the breadth of this substance for the
interval which separates the two slits^ as long as the stripes
are far enough from the edges of the shadow : for when
they approach very near to the edges, it is shown, both by
theory and by experiment, that this calculation does not repre-
sent the facts with sufficient accuracy; and it is not perfectly
correct in all cases, either for the fringes within the shadow,
or. for those of the twjo slits, but only for the fringes pro-
duced by the mirrors, which exhibit the simplest case of the
interference of rays slightly inclined to each other. In order
to obtain from the theory a rigorous determination of the
situation of the dark and light stripes in the two former
cases, it is not sufficient to calculate the effect of two systems
of undulations, but those of an infinite number of similar
groups must be combined, according to a principle which
will shortly be explained, in treating of the general theory
of diffraction.

ii. Ride for the Correction of a Lunar Obseevation.
j?y Mr. William WisEMAti, of Hull,

Rule. >

Add together the reserved logarithm (found as directedi
page 111 and 1 12 of the Appendix to the third edition of the
Requisite Tables) the log. sines of half the sum, and half the
difference of the apparent distance, and difference of apparent
altitudes, and 0.3010300, the log. of 2. Then, to the natural
number corresponding to the sum of these four logarithms,
add the natural verse sine of the difference of true altitudes,
and the sum will be the natural verse sine of the true distance.
. Or, having obtained the natural number, as directed
above, subtract it from the natural cosine of the difference of
the true altitudes, and the remainder will be the naturs^
cosine of the true distance.

136 Astronomical and Nautical Collection,

Example.

(From page 1 12, Appendix to Requisite Tables.)

Reserved log. from Tables (Req.) 9th and 11th . . 9.9938860
Jjog. sin. 43° 23' 5" = i sum of app. dist. and diff.

app. altitudes . 9.8368895

Lo^. sin. 6° 45' 36" = I diff. ditto ditto 9.0708157

Log. of 2 0.3010300

Nat. num. to sum of 4 logarithms . . .1594488 9.2026212
Nat.vers.37° 13' 12"=diff. true altitudes .2036812

Nat. vers. 50° 26' 28" = true distance .3631300

. Or, Nat. cos. 37° 13' 12" =r diff. true altitudes .7963188
Nat. number found above 1594488

Nat. cosin. 50° 26' 28" = true distance . .6368700

Demonstration of the Rule.

Let M\ S\ D', d' and ikf, Sy D, c?, respectively denote the true
and apparent altitudes, distances, and differences of true and appa-
rent altitudes of the moon and sun (or a star) ; then will the theorem
answering to the above rule be expressed by

vers. D' = ^ ^Q^^^^Q^ -^f' sin J- (D+£^)sinl(D-cZ)+Yers.cZ',
cosMcos -S 2 2^- ^

By Bonnycastle's Trig. p. 175, the cosine of the angle contained

, ,, ,^., J . cos D—sin ikf sin 5> cos D' — sin M' sin S'

bytheco-altitudesis. = ;

cos M cos ^ cos M' cos S'

consequently the verse sine of the same angle

_ cos D — sin ilf sin *S , cos D'— sin JW'sin -S ,, . .
Et: 1— =1-- ; that is,

cos M cos -S cos ikf' cos -S'

cosMcosS+sinMsin-S— cosD__cos7kf'cos8'+sinM'sin-S'— cosD'
cos M cos S cos M' cos S'

Substituting cos d and cos d' for cos M cos S + sin M sin S and
cos M' cos S' + sin M' sin S'. (Bon. Trig. p. 282), we have
cos J -cos J) ^ 2^:Z^2lE; whence
cos M cos S cosM' cos. S'

T\i J' cos M' cos 8' X , rk\ u* I,- ii

cos U = cosa (cos a — cosD); or, which is the same,

cos M cos -S'

cos D'= cos d— (versD— verse?); or,(Bon.Trig.p.286.)

cos M cos <S

Astronomical and Nautical Collections. 137

C082y==co9d'-^2?it££l^(2 8in«i.I)--2sm«i.df;) that is,
cosMcosS 2 2

cos D = cos d — sm- (D+a) sm -{D-^a)\ whence

cos M cos S 2 2

1 T\' J/ I 2 cos 3f' cos S' . 1 /n I ^\ • 1/T\ »\

also vers i) = versa + sm- (D + a) sm -(D— a;.

cos ilf cos 8 2 2

It may be observed, that Requisite Tables 9 — 11, answer loga-
rithmically to 221 S-l — ; and the verse sines, and the cosines

cos Mcos S

can be very readily taken out of the tables in the Appendix. Also
no ambiguity can arise from the application of the rule before given :
for all the arcs concerned in the operation will always be (each of
them) less than a quadrant, except the resulting true distance, which
cannot cause any ambiguity ; and the verse sines are given in the
Appendix, to 126"*.

Example.

(Example 2nd, p. 39, Requisite Tables,)

Reserved log. from Tables 9 and 10 .... 9.995307

Log. sin 62° 45' 56" = Jsumapp.dis. anddiff. app. alts. 9.948971

Log. sin 40 43 31 = J diff. ditto ditto 9.814536

Log. 2 0.301030

Nat. num. corres. .... 1.147741 0.059844
Nat. vers. 22° 48' 16" = diff. true alts. 0.078167

Nat. vers. 103 3 23 = true distance 1.225908

De V Influence des Agens Physiques sur la Vie. Par W. F.
Edwards, D.M., Membre associe de rAcad^mie royale de
Medicine de Paris, Membre de la Soci^te Philomatique,
de la Societe de Medicine de Dublin, &c.

The researches of science among the phenomena of the phy-
sical world have long obtained a high degree of estimation
and interest in general society ; but it is of late years only
that their application to living functions has attracted much
of the attention of the literary world.

The laws which govern the action of animal organs (the
proper department of Physiology) have usually been investi-
gated by the medical profession, to which they especially

138 Dr. Edwards, De V Influence

refer. Now we find that the public take some pains, and
'with reason, to inform themselves upon subjects connected
with physiological knowledge. A well-educated person,
■idisposed to philosophical inquiries, is not merely contented
with the consciousness of living, and the common information
he derives of its means by experience, but he seeks also to
comprehend the relations subsisting between his own organi-
.sation and the matters with which he is surrounded, and
which at once furnish him with nutrition, life, and support,
and assail him with disease and annihilation. His own
instincts and observation, joined to the more learned expe-
rience of his medical advisers, help him through the preca-
rious stages of life, and these may perhaps be sufficient for all
its purposes : and under this impression many will seek to
know no more of the secrets of nature.

But we live in an inquiring and scrutinising age, when the
demand for scientific principles is very generally urgent.
All, therefore, relating to organisation seems of equal interest
with that appertaining to what is termed the physical crea-
tion or inert matter.

Under this impression we have perused the book before us
with great satisfaction, and propose to present our readers
with an analysis of the valuable materials which it contains.
We have some knowledge of Dr. Edwards, a countryman
domiciliated in France, and long resident in Paris. We have
confidence 5n his reports, and highly estimate his philosophi-
cal skill, extensive acquirements, and accuracy of observation,
ranking him among the first physiologists of the age.

The work, now under consideration, contains an elaborate
account of a long series of experiments, instituted for the
purpose of ascertaining the influence of the physical agents
upon animal life. These agents comprehend the atmospheric
air, water, and temperature ; the two first constituting the
media in which all animals exist, and the last influencing in
common the inhabitants of both media. It is true, this is a
subject by no means new, for it has engaged the attention
of experimenters from the earliest days of science. But Dr.
Edwards has diligently and patiently sought to investigate
the subject himself, to correct previous errors, and to embody
the facts which he has accumulated into a more complete
and regular system than heretofore adopted. In this attempt
he has been eminently successful, and has efl'ected more
perhaps than all who preceded him, availing himself, never-
theless, of the experience of former inquiries.
- The extent of his book, atid the number of the experiments^

des Agens Physiques sur la Vie. 133

are indeed somewhat appalling, but his clear ^nd distinct
metliod of arrangement greatly facilitates the reader's endea-
vours to master the extensive subjects of his pages. As a
book of reference it should find a place in the library of
every scientific society, and no individual devoted to philo-
sophy should omit the possession of it.

The agency of the air around us, water, and heat and
cold, have often been the objects of chemical inquiry, from
their known great influence upon the animal economy. The
changes effected by the phenomena of animal life upon these
agents liave been accurately examined, and partly reduced
to a mathematical precision of calculation.

Spallanzani and others have viewed the subject as it
regards physiology, but with such results as left the field
open to subsequent investigation. Dr. Edwards seems ta
have seized upon the deficiencies of his predecessors, andy
by going over their ground, and extending his own in-
quiries, he has arrived at most interesting and important
results. These he has divided into four parts, as they relate
to the different orders of the animal creation. The first part
includes some of the lower animals, particularly tenacious of
life, and of cold blood, such as frogs, toads, and salamanders*
The second part is devoted to other animals of cold blood,
and of the vertebrated order, as fish, and those reptiles which
include lizards, snakes, and turtles. The third part refers to
warm-blooded animals ; and the fourth part of the work i^
dedicated to the influence of the physical agents upon thei
human race and vertebrated animals. To these the author
has added the discoveries of modern times, relative to elec-
tricity on the animal economy, in an Appendix. A collection
of tables is appended to the work, exhibiting the principal
series of his experiments, as they regard the relative influence
of physical agents on the duration of life, and the plienomena
resulting from their mutual action.

The great importance of the four grand divisions of thei
work forbids our hastily reviewing them, and we will endea-
vour to condense so much of the information they contain as
may forward the objects of our analysis. Dr. Edwards thus
announces the arrangement of his work : — ;

" Ces recherches auront done rapport k I'air dans les conditions
de quHtitite, de niouvement et de repos, de densite et de rart'fac-*
tion; a I'eau liquide et a la vapeur aqueuse; a la temperature,
dans ses moditications de degre et de durtje; a la lumiere et ^
Telectricite. Ces causes agissent a la fois sur reconomie aniraale,
Qrdinairem^nt d'uue maoi^re sourde et imperceptible ; et toujours

140 Dr. Edwards, De V Influence

I'impression qu'on re9oit est le rtjsultat de toutes ces actions com*
binees.'*

" Lors meme que, par I'intensite de Tune d'elles, il nous arrive
de distinguer la cause qui nous affecte, I'observation de I'effet se
borne le plus souvent a la sensation, et les autres changemens qui
raccompagnent nous echappent. On conjoit par la que I'obser-
vation la plus attentive des pht^nomenes tels que la nature nous
les presente, ne saurait demeler dans cette combinaison d'actions
Teffet propre a chaque cause, ni reconnaitre des effets qui ne
seraient pas reveles par la sensation.

" II est une m^thode qui regie les conditions exterieures, qui
fait varier celle dont on veut apprt^cier Paction, et qui fait juger,
par la correspondance entre ce changement et celui qui survient
dans I'economie, du rapport de cause et d'effet : c'est la methode
experimentale ; c'est celle que j'ai suivie. Pour en tirer parti il
fallait, d'une part, determiner I'intensite de la cause, d'autre part
celle de I'effet. La physique nous fournit ordinairement les
moyens de remplir la premiere indication."

In the true spirit of philosophical investigation, Dr.
Edwards, in the first place, proceeds to examine the action
of physical agents upon the simplest forms, and least elabo-
rately developed organised beings, extending his inquiries
upwards, in the scale of the animal world, to man, the most
perfect creature, and the ultimate object of all physiological
researches.

The peculiarity of constitution belonging to cold-blooded
reptiles, among which there is so little mutual dependance
of organs, renders these the best tests of the relative and
proportionate influence of the different agents^ the intense
action of which is liable to destroy the more perfect animals ;
and the great development of the nervous system in the
higher orders gives them a wider and more acute range of
sensibility. It is difficult, at all times, and often impossible,
to insulate corporeal functions among the warm-blooded
classes, so as to ascertain the amount and limits of physical
agency. The four classes of vertebrated animals, or such as
are furnished with true spines, afford ample means of com-
parative illustrations; and these departments hav engaged
the author's attention, in order to display the result of the
action of the same agent exercising a uniform influence upon
constitutions very differently constructed. The air, for
example, exercises its influence uniformly upon he four
mentioned classes of vertebrate, and their different families
are similarly exposed to the action of the atmosphere by
respiration.

Curious and interesting as is this eubject, it is singular

de$ Agens Physiques sur la Vie, 141

that, while It was among the first to be noticed, it has been
the latest in producing satisfactory results. Among the
opposing causes of the advancement of knowledge in this
department, the ignorance of our ancestors in chemical
science seems to be the principal. Without chemical aid it
is perfectly useless to attempt the investigation. The com-
position of the air respired must be well understood ; the
different gases must be carefully examined, or the physiolo-
gical inquiry will be darkened and obscured.

Dr. Priestley laid the foundation of our chemical know-
ledge of gases in their relation to respiration ; but some time
elapsed before it was understood in what manner the air
was connected with animal organisation. Oxygen gas, one
of the known constituents of atmospheric air, was Priestley's
discovery, in its effect upon the blood, of converting this
fluid from a dark purple to a bright crimson. Lavoisier
founded a chemical theory upon this discovery of the agency
of air, which was subsequently applied by Goodwin to phy-
siology. The latter author demonstrated, by a series of
excellent and correct experiments, that the exclusion of
atmospheric air produces death in animals, in consequence of
the dark-coloured blood usually circulating in the veins being
prevented from becoming crimsoned. The state in which
any animal may be thus placed, is known by the term
ASPHYXY, and by which is to be understood a deficient or
suspended aerification of the blood, from whatever cause it
may proceed that the atmospheric air is prevented from
access to the blood as it circulates through the lungs.

The great French anatomist, Bichat, pursued this subject
still farther, and published a treatise on Asphyxy. He
sought, by numerous experiments, to determine the threefold
relation of the air to the nervous system, respiration, and the
circulation ; and he arrived at this great and important
conclusion, that the venous or dark blood circulating

THROUGH THE BRAIN, CREATES A CESSATION OF THE FUNC-
TIONS OF THAT ORGAN, AND THAT IN CONSEaUENCE THE

HEART LOSES ITS ACTION. This discovery shows us at
once the direct cause of asphyxy in all its different degrees,
according, in effect, to the vitiated state of the blood from
its deficient or suspended aerification.

Le Gallois also investigated the subject of asphyxy ; and
he found that, when dark blood circulated through the spinal
marrow , the motions of the heart ceased ; and thus he not
only determined the relations of the nervous system to atmos-
pheric air, but also those of the respiration and the circula-

142 Dr. Edwards, De V Influence

tion, explainiilg tlie action of the air upon animals physio-
logically.

In this inquiry warm-blooded animals were almost exclu-
sively referred to.

Spallanzani certainly investigated the action of the air on
animals of cold blood, but less in relation to the three grand
objects of Bichat and Le Gallois ; and Spallanzani had the
misfortune to live in an age when neither chemistry nor
physiology had made such advances as the present age has
produced. '

. Messrs. Humboldt and Provencal have, indeed, supplied
much of this deficiency, by their researches into the respira-
tory functions of fishes. Nevertheless, the ground was still
open, and our author has justly appreciated the extent of
former inquiries, and observed that the phenomena of cold-
blooded animals were too extraordinary to be noticed lightly,
and required much more extensive observation than was
previously bestowed upon them. With this impression, he
proceeded to form an estimate of the comparative influence
of the air and water upon the nervous and muscular systems
of cold-blooded animals, which the singular modifications of
life among reptiles in particular afford ample means of
ascertaining.

We know that these animals possess the extraordinary
property of existing a considerable time after the removal of
the heart, with the free exercise of their senses and of volun-
tary motion, notwithstanding the suppression of the circula-
tion. Dr. Edwards accordingly selected salamanders for his
first investigations, and removed the heart, with the bulb of
the aorta. Two of these were exposed to the free action of
the air, and the other two were submersed in water previously
deprived of air by boiling ; a similar temperature being
maintained in each medium. In four or five hours those
submersed in the non-areated water ceased to be active,
unless irritated, when they still appeared to retain voluntary
power. One died in eight, and the other in nine hours.
The salamanders in air lived from twenty to twenty-six hours
and upwards. These comparisons were frequently repeated,
and upon frogs and toads, with the same results, showing
the experiments in air to be far more favourable to their
existence than with the animals submersed in the water.
Eight hours were about the maximum of the duration of life
among the animals submersed in the water, and twenty-nine
among those exposed to the air; so that, independently of
^respiration, the air is thus proved to be the most proper

de^ A(fens Physiques sur la Vie, 143

Hifedium for the action of their nervous and muscular systems,^
in their insulated state, the respiration and the circulation of
the blood being both suspendea. As a further corroboration
of the superior vivifying property of the air over simple
water, when the same animals were plunged into unaerated
water during a certain time, as soon as they were removed
into the atmosphere, they instantly revived ; and their ner-
vous and muscular systems were acted on according as they
were placed in either medium. Dr. Edwards also confirmed
the observation of Goodwin relative to the effect produced
on the colour of the blood. Properly speaking, the asphyxy
comes on the instant the air is excluded, the shades of dif-
ference in the colour of the blood being referrible to the air
left in the lungs after cessation of respiration.

The next point to determine was the influence of the air
upon the same animals exercising the respiratory function,
and retaining their circulation, compared with those deprived
of these functions.

. The difference of time in the two cases developes the
influence which the general circulation of the blood, free
from aerial contact, exercises upon the nervous system.

To ascertain this point, an equal number of frogs, deprived
of the power to exercise their respiratory and circulating
functions, together with others left entire, were respectively
plunged into disaerated water. At times the difference in
favour of the untouched animals was twenty-four hours in
favour of the duration of life. Similar trials with toads and
salamanders produced the same results. In each case asfhyxy
came on ; but the existence of the animals which lived with-
out the respiration and circulation was much shortened.
Thus the relative powers of life between the sole and insu-
lated action of the nervous system, and its action combined
with the circulation of dark blood, were estimated. The
inference to be deduced, therefore, is, that although disae-
rated blood furnishes but an ephemeral sort of existence, it
nevertheless exercises a comparatively favourable influence
Upon the nervous and muscular systems, since it tends to the
prolongation of the action of these animal functions.

Dr. Edv/ards next proceeds to investigate the phenomena
of asphyxy produced by strangulation, or the mechanical
obstruction to the access of air X6 the lungs, and consequently
to the blood. The same animals were employed. When^
the windpipe was rendered impervious by ligature, the
muscles of the animals seemed to be paralysed directly ; and
though their motions became subsequently revived at times,

144 Dr. Edwards, De V Influence

they never altogether recovered their perfect freedom. As
a comparative illustration, an equal number of frogs were
submersed in water, all of which died in about ten or eleven
hours, while those which were strangled lived from one to
five days. Salamanders continued active longest, and one
did not cease to exist till the eleventh day, although during
this time he was in a complete state of asphyxy from perfect
strangulation.

Dumeril once found that a salamander lived a long time
after decapitation, even when the cicatrix of the wound was
healed so as to stop all access of air to the lungs.

In comparing the effects of strangulation with those of
submersion or drowning, it is to be supposed either that these
animals exist a limited period without the necessity of
the nervous system being in contact with atmospheric air, or
that the air influences their blood through the integuments
of the body. Accordingly Dr. Edwards put this to the test
by making experiments upon cutaneous respiration.

Spallanzani found that the exposure of cold-blooded ani-
mals to the air was attended with exudation of carbon, a
phenomenon similar to that of respiration. There appears,
however, to be some source of error in these experiments, for
Spallanzani removed the lungs, and this operation rendered
the animal liable to the absorption of air and loss of blood.
Dr. Edwards sought to effect the same purpose by a different
and more successful measure. He also confined frogs in vessels
of atmospheric air, and fastened bladders round the head and
neck, tight enough to stop the entrance of air to the lungs.
At the expiration of two hours the air was examined in the
bladder, and it was found to contain an excess of carbonic
acid. The same result was obtained from salamanders. It
appears, therefore, that while air is in contact with the skin,
carbon is given out ; but whether this be the eflect of exhala-
tion merely, or that oxygen is actually absorbed, and carbon
transpired, is a question which led to further inquiries. Dr.
Edwards, therefore, inclosed cold-blooded animals in solid sub^
stances, in order to determine the influence of dark-coloured
blood, free of all external agency, in the production of che-
mical changes, and to observe its sensible eft'ect upon the
nervous system.

In the year 1779 three toads were confined in a box herme-
tically sealed, and so deposited in the Academy of Sciences.
Eighteen months after, the box was opened, and one toad
was found dead. These animals have been found alive in
blocks of coal after an imprisonment of some years, and have

des Agens Physiques sur la Vie. 145

also been sealed up during similar periods without perishing.
Possibly some hole or crevice might have admitted a little
air. But, in Hevissant's experiment of 79, care seems to
have been taken to obviate this suspicion.

Dr. Edwards, however, determined to put the question to
the test. He enclosed ten out of fifteen frogs in thick wooden
boxes, and filled the interstices with plaster, covering them over
with the same substance, the toads lying each in a central
hole or bed. The other five toads were at the same time
submersed in water, and at the expiration of eight hours they
were found to be dead. In sixteen hours more, one toad was
taken from a box and found to be lively, and was reconsigned
to its prison. On the sixteenth day the toads in the boxes
were discovered alive, and thus the fact was established that
these animals can live far longer in a state of asphyxy con-
fined in solid substances, than when submersed in water.
This was confirmed by repeated trials on salamanders, frogs,
and toads. The frogs perished quickest.

Thus an extraordinary fact is established, as regarding
reptiles, since it affords an exception to the general rule that
all animals require a constant supply of fresh air for the
maintenance of their existence.

Similar trials were repeated in sand, and with the same
results.

Dr. Edwards found that although a certain quantity of air
enters the boxes and sand, yet that it is far too little to main-
tain life. His conclusion, therefore, stands, that animals of
the kind employed can live longer in solid substances than in
a limited quantity of dry air.

It remains, however, to be considered in what manner these
animals have their lives extended beyond those exposed to
the action of a body of air. Dr. Edwards supposes the
moisture of the sand to be one cause, since in the dry air the
animals become desiccated, the cutaneous transpiration being
lost in one case, and retained in the other, by the exclusion of
air. A rapid and abundant transpiration from the body,
united with deficiency of air, seems to be a greater cause of
dissolution than confinement in solid substances wherein there
is no waste by transpiration.

The author's inquiries are next directed to the influence of
temperature upon animals of cold blood, and two and forty
experiments are practised upon this subject, from the month
of July to September following, during which period frogs
were submersed in aerated water, with a view of settling the
duration of life, acted on by varieties of temperature. Th^

JULY— OCT. 1827. L

J46 Pr. Edwards, De Vlnflumoe

continuance of life, generally, in these experiments, varied
from one to two hours and twenty-seven minutes. The mean
term of life was pne hour and thirty -seven minutes, as ave-
raged in July, and in September one hour and forty-five
minutes, the two extremes of the seasons approximating the
effects. The duration of the frog's existence was greatest in
the greatest depression of temperature. Thus at ten degrees
the duration of life was more than double what occurred at
sixteen or seventeen degrees, and at zero it was about triple.
As the heat was increased, the duration of life was dimi-
jiished ; at forty-two the frogs died, and in the lowest tem-
perature they lived longest.

It appeared that at zero the frogs did not become stiffened,
but retained their motion, and their resistance to the frozen
state is the cause of the continuance of their existence at a
low temperature. The cause of this resistance is to be found
in their peculiarity of constitution. Toads produced similar
results.

It may be alleged that frogs naturally live in climates at
from forty to forty-two ; but, it is to be observed, that they
are then placed in a situation of liberty to come to the sur-
face of the water to respire when they please ; whereas in
these experiments their respii'ation is limited, fropa their ina-
bility to reach the surface.

Taking a wider range of temperature, Dr. Edwards sought
to ascertain the influence of the seasons. In July and Sep-
tember frogs were found to live from one to two hours and
twenty-seven minutes in aerated water at fifteen and seventeen
degrees. In November they died at the end of more than
double this period, under the same temperature, and all other
circumstances being similar excepting the season. As the
autumn advanced life was prolonged.

To what are we to ascribe the modifications of the seasons ?
Probably to circumstances appertaining to the intensity of
light, to electricity, to temperature, to the pressure of the
atmosphere, to dryness and moisture, &c. ? Such existing
causes naturally suggest themselves. But it appears that little
or no account can be rendered as to pressure, since its varia-
tions were too trifling during the two seasons. Moisture
could not effect an influence, because the experiments were
performed in water. The motion of the air was also obvi-
ated. Of all the suggested modifications temperature alone
acted, and this, as it related to the surrounding air, was ren-
dered ineffectual by artificial temperature. The animals,
therefore, could only be affected as to the temperature of the

des Agens Physiques sur la Fie, 147

seasons bi/ that which preceded the experiments. The modi-
fications of the seasons, therefore, appeared to influence the
cold-blooded animals used in the experhnents in this point of
view only. Accordingly we have this remarkable result,
that the animals lived twice as long in autumn as in the
summer preceding, when plunged in water of equal tempe-
rature. The seasons evidently influence their constitutions,
80 as to extend the duration of life independently of other
causes, that is, from summer to autumn. Dr. Edwards en-
deavoured to ascertain if it proceeds from atmospheric tempe-
rature, and he found that frogs lived in aerated water at ten
degrees, during November, from five or ten to eleven, and
even to forty hours, in some instances, the last term being
about double the duration of life in water of the same degree
in summer. This proves the remarkable dependence of the
frog's life under water, and the temperature of the month
preceding. Two curious facts are thus developed by ex-
periments instituted at difi*erent seasons. First, the influence
of the temperature • of the water in which the animals were
placed ; and secondly, the influence of the temperature of the
air during certain periods preceding the experiments, for
in autumn the duration of life was about double that of
summer, and in winter he found the term to equal autumn,
the temperature of the air being in each comparative expe-
riment artificially raised to the same degree.

It appears from the foregoing experiments that frogs,
toads, and salamanders, exist in water according to its low-
ness of temperature, and that their lives are prolonged bi/
the temperatvre which precedes the experiment being lowered.
It then becomes a question, what are the limits of this influ-
ence ? This is to be ascertained by observing the greatest
duration of life among animals deprived of external air by
submersion in water ; and noticing at the same time all the
favourable circumstances dependent on the concurrent tem-
perature in prolonging life among the cold-blooded animals,

A point relative to the natural history of frogs first pre-
sents itself to our notice. Spallanzani is of opinion that frogs
do not pass the winter under water, but retire in October
from their native rivers into moist sands, in which they make
openings to breathe the air through, called by the Italian
fishermen il respiro delta rana.

M. Bose, and other Frentrh naturalists, found that frogs
retire from October to spring into water, but they give us no
direct proof that they constantly remain submersed. The
presence of the observer may alarm the frogs, and thus pre-

L 2

J 48 Dr. Edwards, De V Influence

vent their putting their heads above the water, so that th&
assertion is but a negative kind of proof that they remain sa
long under the water without coming up to respire, as some
affirm. M. Bose declares he watched frogs approach the
surface at regular periods every day during the winter sea-
son. Under the most favourable circumstances Dr. Edwards
found that frogs could not remain submersed, in winter, more
than two days and a half. Frogs are less active during
winter than at the other seasons, but they never lose their
motion. Were it true, as Spallanzani thinks it is, that thejr
remained so long under water, it is probable that they would
become frozen in winter and die. Spallanzani derives his
opinion from what occurs with fish, forgetting that frogs are
amphibious, and live as well on land as in water ; whereas
fish are limited to a watery medium, and can, therefore, fur-
nish no example.

Dr. Edwards found that frogs, placed in certain quantities
of aerated and non-aerated water of an equal temperature,
lived longest in the former ; but that the difference was not
constant in its results, being often twice as long in one case
as in the other, as to the duration of life.

The next inquiry regarded stagnant water renewed at in-
tervals, and in this the duration of life was prolonged beyond
the term of the last experiments, and even to eight days»
During winter when the temperature was lowest the frogs
remained active, though less so than in spring.

The conclusions to be drawn from these experiments are, that
frogs pass the winter in an animated state in water, not be-
coming stiffened as in ice, and that they need not to approach
the surface of the water in order to respire, provided the
water they inhabit be renewed at intervals; but if the water
be not renewed, or if disaerated water be employed, the frogs
perish.

Considering that these animals are truly amphibious, these
results are very curious ; and it is interesting in a physio-
logical point of view, to know that frogs are able to respire
the air contained in the dense medium of water for an inde-
finite period, and just as easily as they breathe the finer
medium on land.

Respecting the action of aerated water on the skin, the
conclusion drawn seems to be correct, that it must be from
cutaneous absorption that the air contained in the water
promoted the continuance of life in Dr. Edwards's experi-
ments upon this point, since the animals were in a state of
asphyxy regarding respiration by the lungs; and that na

des Agcns Physiques sur la Vie, 149

?iir entered in combination with water was shewn from Dr.
Edwards nei^er having seen water in the lungs^ Therefore,
unless the air acted on the blood through some other organ,
the lives of these animals would be definite and shortened,
even though the water be renewed from time to time, and
their asphyxy would be complete and continued. And since
the skin is the only organ in contact with the air, it ig fair to
conclude that it is the medium of atrial absorption.

When the webs: were examined under water, these mem-
branes indicated the action of air upon their blood-vessels, by
the bright tint of the blood. . i'^ujv/ i-)U\ii. ^iiiol oa boni.-a > .
Spallanzani imagined that frogs petish BOOTierm running
than in stagnant water ; but Dr. Edwards having secured
some of these animals in ten feet of the Seine, whilst others
were simultaneously placed in unrenewed stagnant water ^ he
found the latter did not survive many hours, and the former
lived a long time.

In order to fix the limits of this kind of existence, frogs
were placed in renewed aUrated water, and with a tempera-
ture never forced beyond ten degrees they were found to
live in all seasons of the year ; but when the temperature
was elevated from twelve to fourteen, they died in a few
hours. In running streams they lived longest, and at twelve
degrees they were thus more favourably placed than in stag-
nant water, at a lower temperature even, and taking the pre-
caution to renew the water daily ; and at seventeen degrees
in running water they died prematurely. Toads exhibited
the same comparative results, but they lived the longest.

It appears, therefore, that water contained in vessels is less
favourable to the lives of these animals than running streams,
although the water and the temperature were identical.
Probably the great advantage of running water is its con-
stant and unceasing renewal. The separate and comparative
influence of air, water, and temperature, being thus investi-
gated, the combined action of the three physical agents was
next inquired into, and it is demonstrated that frogs sub-
mersed in water are influenced by three circumstances, — !•
the presence of air in water ; 2. the quantity of its renewal ;
3. the temperature of the medium. If the manners of frogs
be closely examined, they appear to live in water under very
considerable influence from the atmosphere.
■ From circumstances developed in the foregoing experi-
ments, cutaneous respiration seems to be pretty evidently in-
dicated. A chapter is, therefore, devoted to this subject, one
that is not well known, although pulmonary respiration ia

150 . Dr. Edwards, De V Influence

generally understood. In frogs, the function of pulmonary
respiration is united with that of deglutition, and the air
enters only by the nostrils, the mouth being closed during
respiration. While the mouth remains open, the action of
deglutition is stopped, and, therefore, the animal does not
then breathe. Dr. Edwards availed himself of this circum-
stance by gagging the mouth so as to keep it open, and thus
prevent the air from entering the lungs. The frogs were
sufficiently exposed to moisture and renewal of air to their
bodies : the results were, that, at twenty-four degrees, five
frogs so placed died next day, and one lived a week.

Dr. Edwards immersed some frogs in wet sand, and adopted
an improved method of excluding air from the lungs, and
some of them lived twenty days. Hence it evidently appears
that air influences the skin materially, and counterbalances
the asphyxious state induced by obstructing the air's passage
to the lungs. By adopting other methods, the existence of
frogs was prolonged to thirty or forty days. It is, therefore,
sufficiently proved that the blood undergoes its necessary
changes from atmospheric influence through the medium of
the skin, although in a minor degree compared with those
which it passes through from pulmonary respiration. Frogs
are thus shewn to possess a double source of respiration.
. By substituting oil for water, frogs immersed in this fluid
died in a few hours, being at liberty to breath the air on its
surface. And, when plunged into oil, with the means of
breathing by the lungs arrested, they lived an equal time
with frogs simultaneously placed in water without power to
respire. A comparison was instituted with frogs in oil and
in water, being allowed to breathe air, when the differ-
ence was found to be very considerable in favour of the
aquatic bath. These circumstances shew, that, even with
the feeble succour of the air through the skin, absorbed from
the water, the respiratory function was far more prolonged,
than in the case of the obstruction afforded by the oil. Thus
we have abundant evidence of the double function by which
frogs are maintained, from the action of the air on the skin
and the lungs ; and this appears to be the means of existence
among amjihibious animals generally.

It may be asked why these animals die in deep water when
prevented from approaching the surface? It appears that,
having expelled the respired air from their lungs, which is
imperfectly renewed from the water, they become specifically
heavier than the water, and unable to rise from the bottom ;
and thus placed, the duration of their lives depends upon

d^ Agms Physiques sur l^ Vie. 151

the resistance offered by their constitutions to the depressing
effects of a state of asphyxy while remaining submersed.

Dr. Edwards next proceeds to inquire into the effects of
TRANSPIRATION. A liquid transfusion from the skin of
animals is constantly going on, either in the form of vapour
or of fluid in a denser state.

The latter constitutes sweat. This phenomenon exhibits
great variations, and it is important to know what diminu-
tion of weight the body suffers in different circumstances.
In the course of an hour remarkable fluctuations occur.

Dr. Edwards suspended frogs, toads, and salamanders, in
a calm air^ weighed them, and noted the results, which<
though very changeable in an hour, were generally uniform
in three, and in nine hours they averaged an equal result.
The successive diminution in the mass of fluids was evident.

The results were modified by the alternate position of the
animals in a body of air in repose, or agitated by a draft*
And these results do not appear to depend upon any prin*
ciple of vitality, for they take place equally in death and in
life, and indeed among unorganized bodies, as, for example,
lumps of charcoal soaked in water. Therefore the cause of
the phenomenon of transpiration seems to be referribk
entirely to physical agents. The motion of the air seems to
be its exciting cause ; for even when^ to all appearance, it is
calm, it is in reality agitated more or less, and produces a
sensible evaporation from the skin. But the difference
between the effect of calm and agitated air is remarkable i
for in a draft, the animals exposed to it sweated away double
the quantity of liquid compared with those confined in a
room shut up. The amount lost was proportioned to the
intensity of the wind, and reached a triple amount over thosd
animals in stagnant air ; and this fact explains the variations
noticed from hour to hour among animals exposed to currents
of air. :

The transpiration which occurs in very moist air, always
amounts to a diminution of weight ; but in dry air it is five
or ten times greater ; and when the influence of a moist state
of the atmosphere is compared with that of a dry state, the
amount of evaporation is equal to that of a dry and calm air»

Transpiration may, therefore, be referred to the agitation
of the atmosphere for its exciting cause, beyond any modifii
cations of its density. And, although an elevated tempera-
ture be favourable to transpiration, its modifying influence
is less than that of other causes.

In comparing the effects of absorption and transpirationi

152 Dr. Edwards, De VInflumce

in water and in air, frogs were found to gain an addition to
their weiglit according to the term of their continuance in
the former medium. An absorption of water was rendered
evident by the loss of bulk it had sustained, when measured
after the experiment.

Thus, when the comparative influence of water and air is
estimated, the former appears to be absorbed, and adds to
the weight of the body ; and the latter tends to diminish the
weight, by different and fluctuating degrees of evaporation
taking place, and dependent much more on the degree of
motion in the air, than on its dryness or humidity : these last
conditions modify evaporation in a minor degree, when com-
pared with the influence of a current of air.

The celerity of abswption exceeds that of transpiration six
times, in the most rapid cases. It therefore results, that the
losses by transpiration in air should be repaid by absorption
of water in a much less time than the expenditure occurs.
But the decrease of weight is not prolonged ; it is sudden,
and not continuous, alternating with augmentation of weight,
by absorption of liquid going on in a ratio superior to the
loss ; and thus nature's provision is manifested for the nutri-
ment of the body.

With this last inquiry Dr. Edwards concludes the first
part of his work ; and it is observed, that, with regard to
transpiration, the losses of weight have been considered with-
out reference to the existence of any other influence than
water. The losses by transpiration have been examined
generally without regard to the matters lost. What relates
to water difi*ers essentially in one respect from that which
regards the air. The losses sustained by the body ought to
be more particularly examined. Temperature and loss of
time require estimation. An excretion of solid matter evi-
dently takes place ; for the water, in which animals are
submersed, becomes turbid, especially in hot weather, and it
sensibly contains animal matters, afiecting the weight of the
body in water.

When animals are submersed in water, their skins exercise
two functions, acting inversely in determining their weight.
And it results, from comparative experiments, that the
absorptio7i at zero exceeds the loss in water ; while at thirty
degrees the loss exceeds the increase by weight from absorp-
tion ; and the higher the temperature, the greater is the
excess in the discharge of animal matters. We may therefore
presume, that the agency of temperature produces analogous
effects, upon aerial transpiration, to those before observed

des Agens Physiques sur la Vie^ 158

in other inquiries; and the effects of dryness and moisture
in the air produce a minor degree of influence also, when
compared with temperature y on the losses of animal substances.

We have been thus minute in our analysis, because the
subject of it is new to science in its present shape, and of a
high degree of interest. Dr. Edwards's researches among
the difierent classes of animals have tended more to the
illustration of the influence of physical agents upon life than
any previous authorities ; and the persevering industry,
accuracy of observation, and patient inquiry which he has
evinced in his investigations among cold-blooded animals,
have placed this department of the creation in a point of
view at once curious, interesting, and valuable to science.
We attach the greater importance to this part of the author's
work, as it is a ground on which he may be consulted, and
quoted as indisputable authority, until equal inquiries havQ
shewn him to be fallacious.

Our limits will not at present permit us to proceed farther
in our analysis, and we must refer the remainder of the book
to a future opportunity. The subjects of the three other
parts, though greatly extended, will not probably require
such minute analysis as those novel experiments which form
the subject of the first part ; but we imagine that the appli-
cation of the principles laid down^ in the previous inquiries,
to human physiology, will be found not less interesting than
those which relate to the natural history of the lower orders
of the animal creation.

An Account of Professor Carlini's Pendulum Experiments on
,^yj^ , Mont Cenis.

W^ believe that no account of Professor Carlini's pendulum
experiments on Mont Cenis has hitherto appeared in the peri-
odical scientific publications of this country : the experiments
are, however, well deserving of such notice, having been con-
ducted with great care, and having had a specific object in
vie^, which object seems to have been satisfactorily accom-
plished. The following brief account of them, taken from the
original memoir published in the Appendix to the "Eph6m6ride
di Milano " for 1824, may not be unacceptable to those of our
readers who interest themselves in subjects of this class.
'- The length of tRe simple pendulum vibrating seconds is a

154 • Aecount of Professor Carlini's

measure of the intensity of gravitation ; i. e. of the excess of
the force of gravity over the centrifugal force. In consequence
of the ellipticity of the earth, and of the difference in the
direction of the two forces, the intensity of gravitation varies
according to the different latitudes. It also varies, in the same
latitude, according to the greater or less elevation of the pen-
dulum above the level of the sea ; i. e. according to its greater
or less distance from the centre of the attracting force, foa '^Blt

Had the earth a perfectly level surface, such, for instance,
as it would have if it were everywhere covered by a fluid, the
force of gravity, in receding from the surface, would diminish
in the duplicate proportion of the distance from the earth's
centre. In the actual state of the globe, however, its conti-
nents and its islands are raised above the general level of the
sea by which it is only partially covered ; and if a pendulum
be raised, on the surface of the land, to a known elevation
above the sea, the diminution of gravity will not be, as in the
more simple case, proportioned to the squares of the respective
distances from the earth's centre, but that proportion will
require to be modified, by taking into account the attraction of
the elevated materials, interposed between the general surface
and the place of observation.

When pendulums are employed in different latitudes, to
obtain the ratio of gravitation between the equator and the pole,
for the purpose of deducing the ellipticity of the earth, all the
places of observation, being on land, are more or less elevated
above the sea; inland stations, in particular, are sometimes at
considerable elevations: to render these results comparable
one with another, it is necessary to reduce each result to what
it would have been, had it been made at some level common to
all the experiments ; and the surface of the sea has hitherto
been taken as that common level. Previous to the publication
of a paper of Dr. Young's in the Philosophical Transactions
for 1819, the consideration which we have mentioned, that of
the attraction of the matter interposed between the place of
observation and the level of the sea, was generally unheeded
in estimating the allowance to be made for the reduction of
different heights to the common level : in that paper, however.
Dr. Young took occasion to point out the probable effect of

Pendulum Experiments on Mont Cenis. 155

the interposed matter in modifying considerably the usual
allowance ; that, supposing its density to be about half the mean
density of the earth, the effect of an hemispherical hill of such
matter, on the summit of which the pendulum should be placed,
would be to diminish the correction, deduced from the dupli-
cate proportion from the earth's centre, about ^th; that, in
like manner, a tract of table-land, considered as an extensive
flat surface, of the same relative density, would diminish the
correction about ^ths ; and that, accordingly, in almost any
country that could be chosen for the experiment, the proper
correction for the height would vary, according to the form
and density of the interposed materials, from rather more than
a half to rather less than three-quarters of the usual allowance*
This view has been subsequently acted upon by the English
pendulum experimentors, in reducing their observations ; but
it has not been yet adopted by the French. The experiments
of Professor Carlini were calculated to afford a practical illus--
tration of the correctness of Dr. Young's reasoning.

Professor Carlini was engaged, in the summer of 1821, in
concert with Professor Plana, in determining the amplitude of
the celestial arc between the Hospice on Mont Cenis and the
Observatory at Milan, by means of fire-signals made on the
Roche Melon, and observed simultaneously at Milan and at a
temporary observatory established at the Hospice. Whilst
thus engaged, Professor Carlini, being stationary for several
days on Mont Cenis, and obliged to have time very accurately
determined, for the purpose of comparing with the observatory
at Milan, availed himself of the opportunity to employ a pen^
dulum apparatus of the same general nature as that used by
M. Biot at Paris, which had been prepared at Milan some
years before, under the direction of a commission of weights
and measures^ with the view of determining the value of the
divisions of the national Unear scale. As this apparatus dif-
fered in some few particulars from the original employed in
France^ we shall briefly notice the differences, presuming our
readers to be acquainted with the apparatus of MM. Borda
and Biot. KWiivwtijB -.jiii ^miJj.

1. In the Milan apparatus, by Witsans'df twO' mTCrOscopes
(urnished with wire micrometers, the length of the pendulum.

156 Account of Professor Carlini's

may be measured without touching it ; -without approaching
it; without even opening the case \vhich contains it. > The
measure is obtained by bringing the wires in contact with the
images of the knife-edge suspension, and of the upper and
lower borders alternately of the platinum disk suspended to
the thread: thus preventing the risk of deranging the equi-
librium, and avoiding the effect which the heat of the body
might have on the very dilatable metallic threads ;ri J is 93n'>2C1i

2. The half sum of the distances taken betweeri the stts-
pension, and the upper and lower edges of the disk, gives the
distance of the centre of the disk itself, without measuring its
diameter with a compass, an operation exceedingly difficult to
execute with the necessary precision. By this apparatus of
microscopes the length may be measured at pleasure, even
during the time of oscillation ; and being attached to the wall,
instead of supported by the floor, the risk of derangement by
the tread of the observer is avoided. : n.nn )f->!

3. The pendulum, and the clock by which its oscilktions
are measured, were not, as usually, near together and resting
on the same base, but were perfectly separated. The coinci-
dences of the oscillations were observed, by bringing the image
of the pendulum of the clock, reflected by means of an oblique
mirror, in contact with the image of the simple pendulum seen
direct through a telescope. By this modification the risk of
the mutual influence of the pendulum and the clock is avoided.

4. The disk was attached to the thread by means of knots
in the thread itself; avoiding the correction for the small cup
usually employed for that purpose.

5. An alteration was made in the weight and shape of the
knife-edge suspension ; reducing its weight to about 10 grains,
and giving it the shape of a rotella, instead of that of a triangu-
lar prism.

The simple pendulum and microscopes were attached to a
strong wall, in a room on the ground floor, contiguous to the
temporary observatory, and well sheltered from the sun and wea-
ther. The clock with which the pendulum was compared, was
supported by a pyramid of masonry resting on the ground, and
occupying the middle of the room. The experimental length
between the microscopes was referred to three standard metres^

Pendulum Experiments on Mont Cenis^ 157

in perfect agreement with each other : one received from Paris
by the Commission of Weights and Measures at Milan; a
second brought more recently from Paris by Conte Moscati ;
and a • tfl^ird - in .the i;possessioa; of the Royal Academy of
TuriDJ'M-xj^ii ' .i'il ;^-.! , ;,■:,.

•I'^'be «itperiiQents were commenced on the 3rd of September,
add'terminated on the 27th, being interrupted by M. Carlini's
absence at Chambery from the 7th to the 12th. The distance
between the microscopes, and the oscillations and length of the
pendulum, were measured alternately. Thirteen independent
results were thus obtained, of which the greatest discordance
from the mean was not more than -jyV^T)^^^ ^^ ^ British inch.
The mean result was 39.0992 British inches, the length of the
pendulum vibrating seconds in a vacuum, at the place of obser-
vation on Moiit Cenis, 1943 metres, or 6374 feet above the
sea, in the latitude of 45° 14' 10". To compare with this
determination, we may obtain a tolerably fair approximation
tO' the pendulum at the level of the sea in the latitude of
45° 14' 10", such as its length might have been found, if the
mountain could have been removed and the pendulum placed
on its site, by deduction from the lengths actually measured
with a similar apparatus, on the arc between Formentera and
Dunkirk, at stations not far removed from the level of the sea,
in the adjacent parallels to Mont Cenis, and in the countries
adjoining. Of these there are five, not including the station at
Clermont, in consequence of its great elevation : they are as
follows : —

Dunkirk .. 51 02 10; its pendulum at the level of ihe seat — 59.13771
Paris ... 48 50 14; „ „ „ „ 39.12894

Bordeaux . 44 50 26 ; „ ^^^ to offf>'l^ 5iij» ar..^^-^^^^^

Figeac ... 44 36 45; „ ^ ,T ' ^"^2. ^"39.11212

Formentera 38 39 56; „ ,» ., „ -r^ 39.09176

The mean length of the seconds pendulum at the level of the
sea, in the latitude of 45° 14' 10^, deduced from these deter-
minations, is 39.1154 ; and it is so equally, whether an eUip-
ticityof^th, or of ^^th, or any intermediate ellipticity, be
assumed in the reduction.
We have, then, 39.1154 - 39.0992 = -0162 inch., as the

158 Account of Professor Carlini's

measure of the difF^ence in the intensity of gravitation at the
place of observation elevated 1943 metres, and at the level
of the sea. The radius of the earth being 6,376,478 metres,
this measure, according to the duplicate proportion of the
distances from the earth's centre, should be *0238 inch. The
attraction of the mountain is, then, equal to -0238 — '0162 =
•0076 inch. Whence it appears that, in this particular instance,
the correction for the elevation is reduced, by the attraction of
the interposed matter, to -j^^ths, or to about ^ths of the
amount immediately deducible from the squares of the dis^
tances.

It is obvious that, if we possessed a correct knowledge of the
density and arrangement of the materials of which Mont Cenis
is composed, so as to enable a computation of the sum of all
the attractions which they exercise on the place of observation,
this result might furnish, as well as Dr. Maskelyne's experi^
ments on the deviation of the plumb-line produced by the
attraction of Mount Schehallien, a certain determination of thei
mean density of the earth. Professor Carlini considers that
the form of the eminence may be sufficiently represented by a
segment of a sphere, a geographical mile in height, having as
its base a circle of 11 miles diameter, the distance from Susa
to Lansleburgo ; the attractive force, on a point placed on the
summit, would, in such case, be equal to 2 'r ^ (1— f^ -^)^
or in numbers to 5 -020 J, ^ being the density of the mountain,
and 2 ir the ratio of the circumference to radius. The
attractive force of the earth, on a point at its surface, is f tt r A ,
= 14394 A J r being the radius of the earth =r 3437 geogra-
phical miles, and a its mean density. Now these two quan-
tities, 14394 A and 5 ♦ 020 ^, should be, to each other, in the
proportion of 39.1] 54, — ^the pendulum at the level of the sea,
representing gravitation at the surface of the earth, — to -0076,
the portion of gravitation at the summit of the mountain due
to the attraction of the mountain. By the observations of M„
de Saussure and other geologists, Mont Cenis is chiefly com-
posed of schistus, marble, and gypsum ; the specific gravities
of which substances were ascertained, from numerous speci-
mens in the possession of M. Carlini, to be respectively as
follows : —

Pendulum Experiments on Mont Cents* 159

Theschistua . . . 2-81.
The marble . . . 2-86.
The gypsum . . . 2.32.

In the absence of a precise knowledge of the quantity and
position of each of these three component parts, we may take
the mean, 2.66, of their several densities as approximatively

the density of the mountain, = ^. We have then
• ■} nov •

•rft ^o ^ ^ 5.02^x39.1154 ^ . „^

" 14394 X- 0076 ' *

a result differing little from that of Cavendish as recently cor-
rected by Dr. Hutton, and still less from that of the Schehallien
experiments.

The most hypothetical element of this calculation is the
width assigned to the base of the mountain ; but by the very
nature of the question, it has but little influence on the final
result ; since, by even doubling the assigned diameter, the total
attraction would not be altered a twentieth. In regard to the
mean density of the mountain, if it were taken at 2.75, instead
of 2.66, that of the earth would result 4.94, instead of 4.77, as
given above.

E. S.

Transactions of the Horticultural Society . Vol. vii. Part 1.
4to. London, 1827. pp. 208.

I. Observations upon the Growth of Early and Late Grapes under
Glass. By Mr. James Aeon.

Few gardens are to be found in which bunches of fresh ripe
grapes can be gathered every day in the year : notwith-
standing the importance of the fruit to the luxurious, and
the facility with which the vine submits to the artificial cli-
mate of the forcing-house. Nothing is easier than to secure
crops of grapes in a vinery during the spring and summer
months ; but it is far more difficult to obtain them in the
last and earliest seasons of the year, when the plants would

160 Transactions of the

naturally be in a, state of torpidity. It is well known that
this desirable purpose is attained In great perfection in the
garden of the Earl of Surrey, at Worksop Manor ; and the
management there practised is the subject of this paper.

The common methods of forcing early grapes are to train
the vines under the roof near the glass, or on small frames
against jQued walls; but to both these practices Mr. Aeon
finds great objections : to the former because it renders the
house too dark, and exposes the young and tender branches
to the pernicious effect of blasts of cold air rushing through
the interstices of the panes ; and to the latter, because the
heat of the flues is apt to scorch the branches, and in conse-
quence to destroy the crop, — excessive heat in the one case
producing the same injurious effects as excessive cold in the
other. The following are the two modes by which Mr. Aeon
obtains his iwri/ early and his veri/ late grapes. For the early
crops a house is used, of which the back wall is 9.6 feet In
height, and the front wall 3 feet, the roof forming an angle
of about 30 degrees. It is heated, from the absolute neces-
sity of employing an atmosphere of unusually high tem-
perature, with two flues that pass along the middle of the
house, and return in the back wall ; a flre-place being
built at each end of the house. Forcing begins on the first
of September, and the fruit begins to ripen the first week
in March. The vines are trained upon a trellis, fixed over
the flues, in the centre of the house, and also upon the back
wall ; but none are allowed to obstruct the light by occu-
pying the roof, until about six weeks after the forcing has
commenced, when some new shoots are introduced and
trained to the rafters. The form of this house gives it a
peculiar advantage, in presenting a greater surface for the
growth of vines than can be derived from any other plan ;
the trellis which is placed over the flues is nearly equal to
the whole roof, without being in any degree injurious to the
plants trained upon the back wall. The vines are planted
in the inside of the house, but in such a manner that the
mould in which they grow is not heated by the fire-places of
either flue. The usual mode of exposing the main stem of,
a forced vine to an extremely low temperature in the exter-
nal air, while the branches are stimulated by a very high
temperature in an entirely different atmosphere, is very pro-
perly objected to. Nothing, In fact, can be more injudicious
than such a practice, in cases where very early forcing Is
required ; for it should be borne in mind, that although the
absorption of the elements by which the proper juices of a

Horticultural Society of London, 161

plant are elaborated, and brought into the state under which
they appear in the fruit, and in the secretions of the plant, is
carried on by the leaves alone, yet that all these juices have,
in the first instance, to pass along the vessels of the stem
before they reach the leaves ; and that the whole of the bark
of a tree is, rightly considered, a leaf of a particular de-
scription, formed of the same kind of tissue, and exercising
the same functions, and undoubtedly producing a powerful
effect upon the motion of the fluids of the branches, with the
vessels of which it is elaborately and intimately entangled,
from the core to the circumference. No argument can be
necessary to show that an equal action of the vessels of a
plant is indispensable to the due maintenance of the vegetable
functions in a healthy state, and that this is not to be main-
tained by exposing the main stem and the extremities to an
atmosphere and temperature entirely different. Such irre-
gularities do not exist in free Nature, and she will not sub-
mit to them when in fetters.

In pruning vines for early forcing, as little wood should
be employed as possible. Mr. Aeon stops the shoots one
joint above each cluster, and has no joint without a bunch.
When the crop is over, and the wood perfectly matured,
the branches should be laid near the ground, and shaded
till the recommencement of forcing. In short, they should
be placed in a condition as nearly as possible resembling
the gloom and cold of winter. If this process be well ma-
naged, the vines will alter their natural habits, and instead
of budding with the spring, their vegetation will naturally
commence at the period at which they have been accus-
tomed to be stimulated.

For late grapes, a house of a different construction is em*-
ployed. The back wall is 12 feet high, the front wall IJ
foot, and the roof lies at an angle of 45 degrees. The heat
is supplied by a single flue passing along the middle of the
house. The sorts best adapted for late forcing are the Mus-
cat of Alexandria, the St. Peter's, and the Black Damascus;
all other kinds wither prematurely. This house is generally
shut about the middle or end of May, as soon as the bunches
become visible. The vines are trained on a trellis near the
glass. Till ihey are out of blossom the air is kept very
warm, a point to which much importance attaches, because
it is during this period that all the branches that are to bear
fruit in the sticceeding season are produced. In a high
temperature, the branches will grow more compactly, and

JULY — OCT. 1827. M

162 Transactions of the

will be more regularly matured than in a low temperature^
in which the wood is apt to become excessively luxuriant, and
not to ripen well. Great attention must be paid to this
point. As much air as possible is introduced into the vinery
during the summer ; but as the autumn advances, more
caution in this respect is observed. The fruit should be
perfectly coloured at the approach of the dark season ;
for if the colouring be deferred too long, the berries will
never acquire their proper flavour. Great care must be obr
served to remove daily such berries as are inclining to damp,
or the whole crop will soon be spoiled. This should be par-
ticularly attended to ; for the contagion of what gardeners
call damp, arises from the growth of minute fungi which
vegetate upon the epidermis, and spread during the autumn
with alarming rapidity from bunch to bunch.

The pruning of vines for late forcing is the same as has
been already explained. When the crop is gathered, the
house is unroofed for a short time, in order to expose th^
branches to a low temperature, and to the degree of humi-
dity necessary to replenish their vessels, which have been
drained by the dryness of the climate in which, when forced^
they were necessarily kept.

By the means above described, a regular supply of grapes
is secured through the year. The late-house crop lasts
from the middle of January to the end of March ; it is suc-
ceeded by the first crop in the early-house, which carries on
the supply into May, and it is continued by the grapes on
the rafters in the same house until the vines in the pine
stoves, which are forced early in January and February,
produce their crops. These continue bearing through the
summer, when a vinery, of which the forcing commences
about the end of March, furnishes the supply till the late-
house fruit is ready in January.

Upon the whole this may be considered a most instructive
and valuable communication.

II, On the Varieties of Cardoon, and the Methods of cultivating them.
By Mr. A. Mathews,

Who does not wish to read of the cardoon ; of that prince
of vegetables, whose praises have been sung or said by all
cooks and gourmands, from the fastidious Perigords and
Cardellis of the French cuisine, down to the more homely
Rundells and Glasses of our English kitchens ; whose virtues
are so marvellous as to be credible upon no less authority

Horticultural Society of London, 163

than that of the sage gastrophilists aforesaid. To restore
unwonted vigour to old age, and new elasticity to youth,
are the most modest of its attributes ; the magical broth with
which the veins of iEson were replenished by the cunning
Medea, was doubtless prepared from the cardoon ; and the
story itself is probably a sort of figurative record of the skill
of the fair enchantress in cooking this delicious vegetable,
which was well known to the Grecian gastronomes under
the name of xaxros- ; but this we throw out merely
as a suggestion. Upon preparing herbs thus potent for
the table, cookery has exhausted all its skill ; to dress a car-
doon is declared, by the highest authority in the art, to be
the surest test of a skilful cook ; and one of those invaluable
acquirements which, to borrow the words of a writer not
less celebrated for his powers of composition than of cook-
ing, *^ raises cookery to the rank of the sciences, and its
professors to the title of artists." Our good forefathers,
indeed, *' could not find the true manner of dressing car-
doons,"" and were content to eat them raw " with vinegar
and oyl, pepper and salt, all of them, or some, as every one
liketh for tneir delight;" which, considering that this vege-
table is both bitter and astringent in a high degree, does not
argue much for the delicacy of palate of our ancestors ; little
did they dream of the savoury preparations that modern art
has devised by the aid of Espagnole, consomm^, blancs, tam-
mies, marking, masking, and all the mysteries of the stew-
pan.

Four varieties are here described, of which the Spanish
cardoon is the most common, and the cardon de Tours
the best.

They are cultivated, like celery, in deep broad trenches,
well manured and watered. When the plants are nearly
full-grown, which will be about the end of October, a dry
day is to be chosen for performing the operation of blanching
them, which is thus effected : —

** The leaves of each plant are carefully and lightly tied
together with strong matting, keeping the whole upright,
and the ribs of the leaves together. The plant is then bound
closely round with twisted haybands, about an inch and a
half in diameter, beginning at the root, and continuing to
about two-tliirds of its height. If the plants are intended for
winter store, they must be earthed up like celery ; but if to
be consumed before the frosts set in, the operation of earthing
UP ra^y be omitted."

M 2

164 Transactions of the

III. Accounts and Descriptions of the several Plants belonging to the
genus Hoya, which are cultivated in the garden of the Horticultural
Society at Chiswick. By Mr. James Traill.

The beauty of one species of Hoya, viz., H. carnosa, has
long caused it to be a favourite with collectors. The object
of the writer of this paper is to call attention to such othei's
as are known to exist in garden^, or as'a^^^^
records of the botanist. \ V - .

The following species form the subject of the paper, viz. :

1 Hoya carnosa, R, Brown. 2 Hoya crassifolia, Ha-
"Worth, 3 Hoya pallida, Lindley. 4 Hoya Pottsii, (Tab. I.)
5 Hoya trinervis.

These five are all the species at present cultivated in gar-
dens ; ethers are known to exist in the v/armer regions of
Asia, where they should be assiduously sought for by tra-
vellers, as they are not only very ornamental, but also easily
to be transported to Europe. ^ ^

From such materials as he has been able to procufe^ , the
\vriter enumerates the following as completing the genus
Hoya, as far as at present ascertained :

6 Hoya chinensis. 7 Hoya viridiflora, R. Brown, 8
Hoya lanceolata, D. Don. 9 Hoya linearis, D. Don,
10 Hoya australis, R. Brown, MSS. 11 Hoya nicobarica,
R. Brown, MSS. 12 Hoya augustifolia.

The paper concludes with a detailed explanation fOif^ the
best manner of cultivating ^oy^^f ';;^^^iia't^n9^^^^

XV. On acclimatizing Plants at Biel,in East Lothian. ' By Mr. Jonjti
Street, gardener to the Honourable Mrs. Hamilton Nesbitt. '"',^

Perhaps there is no point whatever, connected with Horti-
culture, of greater interest than that which forms the subject
of this paper ; it is the distant goal towards which we all are
striving, but of which, alas I we have not as yet even caught
a glimpse. The gardener is in possession of the powers by
which lie can bend the seasons to his will ; he can dispel the
frozen gloom of winter with the rich warm glow of the vin-
tage ; at his call the flowers of spring and summer start up be-
neath liis feet, and his hothouses are filled with the luscious
fruits of the torrid zone. All this he knows how to effect
with an artificial climate ; but he has no influence over the
natural climate of his country, nor can he impart to the
vegetation of warmer latitudes the least additional power of
resisting cold, for which they have not been prepared hy
nature. Acclimatizing is still a secret to be discovered. To

HorticuHural Sodiety of London. IBS'

this day not a single instance can be adduced of any exotia
plant whatever possessing greater {^oivers of withstanding
cold, than it ha4 when first introduced. It has been hoped
thatji'fth^ seed^ of a given plant could be procured, for
many generations, in a climate severer than its own, the
offspring so obtained would gradually accommodate them-
selves to their new country ; but no such result has followed
from the experiments that have been tried. Let ua take a
fey?" familiar examples: — the common nasturtium, (Tropae-
luhi majus,^ a native of Peru, is said to have been intror
duced about the year 1686. At the time at which we are
writing, it must have descended through about 140 genera-
tions; and yet it has not become in the smallest degree
capable of resisting cold. Of the mignonette (Reseda odo-
rata), the date of introduction is not well ascertained ; it
has probably been a favourite border annual for sixty or
seventy years, and yet it has in no degree shaken off its annual
character, which is unnatural to it, and resumed the suffru-
tescent habit which it possesses in its own milder climate.
The potato, too, which has for two centuries and a half
been increased in every conceivable manner, by seeds as
well as by offsets, bears cold in no degree more readily
than it did in the sixteenth century. Nor does it appear to
us probable, that acclimatizing, if practicable, is to be
brought about by sowing seeds in northern latitudes through
successive generations. We do not believe that plants will
bear their seeds at all in a temperature much lower than
that in which they have been located by the hand of Nature.
The heat of a northern summer sufficiently approximates to
that of the tropics, to be considered, with reference to vege-
tation, as the same, and it is during that season that the
seeds of all plants are ripened ; the conditions, therefore,
under which the seeds of Tropaeolum, for example, are pro-
duced in England, do not materially differ from those under
Which the same seeds are produceu in Peru ; if the season
proves unpropitious in any considerable degree, they are not
produced at all. How then can it be expected that seeds
ripened under similar circumstances, but in different lati-
tudes, should give birth to a progeny differing in any re-
ma^'kable particular from their parents ? In fact, in power of
reslstlhg coW, they do not differ at all. If such a capability
were l^o be obtained, it would be by inducing plants to ripen
their seeSs in winter.

But if it is certain that nothing is to be gained in acclima-
tiring, by raising plants from eeed through successive gene^.

166 Transactions of the

rations, it is no less true tnkt many trees, which have been
supposed to be incapable of surviving a northern winter, are
now ascertained to be perfectly hardy, and that the power
of enduring cold may be increased in others, by a judicious
management of soil and situation., , U ^ t)j-;iL-iMV lu

The phenomenon of vegetable liSfe being destrbyea by
cold, probably arises from the vessels, through which the
circulation and secretion of the fluids of plants take place,
being ruptured by the expansion, from cold, of tlie fluid they
contain. In proportion, therefore, to the tenuity of the ves-
sels, and the abundance of their fluid, will be the danger to
which they are exposed from frost ; and to the strength of the
vessels, and the paucity of their fluid, the power of resisting
eold. Thus vigorous shoots of the oak, walnut, and many
other trees, which are formed with rapidity, imperfectly ma-
tured, and highly charged with fluid, are extremely impa-
tient of cold, and are even destroyed by a few degrees of
frost ; while the twigs and branches of the same trees, which
are formed slowly, fully matured, and incompletely flUed
with fluid, bear unharmed the utmost rigour of our winters.
In acclimatizing, therefore, this law should be carefully
remembered, and the situations in which tender plants are
stationed, should be those in which their growth is re-
strained^ and an excessive absorption of fluid prevented.

This appears to have been the true secret of the success
that has attended the attempts at acchmatizing, which form
the subject of Mr. Street's communication. By planting in
situations well drained from superfluous moisture, under cir-
cumstances where rapid growth was rendered impracticable,
and, as we understand, in a garden admirably adapted to
the object, from its position, he has succeeded in natura-
lizing, in latitude 56° N., plants which have not yet been
known to endure the winters even of the parallel of London.

V. Upon the Culture of Celery. By Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq.,
F.R.S., President.

*^ That which can be very easily done, without the exertion
of much skill or ingenuity, is," Mr. Knight observes, *' very
rarely found to be well done, the excitement to excellence
being in such cases necessarily very feeble." This remark
is in the present case applied to the cultivation of celery,
which, being a native of the sides of wet ditches, might
naturally be expected to demand an abundant supply of
water when cultivated. Accordingly, Mr. Knight found that
by keeping the ground, in which celery was planted, con-

Horticultural Society of London, 167

stantly wet, it grew by the middle of September to the
height of five feet, and its quality was in proportion to ita
size. Mr. Knight also recommends planting at greater dis-
tances than is usually the case, and covering the beds, into
which the young seedlings are first removed, with half-rotten
dung, overspread to the depth of about two inches with
mould ; under which circumstances, whenever the plants are
removed, the dung will adhere tenaciously to their roots,
and it will not be necessary to deprive the plants of any part
of their leaves.

VI. Report upon the New or Rare Plants which /lowered in the Garden
..,0/" the Horticultural Society at Chiswick, between March^ 1825, and

^j itarch, 1 S2(j. Part I. Tender Plants, By John Lindley, Esq.

The subject of this paper consisting of botanical details which
do not bear curtailing, we shall only extract the names of
the new species described in it, as a guide to our botanical
readers. In the whole, thirty-three species are noticed;
oi which the following are published for the first time : —

2 Passiflora obscura. 7 Solanum dealbatum. 10 Taber-
naemontana gratissima. 13 Tephrosia ? Chinensis, 15 Hel-
lenia abnormis. 16 Gesneria Douglassii. 21 Gynandropsis
pulchella. 23 Rodriguezia planifolia. 26 Brassavola nodosa.
33 Phycella corusca.

VII. Aocounf of a Protecting Frame for Fruit- Trees on Walls, By

Mr. John Dick.

In order to protect the fruit upon walls from the ravages of
bees, wasps, flies, and other winged enemies, a frame is con*
triVed fitting close to the face of the wall, and having a move-
able sliding canvass front, which can be readily removed when
the fruit is to be gathered, and replaced again afterwards^
A plan of the frame accompanies the paper. From what we
have seen of this contrivance, we know that it is well adapted
to its purpose, and that no garden in which fine fruit is re-
quired, should be without one or more of such frames. For
the mode of making them, we must refer to the paper itself*

VIII, On the Esculent Egg- Plants. By Mr. Andrew Mathews.

In this country, the egg-plant, brinjal, or aubergine, fe
chiefly cultivated as a curiosity ; but in warmer climates,
where its growth is attended with less trouble, it is a fa-
vourite article of the kitchen-garden. In the form of fritters,
or farces, or in soups, it is frequently brought to table in
all the southern parts of Europe ; and forms a pleasant va-

165 . ' Transactions' of the

riety of esculent. This paper describes the only two kinds
that are worth cultivation in England.

IX. Notices of Communications to the Horticultural Society^ between
Januat-y 1, 1824, and January \y^\^!^ cj^^f<'^^/''^^^^ Minute
Books and Papers of the Society. " ; i . , / ; ■ ; . ■ , : ,

A novel kind of pine pit is described, which is said to answer
every purpose that can be desired. It is heated by flues
passing through a chamber, formed by beams extending from
the back to the front wall, and so becoming a sort of floor,
upon which is first placed a layer of turf; and then the tan
in which the pine-plants are plunged. The warmer air is
conveyed into the upper part of the pit by means of small
apertures contrived in the walls, at four inches and a half
apart, both in the back and front of the pit, and also through
iron pipes resting on the beams and passing through the tan.
The ventilation is efl'ected by air-holes in the front wall, and
sliding shutters in the back walls. An explanatory figure
accompanies the statement.

The famous rhubarb, which has of late acquired so much
celebrity under the name of Buck's rhubarb, is mentioned as
excellent when forced. It is not generally known, that this
sort is the genuine Rheum undulatum of botanists unconta-
minated by mixture with the common garden kinds. The
plant generally called Rheum undulatum, is a half-bred, pos-
sessing none of the good qualities of the native species... (i^tyr^'
George Toilet, Esq., of Betley Hall, in Staffordshire, re-
commends the preservation of apples for winter store, packed
in banks or hods of earth like potatoes. The method js said
to be effectual and economical.

Thomas Bond, Esq., of East Looe, in Cornwall, describes
his mode of cultivating strawberries. He does not adopt
the common practice of cutting off" the runners, but they are
confined to the bed by being turned back among the plants
from which they spring. In the autumn, the beds are
covered to the depth of two inches with fresh earth, through
which the strawberry-plants shoot in the spring with great

vigour.^, r,u. c;t hid ^^w^d . i . . • '' 1 ■-

A kind' of wjcKer'basket is described, which is cheap and

well adapted for screening half hardy plants during the

winter. It is fixed in the earth by means of the points of

the ribs of the wicker work, which are allowed to project a

few inches for the purpose. , .

It is stated by John Wedgewood, Esq., that good celery

may be readily obtained by transplanting seedling plants

that have remained in the seed bed, till they had acquired a

Horticultural SociHy of Ldndon. 16^

considerable size. They grow more vigorously than the
younger plants that are transplanted in the usual way.

William Cotton, Esq., of Wellwood-housc, describes the
good fefiTects of painting an old garden wall with seal oil and
anticorrosion paint, The wall in question was covered with
tree^, Which were every year attacked by blight. Since the
optt*ation the trees have borne good fruit, made healthy
woodi and been free from the bad consequences of blight.

Mr. John Mearns states, that the red and white Antwerp
raspberries may be brought to bear abundantly in August,
long after the usual crop of raspberries is past, by the follow-
ing management. In May he removes the young fruit, bear-
ing shoots, from the canes, leaving in some cases one or two
eyes, in others, cutting them clean off. Under either plan,
they soon produce an abundance of vigorous new shoots,
which blossom freely in July.

Mr.Elias Hildyard, gardener to Sir Thomas Frankland, kills
the grub which infests his onion beds by trenching the beds in
winter, digging in manure at the same time, and leaving them
exposed to the frost in a rough state till the time of sowing* '

A mode of inducing fertility in a barren SwanVegg pear-
tree trained upon a wall, is described by the Rev. John
Fisher, of Wavenden, in Buckinghamshire. It consists in
twisting and breaking down the side shoots of the main
branches in such a way, as to make them pendulous without
separating them wholly from the parent limb. In a short
time a grumous formation takes place where the fracture has
occurred, the wound heals, the flow of the sap is moderated,
and fruit buds are formed instead of sterile shoots.

Mr. William Mowbray, gardener to the Earl of Mount-
norris, states, that the different species of eatable Passifloras
which do not generally produce fruit, may be induced to do
so abundantly, if the pollen of other species is applied to
their stigmas.'^ » .>rn,-. n •• a\ ^ .;Kr;-^|. vv.i,' ifcfdvr /:

Currants are preserved in perfection fn tlie garden of Jfames
Webster, Esq., of Westham, by being covered with bunting
when the fruit is fully ripe, care being had to unloose the
bunting occasionally from the bottom Or the bushps, in, bidder
to remove the decaying fallen leave^V':*''^*'^'^, "^""l boJqcDB ^ ^

X. Hepgrt on the Instruments employed in, and on the Plan of a jour-
nal of Meteorological Observations ^ kept in the garden ofJhe Hqrti'
cultural Society at Chistmck^ , ,f, ^'!i i '"'"1 iV'!'' '

This and the following paper we propose' td notice in
(Jetail ou a future occasion.

170 Transactions of the

XI. Joumcd of Meteorological Observations made in the garden of th&
Horticultural Society at Chiswick, during the year 1826. By Mr.
William Beattie Booth. ■

XII. On Orache, its Varieties and CultivatiotL.\m Mr. William

Townshend. ^"' ^'

The herb orache was formerly cultivated as a kind of sum-
mer spinach ; but in this country it has long been expelled
from the kitchen garden by other kinds. It is, however, still
seen in the gardens of France, where it is commonly called
Arroche des jardins, being used in that country, both by
itself as a spinach, and mixed with sorrel, the acidity of which
it corrects. Seven varieties are described, which do not differ
in their qualities, but are distinguished by the colour of their
foliage.

XIII. On planting the moist Alluvial Banks of Rivers with Fruit-Trees,

By Mr. John Robertson.

The object of this writer is to show that the low grounds
that form the banks of rivers are, of all others, the best
adapted for the growth of fruit trees ; the alluvial soil
of which they are composed, being an intermixture of the
richest and most soluble parts of the neighbouring lands,
with a portion of animal and vegetable matter, affording an
inexhaustible fund of nourishment. In such situations, how-
ever, the trees are liable to injury from floods in the winter,
unless some means are used of draining off the stagnant water.
This is to be effected by digging deep trenches between the
rows of trees, casting up the earth from the trenches around
the trees on either side, so as to form elevated banks. Such
is the practice in Holland, where the western slopes of the
dykes are generally covered with fruit-trees, chiefly apples and
pears. Mr. Robertson is of opinion, that the banks should be
raised, if possible, at least three or four feet above the highest
water-mark, and be made eighteen feet broad at the base, and
twelve at top ; the trenches should be fifteen or sixteen feet
wide, admitting the soil to be three or four feet deep.

Upon this plan, it is probable that abundant crops would
be obtained ; but with regard to the quality of the produce,
we suspect it will be quite as indifferent as the apples and
pears of the Dutch, which are notorious for their want of
flavour. ^■''- ^^^^^-"-^-^ -:?''f'>'^ ■' ^rii V'

'^IV.'Onmhlids. % Mr. William Smith. '- '

This is an attempt to distinguish by words the best varieties
of the Dahlia, and to fix the names of those which are the
most worthy of cultivation. Sixty kinds are well described,

Horticultural Society of London, l71

arranged in divisions depending upon the size of the plants
and the colour of their flowers. We do not propose to analyze
this paper, which is far too extensive for our limits; but in-
steaa, to throw together a few remarks which are suggested
by the subject.

The first Ikct to which we would call attention has reference
to Acclimatization. The Dahlia has now been cultivated in
Europe with the utmost assiduity for nearly thirty years. Du-
ring tnat period millions of plants have been raised from seeds,
and under almost every possible variation of climate; and ano-
Irialie^ the niost singular, not only in colour, but in general
Constitution and physiological structure, have been obtained.
The colour of the nower has been altered from pale yellow,
or lilac, to every hue of red, purple, or yellow, to pure
scarlet and to deepest morone, or has even been wholly dis-
charged from the radial florets in the white varieties; the
period of flowering has been accelerated nearly two months ;
the tall rank weed, exceeding the human standard in height,
has been reduced to a trim bush, emulating the paeony in
dwarfishness ; the yellow inconspicuous florets of the disk
have been expelled to make room for the showy deep-coloured
florets of the ray ; what is more remarkable still, the same
yellow inconspicuous florets of the disk have been enlarged,
and stained with rich morone, so as to rival the colours of the
ray without losing their own peculiarity of form ; and finally,
the v/hole foliage and bearing of the plant has been altered
by the substitution of simple leaves for compound ones. But
notwithstanding all this proneness to change, notwithstand-
ing the multitude of varieties which have been thus procured
by seed, not one individual has yet been discovered^ in any
degree whatever ^ more hardy than its ancestors. The earliest
frosts destroyed the Dahlias as certainly in 1826, as they could
have done in 1780.

But, however strong may be the disposition of the Dahlia
to vary from its original structure, it is curious to observe
how strictly it conforms to the laws by which such variations
are controlled by nature. In altered structure all the changes
take place from circumference to centre. The florets of the
ray displace those of the disk, but the latter never attempt
to occupy the ray ; when a change occurs among the florets
of the disk, they merely dilate and assume the colour of the
ray, without changing their position or their peculiar form.
So with the leaves; by a reduction of the lateral leaflet, till
the terminal one only remains, simple foliage is substituted
for that which was compound : but no case has been found in

172 Transactions of the

which the suppression of the terminal leaflet has tJiken place
and the lateral ones have been preserved. In change of colour,
too, there is a circumstance which demands consideration, and
of which no explanation has yet been offered. It is not ge-
nerally known, although long ago noticed by M. De Candolle,
that among flowers, yellows will not produce blues, nor
blues yellows, although both these primitive colours will
sport mto almost every other hue. Thus the hyacinth, the
natural colour of which is blue, will not produce a yellow,
for the dull, half-green flowers called yellow hyacinths, are,
in our judgment, whites approaching green ; the blue crocus
will not vary into yellow, nor the yellow into blue ; and the
ranunculus and the dahlia, the natural colour of both which,
notwithstanding the popular belief to the contrary, with
respect to the dahlia, is, we believe, yellow, although they,
are the most sportive of all the flowers of the gardens, vary-
ing from pink to scarlet, and deepest shades of purple, have
never yet been seen to exhibit any disposition to become blue.
This subject offers a most amusing field for investigation,
and would well repay the attentive consideration of the phi«

XV. On the Cultivation of Camellias in an open Border. By Mr*

Joseph Harrison.

Mr. H . finds that the double red camellia, the double white, and
the double striped, will bear an English winter if planted out
when about two feet high, having been previously stunted in
their growth by repeatedly stopping their leading shoots.
For two winters the young plants are to be protected by a
wooden screen fixed round them, and covered by a hand-glass,
the whole being enveloped in mats ; afterwards they require
no other protection than to be guarded from heavy snow-
storms, and to be assisted by a thick covering of old tan upon
the ground in which they grow, to the distance of two or
three feet from their stems. If this success has been met with
in Yorkshire, what may not be expected in our more southern
counties ! On the 12th of March of the present year, these
camellias were not injured by a frost whic|i did considerable
damage to the common laurel. . ' ^ , , ; .,

XVI. A Method of growing Crops of Melons on open Borders. By Mr.

William Greenshields.

The sorts fitted for this purpose are the black rock, scarlet
rock, green-fleshed, netted and early Cantaloup melons. The
method consists of forming a bed, by half filling a shallow

HorlicuUural Society of London, 173

trench with decayed vegetables, and covering them with the
exhausted linings of cucumber beds. The young plants are
reared for some time under handlights. For full particulars
of this practice, we must refer to the paper itself, which is
clearly written^ and, coining as it does from one of our most
skilf u J g^ixleners, well worthy of attention.

Xn(l,'''Ntftic&t>/Five Varieties of P ears teceiwdfrom Jersey in the year
ft , fi 1 1 : 1 826. By John Lindley, Esq.

We fri|^|;s here de^^^ are of the highest excellence. They

are,' 1. the Marie Louise ; 2. the Duchessed*Angouleme ; o,
the Doyenne gris ; 4. the Do3'enn6 panache ; 5. the Beurr^
d*Aremberg ; and 6. the Gloux morceaux. The second, the
fifth, and the sixth kinds are represented in two very beau-
tiful coloured plates ; and are, perhaps, the most exquisitely-
flavoured of all the varieties of the pear. The Beurre
d*Aremberg and Gloux morceaux are long keepers ; the
others are autumnal kinds. Of the former it is said, *^ the
flesh is whitish, firm, very juicy, dissolves in the mouth, and
is wholly destitute of grittiness ; it is sweet, rich, and so pe-
culiarly high flavoured, that I know no pear that can be com-
pared with it in that respect."

XVllI. Upon the Culture of the Prunus Pseudo-cerasus, or Chinese
Cherry. By Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq.

This species of cherry is expected to become an acquisition
of considerable value, for the purpose of forcing ; and also
as an early fruit, when trained upon an open wall. Mr.
Knight recommends its propagation by cuttings, which root
freely, and that it be abundantly supplied with liquid manure.
From its highly excitable habits, he suspects it to be a native
of a cold climate, probably of Tartary,

p^X» On the Culture of the Pine- Apple. By Mr. James D.alL
:rr\ XX. On forcing Asparagus. By the same. :■!"■■'

Thes^. two papers %ifr<^ communicated by the Cambridge
Horticultural Society, having gained one of the annual silver
medals presented by the London to Provincial Societies.
They contain good practical directions fp|;t\he; cultivation
upon which they treat.

XXl.'Ohtervations wpon forcing Garden Rhubarb. By Mr. William

Stdthard.
This plan is perhaps the best that can be followed, as it is at
once the most certain and the most simple. You sow rhu-
barb seed ou a rich moist border in the beginning of April.

174 Transactions of the

The young plants are Well thinned during the summer ; in
the end of October they are very carefully transplanted into
forcing-pots, five or six in each pot. They are placed in ^
north aspect, to recover the eftect of their removal from the
seed-bed, and in a month they are fit for forcing. We can
safely recommend this method. :

XXII. Account of some remarkable Holly Hedges and Tree^ in Slcotlandl

By Joseph Sabine, Esq.

This is an elaborate account of some extraordinary specimens!
of hollies, and appears to have been vrritten with a view to
induce the more general cultivation in this country of that
very valuable tree. At Tynningham, the residence of the
Earl of Harrington, are hedges extending to no less a dis-
tance than 2952 yards, in some cases thirteen feet broad, and
twenty-five feet high. The age of these hedges is something
more than a century. At the same place are individual trees
of a size quite unknown in these southern districts. One
tree measured five feet three inches in circumference at three
feet from the ground ; the stem is clear of branches to the
height of fourteen feet, and the total height of the tree is
fifty-four feet. The other places at which the hollies are of
unusual size, are Colinton-house, the seat of Sir William
Forbes; Moredun, the seat of David Anderson, Esq.;
Hopetoun-house, the seat of the Earl of Hopetoun, and
Gordon-castle, where are several large groups of holliesj
apparently planted by the hand of Nature.

XXIII. An Account of a Plan of Heating Stoves by means of Hot Water^

employed in the Garden of Anthony Bacon, Esq.

We conceive that a new aera in horticulture will commence
with the publication of this paper. We already possessed
contrivances of a sufficiently good kind for all purposes con-
nected with artificial climate, except the power of com-
manding heat ; for which the two methods hitherto employed
have been either too clumsy or too costly, and in either case
liable to numerous objections. The old mode of introducing
heat into a stove, by means of brick flues, has long been
considered so bad, that every scheme that promised to super^
sede such flues has been hailed with joy ; the uncertainty of
the quantity of heat given out by a brick flue, its continual
liability to explosion, the impossibility of preventing the
escape of smoke from between the joints of the bricks, are
all evils that require a remedy. For this purpose steam was
introduced, and with great advantage in extensive ranges of
.hothouses. But the enormous expense of erecting a steam

Horticultural Soi^ety of London, 175

apparatus, the danger attending its use in the charge of an
unskilful or careless gai-dener, and also the rapid loss of
heat from X\\s pipes upon any neglect of the boiler, have all
contributed to prevent the use of steam becoming very ge-
neral. The plan now described has the great merit of pos-
sessing all the good qualities of steam, without any of its
objectionable accompaniments ; its cost cannot in any con-
siderable degree exceed that of flues, and its effects are so
cerUii^ and durable, that a house so heated may be almost
9ai4 ItO l>e beyond the power of neglect on the part of the
gardener.

Without entering into the details of this plan, for which
we must refer to the paper itself, we shall content ourselves
M'ith explaining its principle. Suppose two iron reservoirs,
A and B, of equal capacity, placed twenty feet apart, and
connected at the top and the bottom by iron pipes, the level
of both reservoirs being the same ; it is obvious that water
poured into one of these reservoirs will flow into the other
through the connecting pipes, and that it will consequently
stand at the same height in both. Let the reservoirs be thus
filled above the level of the uppermost pipe, and heat be
applied to the bottom of one reservoir, A ; the water in this
will presently be forced through the upper pipe into the
reservoir, B, of water not heated ; in proportion as the
healed water flows out of A, through the upper pipe, the
cold water will flow out of B through the lower pipe ; and
by this means a circulation of water heated and water to be
heated will be formed, which will continue as long as the
application of fire to the bottom of one reservoir is continued.
When it is discontinued, the temperature of the two reser-
voirs and of the intermediate pipes will be the same within
three or four degrees. As it is the property of heated water
to part with its heat very slowly, it follows that heat will
continue to be disengaged from the reservoirs and pipes long
after the application of fire has ceased. In fact, when the
two reservoirs are once heated^ the gardener may make up
his fires and retire to i*est, certain that his house is suffi-
ciently provided with heat for the night.

The paper is accompanied with a plan of a vinery warmed
upon this principle.

176

On the Recent Elucidations of early Egyptian History.

SixXCE the commencement of the present century, the researches
of philologists have ascertained that the language of ancient
Egypt, — the language of the hieroglyphical inscriptions engraven
on its ancient temples and monuments, and of the still existing
manuscripts of the same period,-*— differs from the modern
Egyptian or Coptic, only in the mixture in the latter of many
Greek and Arabian and a smaller portion of Latin words, in-
troduced during the successive dominion of the Gl^eks, the
Romans, and the Arabs, and occasionally substituted for the
corresponding native words. The grammatical construction of
the language has remained the same at all periods of its employ-
ment : and it finally ceased to be a spoken language towards
the middle of the seventeenth century, when it was replaced
by the Arabian.

In writing their language, the ancient Egyptians employed
three different kinds of characters. First, figurative ; or repre-
sentations of the objects themselves. Second, symbolic ; or re-
presentations of certain physical or material objects, expressing
metaphorically, or conventionally, certain ideas ; such as, a people
obedient to their king, figured, metaphorically, by a bee ; the uni-
verse, conventionally, by a beetle. Third, phonetic^ or represen-
tative of sounds; that is to say, strictly alphabetical characters.
The phonetic signs were also portraits of physical and mate-
rial objects ; and each stood for the initial sound of the word in
the Egyptian language which expressed the object pourtrayed-:
thus a lion was the sound L, because a lion was called Labo ;
and a hand a T, because a hand was called Tot. The form
in which these objects were presented, when employed as
phonetic characters, was conventional, and definite ta distin-
guish them from the same objects used either figuratively
or symbolically ; thus, the conventional form of the pho-
netic T was the hand open and outstretched; in any other
form the hand would either be a figurative, or a symbohc sign.
The number of distinct characters employed as phonetic signs
appears to have been about 120; consequently many were
homophones, or having the same signification. The three kinds
of characters were used indiscriminately in the same writing,

Elucidation of early Egyptian History, 1 77

tind occasionally in tlie composition of the same word. The
formal Egyptian writing, therefore, such as we *See it still
existing on the monuments of the country, was a series of por-
traits - oF physicp.1 and material objects, of which « a small
•proportion had a symbolic meaning, a still smaller proportion
a figurative meaning, but the great body were phonetic or
alphabetical signs : and to these portraits, sculptured or painted
with sufficient iidelity to leave no doubt of the object repre-
sented, the name of hieroglyphics, or sacred characters, has
been attached from their earliest historic notice.

The manuscripts of the same ancient period make us ac-
quainted with two other forms of writing practised by the an-
cient Egyptians, both apparently distinct from the hieroglyphic,
but which, on careful examination, are found to be its immediate
derivatives; every hieroglyphic having its corresponding sign in
the hieratic, or writing of the priests, in which the funeral
rituals, forming a large portion of the manuscripts, are princi-
pally composed ; and in the demotic, called also the enchorial,
which was employed for all more ordinary and popular usages.
The characters of the hieratic are for the most part obvious
running imitations, or abridgments of the corresponding hiero-
glyphics ; but in the demotic, which is still further removed
from the original type, the derivation is less frequently and
less obviously traceable. In the hieratic, fewer figurative or
symbolic signs are employed than in the hieroglyphic ; their
absence being supplied by means of the phonetic or alpha-
betical characters, the words being spelt instead of figured ;
and this is still more the case in the demotic, which is, in con-
sequence, almost entirely alphabetical.

After the conversion of the Egyptians to Christianity, the
ancient mode of writing their language fell into disuse ; and
an alphabet was adopted in substitution, consisting of the
twenty-five Greek letters, with six additional signs expressing
articulations and aspirations unknown to the Greeks, the cha-
racters for which were retained from the demotic. This
is the Coptic alphabet, in which the Egyptian appears as a
written language in the Coptic books and manuscripts pre-
served in our libraries ; and in which, consequently, the lan-
guage of the inscriptions on the monuments may be studied, •
JULY — OCT. 1827. N

178 On the Elucidation of

The original mode in which the language was written having
thus fallen into disuse, it happened, at length, that the signification
of the characters, and even the nature of the system of writ-
ing which they formed, became entirely lost ; such notices
on the subject as existed in the early historians being either
too imperfect, or appearing too vague, to furnish a clue,
although frequently and carefully studied for the purpose;
The repossession of this knowledge will form, in literary history,
one of the most remarkable distinctions, if not the principal, of
the age in which we live. It is due primarily to the discovery
by the French, during their possession of Egypt, of the since
well-known monument called the Rosetta Stone, which, on
Iheir defeat and expulsion by the British troops, remained in
the hands of the victors, was conveyed to England, and depo-
sited in the British Museum. On this monument the same
inscription is repeated in the Greek and in the Egyptian lan-
guage, being written in the latter both in hieroglyphics and in
the demotic or enchorial character. The words Ptolemy and
Cleopatra, written in hieroglyphics, and recognized by means of
the corresponding Greek of the Rosetta inscription, and by a
Greek inscription on the base of an obelisk at Philse, gave the
phonetic characters of the letters which form those words:
by their means the names were discovered, in hieroglyphic
writing, on other monuments of all the Grecian kings and
Grecian queens of Egypt, and of fourteen of the Roman empe-
rors ending with Commodus ; and by the comparison of
these names one with another, the value of all tJie- phonetic
-characters was finally ascertained. i«wi k;JaiiiEd3 sbfvt

The hieroglyphic alphabet thus made out has been subse-
quently applied to the elucidation of the earlier periods of
Egyptian history, particularly in tracing the reigns and the
. succession of the Pharaohs, those native princes who governed
Egypt at the period of its splendour ; when its monarchy was
the most powerful among the nations of the earth; its people
the most advanced in learning, and in the cultivation of the
firts and sciences ; and which has left, as its memorials, con-
structions more nearly approaching to imperishable, than any
other of the works of man, which have been the wonder of
eyery succeeding people, and which are now serving to re-
estabh5h,-at the expiration of above 3000 years, the details of

earhj Egyptian History , ^179

its long-forgotten history* To trace these stupendous monu-
ments of art to their respective founders, and thus to fix,
approximatively, at least, the epoch of their first existence, is
B consequence of the restoration of the knowledge of the
alphabet and the language of the inscriptions engraven on
them. • We proj)Ose to review, briefly as our limits require,
the principal and most important facts that have thus re-
cently been made known in regard to those early times ; and
ahall deem ourselves most fortunate if we can impart to our
readers but a small portion of the interest which we have our-
selves derived in watching their progressive discovery.

The following are the authors to whom we are chiefly in-
debted for the few particulars we know of early Egyptian his-
tory, Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, Grecians, and foreign-
-ers in Egypt. Manetho, a native ; and Eratosthenes, by birth a
•Cyrenean, a province bordering on Egypt, both residents.
Josephus, a Jew, and Africanus, Eusebius, and Syncellus,
Christians, Greek authors. Herodotus visited Egypt four
centuries and a half before Christ, and within a century after
its conquest by the Persians. In his relation of the affairs of
the Greeks and Persians, he has introduced incidentally a
sketch of the early history of Egypt, such as he learnt it from
popular tradition, and from information obtained from the
•priests. It is, however, merely a sketch, particularly of the
earlier times ; and is further recorded by Josephus to have
•been censured by Manetho for its incorrectness. Diodorus is
also understood to have visited Egypt about half a century
before Christ ; and from him we have a similar sketch to that
of Herodotus ; a record of the names of the most distinguished
kings, and for what they were distinguished ; but with inter-
vals, of many generations and of uncertain duration, passed
without notice. Manetho was a priest of Heliopolis in Lower
Egypt, a city of the first rank amongst the sacred cities of
ancient Egypt, and long the resort of foreigners as the seat of
learning and knowledge. He lived in the reign of Ptolemy
Philadelphus, two centuries and a half before Christ, and wrofe,
hy order of that prince, the history of his own country in the
Greek language, translating it, as he states himself, outx)f the
jsacred records. His work is, most unfortunately, lost ; but
the fragments which have been presen ed to us, by the writings

N2

1.80 .' On the Elucidation of

-of Josephus in the first century of the Christian sera, and by
the Greek authors above named of the third and fourth cen-
turies, contain matter, which, if entitled to confidence, is of the
highest historical value, viz., a chronological list of the succes-
sive rulers, of Egypt, from the first foundation of monarchy, to
Alexander of Macedon, who succeeded the Persians. . This
list is divided into thirty dynasties, not all of separate famihes ;
a memorable reign appearing in some instances to commence
a new dynasty, although happening in the regular succession.
It originally contained the length of reign as well as the name
of every king ; but in consequence of successive transcriptions,
"variations have crept in, and some few omissions also occur in
Ihe record, as it has reached us through the medium of different
authors. The chronology of Manetho, adopted with confi-
dence by some, and rejected with equal confidence by others, —
his name and his information not being even noticed by some
of the modern systematic writers on Egyptian history, — has
received the most unquestionable and decisive testimony of its
general fidelity by the interpretation of the hieroglyphic inscrip-
tions on the existing monuments : so much so, that by the
accordance of the facts attested by these monuments with the
record of the historian, we have reason to expect the entire
restoration of the annals of the Egyptian monarchy antece-
dent to the Persian conquest, and which, indeed, is already
accomplished in part.

Before we pursue this part of our subject, we must conclude
our brief review of the original authorities in early Egyptian
history, by a notice of Eratosthenes. He was keeper of the
Alexandrian library in the reign of Ptolemy Evergetes, the
successor to Ptolemy Philadelphus, under whose reign Manetho
wrote. Amongst the few fragments of his works, which have
reached us transmitted through the Greek historians, is a cata-
logue of thirty-eight kings of Thebes, commencing with Menes,
(who is mentioned by the other authorities also as the first
monarch of Egypt,) and occupying by their successive reigns
1055 years. These names are stated to have been compiled
from original records existing at Thebes, which city Eratos-
thenes visited expressly to consult them. The names of the
two first kings in his catalogue are the same with the names
of the two first kings of the first dynasty of Manetho ; but the

early Eyyptian History, 181

remainder of the catalogue presents no further accordance,
either in the names or in the duration of the reigns.

To return to Manetho : — amongst the monarchs of the ori-
ginal Egyptian race there was one named by him Amenophis,
(the eighth king of the eighteenth dynasty,) of whom it is
stated, in a note of Manetho' s preserved by Syncellus, that he
wa^'the Egyptian king whom the Greeks called Memnon.
The statue of Memnon at Thebes, celebrated through all anti-
quity for the melodious sounds which it was said to render at
sutirise, is identified in the present day by a multitude of Greek
inscriptions ; one of which, in particular, records the attestation
of Publius Balbinus, who visited the ruins of Thebes in tha
suite of the empress the wife of Adrian, to his having himself
heard the " divine sounds of Memnon or Phamenoph ;" which
latter name is Amenophis, with the Egyptian masculine article
<p prefixed, and omitting the Greek termination. The hiero-
glyphics carved on the statue, and coeval with its date, had
been very carefully copied by the French whilst in possession
of 'Egypt^* and were engraved in the splendid work, the
Description de VEgypte, to which their researches had given
rise. These hieroglyphics contain the alphabetic characters
Amnf (being the initial vowel and all the consonants of the
name Amenof ) inclosed within a ring ; a distinction which had
been previously observed to take place with the names of the
Roman emperors, and of the Grecian kings and tjueens ; and
as the rings have hitherto been found to occur in no other
instance whatsoever than when containing the names and tides
of sovereigns, they are regarded as characteristic signs. It
should be remarked, that in the hieroglyphic writing, as in the
languages of other eastern nations most nearly connected with
Egypt; the vowels are often omitted, and when expressed, have
not always a fixed sound. The coincidence of the reading of
the hieroglyphic name with that recorded by Manetho, and with
the Greek inscription on the statue itself, was so far confirma-
tory of Manetho's authority ; it was also highly interesting in the
evidence it afibrded of the employment of the same hierogly-
phic alphabet, that was in after use in the times of the Ptole-
mies and the Ca?sars, even in the very early periods of the
Egyptian monarchy ; for the reign of Amenophis was in the
dynasty preceding that of Sesostris; it also indicated the further

182^ On the Elucidation of

advantage to be gained by the application of the alphabet in
decyphering other proper names, distinguished by being in-
closed in rings, existing on other statues, and in the more
ancient temples generally. Considerable progress had been
made in reading these, which in several instances had been
found to correspond with the names of the kings of the same
and of subsequent dynasties to Amenophis, as given by Ma-
netho, when a most important discovery was made of the exist-
ence of a genealogical record, in hieroglyphics, of the titles of
thirty-nine kings anterior to Sesostris, chronologically arranged.
We have already noticed that the names and titles of kings
were distinguished by being inclosed in rings ; the ring con-
taining the proper name being accompanied usually by a se-
cond, inclosing certain other hieroglyphics, expressing the title
by which that particular king was designated ; and it appears
probable that the kings of Egypt were distinguished by their
titles rather than by their names, since the same name recurs
frequently in different individuals, but the titles are all dissi-
milar ; with a single exception amongst the very many that
have come under observation, and in which the same title is
common to two brothers. The signification of the titles is yet
obscure, except that they are of the same general nature as is
frequent in the East, such as '^Sun of the Universe," &c. ; but
for the purpose of individualizing, the sign is to us of the same
value as the thing signified ; and as other monuments furnish
the names in connexion with the titles, we are enabled to com-
pare the succession evidenced by the titles with the record of
the historian, and thus to test the fidelity of the record. The
discovery of this hieroglyphic table was made by Mr. Wil-
liam Banks in 1818, in excavating for the purpose of obtain-
ing an accurate ground-plan of the ruins of Abydus, near
Thebes. On a side wall of one of the innermost apartments,
hieroglyphics were sculptured inclosed in rings, ranged symme-
trically in three horizontal rows, each row having originally
contained twenty rings, of which twelve of the upper row,
eighteen of the middle, and fourteen of the lower row were still
remaining, the others having been destroyed by the breaking
down of the wall. The hieroglyphics having been copied and
lithographed, it was speedily recognised that the rings in the two
upper rows consisted of titles only j with the exception of one

early Egyptian History* 183[

proper name, the last of the second row, since knowti to be the
name of the king whose title is the last in the succession, and
who was the fourth in reign and generation before Sesostris.
The third row was recognised to consist of one proper name
and one title, each repeated ten times, and alternating with
each other : these are since known to be the name and title of
Sesostris, to whose reign the construction of the table is with
much probability ascribed. The titles in the same row \Vith
that of the ancestor of Sesostris and preceding it, have been
identified on other monuments, coupled with names which are
those of the predecessors of the same king in the list of Manetho.

It would exceed our limits, and it is not our purpose, to
trace in detail the successive steps by which the existence of
each of the kings of Manetho's list, from the expulsion of the
Phoenician shepherds from Lower Egypt, and the consequent
union, of Upper and Lower Egypt in a single monarchy, to
the reign of Sesostris, has been attested by the monuments.
Suffice it to say, that the same number of individuals as
stated by Manetho, namely, eighteen, filling a space of four
centuries, are shown, by the monuments, to have reigned in
that interval, and to have borne the same relationship, as well
as succession, to each other, as is expressed by the historian :
that, of the eighteen names, eight in different parts of the list
are read on the monuments identically as in the historical
record ; and that in regard to the names that are not identical,
we have the testimony of Manetho that some amongst the
kings, Sesostris, for example, were known by two and even by
more names. The table of Abydus appears to have been
strictly a genealogical record ; a record of generations, in which
■view it is strictly accordant with the historian.

The period of the Egyptian annals on which this light has
b^en thrown, is precisely that which might have been selected
in the whole history of Egypt as the most desirable for such
purpose. Independently of its very high antiquity, it was the
period of the greatest splendour and power of the native Egyp-
tian monarchy, and of the highest (Egyptian) cultivation of
the arts. The greater part of the more ancient, and by far the
most admirable in execution, of the temples, palaces, and sta-
tues, which still attest by their ruins their former magnificence,
are the work of that age ; and the hieroglyphic inscriptions stiU

184 • On the Elucidation of

extant on them, and which, when not defaced by wanton injury,
are almost as perfect as when first executed, make known the
reigns in which they were respectively constructed, and fre-
quently the purposes for which they were designed. This is in
itself no small achievement, when we reflect that these extraor^
dinary remains of ancient art were equally the objects of vague
wonderment in the times of the Roman emperors, as they were
in those of the generation preceding ourselves; but that they are
become to us objects of a more enlightened curiosity, which they
promise amply to repay, when the study that has already made
known their founders, shall reveal the signification of the hie-
roglyphic histories, with which the walls of the palaces and
temples are covered. Already have we gained some very im-
portant facts in regard to the condition, political and other-
wise, of the countries adjoining to Egypt at that early period.
The monuments of Nubia are covered with hieroglyphics, per-
fectly similar both in form and disposition to those on the
edifices at Thebes ; the same elements, the same formulae, the
same language ; and the names of the kings who elevated the
most ancient amongst them, are those of the princes who con-
structed the most ancient parts of the palace of Karnac at
Thebes. As far as Soleb on the Nile, 100 leagues to the
south of Philse the extreme frontier of Egypt, are found con-
structions bearing the inscriptions of an Egyptian king ; evi-
dencing that, during the period of which we have been treating,
Nubia was inhabited by a people having the same language,
the same belief, and the same kings as Egypt. To the south
of Soleb, and for more than 100 leagues in ascending the Nile^
in ancient Ethiopia, very recent travellers have discovered
the remains of temples, of the same general style of architec-
ture as tlK)se of Nubia and Egypt, decorated in the same
manner with hieroglyphics representing the same mythology,
and analogous to those of Egypt in the titles, and in the
mode of representing the names and titles, of the sovereigns.
But the proper names of the kings inscribed on the edifices
of Ethiopia in phonetic characters, have nothing in common
with the proper names of the Egyptian kings in the dynasties
of Manetho ; nor is one of the Ethiopian names found either
on the monuments of Nubia or of Egypt. Thus there was a
time when the civilized part of Ethiopia,— Meroe, and the banks

carhj Ef/yptian History, 185

of the Nile between Dongola and Meroe, — were inhabited by a
people having language, writing, religion, and arts similar to
Egypt ; but, in political dominion, independent of that country,
and ruled by kings of whom it does not appear that any his-
torical record whatsoever has come down to us.

The dates of the expulsion of the Phoenican shepherds from
Egypt, and of the reign of Sesostris, in years of the aera of
our computation, have been favourite subjects of discussion
with chronologists : Archbishop Usher fixed the former of
these events in the year B. C. 1825 ; which would make the
commencement of the reign of Sesostris about B. C. 1483.
The reign of Sesostris is connected with the early Grecian
chronology by the migration of Danaus, brother of Sesostris,
who, according to the Parian marbles, arrived in Greece in
1485, which is a very few years earlier than the dates of Usher
would assign to that event. M. ChampoUion Figeac, brother
of the M. ChampoUion to whom the greater part of the disco-
veries made by the interpretation of hieroglyphics are owing,
himself a distinguished chronologist, has assigned the year B.C.
1822 to the expulsion of the Phoenicians, which Usher had
placed in 1825 : the date of M. ChampoUion being derived
from Manetho's statement, that the Phoenician invasion took
place in the 700th year of the Sothiacal period, viz.^ B.C. 2082,
and that their dominion in Egypt continued 260 years. His-
torical accuracy may make it desirable, that the exact year of
the most ancient as well as of more modern events should
be determined, if it be possible : but for purposes of general
interest, and especially for comparison with the chronology of
cotemporary nations, which at that early period is in every case
more unsettled than the Egyptian, the period seems sufficiently
determined. The date before Christ 1822^ pursued downwards
through the dynasties of Manetho, conducts with very close
approximation to the known period B.C. 525 of the conquest
of Egypt by the Persians ; and intermediately, accords very
satisfactorily with the dates, according to the Bible chronology,
of the conquest of Jenisalem in the reign of Jeroboam by
Shishak, king of Egypt, and of Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia and
Egypt, who made war against Sennacherib ; these are the
Sesonchis of Manetho, and Sh.sh.n.k of hieroglyphic inscrip-
tions on a temple at Bubaste, ajid on one of the courts of the

186 . On (he Elucidation of

palace at Karnac, — and the Taracus of Manetho, and T.h.r.k
of hieroglyphic inscriptions existing in Ethiopia and in Egypt*,
.In respect to the connexion of the events of the Jewish and
Egyptian histories, the period between the expulsion of the
Phoenicians and the reign of Sesostris possesses a peculiar in-^
terest, as being that of the residence of the Israelites in Egypt,
and of the Exodus. In the history of Josephus^ we have an
extract from Manetho, in which this latter event is expressly
stated to have taken place under the father of Sesostris, a king
whose nam6, in Manetho' s list, is Amenophis, (the third of that
name,) and on the monuments Ramses. The date which chro-
nologists are generally agreed in assigning to the Exodus is
1491 ; that of the termination of the reign of Amenophis, ac-
cording to Champollion, is 1473, or, if the correction of his
chronology which we have suggested in a note be just, 1478 :
it is singular that the difference of thirteen years (between 1491
and 1478) should be precisely the duration of a very suspicious
interval which Manetho states to have taken place, after Ame-
nophis had gone with his army in pursuit of the Israelites; and
during which interval neither the king nor his army returned to

* It appears to us that a flight inaccuracy has crept into the deduc-
tion of all the dates in M. Champollion's Chronology subsequent to the
expulsion of the shepherds. The date of that event is the foundation of
the subsequent dates, and is supposed to have taken place B.C. 1822;
after which, according to the extract of Manetho in Josephus cited by
M. Champollion, Thoutmosis, the king by whom they had been expelled,
reigned 25 years and 4 months, followed by the other kings of the
eighteenth dynasty, making altogether 342 years and 9 months : (in-
bluding the 2 years and 2 months additional of Horus, in compliance
with the version of the passage in the Armenian text of the Chronicle of
Eusebius.) This number, 342 years and 9 months, falling short of
the 348 years attributed to the eighteenth dynasty in Eusebius and
Syncellus, M. ChampoUion has suggested that Thoutmosis may have
reigned the five years which constitute the difference, before the ex-
pulsion of the shepherds, since, according to the record, he did reign,
some years before that event, over all "the parts of Egypt not pos-
sessed by the shepherds. So far, so well : but in such case, the year
B.C. 1822, being the epoch of the expulsion of the shepherds, arid not of
the commencement of the eighteenth dynasty, must surely correspond to
the fifth year of the reign of Thoutmosis, and not to the first, as M.
Champollion makes it. We have hesitated to venture this remark on a
matter to which M. Champollion mu,st have given so much attention,
believing that mistake in us is much more probable than an accidental
inadvertence in him ; but we have returned frequently to the consider-
ation, without having been able to satisfy ourselves ; and the rectifica-
tiou of our mistake, if it is one, may prevent others falling intp the same.

early Egyptian History, 187

Egypt, but are stated to have been absent in Ethiopia. If the
Exodus occurred during the reign of any of the kings of the
eighteenth dynasty, it could only have been in the reign of the
immediate predecessor of Sesostris j since his conquests in
Phoenicia, and his expeditions against the Assyrians and Medes,
must have brought him in contact with the Israehtes, had they
been then residing in the Holy Land, so as at least to have
caused some mention to have been made in their history of the
passages of so great a conqueror. But presuming Amenophis,
father and predecessor of Sesostris, to have been the Pharaoh of
the Exodus, the wandering of the Israelites in the desert for
forty of the fifty-five years ascribed to the reign of Sesostrisi, is a
sufficient explanation of his being unnoticed in the Jewish his-
tory ; whilst the fact of that nation having been subject to the
Egyptians during the reign of Ousirei^ commencing 124 years
before the death of Amenophis, is attested by the paintings on
the wall of one of the chambers of the tomb of that king, dis-*
covered by Belzoni, and with which we are so well acquainted
by means of the model exhibited in England.

Whilst recalling to recollection the peculiar physiognomy of
the Jews pourtrayed in that tomb, — and which is as character-
istic of their present physiognomy as if it had been painted in
the present age, instead of above 3000 years ago, — the equally
well characterized, but very different physiognomy of the Phce-.
nician shepherds, represented on the monuments of the same
period, is decisive of the error of Josephus, who imagined the
Jews and the Shepherds to be the same people. The Phoeni-,
cian shepherds, long the inveterate enemy of the Egyptians, form
a leading feature as captives, in the representations of the ex-
ploits of the monarchs who conducted the warfare against them.
These people are always painted with blue eyes and light hair ;
and it is not a little curious to see assembled on the wall of the
same apartment, different races, so distinctly characterised as
the Jew, the Phoenician, the Egyptian, and the Negro ; the
latter in colour, and in the outline of the features, in painting
and in sculpture, precisely as at present; all, moreover, inhabi-
tants of countries not very distant from each other, and at a
period when not more than twelve or thirteen centuries had
passed since all these races had descended from a single parent.
In the writings which attempt to explain from p?^tural causes

IBJ On the Elucidation of

the diversity of race amongst mankind, much power has been
ascribed to the effects of time and climate : but the facts with
which we are now becoming better acquainted than before, do
not appear to admit of explanation from those circumstances.
It is worthy of notice that the negro, and the light-haired and
blue-eyed people, the two races who might be deemed at the
greatest distance apart amongst the varieties of man, at-e, equally
with the intermediate Egyptians, the descendants of Ham.

Of the succession of kings in Manetho's chronology, from
Sesostris to the Persian conquest, a space of nine centuries and
a half, about one half the names have been already identified
on different monuments: four of the Persian monarchs, subse-
quent to the conquest, have also been traced in inscriptions in
phonetic characters ; their names are ^vritten, as nearly as can
be spelt with our letters, Kamboth, (Cambyses) ; Ntariousch,
(Darius) ; Khschearscha, (Xerxes) ; and Artakschessch, (Ar-
taxerxes.)

The ascent by monumental evidence to yet more remote an-
tiquity than the expulsion of the Phoenician shepherds, (B.C.
1822), is not altogether without hope, notwithstanding the
general demolition of the temples of the gods, which took
place according to Manetho, during the long dominion of the
Phoenicians in Egypt. We learn from the Description de
VEgypte that even the most ancient structures at Thebes are
themselves composed of the debris of still more ancient build-
ings, used as simple materials, on which previously sculptured
and painted hieroglyphics are still existing ; these are doubtless
the remains of the demolished temples, but the inscriptions will
require to be studied on the spot. There is also reason to be-
lieve, that there exists amongst the ruins of the palace of Karnac,
a portion of still more ancient construction than the palace itself;
which, having escaped demolition, was incorporated with the
more recent building. The inscriptions on this apparently very
ancient ruin present the name and title of a king, which form a
very interesting subject for future elucidation. The title does
not accord with any one now extant on the table of Abydus, but
possibly may have been one of those which were destroyed with
a portion of the wall, and which are of kings of earlier date than
the expulsion of the shepherds. The name is Mandouei, which
name occurs in the dynasty anterior to Sesostris^ but coupled

early Egyptian History, 189

with a different title, an effectual distinction ; nor does the
name recur in any subsequent dynasty. M. Champollion
Figeac has, with mucli ingenuity, shown the probability of the
identity of the Mandouei of the ancient ruin with the Osyman-
dyas, Ousi-Mandouei, mentioned by Diodorus Siculus as an
Egyptian king greatly distinguished by his conquests, whose
reign M. Champollion infers, from the historical passages re-
lating to him, to have commenced 190 years before the Phoe-
nician invasion, or B.C. 2272 years ; a prodigious antiquity,
and of the very highest interest should it be established, since
there exist of this individual no less than three statues in
European collections, distinguished by the same name and
title : two of these are colossal, one at Turin, and a second at
Rome : a third is in the British Museum ; and as all particu-
lars must interest which relate to a statue, of which there is
at least probability that it is the most ancient existing in the
world, — the date attributed to it being earlier than the birth of
Abraham, — ^we copy from Burckhardt the following short de-
scription of its discovery: " Within the inclosure of the inte-
rior part of the temple at Karnac, Belzoni found a statue of a
hard, large-grained sandstone : a whole length naked figure
sitting upon a chair with a ram's head upon the knees : the
face and body entire ; with plaited hair falling down to the
shoulders. This is one of the first, I should say, the first
Egyptian statue I have seen : the expression of the face is ex-
quisite, and I believe it to be a portrait." — (J. L. Burckhardt,
IVavels in Nubia^ Ixxvii. Letter to Mr* W, Hamilton^ 20th
February f 1817.) — This statue is in the farthest corner on the
right hand side after entering the gallery of the Egyptian anti-
quities in the British Museum; and compared with other
statues in the same gallery, which are of kings of the eighteenth
dynasty, the dissimilarity of the features from the very charac-
teristic ones of the latter family is too striking to be questioned.
The problem of the age of this king Mandouei is, at all events,
a highly curious one ; and will probably receive its solution
amongst the many other valuable discoveries which cannot fail
to result from M. ChampoUion's projected visit to Egypt, in
which he will be accompanied by the sincere good wishes of
every one in every country, who feels an interest in tlie restora-
tion of authentic history. E. S,

mi 190

Proceedings of the HorticuUural Seciefy,

At this meeting a paper ir as read from the President, T. Aw Knight,
Esq., upon the culture of the mango and cherimoyer. Its object
was to suggest some improvements in the management of these
and other trees cultivated in stoves, deduced from an application
of JDutrochet's electrical theory of vegetation to practice. It has
tiow become generally known that this observer is of opinion that
the motion of the fluids in plants depends upon two currents of
electricity, setting with very unequal force between the denser fluid
of the tree and the lighter fluid of the soil in which the tree is
planted; the more powerful current setting from the latter to the
former, and so producing absorption, by conveying aqueous par-
ticles into the roots, through the vegetable membrane of the epi-
dermis. In applying this theory to practical purposes, Mr. Knight
recommends that the pot in which the cherimoyer or mango is
planted, should itself be surrounded by a medium through which
an equable and regular supply of fluid may be conveyed to the
foots, and tliat the naked surface of the pot should by no means be
exposed to the free action pf the atmosphere. Without entering
upon any question of the accuracy of the French philosopher's
observations, it is quite certain that such a mode of cultivation is
that which is most congenial to plants, and which is indispensable
to thos6 of a habit at all delicate. The common practice of
plunging pots into a tan-bed, or among sand, if in glass-houses,
or in the earth if in open borders, is a proof of the necessity that
gardeners have found, of securing as regular a temperature and
degree of humidity as is possible for the outside of their flower-
pots ; through the pores in which, moisture is chiefly conveyed to the
roots, which always cling to the inside surface of the pot.

Specimens of roses produced by branches budded upon the Rosa
indica, were exhibited by Alexander Evelyn, Esq. We notice these
not only on account of their extraordinary beauty, but also for the
sake of recommending most strongly the adoption of the practice
where delicate roses are found difficult of cultivation j9er se. If we
consider what happens when the operation of budding, or grafting
has succeeded, the reason of the advantage derived from such an
operation will be apparent. When a bud of one variety is inserted
under the bark of another variety, a union takes place between the
cellular substance of tlie two ; the bud is then placed in the same

Proceedings oflhe Horticultural Society^ 191

feituation with regard to the stock, as the seed when sown is with
regard to the earth. It immediately derives its nutriment from the
ascending sap of the new tree, and begins to form its wood and
branches, and to secrete its proper juices in proportion to the sup-
ply of food it now receives. If a plant from any cause produces
roots with difficulty, its whole habit will be delicate, and its flowers
if formed, will, as in the case of that most lovely of flowers, the
double yellow rose, probably fall off without expanding, from the
want of an adequate supply of nutriment from its roots ; but, as in all
trees, every bud is, when fully formed, in itself a perfect and distinct
individual, if such an individual be removed from its own root, and
placed where it will be supported by the healthy vigorous roots of
another species of variety, which happens in budding, it will no
longer have to depend upon a source, the supplies from which are
imperfect, but on the contrary, like a seed removed frorti barren to
fertile ground, it will flourish in a degree before unknown. The
contrary effect takes place when a vigorous plant is transferred to
t)ne less vigorous. And hence, the whole effect of stocks upon the
scions, or buds inserted upon them. '

Therfe was also a great variety of fruit and flowers upon the table,
and seeds of several useful vegetables were distributed.

-^^^^ July Srd.

Seven medals were awarded to different individuals for fruit sent
■\)y them to the Society's f^te on the 23rd of June ; and one to
Capt. Drummond, for his ** successful exertions in bringing living
plants of the mangosteen from the East Indies." A paper by the
president was read upon an improvement in the mode of construct-
ing hotbeds, but we despair of explaining it successfully without
Teference to figures. Among the display of fruits and flowers,
which were exceedingly numerous, we were particularly struck by
a collection of Iwenty-two varieties of strawberries from the Society's
garden.

iufpon this occasion, thirty-nine new members were either bal-
lotted for, or proposed, a striking proof of the estimation in which
the Society is held by the public.

July nth.
Upon this occasion, an enormous pine-cone from the River Co-
lumbia was exhibited. It measured 16j inches in length, and was
stated to have been procured by the Society's collector, Mr. David
Douglas. ' Its seeds were represented to be as large as those of the
stone-pine, and eatable.^ The tree is of the family of Pinus strobus,

192 Proceedings of the HortlcuUural Society .

and will be an invaluable acquisition to our forests, if it should
prove to succeed as well in this climate as in its own. We have
already given some account of this plant in the last number of the
old series of this Journal, The usual display was made of the finest
fruit and flowers of the season.

August 7th,

A complete coloured set of the costly Flora danica was placed
upon the table, having been presented by His Majesty the King of
Denmark. An improved apparatus for fumigating hothouses was
exhibited by its inventor, Mr. John Read: it consists of a brass
cylinder, attached to the orifice of a pair of bellows, and fitted up
with a chimney and draft-hole closed by a valve. The tobacco is put
into the cylinder and ignited, and the blast from the bellows expels
the smoke. The contrivance is ingenious enough, but while a hot-
house fifty feet long, may be filled with smoke in ten minutes by
means of a flower-pot, with a hole in its bottom, and a common
pair of bellows, we cannot recommend any more expensive, and
certainly less efficient apparatus.

The table was covered with a profusion of fruits and flowers.

August 2lst,
The meeting-room this day exhibited a gratifying proof of the
excellence of the productions of our English gardens. O^ flowers,
there were dahlias of the richest colours, and the most varied hues ;
some produced by plants that retain all their ancient stature, and
others by dwarfs which seem to have lost nearly every character of
the dahlia but its beauty. Of fruits, there were endless varieties
of apricots, apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, grapes, pine-apples,
and melons ; one of the latter, from the garden of John Fuller, Esq.,
weighed thirteen pounds. The best apricot was the Moorpark ; the
best apple, the Duchess of Oldenburg, than which no princess has a
fairer bloom, the best pear the Jargonelle, the best peach the Bour-
dine (forced), the best pine apple the Black Jamaica. We mention
these as a guide to our readers, in their purchases of fruit-trees ;
for it is certain, that no greater service can be rendered to the public,
than to point out the means by which they may avoid encumbering
themselves with the polyonymous trash with which every nursery
abounds.

ioiii 10 ,{< -

^193

M>B

MISCELLANEOiJS lOTKLLiGENCE.

If (>

ECHANICAL SciENCE.

1. On the combined Action of a Current of Art Cthd'ihe Pressure,
of the Atmosphere. — The pl^uiomena observed by M. Clement
Desormes*, when a flat plate is opposed to air or vapour passing
into the attnosphei'e from an aperture in a plane sttrface, liave been
rendered so easy of pi-ddviction by M. Hachette, as to be at the
command of any person in any situation. M. Hachette has also
^ccQi^i panic d the description of, his instruments jiyith elucidations,
experiments, and philpsophical reasonings. , - ,

Tlie first simplification by M, Hachette was to make the nozzle
of a pair of double chamber-bellows terminate in the middle of a
flat plate ; lie found that when the bellows were worked, effects were
produced opposite the jet of air of the kind described by M.
Cieonent, disks of card and other substances being; drawn towards
the ^erture against the direction of the current. At the same
time that lie described this experiment, he also announced his hav-
ing produced the same effects by using a stream of water instead
of a stream of air.

The apparatus was still further simplified, so as to make the
stream of air from the mouth sufliciqnt to produce the effect. A

i>»'{|3fcl

hiM\\Q0U. «<tr iRv

tin tube, A, Fig, 1, was soldered tothetniddle of a round tin plate,
in the centre of which was a small orifice, E ; three or four small
projections of the tin, // were left at the edges of the plate, to pre-
vent the disks of paper, card, or metal, fi-om slipping o(f sideways.
The figure is on a scale of one-half. Instead of the tin plate, a piece

* See the last volume of Jhis Journal, p. 47S.
JULY— OCT, 1827.

194 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

of smooth cork may be used, and for the tin tube, a glass tube, or
one made by rolling up a piece of paper.

If the tube be held horizontally, or inclining a little upward,
and a disk of card o.r paper be placed loosely against the aperture
in the plate, it will be found that, on applying the mouth to the
end of the tube, and blowing air through, that the disk will not be
driven away, but actually made to apply closely to the surface of
the plate ; and if turned towards the ground it will be found to re-
main opposite the hole, and not to fall until the current of air is
stopped. Even a plate of tin may in this way be suspended by a
current of air ; which at first would be supposed to conjoin with
gravity in forcing it to the ground. When the disk is flexible and
slightly elastic, a heavy sound, and sometimes even a shrill tone,
is produced by the vibrations of the plate.

In explanation of this experiment, M. Hachette says, " The air
is pushed from the mouth A of the tube, towards the orifice E of
the plate ; it strikes the part of the disk opposed to this orifice, and
the mean pressure on that part is greater than the pressure of the
atmosphere. The blown air then takes place of that between the
plate and the disk opposed to it; it moves in this interval with a
velocity decreasing from the edges of the aperture : the elastic force
of this air decreases at the same time, so that its mean pressure
between the plate and the inner face of the disk becomes less than
the atmospheric pressure ; and as this last pressure is exerted on
the whole external face of the disk H, I, this disk, subject at the
same time to the two contrary pressures on its opposing faces,
obeys the greater, and is pushed towards the plate C D.

It is not necessary that the disk, C D, should be near the orifice
E, of the tube A E. Let Fig. 2 be an instrument composed of
a hollow cylinder, C D F G, and a flat border of the dimensions
C" F, or G D". Let a tube, A E, be fixed to the bottom of the
cylinder, the orifice E having a diameter of about three millimeters
(0.12 of inch). If air be blown in at A, against the disk, H I,
in the neighbourhood of the flat border, the disk will be urged to-
wards the orifice E. This instrument is also delineated on a scale
of one half. The disk, with the attached weight, weighs about
12 grammes (184.87 grains), being 54 millimeters in diameter;
the pressure of the atmosphere upon it equals 23 kilogrammes :
from which it follows that, in this experiment, the pressure of the
air blown upon the inner surface of the disk, and the atmospheric
pressure exerted on the exterior of the same disk, only differs from
each other by about one two-thousandth part of the latter. —
AjiJf^ales de Chimiey xxxv. 34.

^. Considerations relative to Capillary Action^ hy M. Poisson. —
M. Dutrochet, whilst explaining his views relative to the cause of
vital movement in plants and animals, stated that if an animal or
vegetable membrane were formed into a bag, having a tube of

B

Mechanical Science,' * 195

glass attached to its aperture, arid were then filled with a liquid
substance, having a strongs affinity for another liquid, into which
the bac^ was to be immersed, it would not only have the power of
absorbinfT the latter liquid into its pores, but also, in certain cases,
of forcinp^ it up to the top, and even oat of the glass tube held in
a vertical position. On this point, a difference of opinion with
regard to the force of capillarity took place : M. Ampere maintain-
ing that capillary action would raise the fluid to the top of the
tube, but not cause its expulsion ; while M. Poisson maintained
that, in certain cases, the latter effect could be produced. The
latter has since then published a note, which we transcribe in part,
from the Annates de Chimie, xxxv. 98.

Suppose that two different fluids, A, B, are contained in a
vessel, and separated the one from the other by a vertical division ;
the heights being in an inverse ratio to the den-
sities, so that the points, a and 6, in the two faces
of the division, and situated in the same horizontal
plane, shall support equal and opposite pressures :
suppose also that the division is pierced with one
or more holes of small diameter, or, in other words,
that it is traversed by several very narrow canals,
as a, b, perpendicular to the two faces, and which
may be regarded at first as filled with air, or any
other fluid.

If the substance of the division exerts upon each of the two
liquids an action superior to the half of that which the liquid has
upon itself, each liquid will enter into the canal «, 6, just as it
would rise above its ordinary level in a capillary tube of the same
size and substance. It would also be urged, by the excess of
pressure which it would exert at the extremity of the canal, against
the elasticity of the included air. When the two fluids have pene-
trated the interior of «, b, the air will be pushed on both sides in
different directions by forces each of which is equal to the primitive
pressure augmented by the corresponding capillary force, i. e. aug-
mented by forces proportional, according to the known theory of
M. Laplace, to double the action of the tube on the liquid, less
the proper action of the liquid itself It will only be in the case
when the capillary force shall be the same on both sides, that the
air, after being compressed to a certain degree, will remain at rest :
for whenever this force preponderates at one end of the canal, the
air will be driven out at the opposite end, and the liquid with the
strongest capillary attraction will entirely fill the canal.

Suppose this liquid to be A, then let us consider the forces which
will act on the portion rt, b^ of this liquid. At the extremity a,
it will be submitted to the attraction of the exterior fluid A : at
the extremity 6, it will be attracted in the opposite direction by the
liquid B. Now the two liquids being different, their attractions
will be unequal, and we will suppose that that of B, on the matter

O 2

196 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

bf A, is greater than that of A for itself. As to the action of tlie
canal on the portion rt, 6, that will be equal, and exerted in con-
trary directions at its two extremities ; it will not, therefore, be
either adverse or favourable to the movement of the fluid in the
canal : and the same will be the case with respect to the pressures
exerted at a and 6, by the external liquids, as long as they are
equal : nevertheless, the action of the canal, and the external
pressures, will prevent the thread of fluid from being broken, so
that it will move without interruption in the direction in which it
is drawn by the greatest attraction, or from a to 6. Hence will
result an elevation of the level of B, and, consequently, an increase
of pressure at the extremity 6, of the passage, and this elevation
"will proceed until the difference of pressure in a and b shall be
equal to that of the attractions exerted by the two fluids A and B,
on the thread a b; this effect will be produced the more rapidly
as the division is pierced with a greater number of passages similar
to that which has been considered.

Now let us examine what would occur if the division were formed
of two others different in their nature, and exactly superposed ; ex-
erting no action on one of the liquids, B for example, and one only
acting on the other liquid. The liquid B will then retain its ori-
ginal position undisturbed ; in consequence of the action it exerts
upon itself it cannot penetrate the canal a 6, just as mercury can-
not escape by a capillary aperture made in a barometer-tube. It
will be the same with A, when that face of the division which exerts
no action upon the liquid is turned towards it ; so that how nu-
merous soever the apertures, the two liquids would, under such
circumstances, remain separate and preserve their original level.
But if the division be turned so that the face which acts upon A
shall be in contact with that liquid, it will penetrate the canal a b
by means of capillary attraction ; ^and the velocity which the liquid
urged by this force may acquire, may make it pass that point in the
canal where the division changes its nature, and even make it reach
the extremity in the liquid B, so that it is possible that the liquid A
should entirely fill the canal a b, as in the case which has already
been examined. Then if we always suppose the attraction of B for
A to be superior to that which A has for itself, the thread a b will
flow into B until the level of the latter is so far altered that the
excess of pressure at b can balance the difference of attractions ex-
erted by the two liquids at a and b.

M. Poisson then observes that, without pretending to assign a
cause, exclusive of all others, for the phenomena of absorption by
vegetable and animal membranes observed by M. Dutrochet, his
object is to show that effects which have at least a great resem-
blance to these important phenomena, may be produced by capil-
lary action conjoined with the difference of affinity existing between
heterogeneous substances without the assistance of electricity, either
moving or quiescent. It appears that M. Dutrochet afterwards

,'\M Mechanical Science, ' " 197

found mineral substances, as a piece of slate, mi^ht be substituted
for the oro^anized tissues ; this beingr the case, the opinion which
refers such effects to a general cause, as capillary attraction, ac-
quires more probability.

3. Novel Use of the Plough. — Mr. Bruckmann states that he has
long thought the plough might be used in levelling roads and
clearing the foundations for fortifications. In 1824 he had an
opportunity of applying it in the construction of a canal required to
furnish a motive force for the service of the rock-salt works of Fried-
richshall. The bed was to have a section of 700 square feet, and it
had been calculated that the excavations would require 200 men for
two years, whereas the king of Wurtemburg wished it to be done
in one year from the spring of 1824.

Three ploughs were employed; the first had two handles, a
coulter, and a share, the latter being in the form of a wedge. This
plough was preferred in the beds and gravelly grounds ; and it was
found advantageous to give it an oscillatory movement by the
handles during its progress. Drawn by eight horses, it could turn
up 25,000 cubic feet of an argillaceous soil, in three hours ; with
ten horses it turned up 19,800 cubic feet of a gravelly soil, in the
same time. This plough was tried in 1815, against fifteen others
of the ordinary kind, in the construction of a watercourse for a
mill ; all the fifteen were quickly broken by the work.

The second plough had two handles and a coulter, but the share
had only one cutting edge, which was rounded and with an ear. It
was made five times as strong as an ordinary plough, and suc-
ceeded well in compact and argillaceous soils, where, with eight
horses and four men, it moved 48,000 cubic feet of earth in three
hours. In case of fracture ten minutes sufficed to change the
coulter and share, and, during the work, 2,300,000 cubic feet of
earth were loosened by it.

The third plough was smaller and fighter, it had two handles, a
coulter, an ear, and a share, the latter lance-shaped. It was used
for excavating the sides of the canal, on which the horses attached
to the first plough found it difficult to walk because of the inclina-
tion. It was worked by ten or twelve men.

To establish an accurate comparison between the work of these
ploughs and that done by the pickaxe and spade, a piece of ground
was wrought solely in the latter manner by six strong working men.
The result of a long trial was the breaking of 150 cubic feet of
ground by each man in nine hours. Comparing this result with
the work of the ploughs, the following are the results: — ^The first
plough did the work of 477 men, the second of 960 men, and the
third that of 50 or 60 men. The canal was finished on April 30th,
1825, the ploughs having saved 32,000 days, according to the
work-day of a labourer. — Bull. Univ. D. vii. 343.

198 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

4. Discovery of Rocks under the Surface of the Sea. — ^The fishers
of the Mcditerrnneaii use an apparatus for the discovery of rocks
beneath the surface in those places where they wish to cast their
nets, which suppHes, in a great measure, the insufficiencies of the
ordinary means of taking soundings. The method consists in
carrying a long and thin cord over the bottom to be examined, and
which, when it meets with an obstacle, is stopped by it and becomes
folded in the place where it occurs. It will easily be understood,
that when a cord has been carried over a certain space without
meeting with any resistance, that proof is obtained of the non-exist-
ence of rocks or other obstacles, at a depth less than that to which
the cord has been sunk ; and as the examination can easily be car-
ried on to 100 feet below the surface, it may be said that, wherever
such an apparatus has passed unimpeded, the navigation is free.
If, on the contirary, some isolated rocks are found during the exa-
mination, the place where the cord becomes doubled points out the
locality, which may then be determined more accurately by other
trials, and the summit and neighbourhood of the submersed rocks be
accurately examined by means of sonndings.^^ Ann^ales Marit.;
Bull. Univ. F. viii. 44.

5. Paper to resist Humidity. — This process, which Is^flttft tb
M. Engle, consists in plunging unsized paper once or twice into a
clear solution of mastic in oil of turpentine, and drying it by a
gentle heat. The paper, without becoming transparent, has all the
properties of writing-paper, and may be used for the same purposes.
It is especially recommended for passports, workmen's books, legal
papers, &c. When preserved for years it is free from injury, either
by humidity, mice, or insects. It is further added, that a solution
of caoutchouc will produce even a still better effect. — Kunst und
Gewerbe-hlatte.

6. Professor Amides Microscopes. — This distinguished personage
has lately exhibited to the savans of this country two microscopes
of his own workmanship, — an achromatic refractor, and a reflector
of his own particular invention. The object-glass of his refractor
is of a very complicated construction, and is composed of three
double-object glasses combined together in the space of about au
inch. The flint-glass from which his concaves are formed is of the
manufacture of Frauenhofer; his convexes are of Dutch plate,
crown-glass, and French plate, separately. Each object-glass
detached has but a small aperture, and is of long focus ; but when
the three are combined together, the angle of aperture is very
considerable, and the focus short. By this ingenious arrangement
the trouble and difficulty of manipulating deep single-object-glasses
of large aperture is avoided ; but advantages gained one way, in
practical optics, are generally lost in another, and the twelve sur-
faces of the objective produce a kind of soilness and muddiness in

Mechanical Science. 199

the imao^e strongly contrasted by the effect of a good sinj^le triple-
j^lass of equivalent power. When, however, only two of the object-
glasses are combined, the effect is very fine. Between the object-glass
and eye-glasses is placed one of those prisms originally invented by
Sir I. Newton to act as an eye-piece of his telescope, and of which
a description may be seen in his correspondence at the end of Dr.
Gregory's Optics. The utility of the introduction of this device
appears very questionable in an instrument already so complicated.
The diversion of the rays into a course at a right angle to their
original progress (merely to give an horizontal instead of a vertical
position to the body) is surely no warrant for the employment of
two extra refracting surfaces and one reflexion, which cannot fail to
have a pernicious influence on the formation of the image. An
horizontal position of the body is attained with the utmost facility
by a proper construction of the mounting, &c. Setting aside the
dulness of the image produced by the numerous refractions, the
performance of the instrument on test-objects was highly respect-
able and satisfactory.

The reflector is a modification of the original construction recom-
mended by the Professor, who seems to have profited by the school-
ing he received from Dr. Goring, and now sails much closer to the
wind than he did. His objective metal is now two inches focus,
with an aperture of 1^ inch ; but half an inch is cut off for the
purpose of preventing the bad effect of the marginal rays, so that
only 1 inch of the central portion of the metal is employed ; — the
diameter of the diagonal mirror is also reduced to its proper stand-
ard, by which means the blot in the centre of the visual pencil is
rendered as small as possible. It may be asserted of this instru-
ment, that it does as much as can possibly be expected from an
objective part of 2 inches focus, showing many test-objects faintly,
and with much effort; but it is totally unable to compete with
deeper ones equally perfect and of the same angular opening.
The Professor has, in some of his instruments, reduced the focus of
the elliptic metal to ^ inch, and will, no doubt, gradually slide
into the adoption of that radical reform in his instrument, so hap-
pily carried into effect in this country by Dr. Goring, in conjunc-
tion with Mr. Cuthbert, — at least if the figuration of elliptic metals
of -j^(f inch focus with -^^ inch of aperture shall not surpass his
powers of execution. During the Professor's stay in this country
there was a grand field-day at his hotel, at which both his micro-
scopM were tried ai^ainst the Goringian modijication of the reflector,
the superior weight of metal of which completely beat every thing
opposed to it. For the honour of the Professor it must be stated,
that he admitted this defeat with great candour and good sense,
and even had some difficulty in believing in the identity of some of
the objects used, so differently was the ordinary apparent structure
developed by the English improvements on his instrument. It
may with safety be averred that no refractor, at least, will ever be

200 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

made to surpass Dn Goring^s improved Amician Engiscope; and it
seems equally certain that no other reflector will ever be invented
capable of the same facilities of application to the examination of
both opaque and transparent objects. If Professor Amici has been
beaten, it has been done with his own weapons, — the copy has sur-
passed the original, — the child, by virtue of foreign nursing and
tuition, has exceeded the stature and strength of the father.

1. On the Specific Heat of Gases, by MM. de la Riv^ 4ind Mar-
cet. — The principle on which these philosophers proceeded in their
researches, was, to expose equal volumes of different gases to an
equal source of heat during equal times, and to judge, by the aug*
mentation of elastic force in each gas, the temperature which it had
acquired. The apparatus was a kind of manometer, and consisted
of a glass balloon to retain the gas, and a bent tube attached to it,
which, descending into a vessel of mercury, served to show, by the
column of metal within it, what was the elasticity of the gas.
This method was adopted, because, i. The gas was not altered in
volume by the change of temperature, its elasticity only changing ;
ii. The temperature was indicated by the gas itself, and not by a
thermometer : iii. Water was easily separated previously from the
gases, and excluded from the apparatus : iv. All the gases were
placed in exactly the same circumstances, so as to render it unne-
cessary to refer to any calculation for the purpose of comparison.

Two methods of applying heat were resorted to : in one the bal-
loon, containing the gas at a certain temperature, was placed in
water at a higher but constant degree, for a certain time (generally
4''), and the elevation of temperature noticed : in the other, the bal-
loon with the gas was inclosed in a larger copper balloon, blacken-
ed inside, and the space between the two exhausted as much as
possible of air ; the apparatus being then immersed in warm water,
the heat gained access slowly to the gas, and the time] of each
experiment was increased, at the same time that certain sources
of error were avoided.

The gases experimented with were, atmospheric air, oxygen,
azote, hydrogen, carbonic acid, olefiant gas, oxide of carbon, ni-
trous oxide, nitrous gas, sulphuretted hydrogen, ammonia, sul-
phurous acid, muriatic acid, and cyanogen. Great care was taken
in their preparation. The result of the experiment was very unex-
pected ; for, during the five minutes allotted for each, all had ac-
quired the same temperature, — a circumstance which proves that
they all have the sa7ne specific heat The equal volumes of gas at
the pressure of 65 centimeters (15.59 inches) and the temperature
of 20° C, being exposed to a source of heat at 30° C, acquired a
mean temperature of 6.32 degrees in five minutes, the extreme dif-
ference, in any of the experiments, not being more than 0.04 of a

Chemical Science. 201

degree. One gas only forms an exception to the above statement,
namely, hydrogen, which was always heated more than the others,
namely, to 6.6 degrees in the five minutes. This effect is con-
sidered as due not to any difference in specific he*ti ]Mit»t4^)ia differ-
ence in conducting power. '■, <■')[■ .,',<\ pijd 71

Experiments were then made with dilated gase& to ascertain
whether dilatation caused any change in capacity, and it was found
to diminish slowly but regularly with the diminution of pressure.
These results, with a third which is also interesting, have been thus
generally expressed by the authors at the end of their memoir.

i. All gases in equal volumes, and at the same pressure, have
the same specific heat.

ii. Other circumstances being the same, the specific heat of gases
diminishes with diminution of pressure, and equally for all the
gases : the progression converges slightly and in a ratio much less
than that of the pressures.

iii. Each gas has a different conducting power, i.e., all the gases
have not the same power of communicating or receiving heat. —
Ann. de Chimie, xxxv. b» ,j.. -. .<!.,

2. On the Incandescence and Light of Lime. — The* experiments
made by Lieutenant Drummond upon the light of lime and other
earths when highly ignited, with the highly interesting application
which he has made of that emitted from lime, to the purpose of
geodesical surveys, has induced M. Pleischel to repeat and vary the
results. He states that the utmost light is given by lime; the earth
being pulverised and exposed on burning charcoal to the heat ex-
cited by a jet of oxygen falling upon it. He endeavours to account
for the effect, by supposing a kind of pulverulent atmosphere disen-
gaged from the lime at the high temperature used, and considers
that the substances which are competent to emit molecules only in
the gaseous state, cannot produce this intense ligli^^^—^^fil^hrift
far Physik, &c. ,,4^. . ^j^ lo siiH^.^.^ '

3. Evolution of Heat during the Compression of Water. May
14, 1827. — M. Arago announced to the Academy of Sciences, that
M. Despretz had ascertained experimentally, that the compression
of water by a force equal to 20 atmospheres, caused the disengage-
ment of one sixty-sixth part of a degree of heat.

4. On Electrical Excitation. — M, Walcker affirms positively from
experiments made with great care, that three bodies of different
exciting power are necessary in every case of excitation of electri'^
city by contact, and that all the phenomena of this kind are subject
to this condition. If, for instance, two portions of the same metal
being put in contact, electricity is produced, it is because there are
three different states of temperature brought into play, one being
the result of the other two, and a mean between them. One fact
which more than any other sanctioned this idea, was, that the elec-

202 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

trie currents were the more apparent as this third state of tempera-
ture was made more sensible.— jB?^?/. Univ., A. vii. 374.

5. Magnetic Repulsion. — A very remarkable result has been ob-
tained by M. Becquerel, from the use of an extremely delicate
magnetic arrangement, which he has for the present called a sidero-
scope. Its use is exactly the same in principle as that of the
magnetic needle, indicating iron, for instance, by the attraction
manifested ; but it is so delicate that it will show it in the most mi-
nute quantity possible, as, for instance, in gold, silver, or copper
money, innumerable minerals, &c. This instrument shows no mag-
netic power or attraction in gold, silver, copper, palladium, tin,
lead, zinc, or brass, when chemically pure, and a great many vege-
table and mineral substances have no action on it : but the most
curious result is, that very pure bismuth and even that of commerce
has a repulsive power, which, if it be found ultimately to be inde-
pendent of any magnetic polarity, is the first fact of the kind that
has been made known. Antimony also presents the same pheno-
menon.

6. Diminished Solubility of Substances by Heat. — Mr. Graham
has added one to the few facts of this kind with which we were
acquainted, and has accompanied its description with some very
interesting considerations, which may be found at length in the
Philosophical Magazine, N. S., ii. 20. The salt experimented
with by Mr. Graham is the phosphate of magnesia ; which may be
prepared by mixing a solution of 21 parts of phosphate of soda
with one of 15.375 parts of sulphate of magnesia : within 24 hours
the phosphate of magnesia precipitates in acicular crystals ; they
should be agitated with repeated portions of water, then thrown
upon a filter with more water, and left to dry.

Solutions were obtained by occasionally agitating this salt with
water in the proportion of 2 ounces to a pint of the fluid, for four
days ; being then decanted and filtered, they had a sweetish taste.
A quantity of this fluid being heated in a water-bath, became turbid
before the temperature had attained 120° F. ; at 212° a cloudy
precipitate slowly subsided, and the supernatant fluid became nearly
transparent. The precipitate was found to be anhydrous phosphate
of magnesia ; and, by further experiment, the difference in solubility
was found to be such, that water at 45°, dissolving y-J^th part its
weight of the anhydrous salt, water at 212° only dissolved itVt*^^
part. When in the state of crystals, or as hydrate, the proportions
of salt were ^^ and ■^-}j-^ to 1 of water.

Mere continuance of the heat had no effect in increasing the
precipitate either of this salt, or from aqueous solution of lime,
provided no part of the solution was at any time converted into
vapour; but if the solution only occupied a small part of the vessel,
and ebullition came on, then, although all the water might be re-
turned to the solution, yet the precipitation went on, and might be

Chemical Science. S03

Increased ad Hhitum, particularly in the case of Hme water. The
cause of the precipitate appears to be the same in all these cases.
The moment a drop of the solution is converted into vapour, it de-
posits the quantity of lime or salt which it held in solution ; and in
the case of bodies which dissolve so sparingly and with so much
difficulty, althouj^h the water be returned again to the solution, it
is incapable of re-dissolving what it has deposited. We know that
it would be a hopeless task to form a saturated solution of lime by
agitating with the water no more than the few grains which it is
capable of dissolving ; and in the case of ebullition, when the lime
is once deposited, there should be the same difficulty in taking it up.
' Mr. Graham states that he has observed this effect not only in
lime-water and in solution of phosphate of magnesia, but to a cer-
tain extent in all bodies of difficult solubility, in the sulphate of
lime, for instance, even when greatly diluted; and he believes that
the deposite from slight boiling observed in many mineral waters,
and generally attributed to the dissipation of carbonic acid gas,
depends, in some instances, upon this cause. However weak the
solution may be, it is evident that a portion of the salt may be de-
posited in this way.

7. On the Composition of Cyanic Acid. — M . Wohler some time
since announced the production of cyanic acid, and cyanates, corre-
sponding in composition to the substance presumed to exist in the
fulminating compounds of silver, mercury, &c., the nature of which
was made out by MM. Liebig and Gay Lussac. M. Liebig, upon
repeating M. Wohler's experiments upon his cyanate of silver, ob-
tained only 71.012 per cent, of oxide of silver, instead of 77.23,
which was the quantity present according to M. Wohler's analysis,
and Concluded that the acid was the cyanous, and not the cyanic.
The latter philosopher was consequently induced to repeat his ex-
periments: one of his methods of decomposing the cyanate of silver
was by muriatic acid gas : at first liquid cyanic acid forms, which is
very soon transformed into a white crystalline mass ; but, on con-
tinuing the operation, and applying a higher heat, a large quantity
of muriate of ammonia and cyanic acid is evolved. This process
indicated 77.5 per cent, of oxide of silver in the salt. Another
process consisted in dissolving the cyanate in nitric acid, and pre-
cipitating the silver by muriatic acid, the result was 77.05 of oxide
per cent. A third analysis, made by reducing the silver of the salt,
gave a result of 77.35 per cent, oxide. The mean of these is 77.3,
and the theoretical number obtained by calculation is 77.23, so
that the acid appears to be truly the cyanic ; and the curious fact of
its being the same in composition with that in the fulminating com-
pounds of silver and mercury, but very unlike in properties, still
remains undisturbed. — Bull. Univ.y A. viii. 53.

8. lodous AQid.—'A.ccordmg to M. Wohler, the iodous acid of

20-i Miscellaneous Intelligence.

M. Sementini* is nothing- more than a mixture of chloride of iodine
and iodine. When saturated with carbonate of soda, the iodine in
sohition is precipitated, and on evaporating the solution to dryness,
and heating" it strongly, the residue fuses, and by proper tests is
found to be a mixture of chloride and iodide of sodium.

These statements apply only to the iodous acid : as to the oxide
of iodine, no source of chlorine exists in the process last described
by M. Sementini. ^ ^ ^ •'

9. On Maiiganesic Acid, hy M# Unverdorben. — When manga-
nesate of potash is distilled with a little anhydrous sulphuric acid,
manganesic acid is evolved in the form of a red transparent gas,
which dissolves in water, forming a red solution. The gas fre-
quently decomposes spontaneously in the retort, with explosion,
producing oxide of manganese and oxygen.

Manganesate of potash was analysed by distilling it with excess
of sulphuric acid, collecting the oxygen disengaged, and estimating
the proportion of protoxide of manganese and salts of potash re-
maining in the retort. According to these experiments the acid
consistsof Manganese . 58.74

Oxygen .41.26

...iHip'^iiU i.; i^5 100.00

And the mangajiesate of potash of Or being calcined

Potash . . 25.63 . . 32.75

Manganese acid . 52.44 . , 67.25

Water , . 21.93

100.00

100.00

Ann, des Mines, 1827, p. 145.

10. Heavy Muriatic Ether, and Hydrocarhuret of Chlorine or
Chloric Ether. — Some comparative experiments have been made on
these two substances by M. Vogel. He prepared the former of
them by passing chlorine gas into alcohol. The muriatic acid was
then separated by distilling the fluid from off chalk, in which opera-
tion the muriatic ether and alcohol passed over together, and these
were divided by the addition of water, which dissolved the latter,
and left the former. The chloric ether was made as usual from
chlorine and olefiant gases. The results that were obtained by
acting on these substances by a high temperature, potash, phos-
phorus, &c., induced M. Vogel to consider them as identical in
composition, notwithstanding some differences in their physical
properties ; the specific gravity of the muriatic ether was 1.134,
that of the chloric ether 1.214, and the odour of the latter is more
aromatic, and the taste more sweet than of the former.

Whilst passing the chlorine into the alcohol, M. Vogel observed

* See the last volume of this Journal, p. 477.

Chemical Science. \ 205

that if the sun shone upon the substances when the action was
nearly complete, each bubble of chlorine as it entered the alcohol
produced a brig-ht purple iiame, a dense white vapour, and caused
violent concussions in the liquid; another curious instance, in addi-
tion to the many that are known, of the power of solar ligiit over
chemical action. — Journ, de Pharm. 1826, p. 627'4:jLrfs.B)3 <

11. Test for the Presence of Nitric Acid. — The following method
is one devised by Dr. Liebi^, for the detection of this substance,
which it will effect, he says, when there is not more than a four-
hundredth part of the acid present. The liquid to be examined
must be mixed with sufficient sulphuric solution of indig-o to acquire
a distinct blue colour, a few drops of sulphuric acid added, and the
whole boiled. If the liquid contains a nitrate, it will be bleached,
or, if the quantity is very small, rendered yellow. By adding' a
little muriate of soda to the liquid before applying heat, a five-
hundredth of nitric acid may easily be discovered. — Ann, de Chimicy
XXXV. 80.

12. Peculiar Formation of Nitre. — ^The leaves and stems of beet
root contain oxalate and malate of potash. Some leaves were tied
tog-ether and hung- up in a warm and slightly-humid place, where
there was but little light, to dry. Being examined at the end of
several months, they were found penetrated with, and covered by,
an immense number of minute crystals of nitre. The oxalic and
malic acids had been replaced by nitric acid ; but whether from
animalized matter naturally in the leaves of the plant, or from the
action of the air, or in what manner, is not known. — M. Henri
Braconnot, Ann. de Chimie, xxxv. 260.

13. Experiments on Fluoric Acid and Fluates, by M. Kuhlman,
—These experiments were made with dry sulphuric acid and fluor
spar, with the intention of proving that fluor spar is truly a com-
pound of fluorine and calcium, and not of fluoric acid and oxide
of calcium. A quantity of anhydrous sulphuric acid was prepared
with great care, and collected in a glass tube ; the latter was then
connected with a platina tube charged with fluor spar, which had
previously been calcined in a platina crucible, and a glass tube was
connected with the other end of the platina tube for the purpose of
conducting and facilitating the collection of the gas evolved over
mercury. The fluor spar was heated to redness, and then the tem-
perature of the sulphuric acid raised so as to cause a stream of it
in vapour to pass over the fluor spar ; but there was not the sHghtest
reaction, the sulphuric acid recondensed in part in the farthest tube,
and no trace of fluoric acid was produced. Dry sulphuric acid was
then put, in the liquid state, in contact with dry fluor spar, but
there was no decomposition, and no portion of the spar was con-

206 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

verted into sulphate of lime. The first experiment was then re-
peated, with the difference of using" hydrated sulphuric acid of
specitic gravity 1.842, and there was instantly much fluoric acid
produced, which acted upon the glass.

As Berzelius found 100 parts of fluor spar, when acted upon by
sulphuric acid, to yield 175 parts of sulphate of lime, equal to
73.553 parts of lime, or 52.819 of calcium, it follows that 100
parts of fluoride of calcium should contain 47.181 of fluorine and
52.819 of calcium. By the assistance of this result, and further
experiments, M. Kuhlman proceeded to ascertain the composition of
hydro-fluoric acid. Dry muriatic acid gas was passed over cal-
cined fluor spar heated to redness in a tube of platina ; the fluoride
of calcium was decomposed, free hydro-fluoric acid was evolved,
and chloride of lime remained in the tube. The hydro-fluoric acid
acted upon the glass tubes, but being received in water was entirely
dissolved, with the exception of the silica it had separated from
the glass : no trace of hydrogen appeared. One hundred parts of
fluoride of calcium thus treated became 143.437 parts of chloride
of calcium, the 52.819 parts of calcium having united to 90.598
parts of chlorine. But this latter quantity must have liberated
2.511 parts of hydrogen, which must, therefore, have combined with
the 47.181 parts of fluorine in the spar, to form 49.692 parts of
hydro-fluoric acid. This latter body, therefore, consists of 94.941
fluorine, and 5.059 of hydrogen per cent. A small quantity of
chlorine was set at liberty during the experiment, the author thinks,
from a little manganese in the fluor spar.

M. Kuhlman found that all the chlorides, when subjected to the
action of anhydrous sulphuric acid in vapour, resisted decomposi-
tion, except the chloride of sodium, which gave a small quantity
of sulphate of soda, and a double salt of soda and platina, crys-
tallizing in fine needles of a yellow colour. No doubt is enter-
tained that, in the latter case, the common salt and sulphuric acid
were not perfectly dry. — BulL Univ.

14. Crystallization of Phosphorus. — By the fusion and careful
refrigeration of a large quantity of phosphorus, M. Frantween has
obtained very fine crystals of an octoedral form, and as large in
size as a cherry-stone. ; uwwjv, '•

15. Solutions of Phosphorus in Oils. — The solutions of phos-
phorus in fixed oils are so luminous as often to be resorted to for
the exhibition of this peculiar property of phosphorus ; but M.
Walcker has remarked, that the power which they ordinarily possess
is instantaneously destroyed by the addition of small quantities
only of certain other substances, as the essential oils. The rectified
oils of turpentine and amber, the oils of rosemary, bergamotte,
lemon, camomile, angelica root, juniper berries, and parsley seed,

Chemical Science, 207

the oil obtained by the distillation of the nutme|^, all produce this
efTect when their quantity is not more than one-fiftieth part of the
luminous oily solution of phosphorus. The same effect is pro-
duced by adding about a fifYh of the oils of anniseed, cajeput,
lavender, rue, sassafras, fern, cascarilla, mint, orange flowers, fen-
nel, valerian, cherry laurel, or bitter almonds, or balsam of copaiba;
but the oil of cinnamon, rectified petroleum, balsam of Peru, and
caiQphor» have np such effect. — Anrud, der Phys, 1826, p. 125.

16. On the Injlammation of Powder when struck by Brass, 8fc,
— Iron has been excluded from powder-works as subject to cause
sparks by a blow, and brass and copper have been recommended
in its place. M. le Col. Aubert has remarked, that brass on brass
can inflame powder, and has made experiments on the subject
before a committee, the result of which is as follows : — Inflamma-
tion of the powder takes place when the blow is given by iron
against iron ; iron against brass ; brass against brass ; iron against
marble ; lead against lead, or against wood, when the blow is pro-
duced by a leaden ball shot from a fire-arm. As yet the powder
has not been inflamed by the blow of an iron hammer against lead
or wood. — Bull, de la Sac. d' Encouragement; Bull, Univ,

17. Cementation of Iron by Cast Iron. — Pure iron, when sur«?
rounded by, and in contact with, cast iron turnings, and heated,
is carbonised very rapidly, so as to harden, to temper, and, in fact,
to exhibit all the properties of steel. M. Gautier finds this a very
advantageous process in numerous cases, especially where the arti-
cles to be case-hardened, or converted into steel, are small, as iron
wire, or wire gauze. The temperature required is not so high as
that necessary in the ordinary process of cementation, and the
pieces to be carbonised are not injured in form. The kind of cast
iron used should be the gray metal, and the more minutely it is
divided the more rapid and complete is the operation. By cover-
ing the mass of cast metal, in which the iron to be carbonised is
enveloped, with sand, oxidation, from contact of the air, is prevented,
and the cast metal may be used many times. Plumbago experi-
mented with in the same manner does not produce the effect. —
Jour, de Pharmade, 1827, p. 18.

18. On the Preparation of Ferro-prussiate of Potash, by M,
Gautier. — Numerous investigations induced M. Gautier to conclude,
that, i. When animal matter is calcined alone it yields but little
cyanogen, ii. That when mixed with potash it gives more, but the
cyanuret is not ferruretted. iii. That ammonia is then produced in
large quantity, iv. That the substitution of nitre for potash, and
the addition of iron or scales of iron, augmented the production
of cyanogen, and gave a ferro-prussiate. The following is the
process of manufacture to which M. Gautier has ultimately arrived,

20S Miscellaneous Intelligence.

and which he has practised for some years. The proportions of
the materials are —

Blood, considered as in the dry state, 3 parts
. Nitre 4 •<« U o'^u^h^i^i^ 'y , 1 part

Iron scales , ' . * : tV of the blood employed.

The blood is first to be coagulated in a large copper cauldron, and
the serum being separated by means of a press, the coagulum is
to be returned to the cauldron with the nitre and iron. The quan-
tity of water contained in the blood is sufficient to liquify the salt,
so as to allow of an uniform mixture being etfected. The mixture
is then removed, and exposed in an airy situation to dry, the putre-
faction of the blood being prevented by the nitre. When the de-
siccation is complete, the mixture is charged into cast iron cylin-
ders, which are fixed in a reverberatory furnace, and in all things
resemble those used in the preparation of animal charcoal. These
are to be raised to a brown red heat, until no more vapour is dis-
engaged, and then left until nearly cold, after which the contents
are to be withdrawn and put into a wooden vat, with twelve or fif-
teen times their weight of water, for an hour. The fluid is then
to be filtered through a cloth, and evaporated until of 32° of Beaue
(specific gravity 1.284.) Being then left to cool, a large quantity
of well-crystallized bi-carbonate of potash is obtained. M. Gautier
Says he has not, as yet, been able to explain how it is that this
bi-carbonate has been formed at so high a temperature ; a portion
also appears to be decomposed during the evaporation of the solu-
tion, which, at first but slightly alkaline, becomes sensibly so by a
prolonged evaporation.

As the same product is not obtained when potash is used in place
of nitre, it is probable that the elements of the nitric acid perform
a particular part in the operation.

The solution which has given the crystals of carbonate of potash
contains a little carbonate of potash, and much ferro-prussiate of
potash. It is to be concentrated to 34° (specific gravity 1.306), and
placed in wooden vessels lined with lead. In the course of some
days a greenish crystalline mass is obtained, which being redis-
solved in a fresh quantity of pure water, and evaporated to 32*^ or
33° (specific gravity 1.295), is to be recrystallized.

Sometimes, when using potash, M. Gautier has mixed nitre with
it, and has always obtained a richer product than when potash alone
had been employed. — Jour, de Phar. 1827, p. 11.

19. Sulphocyanide of Potassium in Saliva. — MM. Tiedemann
and Gmelin have observed the existence of this peculiar compound
in saliva, in two cases ; the one when the fluid was secreted during
smoking, and the other when no such stimulus was ^ppHed. — Ann.
de Cliimie, xxxv. 266.

20. Decomposition of Sulphate of Copper by Tartaric Acid.-^

Chemical Science, ' 209

M. Planche has observed, that when sulphate of copper is dis-
solved ill wine vincg\ir, for the ])urj)ose of ])reparin^ a corrosive
liquid to be applied to corns on the feet, that the tartaric acid pre-
sent in the vineg-ar displaces the sulphuric acid from a part of the
salt, an^ an. insoluble acid tartrate of copper is produced.
.iHvir.'i.*..- • M'i; -'i. ..' .,••■■■ ^" ■. • : ■■(■-; ;'...••

2liu^$eparatton of Arsenic from Nichd or Co6«Z<.--*-The following
process by M. Woehler seems among the best of those intended
for freeing nickel or cobalt from arsenic in the dry way. • It is
founded upon the circumstances that many alloys, when heated with
sulphuret of potash, become changed into a mixture of sulphurets,
and that sulphuret of arsenic is very soluble in sulphuret oi^>otash.
One i)art of kuplernickle, fused and reduced to fine powder, is to be
mixed with 3 parts of carbonate of potash, and 3 parts of sulphur, in a
covered Hessian crucible. The heat is to be gradually raised to
redness, and until the mass is just entering into fusion, and by no
means so highly as to fuse the sulphuret of nickel which is formed.
When cold, water is to be added, which will dissolve the sulphuret
of potash, and leave a yellow crystalline powder, which is sulphuret
of nickel, retaining, perhaps, a little copper or cobalt, but no arsenic,
if the operation has been well performed. When, however, the
object is to have the nickel perfectly pure, it should be fused a
second time with sulphur and potash.

The method of freeing cobalt from arsenic, is the same as for
nickel ; but it is then necessary to perform the operation a second
time. The cobalt (that of Tunaberg) has never been perfectly freed
from arsenic by one operation, but has never retained any after the
second. — Archiv filr BergbaUy 1826, p. 186.

22. Compounds of Gold. — According to late experiments of Dr.
Thomson, peroxide of gold consists of

1 atom gold 25

3 „ oxygen a,i.i,.<u -

28
and is consequently a teroxide. Muriate of gold consists of.

,3 , atoms muriatic acid 9.25 ,.

, X.i .». per oxi.cl^.,9f gftl4 ,,,,.. 28 .
5 „ watei^;^ I *w'^^l#Hb».-«i«:>W-.fty :^ • ^25

/ < i 11 ' Edin. Jowrntd, p. 1 82.

23. Chemical 'Re^searches rclaiive to certain Ancieiit Substances.—^
M. Vauquelin has analyzed, i. A poignard blade formed of copper
only; ii. A mirror, which was found to consist of 85 parts of copper,
14 of tin, and 1 of iron per cent. ; iii. A blue colour found in a tomb:

JUNE — OCT. 1827. P

210 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

it was composed of silica 70 parts ; lime 9 ; oxide of copper 15 ;
oxide of iron 1 ; soda mixed with potash 4. A blue identical with
this, both in colour and composition, was found in the bottom of a
furnace in which copper had been fused at Romilly.

M. D'Arcet has examined a bone from the fore part of an ox,
which had been placed as an offering to the divinity in an Egyptian
tomb, and found that it contained as much gelatine as recent bone,
although rather less is obtained by muriatic acid, (20 per cent,
instead of 27) because of a deterioration of the bone. When burnt,
it gave an animal black as deep in colour as that from recent bone.

M. Le Baillif has examined some grains of corn, which were so
well preserved, that when put into boiling water iodine produced
the blue colour dependent upon starch. He also made some ex-
periments on a gummy substance, and on two cords from a musi-
cal instrument; the latter were of animal substance.

M. Raspail examined some grain which was supposed to be
wheat, but found it to be torrified barley ; it was covered with a
substance communicated probably by the oil and incense with which
the grains were bathed when consecrated. Similar grains were ob^
tained by roasting common barley.

The account of most of these researches is given in the Catalogue
raisonne et historique des Antiquites decouvertes en Egypte, by
M. Passalacqua. — Bull. Univ. A. vii. 264.

24. On the Bitter Substance produced hy the action of Nitric
Acid on Indigo, Silk, and Aloes, by M. Just Liebeg. — ^The process
by which M. Liebeg obtains a pure and uniform substance from the
action of nitric acid on indigo, is as follows : — A portion of the best
indigo is to be broken into small fragments, and moderately heated
with eight or ten times its weight of nitric acid of moderate strength.
It will dissolve, evolving an abundance of nitrous vapours and
sweUing up in the vessel. After the scum has fallen, the liquid is
to be boiled, and nitric acid added, whilst any disengagement of red
vapours is occasioned by it. When the Hquid has become cold, a
large quantity of semi-transparent yellow crystals will be formed,
and if the operation has been well conducted, no artificial tannin or
resin will be obtained. The crystals are to be washed with cold
water, and then boiled in water sufficient to dissolve them. If any
oily drops of tannin form on the surface of the solution, they must
be carefully removed by touching them with filtering paper. Then
filtering the fluid, and allowing it to cool, yellow brilliant crystalline
plates will be obtained, which will not lose their lustre by washing.

To obtain the substance perfectly pure, the crystals must be re-
dissolved in boiling water, and neutralized by carbonate of potash.
Upon cooling, a salt of potash will crystallize, which should be
purified by repeated crystallizations.

On mixing the first mother liquor with water, a considerable
trown precipitate will be obtained, which being dissolved in boiling

Chemical Science. 211

water, and neutralized by carbonate of potash, will furnish a larp^e
quantity of the potash salt. All the potash salt obtained in thes6
operations is to be re-dissolved in boiling water, and nitric, muriatic,
or sulphuric acid added ; as the solution cools, the peculiar sub-
stance will be observed to form very brilliant plates of a clear yellow
colour, generally in equilateral triangular forms.

Sometimes crystals are not formed after the action of the nitric
acid on the indigo, in which case the liquor must be evaporated,
and water added, when the substance will precipitate, and must be
purified as already described. Four parts of indigo yield one of the
pure substance.

When the substance is heated, it fuses, and is volatilized without
decomposition ; when subjected to a sudden strong heat, it inflames
without explosion, its vapours burning with a yellow flame, and a
carbonaceous residue remaining. It is but little soluble in cold
water, but much more in boiling water ; the solution has a bright
yellow colour, reddens litmus, has an extremely bitter taste, and
acts like a strong acid on metallic oxides, dissolving them, and form-
ing peculiar crystallizable salts. — Ether and alcohol dissolve the
substance readily.

When fused in chlorine or with iodine, it is not decomposed, nor
does solution of chlorine affect it. Cold sulphuric acid has no
action on it ; when hot, it dissolves it, but water separates the sub-
stance without alteration. Boiling muriatic acid does not affect it,
and nitro-muriatic acid only with great difficulty.

These results show that no nitric acid is present in the substance^
and other experiments prove that no oxide of nitrogen exists in it ;
it contains no oxalic or other organic acid, for when its salt is boiled
with chloride of gold, the latter is not reduced.

When heated to redness with oxide of copper, it gave a mixture
of nitrogen and carbonic acid, in the exact proportion of 1 volume
of the former, to 5 of the latter. This was a constant result, and
in no case was any sulphuric or muriatic acid left in the copper.
0.0625 grammes of the substance thus decomposed, gave 45 cubic
centimeters of the mixed gases, estimated at 0°C. (32° F.) and the
pressure of 28 inches of mercury, according to which the acid would
be composed of carbon 32.392 ; nitrogen 15.2144 ; oxygen 52.3936
per cent. From the mean of several experiments, it appeared that
the following might represent the composition correctly. —

12^ atoms of carbon ... 93.75 or 31.5128

2| „ azote . . . .43.75 „ 14.7060

16 „ oxygen . . .160.00 „ 53.7812

297.5 100.

100 parts of the acid neutralize a quantity of base equivalent to
3.26 of oxygen, which is to the oxygen of the acid, as 1 : 16 ; the
equivalent number of the acid derived from the analysis of the

P 2

212 Miscellaneous TnfcUigence.

barytic salt was 306.3 ; by adding only J- ])cr cent, to the quantity
of baryta obtained in the experiment, 297.5, or the number cxt
pressed by the above, formula, would be obtained.

When a salt of potash or baryta was decomposed by oxide of
copper and heat, the quantity of carbonic acid produced was a little
short of five times the quantity of nitrogen ; but, upon adding- that
retained by the alkali or earth,, tbeprpportioa became exactly the
same as in the former cases. ...

Welter's hiiter principle was prepared by acting; on silk with ten
or twelve times its weight of nitric acid. The liquid, slightly co-
loured at first, acquired a deep yellow upon adding water. It was
neutralized by carbonate of potash whilst hot, and left to cool, and
the salt of potash thus obtained, decomposed by muriatic, nitric, or
sulphuric acid. This acid, crystallized like that from indigo, formed
the same salts, and was composed in the same manner. Silk fur-
nishes much less of the substance than indigo. Dr. Liebeg has
called this substance carhazotic acid. The most important salts
formed by it have the following properties : —

Carhazotate of Potash — crystallizes in long yellow quadrilateral
needles, semi-transparent and very brilliant ; it dissolves in 260
parts of water at 59° F., and in much less, boiling water : a satu-
turated boiling solution becomes a yellow mass of needles, from
which scarcely any fluid will run. Strong acids decompose it ; yet
when an alcoholic solution of carbazotic acid is added to a solution
of nitre, crystalHzed carbazotate of potash, after some time, preci-
pitates.— Alcohol does not dissolve it. When a little is gradually
heated in a glass tube, it first fuses, and then suddenly explodes,
breaking the tube to atoms ; traces of charcoal are observed on the
fragments. This salt precipitates a solution of the protonitrate of
mercury, but not salts, containing the peroxide, or those of copper,
lead, cobalt, iron, lime, baryta, strontia, or magnesia. The slight
solubility of this salt supplies an easy method of testing and sepa-
rating potash in a fluid. Even the potash in tincture of litmus may
be discovered by it ; for, on adding a few drops of carbazotic acid,
dissolved in alcohol, to infusion of litmus, crystals of the salt gra-
dually separated. The saturated solution of the salt at 50° F., is
not troubled by muriate of jjlatina. The salt contains no water of
crystallization. It was analyzed by converting a portion of it into
chloride of potassium by muriatic acid: its composition is, —

Carbazotic acid ....... 83.79

Potash . 16.21

100.00

Carhazotate of Soda — crystallizes in fine silky yellow needles,
having the general properties of the salt of potash, but soluble in
from 20 to 24 parts of water, at 59° F.

Carbazotate of Ammonia forms very long, flattened, brilliant,

Chemical Science, 213

yellow crystals, very soluble in water. Heated carefully in a glass
tube, it fuses, and is volatilized without decomposition ; heated
suddenly, it inflames without explosion, and leaves much carbona-
ceous residue.

Carbazotate of Baryta, obtained by heatinjr carbonate of baryta,
and carbazotic acid with water. It crystallizes in quadrangular
prisms of a deep coloin*, and dissolves easily in water. When heated,
it fiiscs, and is decomposed with very powerful explosion, producing
a vivid yellow flame. The explosion is as powerful as that of ful-
minating silver; a solution of chloride of potassium to which car-
bazotate of baryta has been added, produces a precipitate of the
potash salt, and not more than 1^ per cent, of potash remains in
solution'. 100 parts of the crystallized salt contain, —

Carbazotic acid . . 69.16 oxygen of the acid . 16
Baryta .... 21.60 „ earth . 1

Water ..... 9.24 „ water . 8

•>ii;l'~h,!i'p. VMVliV "j 100.00

Carhattftdte 6f Birrtey obtained like the salt of baryta, forms flat-
tened quadrangular prisms, very soluble in water, and detonating
like the salt of potash.

Carbazotate of Magnesia forms very long indistinct needles, of a
clear yellow colour ; is very soluble, and detonates violently.

Carbazotate of Copper, prepared by decomposing sulphate of cop-
per by carbazotate of baryta : it crystallizes with difficulty, the
crystals being of a fine green colour; it is deliquescent; when heated,
it is decomposed without explosion, and even without inflammation.

Carbazotate of Silver. — Carbazotic acid readily dissolves oxide
of silver, when heated with it and water; and the solution, gradually
evaporated, yields starry groups of fine acicular crystals of the
colour and lustre of gold ; the salt dissolves readily in water; when
heated to a certain degree, it does not detonate, but fuses like gun-
powder.

Proto-Carbazotaie of Mercury, obtained in small yellow triangu-
lar crystals, by mixing boiling solutions of the carbazotate of potash
or soda, and proto-nitrate of mercury. It requires more than 1200
parts of water for its solution: for its perfect purification, it should
be heated with a solution of chloride of potassium, the insoluble
portion separated whilst the liquid is lost, and the peculiar salt
allowed to deposit as the temperature falls. When heated, it be-
haves like the salt of silver.

All these salts detonate much more powerfully when heated in
close vessels, than when heated in the air; and it was a curious
thiug to observe, that those with bases yielding oxygen most rea-
dily, were those which exploded with least force) By heating some
of the salts previously mixed with chloride of potassium, &c., to
retard the action, it appeared that no carbonic oxide, but only car-

214 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

bonic acid and azote were evolved during their decomposition by
heat.

Oil the Bitter Principle from Aloes. — Upon distilling 8 parts of
nitric acid from 1 part of the extract of aloes, and adding water to
the remaining fluid, a resinous reddish yellow substance precipi-
tated, which, by washing, became pulverulent — it was discovered
by M. Braconnot. Upon evaporating the liquid separated from the
precipitate, it gave large yellow rhomboidal crystals, not transpa-
rent, and but slightly soluble. These crystals, at first mistaken for
a particular substance, were soon found to be a combination of
oxalic acid with the bitter of aloes. The bitter substances of aloes
dissolved in 800 parts of water, at 59° F., but in a smaller quantity
of boiling water. This solution has a superb purple colour. Silk
boiled in it acquired a very fine purple colour, on which neither
soap nor acids effected any change, except nitric acid ; this changed
the colour to yellow, but it was restored simply by washing in water.
All shades may be given to this colour by proper mordants. Wool
is dyed black in a peculiarly beautiful manner, by the same process,
and light has no influence on the colour. Leather acquires a pur-
ple colour; cotton, a rose colour; but the latter will not resist soap.
Dr. Liebeg thinks that this is the only substance from which a perma-
nent rose dye for silk may be expected. — Ann. de Chimie, xxxv. 72.

25. On the Existence of Crystals of Oxalate of Lime in Plants.— ^
M. Raspail has read a memoir to the Academy of Sciences, to prove
the analogy which exists in arrangement between the crystals of
silica, which are found in sponges, and those of oxalate of lime oc-
curring in the tissue of phanerogamous plants.

The latter crystals were observed, for the first time, by Rafn and
Jurine, who regarded them as organs of which they knew not the
use. They were then observed by M. de Candolle, who called
them raphideSy and gave a figure of them, which, however, is inac-
curate. These crystals are really very regular tetraedrons. In
many plants, as orchis^ pandanus, ornithogahim, jacinthus, phy-
tolaca decandria, mesembryanthemum deltoides, &c. they are very
small, not being more than -g^^ of a millimetre ( . 0002 of an inch) in
width, and ^^y ( . 004 of an inch) in length. But, in the tubercles of
the Florence iris, they are as much as 3^^ ( . 0008 of an inch) in
width, and ^ (.01312 of an inch) in length, so as to be easily ca-
pable of examination. — Bull. Univ. B. xi. 376.

26. Fallacy of Infusion of Litmus as a Test, by M. Magnus. —
When pure water is heated for a sufficient time with infusion of
litmus, reddened by an acid, it restores the blue colour. It is sup-
posed that the heat gradually causes the free sulphuric acid, which
had occasioned the reddening, to combine with the excess of alkali
contained in the infusion, and thus to cause the restoration of the
blue colour. Hence this preparation cannot be used to test the

Chemical Science, 215

presence of ammonia in a solution, as water alone produces the
effect anticipated from the alkali. The earthy salts contained in
ordinary water also produce this effect. — Jour, de Pharmacie.

27. Tests for the Natural Colouring Matter of Wine. — M. A.
Chevalier states, — i. That potash may be employed as a re-agent,
to ascertain the natural colour of wines, which it changes from red
to a bottle green, or brownisli green — ii. That the change of colour
produced by this substance upon wine is different for wine of diffe-
rent ages — iii. That no precipitation of the colouring matter takes
place, the latter remaining dissolved by the potash — iv. That the
acetate of lead should not be employed as a test of the colour of
wines, because it is capable of producing various colours with wines
of a natural colour only — v. That the same is the case with lime-
water, with muriate of tin mixed with ammonia, and with subace-
tate of lead — vi. That ammonia may be employed for this purpose,
the changes of colour which it produces not perceptibly varying —
vii. That the same is the case with a solution of alum to which a
certain quantity of potash has been added, and which may, there-
fore, be used for the purpose. — Annates de V Industrie.

28. Test of the Presence of Opium. — Pr. Hare says he can detect
opium in solution, when the quantity is not more than that given,
by adding ten drops of laudanum to half a gallon of water. The
following is the process : — a few drops of solution of acetate of lead
is to be added to the solution containing the drug ; after some time
an observable quantity of meconiate of lead will fall down : from six to
twelve hours may sometimes be required, and the precipitation is best
effected in a conical glass vessel, for then, by gentle stirring now and
then to liberate that which adheres to the side, the insoluble salt may
be collected together at the bottom. About thirty drops of sulphuric
acid are then to be poured on to the meconiate by means of a glass
tube, after which as much of a solution of red sulphate of iron is to
be added in the same manner. The sulphuric acid will liberate the
meconic acid, and thus enable it to produce with the iron the ap-
propriate colour, which demonstrates the presence of that acid, and
consequently of opium. — Silliman's Journal^ xii. 290.

29. Denarcotized Laudanum. — Thinking it important to ascertain
whether, by the removal of narcotine from opium, the unpleasant
effects which, according to the opinions at present entertained upon
that subject, are produced by that drug would be removed, Dr.
Hare prepared some opium with ether, guided by Robiquet's state-
ment that narcotine was soluble in that fluid: the opium was
shaved by rubbing it on the face of a jack-plane, and subjected four
times successively to as much ether of the specific gravity 0.735 as
would cover it, the operation being performed in a small Papin's
digester, at a temperature near the boiling point of ether, and each

218 Miseellaneous Intelligence,

acted upon by boiling alcohol : the latter will dissolve the acid ma-
late of altheine, oil, &c. : the different alcoholic decoctions are to be
put together and will throw down a crystalline deposite as they cool ;
the latter is to be separated and dissolved in water, and the solution,
when filtered, is to be evaporated by a moderate heat, until like a
syrup, and then set aside to crystallize. The crystals procured are
to be washed with a small quantity of pure water, to separate the
yellow matter from them, and then dried upon paper. These crys-
tals appear, to the naked eye, like grains, needles, and feathers, but
under the microscope present a hexaedral form. They are of a fine
emerald green colour, transparent, brilliant, inodorous; unaltered
in the air ; they redden litmus paper, are soluble in water, and
insoluble in alcohol. The aqueous solution of these crystals, acted
upon by cold magnesia and filtered, then restores the colour of
reddened litmus paper ; renders syrup of violets green ; and when
evaporated furnishes the altheine free from malic acid. When thus
pure, the substance crystallizes in regular hexaedral forms or in
rhomboidal octoedrons ; it affects litmus and violets as just described:
it is transparent, of an emerald green colour, brilliant, inodorous,
slightly sapid, unaltered by air, very soluble in water, not soluble in
alcohol, soluble in acetic acid, with which it forms a crystalline
salt. — Ann. de Chimicy xxxiv. 201.

35. Rheine, a new Substance from Rhubarb. — By acting upon
one part of Chinese rhubarb with 8 parts of nitric acid, s. g. 1.32,
at a moderate temperature, reducing the whole to the consistence
of syrup, and then diffusing it through water, M. Vaudin obtained
a precipitate which possessed peculiar characters, and to which he
gave the name of Rheine. When dry, it is of an orange yellow
colour, without any particular odour, and slightly bitter. It dis-
solves in water as well as in alcohol and ether : the solutions be-
come yellow by acids, and rose red by alkalis. It burns nearly in
the manner of amadou. Rhubarb acted upon by ether only gave
a similar substance, a circumstance which proves that Rheine exists
ready formed in rhubarb, and that it is not acted upon by nitric
acid. — Anji. de Chimie, xxxiv, 192.

36. On Dragon's Blood, and a new Substance which it contains^
by M. Melandri. — Pure dragon's blood is, according to M. Me-
landri, a scarce substance ; the drops in which it occurs are rarely
transparent, generally opaque, and with a rough fracture : its colour
is blood red. Besides being soluble in alcohol it is entirely soluble
in oil and also in hot water, though a large quantity of the latter
fluid is required for the purpose. The aqueous solution is bitter,
astringent, and of a fine purple colour ; by cooling, it becomes milky
and red. Gelatine does not alter its appearance ; a proof that the sub-
stance contains no tannin. Sulphate of iron forms a pale reddish
precipitate, so that no evidence of gallic acid is afforded.

Chemical Science. 219

Supposing that this substance might contain a principle analo-
gous to that latterly observed by M. Pelletier in logwood, &c. a
portion of it was dissolved in strong alcohol, the solution evapo-
rated until very concentrated, and then poured into cold water, an
agglomerated spongy substance was precipitated, which, after being
washed with cold water and filtered, was triturated with water
containing -Xf^^th of sulphuric acid, and exhibited traces of chemi-
cal action at a temperature of 22° (61°. 6 F.) It then deposited
a substance upon the sides of the vessel, and the liquid became
yellow and very acid. The sediment, being carefully washed with
water, was of a fine red colour, varying according to the state of
aggregation ; it had no taste or smell ; was flexible between the
fingers, and was quite fluid at 55° (131° F.). This substance,
which the author has called Dracine, has some analogy with the
vegeto-alkalis, although its affinity for acids is but slight. The sul-
phate may be obtained, he says, by adding sulphuric acid diluted
with alcohol to an alcoholic solution of dracine^ precipitating the
mixture by cold water, and then applying a little heat; the sulphate
of dracine collects at the bottom, is to be washed with cold water
until the latter no longer reddens litmus paper, and then dissolved
in hot water. This solution becomes red by the smallest quantity
of alkalis, and may be used as a very sensible test of their presence.
Dracine is also a good test for acids, assuming a yellow colour with
them. The small quantity of carbonate of lime in filtering paper
may be detected by sulphate of dracine, the yellow solution in-
stantly becoming red from its action, and thus showing its presence,
—Bull. Univ. C. xi. p. 157.

37. Purification of Madder, hy the Separation of its Yellow
Colouring Matter.— 1^\\Q experiments of MM. Kuhlman, Colin, and
Robiquet*, have induced M. G. H. de Kurrerto pubHsh the means
which he has resorted to for the purification of madder, by the
separation of the yellow colouring matter from it; and thus render-
ing it more fit to supply the various red, lilac, violet, and brown
colours which are required upon wool, silk, cotton and linen. Three
tubs or vessels are placed by the side of each other; in summer they
may be in the open air under shelter, but in the winter should be
placed in an airy cellar where the temperature may be retained at
18° or 20° R. (73° to 77° F.). The first is that in which the soaking
and fermentation is to be effected : it should be 2 feet 8 inches deep,
and 2 feet 6 inches in diameter, for from fifty to fifty-five pounds of
madder. The second, or washing vessel, should be 5^^ feet deep,
and 3 feet in diameter; it should have three wooden cocks fixed into
it, the first 2 feet, the second 3 feet, and the third 4 feet from the
bottom. The third tub is for deposition ; its height should be 44
feet, and it should have a cock at 1^ foot from the bottom.

* See page 289 of (he last volume,

220 Miscellaneous Inicllujence.

On commencing,' tlic operation, 50 or 55 lb. of pulverised madder
arc to be put into the first vcvsscl, water is to be added, and stirred
into the mass until it stands 1 J inch above the madder. The whole
is then to be letl until fermentation ymes on and has formed a
doat of madder at the surface ; this usually takes place in 36 hours,
and at latest in 48 hours, according- to the temperature. The mass
should now be transferred into the second vessel, which is then to
be filled with water, and being left for two hours, the madder will
fall to the bottom. The upper cock is then to be opened, after that
the second, and then the third ; and the water which runs from the
two latter is to be put into the third vessel, that the rest of the madder
may separate from it. The madder in the second vessel is then to
be washed a second, third, or fourth time until the washing water is
colourless. Thus purified, the madder may be used in the processes
of dyeing, according to the known methods ; but it is important in
summer that it should be used immediately, that a new (the vinous)
fermentation may be avoided. The madder deposited in the third
vessel, when washed and deposited, may be used like the rest. The
liquid first separated after the fermentation may be used in the
preparation of hot indigo baths, &c. instead of madder. — Bull.
Univ. P. vii. 352.

38. On Indigo and T?idigogene, by M. Lieheg. — \^ part of pure
indigo, 2 parts of proto-sulphate of iron, 2\ parts of hydrate of
lime, and from 50 to 60 parts of water, were digested together for
24 hours in a close vessel, which had previously been filled with
hydrogen. The clear liquor over the sulphate of lime and oxide of
iron, had a yellowish red colour, and was separated by a syphon
filled with hydrogen, and mixed with diluted muriatic acid, contain-
ing some sulphite of ammonia dissolved ; a dense white precipi-
tate was formed, becoming blue in the air. This was gathered in a
filter without contact of air, and washed with boiled water contain-
ing sulphite of ammonia in solution, and dried at 212°, in close
vessels, through which a current of hydrogen was continually passed.
The upper surface of the mass became of a blue colour, but the
lower remained of a dull white.

This white substance was called Indigogene. It did not change
colour in dry air, but under water became of a deep blue, which
by drying, assumed a coppery appearance. The blue substance vola-
tilized by heat without leaving any residue, forming purple vapours,
which condensed, when cold, into crystals differing in nothing from
sublimed indigo. Indigogene dissolves in alkalis without neutral-
izing them : it is also soluble in alcohol, but insoluble in water
or acids.

A given quantity of this indigogene was acted upon by ammonia,
and the weight of the undissolved blue portion ascertained, it
appeared that the weight of the pure portion dissolved was 0.404
grammes (6.224 grains.) The solution was put into an inverted

Chemical Science, 221

jar, over mercury, and oxyp^en p^as p:radually passed in until absorp-
tion ceased, and then the liquid coutaininj? the ])recipitated indigo
was evaporated to dryness at 212°. The weig'ht of the substance
was increased to 0.047, i. e,. 11.5 per cent.

Not having" obtained indigogene perfectly pure, M. Liebegdid not
attempt to analyze it for the ultimate composition. He remarks,
that indigo is, perhaps, the only organic body from which one of
its constituent parts may be taken without total decomposition ; and
which, by oxidation, passes to the state of an indifferent body, having
much analogy with peroxides. — A?in. de Chimie, xxxv. 269.

39. On the mutual Action of Ethers, and other Substances. — From
experiments made by M. Henry, he concludes that when metals
easily oxidizable, or oxides which unite with acetic acid, are put
into sulphuric ether, they produce larger or smaller quantities of
acetates, probably, not by decomposing the sulphuric ether, but the
acetic ether which is always mixed with it ; and that it is in conse-
quence of the saturation of the acetic acid set free from the ether
by this decomposition, that sulphuric ether does not redden litmus
paper when evaporated, whereas it acts differently when being
slightly heated, the quantity of acetic ether contained in it is allowed
to decompose by the action of the air.

Nitric and acetic ethers are described as being easily decom-
posed by the action of many bodies without the assistance of heat,
if aided by time. Amongst the products of the action are the acids
of the ethers, acetates, and alcohol which dissolves the salts formed.

hur. de Chimie Med.

40. Faraday's Chemical Manipulation. — The kindness of a
friend at Bristol has pointed out to me an error in the directions
relative to alkalimetry, which I have given in the above work : this I
am desirous of correcting, and, by permission of Mr. Brande, have
the opportunity of doing so in the Quarterly Journal of Science.

The mistake, which arose from using the wrong specific gravity of
two that were required in calculation, occurs in the paragraphs
(599,600,) but fortunately is prevented from occasioning any expe-
rimental error by the directions given in (602). The acid of spe-
cific gravity, 1.141, directed to be used, is too strong for the quan-
tities marked upon the tube. The substitution of one of specific
gravity 1.127, will correct the error, and may be obtained very
nearly by mixing 19 parts, by weight, of strong oil of vitriol, with
81 parts of water.

The alterations required may be made in the volume with a pen,
as for errors of the press, by reading '* 1.127" for "1.141" in lines
25 and 30 of page 276, and lines 2 and 13 of page 277; and
*' nineteen* for " one" in line 27, and " eighty-one" lor " four" in
line 28 of page 276.— M. F.

222 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

III. Natural History.

1. On the Siq?posed Injluence of the Moon, by M. Arago. —
There is an impression very general with gardeners, that the moon
has a particular effect on plants, especially in certain months. The
g-ardeners near Paris gave the name of the lune rousse to the moon,
which, beginning in April, becomes full either at the end of the
month, or more generally in May. According to them theflight of
the moon, in the months of April and May, injures the shoots of
plants, and that, when the sky is clear, the leaves and buds exposed
to this light become red or brown, and are killed, though the ther-
mometer in the atmosphere is several degrees above the freezing
point : they confirm this observation, by remarking that, when the
rays of the moon are stopped in consequence of the existence of
clouds in the air, that then the plants are not injured, although the
temperature and other circumstances are the same.

M. Arago explains this observation of practical men, by a refer-
ence to the facts and principles established by Dr. Wells. He has
shown that, in a clear night, exposed bodies may frequently have
their temperatures reduced below that of the surrounding atmos-
phere, solely by the effect of radiation, the difference being as
much as 6, 7, 10, or more degrees, but that it does not take
place when the heavens are obscured. M. Arago then observes,
that the temperature is often not more than 4, 5, or 6 degrees
above the freezing point during the nights of April and May,
and that when the night is clear, consequently when the moon is
bright, the temperature of the leaves and buds may often be brought
by radiation below the freezing point, whilst the air remains above
it, and consequently an effect be produced, which, though not de-
pendent upon, accompanies the brilliant unobscured state of the
moon — the absence of these injurious effects, when the moon is ob-
scured, being also as perfectly accounted for by these principleSj
from the knowledge that the same clouds which obscure the moon
will prevent the radiation of heat from the plants. Hence, as M*
Arago observes, the observation of the gardener is correct as far as
it goes, though the interpretation of the effect which he generally
gives is incorrect. — Annuaire du Bureau des Long. 1827, p. 162.

2. Lumijious Appearances in the Atmosphere. — An account is
given at page 242 of our last volume, from Silliman's Journal, of
certain spots in the air near the horizon, which have been seen
highly luminous in Ohio, United States, by Mr. Atwater, and
which often induce the supposition that fires exist in their direction.
Mr. Webster says — " I have observed similar phenomena in New
England : I recollect one instance, when I resided at Amherst, in
Ilampshire County, Mass., a bright light in the north-east, near

Natural History. 223

the horizon, appeared as the light of a building on fire appears at
night, at the distance of several miles. I expected, in that instance,
every hour to hear that some building in Shutesbury, or New
Salem, had been burnt, and, so strong was my belief of it, that I
repeatedly asked my neighbours whether they had heard of any
such event. At last, I met a gentleman who had just come from
one of those towns, who told me he had heard of no fire from that
quarter, which convinced me the phenomenon was merely atmos-
pheric."— SiUimans Journal^ xii. 380.

3. On the Determination of the Mean Temperature of the Air. —
This subject has been investigated by M. G. G. Hallstroem, who
gives the following algebraic formula, which correctly represents the
mean temperature for all Europe.

V = i(,xf+xe) - 0.33 + 0.41 sin. [(ti - 1) SO-' + 124° 8')]'

V = mean temperature.
n rr: the ordinal number of the month for which the temperature is

to be calculated (thus, for March, n = 3).
i (^y + -J^ ^) = the mean temperature taken as the mean of ob-
servations taken at ten o'clock in the morning and evening.
In winter i {j^ f + x e) = v very nearly ; whilst, in summer, this
quantity is f of a degree greater than v at Paris, Halle, and Abo. —
Annul. derPhys, und Chem. 1825, p. 373.

4. Indelible Writing. — As the art of mail can unmake whatever
the art of man can make, we have no right to expect an indelible
ink: however, a sort of approximation to it may be made as fol-
lows ; — Let a saturated solution of indigo and madder in boiling
water be made, in such proportions as give a purple tint ; add to
it from one sixth to one eighth of its weight of sulphuric acid, ac-
cording to the thickness and strength of the paper to be used : this
makes an ink which flows pretty freely from the pen, and when
writing, which has been executed with it, is exposed to a consi-
derable, but gradual, heat from the fire, it becomes completely
black, the letters being burnt in and charred by the action of the
sulphuric acid. If the acid has not been used in sufficient quantity
to destroy the texture of the paper, and reduce it to the state of
tindery the colour may be discharged by the oxymuriatic and oxalic
acidsy and their compounds^ though not without great difficulty.
"When the full proportion of acid has been employed, a little crump-
ling and rubbing of the paper reduces the carbonaceous matter of
the letters to powder ; but by putting a black ground behind them,
they may be preserved, and thus a species of indelible writing is
procured, (for the letters are, in a manner, stamped out of the paper,)
which might be useful for some purposes, perhaps for the signature
of bank-notes.

5. Peculiar Crystals of Quartz. — Mr. W. Phillips has met with
some remarkable crystals of quartz, which occurred imbedded in the

224 MlsccllanvoKS Intelligence,

limestone of the Black-rock, near Cork. They are from the fourth
to the half of an inch in length, and about half their length in width ;
they are smooth, externally, for the most part, and sometimes con-
siderably bright ; they are of the colour termed smoky, or brown
quartz, externally, and may easily be separated from the hmestone,
leaving a cavity of their exact form. On trying to cleave them, they
yielded parallel to one or other of the planes of the pyramid, like
common quartz, but at such fractures appeared to consist of alter-
nate and concentric prisms of smoky transparent quartz, and of gray
opaque, and somewhat granular limestone. On applying muriatic
acid to the surface, effervescence occurred along the gray parts,
proving the presence of limestone, but soon ceased : after an action
continued for some weeks, the gray parts became cellular, and so
soft, as to admit of being scraped by a knife. Mr. Phillips says, it
seems reasonable to conclude that such part of the gray substance
as does not yield to the action of the acid is sihceous or quartzose ;
and that the prime difference between it and the smoky quartz sur-
rounding it consists in the different circumstances of crystalline ag-
gregation under which they are deposited. The crystals, with the
somewhat analogous case of the Fontainebleau sandstone, may
serve to assist in the illustration of some points relative to the laws
of affinity, as operating in the formation of crystals. — Phil. Mag.
N. S., ii. 123.

6. Native Iron not iWe^eonc— The following notice is by Mr.
C. A. Lee. Native iron, on Canaan mountain, a mile and a half
from the South Meetinghouse (Conn. U. S.). This is particularly
interesting, as it is the first instance in which native iron, not me-
teoric, has been found in America. It was discovered by Major
Barrall, of Canaan, while employed in surveying, many years ago.
It formed a thin stratum, or plate, in a mass of mica slate, which
seemed to have been broken from an adjoining ledge. It presents
the usual characters of native iron, and is easily malleable. For
some distance around the place where it was found the needle will
not traverse, and a great proportion of the tallest trees have been
struck with lightning. "Whether these phenomena are connected
with the existence of a large mass of native iron, I leave for others
to determine : the facts, however, may be relied on.

The specimen has been examined chemically, by Mr. Shepherd,
at Yale College. It is invested with highly crystalline plumbago,
and splits by the intervention of plates of plumbago into pyramidal
and tetrahedral masses. It is not equal to meteoric iron in mal-
leability, toughness, and flexibility, and has not the silvery white
appearance of that iron. Its specific gravity is from 5.95 to 6.72.
It has native steel intermingled in it, but contains no nickel, or any
other alloy.

Major Barrall has only been to the place where this iron occurred
onccy and no other person has ever been to the place, or knows
where it is. — Silliman^s Journal^ xii. 154.

' Natural Hktonj, 225

7. Native Argentiferous Gold. — M. Boussin^ault, who has had the
opportunity of examining numerous specimens of argentiferous
native gold from the Columbian mines, thinks that they are atomic;
he has found 1 atom of silver imited to 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 atoms of
^old, and considers it probable that the other combinations to com-
plete the series may occur. He has assumed 24.86 as the number
for gold, and 27.03 as the number for silver. The following are
some of the experimental results : —

Native Gold ofMarmato. — Pale yellow octoedral crystals ;

Gold

73.45

3 atoms

. 73.40

Silver .

26.48

1 ,, .

26.60

Loss

00.07

Native Gold ofTitiribi:

Gold

74.00

3 atoms

. 73.40

Silver .

26.00

1 „ .

26.60

Native Gold ofMalpaso. — Yellow irregular flattened grains ;
Gold . . 88.24 8 atoms . 88.04
Silver . . 11.76 1 „ . 11.96

Native Gold of Rio-Sucio, — Deep-coloured large irregular grains :
Gold . . 87.94 8 atoms . 88.04
Silver . . 12.06 1 „ . 11.96

Native Gold of the Otra Mina. — Pale yellow octoedral crystals:
Gold . . 73.4 3 atoms . 73.40

Silver . . 26.6 1 „ . 26.60

Native Gold of Guamo. — Brass-yellow indeterminate crystals:
Gold . . 73.68 3 atoms . 73.40
Silver . . 26.32 1 „ . 26.60

Native Gold of Llano. — Small flattened grains — reddish:

atoms . 88.04
„ . 11.96

atoms . 88.04
11.96

Native Gold of Ojas-Anchas.—'Y^\\ovf\s\i red plates :

Gold . . 84.5 6 atoms . 84.71

Silver . . 15.5 1 „ . 15.29

Native Gold of Trinidad, near Santa Rosa de Osos. — ^A solid piece
of 50 grains:

Gold . , 82.4 4 atoms , 82.14

Silver . . 17.6 1 ,» • 17.86

Native Gold of Transylvania (Europe). — Pale yellow cubic crystals:
Gold . . 64.52 2 atoms . 64.77
Silver . . 35.48 1 „ . 35.23

Native Gold of Santa Rosa de Osos. — A mass weighing 710 grains :
Gold . . 64.93 2 atoms . 64.77
Silver . . 35.07 1 „ . 35.23

M. Boussingault has remarked u singlar deficiency in the
JULY— OCT. 1827. Q

Gold . . 88.58

8

Silver . . 11.42

1

ive Gold ofBaja. — Porous :

Gold . . 88.15

8

Silver . . 11.85

1

226 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

specific lyravity of the native alloys of gold and silver when com-
pare<l with calculation, or with the results obtained from an alloy
similar in composition prepared by fusion ; thus the native gold
of Marmato has a specific gravity of 12.666, whereas, by calcu-
lation, it ought to be 16.931. The gold of Malpaso, by experi-
ment, is 14.706, by calculation, 18.223, and by fusion, 18.1. The
gold of Santa Rosa, -by experiment, is 14.149, and by calculation,
16.175. This difference, M. Boussingault says, is not due to
porosity in the native gold, as he has observed it in the granular
and fine varieties, but a peculiar character of the metal in this state.
Such an enormous difference, however, is one that can be admitted
only upon repeated experimental proofs, made in the most unex-
ceptionable manner ; and, considering that it is only in some of the
metals that any permanent difference in specific gravity can be
established, and even with them to but a small extent, would be a
fact so important as to be worth extreme trouble in the verifica-
tion.— Annales de Chimiej xxxiv. 408.

8. Protheelte — d new Mineral. — This mineral was discovered in
1826, at Rothenkoph, in the valley of Zillerthal, Tyrol. It occurs
in rectangular prisms, generally without distinct summits, and
rough at both ends. The angles are very seldom truncated, the
faces are striated longitudinally. The crystals are of various sizes,
some being very small, but they have occurred 5 inches in length,
and two in width "; the longitudinal fracture is lamellar, the cross-
fracture conchoidal. The substance is usually fissured, nearly
opaque in large specimens, translucent or' diaphanous in small
masses. Its colour is crysolite green or' white, or between the
two ; its lustre between that of glass and the diamond ; it is heavy;
a good conductor of heat ; hard enough to scratch glass ; in-
fusible before the blowpipe; highly electric by friction. The white
crystals have a fibrous texture, which, as well as the colour, seems
the result of decomposition. When cut and polished, the mineral
assumes a great variety of aspects ; the green parts then resemble
the finest crysolites, but the fibrous white parts, when cut of a round
form, present one or two reflections on a transparent ground which
move as the stone i^ moved, just like those from the cat's eye ; these
reflections are very brilliant, and are accompanied by numerous iris
colours, which move like those on the opal. This phenomenon is
often observed in the rough stone, which, when exposed to light,
exhibit certain deep red tints of a cupreous colour, and metallic
lustre on all the faces. — Bull. Univ. B. xi. 42.

9. Volcanic Bisulphuret of Copper. — M. N. Covelli, during hish
examinations of Mount Vesuvius, has observed some particular"
actions gwng on, especially in the fumeroles on the eastern side
of the mountain, -and within the crater. Speaking of the fornier,
he says, ** Here there are fumeroles in which pure chloride of lead

Natural History,

sublimes into white and yellow crystallizations, which fusing in
the hotter places form nacres, ^m, and stalactites. In many parts
the sulphuretted hydrogen, evolved within the fumeroles, reacts on
the chloride, and forms sulphuret of lead, dispersed in small scales
through the scoria. Other fumeroles produce very thin scales of
the black oxide of copper ; these are very brilliant, metalloidal,
and flexible, and are produced by the action of the vapour of water
at a red heat on the chloride of copper, which may be observed
on disturbing the fumeroles. Here and there the reaction of
aqueous vapour on the perchloride of iron produces metalloidal
scales of the peroxide of iron ; whilst further on, the same vapour,
acting on mixtures of the two chlorides, produces oligiste iron in
small crystals, aggregated on the scoria. The muriatic acid re-
sulting from these actions, and the sulphuric acid which is formed
by the decomposition of hydrosulphurets and sulphates, attack the
iron, lime, copper, alumine, potash, &c., in the lavas and scoria,
and hence result a number of other productions which line the
passages of the fumeroles.

M. Covelli descended into the crater, until within 300 feet of
the edge of the large eastern opening, from which the great cur-
rent of lava flowed in 1822. Here the fumeroles presented the most
beautiful crystallizations of sulphate of lime and sulphur. On
examining the scoria they were found incrusted and covered with
a substance, having all the shades of colour belonging to blue,
green, and black. Sometimes it resembled a spider's web in ap-
pearance, sometimes soot deposited in the cavities of the scoria.
Many specimens were collected, and also a portion of water con-
densed from the vapours which issued forth, and which evidently
contained sulphuretted hydrogen and muriatic acid. The tempera-
ture of the vapour was as high as 85° C, in some places, and even
up to 90°, at half a foot beneath the surface.

The water being examined was found to contain only a little
sulphuretted hydrogen, and a little muriatic acid. The black sub-
stance was soon ascertained to be a pure sulphuret of copper.
Being analyzed, 100 parts yielded 82 parts of sulphur, and QQ of
copper, a loss of two parts being incurred, which accords very
nearly with the composition of the bi-sulphuret of copper. The
blue and bluish-green substances were found to be mixtures of this
sulphuret with sulphate and hydro-sulphuret of copper.

M. Covelli concludes that this substance has been ibrmed by the
action of sulphuretted hydrogen on the sulphate and muriate of
copper evolved by these fumeroles ; and observes, that its compo-
sition accords with such an opinion, the deutoxide being that which
forms the Vesuvian cupreous salts. — Ann, de Chimie, xxxv. 105.

10. Fall of the Lake Sonwando in Russia. — This lake, situated
in the parish of Sakkola, in the Russian government of Wibourg,
and surrounded by the lands of the Barons Friedrichs, was near

Q 2

^228 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

.40 versts in length, and had the form of a F, or Greek G. Before
the year 1818, it was separated from the lake of Ladoga by an
interval about a verst in width, called Taipale, on which was a
sandy hill ; its waters flowed into the river Wuoxa, which united
the lakes of Saima and Ladoga. On the 14th May, 1818, the
waters of the lake Souwando, increased by the thaw and the tem-
pests, overcame the natural dyke at the foot of the lake, threw down
the hill of sand, rapidly flowed into the lower lake, carrying' away
all the surrounding grounds, and for ever destroyed the barrier which
had previously separated them. A chapel and a countryman's
house were carried away with the pastures and meadows ; the waters
of the lower lake were much disturbed, and the surface covered
with ruins. The level of the lake Souwando fell 12^ archines, and
its length is now only 15 versts. Its waters no longer flow off" by
the Wuoxa, but pass into the lower lake by several falls through a
deep canal. The land which has been uncovered by the water is
already cultivated, and the beauty of the surrounding country said
to be increased. — Bull. Univ., F. x. 133.

11. Vegetable Torpor observed in the Roots of the Black Mulberry -
tree. — A very old mulberry-tree was broken into four quarters by
the wind in 1790. Two of the quarters were destroyed, the other
two remained growing for a few years, but the last of them was
removed in 1802. An elder-tree grew in the place of the mulberry-
tree, without doubt from berries which had fallen into the middle
of the old trunk of the latter. This elder-tree died in 1826, and
at the time of its languishing about a dozen of mulberry shoots
started forth to the day. M. Bureau de la Malle ascertained that
these did not spring from seeds, but from the roots of the old mul-
berry-tree, which had thus lain in the ground in an apparently inac-
tive state, for 24 years, to send forth shoots at last. — Ann. de
Sciences Nat. ix. 338.

12. Method of increasing the Odour of Roses. — For this purpose,
according to the author of the method, a large onion is to be
planted by the side of the rose tree in such a manner that it shall
touch the foot of the latter. The roses which will be produced
will have an odour much stronger and more agreeable than such
as have not been thus treated, and the water distilled from these
roses is equally superior to that prepared by means of ordinary
rose leaves. — (Ekonom. Neuigk. ; — Bull. Univ.

13. Pine Apples. — A great improvement may be made in keep-
ing pine apples by twisting off their crowns, which are generally
suffered to remain and to live upon the fruit till they have sucked
out all the goodness. It will be very easy for fruiterers to keep a
few crowns by them in water, which can be pegged or stuck on
with dough, for show, when the fruit is served up, or artificial ones

Natural History. 229

may be made. A pine apple will keep for a long time when its
crown is removed, and will also be greatly improved in flavour, for
the more aqueous parts of the fruit gradually evaporate, and leave
it much more saccharine and vinous in its flavour ; which natural
process is totally destroyed by the vegetation of the crown, just
upon the same principle that an onion or carrot loses its flavour
when it begins to sprout in the spring.

14. Mode of Condensing and Preserving Vegetable Substances for
Ships^ Provision, <^c. — The quantity of liquid matter which enters
into the constitution of vegetables is very great; when they are
deprived of it their bulk is very trifling. That preparation of
animal food called pemmican^ in which six pounds of meat are con-
densed into the space of one, is mainly effected by abstracting all
the fluid from it. Vegetables may be treated in the same way :
let them undergo the process of boiling over a fierce wood fire, so
as to preserve their colour when completely cooked ; grind them
into a complete pulp by some such means as are used to crush
apples for cider, &c. ; then let them be subjected to the action of
the press, (being first put into hair bags, or treated as grapes are
in wine countries,) till all the fluid matter is separated from them ;
the remainder of their substance becomes wonderfully condensed,
and as hard as the rnarc from the wine press. Then let it be
rammed hard into carefully glazed air-tight jars, (or tin cases, if
preferred,) and subjected to the Appertian process for preserving
animal and vegetable matters, (well known, by-the-by, to our
grandmothers, who preserved gooseberries in this way from time
immemorial.) If jars are used, they may be sufficiently secured by
having two pieces of bladder tied successively over them ; when
the air within is absorbed by heating the inclosed substance, their
surface becomes concave by the pressure of the atmosphere, and
as long as it remains in this state the matter within is safe. If it
should be thought requisite to preserve the flavour of the vegetables
entire, an extract should be made from the expressed liquid, and
added to the marc. But spinage, cabbage, and many others, have
abundance of flavour in them in their dry state without this addition.
The preparation of the vegetable matter for use is accomplished by
adding a sufficient quantity of milk, water, gravy, lime juice, &c.,
to the marc, and warming it up. Let the government, and the
dealers in ships* provision, look to this; a sufficient quantity of this
vegetable pemmican would be the greatest luxury to a ship's crew,
and render the scurvy utterly obsolete. It is worthy of remark,
that the most irritable stomach is not offended by vegetables treated
in this way.

15. Rewards for the Discovery of Quinia, and for Lithotrity. —
The Academic des Sciences has adjudged a prize of 10,000 francs
to MM. Pelletier and Caventou, for their discovery and introduction

230 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

into use of sulphate of quinia; and another prize of 10,000 francs
to M. Civiale, for having been the first to practise lithotrity on
the hving body, and for having successfully operated by his method
on a great number of persons afflicted with the stone in the bladder.

16. Upon the Gaseous Exhalations of the Skin. — M. Collard de
Martigny, having experimented on this subject, has obtained results
which tend to reconcile the differences existing between previous
observers. The Count de Milly first announced, in the year 1777,
that an aeriform fluid escapes in great quantity from the surface of
the skin, and he considered the gas as carbonic acid. Cruikshank,
Jurene, and Abernethy participated in this opinion. Ingenhouz, on
the other hand, maintained that the air so secreted was azote. M.
Frousset adopted the opinion of Ingenhouz, and endeavoured to
confirm it by experiments. Lastly, Priestley and Fontana ques-
tioned the reality of a gaseous exhalation from the skin ; and Four-
croy positively denied it.

From the experiments of M. Collard de Martigny, he deduces,

i. That a gaseous exhalation really takes place from the skin.

ii. This exhalation is not morbid : it is observable in health.

iii. It is composed of carbonic acid and azote, in very variable
proportions. The following experiment was frequently made. The
bubbles of air which are disengaged from the skin were received
into a funnel, the top of which was closed : they were then passed
into a graduated tube, and agitated with a solution of potash. The
height to which the solution rose in the tube indicated the quantities
of carbonic acid that had been absorbed. All these operations
were made at the same temperature and pressure. Neither hydro-
gen nor oxygen gas were discovered in this air.

iv. It does occur continually ; but very often we may vainly at-
tempt to discover it, which has been the cause of error in the re-
sults of Priestley, Fontana and Fourcroy. It is especially suspended
after exercise long continued in the middle of the day, or imme-
diately after taking an abundant meal. Sometimes it is suspended
without any apparent cause.

V. The quantity also is very variable ; but it was observed to be
constantly in an inverse ratio to the cutaneous absorption.

vi. The proportions of the two gases vary very much, and some-
times the exhaled gas consists almost entirely of azote : in other
instances the predominance of carbonic acid is so great that it ap-
pears to be the only product. — Med. llep.,N. S. v. 75.

17. Effects of Galvanism in Cases of Asphyxia by submersion. —
M. Leroy d'Etioles has addressed a letter to the Acadt^mie de Me-
decine, in reply to an assertion made by M. Thillaye respecting the
inutility of galvanism in cases of asphyxia. The former says, that
when a short and fine needle is inserted in the sides of the body
between the eighth and ninth ribs so as to come in contact with

Natural History^ 891

the attachment of the diaphragm, and then the current of electricity
from 25 or 30 pair of inch plates passed through them, that the
diaphragm immediately contracts, and an inspiration is effected.
Upon breaking the communication, and again completing it, a
second inspiration is occasioned, and by continuing these means, a
regoilar respiration may ultimately be occasioned. This power thus
applied has always succeeded with him in experiments on drowned
animals. — Bull. Univ.y C. xi. 213.

16. Recovery from Drowning. — M. Bourgeois had occasion acci-
dentally to give assistance in a case where, after a person had been
twenty minutes under water, he was taken out, and by a very common
but serious mistake, carried with his head downwards. The usual
means were tried unremittingly, but unsuccessfully, for a whole
hour, but at the end of that time a little blood flowed from a vein
that had been opened, and a ligature being placed on the arm, ten
ounces of blood were withdrawn : the circulation and respiration
were then gradually re-established, horrible convulsions, and a
frightful state of tetanus coming on at the same time ; copious
bleeding was again effected, after which a propensity to sleep came
on : a third bleeding the following morning was followed by the
recovery of the patient. Hence M. Bourgeois concludes that the
means of recovering a drowned person should never be abandoned
until the decomposition of the body has commenced. — Bull, Univ.,
C. xi. 213.

19. Preservation of Cantharides. — It is stated by M. Farines
that the active part of cantharides exists only in the soft organs of
the insect ; that these are the parts which are attacked by a species
of acarus, and that in this way the cantharides are injured. Cam-
phor has no power of preventing the attacks of the acarus ; but
M. Farines believes that pyroligneous acid will be found effectual,
and proposes to prepare cantharides with it, and even to kill them
at the time when they are collected by submersion in it.

20. Chloride of Lime in cases of Burns. — The good effect of
chloride of lime in cases of burns is confirmed by the experience
of M. Lisfranc. He has applied it in many cases of that kind,
sometimes immediately afler the accident, sometimes afler the ap-
plication of emollient cataplasms. Lint is moistened in a solution
more or less strong of chloride of lime, and then applied to the
place, being covered over with waxed cloth. The cure has been
singularly hastened under its influence ; and in one case wher^e
almost the whole of the lower limbs, the arms and face, had been
burnt, the use of the chloride recovered the patient from the stupor
into which he had fallen at the end of four days, and a perfect rcr
covery was effected two months afler the accident.— ^wZ/. Univ., Q.
xi. 77.

232 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

21. Cute of Nasal Polypi. — Dr. Primus of Babenhausen asserts,
that the safFronised tincture of opium (of the Prussian Pharmaco-
poeia) possesses the property of gradually destroying nasal polypi
when applied to them. Certain cures, which have been thus ef-
fected, have already been published, and a striking one occurred in
January, 1826. A man, 46 years of age, had one in each nostril.
The tincture was applied several times a day to the bases of the
polypi, by means of a small hair-brush or lint roll. In eight days
the tumours had assumed a paler appearance, and lost a little in
volume ; a serous secretion from the nose, which had existed for a
long time, was diminished, and the pituitary membrane had ac-
quired a more lively tint, as if in a sub-inflammatory state. The
application was continued, the tumours continued to decrease, and
at the end of three weeks had entirely disappeared. — Mediz, Chi-
rurg. Zeitung^ 1826, p. 13.

22. Bite of the Viper. — M. Jacopo Sacchi, of Barzio in Valsasina,
having had occasion to take charge of some cases in which injury
had been inflicted by the bite of a viper (Coluber Berus), trans-
ferred his observations upon them into the hands of Professor
Paletta. From these it appears that ammonia, recommended by
Dr. Mangili, in 1813, although an excellent remedy in many cases,
is by no means sufficient in all, but must occasionally be seconded
by every possible means. Although sometimes nature alone has
power sufficient to overcome the bite of a viper, yet, at other
times, the injury is so great and sudden as to resemble the effects
of hydrocyanic acid. In these cases he recommends that the
patient should be put into a hot bed covered with woollen clothes,
and the most powerful sudorifics with some tonics administered
internally. Friction should be applied all over the body, and at
the same time the wounds are to be enlarged, cupping-glasses
applied, and tow, dipped in ammonia, applied to the spot.

23. Experiments on the Poison of the Viper. — M. Desaulx confirms
the fact that dogs can swallow with impunity even large quantities
of the poison of vipers. He observed also that when this poison
was withdrawn from the vesicles it soon lost in power, and after a
certain time became inert : a portion ten days old being introduced
into a fresh wound of a living animal, only caused slight tumefaction
on the part. Mangili, on the contrary, found it, when hermetically
sealed up, to retain its virulence for many months. The species of
viper from which M. Desaulx obtained his poison is not mentioned.
-^Bull. Univ^.Cxu 142.

24. Destruction of Moles. — The following method of destroying
moles is asserted, by the Count de Boisseulh, to be excellent.
Grounds much infested by these animals have been perfectly freed
from them by means of it. A number of worms must be procured,
killed, and powdered with pulverised vomica-nut ; the whole is to

Natural History, 233

be mixed and left for twenty-four hours. The mole-tracks are then
to be opened, and two or three of these worms placed in each hole.
If the meadow is large, they cannot be placed in every hole ; but by
multiplying them as much as possible, a good result is sure to be
obtained. — Ann. de Agricul. de la Charente»

25. On grpwing ScUad-herbs at /Sefl.— Op long sea- voyages,
whatever esculent roots, or fruit, or whatever vegetable essences
may be stowed in the steward's stores, whether for the use of the
officers or crew, nothing can be a greater treat to the former, espe-
cially within the tropics, than a dish of fresh salubrious salad-herbs.
The want of such an addition to the ordinary fare on board a ship
has often been a cause of disease, and misfortune, and even death I
—it is needless, therefore, to insist on the usefulness, or to state
the antiscorbutic, and consequently sanatory qualities, of fresh
vegetables in such situations ; and however limited the means to
supply such a want as is described below, yet, as it may be highly
useful to convalescents, and in individual cases, the publication may
not be deemed altogether valueless.

Provide one, two, or three deal boards, made of well-seasoned
inch stuff, sixteen inches square, with a ledge all round, rising one
inch above the smooth surface of the board ; and as it is intended
to hold water, the ledges must be closely and neatly fitted : at each
corner a nail, or small hook, should be placed, with strings tied into
a loop above, by which the board may be slung in the necessary
horizontal position; a thin covering-board, made of the same
material and dimensions, is also necessary, and which will serve for
all the boards.

Pieces of the thiclcest flannel must be had for each board, cut so
as to fit exactly within the ledges. These flannels require to be
well soaked, and repeatedly washed in boiling water, before they
can be used, to discharge from them whatever is pernicious to vege-
tation as they come from the manufacturer's hands.

The board and flannel thus prepared, dip the flannel in water,
and place on the boards; sow the seeds pretty thick and regularly;
sprinkle them lightly with the hand, till all are moistened and the
flannel completely saturated ; in which state it should always be
kept during the growth of the plants. Too much water floats the
seeds when first put on, and are thereby shifted from their places
by the motion of the ship. The cover-board must now be put on,
and the whole hung up in its place. The use of this board is to
assist the vegetation of the seeds, which it will do sufficiently in the
course of twenty-four hours ; after which it may be laid aside.

The board must be frequently examined, and when the moisture
thereon is diminished by evaporation, or imbibed by the crop, a
supply must be given, just enough to keep the flannel in the proper
saturated state.

In six or seven days the crop will be (if the weather has been
favourable) two inches high, — it is then fit for use. The produce

234 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

of one board yields about as much as will fill a middle-sized salad-
bowl, and when dressed up with the usual condiments of onion,
salt, vineg-ar, and oil, a most agreeable salad will be composed, and
a most acceptable treat to the g'uests at the captain's table.

It is necessary that the board, as well as the flannel, be scalded,
well washed, and dried in the sun, before it can be used again ; —
and as one board yields one crop per week, two, or even three
boards may be used at the same time, in order to secure a regular
supply. Larger boards are not so convenient, because they can
only be hung in some by-corner of a cabin, quarter-gallery, or state-
room, where they may not only be out of the way, but out of the
sun and currents of air.

The herbs suitable to be raised in this way are, radish, mustard,
and common garden-cress. The two first answer best within the
tropics ; the last does not, being too delicate and diminutive ; — but
this does very well when the ship is no nearer the equator than
thirty degrees of latitude. One peck of radish, another of mustard,
and two quarts of cress, will be sufficient for an India and China
voyage, — a supply of which may be had in China. I. M.

26. Chinese Method of fattening Fish. — The Chinese are cele-
brated for their commercial acumen, indefatigable industry, and
natural adroitness, — in making- the most of every gift of nature
bestowed on their fertile country. Useful as well as ornamental
vegetables engross their every care ; and animals which are the
most profitably reared, and which yield the greatest quantity of
rich and savoury food, are preferred by them for supplying their
larders and stews. Their hortus dietetica would form a consider-
able list ; and though they do not use such a variety of butcher's
meat and fowl as Europeans do, yet in the articles of pork, geese,
and ducks, they surpass, in the use of fish they equal, us, and in
their domestication and management of them they excel all other
nations.

A few observations on their piscinas, or fish-stews, is the design
of this paper ; not merely as an historical description, but as an
object for imitation in this or any other country.

For twenty or thirty miles round Canton, and as far as the eye
can reach on each side of the river on which that city stands, the
general face of the country appears nearly a level plain, with but
iittle undulation of surface. The level is, however, richly studded
with beautiful hills, which diversify the landscape, and seem to rise
out of the plain so abruptly, that they form the most picturesque
features, united with the most pleasing combinations. The soil of
the plain consists of a pure alluvial earth of great fertility and
depth, and very retentive of water ; which, by the by, is a proof
that, notwithstanding their claim to high chronological antiquity,
the waters of the deluge remained much longer (perhaps for ages)
On this portion of the continent of Asia, than it did in the interior:
and the circumstance of many of their hills being cultivated to the

Natural History. 235

very top, their numerous water-plants, and their almost amphibious
habits as to their domiciles, are still further proofs that the country
was, once, more of an aquaium than it now is. Hence the facility
of making canals, which are their high-roads (as wheel-carriaged, j
and beasts of draught, are too expensive appendages, for the sys-. f
tematic economy of the celestial empire !) and hence the eaSe with
which a pond may be made in any otherwise useless corner. Such
tanks, or ponds, are generally met with in market-garden grounds,
where they serve the double purpose of a reservoir, and a stew for
rearing and fattening fish.

When a pond is made for this purpose, and filled with water, the
owner goes to market, and buys as many young store-fish as his
pond can conveniently hold ; this he can easily do, as almost all '•<.
their fish are brought to market alive. Placed in the stew, they \
are regularly fed morning and evening, or as often as the feeder
finds it necessary; their food is chiefly boiled rice, to which is
added, the blood of any animals they may kill, wash from their
stewing-pots and dishes, &c., indeed any animal offal or vegetable
matter which the fish will eat. It is said, they also use some olea« i
ceous medicament in the food, to make the fish more voracious, in j
order to accelerate their fattening ; but of this the writer could' |
obtain no authentic account.

Fish so fed and treated, advance in size rapidly, though not to
any great weight; as the kind (a species of perch) which came
under observation, never arrive at much more than a pound avoir-/ i
dupois ; but from the length of three or four inches, when first ^
put in, they grow to eight or nine in a few months, and are then
marketable. Drafts from the pond are then occasionally made; r
the largest are first taken off, and conveyed in large shallow tub*' j
of water to market : if sold, well ; if not, they are brought back and. j
replaced in the stew, until they can be disposed of. * {

This business of fish-feeding is so managed that the stock ar^* \
all fattened off about the time the water is most wanted for the' *
garden-crops. The pond is then cleaned out, the mud carefully
saved, or spread as manure, — again filled with water, stocked with
young fry, and fed as before. . ' ;

An intelligent Chinaman, from whom the writer had the aboviT ^
detail, and who showed him as much of the process as could be
seen during a residence of three months, declared as his beUef, that
a spot of ground, containing from twenty to thirty square yards^- \
would yield a greater annual profit as a stew, than it would in any '
other way to which it could possibly be applied*

That l^sh may be tamed, suffer themselves to be caressed, and
even raised out of their natural element by the hand, has been long
known to naturalists ; witness the famous old carp formerly in the
pond of some religious house at Chantilly, in France, with many
other instances on record. But it is probable no people has carried :
the art of stew-feeding fish, and practising it as a profitable concern,' j
to such lengths, as is done by the Chinese at this day. I. M. •

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IS^C^CiOIC^&(0«04C4CO

5 t' ■ X

CONTENTS.

On the Means generally ueed with the Intention of curing a Stoop.

By the late Mr. Shaw 237

A Critique on the Aplanatic Object-glasses, for diverging Rays,

of Vincent Chevalier, ain6 et fils. By C. R. Goring, M.D. . 248

On the Existence of Chlorine in the Native Black Oxide of Man-
ganese. By John M'Mullkn, Esq. 258

Modem Improvements of Horticultiu*e . .261

Faraday's Chemical Manipulatioiiy reviewed . . . .275

Statistical Notices suggested by the actual State of the British
Empire, as exhibited in the last Population Census. Com-
municated by Mr. Merritt 283

On the Modem Ornaments of Architecture, &c 292

De t Influence des Agens Physiques sur la Vie. Par W. F. Ed-
wards, D.M. &c., reviewed 296

Experiments on Thought ...... . 308

Hieroglyphical Fragments, illustrative of Inscriptions preserved in
the British Museum, with some remarks on Mr. Champol-
lion's opinions. In a letter to the Cav. San Quintino . .310

On the Naturalization of Fish. By J. Mac Culloch, M.D.,

F.R.S., &c 320

Wadd's Nugce Chirurgioce^ or^ a Biographical Miscellany^ re-
viewed 329

Nug€B Canore^ by Unus Quorum, reviewed .... ib.

"Wadd's Mems., Maxima^ and Memoirs, reviewed . . . ib.

On Tic Douloureux *. . .346

Remarks on some Quadrupeds supposed by Naturalists to he ex-
tinct. By John Ranking, Esq. 360

b 2

iv CONTENTS.

Page

Description of a cheap and portable Instrument for enabling
Young People to acquire a knowledge of the Stars, or deter-
mine their situation in the Heavens. By S. Lee, Esq. . 371

Carus's Introduction to the Comparative Anatomy of Animals,

reviewed ^T^

Comparative Value of the principal Varieties of Fuel, <^c., by

Marcus Bull, reviewed ib'

Dani ell's Meteorological Essays and Observations, reviewed . ib.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society for 1827, re-
viewed , , ib.

Practical Treatise on the use of the Blowpipe, by J. Griffin, re-
viewed ib.

Circle of the Seasons, and Practical Key to the Calendar and

Almanack, reviewed ... . , . . , ib.

Conversations on the Animal Economy — ^reviewed . . . ib.

Notice of a New Genus of Plants discovered in the Rocky Moun-
tains of North America by Mr. David Douglas. By John
LiNDLEY, Esq 383

A Description of the Aurora Borealis seen in London on the
Evening and Night of the 25th bf September, 1827, with Cri-
tical Remarks, &c. By E. A. Kendall, Esq., F.S. A. . 385

Proceedings of the Royal Society 424

Proceedings of the Horticultural Society 425

Astronomical and Nautical Collections

i. Ephemeris of the periodical Comet for its Return in 1828,
computed with the consideration of a resisting Medium.
By Professor Encke . ' 428

ii. Elementary View of the undulatory Theory of Light. By

Mr. Fresnell 431

iii. Remarks on the action of Corpuscular Forces. In a let-
ter to Mr. PoissoN , 448

iv. Calculations of Lunar Phenomena. By Thomas Hen-
derson, Esq. 450

C0NTKNT8.

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

I. Mbchanical Scibncb.

P»ge
1 On the Adhesion of Screws . . 453
li Improvement in Steam-engines ib.

3 Improved Clock 454

4 Method of dividing Glass by

Friction ib.

5 Use of Soapstone in diminish-

ing Friction 455

6 On peculiar Physical Repul-

sions ib.

7 On the Magnetic Effects of

Metals in Motion 456

8 Duration of the Effects of Light

upon the Eye 457

9 On the Measurement of the In-

tensity of Light t ib.

Page

10 On the apparent Decomposition

of White Light by a Reflect-
ing Body when in Motion . . 458

11 On the Barometer ib,

12 Easy method of reducing Baro-

metrical Observations to a
Standard Temperature .... ib.

13 Diamond Lenses 459

14 Sapphire Lenses for Single Mi-

croscopes t6.

15 On a Method of securing and

Preserving the. Rowmg Pins

in Boats 460

16 Cold Injection for Anatomical

Preparation 46 1

II. Chemical Science.

1 Extraordinary Experiments on

Heat and Steam 461

2 On the Use of feeble Electric

Currents, for effecting the
Combination of numerous
Bodies 462

3 Crystallization of Metallic Ox-

ides 465

4 On Bromine ib.

5 Elementary Nature of Bromine ib.

6 Quantity of Bromine in Sea-

Water 466

7 Sale of Bromine ib.

8 Preparation of lodous Acid . . ib.

9 On a peculiar Nitric Acid, and

Sulphatfr of Potash 467

10 On ccruin Properties of Sul-

phur 468

11 On i!:e i-Muidity of Sulphur and

Phosphorus at common tem-
peratures 469

12 Separation of Selenium from

Sulphur 470

13 On a new Compound of Sele-

nium and Oxygen — Selenic
Acid 471

14 Preparation of Hyposulphuric

Acid 473

15 Singular Habitude of Phospho-

ric Acid with Albumen .... 473

16 Economical Preparation of Deut-

oxide of Barium 474

17 Preparation of Aluminum —

Chloride of Aluminum .... ib.

18 Mutual Action of Lime and Li-

tharge 475

19 New Chloride of Manganese

discovered ib.

20 Preparation of pure Oxide of

Zinc 476

21 Deuto-Sulphuret of Cobalt ib.

22 Separation of Bismuth from

Mercury bv Potassium ib.

23 Sulphuret of Arsenic propor-

tionate in Composition to
Arsenic Acid ib.

24 New Double Chromates .... 477

25 Dobereiner's finely divided Pl». 477

tina . .

26 Nevit^^fetals 478

27 Analysis of Porcelain Pottery,

&c ib.

28 On the Composition of simple

Alimentary Substances .... 480

29 Preparation of Sulphate of

Quinia and Kinic Acid, with-
out the use of Alcohol .... 482

30 Pure Narcotine prepared .... 483

31 Uncertain Nature of Jalapia .. ib.

32 Preparation of pure Mellitic

Acid

33 On a New Acid existing in Ice-

land Moss 484

34 Remarks on the Preparation of

M. Gautier's Ferro-prussiate
of Potash, as described in
this Journal for July, 1827 . ib.

VI

CONTENTS.

III. Natural History,

Page

1 Squalls of Wind on the African

Shores 486

2 Destruction of an Oak by

Lightning 487

3 Description of a Meteoric Fire-

Bail seen at New Haven . . ib.

4 Remarkable Meteoric Pheno-

menon 488

5 Aurora Borealis seen in the

Day-time at Cannonmills . , 489

6 Aurora Borealis in Siberia .... ib.

7 On the Presence of Ammonia

in Argillaceous Minerals . . ib.

8 Composition of Apatite 490

9 Burmese Petroleum Wells .... ib.

10 Direction of the Branches of

Trees ib.

11 Effects of Light on Vegetation . ib.

Meteorological Table

Vage

12 Organization and Reproduction

of the Trufle 491

13 Alteration of Corn in a subter-

raneous Repository 492

14 Quick Method of putting In-

sects to Death 493

15 Destruction of Snails by com-

mon Salt ib.

1 6 Remarkable Hairy Man .... ib.

17 Application of Remedies by

Absorption from the Surface ib.

18 On the Strix Cunicularia, or

Coquimbo Owl 494

19 Naturalization of Fish 496

20 Mode of keeping Apples .... ib

21 On the Cultivation and Forcing

of Sea Kale 497

. 5^0

TO OUR READERS AND CORRESPONDENTS.

Thb pages of this Journal are impartially open to all communications
upon the subjects of Science, Scientific Literature, and the Arts : it is
requested they may be forwarded to the Editor one month previous to
the publication of each number.

We shall be happy to receive papers from Provincial Scientific
Societies, and to publish them either on the part of the Society, or of
their respective authors.

Papers deemed unfit for this publication, will be immediately returned
to the source whence we received them, with oiur reasons for their
return.

The letters signed B. and T. R. S. we have thought it prudent to
suppress for the present.

Several books have reached us for notice in this Journal ; but unless
they are sent earlier in the Quarter, we cannot insure attention to
them.

We have been favoured with communications from Mr. Swainson,
Dr. Littledale, Mr. Rose, and E. Z., which we are obliged to postpone.

A letter from a " Member of the Zoological Society,*' reached us too
late for the purpose it was intended to answer. We fear we shall not
agree with him in opinion, but perhaps his second communication may
clear up the difierence.

We presume that " A Mechanic" will find the information he re-
quires in Mr. Farcy's account of the Steam Engine.

" An old Subscriber" is much in error— the proceedings he alludes to
are copiously given in contemporary monthly publications ; if therefore
we followed his advice, our information would be stale. The motives
he alludes to are out of the question.

We cannot give " A Vapourer" any authentic information respecting
the Steam Carriage, nor do we hear that the Gas Engine has advanced.

ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN,

Albemarle Street, December 3, 1827.

A COURSE OF SIX ELEMENTARY LECTURES ON CHE-
MISTRY, adapted to a Juvenile Audience, will be delivered during the
Christmas Recess, by Michael Faraday, F. R. S., Corr. Mem. Roy.
Acad. Sciences, Paris ; Director of tlie Laboratory, &c. &c.

The Lectures will commence at Three o" Clock.

Lecture I. Saturday, December 29. Substances generally — Solids,
Fluids, Gases— Chemical affinity.

Lecture II. Tuesday, January 1, 1828. Atmospheric Air and its
Gases.

Lecture III. Thursday, January 3. Water and its Elements.

Lecture IV. Saturday, January 5. Nitric Acid or Aquafortis— Am-
monia or Volatile Alkali — Muriatic Acid or Spirit of Salt — Chlorine, &c.

Lecture V. Tuesday, January 8. Sulphur, Phosphorus, Carbon, and
their Acids.

Lecture VI. Thursday, January 10. Metals and their Oxides —
Earths, Fixed Alkalies and Salts, &c.

Non-Subscribers to the Institution are admitted to the above Course
on payment of One Guinea each ; Children, 10*. %d.

The Weekly Evening Meetings of the Members of the Royal Institution
will commence for the ensuing Season, on Friday the 25tn of January,
1828, at half past Eight o'Clock, and will be continued on each succeed-
ing Friday Evening, at the same hour, till further notice.

The Lectures will commence for the Season on Saturday the 2d of
February, at Three o'Clock, by Wm. Thos. Brande, Esq., F.R.S. Lond.,
and Edin., Prof, of Chemistry in the Royal Institution.

The Library of the Royal Institution is open for the use of the Mem-
bers and Subscribers every day on which the House of the Institution is
open ; in Winter from Ten till Four, and from Seven till Ten in the
Evening ; and in Summer from Ten till Five, and from Seven till Ten in
the Evening.

Mr. Brande and Mr. Faraday will .commence the Spring Course of
their Chemical Lectures and Demonstrations, in the Laboratory of the
Royal Institution, on Tuesday, the 12th of February, at Nine in the
morning precisely. A Prospectus may be obtained at the Institution,
or of the respective Lecturers.

In the Press y and nearly ready for publication ^
A COLLECTION OF CHEMICAL TABLES, for the use of
Practical Chemists and Students, in Illustration of the Theory of
Definite Proportionals; in which are shewn the Equivalent Numbers
of the Elementary Substances, with the Weights and Volumes in which
they combine ; together with the Composition of their most important
Compounds, and the Authorities for their Analysis.

By William Thomas Brande.

THE

QUARTERLY JOURNAL

OF

SCIENCE, LITERATURE, AND ART.

On the Means generally used with the Intention of curing
a Stoop,*

When the chest and the head fall forward, the most common
method of trying to correct the stoop is to put on some instru-
ment by which the shoulders and the head are held back. To
operate upon the shoulders, the common back-collar is applied,
and to hold back the head, a riband is brought over the fore-
head and fastened to the collar.

While these instruments are kept on, the figure looks
straight, though stiff and constrained ; but the moment they
are taken off, both the head and the shoulders fall more for-
ward, than before their application. Many examples of the
bad effect of artificially supporting the head might be offered.
The following, although observed in the figure of a horse, is
very demonstrative. When the rein (called the bearing-rein),
by which the head of a carriage-horse is reared up, with the
intention of giving him a showy figure, is loosened, the head
immediately falls fonvard, and the neck, instead of preserving
the fine arch that is so much admired, droops between the
shoulders. Looking to this effect, we should at first be
inclined to condemn the practice followed by horse-dealers, of
reining up the head of a young horse in the stable, by means
of the apparatus called a dumb-jockey. But on examining

* For this, and some other communications upon the same subject, we
are chiefly indebted to our much-lamented friend and conespondent, the
late Mr. Shaw, Surgeon to the Middlesex Hospital.

OCT.— DEC 1827, R

238 On the Means generally used

into this mode of fixing the head, it will be found to operate
on a different principle from the bearing-rein. Instead of a
simple bit, such as the horse in harness can lean his head
upon^ without suffering pain, a bit, calculated to tease and
fret, is put into the young -horse's mouth. To relieve, himself
from the irritation produced by this, and which is increased by
the constant pull of the elastic piece of iron to which the rein
is fastened, he curls up his neck, and thus brings all the
muscles of the back of tlie neck into strong action, instead
of allowing their power to be superseded by the artificial sup-
port afforded by the bearing- rein to the horse in harness *.

Many different contrivances, but all acting nearly on the
same principle as the bearing-rein, have been proposed as
means for obliging a girl to keep her head erect*

There is one mode which, to a person ignorant of anatomy,
seems to be particularly well adapted for this purpose ; but it
is, in fact, more objectionable than the plan of tying the head
back with a riband. A piece of lead, of some pounds weight,

* When the Russians wish to give a horse high action in trotting,
they accustom him, while young, to wear heavy shoes on the fore feet.
The resistance to be overcome necessarily increases the strength of cer-
tain muscles ; and hence, when shoes of the common size are put on,
the horse lifts his feet higher than one which has not been subjected to
this discipline. Some opera dancers practise with lead weights on

for curing a Stoop. 239

is slung over the back in such a way that it must be supported
by a riband put around the head.

Although this contrivance prevents the head for a time from
falhng fonvards, its bad effects may be demonstrated. When
the weight is on, the muscles of the back of the spine are pas-
sive, while those on the fore-part of the neck are necessarily
brought into action to prevent the head from being pulled too
far back: this is easily proved ; for if we put the fingers on
the sternal portions of the sterno-cleido muscle, which, with
the small muscles on the fore-part of the throat, pull the head
forwards, we shall feel them tense and in action. The increased
activity of the muscles on the fore part, and the passive condi-
tion of those of the back, may be further exemplified by raising
the weight when the girl is not aware of our doing so; thtt
head will then be immediately poked forwards.

We have many opportunities of observing the incorrectness
of the principle on which all similar plans for the cure of a
stoop have been founded. For instance, porters who carry
burthens on the back, by the assistance of a band round the
forehead, always stoop ; while those w^ho carry baskets before
them suspended by a band round the back of the neck, are
peculiarly erect. But the most remarkable example of the
effect of the head being pulled back by a weight hung behind,
is the condition of the women who carry salt in the streets of
Edinburgh, for they may be recognised as much by their mise**
rable Sardonic grin, which is caused by the constant excite-
ment of the platysma myoides muscle, as by their stoop.

Very annoying and even distressing consequences may ensue
from any system of treatment where a constant resistance to
the muscles of the fore-part of the neck is kept up. A gentle-
man had for many years worn one of the collars invented by
Mr. Chesher ; after sonie time, the muscles of the back became
so weak, as to be incapable of supporting the column, while
those on the fore-part of the neck were so disproportion-^
ately increased in strength, by the constant resistance opposed
to them by the strap passing from the suspending rod under
the chin, that whenever the strap was loosened, the chiii wa^
forcibly drawn towards the chest. As the muscles of the back
part of the neck did not offer any counteracting resistance, the

R3

240 On tJte M^ans generally used

windpipe was now pressed down, or almost doubled on itself.
As soon as this took place (and it was almost immediate on
the attempt to sit up without the collar,) the patient was seized
with such a sense of suffocation, as to be obliged to throw
himself on his back. As he was able to breathe with ease as
he lay on his back, his advisers were led to believe that it was
the weight of the head which pressed down the windpipe. To
counteract this pressure, various contrivances had been pro-
posed to support the head. Indeed, the patient himself
was so convinced, from what he had heard, that it was the
weight of the head which pressed down the windpipe, and so
alarmed had he become from the certainty of having a fit of
suffocation when the head was left unsupported, that there was
much difficulty in persuading him to believe that if the head
could be made heavier, the sense of suffocation would be re-^
lieved. He was at length induced, although with great «dread
of the consequence, to allow about fourteen pounds of shot to
be placed on the top of his head. He was very much alarmed,
but it was highly gratifying to witness his surprise and plea^
sure in finding that, instead of his head being weighed down,
he could support it, and could breathe with ease while in the
upright posture. The following is the principle on v.'hich this
plan was proposed :— the muscles of the back part of the
neck had been brought into such a state, that their ordinary
stimulus was not sufficient to excite them to the action neces-
sary to counteract the efforts of those on the fore-part of the
neck, which had been evidently increased in strength. The
placing a weight on a certain spot on the head formed an addi-
jtional stimulus to the muscles of the back part of the neck ; a
fact which the reader may prove by an experiment on himself.

By proceeding on this principle, by combining a variety of
lexercises, and by gradually diminishing the weight carried on
the head, this gentleman was soon able to walk and sit in a
state of great comfort, without being obliged to use any arti-
:pcial support.

It is well known, that the neck-collars support almost the
whole weight of the head and shoulders by the strap which
passes under the chin. It must also have been observed, that
the wearer very frequently pushes down the head against the

for curing a Stoop. 241

chin strap. In this way, the muscles on the fore-part neces-
sarily become stronger, while those of the back, being deprived
of their natural stimulus to action, in consequence of the rod
superseding their office, become diminished in power. Even
were there no change in the degree of strength in the muscles
on the fore-part^ the head would naturally fall, if the support
afforded by the chin strap were removed ; but as these muscles
are increased in power, while those of the back are diminished,
the head must not only fall, but even be pulled down.

However, although the collars and the lead weight, as they'
are generally used, are not only inefficacious, but even hurtful,
they may occasionally be useful in keeping the head in a cer-
tain position, after it has been brought to it by such exer-
cises as tend to strengthen those muscles of the back which
support the shoulders and head. But the opinions commonly
entertained, as to the means of counteracting an habitual
stoop, are so erroneous, that even the position of a tailor sitting
on his shopboard is better than the plans generally recom-
mended. This at first appears ridiculous; but the manner
a tailor holds his body when he walks, proves that there is
something in his habits which tends to the correction of a
stoop; for he is quite a caricature of a strutting erect figure,
especially in the way he bends in his loins and carries his head.

The peculiarity of the tailor's gait proceeds, in a certain degree,
from the bent position in which he sits : but this explanation
is not at first satisfactory, since it may be observed that other
tradesmen, who also stoop while at work, generally have their
head inclined forwards, and have also a distinct and habitual
bend in the neck ; such, especially, is the condition of persons
who sit at a table and stoop forwards, as watchmakers, engrav-
ers,' &c. It is not difficult to explain the cause of the differ-
ence, and the inquiry will assist in directing us to the prin-
ciples which we ought to recollect in our operations upon the
spine. lyiii''?- i >

In the sitting position of the tailor, the head hangs so low,
and so complete an arch is formed between it and the pelvis,
that the muscles of the spine are called into strong action to
support the head ; the necessary consequence of this is, that
these muscles become even unnaturally strong, or at least so
strong as to predominate over those by which the spine is

242 On the Means generally used

pulled forward. But the bent position is not the only cause
of increase in the strength of the muscles, for it depends also
on the exercise given by frequently jerking the head back-
wards. In those who stoop from the middle of the body, as in
writing or working at a table, the muscles of the spine are not
called into action ; for, while the head is in this position, it
rests or is supported by the ligament of the neck. The liga-
ment, being thus kept constantly on the stretch, becomes
lengthened, instead of being made more contractile, as muscles
would be; and hence the stoop is increased. When this is
combined with the consequences of the want of muscular
action, the deeper ligaments, which bind the upper vertebrae,
gradually yield ; if the operation of these causes continues for
a Certain time, the bones and cartilages themselves become
altered in shape, and consequently an almost irremediable
stoop is produced '^.

This view derives confirmation, from what may be ob-
served in the shape of the tailors in some parts of Germany,
who, instead of having the erect figures of London tailors, are
quite bent. On inquiring into the cause, we find that, instead
of sitting as tailors do in this country, a hole is cut in the
table, and a seat is placed within it; so that their position,
while working, becomes nearly the same as that of persons who
stoop while sitting at a table.

It may, perhaps, be objected, that labourers, and especially
the vine-dressers in France, are remarkable for the complete
arch which their body forms, although they bend while at
work as much as the tailor does. This may also be explained ;
for in the labourer the bend is produced by the pelvis rolling on
the head of the thigh bones, while in a person sitting as a
tailor the pelvis continues nearly fixed, and the bend is in the
vertebrae on the pelvis.

The erect figure of the Turk perhaps comes from the manner
of sitting which is common among Eastern nations ; but the
heavy turban, and the spice box slimg from the back of the
neck, may account in a great measure for the fine figures of
the Turkish Jews who frequent the streets of London.

* Elderly persons may recollect how often the girls who worked at
tambouring were crooked : the present fashionable amusement of em-
broidCTiDg seems to have, in some instances, the same effect.

for curing a Stoop,

243

We may even take the shoemaker its an example of the
effect of a particular manner of sitting, and of frequently using
the muscles of the shoulders. He is also a Uttle in caricature,
but he carries himself better than the tailor, and the cause is
obvious. The tailor's figure is very erect, but the right shoulder
is generally a little higher or larger than the left, from the
constant exercise given to the right arm, while the left rests
upon the knee : this inequality of the shoulders is not observed
in the shoemaker, because he not only uses both arms equally,
but the muscles by which the scapulae are supported, become
so strong by the habit of jerking back his elbows while he
works, that his shoulders always appear more braced back than
those of any other class of persons : indeed, so characteristic
are the figures of tailors and shoemakers, that they may be
easily distinguished in a crowd.

These circumstances, are mentioned, as they afford familiar
examples of the principles on which we ought to proceed, in
endeavouring to correct deformities ; but it would be ridiculous
to propose the position either of the tailor or of the shoemaker,
as the best adapted to correct a stoop or falling fonvard of the
shoulders.

The preceding observations apply also to the contrivances
usually employed to keep the shoulders back, and particularly
to the question of the propriety of using the common back-
collar. The effect which this instrument produces in ordinary
cases may be easily comprehended by the following diagram.

244 On the Means generally ,used

The part of the back formed by the ribs is not a flat, but
rather a round surface ; and as the shoulder-blades rest on
this, they would fall forwards were they not prevented by the
collar-bones ; but as these bones are miited to the breast-bone
by a moveable joint, and as the weight of the arms operates
principally on the anterior angles, of the scapulae, both the
collar-bones and the shoulders would fall forwards, were it not
for the action of several strong muscles which pass from the
spine to the scapulae. But these muscles may be destroyed by
any contrivance which supersedes their use. For example^ let
A A be the shoulder-blades, and B B the muscles which sup-
port them. If the scapulae be brought close to the spine by the
straps of the collar, and kept constantly so, there can be no
use for the muscles B B. They must consequently waste and
become nearly useless, while those on the fore-part of the
chest, being excited to resist the straps, will become increased
in power ; and hence, when the collar is taken off, not only
will the shoulders fall forward as in a delicate person, but the
muscles on the fore-part of the chest will predominate over
those by which the scapulae should be held back, and pull the
shoulders forwards.

The spine and the ribs are occasionally bent so as to have
some resemblance to the back of a spoon. In such cases, the
shoulders not only appear high and round, but the lower angles
of the scapulae project in an extraordinary manner, because the
upper and anterior angle is not only unsupported by the ribs,
but is dragged forwards by the clavicles which are carried in
the same direction with the sternum. When this is to a consi-
derable extent, it constitutes the contracted chest or the chicken
breast. This, in a slight degree, is common in London, and
especially among young lads ; it may be discovered by the
coat having the appearance of being more worn opposite the
lower angle of the scapula than at any other part. Such a
condition of the chest can only be completely remedied by
appropriate exercises ; but a collar is here necessary for a time,
to keep the bones in the improved condition into which they
are brought by the exercises.

These arguments will probably appear sufficiently well
founded to prove that a girl, under ordinary circumstances.

'^^-for curing a Stoop, !J45

cannot hold her head or shoulders back, unless the muscles by
which they are naturally supported are in a proper condition.
Various contrivances have been proposed to strengthen these
muscles. Dumb bells, if managed in a particular manner, are
good; skipping, when the arms are thrown backwards and
over the head, is still better; the exercises, called Spanish
exercises, performed with two long poles, are also useful, but
to each of these there may be objections, as they all operate
more or less on the spine or ribs, which, in case of a bad
stoop, are generally affected.

The following anecdote will, perhaps, set the question of the
propriety of wearing the back collar in a correct point of view.
A surgeon was consulted by a 'gentleman, who is now one of
our first tragedians, as to the best mode of correcting a stoop
which he had acquired. The surgeon told him that neither
stays nor straps would do him any essential good, and that the
only method of succeeding was to recollect to keep his shoul-
ders braced back by a voluntary effort. But the tragedian
replied, that this he could not do, as his mind was otherwise
occupied. The surgeon then told him that he could give him
no further assistance. Shortly after this conversation, the
actor ordered his tailor to make a coat of the finest kerseymere,
so as to fit him very tightly, when his shoulders were thrown
back. Whenever his shoulders fell forward he was reminded
by a pinch under the arms, that his coat cost him six guineas,
and that it was made of very fragile materials ; being thus
forced, for the sake of his fine coat, to keep his shoulders back,
he soon cured himself of the stoop. The surgeon was much
obliged to him for the hint, and afterwards, when consulted
whether young ladies should wear shoulder straps, permitted
them, on condition that they were made of fine muslin, or
valuable silk, for tearing which there should be a forfeit.

An inquiry into the manner a girl should sit, may appear
trifling to those who have not been in the habit of seeing many
cases of distortion of the spine, but it is intimately connected
with the present subject, and is really of considerable import-
ance. The question has been disputed; one party insisting
that girls should always sit erect, while others are advocates for
a lounging position.- It is not difficult to show that both are

246 On the Means generally used

wrong ; — when a delicately formed girl is supposed to be sitting
erect, she is generally sitting crooked : to a superficial observer
she may appear quite straight ; but any one who will sit on a
music stool, and endeavour to keep his body in a perpendicular
line for ten minutes, will be convinced that it is difficult for
even a strong man to sit as long as a delicate girl is expected
to do, without allowing the spine to sink to one side or to fall
forwards.

The attempt to sit erect beyond a certain time is injurious,
for although bending the spine occasionally is useful rather
than hurtful, yet when it is done involuntarily, and when the
bend is attempted to be concealed by an endeavour to keep the
head straight, there is danger of the spine becoming twisted.
Indeed, a double curve is generally the consequence ; there is
first a bend to one side, to give ease to the fatigued muscles ;
and then, to conceal this, there is a second curve that is neces-
sarily accompanied by a slight twist in the vertical line of the
whole column.

The proposal to allow children to sit in a crooked or lounging
position seems to have been founded on the idea that all the
muscles are more relaxed in this way than even when the child
lies at full length on its back. This notion is certainly incor-
rect, and such a mode of sitting is injurious ; for even were the
muscles more relaxed by it, the bones and ligaments acquire
such a shape as necessarily produces distortion.

It may naturally be asked how a girl should sit, since it
would appear, that whether she is in an erect or stooping pos-
ture, she is equally in danger of becoming crooked. As sitting,
in the manner generally recommended, afibrds little or no sup-
port to one who is weak, the safest answer would be, that a
delicate girl should not sit for even more than five or ten mi-
nutes without having some support to her back, and when she
is fatigued, that she should lie down or recline on a couch.
But as it would be very annoying to a girl not to be allowed to
sit up except for so short a time, and as a couch is not always
at hand, we must endeavour to show how a delicate girl may
remain in an upright posture for a reasonable time without
incurring any risk of becoming crooked. This leads to an
inquiry into the merits of the chairs which are at present gene-
rally used by children.

for curing a Stoop, 247

Youn^ ladies are often obliged, "while at their music lessons,
to sit upon those chairs, which have high backs, long legs, and
small seats. These chairs are said to have been invented by a
very eminent surgeon, and are intended, either to prevent dis-
tortion, by some supposed operation on the spine, or as the
most effectual means of supporting the body. It is difficult to
imagine how a chair of this description can effect the first
purpose ; and to discover how far it is calculated for the second,
the reader should make the experiment, on a chair of the same
proportion to his figure, as the chair in question is to that of a
little girl. He will find that if the seat or surface on which he
rests is small in proportion to his body, the chest will, after a
time, either fall forward or to one side, unless he exert himself
to a degree that is very fatiguing. Indeed, if the seat be at the
same time so high, that the feet do not rest fairly on the ground,
but dangle under the chair, a forward position of the head is
almost necessary to preserve the balance of the figure ^s

The objections to such chairs have been met with the asser-
tion, that girls feel remarkably comfortable in them. This is
no argument in favour of their use, for it is not uncommon for
a girl who has seven or eight pounds of iron strapped upon her
body and next to her skin, to say the machine annoys her so
little, that she does not care how long she wears it.

But whether this chair is agreeable or not, it is easy to show
that it is not calculated to give much proper support to the
body, and that it is almost impossible for a delicate girl to sit
long in a natural or easy position upon it.

It may be allowed, that the chair which we consider the most
comfortable, that is, the chair which affords the most support
to the body, should, if made in proper proportions, be the best
for a delicate girU In such a chair, the seat should be scarcely
higher than the knees (thus permitting the whole of the foot to
rest on the floor), and of such a size, that on sitting back, the
upper part of the calves nearly touch it. This form of seat is
very different from that of the chair alluded to, the back of
which is also equally objectionable, for, instead of being in

♦ It must be almost unnecessary to remind the reader, that if the
knees are bent in standing or walking, there is a curve in th^ spine at
the same time.

248 Dr. Gorin": on Chevalier's

»

some degree shaped to the natural curves of the spine, it is
made nearly straight, and projects so as to push the head for-
wards. A delicate girl should always sit so as to rest against
the back of the chair, and, if the lower part of her spine is
weak, a small cushion will afford great relief. As it is quite a
mistake to suppose that the shoulders^ if raised in any other
way than by the action of the muscles, or by the curvature of
the spine and ribs, will continue high, there is no real objection
to a girl who is delicate being supported by an arm-chair ; for,
by occasionally resting on the elbows, a considerable weight is
taken off from that part of the spine which is the most likely
to yield.

These observations refer only to the manner in which delicate
girls, whose spines are still straight, should sit : when the spine
is actually distorted, it will be necessary to use other means.

A Critique on the Aplanatic Object-Glasses, for diverging
Rays, 0/ Vincent Chevalier, aine et fils. By C. R. Goring,
M.D.

The curiosity of many will doubtless be excited, as to what our
neighbours, the French, ever foremost in the pursuit of glory,
both in arts and arms, have been doing in the affair of achroma-
tic object-glasses for microscopes. With the highest satisfac-
tion I find myself enabled to state, that Messieurs Chevalier,
(aine et fils,) No. 69, Quai de I'Horloge, Paris, have rivalled
our own artists, in this branch of the manufacture of optical
instruments.

Mr. J. Lister, actuated by a most laudable zeal for the pro-
secution and advancement of optical science, as it concerns
microscopes, caused me to order for him one of Messrs. Che-
vaher's instruments, in Mr. W, Tulley's name ; for, as Mr. L.
wished that Messrs. C.'s pretensions should be fairly and tho-
roughly scrutinized, it was but fair that the latter gentlemen
should be stimulated to do their utmost, by a consideration of
the science of their customer. A critical examination of the
object-glasses of this instrument (for making which every facility
was afforded me by Mr. L.), forms the subjectof the present paper.

Aplanatic Object-glasses. 249

I here, then, enter upon the discussion of the merits and
demerits of the objectives of the said instrument*, these
being much more perfected than those of another, of previous
make, which I saw in the possession of Mr. Howship, of Great
George-street, Hanover-square, to whom I received a letter of
recommendation from Mr. Spilsbury, of Ball-Haye. To the
signal politeness of these gentlemen, in furthering my views, I
Jim greatly indebted.

Four object-glasses accompany Messrs. Chevaliers' instru*
ments (at least those marked perfectionnes,) usually rated at
the following foci : 14 French lines, 10 ditto, 4 and 4 : the twO
Jatter combine together at will, and give a focus of two lines.

14.) Focus about 1.42 of an English inch, clear aperture
0.31, original aperture as reduced by a stop, 0.10. ' vii^t

It is perfectly achromatic with its clear aperture, and may
be used without a stop on most transparent objects ; requires
to be cut off to 0.23, to give the necessary distinctness for
opaque ones. — (AVhen I speak of the apertures which C.'s lenses
will bear, I must be understood, here and elsewhere, only with
regard to the middle of the field of view y or rather that part of
it where the distinctness is greatest f, for double object-glasses
give the central rays only correct, and confuse the oblique one^
very much„ for which reason, conjoined with the small aper-
tures they admit of, they were abandoned by Mr. Tulley,
for the triple construction, the true and regular form for the
microscope.) — There is an excess of spherical aberration in
convex lenses ; neither are the glasses well ground, or centered,
or duly adjusted. The concave of this object-glass is tar-
nished, and there are traces of seediness in the cement, which
is, indeed, to be seen more or less in the whole of them.

10.) Focus about 0.91, clear aperture 0.23, original stop
0.09.

» The objects employed by me in looking into the defects and excel-
lencies of these glasses, were an artificial star, and a piece of enamelled
dial-plate, the phenomena presented hy which, when put out of focus ^
incontestably warrant the judgment I have pronounced upon them, as
any true optician will admit.

t When an object-glass is out of adjustment, its maximum of distinct-
ness is not in the centre of the field of view, but somewhere else, accord-
ing to circumstances.

250 Dr. Goring on Chevaliers

This object-glass is under corrected in point of colour, and
wants to be made longer in the focus to be achromatic. The
excess of uncorrected spherical aberration is in the convex lens ;
the glasses are not well ground, centered, or adjusted ; the same
appearance of tarnish as in 14 ; bears its clear aperture for the
middle of the field on most transparent objects, but must be
cut off to 0.2 for opaque ones.

Both of these object-glasses are ineffective upon test objects,
from want of sufficient power and aperture.

4.) Focus about 0.43, clear aperture 0.23, original stop
0.09, perfectly achromatic. The uncorrected spherical aber-
ration is in the concave ; centering and grinding very fine, but
in very bad adjustment ; shows some transparent test-objects
pretty well with its clear aperture, and, cut off to about 0.16,
performs Avell on many opaque oties.

2.) Focus about 4.7, clear aperture 0.21, no stop, perfectly
achromatic, surplus of spherical aberration in the concave as
before ; centering and grinding very fine ; adjustment tolerable j
in other respects very similar to 4. This object-glass being
adjusted, does more singly on test-objects than any other, and
carries an aperture of 0.16 well on opaque bodies, showing the
lines on the diamond-beetle's scales strong and well cut out.

Coji^bination of 4 find 2 — (quadruple.)

I am happy to be able to speak in terms of almost unquali-
fied approbation of this composition. It, of course, surpasses
the performance of any single triple-glass, on those test-objects
which require extravagant angles of aperture. The field also
is good all over, or at least would be, if the glasses were in
adjustment, which is the only drawback upon it. The focus
of the combination is only 0.26, yet it performs admirably on
transparent test-objects with its naked aperture of 0.23, and is
very fine on opaque ones with 0.16, and doubtless would carry
0.2, if the adjustment was duly carried into effect.

Messrs. C. have, I think, most assuredly here hit upon one.
of the very best compositions for the object-glass of a micro-
scope; all the imperfections of double object-glasses, taken
singly, are here done away, while their thinness and agglutina-
tion into one mass allows of their combining together almost
as if they were simple plano-convex lenses, leaving moreover
abundance of space for the illumination of opaque bodies.

Aplanafic Object-glasses. 251

I must here state, that Messrs. C 's object-glasses are ali
stuck together, I beUeve, with fused gum-mastic, or, perhaps,
with very thick mastic varnish. This practice seems, in theory,
to be bad, most especially if the curves united together are not
of the same radius ; nevertheless, practically speaking, the
process of soldering seems to me to do more good, by thei obli-«
teration of two surfaces, and by keeping the glasses immov-*
ably adjusted, than harm in any other way. I cannot, in fact,
discover any very sensible difference in the optical performance
of these small achromatics, whether stuck together or not. I
fancy that they have a little more light and clearness when
cemented, (as they certainly should have,) but cannot be very
positive. I hold it as a maxim in practical optics, as in our
common law, ** de rebus non apparentibus etaon existentibus
eadem est ratio."

I may observe, that Mr. Lister has combined that marked
10, with 4, and finds the performance proportional to that of
4 and 2.

It will be remarked that Messrs. C, from an apparent igno*
ranee of the value of aperture, and perhaps impressed with the
too common and prevalent idea, that, having once obtained
distinctness and achromatism in their object-glasses, every
thing else might be accomplished by a condensation of artificial
light, have reduced their apertures to such a degree, tis to
render their instrument as ineffective upon test-objects as a
common compound ; for when the opening of an aplanatic glass
is cut off to the same diameter as a common one, it shows
nothing more, though it will certainly exhibit objects far more
satisfactorily. Upon the apertures of microscopic lenses their
effects entirely depend, as was remarked a long time ago by the
great Huygens. An achromatic glass is more valuable thaii
another, merely on account of the larger aperture it will bear<
without causing aberration, and consequent indistinctness.
Those who are in possession of Messrs. C.'s microscopes should
get the stop behind the object-glasses turned out, and procure
others to be used ad libitum, according to what the goodness
of the object-glasses will permit.

I feel myself called upon, however, to state, that, since th^
completion of Mr. L.'s microscope, Messrs. C. have enlarged th^

252 Dr. Goring on Chevalier's

apertures of their object-glasses to the requisite angle, and have
moi'eo\er arrived at the true method of adjusting them, so that
they are now free from those objections which appUed to Mr.
Lister's, and are in all respects unexceptionably finished.

I know not if any dispute will ever arise hereafter, as to who
is to be considered as the original maker of effective aplanatic
object-glasses for microscopes *. It is of very little consequence
in the present instance, for it so happens that Mr. Tulley and
Messrs. Chevalier have been so totally unconnected with each
other, and have worked upon such totally different principles,
that it must be evident, on the most superficial consideration,
that both are entitled to the honour ; nevertheless I apprehend
it can be proved that Mr. Tulley made an effective one before
'the Chevaliers, having completed his in March 1824. The
date affixed by Chevalier to his first instrument is 1825t.

It requires moreover a stretch of complaisance, not to be ex-
pected on this side the Channel, to be enabled to admit that the
best double object-glass is {taken singly) effective ; or that, in
consequence, Chevalier made an effective one until he had en-
larged his apertures, and combined two together']^, which combi*
nation is not to be met with in his primitive instruments. Mr.
Lister, (to whom the public is mainly indebted for the pre-
sent eclaircissement concerning Chevalier''s instrument,) has,
by a peculiar method of his own discovery, measured the

* The question must naturally resolve itself into this point, for achro-
tnatics for microscopes, (as they are called,) were made by Dollond,
Martin, and Pollard, many years ago ; the only objection to them was,
that they were not effective, consequently, nominal only, and useless. I
defy any man to produce an effective object-glass, which can satisfac-
torily be proved to have been made before 1824.

+ See ihefirst instruction published by Messrs. C. along with their
microscopes : " Microscope Achromatique selon Euler," &c. I appre-
hend there is a misdate in Messrs. C.'s letter at the end of this paper,
where they state they have made the achromatics since 1824, with four
objectives, which implies that they also made them before that period,
but in another way.

X Mr. C. Tulley recommended the combination of two achromatics
together from nearly the beginning of his son W.'s labours upon them,
who rejected the idea, together with myself, as giving rise to too great a
complication, always supposing that triple glasses must be used. I
myself combined two triple achromatics together, for experiment salve, in
a very early stage of our proceedings, but liked not the result, though
effects were certainly produced by the composition, which could not be
obtained from the best individual triple one.

Aplanatic Object-glasses, 258

c urves, thicknesses, and diameter, &c. of that marked 14,- which
I here give (unfortunately one of the least effective of the set,)
however, in all probability, the rest are constructed on the same
principle ; the annexed drawing by Mr. L. will sufficiently
explain itself. Nothing can surpass the beautiful simplicity of

Chevalier's, or rather Euler's, curves, which, it will be ob-
served, are all alike*. The production of cZeep achroma tics
must ever be a task of some difficulty, even to those who
thoroughly understand their humours and punctilios ; and un-
scientific artists will, I think, be much more likely to succeed
on the French plan, than the English one. Two double object-
glasses, by themselves, are very poor things ; but, when com-
bined, perform admirably, and will, I believe, (if the three
curves are of equal radii,) be far more easily executed than
one of the triple TuUeian construction. The dense flint-glass
of Guenard, or Frauenhofer, however, will be an indispensable
requisite, from the nature of the curvatures. A triple Tulleian
object-glass, and a thin double one of Chevalier, (a composition
first conceived and adopted by Mr. Lister,) form an excellent
combination, and give a very vivid light, without softness,
dulness, or nebulosity. This, I think, is the extreme number
of glasses which ought to be tolerated. Let it never be for-
gotten, that a really good triple glass will bear an aperture
quite sufficient far ninety-nine objects out of a hundred. I
myself denounce the practice of combining glasses together,
in all those cases where they are capable of doing their work
alone, I shall always consider it as a clumsy, bungling, and
unworkmanlike method of obtaining a short focus, combined

♦- The theory on which these object-fi;lasses are constructed is con-
tained in a paper of Euler's, published at St. Petersburgh, in 1 774.
Messrs. Chevalier have caused it to be inserted entire in the '* Bulletin
de la Societe d' Encouragement de Paris'," No. C!CLIV., for Aug. 1825.

OCT.— DEC 1827, S

254 Dr. Goring on Chevalier's

with a large angle of aperture. If a man aims at perfection,
and wishes to distinguish himself in this branch of optics, let
it be done by working perfect triple glasses of 0.2 and 0.3 inch
focus, with 0.1 and 0.15 of perfect aperture, like those of
Mr, W. Tulley and Mr. Dollond, or deeper still, if he is able ;
and it is with the most cordial satisfaction that I am enabled
to inform my readers, that Messrs. Chevalier (duly appre-
ciating the regular triple construction as the true form for
the microscope) have applied themselves diligently to the
manufacture of this species of objective, from which they have
already had excellent results. It is a fundamental principle, that
all superfluous refractions and reflections are to be avoided in
the construction of optical instruments. As a radical reformer of
microscopes, I can tolerate no abuses in them, or show any
quarter to their abettors. Messrs. Chevalier have also under-
taken the manufacture of achromatic and catadioptric micro-
scopes, after the fashion of those made by Professor Amici, of
Modena, which were so much and so justly admired by the
cognoscenti of this country.

It only remains for me to observe, that though two double-
cemented object-glasses form the most perfect combination
from the fewness of their surfaces, and consequent brightness
of their image, yet a fusion between the Tulleian and Eulerian
constructions seems to be the most convenient for general use ;
by this, of course, I mean a triple glass with a double one,
to apply before it occasionally, a la Lister. Mr. Dollond and
Messrs. C. have demonstrated that two object-glasses may be
combined with the best effect, which are both good, and work
well separately ; but Mr. Tulley has constructed a double
one, which, useless by itself, when applied over a triple one,
(made to act singly,) corrects that excess of spherical aberra-
tion in the concave lens, (by its own excess in the convex,)
which, when the aperture is large, is the eternal vice of all the
best single and compound object-glasses for diverging rays
which I ever saw. This is perhaps the ultimatum of improve-
ment, though a quadruple one, on the same plan, might have
the advantage in greater light and clearness, from its simpli-
city, and the paucity of its surfaces.

The quadruple or quintuple object-glasses are those which

Aplanatlc Ohject-gtasses, 255

are best adapted for the solar microscope, for they give a full-
sized field of view to this instrument, good to the edges, which
no single object-glass will do, as I have had occasion to remark
in my paper on Mr. Tulley's aplanatics, unless converted into
a compound, by means of eye-glasses, &c. This popular and
highly amusing instrument will now receive the utmost refor-
mation and improvement of which it is capable, and become
truly scientific in its construction : hitherto it has been a mere
toy, but one degree removed from a magic lantern.

I shall now allow Messrs. C. to say what they can for them-
selves, and to detail the various modifications which they have
introduced into their instruments, since they executed Mr.
Lister's order, by giving a translation of a letter I have received
from them on the subject, and shall conclude by expressing a
hope that no national or illiberal feeling has entered into the
composition of this critique, and that I have used my oil,
vinegar, and pepper in correct proportions.

** Paris, Oct, 15.
" Sir,

** Accept our thanks for your extreme complaisance in offer-
ing to publish the results obtained by us in the construction of
microscopes. Since the order executed for Mr. Lister, we have
improved those instruments last completed, by greatly enlarg-
ing the diameter of the illuminating mirror, in order to obtain
still greater light. The prism for opaque bodies is diminished
about one half, and by a small modification in its mounting
is rendered more serviceable : the diminution of the length of
the body has enabled us to augment the magnifying powers by
different eye-glasses, and the four double object-glasses placed
in a better mounting can be used separately or in super-
position, according to the pleasure of the observer, either to
form quadruple objectives, or even to combine in a mass toge-
ther. This last arrangement produces a great accession of
magnifying power, without injuring the clearness of the image
or arresting much light.

*' You see. Sir, that we have the pleasure of coinciding per-
fectly in your opinions about improvements, for we adopt the
quadruple object-glass as the best, and we give three changes

S 2

256 Dr. Gorino- on Chevaliet-'s

o

of eye-pieces. The double motion given to the body of a
microscope is, in our idea, the defect of all those hitherto con-
structed ; for, as the optical part should remain perfectly centred
with the mirror and the diaphragms, it is evident that the
least derangement of it from this position must destroy the
perfection of the image : the stage then only should move*
without affecting the diaphragms or the mirror, and in this we

* This is the theoretical view of the case, the practical one is different,
as frequently happens. Opaque objects are not affected at all by the
eccentricity of the axis of the body : nor can I recollect that I ever felt
any particular inconvenience from the motion of the optical part, even
with transparent subjects, unless it was thrown very much indeed out
of the axis of the illuminating mirror. On the other hand, it is notorious
that living aquatic insects and animalcules are the most popular and
entertaining objects which microscopes can show. These are, for the
most part, abundantly restless ; and if the stage on which they are placed
has any motion, their natural unquietness is so much exasperated, that
it becomes almost impossible to get a good observation of them at all. I
once set to work at making some drawings of a variety of new and ori-
ginal objects of this class (which, I trust, will one day be published) with
a microscope having all the requisite motions applied to its stage, and am
confident that I had thrice the labour fairly appropriate to the execution
of my task from this oversight. The very tremor produced by the transi-
tion of a carriage in the street, is frequently sufficient to unsettle live
objects when disposed to be still and quiet, and put them in a fidget for
a quarter of an hour. It is very unfortunate that the mountings of
optical instruments are made in general by mere mechanics, who seldom
or never observe with them, and consequently know not the exigencies
which occur in practice. It is still more unfortunate, that in the science
of fitting up microscopes, an ounce of a man's own wit is worth about a
ton of his neighbour's. Was it not that I
dislike to verify this adage myself, I should
recommend the following motion to be ap-
plied to the body : — let the socket of the
arm which carries it have a smooth rotatory
motion on the head of the bar in the usual
way, conjoined with another horizontal one
produced by rack work attached to the said
socket. Let the pinion which belongs to the
latter movement be made very strong, so
that a lever about three inches long may
project from its centre: this is to be held
in the hand, the thumb and index finger ope-
rating on the rackwork, while the two little
fingers give a rotatoiy motion by working the lever end. This rapid
double motion is here completely under the command of one hand, while
the other is at liberty to adjust the focus. I know of nothing better
for general purjDOses, or in particular for following the motions of live
insects, &c. ; but when only inanimate ones are to be the subject of mi-
croscopical study, I prefer the motion of the stage, for the reasons stated
by Mons. C.

Aplanatic Object-glasses. 257

have well succeeded in the construction of the microscope of
Sig. Amici. But all these arrangements much augment the
price, and an observer ever so little practised will always find
the object easily enough by means of his hands.

** The prices of our achromatic microscopes are as follows: — -

'• Achromatic microscope, like Mr. Lister's — 300 francs.

"The same, with the latest improvements, three eye-pieces,
and camera lucida for drawing the magnified objects — 400
francs.

" Amician Microscope, one horizontal achromatic, the stage
giving all the motions to the object, with a micrometer screw,
five eye-pieces, two camera lucidas, hand magnifier, frog
trough, accessary apparatus, &c. One catadioptric microscope^
mounted on the same stand, and adapting itself to the same
apparatus ; the two instruments inclosed in a mahogany case —
1000 francs.

** We trust that the very moderate prices of these instruments,
together with the care which we bestow on their construction,
will procure us orders for them. Their superiority has been
duly recognized by the jury of the Exhibition of the Products
of Industry, which has been pleased to decree to us a silver
medal.

** The Amician achromatic microscope is composed of a tube
seven inches long, at the extremity of which is placed a prism,
which reflects at a right angle the rays which come from the
object-glass, composed {as in our microscopes executed since
]824) of four double object-glasses, which may be used sepa-
rately, or two, three, or four at a time. The stand is a square
bar, which has a rackwork, carrying a moveable stage,
which, by means of adjusting screws ingeniously disposed,
permits an object to traverse the field of view in every direction.
This disposition gives the power of determining the real dimen-
sions of objects submitted to observation by means of the
micrometer screw, which is placed at the side, while the camera
lucida affords the means of drawing their outline, and conse-
quently of measuring the magnifying power.

The rays proceeding from the object which have passed the
object-glass, and have been rendered horizontal by the prism, are
received, by different eye-pieces disposed after the manner of

258 Mr. M 'Mullen on the Existence of Chlorine

Ramsden. Their power can be varied. Each instrument
carries six, five of which can be attached at pleasure either to
the catadioptric or the achromatic. The deepest belonging to
the reflector is a single lens of half a French line focus, and the
most powerful of the achromatic is a line and a half.

" Such, we think, are the details which you required : we
wish that they may prove agreeable to you,

"We beg you to accept the assurance of the high considera-
tion with which we are, Sir,

♦' Your very devoted Servants,

*' Vincent Chevalier, aine et fils,"

**69, Quai de THorloge:"

On the Existence of Chlorine in the Native Black Oxide of
Manganese. By John M'Mullen, Esq.

In the paper relating to this subject, which the editors of the
Quarterly Journal of Science obligingly inserted in the forty-
fourth number of that work, I described some experiments
which I had made, to show that chlorine is uniformly evolved
from the Native Black Oxide of Manganese by the action of sul-
phuric acid, under certain circumstances, which I endeavoured
to detail with strict accuracy, so as to prevent any mistake or
failure in the event of the experiment being repeated.

Upon this paper Mr. Richard Phillips has made some obser-
vations in the Philosophical Magazine and Annals of Philoso-
phy for April last, to which I am desirous of briefly adverting.
He says, " Mr. M'MuUen having observed, when sulphuric
acid is added to peroxide of manganese, that chlorine is evolved,
he conceived it might be derived from an admixture of muriate
of manganese, iron, or copper ; but having washed some of the
peroxide of manganese with water, he did not find that any
chloride of silver was precipitable from it ; he, therefore, con-
cluded that the peroxide in question contained no muriatic
salt." If Mr. Phillips will take the trouble to refer to my
paper, he will find that this is by no means the statement which
it contains. I obser\ ed that, in order to separate any soluble

in the Native Black Oxide of Manganese, 259

muriates which the oxide used might, in the first instance, have
contained, '* I washed it every day, for three weeks successively,
using sometimes hot and sometimes cold water : at the end of
that time J I tested the water, which was then decanted from the
washed manganese, by the nitrate of silver, but without finding
the slightest appearance of precipitated chloride. I, then poured
upon the manganese four times its weight of dilute sulphuric
acid ; allowed the mixture to stand for about four lueeks, occa-
sionally agitating it, and at the end of that time, found, when
the dilute acid, now of a deep crimson colour, was removed
from the subsident manganese, and the latter agitated, that the
most decisive evidence of the presence of chlorine was exhibited
ia the vapour evolved from it." I stated further, that I had
*' carefully preserved this particular mixture, and that after
a lapse of more than twelve months, the residuary manganese,
when the supernatant acid was removed, continued to evolve
chlorine."

In this experiment my object was effectually to purify the
manganese used from any soluble muriate which might by
possibility have been mixed with it : I did not, however, test
the water first used in washing it, but merely that which was
la^t removed from it.

Mr. Phillips proceeds to observe that he had prepared some
observations, and at considerable length, to prove that the
author of the above paper has been completely misled by "forced
analogies" and '^erroneous experiments ;" but that it afterwards
occurred to him, that it would be better to show, in a few words,
the real source of the chlorine in question, the evolution of
which from peroxide of manganese he had noticed some time
previous to the publication of my papers. That with this view
he had procured various specimens of the peroxide of manga-
nese, (one of them in the crystallized state,) which were reduced
to powder, and on the addition of sulphuric acid, chlorine was
evolved from each. That he then washed separate portions of
them with distilled water, and on the addition of nitrate of
silver to the washings, chloride of silver was immediately preci-
pitated : sulphuric acid being poured upon the washed peroxide,
no chlorine whatever was evolved. That he further added
sulphuric acid to an unwashed portion, and to one which had

260 Mr. M 'Mullen, on the Existence of Chlorine

been washed, and referred both to a bystander, who immedi-
ately detected the odour of chlorine in the former, but not in
the latter. He then proceeds to show that the specimens of
manganese which he had made the subject of this experiment
contained a portion of lime, and he infers that the black oxide
of manganese consequently contains muriate of Hme.

Mr. Phillips asserts that I have been misled by erroneous
experiments. My reply is, that the experiment to which he
refers, and which I have recapitulated, was carefully made,
and is truly and faithfully detailed. In what, then, is it erro-
neous ? It is not incompatible with that which he has produced
as a refutation of it, inasmuch as he did not wait the result for
which the perusal of my statement should have prepared him,
and which he clearly should not have anticipated. He states
that chlorine was not evolved from washed manganese at the
instant when sulphuric acid was affused upon it. This is not
a contradiction of my statement : I affirmed that, after washed
manganese had been exposed to the action of sulphuric acid
for a very considerable period, I distinctly observed the evolu-
tion of chlorine, and that for twelve months afterwards, under
the circumstances detailed, this continued to be the case : — all
this I deliberately re-assert. I have frequently met with spe-
cimens of manganese which, upon the first affusion of sulphuric
acid, gave off chlorine ; but in general, as far as my experience
goes, this is not the case : were it of uniform occurrence, and
that the mixture of sulphuric acid and oxide of manganese
rendered chlorine evident to the smell, the fact could not have
remained unnoticed till now.

The observations of Mr. Phillips, to which I now refer, did
not come into my hands till about three weeks ago. It fortu-
nately happened that I had still preserved the specimen of
washed manganese upon which sulphuric acid had been affused,
under the circumstances already recapitulated, and it occurred
to me that this would afford occasion, as decisive as I could
desire, to put the accuracy of my original experiment, and the
conclusions drawn from it, to further proof I am bound to
premise that this specimen of manganese, after having been in
the first instance washed and subjected to the action of sul-
phuric acid, as already mentioned, has ever since remained in

in the Native Black Oxide of Mainjancse. 261

the vessel in which the experiment was at first made, covered
with dilute sulphuric acid,— ^a period of more than eighteen
months ; and it will scarcely be doubted that, in the course of
that long interval, afty muriate of lime which it might have
originally contained mwst have been thoroughly decomposed.
Upon removing the supernatant acid, the residuary manganese
gave sensible evidence of the presence of chlorine ; paper
stained with the solution of indigo in sulphuric acid was readily
bleached by it, &c. I now proceeded to wash the manganese
in pure water, and continued to do so until the acid was no
longer perceptible to the taste. I then washed it three times
successivel)! with distilled water, and after decanting off the
fluid of the last washing as closely as possible, added pure sul-
phuric acid in considerable quantity, and stirred the mixture
thoroughly, after it had cooled, with a glass rod. At this time
no vapour of chlorine was evident either to the smell or to the
usual tests. The mixture was then set aside, and allowed to
stand undisturbed for ten days : at the end of that time, when
the acid was poured off, and the subsident manganese agitated,
the vapour of chlorine was as distinctly manifest as when it
was first subjected to experiment more than a year and a half
ago.
Dublin, June 11, 1827.

Modern Improvements of Horticulture,

That gardening has always been one of the most natural, as
well as the most useful occupations of mankind, is obvious :
that it has advanced — been retarded — or flourished, according
as general taste or wants, or peculiar political, moral, or local
circumstances, were favourable or adverse, is also sufficiently
evident from all historical testimony ; — but in no age has it
advanced with such rapid strides towards perfection as it has
done within the last fifty years. To bring the modern improve-
ments in array before the reader,-— to estimate their advantages
in a public and private point of view, — to look fonvard from
our present elevated station to the probable results of continued
and extended appUcation,— may be an amusing, if not an

262 On Modern Imjnovements of Horticulture,

useful inquiry : it may tend to remove barriers which are only
imaginary, and by freeing the thinking powers of practitioners
from the trammels of custom, lead them forward into that
expanse of operative freedom, where much remains for the
exercise of the inquiring mind, and experimental hand, in
exploring the yet untrodden field of practicability, and calling
forth the still latent powers and susceptibilities of pregnant
nature.

When we turn to the history of the first ages, we hear of
a garden as soon as we hear of man ; and though, from the
paucity of description, we can only form ideas of such a place
from the effusions of the poet, rather than from the detail of
the historian, yet, in judging from what still appears of abori-
ginal scenery, we may conclude with Milton that a garden was
a place,

*' A happy rural seat of various views ;

Groves whose rich trees wept odorous gums and balm ;

Others whose fruit, burnished with golden rind.

Hung amiable, and of delicious taste :

Betwixt them lawns — or the flow'ry lap

Of some irriguous valley spread her store." — Par. Lost.

If such a place, it required care to rear the tender — to check
the luxuriant — correct the irregular — to support the burdened
— extirpate the noisome weed — and repulse the browsing ani-
mal. Such was the only occupation of the first gardeners : for
in those highly-favoured spots, those natural paradises, (some
of which still remain in India,) where the groves which formed
the habitations also supplied the simple food of the inhabitants ;
where the cocoa-nut *, with its various liquors, abounded ;

* The cocoa palm is rather a gigantic herb than a tree : the stem rises
to a great height, of a strongly tough fibrous substance, but never so
indurated as timber, though it is used in the construction of houses. It
has no branches ; but is crowned with from five to seven ample compound
leaves, forming an umbrella-like head. The spatha issues from the
centre, and soon falls pendent between and below the footstalks of the
leaves, where it flowers and ripens the fruit. The nut is enveloped in a
thick t)rown fibrous husk, which opens to shed it when fully ripe. The
nut, when opened, yields two liquids, which are nutritious, and accounted
delicacies : the first is the milk which runs out ; the next is the cream
which is procured by being scooped off the kernel with a spoon : this is
of tiiick consistence, and much resembles the cream of milk. After these
remains the perfectly-formed layer of kernel attached to the shell, and

On Modern Improvements of Horticulture, 263

where the date, the mango, tamarind, and lime dropped in
profusion into the hand ; where the melon tribe upon, and the
nutritious yam beneath the surface of the bountiful soil, were
all spontaneously suppHed without care, and without toil : — in
such circumstances, neither sagacity to contrive, nor ability to
perform, were necessary, further than collecting and preserving
those spontaneous gifts of nature. ,;. ;,;-;

But population increased; and when mankind became
translocated to regions less favourable to vegetation, and where
the spontaneous productions of the earth were insufficient fop
their subsistence, then the business of the planter and cultivator
became a necessary occupation ; and hence gardening would
begin to assume a systematic form.

As improvements, and the times in which they took place,
have descended together in continuous and collateral streams,
the narration may be divided into three periods, viz. : — From
the] earliest ages to the beginning of the sixteenth cen-
tury ; — from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the end
of the seventeenth; — and from that period to the present
time.

We have already hinted at what were probably natural, or
aboriginal gardens: the account is so far feasible from the
fact, that such places and productions may be met with on
the peninsula of India, at the present day: true it is, they
cultivate rice, and some few inferior plants, where they have
opportunity, and use them along with their wild fruits ; but
when they cannot procure these cultivated necessaries, (which
sometimes happens,) they must rely on the natural productions.
It is necessary to add, that some of the castes, from religious
principle, abhor the use of almost any kind of animal food;
and, therefore, vegetables are their sole support.

From Egyptian and Jewish history, we learn that gardens

which is used along with the liquids as an article of food. But another
mo!;it pleasant beverage, called toddy, is obtained from this palm, and
which constitutes the chief value of the plant. The fruit is sacrificed to
procure this : soon as the frond becomes pendent, the extremity is tfut
off, and a narrow- necked vessel is slung thereto to receive the streaming
sap. This, both before and after being fermented, is an agreeable and
refreshing drink. It also yields an ardent spirit b/ distillation, but of
which the natives deny themseLves the use,

2G4 On Modern Improvements of Horticulture,

were an appendage of the palaces of their princes, and other
great men, for personal solace and gratification ; but how far
the art was systeipatized, either in knowledge or practice, history
is silent. Throughout the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and
Macedonian empires, we learn but little more than that orna-
mental gardening was carried to an extravagant height in their
artificial formation ; insomuch that one of the Babylonian princes
built what were called ** hanging gardens," that is, a vast and
lofty pyramidal structure on arches, arcades with terraces
surmounted by other arcades, and carried up in gradations to
a great height. The terraces being planted with the choicest
trees, presented to the distant spectator a verdant hill of foliage
in the midst of a large city, and lifted the sovereign proprietor
far above the noise and intrusive notice of his vassals below ; at
the same time, yielding him all the sweets, seclusion, and quiet
of the country, even in the purlieu of his palace ! The idea of
such an ornamented and elevated structure for a mighty sove-
reign was certainly sublime, and far surpassing all that has
been yet done (though it has been suggested by Mr. Loudon)
in the western world ; and though only a monument of wealth
and personal pride, prompted by conjugal regard, and entirely
artificial, was certainly proper for the place where it -stood,
worthy of the prince who erected, and the extensive empire to
which it belonged.

Throughout a long-following period, and up to the time of
the Romans, we learn nothing particular respecting gardens,
only, that among the Jews, they had gardens for herbs, vine-
yards, and even gardens for cucumbers : but as frequent allu-
sions are made to them, it is probable that gardening had then
become a distinct calling, as we find it was among the Romans,
as soon as their extensive conquests were secured.

As the arts and arms of the Romans went together, no
doubt a very wide circulation of all that was known of garden-
ing in Italy, was transferred thence. Their writers on rural
affairs preferred agri to /ior^zculture ; but their sound know-
ledge of the former shews no inconsiderable share of acquain-
tance with the principles of the latter ; and as their practice,
as well as the seeds of their products, would be introduced
wherever the climate permitted, it is more than probable they

Pn Modern Improvements of Horticulture. 265

laid the foundation of British gardening. The rules and ex-
amples left by them, were probably continued, with occasional
accessions to the stock both of practice and production, through-
out the Heptarchy, the domination of the Saxons, Danes, and
Normans : but these troublous times were not favourable to
the prosecution of the arts of peace ; and it is not likely much
advancement in the art took place until the Norman power
was fully established ; and even then their castellated mansions
precluded any extensive adaptation of garden, from the neces-
sity of forming the glacis, for the greater security of the baro-
nial hall : and though it is probable that, at this time, not a
dwelling, from the regal palace to the cottage, but had a gar-
den of some size or other, yet the best practice was confined to
the monasteries, and other religious corporations of those days,
all over Christendom. Their education and leisure, their foreign
intercourse, their interest in the tithes, and their love of superior
vegetables and condiments, on the many days they were restricted
from indulging in the consumption of animal food, all contributed
to incline the monks to prosecute gardening on the most approved
plans. Thus, Italy, Spain, and Germany became famous for
their superior culinary vegetables, as France was for improved
fruits ; indeed, when war depopulated or devastated a country,
and when the gardens of the ch-^teau became a sacrifice to
offensive or defensive operations, and when the potageries of
the hamlets were trodden under foot and destroyed by a licen-
tious soldiery, the gardens of the religious houses were often
spared, and, consequently, many roots and fruits found there
an asylum, which was denied them in less privileged places.

In looking over the lists of plants cultivated in those days,
we fmd the names of a great majority of the common sorts
now in use, as well culinary, as for the table or the press, with
a great addition of physical plants, it being then a prevalent
supposition that remedies for all the ailments of the human
frame were existent in the vegetable kingdom, if they could be
detected ; the cultivation and gathering of simples, therefore,
was a business which employed many heads and many hands :
even the Corinthian pillars of the noble profession of physic
were not entirely free from that malaria, which was generated
in the fumes of the herbalist's shop 1

266 On Modern Improvements of Horticulture.

Ornamental gardening had hardly showed its graceful head ;
the little that had been done of this in England, was only in
imitation of the Italian school, though without their accompa-
niments of splendid architecture, classical sculpture, and costly
fountains. Such a style, in the near neighbourhood of a
palace or mansion, is imposing and suitable, but the outskirts
of such gardens, which should have been gradually blended
with and into the free and beautiful forms of nature, were
bounded and deformed by tortuous labyrinths, by complicated
folds of nicely-clipped hedges, involving each other for no pur-
pose than affording seclusion from the " licentious eye," or a
" maze to the intruding foot."

It may be observed as somewhat unaccountable, the excel-
lent taste of their landscape painters was never transferred from
the canvass to their style of ornamental gardening. But so it
was : the people who had all kinds of assistance from artists
of the first order, and from classical and picturesque associa-
tion within their own territory, long remained blind to what
was so natural and so manifestly within their reach !

In useful and profitable gardening, the fine climate of Italy
gave great facility for successful cultivation of a profusion of
the finest fruits, and being an advanced post for the reception
of all valuable plants from both Asia and Africa, it much
sooner than other European countries possessed culinary vege-
tables in great variety, and of salad-herbs a numerous list.

From the commencement of the sixteenth century the im-
provements in gardening began to take the form of a system.
The increasing splendour of the English court, during the reigns
of the virgin queen and her father, and the princely establish-
ments of some of her courtiers, called the art of gardening into
notice and repute, and gave an impulse to the yet dormant
powers of horticultural practicability. Continental artists were
generally employed in laying out the greater works. The sura
of their professional ability was chiefly geometrical, an exact
knowledge of straight lines, squares, and curves ; they could
line out a polygonal basin to a hair's breadth, and construct a
many-tiered jet d'eau in the midst. Such, however, were the
principal features admitted into, and which constituted the style
of those days, and continued through that and the succeeding

On Modern Improvements of Horticulture. 267

century. In the latter (the seventeenth), and during the
domestic broils which then convulsed the kingdoms, gardening
appears to have been, as to style, almost stationary. In the
mean time, however, the Reformation had been silently working
salutary effects, not only in the deliverance of men from a
servile religious thraldom, but also from the dogmas of prece-
dential custom, and by imbuing them with a spirit of inde-*
pendence with respect to others, gave, what was better, a self-^
dependence in exertion, whether of mind or action ; and, after
a few years of revolutionary excess, and abuse of this inesti-»
mable acquisition of mental freedom, at last, in 1688, settled
down into that rational state of composure, which, with few
interruptions, has happily remained to the present day.

Then it was that gardening, in all its branches, was patro-
nised and encouraged. Tournefort in France, and Ray in
England, enlightened the pubhc by their description, enuraera-»
tion, and classification of plants. Evelyn called attention to
the usefulness and national value of forest trees ; several
authors developed the mysteries of kitchen-garden and orchard
management ; collections of exotic plants were made, and
glass-cases built for their reception ; floriculture received a
share of the gardener's attention ; and in short, there seemed
to be, about this time, a general movement by united exertion
to gain what had been previously neglected, and complete
what had been only feebly attempted.

The accession of William and Mary to the British throne
very naturally introduced Dutch gardening and architecture/
The old Italian and French styles received very little, if any,
amendment. The avenue, the canal, the rectangular clumps
and borders, the shelves and slopes, the terrace, with its stairs,
were all maintained and extended, the whole surrounded by
exactly-clipped hedges, and bedotted with fanciful and unna-
turally cut trees. This expensive and ridiculous fashion had
its admirers for a time, but at last fell into disrepute, not by a
bull or anathema, but chiefly by the keen sarcasm of a Pope !

Kitchen-gardens were improved by additional brick-walls
for the more delicate kinds of fruit, as vines, figs, peaches^
nectarins, apricots, &c. Hot-beds were in general use, and
many hot-houses were erected for different kinds of the above

268 On Modern Lnprovements of Horticulture.

as well as for the pine-apple. In those clays our fruit-lists
contained twenty sorts, of which there were many varieties. Of
culinary vegetables there were, of roots eighteen, of shoots
four, of leaves fourteen, of flowers three, of seeds three, of pods
two, and of herbs for all purposes twenty-five.

From that period, the commencement of the eighteenth
century, every succeeding year brought forth new objects of
the gardener's care, and improved operations for his imitation.
The acquirements of natural science, radiating from such a
character as Sir Hans Sloane, whose theories were imbibed
and confirmed by the practical abilities of Philip Miller,
were, at that time, like the orb of day bursting from behind
a cloud ! Scientific light and practical life were shed on all
around, and the foundation was then laid, by their united
means, on which has been raised almost all the varied structure
of modern horticultural improvement. It would be impossible,
as needless, to give the names of the authors, who, from this
period, showed themselves in print on the subject of gardening,
for, were the respective merits of their literary labours noticed,
and the successive discoveries and advances chronicled, the
amount would be voluminous indeed. But the following cele-
brated names cannot, injustice to their memories, be omitted.
The great Linnaeus was deservedly at the head of the botanical
branch of gardening ; M iller, with his satellites, Gordon, Lee,
and Aiton were at that of practical botany, as well as of all
the other parts of operative gardening ; and, as a leading
orchardist, Kennedy, and many others on miscellaneous sub-
jects, produced respectable directories and kalendars.

The improvement of ornamental gardening kept pace with
that of the more useful. Soon as the old style of rigid forma-
lity had been exposed, it was exploded ; more refined prin-
ciples of taste prevailed ; its outlines became better defined ;
it was found that there are certain fixed principles in nature,
on which the elements of true taste are naturally (not caprici-.
ously) founded ; that delight and gratification to the eye, or
mind, can only arise from the harmony and fitness of the com-
binations of art or design ; that the sensations of beauty and
sublimity can only be conveyed by congruous associations of
parts to the whole ; and that ^the incidents found in conjunc-

On Modern Improvemen ts of Horticulture'^ 2G9

tion in nature should be the objects of imitation of the gar-
dener's, as they had long been that of the painter's art, with
this exception, that in the immediate vicinity of the mansion
as much of the old style should be retained as will harmonize
with the necessary artificial fa9ade of the architecture; but
soon as departed from these creations of art, let then appear
the varied flow of nature's devious garb.

The art of painting had, in the best schools, proceeded on
such principles, and the formation of real scenery was improved
from what was so prominent in the fictitious. Some painters,
even Claude Lorraine himself, have occasionally erred, from
what may be called exuberance of design, in producing extreme
effect, by introducing lights which never can be seen by day
or night, at dawn or twilight ; by trees which never existed,
and by forms* which had only an imaginary existence. Land-
scape gardeners, too, in the transition from the tame to the
more natural style, have run into error, by imitating admirable
incidents frequently seen in nature's works, forgetting that their
value springs entirely from their having happened by chance,
but, as works of art, lose all their interest, and become insigni-
ficant..

We are now arrived on the confines of our own times, of
which we will take a general view, and which will sufficiently
show the accumulated assemblage of horticultural objects, pro-
ductions, and knowledge ; and which will also give, what was
proposed, a comparative surveyof the extent of our improve-
ments.

And first, as. to the highest department. Botany. Before the
sexual system of Linnseus was fairly established, (though it
spread far and wide by the literaiy labours of Hudson, Lee,
Curtis, and several other able contemporary writers, both in
England and on the continent,) defects were found in it, and
not only as to the terms of distinction, but also to its bringing
together, in the classification, plants which appeared, from their

* In Martin's painting of the Paphian Bower, though a fine composi-
tion, the roots of the tree, on the left of the foreg;round, are too much
out of the ground. The accidental, exposure of roots on the bank of a
stream, or high-road, and their buttress-like departure from the trunk,
are legitimate objects for the pencil ; but their ramifications pourtrayed
on the surface of the ground, is as ridiculous as unnatural.

OCT.— DEC 1827. T

270 On Modern Improvements of Horticulture.

exterior habit and qualities, to have no natural affinity to each
other. This Linnaeus was aware of himself, and left some
fragments of a natural arrangement, but which he did not live
to complete. This, or the idea of it, however, was taken up
by Jussieu, a French botanist, and completed as far, perhaps,
as it can be ; and though, in our present botanical publications,
both systems are continued, yet it is likely that Jussieu^s sim-
plified system will, in time, supersede the other, though the
curious fact on which that of Linnasus was founded will never
be forgotten, because of its practical use in the amelioration of
fruits. Botanical publications, under the various names of
Hortuses, Floras, Monographs, and of every country and dis-
trict under the skies, and since the promulgation of Jussieu's
system, monographs, under the titles of Geraniaceae, Cistineae,
&c., flow in periodical floods from the press, crowd the book-
seller^s shelves, and thence find their way to every elegant
drawing-room in the kingdom.

This additional call on the business of the press, as well as
upon the talent of the artist, arises from the fashionable and
refined bias of the public taste for this rational and delightful
study. To extend botanical collections, and the desire to pos-
sess every vegetable beauty, pervaded the whole community :
hence expeditions to distant lands by collectors ; hence the
extension and encouragement of nursery business ; hence have
sprung up chartered societies and associations for the encou-
ragement of botany and gardening all over the realm ; so that
vegetable beauties and curiosities are now to be seen in British
collections, from every region of the known world.

Neither has the occult subject of botanical physiology been
neglected ; many curious facts connected with the organisation,
structure, functions, and qualities of plants, have been ascer-
tained : but still there remains much for the employment of the
naturalist's mind on this difficult subject.

Landscape gardening is not so much '' the rage" as it was
twenty or thirty years ago : national circumstances, perhaps,
may be the cause ; but its principles are much better under-
stood. The errors of Kent and Brown, and their followers,
have been corrected by the works and writings of Repton, and
the critiques of Knight and Price, whose theories have been

On Modern Improvements of Horticulture, 271

carried into practice by Loudon and others ; and nothing will
prevent the universal adoption of their principles, but the diffi-
culty of giving the foreground from home walks the extreme
degree of ruggedness so much admired, and even indispensable
to the painter. Fern, (unless we can introduce some uncommon
foreign variety,) burdock, kexes, cannot be admitted into dressed
ground ; nor have we any plants in cultivation which would well
answer the purpose ; true, we have the rhubarb, one or two sorts
of thistles, eryngiums, palma Christi, and gourds with their ample
leaves : but these would only appear intruders, and misplaced :
but much may be done by a judicious disposition of our com-
mon shrubs, so as to conceal the traces of the spade and line,
and give all our combinations of land, wood, and water that
flowing character, which is so true to nature, and so pleasing
to the refined eye of taste.

Floriculture, which has been imported from France and
Holland, is also intensely followed about London, as well as in
our manufacturing provinces. Authors have creditably ap-
peared in this line too ; and our annual blows of flowers, both
home-cultivated and imported, are at once rich and costly.
Tulips, hyacinths, narcissuses, ranunculuses, and anemones, are
the principal bed flowers : but roses, stocks, dahlias, chrysan-
themums, and even poppies, are out of number. Flowering
shrubs, both within and without doors, are eminently rich and
various, and astonish as much by the splendour of their colours
fits by their elegant forms and number.

Orcharding has declined during the last fifty years : first,
because of the gradual deterioration of the trees, and preca-
riousness of the crops ; next, from the improved way of agri-
cultural labourers' manner of living. This change renders the
use of small cider and perry less necessary in a farm-house,
causing an increased consumption of malt liquor; and this
again, occasioning a greater demand for barley, at once pleases
both the farmer and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Thus
the cultivation of orchard fruit (except cherries *) has greatly
fallen off; and the decayed state of the old, and difficulty of

• It is said that many of the Caroon chenies brought to Coventr
garden market, are bought up for the piu-pose of coloui'ing wine on the
Continent.

T 2

272 On Modern Improvements of Horticulture,

raising new orchards, has given a check to such exertion, ex-
cept in places at a distance from the metropolis, where orchards
have suffered less from decay, and where the habits of the
cider drinkers are more inveterate. Mr. Knight, the President
of the Horticultural Society, has written copiously on this sub-
ject, and very properly considers the cultivation of orchard
fruit as a national object ; and by his example has done as
much, nay, much more, than any other gentleman in the king-
dom, to restore our orchards to what they used to be, and what
they may be, — and it is hoped his excellent instructions will
not be thrown away.

Kitchen-gardening, the most important and useful branch
of the subject, next demands attention ; and here we are grati-
fied with a fine display of the efficacy of perseverance, the
success of experience, and the triumphs of skill. In every
month of the year, in spite of the winter's frost or summer's
sun, our tables are supplied with wholesome and agreeable
vegetables: — of roots we have fourteen sorts ; of stems, shoots,
and leaf-stalks, seven ; of leaves, eight ; of flowers, four : of
culinary fruits we have sixteen ; of seeds and pods, six ; of
condimental herbs we have twenty-nine ; and of herbs and
seeds for confections there are seven, besides various fruit : of
roots, leaves, flowers, and fruit, for salads, there are in cultiva-
tion twenty-two kinds ; and various sorts of plants for medicine
and distillation.

Of table-fruit there are above twenty different species, and
of these numberless varieties, extending to several hundreds,
or even thousands, of various excellency and value.

A few tropical and foreign fruits, not included in the above,
have been cultivated in tolerable perfection in Europe within
these few years, viz. the Chinese loquat and litchee, the cus-
tard apple, mangosteen, and mango, &c. ; and there is no
doubt, if these fruits could be worked on some hardier kindred
stock, and a suitable place formed for them in a stove, they
might be cultivated with the same success as the anana.

In the forcing department of gardening, wonders have been
accomplished. By this application of art, we appropriate to
ourselves an almost perfect imitation of any of the warmer cli-

On Modern Improvements of Horticulture, 273

mates : heat, that powerful agent in the development of vegeta-
tion, we can have in any degree, by stoves, by fermenting sub-
stances, and from the steam of boihng water : light, a no less
necessary agent in the maturation of fruits, we combine with
the former, by glazed houses and frames.

The various expedients for obtaining the necessary degree of
heat, are, first, the most simple method of a stove, with its flue
passing through or round the floor of the house, and this for
warming the air within ; but in this case, as the roots of the
plants do not suffiGiently, it is supposed, receive the proper
degree of heat, various fermenting substances, as recent stable-
yard dung, tanners' bark, oak and other leaves of trees, &c. are
formed into beds, on which the compost of earth is placed, as
in hot-bed frames, or in which the pots containing the plants
are placed, or plunged, as in a hot-house. To obtain the same
effect, borders within houses are formed for the roots, having
an excavated heat-chamber beneath, supplied by simple stove
flues, or from the fermenting substances above named, or from
steam admitted for the purpose. This mode of supplying an
equal degree of heat to the roots, as well as to the leaves and
branches of a plant, is plausible, and cannot be far wrong,
because it has been attended with success: but there is,
perhaps, more attributed to it than it deserves, because the
region or stratum of the soil, which is naturally occupied by
roots, differs, in respect of temperature, much less over the
whole surface of our globe, than is commonly imagined. The
heat of the air in different latitudes ranges from several degrees
below zero to 110 degrees of Fahrenheit's scale ; but the tem-
perature of the earth eighteen inches below the surface, it is
probable, does not vary more than ten or fifteen. In England
spring water varies only two degrees, viz. from 42 degrees in
summer to 40 degrees in winter ; and the effects of our hardest
frosts very rarely penetrate deeper than nine inches ; but it is
necessary to observe, that, in such cases, as well as in hotbeds,
we force as well as defend ; and probably, by such mode of
applying heat and moisture, nutritious gases may be commu-
nicated, which may be no small advantage. Besides, the
atmosphere of the house can (as is done) be impregnated
with the same qualities and degrees of heat and humidity (a

274 On Modern Improvements of Horticulture,

most necessary accompaniment *,) which may be generated
below.

Light is a most potent agent in the maturation of vegetables :
united with a moderate degree of cold^ it is much more effectual
in progressive vegetation, than the necessary degree of heat
with darkness. Exposure to light is indispensable to plants :
and, therefore, our glass cases are formed to admit as much as
possible. Within these few years, the endeavour to gain an
accession of light by reducing the dimensions of the wooden
scantling of hot houses suggested the idea of metallic frames ;
and for the concentration of the sun's rays, horizontal as well
as vertical curvilinear roofs have been constructed. Lightness
to the eye, durabihty, imperceptible expansion, and glazed with
panes, cut. like segments of circles, to facilitate the passing off of
condensed water, with complete command of ventilation, are an
assemblage of properties, always as desirable as necessary ; and
as they may be cast in the most elegant forms, and protected
by paint, they add greatly to the ornament of the garden.
Beautiful as these buildings are, some little disappointment has
taken place respecting them : it has been experienced, that
the intensity of the sun's light, or heat, has been found detri-
mental to the tender inmates, and that shading is as necessary
in bright, as light is in cloudy weather. Certain it is, that in the
winter season, when light and heat are most desirable, no fear
need be entertained from this circumstance ; and it ought to
be considered, that in our summer, we have at least, daily, /owr
hours more sun than intertropical plants have at home : of
course, they have less time for their evening's repose, (which
all plants more or less require) ; besides, it should be thought
of, that all plants are not equally formed to sustain such a
blaze of light ; '' some affect the sun and some the shade ;"
such as the pine-apple f, and orange, which require *' a warm

• The admission of humidity into forcing-houses is attended by the
most sakitary consequences : it counteracts the bad effects of fire-heat,
and is inimical to many insects. For this purpose, a steam- supplying
apparatus is added to the best-constructed hot-houses, productive of the
greatest advantages.

t It has long been observed by gardeners, that the pine-apple always
does best in forcing-pits, merely from the circumstance of there being
more shade,

Mr. Faraday on Chemical Manipulation. 275

shade;" and perhaps all plants which present a large reflecting

surface of foliage to the sun, are content with a smaller share

of his direct rays. These observations attended to, sun-shades

may be applied for occasional use, and with the plants at a

proper distance from the glass, will certainly secure them from

all the inconvenience of such buildings, while none of the

advantages are lost.

The kitchen-garden range of buildings includes pine-stoves,

vineries, houses for peaches, and nectarines, figs, and cherries,

hot-walls, pits for succession pines, melons, cucumbers ; besides

store pits for roots, tender vegetables, salading, &c., as well as

frames for many purposes of cultivation. Mushrooms are

usually raised in sheds behind the houses. The hot-houses are

also used for growing early culinary vegetables, and small fruits

in pots.

[To be continued.]

Chemical Manipulation, being Instructions to Students in
Chemistry/, on the Methods of performing Experiments of
Demonstration, or of Research, with accuracy and success
By Michael Faraday, F.R.S., &c.

We will not positively assert that no one except Mr. Faraday
could have written this book, but we are of opinion that
there are very few chemists adequate to such a task, which
has manifestly required a considerable share of practical
skill, much deep and theoretical knowledge, and no small
degree of patience and perseverance, more especially shown
in the clearness of the details, and the perspicuous manner
in which he has managed to describe prolix and difficult
processes. The work moreover fills up a chasm in chemical
literature, by embodying almost all that is important relating
to chemical manipulation scattered through the writings of
others ; while the author's extensive experience has enabled
him to correct their faults, and to present the student and
operator with many new and important facts and processes,
by which the researches of the laboratory are most essen-
tially facilitated.

Such is our general opinion of the treatise before us, and
we are persuaded that those who are capable of appreciating
its merits will agree in our decision ; but it is not so easy to

276 Mr. Faraday o?i Chemical Manipulation,

substantiate our judgment by quotations, in consequence of
the general didactic character of the book, and the mutual
dependence and connexion of its different parts. We shall
attempt, however, to give the general reader an outline of its
contents, and point out such parts to the chemist as we con-
ceive particularly useful and worthy attention.

The importance of readiness and dexterity in the perform-
ance of experiments has been duly estimated for more than
a century. The writings of Black, Cavendish, Priestley, and
especially Scheele, as opposed to those of their predecessors,
show that they had acquired considerable facility in attaining,
by simple and economical means, those ends which had before
consumed much time and much expense in their accomplish-
ment: but it is only of late years that the refinements of
manipulation have been carried towards perfection ; and the
researches carried on in the laboratory of the Royal Institu-
tion have been not a little conducive to this improvement :
to no one, however, is this part of the science more indebted
than to Dr. Wollaston, whose skill in what may be called
microscopic chemistry is consummate, and who has a host of
humble but industrious imitators. So essential, indeed, is
the attainment of correct methods of manipulation to the
progress of chemical science, that many entire trains of
research are exclusively dependent upon it for success. It is
true that it must always be subordinate to genius and inven-
tion ; yet the person who could only devise, without knowing
how to perform, would comparatively be able to lend little
aid to the extension and usefulness of knowledge : and were it
not an invidious task, we might be able to show that some of
the greatest discoveries and improvements of the science
have originated in dexterity of experiment, rather than in
profundity of design. By tact, therefore, in manipulation, a
considerable advantage is gained, independent of that result-
ing from an acquaintance with the principles of the science ;
and this is so considerable, that, of two persons of equal
talent and information in other respects, he who is the best
manipulator will soon be in advance of the other ; the one
"will draw just inferences with accuracy and rapidity, while
the other will be lost in doubt, and often led into error.
Mr. Faraday has pointed out several other cases of prominent
advantage, arising from skilful manipulation, especially when
very small quantities of matter are to be operated upon, and
where accurate conclusions are of more than ordinary import-
ance, as in testing for arsenic and other poisons on judicial
occasions. When the substance under examination is rare.

Mr. Faraday on Chemical Manipulation, 277

as often happens, the facility of working with small quantities
is also of much importance, as otherwise the opportunity of
gaining information may be lost, or only retained at great
expense. ** There existed," says our author, ** in the British
Museum a small fragment of a black stone, the source and
history of which was unknown : it was unique, no other spe-
cimen being in the Museum, or known to be in existence ; yet
as it presented some jieculiar characters, Mr. Hatchett Xvas
induced to examine it, and, working with a portion of the stone
weighing not more than two hundred grains, he was enabled
to discover in it a new metal, which he distinguished, by its
various characters, from aK those previously known, and
which he named Columbium. Ekeberg afterwards disco-
vered a metal, which he named Tantalium, conceiving it to
have been observed and distinguished for the first time by
himself; but Dr. Wollaston, who examined it, and compared
it with columbium, was able to identify it with that metal,
although he had not more than five grains of the stone from
the British Museum upon which to make his experiments."

In short, there can be but one opinion respecting the first-
rate importance of expertness in manipulation, and neatness,
dexterity, and efficacy of experimenting. These are the sub-
jects to which the present volume is directed, and which will,
therefore, form a valuable accompaniment to the more gene-
ral and systematic works. They .are discussed under the
following general heads :-4f(o hih-v) >.■■'

The conveniences and requisites of a laboratory/.
Chemical apparlitus^ and its uses.
The methods of performing chemical operations.
The facilities acquired by practice ; and,
. The causes which make eocperiments fail or succeed.

The description of a laboratory is followed by two long
and well-written sections on the arts of weighing and mea-
suring, in which the account of the methods of determining
specific gravities, and of the general management of a delicate
balance, are well deserving the student's attentive perusal :
indeed, there are no operations which are more frequently per-
formed in a slovenly and careless manner, than those in which
scales and weights are concerned ; and we should advise the
tyro to sit down with his balance and this book before him,
and practise the manipulations which it explains.

The fourth section, on the sources and management of heat,
is devoted to the construction and management of diflferent
kinds of furnaces, lamps, blowpipes, thermometers, and py-
rometers, and abounds in useful hints, and in the details of

278 Mr. Faraday on Chemical Manipulation.

practical information ; and the same remark applies to the
succeeding sections on comminution and solution — indeed, we
were surprised at finding so much to be taught in regard to
these very simple operations. The seventh, eighth, and
ninth sections treat of distillation and sublimation, precipita-
tion, and filtration. Here, and indeed throughout the work,
the wood-cuts are particularly distinct and well executed*
In the section on crystallization, the uses of that process are
enumerated ; and to this succeeds an account of evaporation.
All these operations are extremely well investigated and de-
scribed, both as to their principles and as to the most proper
meansof effecting them; a numlDer of curious circumstances
are pointed out, by which their results are influenced, and
by which certainty and success may be insured.

The uses of coloured tests are explained and illustrated in
the twelfth section. Of coloured liquids the author chiefly
recommends the infusion of red cabbage ; and as it is not only
a very good test for private experiments but of excellent
service to the public lecturer in rendering certain changes of
composition visible to an audience, it may be worth while
extracting the directions for preparing it.

" 583. The only substance of the kind, perhaps, worth
keeping in solution, is an acid infusion of red cabbage. For
its preparation, one or more red cabbages should be cut into
strips, and boiling water poured upon the pieces ; a little
dilute sulphuric acid is to be added, and the whole well
stirred: it is then to be covered and kept hot as long as
possible, or, if convenient, should be heated nearly to boiling,
for an hour or two, in a copper or earthen vessel. The
quantity of water to be added at first should be suflScient to
cover the cabbage, and the sulphuric acid should be in the
proportion of about half an ounce of strong oil of vitriol by
measure to each good-sized plant. This being done, the
fluid should be separated and drained off, and as much more
hot water poured on as will cover the solid residue, adding
a very little sulphuric acid. The whole is to be closed up,
and suffered to stand until cold, and then the liquid poured
ofi^ and added to the former infusion. The cabbage may
now be thrown away. The infusion is to be evaporated to
one half or one third its first bulk, poured into a jar, allowed
to settle, and the clear red fluid decanted and preserved in
bottles. The residue may have water added to it, the solid
part be allQvved to subside, the clear liquor drawn oft', eva-
porated and added to the former, or it may be dismissed
altogether* This solution will keep for a year. When re-

Mr. Faraday on Chemical Manipulation, 279

quired for use, the acid of a small portion of it should be
neutralized by caustic potash, or soda, (not by ammonia,)
when it will assume an intensely deep blue colour, and will,
in most cases, require dilution with twelve or fourteen parts
of water. The red liquor of pickle cabbage will, occa-
sionally, answer the uses of the solution, and is, when re^
quired for service, to be neutralized in a similar manner."

For test-papers, litmus and turmeric are the most essential,
and several precautions in preparing and usin^ them are here
pointed out, which, though apparently trivial, are, in fact,
extremely important in insuring correct conclusions. We
transcribe a part of the account of the applications of these
coloured papers, as a specimen of the clear minuteness with
which the details of the work are given, and as a sample of
the author's general method and style, where subjects of
much greater intricacy are to be explained.

"591. In using these test papers with a fluid suspected to
contain free acid or alkali, or knowing that one of these
substances is predominant, to ascertain which is so, all that
is necessary is to moisten them with the liquid, and observe
the change : if the fluid be acid, the blue colour of the litmus
will immediately become red ; if alkaline, the yellow colour
of the turmeric will be changed to a brown. The moisten-
ing may be effected by dipping the paper into the liquid ;
but a better method is to touch the edge of the slip with a
rod dipped in the fluid. In the latter case there is no risk
of contamination to the fluid from the paper, and. only a
very minute quantity of the liquid is used at once.

" 592. These trials must be made by day-light ; artificial
light not permitting that just estimation of the changes by
which the presence of a small excess of acid or alkali is to be
determined. As the proportion of free acid or alkali di-
minishes, the intensity of the new tint produced upon the
paper is also diminished ; and when in very small quantity, it
requires considerable attention before a decision can bo
arrived at. The test paper should occasionally be touched
with pure water in the immediate neighbourhood of the part
where the solution has been applied, for any change in
appearance that may have occurred, not due to mere moist-
ening, is then readily perceived.

** 593. Although acid is generally tested for by litmus
paper, and alkali by turmeric paper, yet the former is some-
times used advantageously for the hitter purpose, being first
slightly reddened, either by exposure to the air, or by
momentary contact with muriatic acid fumes. When the

280* Mr. Faraday on Chemical Manipulation,

paper tlius modified is used to detect a free alkali, instead
of turmeric paper, that substance is indicated by the restora-
tion of the original blue colour. Litmus paper is best
slightly reddened for this use, by putting a drop or two of
muriatic acid into a large jar, allowing it to stand a few
minutes, and then bringing the paper towards the mouth of
the jar, or carefully placing it within : so soon as the blue
tint has become slightly reddened, the paper should be re-
moved for use. If too much acid be imparted to the paper,
the delicacy of its indications is injured, because of the
greater quantity of alkali required to neutralize the acid,
and restore the blue colour. For the same reason a paper
free from alkali or carbonate of lime has been recommended
for the preparation of these tests : for these impurities,
combining with a minute portion of acid, neutralize it, and
thus prevent that delicacy of indication which the test paper
ought and may be made to possess."

The mode of determining the value of alcaline substances,
or " alcalimetry," is described at length in this section. Our
readers, however, will here recollect that there is an error
respecting thespecificgravity of the acid, which Mr. Faraday
has corrected at page 221 of the present volume of this Jour-
nal. The thirteenth section is allotted to crucible operations,
and the fourteenth to furnace tube operations. They are
full of minute and admirable instructions, evidently deduced
from long experience, and detailed with the same precision
and clearness which we have already eulogised. The fifteenth
section, which occupies nearly a hundred pages, relates to
" pneumatic manipulation, or management of gases." Every
paragraph of the instructions here given will be found to
contain something of importance to the student ; it is, indeed,
a valuable essay upon a difficult and nice department of
chemical research. --}■,■ *"' i// irjv.-v.

Under the head " Tube Chemistrf;^ in the sixfeeftth sec-
tion, a variety of means are pointed out, of working with and
employing glass-tubes, as substitutes for more expensive and
formal apparatus. Indeed, the young chemist cannot do
better than practise the art of bending, drawing out, and
sealing tubes, as here directed, (and in the nineteenth section,)
by which he will soon gain the requisite dexterity in forming
them into test tubes, retorts, and so on, and be enabled to
furnish his laboratory with a quantity of very useful vessels
and apparatus, at a very moderate expense.

The application of electricity to chemical purposes forms
the subject of the seventeenth section, in which the manage-

Mr. Faraday on Chemical Manipulation, 2S1

ment of electrical machines and apparatus is described, and
the circumstances necessary to facilitate investigation and
insure success are pointed out. To this succeed tlie ma-:
nagement and composition of lutes, and a chapter on bending
blowing, and cutting glass.

Cleanliness, order, and regularity are of the utmost import-
ance in the laboratory ; and though the appearance of the
chemist himself is often such that he appears ''to doat upon
dirt," the strictest nicety must generally be observed in the
state of his utensils andi apparatus. These matters must,
indeed, generally engage his personal attention ; and it is not
sufficient that glasses and other vessels be merely washed and
wiped in the usual way, but they are generally required to
be free from the minutest portions of adhering matter. A
section is accordingly appropriated to the subject of cleanli-
ness and cleansing, in which, and in that which follows it,
entitled *' General Rules for young Experimenters," much
information is conveyed that will prove useful to those who
are commencing the practice of experimental inquiries in
chemistry, and also to such as, having made some progress,
have ind.ulged themselves in slovenly habits. Macquer's ob-
servations on this subject, as quoted by our author, are so
much to the purpose, and so well deserving the serious atten-
tion of the young chemist, that we shall stand excused for
inserting them in this place. He says, '* A persuasion
must exist that arrangement, order, and cleanliness, are
essentially necessary in a chemical laboratory. Every vessel
and utensil ought to be w^ell cleansed as often it is used,
and put again into its place ; labels ought to be attached
to all the substances, mixtures, and products of operations
which are preserved in bottles or otherwise ; these should
be examined and cleansed from time to time, and the labels
renewed when required. These cares, although they seem
to be trifling, are, notwithstanding, the most fatiguing
and tedious, but the most important, and often the least ob-
served. When a person is keenly engaged, experiments
succeed each other quickly ; some seem nearly to decide the
matter, and others suggest new ideas; he cannot but proceed
to them immediately, and he is led from one to another ; he
thinks he shall easily know again the products of his first
experiments, and therefore he does not take time to put them
in order; he prosecutes with eagerness the experiments
which he has last thought of, and in the mean time the ves-
sels employed, the glasses and bottles filled, so accumulate
that he cannot any longer distinguish them ; or at least he is

282 Mr. Faraday on Chemical Manipulation.

uncertain concerning many of his former products. This evil
is increased, if a new series of operations succeed, and occupy
all the laboratory ; or if he be obliged to quit the place for
some time, every thing then goes into confusion. Hence it
frequently happens that he loses the fruits of much labour,
and that he must throw away almost all the products of his
experiments.

" The only method of avoiding these inconveniences is to
employ the cares and attentions above mentioned. It is
indeed unpleasant and very difficult continually to stop in the
midst of the most interesting researches, and to employ much
valuable time in cleaning and arranging vessels and attaching
labels. These employments are capable of cooling and re-
tarding the progress of genius, and are tedious and disgust-
ing ; but they are nevertheless necessary. Those persons
whose fortunes enable them to have an assistant operator,
on whose accuracy and intelligence they can depend, avoid
many of these disagreeable circumstances ; but they ought
nevertheless to attend to the execution of these things. We
cannot depend too much on ourselves in these matters, how-
ever minute, on account of their consequences. This be-
comes even indispensable when the experiments are to be
kept secret, at least for a time, which is very common and
often necessary in chemistry.

*' When new researches aud inquiries are made, the mix-
tures, results, and products of all the operations ought to be
kept a long time well ticketed and noted. It frequently
happens that at the end of some time these things present
very singular phenomena, which would never have been sus-
pected. There are many beautiful discoveries in chemistry
which were made in this manner, and certainly a much
greater number which have been lost, because the products
have been thrown away too hastily, or because they could
not be recognised after the changes which happened to
them."

The uses of equivalents, and the method of employing Dr.
Wollaston's scale, form the subject of the twenty-second
section of Mr, Faraday's book ; and of the concluding sec-
tions, the twenty-third contains a quantity of miscellaneous
remarks, and the twenty-fourth is appropriated to '* a course
of inductive and instructive practices ;" that is, to a selection
of minute instructions respecting the use of instruments, and
the performance of operatioUvS.

Such is an outline of the contents of this volume, of which
we have felt ourselves obliged to speak in terms unequivocally

statistical Notices. 283

favourable ; in fact, it contains, strictly speaking, nothing to
criticise. It is minute, laborious, and very unpretending,
and contains a body of instructions for the performance of
experiments, and of descriptions of the modes of managing
and applying apparatus, which is not to be had elsewhere,
being manifestly derived from diligent research, extensive
experience, and correct judgment. It is not a book for
amateurs, for they will presently learn from it that there is
no royal road to the science of which it treats ; but the real
student, who will seriously follow its laborious details, will
discover in them an acceptable and sure guide through the
prooked and intricate, as well as the straight paths of che-
mistry. Those, however, and those only, who are well versed
in the business of the laboratory, both as experimentalists
and teachers, can duly appreciate the weighty service which
Mr. Faraday has here performed.

Statistical Notices suggested by the actual State of the British
Empire^ as exhibited in the last Population Census. Com-
municated by Mr. Merritt.
[Read before the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool.]

The population returns of the decennial lustrum, or period of
ten years, which ended in 1821, were delayed for a considerable
time, on account of the difficulties which have always occurred
in taking the population of Ireland. They have now, however,
been some time completed, and from the data they afford, a
few reflections naturally present themselves, which though
sufficiently obvious, yet, from the extreme interest of the sub-
ject, may be thought deserving of being brought together, and
exhibited in a connected form. They point out some pecu-
liarities in the situation of this country, which distinguish it
from almost every other nation that has yet existed in ancient
or modern times.

From the notices which have been published respecting the
different districts, it may be inferred, that the portion which
may be termed the Urban population, has augmented in a
much greater degree than the Rural. The general ratio of
increase has, however, been very great, and, in the opinion of
Mr, Malthus, still continues at the same rate. That eminent

284 Statistical Notices

economist has lately given it as his opinion, before the Emi-
gration Committee, that the present inhabitants of the British
Islands do not amount to less than twenty-two millions and a
half. This estimate is perhaps a little exaggerated ; but as
it may be assumed sufficiently near the truth for all the objects
of general speculation, I shall proceed to point out a few of
those leading peculiarities, to which I have just alluded. In
the first place we may assert, I apprehend, on sufficient
grounds, that Great Britain is the most populous nation which
has existed since the Christian era. No other instance has
occurred in which an extent of continuous surface of 93,000
square miles has sustained a population of twenty-two millions.
Italy, which is not of much greater extent, has sometimes
been rated at nearly the same amount, but this estimate has
been formed in the absence of all actual enumeration, and is
now ascertained to be a considerable exaggeration. No other
part of the world can enter into the competition, unless it be
certain districts of China and Japan, but which, as our know-
ledge of them in this respect is quite uncertain, I shall leave
wholly out of the question. How far some nations of the
ancient world may have approached or gone beyond us in the
race of population, is perhaps equally lost in uncertainty.
There is reason to believe, as I have endeavoured to demon-
strate on another occasion, that some districts of the old world
exceeded, in this respect, any country of modern ages. Amongst
them, perhaps, may be reckoned Egypt, Mesopotamia, the lesser
Asia, and some parts of Persia : but certainly, neither in ancient
nor modern times do we find any instance of a single, compact,
distinct empire, exactly defined, identically governed, and
peopled by twenty-two millions of souls on the same extent of
soil ; this is undoubtedly a peculiarity the most striking which
can exist among nations. :'4:( tn i«rrn t>«l| oj rr>f]<r/i nH h

In the second place, we may,- 1 thinks affirm '^ith^fielei-able
certainty, that no nation ever contained so many large cities.
On this point Great Britain exhibits a splendid superiority.
We have two cities of the first class, London and Dubhn ; the
one with a population of more than a million, the other with
little less than three hundred thousand. Of cities of the second
class, or those which reach one hundred thousand inhabitants.

Sialistlcal Notices. 285

or Above that number, we have seven, ^iz., four in England,
Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol ; two in Scotland,
Edinburgh and Glasgow ; and one in Ireland, the city of Cork.
These seven average considerably more than one hundred
thousand each. We have fourteen towns of the third class,
or those containing from thirty to fifty thousand or upwards of
inhabitants, viz., ten in England: Portsmouth, Plymouth,
Norwich, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bath, Newcastle,
Coventry, and Hull. Two in Scotland, Paisley and Dundee,
and two in Ireland, Belfast and Limerick. Of towns of the
fourth class, in which are usually reckoned those of from fifteen
to thirty thousand inhabitants, we have at least thirty, and pro-
bably more. A slight glance at the principal nations of Eu-
rope, with this view, will show at once their immense inferiority.

To begin with France, the most populous of the great sove-
reignties. That empire possesses only one city of the first
class, viz. Paris, which is inferior to London by one third. She
has five of the second class, viz.y Lyons, Bourdeaux, Marseilles,
Lisle and Rouen ; but, according to the latest information which
I have been able to obtain, they will not reach, by a very con-
siderable proportion, the average number of the seven English
cities of the same class. France has also eight towns of the
third class, Tir., Amiens, .Caen, Nantes, Brest, Toulouse,
Toulon, Mentz, and Versailles. I am not quite sUre, as no
census has lately been taken, whether two or three of the follow-
ing towns ought not to be included in this class, though I am
inclined, on the whole, to a contrary opinion, viz., Meinn,
Montpelier, Nanci, Dijon, Toiu-s, Rennes, and Troyes; they
will not, however, I am persuaded, come near the average of
the British third-rate towns. The same remark will hold as
to the number and size of the inferior towns.

With respect to the rest in rank of the great monarchies,
the Austrian Empire, a very few words will suffice, as it can-
not pretend to come into any competition with us, on the point
in question. Austria possesses only one city of the first class,
and three of the second, viz.y Vienna, Prague, Milan, Venice.
The towns of the third rank are proportionably few. With
Spain, Russia, and Prussia, it would be idle to enter itito any
comparison. ',*--''•;- ;^'

OCT. — DEC. 1827, V

286 Statistical Notices,

. It must be confessed, however^ that the present kingdom
of the Netherlands, as established by the congress of Vienna
contains, in proportion to its extent and population, more
large towns than any single state which now exists, or perhaps
has ever existed. With an extent of territory and number of
inhabitants scarcely exceeding one-fourth of the British domi-
nions, that kingdom has one city of the first class, Amsterdam ;
two of the second rank, Rotterdam and Brussels ; and probably
as many of the third class as Great Britain herself. But the
Kingdom of the Netherlands is in itself too insignificant to
enter into any competition with such a state as Great Britain
for any objects of general comparison. The various states
comprehended under the common geographical appellation of
Italy, if that superb country was united under one head, is the
only one of the European nations which, under the view we
are now considering, could sustain any parallel with Great
Britain. But this union, so desirable in many points of view,
■yvould probably diminish its pretensions as a nation of large
cities. Many of these have reached their present grandeur
and extent by having been long the seat of a court or a govern-
ment, and would perhaps decline considerably if reduced to
the rank of mean provincial capitals. But even under any
circumstances of territorial union, Italy could not be held to
comprize more than one city of the first class, viz.^ Naples,
and six of the second, viz., Turin, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Flo-
rence, and Rome ; whereas, as we have just seen, Britain has
two of the first and seven of the second, and these superior in
size and number of inhabitants.

The third peculiarity which I have to remark in the actual
situation of the British dominions is, that no nation ever had
so great an urban population, or so large a proportion of its
inhabitants residing in towns. This peculiarity is intimately
connected with that which I have just described; but it is
nevertheless a very different characteristic. Great Britain is
not only distinguished for the number and size of her large
cities, but for having so great a number of them on so small
a territory. By the census of 1811, it was found that nearly
half our population resided in towns, and at present, I ap-
prehend, the proportion will be found still greater. In this

Statistical Notices, VSSl

respect no nation has ever approached us. The French econo-
mists were of opinion that not more than one-fourth of the
people of France lived in towns ; and the later statists, who have
alluded to the subject, contend that a still greater proportion of
the jioptilatibn is rural. This will not appear exaggerated when
it4^ i^teollefcted that all the lower classes of that country subsist
^t^bipally on vegetable food, and that, consequently, the greater
phrt of the soil being under tillage, a great number of hands is
iieqtrii-ed for its cultivation. In Great Britain, on the other
hktid, the inhabitants of all classes consume a great quantity
of animal food, and, of course, a great part of our lands, being
Iti'ft ^toral state, require a small proportion of occupants.
Itt'ilie kingdom of the Netherlands, it is supposed about one-
third of the inhabitants live in towns : in Italy about one-fifth :
in Austria, Spain, and Russia, except the province of Siberia,
TVhere the abundance of manufactures congregates the people
in masses, not more than one-fifth. In Russia, Sweden, and
Norway, where, amongst the lower classes, nearly every family
is its own manufacturer, not more than one-eighth or one-
ninth. ' i*^>rJ;jT»'

The fourth and last of these peculiar characteristics which
I shall remark, is, that no great nation ever employed so large
a proportion of its people in trade and manufactures. In
speaking thus, I leave out of the question the Itahan and
Flemish republics of the middle ages, and the Hanse Towns,
free cities, and United Provinces of later times. I speak only
of great and extensive countries. It will appear, I doubt not,
by the present census, that at least half our whole population is
employed in trade, commerce, or manufactures. This is a
feature altogether singular ; a circumstance to which no parallel
can be found in the ancient or modem world.

From these premises, a few observations, in the way- of
corollaries, will naturally suggest themselves.

In the first place, such a state of things is indicative of
great wealth and power. A country thus situated is, beyond
any other, powerful for attack and strong for defence. A pro-
fusion of great cities can only be produced by extensive trade,
and can only be maintained by a highly cultivated soil. The
wealth acquired by the industry of the towns, reacts on the

U 2

Statistical Notices^

industry of the agriculturist, and it is in this that the rea
advantages of commerce primarily consist. In this way an
extensive population is gradually generated, for no maxim or
political economy is now more generally admitted, than that
population is sure to follow close and to press hard against the
means of subsistence. An affluence of inhabitants on a com-
paratively small territory, is itself the primary ingredient, of
power, and this first requisite of strength is, in the case< i>f
Great Britain, essentially corroborated by our insular situation.
Surrounded by dangerous coasts and tempestuous seas, we can
only be approached at certain points and certain times ; whilst,
on the other hand, as this state of things supposes and sup-
ports a powerful navy, we are able in a great degree jtQ,chDQSfi
our point of attack. ohviao r * dud ' 16

From a population such as we have described, of which only
a very limited part is employed in creating the means of actual
subsistence, a very considerable portion may always be ab-
stracted for purposes of attack or defence. It is usually cal-
culated, that one-fifth part of the inhabitants of every country
is capable of bearing arms. On this calculation, Great Britain
contains four millions of fighting men, of whom it is believed
One million might be formed into an army without any very
serious interruption to the essential operations of agriculture
and commerce. This supposition may seem a little extrava-
gant, but it must be recollected that, at one period during the
late war, the number of men under arms was actually calculated
at seven hundred and fifty thousand. .'<

In the second place, such a state of things is favourable to
public liberty. The congregation of men in great masses is
found to give great force to the influence of public opinion ;
by the spirit of discussion which it generates ; by the anxiety
for intelligence which it diffuses ; by the collisions of opinion
which it engenders, and by the facility of union which it
affords. Nations purely or principally agricultural are gene-
rally under a despotic government, especially large states, for
the maxim of divide et impera is applicable as well to internal
as to external politics. Ancient Persia and Assyria, and
modern Russia and Poland, are instances in point. The fierce
and demoralizing tyranny of the feudal system, which, after

JStdtistical JVolices^ flB9

the destruction of the Roman inonarchy, left scarcely any
other division of the people than those of tyrant and vassal,
could only be effectually .brol<en by the rise of great towns.
These communities were alone competent to resist the aristo-
ci^atical and subordinate despotisms into which all the nations
of Europe were subdivided, and -which, as is well known,
•overawed the throne, w^hilst they enslaved the people. In
IfiOnfirmation of this, it Tnay be remarked, that the free repub-
lics of antiquity, as well as those of the middle ages, derived the
spirit >vhich nurtured them almost entirely from the capital
-Ctty^ and though, in the former case, there was scarcely any
commerce to excite the activity of the people, yet the mere
congregation of a numerous body of men sastained the power
of public opinion. i^ :>kf>^

/I But the most important question remains hehind. Is a
bivil community thus constituted favourable to individual vir-
tue and happiness ? This is assuredly the point which it most
behoves us to ascertain, since no truism is more obvious than,
that power and opulence, and refinement and splendour, and
even liberty itself, are only so far valuable as they tend to make
men wiser, and better, and happier. Is it true, then, that
Great Britain has anteceded other nations in these fundamental
points, as much as in those we have just described ? This ques-
tion cannot be answered without some hesitation : for we may
say, with Addison's facetious Knight, *' that a great deal may
be urged on both sides." On the one hand it is certain that
our situation is eminently favourable to intellectual improve-
ment. The increasing spread of instruction, and the rapid
advancement of knowledge which are necessarily concurrent
with our career of prosperity, must ultimately advance us in
the scale of moral and rational agents. If knowledge be power,
itis>i<also happiness; for communities as well as individuals
woiild all be happy if they knew how to be so. It is also
certain that the incessant struggles of competition and the
strenuous efforts for distinction which are always at work in
an over-peopled and highly refined country are favourable to
the active virtues. They operate amongst the higher classes
to provide many objects of laudable ambition ; and amongst the
lower, afford perpetual facilities for bettering their condition^

290 Statistical Notices.

and fiirnish an incessant supply of occupation, the want of
which is sure to open the door to the incursion of all the
worst propensities and basest vices. They bring into action
all the resources of human ingenuity ; all the aids of fortitude
and enterprise ; all the trials of patience and perseverance; all
the equanimity demanded by the constant mutations and I'ota*
tions of fortune. It is not to be denied^ moreover, that the first-
rate virtues of beneficence, charity, and hospitality, take root
and flourish with peculiar vigour in a commercial commu-
nity. The fluctuations of condition to which almost every man
knows himself liable, and the constant proximity of distress
and opulence, ofier perpetual excitements to the benevolent
affections. ■ .

These, it must be confessed, are important ingredients in the
composition of human happiness; but considerations not less
momentous present themselves on the opposite side, for every
thing in human affairs is on a system of compensations. It is
^not to be denied that a state of society, in which one-half of the
population is cotigregated in towns, and nearly a moiety of this
half crowded together in enormous factories, is highly unpro-.
pitious to virtue, to health, and to happiness. In these huge
receptacles of human labour, it would be absurd to expect that
the women should be distinguished for their modesty and pro-
priety, or the men for their prudence, temperance, and regula-
rity. It is an unhappy law of human nature, that the force of
example is most prevalent on the side of vice. A few depraved
characters scattered amongst a multitude are commonly found
sufficient to corrupt the whole mass : hence we may always
expect to find, in the seat of a great manufactory, all the
worst ingredients of civilized society ; all the base depravities
of a luxurious and opulent community, combined with much
of the grossnes^ and rudeness of the savage state : in a word,
all the corruptions of high civilization without any of its |)olish.
Nor is this mode of life, generally speaking, more favourable
to health and comfort than to good morals. The constitution
of the young is impaired, and their growth retarded by exces-
sive labour and close confinement. Those of maturer age
are glad to seek relief from the depressing effects of a weari-
some and monotonous labour, unwholesome air, and constant

Statistical Notices. 291

restraint, in intemperate indulgence ; and all the long train of
vices and miseries to which the poor are liable, follows of
course. Nor are their prospects for the future often such as
to encourage hope or stimulate exertion. The habitual impro-
vidence of the poor is aggravated in their case by the danger-
ous fluctuation of their trade. Sometimes they are eagerly
courted with high wages, and lavish promises ; at others, no
employment is to be had, and not enough can be earned, even
by the most unnatural exertions, to sustain their families.
Nothing can be imagined more fatal to order, regularity, and
comfort, than these vicissitudes. Hence it commonly happens,
that, in the decline of life, these poor creatures are driven to
the sad resource of parish relief. It is moreover not one of
the least evils of the manufacturing system, that it has a ten-
dency, in prosperous times, to generate an excessive popula-
tion, which, on any great reverse, is suddenly thrown on the
community as a superfluous burden. The changes of a fashion,
the caprice of public taste, or the sudden interruption of a
foreign market, will reduce thousands to helpless and unex-
pected poverty.

It must, however, be admitted, that the picture of rural life
has also its unfavourable aspect. Those who retire into the
country are apt to find themselves somewhat disappointed in
their expectations of rustic simplicity and pastoral innocence.
In situations where every breath of air, and every feature of
nature express nothing but peace and love, they are a little
surprised to see the selfish and malignant passions at work in
all their baneful activity ; to find, as in the purlieus of a court,
the symptoms of " envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitable-
ness." Still we shaU find that instances of utter depravity and
abandoned profligacy are of much rarer occurrence than in
great towns. In a village, every individual is known, and the
very consciousness of being conspicuous, creates a sense of
shame which is highly salutary. It has often been observed,
that men in a body will commit, and even justify, atrocities
which no individual amongst them would be capable of attempt-
ing, if not screened by the shelter of a crowd. We find,
nccordingly, in the annals of Wesley and Whitfield, that the
^reat scenes of their operations are in collieries, factories,

292 Statistical Notices.

mines, canals, and all the other appendages of a great com-
mercial and manufacturing nation* It was there, according
to Whitfield, that the ** Arch Enemy" raised his triumphant
standard; it was there that the harvest of lost souls was ripe
and abundant. But the, most decisive proof of the compara-
tive purity of the rural population above that of the manufac-
turing districts, is the fact that the single town of Manchester
will furnish ten times more criminal prosecutions th^n.tw®
Welch counties which contain an equal number of inhabitants.
On the whole, I think we cannot escape the conclusion,
that, though a certain degree of commercial and manufacturing
property is necessary to stimulate the agriculture of a nation,
and to call forth its utmost powers of production, yet that it
is not desirable that this country should proceed much further
in that dangerous career, or increase still further the dispropor-
tion between its urban and rural population. The late increase
in our numbers is so rapid and alarming, that I am afraid some
positive checks (to use Mr. Malthus's language) of very terri-
ble potency must soon be brought into action. The forcible
lines of Goldsmith, though that great poet knew little enough
of political economy, are applicable l^oith^ wise and benevo*
lent statesmen of all times — ' i . - s :

'Tis theirs to judge, how wide the limits stand • '

, jpetjween^a.splendid and a happy land, -rv^ /? Kir; :

-/J) LU:j .'M.- JdmiyYiY'

On the Modern Ornaments of Architecture, ^c.

In no age since the Augustan era of Rome, perhaps, has
decoration of the interior of dwellings been carried to greater
excess than at present ; nor, since the days of the florid style of
Gothic architecture, has the exterior received more embellish-
ment. Architectural ornaments have generally been copied
from the antique, those especially which belong to the orders.
Indeed there is a kind of classical standard, which governs
the architect in the execution of publfc edifices, from which
he cannot with propriety depart. National, and regal em-
blems, wherever suitable, should always be introduced in
public buildings, and in those of a private or mixed character

On the Modern Ornaments of Architecture, Sfc, 293

all legitimate ornaments may be displayed. Of this class
the acanthus, "vignette, the branches of the olive, and leaves of
the palm, the crown of laurel, the chaplet of myrtle, and the
wreoth of r^es, are all proper T?hen judiciously introduced;
and"»thef'»oS€^^attd'^hd6leyst[ckle flowers, and the folicles, tre-
foils)'bitl<lliefbiWi*&d]; which so often occur on sculpture and
plafetei! WCftt, i^e^'d^ aU proper, because they are imitations
of^htw^j anoiiuo^aoiq JxjnimiiD aiom .aamii ixia;j }>

Bttt'ih^^btir^ prese»nt style of decorative execution, from the
m^t'^febdi^te finishing of a regal palace, down to the pattern
of ft^'ii^9k-ttifelid*s' gown, there is such latitude taken in the
display of licentious fancy, that imagination itself is baffled
to find anything in the infinite variety of nature's works, to
whibh th^ir designs can' be compared, or to which they bear
the most distant resemblance !

It is really unaccountable, that the whole tribe of our
artists^ the ornamental statuary, scagliolist, paper-stainer,
weaver^" chintz and cdtton printer, &c. should all be *' strain-
ing their low thought to form unreal" forms and figures;
and striking out designs the most intricate arid complicated,
to the utter neglect (except in very few instances) of those
numberless simple though transcendently beautiful configura-
tions, which everywhere appear in the works of nature.

This is surely a dereliction of all propriety, an exuberance
of grovelling taste which no consideration can excuse, nor
reason justify. In this age of refinement, good taste should
be the guide and handmaid in all things where invention is
necessary, and design requisite ; whatever is grotesque or
faritastic, should be banished from our labours of art, and
the elegant forms of vegetable or aftimal nature alone take
their place. ■ ' ' '

'Ifl^it-be^ asked, how it happens that such obliquity of fancy
(fbriircanndt be called taste) should so generally prevail, the
ans\Vcr k, were these pattern-mongers to copy from nature
evety body could judge of their ability ris imitators, and, if
unfjiiidiftrf, Svould decry the artist; whereas, whilst bringing
forth his nondescript and nondescribable forms of imaginary
figures, he escapes the lash of the critic, which othenvise he
would be subjected tOr ;:..:..,';, v-.r

294 On the Modern Ornaments of Architecture, S^c.

It may be granted, that it is as ridiculous to form stone or
plaster flowers, as those geometrical frets and fanciful nothings
which are usually pourtrayed in architectural decoration :
but it may be answered that if any ornament be necessar}'',
that of a nondescript character is not more appropriate, as
such, than natural forms would be ; and these latter having
a name, and many of them an emblematical character, may
be often applied with a propriety which cannot belong to the
other.

The old fashioned tapestry, notwithstanding its sombre
appearance, was in its plan much more rational than the
multifigurations of our modern paper hangings. The first
represented some historical event or legendary tale, yielding
some mental information, or it taught perhaps a moral lesson —
the eye was amused while tracing the ideas of the ingenious
sempstress ; but in our ephemeral and gaudy ten-thousand-
times repeated paper nothings, there is no design to interest,
nor combination to amuse the eye longer than a transient
glance. Even the Chinese, who, in all their decorative finish-
ings shew rigidity itself, have escaped from tame mannerism
in paper hangings, by imitating, from the edge of the carpet
to th6 ceiling, all the gradations of turf, herbs, shrubs, and
trees, upon a sky ground, enriched with figures or rather
portraits of flowers and fruit, as well as beasts, birds and in-
sects. This though it cannot deceive the spectator for one
moment in mistaking a fictitious for a real scene, yet is
certainly far superior to European paper-upholstery, as it at
least may introduce a knowledge of natural history, which the
latter has no pretension to, indeed seems studiously to discard,
as beneath imitation.

All this vitiated taste, or fashion rather, is to be regretted ;
especially as it appears that those

Fancied forms which on the ceilings sprawl,
And shapeless frets which decorate the wall,
are just as expensive, and difficult of execution, as the most
elegant imitation of vegetable or animal configuration would
be ; and surely when such variety of forms are presented to the
artist, they deserve to be copied as transcendently superior to
the capricious fancies of the most celebrated decorator, or of

On the Modem Ornaments of Architecture^ 8fc. 295

the most splendid fashionable designs; either in the works of
the sculptor, scagliolist, &c. or the more insignificant designers
of figured paper or drapery. Indeed there can be no good
reason why ox-heads and garlands (now the days of sacrifices
are past), should not be banished from the frieze and entabla-
ture, to admit the far more appropriate figures of foUage, fruit,
and flowers, aquatic as well as terrestrial, which every garden
yields ;•?— and for interior enrichments of cornices, mouldings,
&c., the curious and elegant forms of ^ the testacea, would
afford beautiful copies for imitation,. , ■ r;^ ^ .;-..;,

In fine, if there be any merit or propriety in the adaptation
of whatever is elegant in form, beautiful in outline, harmonious
in tint and proportion, and congruous in combination, such
may readily be found in the animal and vegetable kingdoms.
Faithful representations of such objects, not only open a
fine field for the exercise of individual ability, at this time, but
also a source from which might be drawn a large share of
pubhc patronage, and consequent commensurate reward.
Indeed it is now pretty evident that in many things, especially
in the minor works of art, we have been too long and too
rigidly impressed with a veneration for the works of antiquity,
or what is equally benumbing, a passive following of tyrant
fashion ; and that many a bright genius has been '^ nipped in
the bud," and remained "twinkling in the socket" of Grecian
and Roman rules, who, if venturous enough to have burst the
shackles of professional thraldom, would have improved and
elevated his art, as well as himself, by designs and works
which would have advanced his profession and adorned his

But it is not yet too late ; a knowledge and study of th^
genuine elements of taste, whether of art or nature, and a mind
embued with rational perceptions of all that is beautiful
and picturesque, and grand or sublime in either, will rise
superior to all precedential fetters, as well as all modern man-
nerism, and will equally regard the excellencies of the ancients,
as it will avoid tlie errors of some modern artists, who, in
leaving the beaten track, have deviated far and widely from
the point to which good sense and good taste would have
led.

296 Dr. Edwards, De V Influence

A list of plants, &c. which exemplify all that is elegant in
form, beautiful in outline, and. graGeful in position, should
have accompanied the above imp^rfedt"* remarks,* but this must
be deferred to another opportunity, * ' ' ''^'^'^

n').t bitfi .tn^mffgWcroiT ?M£"9bom \o z^'^n^.i^muo1h ^^^hn^ ^

Z)^ r Influence deS Ag&ns Physiqmk^'Hi'F.TdlH^^ ^f4i^W. F.
. ;; uu;j j«y:i^4 -HiEdwards, D.M.,'&E ^^*^'^^**'^4 ^^"Jfi^iJ^ "
MVijji oi gme^jri «' ii'joni^jgmjjoiio ori r

* [Continued from the last NumberO nj g-^yaoj.

In our last number we presented our readers witK^'S'^i^^eral
abstract of the first part of this valuable work. The second
part refers to animals of the cold blood order, including Ji^A
and reptiles. The larvcB of the latter underw*ent some com-
parative experiments detailed in the first chapter, because
they partake of the nature both of fish and reptiles^ as to
their respiratory function ; the imperfection of their inter-
mediate state and developement of organization not inter-
fering with the objects in view, and the double mode of
aerification being exercised unequally. The skin of these
young animals furnishes them with the means of producing
the requisite changes in the blood hy absorption, ?L?,m i\\Q
adult, while it lives in water ; and the cutaneous respiration
goes on through this medium at a temperature which the
subsequent more perfect animal is unable to endure. The
object entertained is the influence of physical agents upon
the changes which these animals pass through in theii; form
and structure.

An important condition of their advancement to maturity
seems to be, that the nutriment suspended in the water
should be in very small and limited proportions. Tempera-
ture also influences their constitutional changes.

Sometimes the larvce pass through the winter iH their
primitive state ; a fact not generally known. Some tadpoles
were confined within wooden boxes submersed in the river
Seine, in which holes were perforated to allow the stream to
pass through, without the possibility of the animals' rising to
the surface of the water, and thus to inhale air. Others
were placed in a large vessel of Seine water renewed at
intervals, with power to rise above the surface. Ten in
twelve of the first box underwent no transformation, the
Others having gone partially through their change. But

des^Agens Physiques sur la Vie, 297

those of the large vessel, and not submersed in the river,
passed through their changes of form without the least
appearance of the phenomenon being retarded. The run-
ning waters of the Seine, , probably contained nutritious
matter, which the water periodically renewed was more
deficient in.

Under circumstances of moderate nourishment and tempe-
rature, the tadpoles under water did not complete their
changes but in a very partial and protracted manner, while
the greater portion made no change. The great difference
in the circumstances of the experiments seems to have been
the access to the air of those which went through their
transformations as usual. Exclusion from light made no
difference in the results, and these were solely influenced
by occasional renewal of air from pulmonary respiration.

These animals possessing a double respiration, cutaneous
and pulmonic, that is, absorbing air from the water around
them and inhaling it from the atmosphere on its surface,
renders these facts highly curious. Fish possess only the
means of aquatic respiration, and the influence of temperature
was tried upon them submersed in water deprived of its air
by previous boiling, the heat being varied from 0° to 40°.
The fish died quicker under these circumstances than the
frog species in the same situation ; but their lives were pro-
longed more in the descent of the thermometer than during
its elevation, as also occurred with the experiments on frogs
and salamanders; and, in both cases, the younger the ani-
mal, the less it could resist the higher temperatures. At
40° the young animals only survived about two minutes, and
the adults many more.

Fish were also submersed in closed vessels of aerated
water, and, by varying the temperature and the quantities
of water, the duration of their lives was augmented in pro-
portion to the increased volume of the liquid, the tempera-
ture remaining the same ; but when these experiments were
conducted in open vessels, the contact with the atmosphere
altered the plienomena. At 20°, a small fish expired in four
hours ; and when the temperature was lowered to 10° or 12°,
the same sort of animal lived several days ; and when the
water was kept clean by being changed every twenty- four
hours,, the fish lived indefinitely. , ,i , ,

It is known that fish rise periodically ,tp, ilie isurface of the
waters to respire; and Dr. Edwards discovered that they
did so when they have. reduced the properties of the air di^

298 Dr. Edwards, De Vlnfiuence

solved in the water to a lower standard than is requisite for
the proper aerification of their blood, thus renewing their
supply of o.z'yg'^n.

The functions of this class of animals have always been
obscure, and their phenomena are different from those of
others. Different species of fish die at various periods when
deprived of water, some in a few minutes, others in a few
hours ; and it appears that their dissolution arises not so
much from incapability of atmospheric respiration (for the
experiments of Sylvester prove that they can respire pure
air), as from the different state of the air. :>nv> h^);;
• Some experiments on lizards, S7iakes, and turtles conclude
the researches among cold-blooded anim.als. The skins of
these, like those of the frogs and salamanders, received a
vivifying influence from the air, mainly acting, in conjunc-
tion with pulmonary respiration, to promote their existence.
Snakes and turtle, their pulmonary respiration being insu-
lated, from their skins being guarded from atmospheric
influence, were found alive ; but the lizards died in a few
hours, when the vivifying contact of the air was removed
from their bodies, and they breathed only by their mouths.
Animals naturally defended by scales transpire much less
than such as have their skins free. Thus frogs, toads, and
salamanders yielded more by perspiration than lizards,
snakes, and turtle, in a given time ; and the porosity of the
skin of course regulates the facility of transpiration in all
cases.

With these experiments and remarks. Dr. Edwards con-
cludes the second part of his researches. The third part
includes animals of warm blood, in which will be found
some curious and interesting remarks on the heat of young
animals compared with that of adults.

Dr. Edwards refutes the common notion of young animals
being necessarily hotter than adults. The heat of young-
puppies was very near that of the parent, or one or two
degrees less, but this variation was not constant. Some
new-born kittens and rabbits were also subjected to similar
trials, and the results led to a conclusion that the tempera-
ture of young animals is less than that of adults.

According to these experiments, the power of resisting the
cooling influence of the air acquires force as the animal
grows up ; and those examples related, in which artificial
covering was adopted, show that nudity is not the only cause
ef the reduction of heat, which is, in fact, more referrible

des Agens Physiques sur la Vie, 299

to their infantile constitution. At first the sucking animal
shows little variation from the parent temperature ; then
this becomes more and more reduced, and about the fifteenth
day it is a degree or two below the mother.

Birds, which are warmer than mammiferoe, were next
made the objects of experimental inquiry, and the young
recently hatched exhibited a lower temperature than the
grown birds. After removal from the shelter of their nests
into a mild atmosphere of 17°, in one hour they cooled down
from 36° to 19°, thus losing 17° in an hour. At an elevation
of 22° the same results were obtained, and they cooled down
to within one degree of the surrounding air. The plumage
of birds has little if any influence upon their temperature.
The production of heat lies within, and not on the surface
of the animal ; and if it be strongly developed, the removal
of natural coverings does not influence the heat produced ;
and if it be weak, their addition will not prevent cooling.
Birds recently escaped from the shell cooled to within two
degrees of the air, whereas the unplumed adult birds scarcely
lost one degree.

The distinctive character of warm-blooded animals to pre-
serve an uniformity of heat has no reference to bulk. The
eagle maintains the same temperature as the wren or the
torn-tit, taking them at the same age, and placing them
under the same circumstances ; but if cooling measures be
adopted, the lesser body parts with its heat faster than the
larger, though ultimately they arrive at the same point.
The dimensions of animals are infinitely varied ; but the giant
reaches no higher standard than the dwarf, nor sinks to a
lower temperature.

In estimating the temperature of young animals, it must
be taken into account that they are born at diflerent periods
of organic developement. Some come earlier into the world
than others, and some are more perfectly formed than others
at their birth, and more capable of helping themselves.
This variation produces a diflerent standard of heat after
birth, and especially creates a variety of temperature among
birds when tested at the same epochs of their existence.
The season in which animals are produced also modifies their
temperature.

The influence of age in modifying temperature is common
both to mammiferae and birds. Young and healthy sucking
pigs cooled faster than their parent, their generatmg means
of heat being more feeble. Animals of warm blood possess

300 Dr.'Edw^dSy De VIvfluence

the power of supplying heat at its maximum when first l)orn ;
they then part with it by degrees, and, as they advance in
age, their heat becomes gradually augmented again till it
reaches the adult standard.

Dr. Edwards next proceeds to discuss the phenomena of
animal temperature more exclusively regarding adults, and
especially among those singular creatures of the mammiferas
wnich form an exception to the general law of nature
respecting the uniformity of temperature as to warm-blooded
animals. These beings are what are termed hybernants,
such as the dormouse^ the hedgehog, the bat, the marmot,
&c., natives of Europe, which remain dormant during winter
without any external signs of life and motion. The change
which these undergo reduces them from the state of warm-
blooded animals to that of cold. Unlike the rest of their
class, the autumnal season lowers their temperature by de-
grees, till in winter it reaches so low as to be scarcely higher
than the surrounding air. Their powers fail gradually, and
their losses of heat are not repaired, till at length their
respirations become slow and feeble, and the heart languidly
urges the blood through the arteries. In this state there is
an imperfect aerification of the blood, and a partial state
of asphyxia, producing continued repose of the nervous and
muscular system. But the temperature of these animals
sinks no lower than the air, and remains sufticient to main-
tain a passive existence, till the returning spring raises their
heat again, and they become lively and active till autumn ;
but even in spring these animals are characterised by pro-
ducing less heat than others of their class.

If we seek to know the cause of this curious variety,' we
can only refer it to peculiarity of constitution, which is insti-
tuted by nature as adapted to animals placed in situations
of rigorous cold, and where they cannot procure sustenance
but in spring and summer.

Our author imitated the process of hybernation by artifi-
cial cold, and produced the same effects; and when he
restored animation by gradual warmth, he found the animals
as lively as before.

John Hunter and others have written on the natural his-
tory of hybernants, and Dr. Edwards regards only their
temperature. The experiments on hybernants by artificial
cold prove this fact, that hybernation is attributable to other
causes than to the reduction and deprivation of nutriment ;
for the animals submitted to the ordeal of cold were well

des Agens Physiques sur la Vie. 301

fed, and in the lively season of advanced spring. The depri-
vation of food seems to be a local consequence provided
for by the phenomenon of hybernation, and not its exciting
cause. Nor does there appear to be any change of organiza-
tion in these cases, but a state of constitution exists which
we are unable to account for further.

We have, in the next place, a series of experiments showing
tjie influence of the seasons upon animal temperature with
the warm-blooded ; by which it seems that they produce a
variety of results : and it is demonstrated that animals of
warm blood in general undergo some constitutional changes
with the periodical returns of the seasons. When, for ex-
ample, the highest degree of temperature is attained, animals
no longer produce heat ; so that their temperature continues
below that of the air in the hot season. And, in the cold
season, if the cold be not too rigorous, the animal's age offers
a proportionate resistance to the cooling effects of the air
as the approach to maturity is attained. An elevated and
a depressed temperature thus produce contrary eff'ects upon
the internal powers of generating animal heat, a high tem-
perature arresting them, and a low one promoting them.
Thus we cannot fail to observe the beautiful adaptation of
means to final causes.

Upon the subject of asphyxia in warm-blooded animals.
Dr. Edwards found a great dependence between animal heat
and the faculty of living without contact with the air, a state
in which the blood is not aerated by respiration, and which
is sustained by hybernants while in the dormant condition.
Having submersed animals in water of various temperatures
successively, so as to bring them under the influence of vari-
able temperature, he found the descending scale of tempera-
ture the most hurtful. The ascending Jieat was that which
prolonged life most. Between 20"^ and 10° the results were
similar to those between 20° and 40^

Animals, then, of warm blood in a state of asphyxia hold
their existence on two principal conditions relative to heat;
one regarding the different measures by which some deve-
lope their heat, and the other the degree of external tempe-
rature. The first is proper to animals naturally, the second
fortuitous. .

Upon the respiration of both young and adult animals the
author arrives at a conclusion opposite to that of common
opinion, which is founded on the notion of the heat in young
animals being higher than that of the matured. Finding,

OCT.— DEC* 1827. X

302 Dr. Edwards, De V Influence

however, as already noticed, that the parent exceeds the
temperature of its oftspring aftet birth, it is naturally con-
cluded that its consumption of air is also greatest. This was
experimentally confirmed, and is in unison with other facts.
In the first part of this work the vertebratae of cold blood
were also found to consume least air in proportion to their
diminution of temperature. Temperature seems to act
uniformly with all the vertebratae, and their consumption of
air is in proportion. The mammifera have a lower tempe-
rature than birds, and they consume less air than the latter.
Fish and reptiles consume less air than the warm-blooded,
and possess a lower temperature.

The influence of the seasons upon respiration is considered
in the sixth chapter. Many changes occur in the atmospherd
during the revolutions of the seasons, varieties in the tem-
perature, and the pressure and density of the air. Dr.
Edwards shows that the faculty of producing heat with
warm-blooded animals is greater in winter than in summer,
the constitution of animals being adapted to their individual
climates ; and in reference to the relation of this faculty to
the consumption of air, it is presumable, all other cir-
cumstances being alike, that the consumption ought to be
increased with the faculty of developing heat, and the expe-
riments justify the presumption.

Upon the subject of transpiration, it is shown that the aii^
not only exercises a vivifying effect upon the constitution,
but one little less important in removing a vaporous sub-
stance from the surface of the body, and which is separated
from the fluids before its conversion into vapour, and known
by the name of perspiration or sweat, which transpires from
the skin. The variations in the temperature of the air pos-
sess great influence over this function. Experiments on this
subject were detailed most fully in our last Number, relative
to cold-blooded animals ; and therefore these need not now
be repeated in respect to the warm-blooded, for the results
are exactly similar, as to transpiration in equal and succes-
sive periods, the comparative influence of dry and moist
states of the air, and the effects of air in motion and in repose.
Inspection of the table annexed to the work displays the
similarity of the effects produced by the same physical agents
npon cold and warm blooded animals, and this accordance
serves to afford mutual support to the different investi-
gations.

We are now arrived at the fourth and last part of this

des Agens Physiques sur la Vie. 3qA

Work. Much, however, of this part appertains to what has
been already detailed upon other animals. But the modifi-
cations of* heat in the human being, from the period of birth
to maturity, Will be fouiid highly intferesting. They accord
precisely with th^ results obtained among the lower animals
and mamrniferffii and pr^sfent analogical proofs of the general
application of principles laid down in the preceding portions
of our notices.

While, hdwet^r, We trace analogy throughotii the animal
kingdoni, it must be remembered that there are infinite
sources of variation arising from the extensive variety of
species modifying those principles, which are governea by
a general harmony of effect. Of all animals, man exhibits
this variety the most, possessing, as he does, attributes above
all the groups of his class, from his intellectual properties,
speech, ore, rendering his race unique and superior to all
others. Our curiosity cannot, therefore, be allowed to rest
satisfied with the general application of principles, until we
have observed their modifications in the human being as well
as in brutes. It is highly interesting to inquire into the con-
ditions of human phenomena, and examine the forces which
man opposes in his intelligent character to the physical
agents around him. He is equally liable to their influence,
exists by their contact, and yields, like other members of the
animal kingdom, to their destructive tendency. The essen-
tial distinctions appertaining to his economy are thus the
more necessary to be understood. His organization affords
him no shelter from the operations of physical laws beyond
that of brutes ; but the superiority of his nature may be
supposed to modify their Influence from causes referrible to
his sensibility. These have formed the subject of Dr.
Edwards's inquiry.

Mart's state and condition, at his birth, place him in very
different circumstances from those at which he subsequently
arrives. Here, therefore, we see an extensive field of
inquiry ; and it is suggested whetherj in the infantile state,
man generates less heat than in naore matured existence.
Dr. Edwards has shown that the young of mammiferae gene-
rally, being born at the period when their eyes are open,
produce less heat than adults. It is, therefore, presumable
that the generating powers of heat differ in the two states of
existence which man goes through, the infantile and mature.

But the power of producing heat differs among adult
animals, and it is desirable to know the limits of this faculty,

X2

304 Dr. Edwards, De V Influence

Moreover, this power differs in different parts of the body ;
so that, when experiments are made, we should always apply
the thermometer to the same part of the body. Among
twenty adult persons, Dr. Edwards found the average tem-
perature 36". 12: in infants from a few hours to two days
old, 34°.75 was the average. Thus we perceive that the
temperature of human infants is inferior to that of adults.
In infants born previous to the usual period, two or three
hours after birth their heat was at o2° of Reaumur's scale.
So far we perceive a similarity in man to the mammiferae in
general.

We have next a chapter on the effects of cold upon mor-
tality at different ages. Tt is highly interesting to observe
the care of animals towards their offspring, in protecting
them against the effects of cold instinctively, at a period
before their own powers of generating heat enable them to
resist its baneful tendency.

Dr. Edwards endeavours to investigate the subject of cold,
so as to discover its limit of action. He examined the young
of mammifera3 and birds, the former born with closed eyes,
and the latter unfledged. He exposed them separately and
apart to the air, so as to be independent of each other's
warmth, and they exhibited a temperature below their natural
standard at the period of birth, even when a degree of artifi-
cial heat was applied beyond that of adult birds. The final
result of these experiments was, that the application of heat
may be conducive to their developement, but is not indis-
pensable to their preservation. The author discovered, that
the diminution of temperature is not equally injurious at all
ages. The younger the animal, the less is the injury sus-
tained by cold, because the faculty of producing heat is less
powerful with the young than with the matured animal, the
power increasing as the animal grows, and also with the
increase of cold. \

Still, however, this subject is open to inquiry, for the
great variety of species, and other circumstances belonging to
the animal creation, so modify the phenomena as to create
an almost endless field of investigation. When warm-
blooded animals are exposed by their parents to the atmos-
pheric influence at an early age, they are better provided
against the perils of cold, being born with an abundant
source of heat. But, if the cold exceeds their powers of
generating heat, the mortality is so much readier. Hence
arises the danger of aniina,ls being born in the winter season.

dcs Agens Physiques sur la Vie,

Two cii*cumstance8 are distinguishable, the refrigeration of
the body, and the temperature it is capable of sustaining.
The cooling is so much less injurious with the young. If
two young animals of the same species be cooled down
equally'/ the youngest suffers the least. But, in order to
lower t6 the same number of degrees the temperature of
bodies of different ages, the external heat should be lowered
in proportion to the advancemenit of the animal towards
maturity, in order to compensate for the difference which the
modification of age produces.

While it is true that the younger animals suffer least from
cold, it is, at the same time, to be considered that they cool
down more rapidly. On this principle depends the mortality
of our domestic fowls and other animals, the management
of which requires so much observation and experience in
order to rear them. In regions where the temperature is
liable to great alterations in the course of the year, man and
other vertebrated animals of warm blood are liable to suffer
in their health ; for, though cold should produce the resist-
ance derived from the necessary constitutional developement
of heat, this increase of caloric, having its limits, often ex-
poses the constitution to the effects of too great reduction
of temperature, as is exemplified in the frozen regions of the
North Pole, in Siberia, and in Russia.

The young of mammiferae, in general, were found by Dr.
Edwards to differ very materially in the duration of their
lives, in a state of asphyxia, often being limited to from five
to eleven minutes, according to their developement at birth,
the most advanced in organization living the longest period.
The author proved these facts by placing animals in a state
of asphyxia under water ; and it is remarkable that, in all
his experiments, the voluntary motions were always first
destroyed, the involuntary outliving them. With dogs, cats,
and rabbits, sensibility existed only three or four minutes.
A puppy showed automatic signs of life nearly half an hour.
The best divers appear to be able to remain under water
from three to four minutes.

When animals are entirely deprived of aerial contact, it
may be inquired, what are the principal functions exercised ?
When the air circulates through the lungs, it imparts to
the blood a peculiar quality, by which its colour becomes
changed. Deprived of this influence from the air, the blood
acquires a dark colour, and the nervous function i% simul-

306 Dr. Edwards,- De finflumce

taneously affected. Among reptiles, Dr. Edwards found
that life could be maintained by this dark blood ; but it is
questionable whether the circulation of venous or dark
blood can promote life in animals of the warm-blooded kind.
Temperature certainly modifies their capability of existence.
Under 20°, they live longest ; at 0°, their existence is
shortest. The vitality of the nervous system seems to be
thus directly influenced by temperature.

Of all the phenomena of animal life, those relative to the
blood's state in asphyxia are, perhaps, the most interesting and
cui'ious, from the loss of consciousness, sensation, and volun-
tary motion attending its disoxygenated state. If, however*
animals differ so materially under the influence of ^ deprivation
of air, as to the duration of such existence, we may imagine a
corresponding difference relative to their respirations modi-
fied by species, age, &c. Air, the pabulum vitce, is not
equally consumed, by all, but in different proportions; at
least, such is the presumption from the experiments upon
animals of warm blood. The relative proportions of this
difference are sought to be ascertained. Warm-blooded
animals of equal size and age, at their liveliest period of age,
were the objects of comparative inquiry. We must refer
the reader to the table at the end of the work for the results.
A marked difference is observable between the quantity of
air consumed by the cold-blooded animals and that required
for the support of the warm-blooded ; and each has an orga-
nization appropriated to the individual distinctions. Thus
the structure of the reptile and fish entails the lesser con-
sumption of air, compared with that of the mammiferae and
birds. Fish consume least air, reptiles stand next, then the
mammiferae, and, lastly, birds consume most. The two last,
however, very nearly approach each other ; so do also the
two first ; and the distinction between the organization and
the consumption of air is most strongly marked betv/een the
fish and reptiles on the one hand, and the mammiferse and
birds on the other, which, indeed, has caused their separation
into two distinct groups, by the appellation of cold and warm
blooded animals, — a distinction which clearly separates the
whole of the vertebrated animals into two groups, bearing
different physiological characters in their relations to animal
heat and respiration.

The mere temperature of the blood in each group is insuf-
ficient for our knowledge of their distinctive characters. We

des Agens Physique sur la Vie, 307

further find them characterised by a consumption of air in
union with their heat, Sfo as to unite these two functions,
and thus render them dependent upon the same organs.
Dr. Edwards has further shown, that from birth to maturity
the production of heat goes on increasing with the consump-
tion of air. And thus age (as well as the seasons) has
been shown to be a modifier of animal heat ; for, as the hot
season advances, the consumption of air becomes diminished,
and \vhen the cold sets in, it increases ; and this decrease ancf
increasie are accompanied by corresponding developeraent^
of heat.

In cases of fainting, of hysteric and asthmatic fits, the
principle here laid down, as to the balance between the air
consumed and heat, is instinctively acted upon by the most
ignorant persons, who open all the doors and windows to
admit cola air, and dash cold water in the patient's face.
The addition or continuance of heat increases the affection.
The application of cold produces instant relief. The state
of asphyxia is relieved, the senses return, the pulse beats at
the wrist, and the respiration goes on naturally. The cooling
renders the air, unfit before, fitted for the purposes of life.

The effects of temperature upon the respiratory move-
ments ai*e indicated also in those constitutional changes
which diminish the production of heat and the consumption
of air. Organic affection of the heart or lungs may produce
this change, which entails the necessity of a change of cli-
mate, or an alteration of temperature artificially, to restore
the balance between the air and the animal heat.

A very elaborate and complete argument, and series of
experiments, are devoted to the subject of transpiration,
and the effect upon it of the influence derived from repose of
the body and sleep, by the air's motion or stillness, and by
the pressure of the atmosphere.

We have, however, pursued the interesting points touched
upon so far as to render it impossible to enter at present
upon this portion of the work. The importance of the sub^
ject demands a fuller investigation and report than we have
now room for ; and we must, therefore, defer it to another
opportunity.

308

Experiments on Thought. By a Correspondent.

There is a very common prejudice respecting the rapidity
of thought, which is imagined by many to be almost unU-
mited : and the opinion is very worthily illustrated by a refer-
ence to the oriental tale of a man's being bcAvitched into the
belief that he had passed through a period of seven years
duration, and full of the most striking vicissitudes ; all in the
time that he employed in dipping his head in a pail of water.
Now there is no doubt that we often dream of a period of
many years while we are only sleeping an hour ; that is, we
dream of an impression of a long continued existence, or
perhaps of some detached fact scattered through such a
period: but if any person will write down all that he can
possibly recollect, of the separate imaginations that have
passed through his mind in the dream, he will find that he will
be able to read them over with ease in less than five minutes.

It is probable that there may be a considerable diversity in
the rapidity of thought in different persons, as there is in that
of muscular motions: but there is no reason to think the
diversity greater. A healthy young man can run a mile in
five minutes : a good pedestrian in four ; but no man ever ran
a mile in three minutes ; and perhaps no horse in two. There
is reason to think the rapidity of thought does not differ more
materially than this in different individuals.

The rapidity of thought seems, however, more intimately
connected with that of muscular motion than by analogy only :
for they appear in some cases to be absolutely identical.
. I have often been able to count ten in a second, in audible
English words ; not distinctly, indeed, but so as to assure my-
self that I do hear the ten words in their proper order ; and to
repeat the sounds for several consecutive seconds. If I say
the words to myself only, that is, if I think them over, I
cannot repeat them ten times in less than about nine seconds :
I can never, for example, keep pace with my pulse, though it
sometimes beats as slowly as seventy in a minute : nor can
I, by any effort, think over the numbers from one to twenty in
two seconds.

If I say to myself the first lines of Milton or Virgil, or

Experiments on Thought, d09

H6mer, or any other lines that may be still more familiar tc^
me, I cannot get through them much, if at all, more rapidly
than I can pronounce them, even when I fix my undivided
attention on them.

The rapidity of sensation is also intimately connected with
that of memory and of muscular action. To cast the eye over
a sentence, attending to every letter, is an operation which is
capable of equal rapidity with the saying it over mentally : but
it cannot be made much more rapid. It required four seconds
to look over a sentence which occupied six in rapid reading.

The operations, which succeed each other with this limited
rapidity, are not incompatible with a partial attention to other
subjects i just as in running or walking, we may have our
feelings very strongly interested by the sight of surrounding
objects without interrupting the train of voluntary motions,
which seems thus to be so linked together in a continued
chain, as to become almost involuntary. And we may cer-
tainly be saying a thing over as rapidly as possible to our-
selves, and may at the same time be seeing, and hearing, and
even reasoning, so as to keep up what amounts very nearly,
though not completely, to a continuity of attention to several
distinct trains of ideas : in the same manner as the nerves
of involuntary action are notoriously employed in several dis-
tinct trains of concatenated muscular motions and vascular
actions, and as the ear of a musician is able to follow and
retain a dozen different melodies in harmony with each other
at the same time.

Dr. Danvin mentions an experiment which has a similar
tendency to show the close connexion between thought and
sensation. He says, that if we think intensely of a deep
colour, for instance red, with the eyes closed, we shall see a
tinge when we open them of the opposite colour, or green ;
just as if we had actually looked at a red colour instead of
thinking of it. But I confess that I have never been able to
satisfy myself completely of the success of the experiment.

These very hasty observations appear to me to be in great
measure original ; and the results of such experiments are
certainly more calculated to illustrate the nature and powers
of the human mind, than the fanciful hypothesis of the fashion-

3 Id Experiments on Thought,

9,ble craniologists, with all their measurements of the heads of
murderers, are likely to become.

Zminis.
London, 20 Oct. 1827.

Postscript. — :I find that some similar remarks have been
made by the late Sir William Watson, in his Treatise on Time.
He estimated, from some experiments made in company with
his friend Herschel, the greatest possible velocity of sensation,
such as to admit of about three hundred distinct impressions
on the eye or the ear in a second. " It is true," he observes,
♦^ that whoever attends to what passes in his imagination on
particular occasions, will be struck at the apparent rapidity
with which ideas appear to flow at times, and will be apt to
suspect them far to exceed sensation in that respect. But it
is probable that we are ourselves deceived in such cases/'
P. 38. But there are no direct experiments to prove this
opinion. On the other hand, a sound may be continuous, and
yet consist of only about twenty vibrations, or still fewer, in a
second.

' — ^ .. ^^T.'.VWJ ' m- ->i.Mi-.>l*Mi4-^'-^ — -— - — "< ■ • '-- ■■-'

HiEj^OGLYPHiCALf Fragments, illustrative of Jnscriptions pre-
served in the British Museum, with some remarks on
Mr. Champollion's opinions. In a Letter to the Cavaliere

■: ,rgAN QuiNTiNO. By a Correspondent.

My dear Sir,

You will be glad to hear that I have made some little
progress in the study of the Enchorial inscriptions which I had
lately the pleasure of showing you : my steps have, as usual,
jjeen guided by no system whatever : they have been wholly
empirical, and though very slow, I trust they are so much the
more sure : and I hope they will at least serve as an excuse
for my reminding you of the expectations you kindly allowed
me to entertain, that you would send me copies of any thing
of the kind that you might find among the objects entrusted to
your care at Turin. What I have lately done has only been
to ascertain the dates of many of the tablets sent by Mr. Salt

Hierpglyphical Ffaf/ments. 311

ffom Sacchara, all of them about thp time of the last Cleo-
patra : to identify the Enchorial name of Ptolemy Piqnysus,
and to make out a passage relating to a donation of much

GOLD AND SILVER AND GEMS TQ THE SANCTUARY OF THE GREAT

^OD AT Memphis. The different forms of the characters em-
ployed by the writers, in the same words, constitute also a
valuable addition to the means of deciphering any new inscrip-
tions of a similar nature, awl I have already incorporated
paany of them with my little Enchorial Dictionary.

The 48th and 49th plates of the Hieroglyphics, already pub-
lished, contain two tablets, apparently funerary, but without
any dates of the reigns : the ages of the persons seem to be
expressed in th^ hieroglyphical lines. In the 49th we find
the name Berenice twice in the Enchorial letters, and once
in hieroglyphics; followed here by iVrsinoe, possibly as her
mother.

This tablet, coarse as it is, abundantly shows that Hora-
pollo and Champollion are both correct, independently, as it
seems, of each other, in considering the rings, or cartouches,
as chiefly confined to the names of royal personages ; and that
I inferred the contrary somewhat too hastily, from observing
that the imitations of those rings were attached in the En-
chorial inscription of Rosetta, to several names not royal, and
from having found such rings in other hieroglyphical inscrip-
tions, without the usual epithets of kings. I had, indeed,
remarked, that a '^ mysterious" name was sometimes observ-
able in the manuscripts without a ring, and I had pointed out
the same group as a name in Lord Mountnorris's manuscript,
which Mr. Champollion considers as the true name : but I
am perfectly ready to admit that Mr. Champollion has mate-
rially improved on this hint, as he has on many others.

The same line of hieroglyphics, however, contributes to add
to my reluctance in admitting Mr. Champollion's reading of
P.T.H ; a group which I considered as very probably repre^
senting these letters long before the date of his publications ;
though I had only fully identified the two first characters ;
it seems to me to agree better with PETEH than with
PHTAH ; and I am inclined to think it was the beginning of
tjbe names Petosiris, Peteharpocrates, and other similiar words.

31^ Hieroglyphical Fragments,

as it is here annexed to the names of two or three other
deities. But I am by no means confident on the subject ;
and beg only to be allowed a few years more to collect further
evidence, without being accused of resisting conviction.

I must also claim a similar indulgence for my opinion
respecting the bird and the disc, which is sti) constantly foutid
between two names, that I could not avoid "supposihg it 'tb
mean simply son ; I confess that the arguments which Mr.
ChampoUion has drawn from the application of this charactei:
to some of the Roman names, as well as those which Mr. Salt
has deduced from the inscriptions which he has published,
are at least sufficient to silence me ; I had, indeed, long be-
fore observed that the first name of one pair of rings is scarcely
ever found as the second of another, though I fancied the
Minervean obelisk might afford an exception. On the other
hand, I cannot explain, upon Mr. Champollion's theory, the
order of the names in the tablet of Abydus, which might be
supposed to have been purposely intended to perpetuate this
discussion.

It is admitted that this tablet contains the names of a chro-
nological series of kings, each characterized by one ring, con-
taining what I have always considered as the true names of the
persons in question. It is easy to grant to him that they are
the praenomens only ; as is common in all modern chronology.
But how comes it that there is one exception to this, and that
the reigning monarch is characterized by his second name
only, where he first occurs, and where we should expect to
find his father.? This is precisely what would have been
required if the document had been forged to support my
opinion ; though I should certainly have been very ungrateful
for an argument, which is more calculated to increase the
difficulty than to remove it. ..>iHni^i i,^on^

An objection of a similar nature may be deduced from the
tablet found between the legs of the sphinx, and copied by
Mr. Salt, H. 80. The " Mesphres son of Thuthmosis" of the
Article Egypt is represented naturally enough as doing ho-
mage to his deified father, under the form of an Androsphinx ;
had he been doing homage to himself, the names would
scarcely have been so divided. They also occur repeatedly
afterwards in the inscription, but never together.

Hieroglyphical Fragments, 313

The tablet represented in Plate 51, is remarkable for the
confirmation which its date affords of the accuracy of our chro-
nology of the Ptolemies. It has no pure hieroglyphics. It be-
gins immediately with *' The year 19, otherwise 4, of Cleopatra
[NeQtera'jr and Ptolemy surnamed Caesar : that is, the year
34 B. C. ; and the same date is repeated in a form some-
what more distinct, four times, in the 10th, 11th, 12th, and
15th4ines, In the last it is followed by the Queen gave to the
Priests and High Priests . , then Ptolemy [Auletes9'\ . .
Queen Cleopatra and King Ptolemy surnamed Caesar,
,, Jt has before been observed, that the word surnamed, as it
occurs in these tablets, and in Mr. Grey's manuscripts, com-
prehends the characters which answer to the Neo of Mr.
Champollion's Neocaesaris. The beginning of the group
occurs elsewhere in the sense of called^ and can scarcely be
read '^ ETO," whether we consider the sacred or the enchorial
characters ; nor do we find any thing nearer to this in . Coptic
than ETE, meaning ** that is," while the characters are more
like TENE. Such are the uncertainties which continually
beact us in the application of the best established alphabetical
characters even to words of which we know the sounds : to
investigate the unknown by them is at present almost hopeless.
There are two tablets, from the caverns at Sacchara, about
to appear in Plates 70 to 74 of the Hieroglyphics, which
Mr. Salt sent over with particular interest, as being likely to
contain some useful materials for the comparison of the differ-
ent kinds of characters with each other. In this point of view,
however, his well-directed zeal has failed of its object : for the
sacred characters relate almost entirely to the gods and priests
of the temple, while the enchorial inscriptions below them
contain dates and records of the successive donations made to
those temples. And this seems to be equally true of the
generality of double inscriptions, which are scarcely ever
identical in this sense, although they may greatly tend to
illustrate each other. rdq/f^VL »^ ■^ri'V ' ' ^^- H

The first in order of these tablets *(H 70, 71, 74 A) was
marked number 50 by Mr. Salt ; it has seven stars at the edge
of the wings overshadowing the figures. It is first dated very
distinctly In the year 6 of Cleopatra ; which ought to have

Sit Ilieroglyphical Fragrnents,

been 6 otherwise 2 ; but the second (late waJ? pferliaps omitted
after an interval of more than 20 years, which must havd
elapsed at the time of putting up thef tablet, as the: subsequent
dates demonstrate. The queen seems to be styled Isisy but
the name of the " younger goddess," which is found on her
medals, does hot appear iti these inscHptioris. In the 4th line
the word Memphis occurs, though less distitictly than felse-
ipvhere. It seems to be formed of characters meaning Temple,
and. Good, and might naturally be read PHE-NUF ; which
agrees sufficiently well with the NOPH of Jeremiah, translattid
Memphis by the Septuagint, aS tvell as with the Coptic
PANUF, said to have bfeen Momemphis. It is possible that'
Phthah may have been meant by the Grd6d gbd, NUF ; but
there is here no character at all reserribling the Enchorial
name of Phthah, which approaches td that of a figure of 4.

We next find a notice of the change of dynasty (Line 5) . .
year 7 : the' Gods Phre and " Horus'^ and * Phthah 9 gave
the victory to Autocrator Caesaris the Munificent. The
number 7 is indistinct ; if correct it must belong to the later
of the double dates of Cleopatra's reign, which terminated in
the 22nd or 7th, the year of the Battle of Actium, in which
the victory was obtained by the Emperor Augustus Caesar.
Then follows a date of the year 6, probably of Caesar: and
the seven stars of the wings may possibly relate to the erection
6f the tablet in the subsequent year. We have also a donation
of gold and silver gems.

• The second tablet (H 72, 73, 74 B) has first the date of
the year 19 o/ King Ptolemy [Auletes] the Defender of the
sacred rites (L. 3) . . The year 4 of Cleopatra * ISteotera f
(4) . . many years . . (b) The year 7 ? the gods ' Phre and
Horus and Phthah 9 gave the victory to the Emperor Caesar,

* and Phthah and Horus who loved him gav6 the dominion ot
all men to ? Caesar. (6) . . gold and gems and silver in
abundance, gave them to the sanctuary of the great god in the
temple of Memphis . . The year 7 of Caesar: ' Mechir 18 ?
gave to the sanctuary of the great god in . , (8) . . gold and
gems and silver . . (9) Memphis.

We have here no subsequent year 19 to which the stars of
the margm can refer : and it seems therefore most natural to

Hieroglyphical Fragments. 315

suppose that they belong to the earliest date, with which the
tablet commences : and perhaps the seven stars of the former
may have been marked by mistake for six. The interpreta-
tion of the marginal stars will be easily brought to the test of
future observations.

Plates 75 and 76 contain portions of a large tablet frorri
Sacchara> very fairly written on chalk, of which the upper
part is broken off, leaving only a few traces of a hieroglyphid
inscription, which seems to have*c0htain6d a datfe at the end,
perhaps the 12th of Mechir.

(1) [In the . i year of Queen Cleopatra] and Piolemij sur^
flamed Caesaris, the divine kiiig ; . living for ever. (7) . ;
The yeax 9, Athyr or Mfechir 9, of the great King Ptolemy thd
god ' Brother of Apis ? Dionysus * the awful ? living for ever
. . (19) . . the great King Ptolemy the god * Brother of
Horus ? Dionysus . . . mighty as the sun ? . . . (20) . . ;
living for efver i . (21) In the year 7 Mechir the 14 . . The
Queen Soter and King Ptolemy surnamed Caesaris living for
ever . . gave . . (25) * . children, for ever. 28 . . * Written
and engraved by ? . . ;

In the 79th plate there are four enchorial lines very dis-
tinctly written, and beginning with a date, which must bei
either 24 or 28, arid most probably the latter, as there are 28
stars in the margin: perhaps the 11th of the month, in the
reign of Ptolemy the son of Ptolemy ^ may he live for ever.
The rest is not intelligible.

in this manner, my deaf Sir^ I have been creeping, while
others have been flying, though perhaps a little too near the
sun. Possibly my friend Champollion, and your friend
SeyfTarth, would be able to decipher much more of these
inscriptions ; and it is probable that their versions might
differ in almost every particular. In this case it is unne-
cessary for me to say which of the two explanations I should
be inclined to prefer : for it is impossible to deny to Cham-
pollion the merit of great industry, and deep, as well as
extensive research. I object only to his precipitation, and his
love of system, which, I think, cause him to be led away by his
own ingenuity, through a series of condusions unsupported
by sufficient evidence.

316 Hieroglyphical Fragments.

As an instance of a hasty and undemonstrated assertion, I
shall mention his explanation of the group of characters which
he considers (Syst^me, p. 82) as *' forming the third person
plural of the future in all the verbs of the last nine lines of the
hieroglyphical text of Rosetta, expressing the different dispo-
sitions of the decree, and answering to Greek verbs which are
always in the infinitive," and which he naturally enough
reads SNE.

There is nothing absolutely incorrect in this statement, but
the reader naturally infers from it that the group in question
occurs either exclusively or principally in, these nine lines.
The fact is, however, that in the first five lines, or rather half
lines, the group is found ten times, and in the remaining nine,
only eighteen, that is, about half as frequently, in proportion to
the actual length of the lines : nor can I find any where a
context that favours Mr. ChampoUion's interpretation ; though
I have lately observed that an Enchorial group, resembling 'O,
is found almost uniformly to answer to the Greek infinitive :
being read perhaps MNR or MARE ; but I cannot make
these characters agree either with the hieroglyphics in question,
or with the sounds SNE, which Mr. Champollion attributes
to them.

So little is Mr. Champollion in the habit of distinguishing
proofs from assertions in his own case, that it is the less sur-
prising that he should sometimes confound them with respect
to others. He says, for example, with respect to the nature of
the Hieratic characters, which he explained to the Academy of
Belles Lettres in 1821, " je me suis convaincu depuis que M. le
Dr, Young avaitpublie avant moi ce mdme resultat, et de plus,
que nous avions ete prevenus de quelques annees, Vun et
V autre, quant au principe de cette decouverte et sa definition,
par M. Tychsen de Goettingue." (p. 20.) Professor Tychsen
had asserted this agreement as a probable opinion : it was
amply demonstrated in 1816; five years afterwards Mr.
Champollion thinks he has a right to conhdder himself as a
new inventor of the doctrine, because he chose to neglect what
was done in a neighbouring country, and to undervalue the
actual proof, in which he had been anticipated, by classing it
jyith, a bare assertion to be found in a German publication.

Jlieroglyphical Fragments. 3l7

Precisely in the same spirit he remarks, in the next page, that
Barthelemy and Zoega had pointed out the rings as contain-
ing proper names : they had, indeed, said that they might be
proper names, or moral sentences, or something else ; but the
only question was, if it was worth questioning at all, to whom
belonged the priority of the demonstration that they actually
were proper names: which, before the publication of the
Archaeologia for 1814, was no where to be found. This pub-
lication was the first great step after the discovery of the pillar
of Rosetta : the second was the identification of the different
kinds of characters,' in 1816, by means of the Description de
I'Egypte: the third, the application of that identification to the
names of Ptolemy and Berenice : the fourth, perhaps, was
Mr. Bankes's discovery in Egypt, of the name of Cleopatra,
which he sent to Paris : and on these grounds is certainly
founded all that is at present known of Egyptian literature,
for a very considerable proportion of which we are unquestion-
ably indebted to Mr. Champollion.

The French translator of Mr. Browne's ingenious articles
which appeared in the Edinburgh Review, has certainly gone
a good deal out of his way to find matter of accusation agfiinst
Mr. Champollion. He quotes the text of a memoir published
in 1821, and afterwards suppressed, in order to shoAV that
Mr. Champollion then continued to believe that the hiero-
glyphics were signs of things atid not of sounds ; and that he
disagreed with those learned persons who had considered the
hieratic writing as alphabetical. The date of this suppressed
paper is indeed of some consequence, ^ ' determining the
period at which Mr. Champollion made his rediscovery of
what Dr. Young had published in 1816 ; that is," the fact of
the essential identity of the two systems" of writin'g. But the
translator might have found in the beginning of the letter to
Mr. Dacier, dated in 1822, the same opinion respecting these
systems of writing ; that is, the hieratic and c?(?md^ic, which,
he says, are not alphabetic, bUt •* ideographic, like the hiero-
plyphics themselves," expressing ideas and not sounds : and he
adds, that Ae (!) has deduced from the demotic inscription of
Rosetta a series of characters which have a ** syllabico^alpha^

OCT.— DEC 182r. Y

318 HieroglypMcal Fragments,

hetic value," by which foreign proper names were expressed.

Nothing can possibly agree better than this with the opinions
which Dr. Young had long before published ; and which he
has since confirmed in his octavo volume ; and if Mr. Cham-
pollion's ideas upon this subject have sometimes appeared to
fluctuate, it has probably been more from a love of system,
and a wish to establish originality, than from any new disco-
veries that he can have made respecting these two modes of
writing in particular.

What precise forms of characters may be supposed to an-
swer to the sense in which Mr. Champollion employs the word
demotic, cannot very easily be ascertained. It is remarkable
that his '^ SNE" is a group very commonly found in the
manuscripts of the Description de I'Egypte, which Mr. Cham-
pollion might possibly call demotic ; while it cannot be identi-
iied in the Enchorial Inscription of Rosetta. This is an
instance of the difficulty of finding appropriate terms where
we have not exact definitions. The difficulty is not avoided
by the use of the word Enchorial, except that it may with
perfect safety be applied to such inscriptions as are capable of
having any of their words identified with the inscription so
called on the pillar itself

The verification of the chronology of Manetho must na-
turally be a work of time, even after the complete identification
of the names of the kings, which cannot yet be admitted to be
satisfactory. There is one discordance that it may be right
slightly to point out, as it is presented by Plate 43 of the
Hieroglyphics : we there find the 29th year of the Sesenchosis
of Manetho; and Manetho allots but 21 years to this king,
who was the first of his dynasty, and could not, therefore, like
Philadelphus, have continued any era from an earlier period.

It is easy to observe, in comparing Mr. Cailliaud's copy of
the Tablet of Abydus, as published by Mr. Champollion, with
those of our countrymen, Mr. Bankes and Mr. Wilkinson^
contained in the 47th plate of the Hieroglyphics, or with the
manuscript copy of Mr. Burton, how mugh more hastily the
French traveller had executed his task than any one of the
three Englishmen.

Hierocjlyphical Fragments, Sl9

Another of Mr. Wilkinson's very valuable inscriptions, from
a temple at Kous, must be allowed to give evidence much
more favourable to Mr. Champollion, as far as it regards the
signification o( the plough, which seems to enter into the com-
position of Fhilometor, as applied to Cleopatra and ♦* Ptolemy
Alexander," who are called Philometores Soteres, both here
and in Anastasy's Greek Manuscript. The name of Alexander"
had never occurred to the author of the article Egypt, but he
had evidently a foresight in what way it would make its ap-
pearance when he observed, N. 55, ** it will appear hereafter,
that a knowledge of the enchorial forms may possibly contri-
bute very materially, at some future time, to assist us in deter-
mining it:" and he immediately proceeds to the subject of

PHONETIC HIEROGLYPHICS. d^-S ';t r

The plough seems to be exchanged on the Minervean obelisk
for the dentated quadrant and chain, which may hence have
been synonymous with the dentated parallelogram or comb :
both perhaps having represented instruments which bore the
same name, and served the same purposes, though of different
forms : they may, for instance, have been rakes or harrows,
and may hence have borne some analogy to the plough or hoe.
Whether they had names beginning* with M, may still be
questionable.

Mr. Champollion has endeavoured to explain the absence of
the names of our queens from the tablet of Abydus, by saying
that it must be considered as a tablet '^ purely genealogical^
First Letter to the D. de B. p. 89. A reader is naturally dis-
posed to a;cquiesce in this explanation, since Mr. Champollion,
who has carefully examined it, asserts it on his own credit ;
especially as the assertion appears to be supported by a long
and minute discussion. Unhappily, however, it is only ne-
cessary to compare his brother's chronology in P. 107, with his
own Plates II. and III. fig. 5, from which it appears that
Amenses, who reigned more than 20 years, was the mother of
Thuthmosis the second, whose name is in the tablet, while his
mother's is omitted. It is true that, with his usual ingenuity,
Mr. Champollion seems aflerwards to change his ground in
the same page : for he says, that one only of two brothers
Qr sisters was inserted, in order to keep the number of the

Y2

320 Hieroglyphical Fragments,

generations unaltered : and he might have added that Amenses
was the sister of Amenophis, whom she succeeded. If he had
stated this clearly, the reader might have judged for himself,
whether such a coincidence was or was not sufficient to sup-
port the chronology of Manetho ; which was, however^ by no
means in want of such support: in the article Egypt, for
example, Manetho's chronology of this dynasty is fully
adopted : and the same ' cartouche' is read Thutlimosis, which
Mr. Champollion, after all his parade, still admits to be
Thuthmosis : nor is there a difference of half a century in the
dates assigned to his reign by various chronologists. It was
established in the article Egypt, that the name contained that
of Thoth, the Egyptian Hermes, and for this reason it was con-
sidered as better established than any other of the names of
the Pharaohs. Mr. Champollion had never discovered this
for many years afterwards : and yet we have been told by an
Englishman in the last Quarterly Journal, that to Mr. Cham-
pollion the greater part of the discoveries made by the inter-
pretation of hieroglyphics are owing !

Believe me, dear Sir, very sincerely, yours,

* # * *

London, 24 Nov. 1827.

On the Naturalization of Fish. By J. Mac CuUoch, M.D.,

F.R.S., &c.
Dear Sir,

As I promised you that I would communicate to you,
from time to time, any new remarks or facts which might occur
on the subject of naturalizing sea- fish in freshwater, I am pleased
to have an opportunity of noticing a few circumstances which
may serve to keep alive in the public mind a subject, from
which I cannot yet help foreboding useful results, in spite of the
neglect and opposition which it has experienced from every
person, I believe I may safely say, to whom it has been pro-
posed, except Mr. Arnold. I am perfectly safe in saying, that,
with this sole exception, every individual to whom the facts
have been described, and the experiment proposed, have replied
by doubts, or. cavils, or objections of some kind j many, by

On the Naturalisation of Fish, 321

positive (lisbeliefof the very facts; while the far greater number
have been persons, whose entire ignorance of every requisite
point of physiology, natural history, and chemistry, must, of
course, have rendered their objections sufficiently unworthy of
notice, though not sufficient to restrain the confidence with
which they have been urged. The satirical writers of the day
view this as the character of the age : the more obvious aspect
which this disposition presents, is the feeling, as if he who at-
tempted, by suggesting an improvement, to render a service, was
meditating an injury, and was an enemy to be opposed at all
hazards. I must permit you to settle metaphysical and moral
questions so profound as to exceed my own ingenuity.

But I cannot avoid regretting that Mr. Arnold is not the rich
and idle proprietor of some of the tens of thousands of acres of
fresh water, whether Scotch or English, in which a ' sea-fish
cannot possibly live,' or * would certainly not be eatable :' and^
in addition, that, instead of a not very opulent ami very busied
* notary public,' he was not in possession of some five thousand
of these acres, with as much money, and as much leisure. And
I feel bound to add to this apology for what he has not yet
done, that the expense of such a course of experiments is con-
siderable ; at least in this comparison. A superintendept would
be necessary ; and for the purpose of taking and transporting
the fish, still more of drawing nets periodically and frequently,
to ascertain the progress of the transplanted fish, there must
be expensive assistance, for which, as yet, there can be no re-
turns ; while that, in addition to irregularities and rocks in the
pond itself, impeding the accurate drawing and examination,
must also be the apology for the imperfection of the present ad-
ditional report as to the success for certain fishes. It is plain
that, though ten or a hundred turbots were present in a pond of
four or five acres, the fact is not one that can easily be ascer-
tained. Let those who have money, leisure, and water, and
nothing else towards the investigation of this object, restrain, at
least, their incredulity and opposition ; as may also they, very
safely, who never saw a fish, except on the stall of a London
fishmonger.

With respect now to some facts : it had been said that the
water was salt, because this pond was situated at a sea embank-

322 On the Naturalization of FM]

ment. I stated befofe, th&t it admitted the sea, by leakage, in
summer, when there was little comparative supply of fresh
water, and was therefore brackish, or saline. I have since
ascertained the exact proportion of salt in the water, at those
times when the fresh water is least. In the driest and hottest
part of one summer, the proportion of salt in it, as compared to
the sea without, was as 40 to 150. In another, peculiarly dry,
1827, it was one half; and the water, having then been at the
lowest, it cannot ever be computed to exceed this. Moreover,
this period of saltness cannot easily, even in such a summer,
occupy more than the months of June, July, August, and Sep-
tember ; or, more strictly speaking, it is probable, scarcely one
half of that time in general, in so rainy a climate ; a climate
equalling Penzance in the quantity of rain.

In winter, that is, during five or six months, or less, if any

objector pleases, it is fresh. That cattle drink it freely, is not

an exact chemical proof; but I must admit, that I have not

analyzed the water at that period, holding the objection in great

contempt. It may be sufficient to say, that it then occupies a

space of about sixteen acres, or increases to this magnitude

from four and a half acres ; so that it cannot, at least, be very

salt, while the fish, and the mullet in particular, are found in

the remotest ditches, among the meadows. But, in defect of

an analysis, which I have not had the means of making.^ there

is a valid reason why the water should be fresh when the size

of the pond is much extended. The presence of sea-water in

it, is, in all cases, the consequence of a depression of the water

within the sea-wall, which allows of leakage or infiltration at

the upper part, so as, in high tides, to equalize, as far can be

done in the short period of high water, the levels within and

without. This, it is plain, must cease whenever the water

within is higher than the sea without ; and hence it is that there

can be no access for the salt water in the winter or rainy

months.

Enough of the mere fact : the objections derived from which
ought not to demand an answer among physiologists ; while to
those who argue physiological points in utter ignorance of alj
,that belongs to physiology, it is probable that all answer is
fruitless. It was stated before — the question is simply twofold 5

On the Naturalization of Fish; 323

respiration and food. ' If fish can breathe indifferently salt water
or fresh, for one week or one month, and if, in their new ele-
ment, translated from salt to fresh, they thrive or grow, fatten
and breed, the trial of three weeks or three months is a sufficient
proof that they will neither sicken nor die of fresh water. If
they can find food, it is indifferent whether the medium is fresh
or salt. It is the misfortune of the age to understand every
thing without knowing its principles ; just as every man is now
a physician. A few, more profound, who chance to know that
salmon divide their time between fresh and salt water, possess
other reasons, and find other objections ; which they must be
permitted to explain for themselves. I ought not, while on this
particular subject, to omit one fact, which has come to my
knowledge since the former papers were written, on the volun-
tary emigration of a fish, supposed to be peculiarly delicate and
peculiarly attached to the sea, into fresh water. This is, that, in
Virginia, the herring ascends the rivers, even up into the most
minute communicating branches, and as far as it can reach ;
while a somewhat recent traveller describes them as being sa
abundant, that it is impossible to cross the fords on horseback
during the season of their migration, without destroying them
by the horse's feet. To proceed to the historical condition of
this pond. ^ >

I have already stated the difficulties arising from want of
leisure and wealth in the proprietor, added to non-residence I
should say, whence chiefly has arisen the difficulty of tracing
the results. Let those try for themselves, who consider that all
this might have been ascertained in a twelvemonth, and
with the same means. Since the communications I formerly
made, the Pilchard has been introduced. It swam away briskly,
therefore it would not die of the fresh water ; but it has not
been retaken. The retaking of individual fish, to ascertain their
presence, is a fundamental difficulty, as I before pointed out.

The Brill has also been introduced since my former list. It
has been retaken ; and, within one year, had grown to double
the original size. *

The Turbot. Fifty or sixty were introduced, averaging about
eight inches in length. Some were retaken in a year, for the
purppse of examination merely, like the former and most others ;

324 On the Naturalization of Fish,

they also had grown to double the size. There is no prospect
of dying in these cases, it is abundantly plain ; that they will
breed is probable, but there has been no time, nor would the
young have been taken. What is to prevent healthy fishes
from breeding?. The young, indeed, may be eaten ; if so, it is
for want of room, or want of a proper balance in this mixed
population. No one knows any thing, either of the ordinary
growth, propagation, or destruction of fishes ; and how then can
any one decide on what is regular or extraordinary?

The Wrasse has been retaken after a considerable period ;
therefore it is not dead.

The Basse has propagated ; and so has the Brill.

The Red Mullet has been introduced, and is living.

The Whiting was introduced, and taken in good health many
weeks after, but not since.

The Grey Loach is thought to have bred considerably.

The Atherine continues to breed.

I formerly mentioned that the flavour of the several fishes
was improved : this is now more positively asserted, in addition,
of the Basse, the Plaice, and the Red Loach. Others were
mentioned in former communications.

Loss of property, or flavour, has been made a speculative
objection by the unvarying objectors. General experience has
shown, that in all fishes, as far as known, the access to fresh
water, or fresh water food, improved the flavour; in many, in
oysters, muscles, cockles, shrimps, it is vulgarly notorious ; as
in mere sea water they are worthless.

There is a popular objection, on this head, made by the
country gentlemen, which I must answer ; to those who think
about what they know, it would have been superfluous. The
salmon is good when it comes from the sea, and bad when it is
returning. Doubtless, it is ; while the reason ought to be plain,
even to an angler. It is in full health in the first case : in the
latter, it has spawned; and, at that period, every fish is pro-
portionally as bad as the salmon ; many are a great deal worse.
The fault is not in the water, nor probably in the food ; it is in
4:he spawning, and with any food the same effect takes place, in
all fishes, everywhere.

I suggested in fanner communications, that an essential point

On the Naturalization of Fish» 325'

to ascertain, in any view of economy, or management, would be
the proper balance of species j to discover what kinds would so
live together that all the species might find food ; might breed,
each to its useful limits, so as to be serviceable to ourselves, the
keeper^ oF the flo<iks, and without hazard of the extermination
of any kind. I may illustrate what is here meant, by a simple
fact, in the ordinary economy of fresh water fishes in con-
finement. Pike and perch can live together, because the natural
defences of the perch prevent the pike from exterminating the
race, voracious as the enemy is. If trout and pike were con-
fined in a narrow water, the trout would be destroyed.

Or otherwise, it must be our object to ascertain, in an econo-
mical view, how to feed, by means of species that we do not
desire to eat, those which we do cultivate for our own uses.
This is a difficult question, which can only be overcome by
time and experience ; by knowledge ; by knowledge, when we
are in a state of entire ignorance ; ignorance of every thing that
relates to fishes, as great as if they Avere the inhabitants of
another planet. This was one great source of difficulties with
us in this case ; and I, myself, must plead guilty, I fear, to a
general recommendation of introducing every fish as a mere
matter of trial ; the result of which has been mischievous. The
basse appears to have been the great enemy ; to have eaten up
the greater number of many species, and given no return. It
has proved the pike of this pond. This could not have been
foreseen; it is a caution for future speculators. Others will be
discovered in the course of trial. It appears also that the com-
mbn crab has proved destructive, probably by eating the spawn
of larger fishes. From some enemy or other, the eels, which at
first abounded to an incredible degree, have most materially
diminished, and so have the shrimps. The latter, at least, ap-
pear to have been destroyed by the basse. Time and trial will
teach us what to do in this case ; in the infancy of ignorance,
man might have supposed that he could keep wolves and sheep
in one field, and have constructed a pen fOr foxes and fowls,
rabbits and weasels. We must not accuse nature of our own
ignorance. '^ '"'f^

The question is here a difficult one; but a little more study

326"' On (he Naiurallzatiou of Fish;

of the general habits of fishes, merely as we know them already,
and even of their anatomy, will go far to lay the foundation of
useful rules on this head, even without a hazardous trial, which
may ultimately not become in our power to remedy, as I much
fear may prove the case with respect to these unlucky basse.
Not to enter on this further than as it may serve for a general
illustration of what is here meant, the anatomy of the mullet
proves that it lives on worms ; on the lumbricus marinus, and
others ; and so do its habits. So also may the very food of
others, as found in the stomach, serve to indicate their natural
or ordinary food. Reversely, the anatomy of a cod's jaws, and
its stomach also, prove it to be omnivorous, omnivoracious.
Or, further, the anatomical character of the diodon proves that
it eats shell- fish,; as we are equally able to limit the range of
food in the flat-fish which have no air-bladders, and cannot
quit the ground. ^uoatK

But in this brief communication, I must not enter further
into this subject than is necessary for mere illustration. I may
take some further opportunity to point out the probabilities, as
to mutual food and protection, in any artificial cultivation of
this nature, as they might be derived from studying the little
that we do know about the structure and habits of fishes. All
that I need add here, is, that I have suggested the introduction
of limpets, periwinkles, and cockles; as affording food without
furnishing enemies : a matter which had been overlooked. To
exterminate the enemies which have been unwarily introduced^
will not prove so easy a task; unless, at least, we could find
their natural enemies ; find the great secret by which alone,
in all cases, man can make war on those whom neither his
artillery, his physic, nor his politics can reach.

The transportation of fishes has been objected to as difficult.
I had occasion to make some remarks on this formerly, and on
the vitality of some kinds. The difficulty is not so great as
has been imagined. The fact generally is, that fishermen,
even down to the very sentimentalists who Avorship the gentle
Izaak, and who are sometimes scarcely possessed of the wit of
a fish, treat them as they would a stone ; as if they had not
livesj ^d ^ills, and opinions, and were not part -of the same

On the Naturalization of Fhh,f 327.

creation as ourselves; as if that creation, which outnumbers
ourselves by raiUions of millions almost beyond algebra to
express, was not, like ourselves, under His care. They are^
easily killed by violence ; they kill themselves by over-exertion,
from anatomical peculiarities ; as every trout-fisher knows ;
that is to say, the fact, not the cause. Let them be treated,
with gentleness when taken, as if they could feel ; and they
will not die in being removed into a cask of water. The flat
fish are all peculiarly tenacious of life, so are all those of firm
muscles generally : the vitality of the carp and of the minnow,
also is notorious; and so it is as to many other kinds. All
these can be removed and carried far, even in straw ; but ia
truth, he who chooses to make his experiments like a philo-
sopher, and who desires to succeed, will not fail.

Yet let me point out what I have suggested to Mr. Arnold,
among other things: to him, whose merit as an ardent experi-
menter, always ready to adopt a reasonable suggestion, and
never seeking for an objection, ought to stamp his character as
a genuine follower of the true philosophy ; the exception, in
this particular case, to every one else. This is, to adopt the
Chinese method of transporting the spawn of fishes ; as affording
a far greater facility to the introduction of species* I presume
that the general fact must be known to your readers ; though I
believe that I ought to doubt; because I quoted the same
practice from Columella formerly, as in use among the most
ancient Romans, among the common farmers.

This substance is perpetually brought up by the trawl net, very,
injuriously, as it relates to fisheries; and in many cases, the
fishermen contrive to guess tolerably well to what fish it belongs.
That it may be transported to any distance, the familiar practice
of China proves : since it is there a common article of sale in the
markets ; while there also, I may incidentally remark, the culti-
vation of fish for sale, their transportation to market, and their
replacement in the ponds, if unsold, is as much matter of ordinary
farming as the management of a poultry-yard ; while the pond
is often the most profitable part of the farm. They also, who
do not already chance to know it, may be informed, that this
species of poultry-yard, or fish-pond, is as easily and regularly

328 On tJio Naturalization of Fish .

stocked in this manner, and managed, as any other portion of
the farm : since it is even destroyed, or suffered to become dry
occasionally, and again renewed in the wet season, by the means
of purchased spawn, or stock; just as a sheep farmer buys
lambs to stock his mountains. If England is too wi^e to learn
of Rome or China, or of France and Germany, or even of the
experiments on which I have dwelt so much and so often, it
must be a pleasing reflection that it is already so amply informed
as to have passed the bounds of all possible improvement and
all possible wishes. But that I may terminate this particular
suggestion, 1 will only further point out, that lobsters, and the
crab tribe generally, might very easily be transported in this
manner, and that, in them, it is easily known when the ovum
has been impregnated, by means of a black spot with which it
is then marked.

If I ought to apologize already for the length of this com-
munication, I shall conclude it by sayins;, that whatever may
be judged of the general philosophy of this subject, there is
not and never has been any thing to prevent the cultivation of
fish, in ponds of salt-water at least, or the preservation of them
in any water in which they will live for a sufficient length of
time, so as to render that a depot for the purposes of a fish
store, calculated for the steady supply of a market, in the
manner which I formerly described and proposed. If, after so
many years as this proposal has been made, London has not
seen either the facility, or the utility, it will discover them at
some future day ; just as it discovered, ten years after there
had been twenty-six steam-boats on the Clyde, that a steam-
boat might possibly be of use on the Thames; just as it op-
posed gas-lights, and just as it has adopted gas-lights.

329 n^

Nuga Chirurgica; or, a Biographical Miscellany, illustra-
tive of a Collection of Professional Portraits. By W
Wadd, Esq., F.L.S. &c. 8vo. pp. 276. London, 1824
Longman and Co., and Callow and Wilson.

Nuga Canorce ; or Epitapkian Mementos fin Stone-cutter's
Verse) of the Medici Family of Modern Times, ' By Unus
Quorum. London, 1827. Callow and Wilson.

Mems. , Maxims, and Memoirs. By W. Wadd, Esq. , F.L.S. ,
Surgeon-Extraordinary to the King, &c. 8vo. pp. 303.
London, 1827. Callow and Wilson.

We have placed these three Works together, because they
are so closely allied as to form a whole, and also because
NugcB Canorce and Nugcc Chirurgiccc bear internal evidence
of being written by the same pen ; and when we say further,
that they are characterized by good feeling and good humour,
we are sure we are not far off in our guess about who is ' Unus
QooRUM.* These volumes come within the scope of our
Journal, as comprising an outline of the history of medical
science, sketched in a vein of pleasantry that makes it no
less agreeable to the general than to the professional reader,
and we have derived both amusement and information from
its perusal. Like the ' Gold Headed Cane,' it helps us to
much curious modern biographical anecdote, with the addi-
tion of varied entertainment for the medical antiquary.
While, however, we recommend these * Mems.,' and com-
mend the literary loungings of contemporary practitioners,
we cannot but regret the neglected volumes of Aikin and
Walker, and lament that the lack of feeling for the annals
and literature of their profession, should be less active in
the medical public of this country, than with our professional
brethren on the Continent.

' Nugce Chirurgicce' is a Catalogue Raisonnee of a scarce
collection of Medical Portraits. We believe only 250 copies
were printed ; from which circumstance, and its recording
the congregation of the greatest assemblage of medical men
ever met together, it is probable that it may some day
become a medical rarity. The author's original intention
appears merely to have been to describe the portrait, with
some characteristic trait ; but an after-thought seems to have
occurred, and in the " Memorabilia," the ** Medici Family'"'
are, as it were, retouched and varnished, so as to become

330 NugcB ChirurgictB, ^c.

very agreeable pictures. We shall now present our readers
with a few specimens of this gallery, taken at random.

EURICUS CORDUS.

" Cordus, who was accustomed to receive his fees only at the
termination of his patieiit's disease, describes, in a facetious epi-
gram, the practitioner at three different times, in three different
characters.

Three faces wears the doctor ; when first sought
An'angers— anda god's the cure half wrought:
But when, that cure complete, he seeks his fee,
• The devil looks then less terrible than he.

" The epigram of Cordus is illustrated by the following con-
versation, whi^ch passed between Bovart and a, French marquis,
whom he had attended during a long and severe indisposition.
As he entered the chamber on a certain occasion, he was thus
addressed by his patient : ' Good day to you, Mr. Bouvart ; I feel
quite in spirits, and think my fever has left me.' ' I am sure of
it,* replied the doctor ; ' the very first expression you used con-
vinces me of it.' * Pray explain yourself.' ' Nothing more easy :
in the first days of your illness, when your life was in danger, I
was your dearest friend ; as you began to get better, I was your
good Bouvart ; and now I am Mr. Bouvart : depend upon it you
are quite recovered.* Bouvart's observation was grounded on a
knowledge of human nature : every day's experience shows, that

* accipe dumdolet' should be the medical man's motto.

JOHN CASE.
, " In one of the profound pieces of astrological bombast written
Xiy this singular genius, he gives an account of the creation of
Adam : * Thus Adam was created in that pleasant place Paradise,
about the year before Christ 4002, viz. on April 24, at twelve
o'clock, or midnight.' His name was latinized to Caseus, which
was occasionally interpreted Dr. Cheese. Granger says the fol-
lowing anecdote of Case was communicated to him by the Rev.
Mr. Gosling, in these terms : ' Dr. Maundy, formerly of Canter-
bury, told me, that in his travels abroad, some eminent physician,
who had been in England, gave him a token to spend at his
return with Dr. Radcliffe and Dr. Case. They fixed on an even-
ing, and were very merry, when Radcliffe thus began a health :

* jfiere, brother Case, to all the fools your patients.' * I thank
you, good brotlier,* replied Case ; * let me have all the fools, and
you are heartily welcome to the rest of the practice.'

THOMAS DAWSON.

" The following anecdote is related of him : After he became
M.D. he attended his neighbour Miss Corbett, of Hackney, who

Nugee Chirurgic(Bf <^()v 331

was indisposed ; and found her one day sitting solitary, piously
jind pensively musing upon the Bible, when, by some strange acci-
dentf his eyes were directed to the passage where Nathan says to
David, ' Thou art the Man.' The doctor profited by the kind
hint ; and, after a proper time allowed for drawing up articles
of capitulation, the lady, on 29th May, 1758, surrendered herself
up to all his prescriptions, and the doctor very speedily performed
a perfect cure.

"ta^^ooB^taw PHILIP HECQUET.

** * C*est un^ er?eur de penser que le sang soit n(;cessaire ^ la
conservation de la vie ; on ne pent trop saigner un malade ;* are
the words put into the mouth of our doctor, in the character of
Sangrado by the facetious Le Sage. Hecquet, both in theory
and practice, carried the anti-phlogistic system to a greater extent
than any other man, and defended the * boisson* and the bleeding^
.saying, ' J'ai pour garants de mon sentiment, sur le Regime
maigre, les medecins les plus fameux, taut anciens que modernes.*
He was a conscientious practitioner of his own eccentric doctrines,
and it was perfectly consistent with his character, that ' loin
d'imputer la mort da chanoine -X la boisson et aux saign^es, ii
sortit en disant, d'un air froid, qu'on ne lui avait pas tire assez de
sajigy ni fait boire a^sez dcau chaude'

*' The practice of bleeding was carried to a singular extent in
France, and it was the fashion, at one time, to bleed on the oppo-
site side to the part affected; if the pain was on the right side,
they bled in the left arm, and vice versa. Pierre Brissot produced
a civil war in the medical world by writing against the custom,
and, in the year 1600, was driven into exile, by edict of the
Univei-sity of Paris, for thus opposing the established practice.

Sir CHARLES SCARBOROUGH

** Was a man of great versatility of talents ; he wrote a * Treatise
on Trigonometry,* and a ' Compendium of Lilly's Grammar ;' gave
lectures on mathematics at Cambridge, and on anatomy in London.
His epitaph records that he was

Inter Medicos Hippocrates,
Inter Mathematicos Euclides.

He read the lecture founded by Dr. Caldwell, at Barber-surgeons*
Hall, for many years ; where he was the first who attempted to
account for muscular strength and motion on geometrical prin-
ciples. He was a man of amiable manners and great vivacity of
conversation. Seeing the Duchess of Portsmouth eat to excess,
he said to her, with his usual frankness, ' Madam, I uill deal \vith
you as a physician should do ; you must eat less^ use more exercise,
iakej^hysicy or be sick.'

Dr. PITCAIRN

" Was a great enemy to quackery and quacks, of whom he used

332 Nu(j(E Chirurgica, Sec,

to say that there were not such liars in the world, except their
patients. A relation of hi?, one day, asking his opinion of a
certain work on fevers, he observed, ' I do not like fever curers ;
we may guide a fever — we cannot cure it. What would you think
of a pilot who attempted to quell a storm ? Either position is
equally absurd. We must steer the ship as well as we can in a
storm ; and in a fever we can only employ patience and judicious
measures, to meet the difficulties of the case.' '*

Turn we now to the second article in our list, — Nuga^
Canorce; and we are satisfied that our readers will agree
with us in the correctness of our guess. It is the produc-
tion, at any rate, of one who has lived much in the medical
world, and no unobservant spectator of the vices and vir-
tues, the feelings and failings of contemporary jDractitioners,
possessing tact to '' catch the manners living as they rise."
In short, it is a pleasant jeu d'espritj and we hail it as
an omen, that in these " piping times of peace," the days of
Garth, Goldsmith, and Darwin may be revived, and that
the medical fraternity may again employ their leisure hours
in amusements for which their education and intercourse
with society so well qualify them.

After a humorous preface, in which the removal of the
College of Physicians to Pall-mall East is lamented, the
work, for very satisfactory reasons, is dedicated to the
Presidents of the two Colleges and to the Master of the
Company of Apothecaries, for the year 1927 — and as a
character in one of Foote's farces wishes he were to be born
*' fifty years hence," so should we like to have a peep at the
'^ Clines and Coopers," the " Halfords and Warrens," of
that day. We wish, with the author, that they may be
as distinguished ornaments of their profession as those of
our own.

That the old college should still be preserved for medical
purposes, it is proposed to turn it into a " Medical Mau-
soleum," where the " Medical Fraternity are to be buried
on the same terms as the Parisians are at Pere la Chaise —
and then follow the supposed Epitaphs of the present race
of the " Medici." Due honour is done to learning and
talents ; while quackery, in all its ramifications, meets with
just castigation. The names of Heberden, Turton, and
Baker are noticed with the respect to which their virtues
and acquirements entitle them.

Passing from these, we are introduced to an eccentric of
the old school.

NugcB ChirurgiccBi 8cc, 333

*' Sir RICHARD JEBB, Bart. M.D.

" Here, caught in Death's web,

Lies the great Doctor Jebb,
Who got gold-dust just like Astley Cooper ;

Did you speak about diet,

He would kick up a riot,
And swear like a madman or trooper.

*' When he wanted your money.

Like sugar or honey.
Sir Richard looked happy and placid ;

Having once touched the cash,

He vvas testy and rash,
And his honey was turned to an acid.

" Sir Richard was very rough and harsh in manner. He said
to a patient, to whom he had been very rude, ' Sir, it is my xcay*

* Then,' replied the patient, pointing to the door, ' I beg you will
make that your way.' Sir Richard was not very nice in his mode
of expression, and would frequently astonish a patient with a
volley of oaths. Nothing used to make him swear more than the
eternal question, * What may I eat ? — Pray, Sir Richard, may I
eat a muffin V ' Yes, Madam, the best tiling you can take.' ' O
dear! I am glad of that. But, Sir Richard, you told me the other
day, that it was the worst thing I could eat 1* * What would be
proper for me to eat to-day V says another lady. * Boiled turnips.*

* Boiled turnips ! you forget. Sir Richard, I told you 1 could not

bear boiled turnips.' ' Then, Madam, you must have a d d

vitiated appetite.'"

We cannot help bringing before our readers the following
well-known *' characters" of their day, and should have
indulged in more ample quotations from these amusing
" Epitaphs,'^ were we not afraid of the imputation of
** inappropriateness."

^^ On a most venerable and highly venerated Surgeon^ lately deceased,

* Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit,
Nulli flebilior quam mihi.' — Hon.

" Of manners gentle, and in soul sincere,
Removed beyond this sublunary sphere,

Here lies an honest man !
Endued with caution, yet devoid of fear,
In practice dexterous, in judgment dear-
Excel him if you can !"

To this, we think, may be affixed the name of Henry
Cline !

OCT.— DEC. 1827. Z

334 NugcB ChirurgicoB^ S^c.

"• CHARLES GOWER, M.D.

' Discours de bons mots !'
" Ye sons of humour, of frolic, and fun,
Tliis stone will inform you that Gower is gone.
Poor Gower I eccentric, facetious, and funny,
Lik'd nothing so well as other men's money.
Alas ! he is gone — 'tis hard to say where,
The victim of mirth, imprudence, and care.
Where'er he is gone, his companions he'll smoke,
For, cost what it will — he will have his joke.
" * I knew him well, Horatio !'" exclaims our Author — " * a
fellow of infinite jest !' — Chairman of the St. Alban's Club, where
oft ' he set the table on a roar.' — And who did not know this
eccentric oddity ? Gower had considerable talents, but they were
directed every way but the right. He made medicine a plaything,
never being steady in professional pursuits. He wrote several
singular books : one he entitled * Auxiliaries to Medicine ;' ano-
ther, ' The Art of Painting ;' both of which pourtray the character
of their author. His unsteadiness led him into difficulties, and he
died in obscurity."

*« DALMAHOY.

' Thrice happy were those golden days of old,
When dear as burgundy p'tisans were sold.'

" Dalmahoy sold infusions and lotions,
Decoctions, and gargles, and pills ;
Electuaries, powders, and potions,

Spermaceti, salts, scammony, squills. ;

Horse-aloes, burnt alum, agaric,

Balm, benzoine, blood-stone, and dill ;

Castor, camphor, and acid tartaric,
With specifics for every ill.

But with ail his specifics in store

Death on Dalmahoy one day did pop ;

And although he had doctors a score.
Made poor Dalmahoy shut up his shop."

" HENRY REVELL REYNOLDS, M.D.

* Os placidum moresque benigni.'

" Here well-dressed Revell Reynolds lies,
As great a beau as ever !
We may perhaps see one as wise,
But sure a smarter never.

" Dr. Reynolds may be considered as the link between the
ancient and modern costume of the Faculty: to the last, he wore
a well-powdered wig and a silk coat. He was an excellent

Nug(S ChirurgiccEf Sjrb, 335

specimen of a well-dressed and well-bred gentleman. As a
practitioner he ranked in the first class, and he was one of the
physicians who attended King George the Third during his afflict-
ing and protracted malady.

*' RICHARD GRINDALL, Esq.

* Eamus quo ducet gula.'

" Within this place Dick Grindall lies,
Who was a rare game chicken.
So, so, friend Dick, an old chum cries,
The worms have pretty picking !

No Surgeon better lov'd himself;

He lov'd old rum and brandy
As much as misers do their pelf,

Or children sugar-candy.

And as for eatables — in short.

He lov'd both roast and boil'd ;
Fish, flesh, or fowl, of any sort,

If not by cooking spoil'd.

But though full well he lov'd good cheer.

It was a venial fault ;
Since Reason's feast to him was dear,

Season'd with Attic Salt,

** He was an excellent surgeon of his day ; that is, fifty years
before Abemethy or Cooper was dreamt of. He was also a great
oddity, but a perfect gentleman in his appearance and manner ;
never seen, by any accident, but in a well-powdered wig, silk
stockings, and shoe-buckles. He practised in the City, when the
city aristocracy resided within its walls, and Haberdashers' Hall,
in the season, assembled all the wit, wisdom, and wealth of London
merchants, in a sort of conclave of saltatory civic magnificos."

We just remember him, and that, after a long illness, he
went round in his carriage to return thanks for ** obliging
inquiries," leaving his card, on which was written, *' the
remains of Dick Grindall."

The third and last work we have to notice, comes more
legitimately before us, and is a novelty in medical literature —
a sort of Sketch Book, containing much entertaining anec-
dote, that makes the information it contains extremely
amusing.

The work is divided into three parts, as the alliterated
title quaintly informs us — Mems., Maxims, and Memoirs.
The first is a chronological record, giving, as it were, a
"bird's eye view" of the most interesting events in the
history of medicine, from the time of the conquest up to the

Z 2

336 Nug<B ChirurgiccB, Sfc,

present century. The second consists of comments, or short
essays, illustrative of some of the most important facts ; and
the third of biographical anecdotes.

Under the head of ^' Medical Books, ^^ we are presented
with curious specimens of our earliest writers, with com-
ments ; but let the author speak for himself.

*' One of the first of our English writers, is John of Gaddesden,
whose * Rosa Anglica,' was greatly esteemed, and he is favourably
mentioned by Chaucer. John was a man to whom nothing came
amiss ; he had an anodyne necklace for fits, and an infallible
cataplasm for gout ; he was a dexterous bone-setter, and a good
dentist. He was very assiduous in inventing lotions for ladies'
complexions ; and was complaisant enough to cut their corns ;
and as for those troublesome animalcules, which, in those days,
used to infest gentlemen's heads, he had a most effectual method
of destroying them ; and in his celebrated book, he favours us
with a whimsical cure for small-pox. — ' Immediately after the
eruption, cause the whole body of your patient to be wrapped in
red scarlet cloth, or in any other red cloth, and command every-
thing about the bed to be made red. This is an excellent cure.
It was in this manner I treated the son of the noble King of Eng-
land, when he had the small-pox ; and I cured him, without
leaving any marks.'

*' Such was our countryman, John of Gaddesden, who deserves
notice, moreover, as being the first English surgeon employed at
court ; and that the King (Edward III.) wrote a letter to the
Pope in favour of him."

Speaking of Ardern's manuscripts, he observes —

" These manuscripts, though they are more ludicrous than lumin-
ous, are extremely well worth the attention of the surgical antiquarjs
from the numerous illustrations they contain of the mode and
manner in which Ardern performed his operations ; which, con-
sidering that he was an improver of surgery, gives us a glorious
notion of what the art was previously to John's refinements, or
those of Roger Franks, whom he mentions with great praise."

" ANATOMICAL LECTURES.

" When Dr. Hunter began his anatomical lectures, they were
given in the evening — but as he lived at the period when Garrick
was in his zenith, he soon discovered that he stood no chance with
the actor, for whenever Garrick lectured, the anatomical lectures
were neglected. In vain did the Doctor preach to the pupils on
the immorality of attending theatres, and the impropriety of ne-
glecting him ; it was of no avail ; Romeo's apothecary and Dr. Last
were the only medical characters to spend the evening with, and
for the rest, they thought Macbeth sufficient authority, to ' throw
physic to the dogs.*

Nucj(B Chirurgic(Bf ^c* 337

*' For this reason, and for this reason alone, the anatomical
lectures were afterwards given in the middle of the day.

•' Dr. Hunter may be considered as the father of the anatomica
schools of London, and he bequeathed a fame and character to hi
class, which has been supported with undiminished lustre to the
present day. Previously to his time, very little had been done ;
Cheselden had given a few lectures — so had Andre, and Nourse ;
and Dr. Frank Nicholls gave what he considered a systematic
course, and published a Syllabus of thirty-nine lectures. Dr. Mac-
lauren and Dr. Marshal were also anatomical teachers. To the
late Mr. Cline, however, and to Mr. Abernethy, we are indebted
for the anatomical schools at two of our largest hospitals.

"Mr. Cline, it is true, found a place to lecture in, but it was
his great talents and his high character, that brought it into
notice, and subsequently, with Sir Astley Cooper, made it one of
the first schools in Europe.

" To Abernethy is due the sole honour of establishing the
Anatomical School at St. Bartholomew's, now second to none ;
and it is to the advantages arising from the hospital education of
the metropolis, that London has become, within the last half cen-
tury, the most distinguished seat of medical tuition in the world.
Long may it flourish !

' Quicquid est laudabile, idem est beatum et florens.' — Cicero."

"APOTHECARY.

" Apothecary, in its derivative sense, does not seem to allude
particularly to the sellers of medicines. AicoOtjicr] is of very inde-
finite signification, (Horreum,) a market, shop, or repository,
which may be used or applied to any other business. Chaucer and
Pegge make it Poticarry^ while some have derived it from A-pot'
hc'Carrics, intimating, that they used to carry the medicines them-
selves, as well as see them administered. * Give me an ounce of
civet, good apothecary,' says Shakspeare.

" The ancient apothecaries were called PIZOTOMOI, root-
cutters ; and root-cutters they may still be considered ; at any
rate, no one will deny to honest, herborizing Tom Wheeler, the
character of a primitive PIZ0T0M02.

" That they may still be characterised by this appellation, their
* herborizing walks,' and their botanic garden at Chelsea, afford
very creditable proofs ; nor is there any circumstance in the
history of the present worshipful society, that reflects more honour
on their zeal in promoting those branches of science, which apper-
tain to their avocation, than the disinterestedness and liberality
with which, during the last two centuries, they have maintained
their establishment at Chelsea.

" An active and intelligent member of their court has furnished
them with a very interesting and ample memoir on the subject,

338 NugcB Chintrgiccs^ Sfc.

by which it appears, that this expensive design was commenced at
a time when the society was without any disposable funds, wheii
their hall was burnt down in the memorable fire, and when they
Were obliged to draw upon their own private pecuniary resources,
to enable them to enter on an undertaking, * whose principal
design was honourable reputation, without any prospect of worldly
advantage.'

" Previously to the establishment of this garden, there had been
nothing of the kind, with the exception of a few private gardens,
the most conspicuous of which were those of the celebrated John
Gerarde, and the elder Tradescant ; the former of these not then
being in existence, and the latter in a state of neglect and ruin ;
and the locality of their position is now only known from the
records of the times.

'• There was, however, besides these, a small garden in West-
minster, belonging to Mrs. Gape, the plants from which furnished
the first specimens for the Chelsea Garden. It appears from
Evelyn's journal, that he paid old Mrs. Gape's medical garden a
visit in June 1658 ; whether he begged, borrowed, or bought any
plants, does not appear ; that he had a very fine garden at Saver's
Court, is well known ; but that he lent it to that royal barbarian,
Peter the Great, when he was studying ship-building at Deptford,
is, perhaps, not so generally known, nor, moreover, the return
this royal carpenter made to Evelyn's politeness, or the manner in
which he showed his horticultural taste, in being wheeled through
his landlord's ornamental hedges, and over his borders, in a
wheel-barrow ; a circumstance which is recorded in a letter to the
then Secretary of the Royal Society.

" In France, the apothecaries were incorporated so early as
1484 ; but it was not till the reign of King James the First,
when the metropolis abounded in dangerous empirics, who made
and compounded many ' hurtful, false, and pernicious medicines,'
that the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries were incorporated in
London. Notwithstanding a charter was given them to correct
these abuses, it was found to be nugatory with respect to those
who were not members of the society ; and, although they made
repeated applications to parliament, it is only within these very
few years that their powers have been extended, and that they
could legally enter the shop of any ' person or persons using the'
art and mystery of an apothecary, in any part of England and
Wales, for the purpose of searching, surveying, and proving
whether the medicines, wares, drugs, or any thing or things
whatsoever, in such shop or shops contained, and belonging to the
art or mystery of an apothecary, be wholesome, meet, and fit for
the cure, health, and ease of His Majesty's subjects.' "

Nu(j<B ChirurgiccB, 8;c, 839

« TOBACCO.

'Tobacco's a physician,
Good both for sound and sickly ;

'Tis a hot perfume,

That expels cold Rheumc,
And makes it flow down quickly.*

** So says an old song, in an old play, and so said Dr. Ralph
Thorius, and the learned Dr. Everard, who wrote a book, entitled

* Panacea, or a Universal Medicine, being a Discovery of the
wonderful Virtues of Tobacco' (1659) ; and in the frontispiece of
his book, the Doctor is represented with a pipe in his mouth.
Dr. William Butler, styled, by Fuller, the iEsculapius of his age,
was also a great admirer of tobacco, and that he might not smoke
a dry pipe, he invented a medical drink, called ' ]3utler's Ale ; '
afterwards sold at the Butler s Head, in Mason's-alley, Basing-
hall-street.

" Sir Theodore Mayerne gives a curious specimen of his
tobacco practice : * A person applying to him with a violent
defluxion on his teeth, Butler told him, that ' a hard knot must be
split with a hard wedge,' and directed him to smoke tobacco
without intermission, till he had consumed an ounce of the herb.
The man was accustomed to smoke ; he therefore took twenty-
five pipes at a sitting. This first occasioned extreme sickness,
and then a flux of saliva, which, with gradual abatement of the
pain, ran off to the quantity of two quarts. The disorder was
entirely cured, and did not return for seventeen years.'

'* Ant. Wood says, that he was much resorted to, * and had
been more, did he not delight to please himself with fantastical
humours.'

" Many singular stories are related of him, perhaps they are
travelling stories, as may be conjectured, from the nature of the
prescription, when he ordered a lethargic parson to be put into
the warm carcase of a newly-killed cow !

" Fuller paints this humorist in striking colours, but observes,

* that he made his humorsomeness to become him ; wherein some
of his profession have rather aped than imitated him, who had
morositatem aequabilem, and kept the tenor of the same surliness
to all persons.*

" The following extracts from Letters from the Bodleian, vol. ii.,
will give a notion of his humour, and of his mode of treating his
patients.

" * Dr. Gale, of St. Paul's schoole, assures mo that a Frenchman
came one time from London to Cambridge, purposely to see him,
whom he made stay two houres for him in his gallery, and then he
came out in an old blue gowne. The French gentleman makes
him two or three very low bowes downe to the ground ; Dr. Butler
whippes his legge over his head, and away goes into his chamber,
and did not speake with him. He kept an old mayd, whose name

340 NugdR ChirurgiciB, ^c.

was Nell. Dr. Butler would many times goe to the taveme, but
drinke by himselfe : about nine or ten at niglit, old Nell comes to
him wjth a candle and lanthorne, and sayes, " Come home, you
drunken beast." By and by Nell would stumble, then her master
calls her " drunken beast ;" and so they did " drunken beast" one
another all the way till they came home.'

" ' The Dr. lyeing at the Savoy in London, next the water side,
where was a balcony look't into the Thames, a patient came to
him that was grievously tormented with an Ague. The Dr.
orders a boate to be in readinesse under his windowe, and dis-
coursed with the patient (a gent.) in the balcony, when, on a
signal given, two or three lusty fellows came behind the gent.,
and threw him a matter of twenty feet into the Thames. This
surprise absolutely cured him.'

" ' A gent, with a red, ugly, pimpled face, came to him for a
cure. Said the Dr. " I must hang you." So presently he had a
device made ready to hang him from a beam in the roome ; and
when he was e'en almost dead, he cuts the veins that fed these
pimples, and lett out the black ugly blood, and cured him.'

*' Butler must have been a man of abilities, for the Lord Trea-
surer Burleigh wrote to the President of the College of Physi-
cians, desiring that Butler might be allowed to practice in London
occasionally, and he was consulted, with Sir Theodore Mayerne
and others, in the sickness that proved fatal to Prince Henry;
and it is reported that Butler, at first sight of him, gave an unfa-
vorable prognostic. The account of this case affords such an
excellent notion of the consultations and practise of the doctors
of those days, that I am induced to give it as stated in the ' Desi-
derata Curiosa.'

*' The Manner of the Sickness and Death of Prince Henry,
6th Nov. 1G12.

*' ' Dr. Atkins, a Physician of London, famous for his practyce,
honestie, and learninge, was sent for to assiste the reste in the
cure.

" ' He got worse, whereupon bleedinge was again proposed by
Dr. Mayerne, and the favorers thereof, alledging that in this case
of extremity, they must (if they meant to save his life) proceed in
the cure, as though he was some meane person.

*' ' This was not agreed to, and next day, the Physicians, Chirur-
geons, and Apothecaryes seemed to be dismayed, as men per-
plexed, yet the most part were of opinion, that the crisis was to
been seene before a final dissolution. This day a cock was cloven
by the backe^ and applyed to the soles of his feete. But in vayne.
Shortly after it was announced that all hope was gone. His
Majestic then gave leave and absolute power to Dr. Mayerne, to
do what he woulde of himselfe, without advise of the rest ; but the
Doctor did not it seems like this, " for hee, weighing the greatness

JVu(j<B Ch{rurgic(S, SfC, 34 1

of the cure and eminencye of the danger, would not,- for all that,
adventure to doe any thinge of himself, without the advice of the
rest, saying, that it should never be said in after ages, that he had
kylled the Kynge's eldest sonne."

*' * Bleeding was again proposed by Mayeme, but Doctors
Hamond, Butler, and Atkins could not agree about it ; instead
of which they doubled and tripled the cordials.

♦* * Then came to assist the rest, Dr. Palmer and Dr. Giffard,
famous physicians for their honestie and learninge. The result of
this consultation was Diascordium^ which was given in the pre-
sence of many honourable gentlemen.

" * All sorts of cardials were sent. Sir Walter Raioleigh sent
one from the Tower.' "

" Mrs. MAPP.

•' No part of surgery is supposed to be so easy to understand
as hone-setting ; it is regarded by a considerable part of the people
as no matter of science, an affair on a level with farriery, as
easily learnt, and like a heritage, to be transmitted from father
to son ; in short, the pretensions of these people are very like
those of the man who set up as an oculist, because he had lost an
eye^ or the rupture doctor, who cured hursten children, because his
grandfather and grandmother were both hursten.

'* We are not without plenty of ignorant and impudent pre-
tenders at the present day, but the celebrated Mrs. Mapp, the
bone-setter of Epsom, surpasses them all. She was the daughter
of a man named Wallis, a bone-setter at Hindon, in Wiltshire,
and sister to the celebrated ' Polly Peachem,' who married the
Duke of Bolton. Upon some family quurrel,' Sally Wallis left her
professional parent, and wandered up and down the country in a
miserable manner, calling herself * Crazy Sally,* and pursuing,
in her perambulations, a course that fairly justified the title.
Arriving at last at Epsom,, she succeeded in humbugging the
worthy bumpkins of that place so decidedly, that a subscription
was set on foot to keep her among them ; but her fame extending
to the metropolis, the dupes of London, a numerous class then as
well as now, thought it no trouble to go ten miles to see the con-
juror, till at length, she was pleased to bless the afflicted of
London with her presence, and once a week drove to the Grecian
Coffee-house, in a coach and six, with out-riders ! and all the
appearance of nobility. It was in one of these journeys, passing
through Kent-street, in the Borough, that being taken for a cer-
tain woman of quality from the Electorate in Germany, a great
mob followed, and bestowed on her many bitter reproaches, till
Madame, perceiving some mistake, looked out of the window, and

accosted them in this gentle manner: * D n your bloods, don't

you know me? lam Mrs. Mapp, i\iQ bone-setter T upou which,
they instantly changed their revilings into loud huzzas.

" That she was likely enough to express herself in these terms,

342 NugcB Chirurgiccp, ^c,

seems very natural from her origin and history ; but that she
should be on visiting terms with decent people, and keep quality
company, is as unnatural. Mr. Pott, who wrote with the pen of
a master, has noticed this in no very gracious terms : — ' We all
remember,' says he, * that even the absurdities and impractica-
bility of her own promises and engagements, were by no means
equal to the expectations and credulity of those who ran after
her ; that is, of all ranks and degrees of people, from the lowest
labourer or mechanic, up to those of the most exalted rank and
station ; several of whom not only did not hesitate to believe
implicitly the most extravagant assertions of an ignorant, illi-
beral, drunken, female savage, but even solicited her company ;
at least, seemed to enjoy her company.'"

*' TAR WATER.

" Bishop Berkeley, who brought this remedy into fashion, was
greatly aided by the faith of the clergy, who preached it up in all
quarters. Among these, none was more strenuous than Dr. Young,
the author of the ' Night Thoughts.' ' They who have expe-
rienced the wonderful effects of tar water,' says he, * reveal its
excellencies to others. I say reveal, because they are beyond
what any can conceive by reason or natural light. But others
disbelieve them, though the revelation is attested past all scruple,
because to them such strange excellencies are incomprehensible.
Now give me leave to say, that this infidelity may possibly be
as fatal to morbid bodies, as other infidelity to morbid souls. I
say this in honest zeal for your welfare. I am confident, if you
persist, you'll be greatly benefited by it. In old obstinate chro-
nical complaints, it probably will not show its virtue under three
months ; tho' secretly, it is doing good all the time.'

" Such was the universality of its power, that it was good for
man and beast, and a sure remedy for the plague .'"

After this miscellaneous and amusing collection, we arrive
at the Memoirs, which is not a dry. biographical record of
birth, death, parentage, and education, but a lively sketch
of characteristic particulars of eminent medical men. We
will select a few of them .

'* BUTTER.

" Mr. John Whitehurst (author of an ingenious theory of the
earth) was the means of Dr. William Butter's settling at Derby,
where he (Mr. W.) then resided. Mr. Whitehurst had met at
Buxton with Lord Hopetown, who had asked him what physicians
were at Derby, and upon his telling him, that there could not be
a finer opening, as the two physicians there had both declined
practice, his Lordship said it would be a good place for Butter ;
and shortly afterwards, the Doctor made his appearance loaded
with recommendations, and among others, with one from Dr. Hope

Niigoi Chirurgica, 8^c\ 343

to Mr. Wliitehurst. Mr. W. was very civil to him, but before he
had been a fortnight in the town, Butter came and complained,
that he had not had a single patient. Mr. W. told him, that he
could hardly expect any so soon, that he must he known a little,
and so on, which so offended Butter, that ever afterwards he con-
sidered Mr. "W. as his enemy. He was very rude and coarse in
his manner, always averse to consultations, and used to say, that
nobody but himself and Sir John Pringle knew any thing of physic.
Among his patients at Derby were two brothers, opulent men,
who lived together; one of them being dangerously ill, and at-
tended by Butter, the other brother sent a messenger to Birming-
ham for two physicians, and then told Butter what he had done,
and that he intended to have a consultation. Butter immediately
went to the apothecary, and got some laudanum, of which he gave
large doses to the patient, so that when the Birmingham physi-
cians came, the patient was in a state of lethargy. They asked
if he had been taking opium, but Butter denied that any had
been given ; it was accidentally discovered, however, by means
of the apothecary, and from that time Butter, who was before in
excellent practice, lost considerably in public estimation.

*' A tailor at Derby, whom Butter had offended, once played
him a trick. A curer of smoky chimnies came to Derby, and one
day, when the tailor knew the Doctor was out of town, he called
on the chimney-man, and told him that Butter, had desired to have
a smoky chimney cured, belonging to his best parlour ; and had
left positive orders that he should go to his house and set about
it immediately. The operator accordingly went, delivered his
message to Butter's servant, pulled out his utensils, and fell to
work ; and in a short time the marble slab, and other ornaments
of the chimney, were down. Butter came in while he was en-
gaged in this business; finding his parlour full of bricks and dirt
and mortar, his fury was excessive, and his hatred to the tailor
was ever after implacable. The story got wind in the town, and
the boys in the street would sometimes talk about chimney-doctors
as he passed.

" Butter lived close to a churchyard, and one day, seeing a
grave-digger at work, he asked him for whom he was digging the
grave — * For so and so,* said the grave-digger, naming the tailor
who had so highly offended him, which so pleased the Doctor, that
he gave the fellow a shilling. This occasioned a fresh laugh at
his expense, as the tailor was in good health, and it was merely a
piece of pleasantry of the grave-digger's. Butter and his wife
lived in the most frugal manner, and never visited anybody. After
he came to London, a lady of fortune, who had been his patient in
Derbyshire, and wished to countenance him, invited him often to
her table, till at length Butter brought in an account of fees for
each visit."

344 NugcB Chirurgica;, ^c.

«*CADOGAN.

*' Universal temperance in eating and drinking has been con-
sidered as particularly incumbent on a physician, in every period
of his practice. It is a virtue he is frequently obliged to inculcate
on his patients ; and his doctrines will have little effect if they be
not regularly exemplified in his own conduct.

" Dr. Cadogan, however, thought it right to try all things, and
considered it his duty to speak experimentcilly on both sides of the
question, to qualify himself to say, in the language of Dido, —
' Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco.'

** Thus, dining one day at a College dinner, after discoursing
most elegantly and forcibly on abstinence, temperance, and par-
ticularly against pie-crust and pastry, he is reported to have ad-
dressed a brother M.D. in the following terms : ' Pray, doctor, is
that a pigeon pie near you V ' Yes, sir.' ' Then I will thank
you to send me the hind-quarters of two pigeons, some fat of the
beef-steak, a good portion of the pudding-crust, and as much
gravy as you can spare !'"

*' BLAIR.

*' ' We physicians were always politicians,' was a favourite
expression of Warren's, but nevertheless, there are very few
instances of medical men embroiling themselves in political
troubles.

" Dr. Patrick Blair, however, who was in the rebellion of 1745,
got himself into Newgate, and was condemned to be hanged. In
the British Museum are several of his letters to Sir Hans Sloane,
written in prison, soliciting his intercession, and in one of them
he writes, ' If you come towards Newgate, I hope you will favour
me with a call.' Dr. Mart3'n, the professor of Botany at Cam-
bridge, supped with him in Newgate the night previous to his
expected execution. Blair had been all along confident that he
should be reprieved : Dr. Martyn said, he sat pretty quietly till
the clock struck nine, and then he got up and v/alked about the
room ; at ten he quickened his pace ; and at twelve, no reprieve
coming, he cried out — ' By my troth ! this is carrying the jest too
far!' The reprieve, however, came soon after, and in due time a
pardon. Blair went afterwards, and settled at Boston in Lincoln-
shire, where he practised till his death."

*' SIR WILLIAM DUNCAN.

*' Sir William Duncan once met Dr. Thomas Reeve, when the
latter was President of the College, and insisted that his name
should not follow Reeve's, because he was physician to the king.
Reeve asserted his dignity as president, and the consequence was,
that each wrote his own prescription (the same they had agreed
to) and gave it to the apothecary.

" There are many instances of medical etiquette being carried
to a great extent, but polite etiquette in a sick room was perhaps

Nugcs Chirurgic(By 8^, 345

never exceeded by the followinpf exhibition of it, between the
Duke of Ormond and a German Baron.

" Tlie Duke of Ormond and a certain German Baron were both
considered models of pride and politeness. When the Duke per-
ceived that he was dying, he desired that he might be seated in
his elbow chair, and then, turning to the Baron, with great cour-
teousnesSi he requested that he would excuse any unseemly con-
tortions of feature, as his physicians assured him, that he must
soon struggle with the last pangs. ' My dear Lord Duke,' replied
the Baron, with equal politeness ^ * I beg you will be on no cere-
mony on my account !' '

« BAILLIE,

*' Not Matthew Baillie, but an Irish gentleman who had been
rejected by the College, called the next day on Dr. Barrowby, who
was one of the censors, and insisted upon his fighting him. Bar-
rowby, who was a little puny man, declined it. ' I am only the
third censor,' said he, * in point of age — you must first call out
your own countryman. Sir Hans Sloane, our president, and when
you have fought him and the two senior censors, then I shall be
ready to meet you.'

" Many medical duels have been prevented by the difficulty of
arranging the ' methodus pugnandi.' In the instance of Dr.
Brocklesby, the number of paces could not be agreed upon ; and
in the affair between Akenside and Ballow, one had determined
never to fight in the morning, and the other that he would never
fight in the afternoon. John Wilkes, who did not stand upon
ceremony in these little affairs, when asked by Lord Talbot,
* How many times they were to fire ?' replied, ' Just as often as
your Lordship pleases ; I have brought a bag of bullets and a flask
of gunpowder y*

♦* WOODVILLE.

" Dr. Joseph Adams, who was much with Woodville just before
his death, used to relate several traits of his firmness and seeming
unconcern with respect to death. Woodville lived in lodgings
at a carpenter's in Ely-place, and Adams, a few days before his
death, advised the matron of the Small-pox Hospital to invite him
to have a bed made up there, that he might be better attended to:
this she did, and Woodville accepted it. He observed to Adams,
the next day, that he was a poor man come to die at the hospital,
and he remarked, that some of those who called on him flattered
him with hopes of his getting better. * But I am not so silly,' he
said, * as to mind what they say ; I know my own case too well,
and that I am dying. A younger man with better stamina might
think it hard to die ; but why should I regret leaving such a
diseased, worn-out carcase as mine ?'

** The carpenter with whom he lodged had not been always
on tlie best termy with him; Woodville said he should wish to

346 NugcB ChimrgiccBf c^.

let the man see that he died in peace with him, and as he never
had much occasion to employ him, desired he might be sent for to
come and measure him for his coffin. This was done ; the car-
penter came, and took measure of the Doctor, who begged him not
to be more than two days about it ; ' For,' said he, ' I shall not
live beyond that time ;' and he did actually die just before the
end of the next day. He got between one and two thousand
pounds by his Medical Botany, and with the money bought a small
estate, which he left to his natural daughter, being all the pro-
perty he possessed."

We happen to know this fact, and moreover, that the
Doctor was playing at chess when the carpenter was intro-
duced to measure him for his wooden surtout. " Mr. ,'*

said the Doctor, ''you come at the proper season, iov my
game is nearly finished !'''

The work is embellished with three etchings, which re-
mind us that Mr. Wadd not only uses the pen, but the
pencil, with facility and taste. His published works afford
ample proof of his power of illustrating morbid anatomy,
but we happen to know of some unpublished folio proofs of
equal merit. To his fair fame as a surgeon, by the works
we have just noticed, he may add the reputation of being
one of the most vivacious literary illustrators of his art.

On Tic Douloureux.
Sir,

Presuming tbat popular and domestic medicine may oc-
casionally find a niche in your Journal, I beg to offer a few
remarks upon the above complaint, which has lately become,
as it would appear at least, singularly prevalent; and as I
address myself to general readers, I shall avoid all learned
terms of art, and minute descriptions requiring them. The
genuine tic douloureux is usually considered as a morbid
affection of the nerves of the face, very commonly attacking
the circumference of the orbit, and producing frequent and
violent paroxysms of excruciating pain ; the disease, however,
varies considerably in intensity, and sometimes bears the
same name when attacking other parts ; it frequenUy occurs
under the integuments of the head, and may or may not be
attended with external tenderness. Though opiates relieve the
pain, they are ineffectual as to its cure. Peruvian bark, iu

On Tic Douloureux, 347

various forms, has sometimes afforded relief, and preparations
containing the metallic tonics, more especially the oxides of
iron, have been regarded as giving more permanent and
beneficial assistance. Local remedies are of very uncertain
utility, and electricity and galvanism have generally done more
harm than good. The division of the nerves has been resorted
to, but never with permanent, and often not even with tem-
porary benefit. The cause of the disease is unknown, and
though sometimes organic derangement would appear to
excite it, no plausible source of the mischief can usually be
discovered. The patient's principal solace is that the disorder
frequently wears itself out, and as far as my experience goes^
the less we rely upon individual remedies, the better — the main
thing being strict attention to the general health, and especially
to the state of the stomach and bowels. These remarks apply
to the genuine Tic Douloureux ; but it has of late years been
the fashion in physic to give that alarming name to a variety
of painful affections, resulting from very various causes, by
which much needless uneasiness has been given to the patient,
and which has often led to erroneous and even mischievous
systems of practical treatment. As cases of this kind are of
every day occurrence, a short notice of them can scarcely be
inappropriate to a Journal, the chief object of which is to
familiarize every branch of science.

Rheumatic affections of the head and face oflen put on the
appearance of Tic ; like it, they come on at short intervals,
and are limited to a small space ; there is, generally, more or
less of external tenderness, sometimes confined to spots upon
the face and scalp, not larger than a shilling ; at others, more
diffused. More or less of this is usually attendant upon habits
subject to chronic rheumatism, and it not uncommonly is the
leading feature of the complaint. The internal use of opiates
and sudorifics, especially small doses of Dover's powder,
warm fomentations, and keeping the head, especially at
night, wrapped up in flannel, are sovereign remedies.

But the most common cases of painful affections, mistaken
for Tic, are those which occur in nervous and irritable persons,
and especially amongst men of business, statesmen, lawyers,
merchants, over-studious persons, and all whose minds are

348 On Tic Douloureux.

occasionally exercised beyond their powers, who are subject
to reverses of fortune, or sudden changes in the< posture of
their affairs, and who are constant objects of public attention,
praise, or censure. For a time, the constitution, if a good one,
bears up against such wear and tear, but as you advance, one
or other symptom of a shattered nervous system appears,
and this, more quickly and certainly, where the body has
been pampered by too good living, false spirits excited by
indulgence in wine, and fatigue relieved by narcotics, instead
of sleep. Among the host of disordered affections to which
such persons are liable, violent local nervous pains are most
common, but they are invariably relieved by such means as
contribute to quiet the mind and invigorate the body. Ab-
stinence from business, retirement into the country, regular
hours, plain food, moderate exercise, and avoiding excitement,
are here certain remedies, and indeed the only ones, but they
are unfortunately not always easy of attainment, and some-
times altogether unattainable. I have, however, mentioned
these cases, to enjoin an early attention to the overhanging
evil, and to criticise its improper treatment. I would, upon
the first point, enjoin early attention to the first symptoms, and
when they appear let the individual seriously ask himself
whether it be worth while to gain a little more money, glory,
or honour, or renown, at the expense of all future comfort,
and a painful, wearisome, and probably shortened existence ;
or whether such apparent advantages had not better be at
once conceded, and the host of evils, which will almost cer-
tainly ensue, warded off by a timely retirement ? I could
illustrate this subject by reference to many individuals, espe-
cially in the legal and medical professions, some of whom are
harassing themselves to death by over-exertion, whilst others
(I regret to say but few) are preserving a healthy constitution,
by sacrificing a certain share of fame and emolument : the
exceeding folly, too, of persevering in business, when neither
mental nor bodily powers are adequate to the exertion, might
here be animadverted on, but 1 must, for the present, waive
such topics, and return to the treatment of those nervous pains
called Tic Douloureux, which are of such common occurrence
in the cases alluded to. These will certainly give way under

I

On Tic Douloureux. 349

that quiet and retirement which has been above recommended ;
but it is really provoking to see such means so commonly neg-
lected, and the unfortunate patients tormented by blister.-:,
fomentations, and galvanism, and their already debilitated
/ stomachs further overpowered by gigantic doses of powdered
bark, rust of iron, and other (in such cases) equally ineffective
and hurtful medicines. I write to warn against them.

I have spoken of Peruvian bark as a remedy in tic doulou-
reux. Where the painful affection so called, let it arise from
what cause it may, assumes an intermitting form, — and nothing
is more common than to have it coming on at stated periods,
generally one violent attack in the twenty-four hours, — in such,
as in other similar cases, bark has often been effective ; but of
late, sulphate of quinine has very properly been substituted for
it ; and as this extremely curious and valuable medicine is
now in every one's hands, and even finding its way into family
medicine chests, a few words respecting its use, or rather
abuse, may not be here misplaced. I would first remark, that
it is too commonly given in over-doses : it then produces
thirst, and a white tongue, and, what is remarkable, it excites
in most people that uneasy sensation of fulness about the
stomach, which is generally complained of after a large dose
of powdered bark, and ascribed to the indigestible nature of
the large quantity of inert and insoluble woody fibre in which
that substance abounds. For these reasons sulphate of qui-
nine is too often laid aside in cases where, if properly and
judiciously administered, it might prove of important service ;
instead of three or four grains, or even more, repeated every
four or six hours, let a grain be given once a day ; and if
it agree, and occasion require, let this dose be repeated twice
or thrice daily, either in the form of pill or solution. I prefer
the latter ; two drachms of tincture of orange-peel being used
as the solvent, and diluted afterwards with half a wine-glass of
water. It is not meant here to insinuate, that in obstinate
agues, and other disorders, large doses" of quinine are always
improper, but to enforce the occasional mischief which they
produce, and by which the medicine is unjustly brought into
di^rust and disrepute.

Decayed teeth are fertile sources of pains and twitches
OCT.— DEC 1827. 2 A

350 On Tic Douloureux.

about the facial nerves and muscles, analogous to Tic ; and
great irritation from inflamed membranes of some cavity in
the upper jaw has also occasioned them. I knew a person
who suffered six months from such an attack, and for whom a
physician prescribed, in the course of that period, some pounds
of carbonate of iron. Symptoms then ensued, for which a
course of sarsaparilla was ordered, but it was of no avail.
Mercurials were then given, with manifest mischief. The ex-
traction of the second grinder effected a permanent cure ; its
roots were connected with a cavity of fetid discharge, which
had no sooner vent, than all the symptoms disappeared.

Without exceeding the limits which I have set myself, I
cannot proceed further in these remarks ; but I hope enough
has been said to quiet the apprehensions of some invalids who
suffer themselves to be exceedingly alarmed at the name given
to their complaint, and to be dosed with large quantities of
useless medicines, which rather aggravate than relieve it. In
many of these cases, the less that is done the better ; in all of
them, careful reference must be had to the real exciting cause ;
and, in addition to the other circumstances adverted to, a strict,
attention to diet must be enforced, and more than ordinary
watchfulness exerted over the state of the stomach and
bowels : plain roast and boiled, and no grease or piecrust in
the former ; and for the latter, an occasional blue pill and a
tea spoonful of Epsom salt.

Medicus.

Remarks on some Quadrupeds supposed by Naturalists to be
extinct. By John Ranking, Esq.

There is not any part of the creation more interesting to
mankind than the gigantic classes of quadrupeds. In them,
we are able to contemplate the power of the Creator of all
things, in one of the most magnificent exercises of his will.
Such, however, is the limit to this kind of knowledge, that there
is probably not any one class, even of the largest quadru-
peds, all the species of which are, or possibly ever can be,
known to the student of natural history, More than half of

On some Qaadnipeds supposed to be extinct. 351

the surface of the earth is still undiscovered by the civilised
portion of its inhabitants : regions as extensive as Europe, in
Asia, Africa, and America, are, at this time, either wholly un-
known or undescribed.

The imperfection of history is such, that the most civilised
ancient states of the world have left little behind but what
may be called fragments of their annals. If we include the
Gothic age, as it is called, from the fifth to the fifteenth cen-
tury, there are not less, out of the fifty-eight centuries which
the earth is said to have existed, than forty of them which may
be termed a blank, as far as regards profane and natural
knowledge.

The period assigned to the Deluge is seventeen centuries
after the creation, or upwards of four thousand years past.
There are not any known real historical annals that can contest
this event, and the natural state of the earth offers abundant
proofs of its reality. Under all these considerations, the fossil
remains of elephants and other large quadrupeds, known to
have been employed or slain by the Romans and Moguls, may
justly be considered as independent of any -relation to that
catastrophe, and in no wise concerned in the discussion. Esta-
blished truths are rather disturbed and weakened by arguments
which are open to refutation.

The time is not distant when it will be generally acknow-
ledged that all those kinds of quadrupeds, the remains of
which have been found at the very places mentioned in history,
are still in existence ; a fact which, when proved, will be of
infinitely greater interest as it regards so grand a portion of
nature, than the single supposition that they are all extinct,
because we are not acquainted with the exact species which
corresponds with many of the fossil kinds frequently discovered :
this being the foundation on which such a conclusion is prin-
cipally built.

Naturalists have endeavoured to prove, that such bones are
found where they could only have been placed by the Deluge ;
but the changes in the surface from deposits by rivers, earth-
quakes, and imperceptible alterations from the accretion of
vegetable matter, and from dust, volcanoes, digging of mines,
wells, canals, foundations, and other disturbances of the soil,

2 A 2

352 On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct.

are such as cannot be observed or registered ; and a few lines
will prove how difficult and uncertain this part of the question
remains to this day.

** In quarrying limestone at Aix, in Provence, a. d. 1788,
under eleven strata, separated from each other by a bed of
sand and clay, at the depth of forty-five feet, the surface was
covered with shells. The stones of this bed being removed,
under a stratum of argillaceous sand, stumps of columns and
fragments of stones, like the quarry, half wrought, were found ;
and also coins, handles of hammers, and a board, one inch
thick and seven feet long, broken, but all the pieces there, and
could be joined ; it was like the boards used by quarry-men,
and worn in the same manner. The pieces of wood Avere
changed into agate ^."

*' On sinking a well on a hill near Tobolsk, sixty-four
fathoms deep in the earth, an oaken beam was found ; it was
quite black, and not round but shaped f."

*' At Watlington-park, Oxfordshire, at fifty or sixty feet
depth, many whole oaks, hazel-nuts, a stag's-head and antlers,
were found, and on the same spot two Roman urns J."

*' In Oxfordshire there is a tumulus which has become a
perfect mount of stone."

" Ralph, the brother of Earl Widdrington, showed me many
human bones taken from whole skeletons, with British beads,
chains, iron rings, and brass bits of bridles, dug up in a
quarry at Blankney, Lincolnshire, which was probably plain
mould when these old corpses of the Britons were interred :
and I saw many human bones and armour, with Roman coins,
fibulae, &c., found in a stone-ipit in Hunstan ton-park, Norfolk,
belonging to Sir Nicholas L'Estrange §."

Very numerous instances could be added, in order to prove
that the local circumstances, when skeletons of these quadru-
peds are found, are not of a nature to disprove the historical
origin of fossil bones. From the highest authority we learn,
that the *' bones of species which are apparently the same with

* Count Bounion ; Phil. Mag., vol. Ivii., p. 458.

t Strahlenbera:, p. 405.

$ Dr. Plotrs History of Oxf.,' p. 161.

§ Phil. Trans. Abridged, vol. iv., part ii., p. 273.

Oil some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct, 353

those that still exist alive, are never found except in the latest
alluvial depositions, or in the fissures of caverns and rocks, in
places where they may have been overwhelmed by debris, or
even buried by man *."

Thus it appears that a comparative view of the exact species
now living, with that of the fossil remains, is what we must
depend on to decide whether the fossil kinds may not be still in
existence. • M4ik -S»^ i^va; '

With respect to the very numerous theories of the earth, the
last, by Werner, has been confidently quoted in opposition to
the writer's historical proofs j. But Werner himself, before his
death (in 1817),, tacitly acknowledged that it is not a tenable
doctrine, and which is clearly indicated by the compilers of
Rees's Cyclopedia'^, although it is generally allowed to be the
best extant. This hypothesis was formed on a circumscribed
view of the strata in Saxony, but it is found to be quite inap-
plicable, in America for instance §. To account for fossil bones
of elephants, &c., being found high in the north, the American
author who discovered this defect in the geological doctrine,
conjectures that those large quadrupeds may have migrated,
like the buffalos, during the change of seasons. This notion,
however, would not apply to Asia, the native countries of those
animals being well supplied with leaves or other food the year
round.

With these prefatory remarks some historical proofs are
offered, for the probability of the following animals found in a
fossil state, not being of extinct species, beginning with the

Elephant.

" On sinking the foundation for a mill, near the side of a
small brook in the Bishop of Kilmore^s lands, at Maghery,

* Cuvier, Theory of the Earth.

•!• In the American Quarterly Review, published at Philadelphia,
March, 1827. Art. •* Fossil Remains."

% Titles, *• Werner," " Fletz," •« Transition."

§ See two dissertations on the Geology of the U. S. of N. America,
by W. M'Clure, Esq., in the Transactions of the Amer. Phil. Soc, new
series, vol. i., Philadelphia, 1818. This gentleman had entertained a
different view in the previous volume ; but after eight years' experience,
in Europe and America, he had the philosophical justice, boldly to
amend his former opinions.

354 On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct

eight miles from Belturbet, in the
north of Ireland, a. d. 1715, four large
teeth were found, with a piece of the
under jawbone and part of the skull
of a young elephant. The teeth were
more solid and petrified than when
in a natural state."

Fig. A is one of the above grinders.
B is a fossil grinder in the possession
of the Royal Society. C is the
grinder of an elephant between 10
and 11 feet high, the entire skull of which was then in West-
minster*.

C W

It is thus apparent that two fossil elephants are of the same
species as those now in existence.

It is not improbable that the Maghery animal was conveyed
to Ireland as a present, or for exhibition. " Fiacra, son of
Eacha Moymedon, was mortally w^ounded at the battle of
Caonry, which was fought a. d. 380, wherein he was victorious
against the army of Momonia, (Munster). On his return to
Hy-mac-uais, in Meath, he died of his wounds. His funeral

* See Phil. Trans. Abridged,(vol. iv., part ii., p. 236 to 245, and Cam-
den's Brit., Gough's Ed., 1789,^vol. iii., 604.

On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct. 355

leacht wag erected, and on his tomb was inscribed his name in
the Ogham character*."

We here find that the native sovereign of the northern part
of Ireland resided in Meath, the borders of which county are
not many miles from the place where the elephant was found.
It was at about the year of the battle of Caonry that Maxi-
mus, the emperor in Britain, aspired to be master of the
Roman empire. Finding the union of the Scots and Picts
prevented his peaceable possession of Britain, which was a
great obstacle to the execution of his project, he persuaded
the Picts to join their forces to his, on the promise of giving
them the lands of the Scots. The Scots were thus over-
powered, and were forced to fly to Ireland and the adjacent isles.
The Scots, being assisted by the Irish, invaded the north, and
were driven back to Ireland by Maximus, at the head of his
troops. The emperor threatened to invade Ireland, and punish
the Irish ; but the dread they had of the presence of a Roman
army, induced them to grant Maximus his own terms, which,
in order to conciliate all parties, were moderate f . Now it is
by no means impossible that the British emperor, on this con-
ciliating occasion, sent this very elephant to his Irish majesty.
Tacitus observes, that Agricola (three centuries before Maxi-
mus) received an expelled petty king of Ireland into his pro-
tection ; that in manners the natives vary little from the
Britons ; and that the ports and landings of Ireland are better
known, through the frequency of commerce and merchants,
than those of Britain J.

The Mastodon.

This quadruped is now known not to differ from the elephant,
except in the form of the grinders, and has probably been
called by the name of elephant by the Romans. Remains of
the mastodon have been found mixed with those of the ele-
phant, in Europe, Siberia, and America ; and for the following

* Essay on the Antiquity of the Irish Language, by Lieut. Col. Val-
lancey, 8vo., London, 1818, p. 12.

t See Gibbon, ch. xxvii., Zosimus, b. iv., Rapin, b. i., Wars and
Sports, ch. xiii.

:p Life of Agricol£^,

356 On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct.

reasons there is every probability of this animal being in exist-
ence.

Captain C. S. Cochrane, in his Journal in Colombia, vol. ii.,
p. 390, relates that numbers of the carnivorous elephants have
been seen feeding on the plains at the foot of a ridge of moun-
tains, at Choco, in New Granada. " Part of the foot of a
mastodon, with five nails attached, was found in a cave, with a
tooth, by a savage west of the Missouri: it was very fresh, and
perfectly resembling that of an elephant : it was obtained of a
Mexican, who had purchased it of a native *."

" The native Americans describe the elephant as still exist-
ing in the northern parts of their country (the Missouri)." —
Mr. Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, p. 57.

Many bones of the mastodon were found in the county of
Wythe, Virginia, with a mass of half-ground branches, roots,
and leaves, enclosed in a kind of sack, supposed to be the
stomach, in the midst of them ; so as to leave no doubt that
they were substances which the animal had devoured, and
among them were distinguishable the remains of some plants
known in Virginia f. Teeth of the mastodon have been found
in Little Tartary, (for five centuries possessed by the Moguls,)
in Siberia, near the Oural mountains, and one at Harwich,
in England J.

There have been brought from Ava, found on the left bank
of the Irawaddy, in N. lat. 20° to 21°, near the wells of petro-
leum, in narrow ravines, sand-hills, beds of gravel, ironstone,
and calcareous breccia, evidently a diluvial formation, — fossil
bones, shells, and wood. Bones of the mastodon, equal in size
to those of the Ohio, a grinder 16i inches in circumference, a
humerus, measuring 25 inches round the condyles, with several

* Parkinson, vol. iii., letter 26. Mr. P. relates that Baron Cuvier
inclines to doubt the authenticity of this account ; but Capt. Cochrane's
testimony now renders it veiy probable to be correct. It is very worthy
of remark, that the wild elephants in America are found, as reported, at
Choco, and west of the Missouri; and that Mango Capac and Monte-
zuma's ancestor, by the traditions, landed at Cape St. Helen's and
Culiacan,— as if some elephants had been let loose, or had escaped and
betaken themselves to perhaps the nearest thick forests, and have re-
mained there undisturbed.

•I- Rees's Cyclopedia, Addenda, " Mastodon."

% See Parkinson, voj, iii., letter 26, p. 367.

Qn some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct, 357

grinders and bones of younger individuals, and fragments of
tusks : fossil molares of the rhinoceros, resembling two species
of a genus named by Cuvier Anthracotherium : bones like an
animal of the horse kind: remains of crocodiles, supposed to
be the gavial, or long-nosed alligator of the Ganges, (not now
known in the rivers of Ava.) The fossil bones were upon or
near the surface, more or less exposed, not decomposed or
rolled, and are of animals that died there. The bones are
petrified, and deeply coloured with iron, the substance siliceous
and very hard. The blocks of wood are larger than the trees
growing there, but it is not known if they are of the same
kind. " An idle notion is entertained by many, that these
•fossil remains have been generated by a petrifying quality in
the water of the Irawaddy*, but I think they are the result, as
elsewhere, of one of the last catastrophes ; in fact, the remains
of a former world, before man was called into existence." —
Morning Herald, Sept. 14, 1827.

Bones of the mastodon have been found in Europe, mixed
with menagerie collections, which cannot possibly be attributed
to any other origin than that of sports of the amphitheatre.
They are found in western Siberia, which was conquered by
Sheibani, Genghis Khan's grandson, a. d. 1242, and held 300
years, and whose first capital was at Tiumin f, on the river
Tura, near the Ural mountains, where the remains of the mas-
todon were found. Ava was conquered by the Grand Khan
Kublai in 1272, in a battle with the king of eastern Bengal,
in which there were a thousand elephants J. The places where
they have been found in America correspond with history and
tradition so faithfully, as to assist the other numerous proofs of
Mexico and Peru having been conquered by the Moguls, in
the year 1283, and the bones of the- mastodon are there
found, as well as remains of elephanfsy precisely like those of
Siberia §. With regard to the tooth found at Harwich, the

* Duchat, an author of unquestioned credit, has seen recent wood
petrified into flint by the water of a river in Ava. Rees's Cyc, " Wood."

•I' Levesque, Hist, de Russie, vol. vii. 244.

X Wars and Sports, p. 263.

§ Conquest of Peru, ch. x. It is somewhat curious that, when P3T-
rhus for the first time brouglit elephants into Italy, tlie Romans <;ave
them the name of Lucanian bulls; and that the Aiw^jiipai^s Q^ them

358 On some Quadrupeds supposed to he extinct,

British kings Cuneboline''^ and Arviragus had representations
of elephants on their coins. The bones of elephants, rhino-
ceroses, and crocodiles found in Ava are not, as those found in
Europe and Siberia, what are termed extraneous fossils; the
same kinds of animals being natives of the spot in Ava. The
one like the horse cannot be ascertained ; but the kings of
Pegu, in former times, had camelopards, and, therefore, pro-
bably, zebras in their calichars^ or parks ; they also had wni-
corns, ostriches, and rein-deer f. Timar Khan, grandson of
Kublai, who invaded Siberia with such powerful armies, resided
at Tab, in Yunan, N. lat. 25*^ east of the Irawaddy J.

The writer is of opinion that all those fossil bones found in
Ava are of species still in existence : they may have floated
down from more northern parts, the river in question being as
long as the Ganges, said to be navigable into China ; and has
its source in Thibet, — (see Rennell's Memoir, p. 217.) Ac-
cording to the hypothesis of the writer, Montezuma's ancestor
was a Mongul grandee from Assam ; and mastodontes' remains
have been found in Mexico, and those beasts are, as above
related, supposed to be found alive near the Missouri.

This is the first instance the writer has met with of similar
bones not being extraneous ; and is, therefore, a remarkable
fact, which excites the strongest suspicion that their species
are still living. Ava is a new world on a small scale, and this
collection of bones will, very probably, at no distant date, lead
to positive proof of the existence of other quadrupeds, now
conjectured by naturalists to be extinct. With respect to the
local position, it is in all probability the old bed of the river, as

big bulls in their traditions. It is probable that both people compared
them with the largest beast known to them ; as elephants, if indigenous
in America before the arrival of Mango Capac and Montezuma's ances-
tor, would have been extremely numerous, and have had a proper name.

* Shakspeare spells this name Cymbeline ; Milton writes Kymbeline,
which is probably the true pronunciation : see his History, 8yo. 1695,
p. 62.

t Wars and Sports, p. 269.

$ Id. p. 5G6. The Burmans eat elephants. The writer was at Dacca
in 1794, when some Burmese troops invaded the Chittagong frontier.
An expedition, under Colonel Erskine, was sent against them ; and on
the return to Dacca of Colonel Boujonnar's battalion, the officers told
the writer that they found in the stockade the skeleton of an elephant,
which the Burmans bad devoured.

On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct. 359

the beds of those in Asia change in a wonderful manner. — (See
Rennell, p. 255.)

A skeleton of an elephant or mastodon, for it is not known
which, was found in a tomb in Mexico, which had evidently
been built on purpose. — (Clavigero^ vol. i., p. 84.) No autho-
rity whatever dates the foundation of Mexico earlier than a. d.
1324. The Aztecs advanced from Culiacan, when they took
possession of the marshes, and founded Mexico : other Aztecs
had preceded them who had arrived by land ; but the writer
hazarded a theory * that Montezuma's ancestors had, like those
of the Natchez and of the Incas, arrived in America by sea
with elephants, under Mango Capac ; and he has had the satis-
faction to find a confirmation of his conjectures in a decade
written by Peter Martyr, the Milanese, (employed by Fer-
dinand v.. King of Castile and Arragon, and who died in the
year 1526,) addressed to Adrian VI., who had been co-regent
of Spain with Cardinal Ximenes. " Montezuma spoke thus
to Cortez : — ^We have heard by our ancestors that we are
strangers. A certain great prince, in ships, before the memory
of all men living, brought our ancestors unto these coasts;
whether voluntarily or driven by tempest it is not manifest ;
who, leaving his companions, departed into his country, and,
at length returning, would have had them to have gone back
again. But they had built houses, and joining themselves
with the women of the country had begotten children, and
had settled. Wherefore our ancestors, having chosen a senate
and princes to govern the people, refused to go, and he de-
parted with threatening speeches. Never any appeared unto
this time who denied the right of that captain and commander.
We think, therefore, that the king who sent you derived his
descent from him, and all the kingdoms which we possess are
yours f." It is impossible to know clearly what the allusions
to the return of the great commander may mean, but whatever
it be, it does not change the date. As the Mexicans con-
sidered Cortez to be a child of the sun, the great prince must
have been a descendant from Genghis Khan ; and thence the

* Conquest of Mexico and Peru, p. 288-301.
t Hakluyt, vol. iv., p. 558; and Conquest of Peru and Mexico,
ch. vii.

360 On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct.

terrors and submission of Montezuma and the Mexicans, who
had ahvays dreaded such a visit.

The Aztecs had sojourned in Culiacan and other places, from
the date of the arrival of the ships, till they proceeded to Ana-
huac. The foundation of Tenochtitlan (or Mexico) having been
in 1324, and the first king, Montezuma's ancestor, elected in
1377 ; therefore, the empire, Avhen Montezuma died, had lasted
only 144 years; and this calculation is from the most authentic
documents known, that is, the pictures in Purchas's collection.
In Harris's Voyages, vol. ii., p. 97, Montezuma is said to have
told Cortez, that it was only a century since they had been
settled where they were, meaning, probably, that it was not two
centuries. ,

Thus an elephant being found in a tomb in Mexico, and
others in tombs in Siberia, is an additional argument to the
strong ones already produced, for the Mexicans being the
Moguls blown from the shores of Japan, a. d. 1283, which
appears irresistible ; and also that mammoths and mastodontes
are not extinct, being found either living or fossil in all the
places in America, which agree with the traditions on that
subject, and with the histories of China and Japan*.

The Tapir.

The Tapir was supposed to be peculiar to the New World :
two fossil species, one of them gigantic, have been found in

* A Roman coin is said to have been discovered recently among the
Indians in America, which has justly created surprise ; but others have
been found long ago. Bishop Hakewill's book is dated, a. d. 1635 : he
says, " Marianus Siculus, in his history of Spain, reports that certain
coined pieces of gold, engraved with the image and inscription of
Augustus Caesar, were found in the American mines ; thereby inferring
that those countries were then discovered." p. 310. Baton, the cousin
of Kublai, both grandsons of Genghis, had conquered Russia, ravaged
Europe to the Adriatic, and died on his march to Constantinople, in
1256. His successor also ravaged as far as Constantinople, (P. de la
Croix, p. 387.) Mango (so spelt by Du Halde, ii., 251, and Maunde-
ville, p. 275 ; Manku by Tooke, Russ. Emp., ii., 13) was brother to
Kublai, who is considered by the writer to be the father of the first
Inca, and there is nothing more probable than that he and other Moguls
on the Japanese expedition may have possessed Roman coins, the plun-
der of Hungary, Poland, Dalmatia, and the Greek empire, as far as the
capital. -

On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct. 361

France, Germany, and Italy *. The remains of a tapir being
found at Florence, with those of other quadrupeds usually
exhibited by the Romans, was an unaccountable fact, till it
was known, through Sir Stamford Raffles, that the tapir exists
in Sumatra. , We know that the Romans carried on, a com-
merce with India, which employed one hundred and twenty
ships annually f and that they had the power of being supplied
with all the animals of those regions, by means of country
ships, which traded to the ports of Musiris and Barace, those
which the Romans frequented. Moreover, the author of the
Periplus, p. 36, describes Sumatra. It appears, therefore,
evident that the Romans procured tapirs from that island, if
they be not inhabitants of Africa. The British king, father of
Caractacus, had a tapir on one of his numerous coins f; which
may be reckoned among many other proofs that the ancient
Britons were not quite so ignorant and barbarous as is gene-
rally, but unjustly, imagined. The discovery of this tapir shows
how little is yet known even of those countries in which Britain
has, for a length of years, had establishments. The tapir is
probably what the natives have reported as a river-horse, a
much more appropriate name for it than for the African beast.
** The descriptions of the hippopotamus," says Baron Cuvier,
** by Herodotus and Aristotle, are supposed to have been bor-
rowed from Hecataeus of Miletus, and must have been taken
from two very different animals, one of which is the true hip-
popotamus, and the other the antelope gnu of GmelinJ."
Now, as it appears that the Indians described by Herodotus
by the name Padcei, is an exact account of the Batta in Su-
matra,— (Dr. Leyden thinks them the same word, as the Indo-
Chinese pronounce B as P§,) — it is rendered probable that that
island was known to the Greeks, long before the Romans pos-
sessed Egypt. On these grounds, I venture a conjecture that
Aristotle and Herodotus alluded to the tapir, which is amphi-
bious, but the gnu is not. The tapir is probably the A:wc?a-
ayer of Sumatra, and the conda-aijeer, or rivier paardj of the

* Cuvier, Theory of the Earth, p. 257.

•)• Conq. of Peru, &c. plate iv.

t Theory of the Earth, p. 67.

^S Herodotus, Thalia xcix. Rees's Cyc, " Sumatra." :.• > -

362 On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct

Javans. — (See Marsden's Sumatra, third edition.) With
respect to the gigantic tapir, it is as probable that those regions
(apparently less known to modems, as regards zoology, than to
the Greeks and Romans) may contain gigantic tapirs as ouran-
outangs, near eight feet high, so lately discovered.

Unicorn.

Many reasons have been given, in another place *, to prove
the probability of the existence of the unicorn, since which the
following description of two has been met with.

♦* On the other part of the temple of Mecca are parks or
places enclosed, where are seen two unicorns : they are show^n
to the people as a miracle ; and not without good reason, for
their rareness and strange nature. One of them, which is
much higher than the other, is not much unlike a colt of thirty
months of age : in the forehead groweth one horn, in manner
right forth, of the length of three cubits. The other is only
one year of age, and like a young colt : the horn of this is of
the length of four handfuls. This beast is of that colour of a
horse called weasel, and hath a head like a hart, but not a
long neck, and a thin mane, hanging on one side. Their legs
are thin and slender, hke a fawn or hind : the hoofs of the
fore feet are divided in two, much like the feet of a goat : the
outer part of the hinder feet is very full of hair. This beast
seemeth wild or fierce, yet tempereth that fierceness with a
certain comeliness. These unicorns were given to the Sultan
of Mecca as a most precious and rare gift. They were sent
him out of Ethiopia by a king of that country, who was
desirous by such a present to gratify the Sultan f."

So lately as the year 1799, a Mahomedan African prince is
said to have sent two of them to Mecca. — (Rees's Cyclopedia,
** Monoceros.") Bell of Antermony describes one which was
killed in Siberia, near the Irtish, in 1713. Tamerlane slew
unicorns and rhinoceroses on the frontier of Cashmere, {Sheref-
eddin, b. 4., ch. xxx.) and there have recently been reports of
unicorns in Nepaxdy which are rendered more probable to be

* Wars and Sports, p. 335.

t Travels of Lewis Vertomanus to Egypt, Arabia, &c., a.d. 1503, in
palvano's collection, Hakluyt, vol. iv., p. 162.

On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct. 363

the truth, by those references of Mr. Bell and Sherefeddin to
countries not very distant.

The British king Cuneboline had also the unicorn on his
coins, and the figure of the animal is very similar to the above
description *. The writer is, therefore, of opinion that these
now described are the real oryx mentioned by Aristotle, Pliny,
and other ancient authors f .

Hippopotamus.

The remains of this beast have been found in England at
the residences of the Romans, viz., near London, Colchester,
and York ; and not any in Ireland or Scotland. They have
also been found in Italy mixed with great numbers of the
bones of other beasts known to have been exhibited by the
Romans. This animal is not known to inhabit any country
but Africa. Two were caught near Damietta, a.d. 1600.
They are known to inhabit Abyssinia, Bornou, the Cape of
Good Hope, Senegal, and they were met with in great abund-
ance by the two vessels, the Sion, of 200 tons, and St. John,
of 50 tons, which sailed above nine hundred miles up the river
Gambia, a.d. 1620, employed by Sir Wm. St. John J. The
inference is, that they inhabit the whole of that vast continent,
and that it is most probable the number of species is as great
as that of elephants ; and that the fossil kinds not having been
brought from the same country as the living individuals with
which they have been compared, has induced naturalists to
suppose them extinct. An elaborately grand Roman pave-

• Wars and Sports, p. 354.

t See Cuvier's Theory of the Earth, p. 80. Wars and Sports, p. 335.
With regard to the unicorn, Camper has remarked, that •• if this animal
was ruminant and cloven-footed, it is certain that its frontal bone must
have been divided longitudinally into two, and that it could not possibly
have had a horn placed upon the suture." This remark by Camper,
when we consider how nature adapts every thing to its purposes, cannot
stand as a real objection to the existence of the oryx. The most eminent
naturalists have been wrong in some of their conjectures. John Hunter
pronounced the mastodon to be a carnivorous beast. Buffon, after
frequently considering the bones of the mammoth, conceived them to
belong to a beast six times larger than the biggest elephant ; and Mul-
ler was of opinion that it must have been 105 feet in height, and 133 in
length ! So little capable is any human being to judge what nature
does, or can do I

X See Relation of Master Wm. Jobson in Purchas, vol, ii„ p. 921.

364 On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct.

ment was dug up at Roxby, in Lincolnshire, upon which is
represented Orpheus, surrounded by an elephant, lion, boar,
dog, wolf, stag, and another, which appears to be the hippo-
potamus*.

Turtle. Tortoise.

*^ A beautiful fossil sea-turtle has recently been discovered,
and, by the perfect substitution of all the organic parts as weU
as its locality, may be considered an interesting remain of a
former world. It is encrusted in a mass of ferruginous lime-
stone, and weighs ISOlbs. The spot on which it was found is
in four fathoms of water, and is formed of an extensive
stratum of stones, called the Stone Ridge, about four miles
off Harwich harbour ; and is considered to be the line of con-
junction between the opposite cliffs of Walton and Harwich.
It is in the possession of Mr. Deck, of Cambridge f."

A fossil turtle was found near Harwich, embedded in a solid
block of cement-stone ; another large stone, when broken, was
found to contain * 'nearly the whole of a human skeleton J."

Fossil sea-tortoises have been found in the environs of
Brussels, in the environs of Maestricht, at the village of Mels-
broeck and in the mountain of St. Peter, in the state of Glaris
and in the vicinity of Aix ; they differ in species from any of
those at present known §.

There is not any of the extraneous fossil remains more pro-
bably of Roman origin than tortoises. "The beds, the doors,
and pillars of the houses of the Greeks and Romans, Avere
decorated with tortoise-shell. In the reign of Augustus, this
species of luxury was at its height in Rome ||. Bruce says, the
Egyptians dealt very largely with the Romans in this elegant
article of commerce ; Martial relates that beds were inlaid with
it; Velleius Paterculus observes, that when Alexandria was
taken by Julius Csesar, the magazines were so full of this
article, that he at first proposed to make it the principal orna-
ment of his triumph ; as he used ivory afterwards when tri-
umphing for his African victories ^.'"

«'* Conq.ofPeru.p. 450.
t New London Literary Gazette, Oct. 13, 1827, p. 303.
% Common Sense Newspaper, No. 60.

I Cuvier's theory ofthe Earth, p. 2fil.

II Shaw's Zool., HI. pt. 1. Rees's Cyc. " Tortoise." IT Ibid.

On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct. 365

Cuneboline and his son Arviragus having had the elephant,
tapir, and unicorn on their coins ; and as the first was brought
up at the court of Augustus *, there is every probability of
their having possessed tortoises at Harwich, the port of the
capital of the British king.

Species.

With regard to elephants, the number of species appears to
be very great, even with the extremely limited knowledge we
possess. The writer saw three distinct kinds captured in one
keddah at Tippera, when he was there during Mr. Corse's
residence at that place, and who has described them. Some
African females have tusks as large as the males, but it is not
known to be so in Asia. Le Vaillant mentions a race of
elephants which never have tusks. Two Ceylon elephants
were found to differ in the shape of the jaws, and another is
mentioned by Baron Cuvier, which is dissimilar to any that
had been seen f .

The Camelopard now at Paris differs in many essential
anatomical characters from the kind at the Cape of Good
Hope J.

The Romans and Moguls crossed the species and genera of
different animals. The crocotta was between a dog and a
wolf; the crocuta, between a hyaena and a lioness §. The
Moguls cross the breed of dogs with leopards, the best of
which are those of Hezereh and Tesheen in Cabulistan ; and
some are so brave that they will attack a lion ||. Four towns
near Babylon were exempted from any other tax than the
maintaining of dogs which were supposed to be produced
between the tiger and bitch ^. We thus may perceive how
impossible it is to be certain of a fossil species being extinct
because we are not acquainted with it,

* Milton's Hist. 8vo. p. 62. t Cuvier, Osseraens Fossiles, p. 185,
^ $ Ed. New PhU. Journal, Sept. 1827, p. 390. Here is a direct
instance, that if a fossil Egyptian camelopard had been found, it would,
like elephants, &c., have been pronounced to be an extinct species, the
modern specimens being from South Atrica.

^ Pliny, b. viii. (( Ayeen Akbery, vol. i. p. 242.

^ Herodotus, Clio, cxci. We may conjecture that tiger has been
written for leopard, a frequent error.

OCT.-'DBC. 1827. 2 B

366 On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct

Ptolemy Philadelphus, in a procession at Alexandria, had
twenty-four thousand Indian dogs, a camelopard, a white
bear, and twenty- four chariots drawn by elephants, twelve by
lions, seven by oryxes, eight by ostriches, four by wild asses,
and five by buffaloes *, Bajazet, in the fourteenth century,
had twelve thousand dog-keepers. The immensity of wild beasts
slaughtered by the Persians, Moguls, and Romans, would
be incredible, were it not attested by so many different autho-
rities ; and with regard to the Romans, no author mentions a
less number than five thousand of every description slain at the
opening of the Coliseum. These sports having been in vogue
all over the Roman empire for so many centuries, the fossil
bones which have been found are but few indeed. In Britain
there were at least five amphitheatres ; at Sandwich, Dor-
chester, Silchester, Caerleon, Yorkf. In France, at Paris,
Cahors J, Vienne, Aries, Orange, Autun, Treves, Nismes,
Poitou §, and Bordeaux. In Spain, at Seville, Tarragona,
Merida, and Saguntum. In Italy a great number. The popu-
larity of monarchs and statesmen depended on their power to
indulge the people with these cniel sports. Commodus is said
to have been one of the most dexterous marksmen : he always
had with him Parthians, to teach him archery, and Moors, to
perfect him in throwing the dart. He ran with all horned
animals, except bulls, and smote them unerringly as he pur-
sued. Lions, panthers, and other fierce beasts, he ran aflerin
the Peridrome, and darted at them from above with never-
failing effect, whether he aimed at the forehead or the heart.
With arrows, pointed like a half-moon, he would cut off the
heads of the Mauritanian ostriches, while their wings were

* Montfaucon, vol. iii. p. 179.

+ Augustan History, " Severus," p. 253. " Wherever Caracalla win-
tered, or but intended to winter, they were constrained to erect amphi-
theatres and cirques for public games, and those within a while were
taken down again." — Hakewill's Apology, p. 443. Caracalla was three
years at York ; and Spartian, in his Life of Severus, relates, that among
other omens just before that emperor died, (at York,) three figures,
of Victory, which stood upon the platform near the throne, were blown
down while the games of the circus were celebrating. There was a
Roman road from York to Whitby (Dunus Sinus), and Kirkdale is
about half way between the port and the capital.

% Rees's Cyc. " Cahors.".

§ Marquis Maffei, p. 260.

On some Quadrupeds supposed to he extinct, 367

expanded to aid their speed, and they continued their course
for a time without their heads. He would expose a prize-
fighter to the attack of a panther, and strike the beast dead
before it could fasten its teeth on the man. A hundred lions
have been sent out of the dens, and all killed by him with
such certainty, that they lay close together, not a dart failing *.
Domitian had been equally notorious in these grand sports
in the Amphitheatre.

" What scene sequestered, or what nide renown,
Sends no spectator to the imperial town ?
The Rhodopean hind now tempts the plains,
And tunes from Hemus his Orphean strains.
The Sarmat, Caesar, hies, thy works to see ;
And gives the steed he swills + to share the glee.
They come, who first the rising Nile explore ;
And they who hear remotest ocean roar.
The Arab hasted, the Sabean flew ;
And the Cilician own'd his native dew.
With tortured tresses, here Sicambrians gay ;
There Ethiops, bristling in their diverse way.
*Mid various speech, but one glad voice we find,
That hails thee father of converg'd mankind $."

As for the Romans themselves, according to Juvenal, these
amusements seem to have been preferred to all others.

*' Could you the pleasures of the Cirque forego,
At Fabrateria or at Frusino,
Some villa might be bought, for what will here
Scarce hire a gloomy dungeon by the year §."

Had the fossil animals died, or been killed by natural acci-
dents, the skeletons would generally have been found entire,
but for the most part they are scattered and broken, and are
often mixed with bones of animals resembling the species of
the present time ||. In the vicinity of Orleans in France, a
fossil roe, of a living species, was found in limestone, along
with the bones of the palceotherium.

Instances have occurred of bones being found, in great
numbers ; and, many feet deeper, other heaps of bones of ele-
phants and wild beasts ; but as many amphitheatres were built

* Herodian, " Commodus."

+ The Tartar opens a vein of his horse and drinks the blood.

% Martial (Elphinston's, p. 1 9) on the Sports of Domitian. ,

§ Satire iii.

II Cuvier. Theory of the Earth, pp. 89 and 263.

2 B 2

368 On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct.

with wood, and as the games were exhibited for about six
centuries, those structures would require to be often renewed,
and the old bones would thus be covered over with earth.
Britain was invaded or visited by about twenty emperors, or
those so high in importance as to become emperors of Rome ;
and York was the head-quarters of the Roman empire during
the residence in Britain of Severus and his two sons and co-
emperors, Geta and Caracalla *. All the collections of fossil
bones are found at the head-quarters of the Romans, or near
the several amphitheatres in the island. Bones of elephants
which have been found in France and Italy in fifteen places,
are so faithfully accurate to the road over which Hannibal
and Asdrubal with fifty- two elephants marched f, and Hanni-
haVs (thirty -seven) all perished before his arrival at Thrasy-
menCf that no theory whatever can stand in competition with
such historical conviction J. If the bones found on Hannibal's
road be not those of his Getulian elephants, are we to conclude
that the remains of the beasts lost two thousand years ago have
totally perished ; but that other bones of elephants, many
thousands of years older, have been preserved upon the same
spot, although some of them are found quite near the surface ?
At Plaine de Grenelle, a fossil elephant was dug up, and at
that place there stood a Roman amphitheatre §. The great
numbers of elephants then used in warfare may be judged of,
by Metellus having captured upwards of a hundred in the
battle of Palermo, where many besides had been killed || ; and
accordingly fossil bones have been found, there and also at
Syracuse, where there was an amphitheatre. In Spain, thirty-
nine elephants were slain at Munda, in the battle fought be-
tween the two Scipios and Asdrubal. At the bridge of Man-
zanares, and at Toledo, fossil remains of elephants have been

♦ The emperors had their families and the whole Roman court with
them. The celebrated Juha Domna, and her sister Julia Mesa, were
there during those three years. See De Serviez, Roman Empresses,
vol. ii. p. 239.

t Passage des Alpes par Annibal, d'apres la narration de Polybe.
Comparee aux recherches faites sur les lieux, par J. A. De Luc. Ge-
neve, 1818.

% Wars and Sports, p. 295. $ Gibbon, ch, xix. p. 177.

I Catrou, vol. ii. p. 591.

On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct 369

dug up ; and at these very places Hannibal and Asdrubal
defeated one hundred thousand Carpetani, many of whom were
trodden to death by their forty elephants *.

If we glance at the sports of the Mongols, what a treasure
for an osteologist might be found at Termed in Sogdiana,
where the army commanded in person by Genghis Khan were
four months occupied in enclosing an immense circle, till all
the wild beasts were driven (without one escaping, under pain
of death to the soldier who failed in his duty, but who was
not allowed to kill the tigers, lions, &c.) into a spacious plain^
where they were slaughtered by the Grand Khan and all the
Imperial princes and military commanders, till they chose to
permit the soldiers to end the destruction f . How many fossil
species might be discovered there, of which naturalists have no
knowledge ! The Persians are said to have slaughtered as many
as fourteen thousand beasts on alike expedition J. So long
have these amusements existed, that Hushing, king of Persia,
B. C. 865, bred dogs and leopards for hunting §.

Besides the fossil remains which have been found of numerous
quadrupeds, named by the Romans in their sports, they em-
ployed the following, bones of which have not been detected :
— ^^Indian dogs, white bears, camels (one found), dromedaries,
camelopards, wild asses, zebras, quaggas, oryxes (unicorns),
Ethiopian sheep, Arabian sheep, the crocotta (bred from a dog
and wolf), crocuta (from a hyaena and lioness), little dragons,
ostriches. The gnu was known to the Romans ; and probably
the nyl-ghau and the om-kergay (quite harmless, and the size
of a rhinoceros). In this list several of the fossil kinds described
as the ancient wild beast with a thick skin (palaeotherium) ,
and the beast without weapons, or unarmed (anoplotherium),
may be found, and also those of the genus canis, and a carni-
vorous beast II .

Such is a short notice of this most extensive subject, to which
the writer's attention has been attracted by the concurrence of

* Livy, b. xxi. ch. v. ; b. xxiv. ch. xlii.

+ De la Croix. Hist, of Genghis, b. iii. ch. vii.

% Sir John Chardin, vol. ii. 33.

§ Sir WilUam Jones, vol. v. 588. The above may possibly mean a
cross breed of the two beasts, which we find is still practised in Cabu-
listan, as related in the Ayeen Akbery.

II See Rees's Cvc. *♦ Strata."

370 On some Quadrupeds supposed to be extinct,

historical relations with the locality of fossil remains. It is
offered for the consideration of the reader, not in a spirit of
controversy, but with a desire to ascertain an important truth
in natural history, whether his speculations be confirmed or
refuted. Whichever way a decision is awarded, it will add to
the interest attached to zoological pursuits, and the reader will
be, by these remarks, enabled to form a judgment whether the
laborious and ingenious works which have been published, since
the conviction that elephants are not human giants, (a notion
seriously maintained so recently as in Clavegero's History of
Mexico, written since that of Robertson) are descriptions of the
quadrupeds of a former world, or of the world which is now in
existence. It is necessary to remark that these particular re-
searches relate only to animals connected with Roman and
Mogul history ; and if it should be conceded that it may justly
be inferred, that quadrupeds hitherto deemed extinct are still
to be found in the undiscovered parts of Africa, Asia, and Ame-
rica, not half of either region being yet scientifically known, it
will give an interest to zoology and osteology ten fold more
attractive than a blank and unsatisfactory hypothesis of their
having all perished before the creation of man, as is often
alleged. It is perhaps the most remarkable circumstance in lite-
rature, that naturalists so rarely allude to the astonishing number
of beasts slain in the Roman games, although the list of them
is, generally speaking, so similar to that of the fossil remains.
Erroneous notions concerning fossil bones, those of elephants,
in particular, being the most plentiful, began in very early ages
when they were considered to be human ; and James the First
(of Britain) sent Lord Herbert of Cherbury to Gloucester, to
ascertain if a skeleton, dug up at that place, was really that of
a giant. There were found mingled with it horns and bones of
oxen and sheep, and the tusks of a boar. Lord Herbert,
Dr. Clayton, and the celebrated Harvey, thought the bones
were those of one of the Roman elephants ; and Bishop Haker
will received a letter from my lord of Gloucester, mentioning
that " he was not confident that the grinder was the tooth of a
man*." This discovery, perhaps, put an end in England to
the notion of giants' bones.

* Hakewill's Apology, p. 229.

On some Quadrupeds supposed to he extinct, 371

The next fanciful origin was, that these fossil remains were
those of an extinct monster, called Mammoth by the native
Siberians, their name for the walrus ; but which was trans-
ferred and confounded with the bones of whales, elephants, and
buffalos, found in that country, and such erroneous opinions
will long be entertained in those quarters.

The diluvian origin was imagined by many to be the true
one, but later careful examinations proving that the animals
died on the spot where they are found broken, and the bones
scattered about, that hypothesis could not in such instances be
maintained, and recourse was had to the supposition, that Bri-
tain was in former ages a tropical country ; but the mixed fossil
remains, being those both of hot and cold climates, and of
beasts peculiar only to Africa, or to Asia, this theory appears to
be quite as objectionable as the others. The last, and the most
specious, of all the hypothetical proofs of the origin is, that
the teeth not often corresponding with those of the living
specimens which have been seen, they must be the remains of
extinct quadrupeds. There are, perhaps, fifty large regions
where elephants abound, and the teeth of very few indeed of
the animals of those countries have yet been seen. This last
appears to be, defective as it is, the strongest objection that can
be urged against the historical origin; and the few remarks in
this essay will contribute materially to weaken this remaining
hypothesis. The reader who feels any interest in zoology will,
by their means, be assisted in his endeavours to untie or cut this
gordian knot. After he has decided either that these beasts are
in existence, or all extinct,

*• In his reflections, then, what scenes shall strike I
Adventures thicken I novelties surprise !
What webs of wonder shall unravel there * !"

Description of a cheap and portable Instrument for enabling
Young People to acquire a knowledge of the Stars, or deter-
mine their situation in the Heavens. By S. Lee, Esq.

There is no science, the study of which tends so much to en-
large the mind as Astronomy. It opens to our view the grandest
examples of Ahnighty power, wisdom, and beneficence — the

♦Young. Night VI.

372 Portable Instrument for acquiring

contemplation of which fills the soul with reverence and affec-
tion for the great Author of nature, and banishes all narrow
and superstitious notions respecting him.

The cultivation of this science, therefore, cannot be too
strongly recommended to the attention of young people. The
eager curiosity and avidity for discovery which so peculiarly
distinguish that period of life, when the reasoning faculties
begin to develope, is peculiarly fitted for its reception — and,
accordingly, amongst the better-educated classes of society,
the elements of this science are generally considered as a ne-
cessary branch of instruction — though commonly fimited to a
mere dogmatic explanation of the Copernican system, and the
use of the globes.

But this superficial mode of instruction, though sufficient to
enable any one to understand the real motions of our planetary
system, and explain the apparent motions which must result
from them, is hardly sufficient to satisfy inquisitive reasoning
minds, since it leaves them ignorant of the means by which the
distances, magnitudes, and orbits of the planets and comets
were first discovered ; and how, if lost, a knowledge of them
might be recovered from observations alone.

The most pleasing methods of instruction will generally be
found the most efficient. It is impossible for any one who has
had the least experience in teaching not to have perceived,
that one practical application of science makes a deeper and
more lasting impression on the mind of a learner than a
thousand theoretic propositions.

An accurate knowledge of the fixed stars is the first step
to practical astronomy ; it is, in fact, the alphabet of the
science. By the rising, southing, and setting of these bodies,
astronomers are enabled correctly to measure time ; and from
their apparent altitudes, to determine the latitude of places on
the surface of the globe, whilst the permanent situations which
they maintain with respect to one another, furnish them with
so many marks by which to trace the course of the sun, moon,
and planets through the heavens. Such were the data which
enabled Copernicus and Newton to unravel the seeming irre-
gularity of their apparent paths, and explain the beautiful sim-
plicity of their real motions.

The instruments usually had recourse to for this purpose

a Knowledge of the Stars. 373

are, celestial globes, planispheres, and atlases, but none of
these afford such ready and certain means of finding or iden-
tifying particular fixed stars, as at first might be expected from
them.

The Globe possesses the great advantage of being easily rec-
tified to the place of observation and adjusted to the exact
hour of the night. It likewise exhibits all the stars in their
proper situations of altitude and azimuth ; — but the constella-
tions being delineated on a convex surface, and viewed from
without, whilst the heavens appear to us a concave viewed
from within, the groups of stars are seen reversed, a circum-
stance which occasions no small degree of perplexity to a
learner.

Planispheres and atlases exhibit the constellations as they
appear to the eye when on the meridian, but in a position very
different from that which they assume when removed far from it.
In short, except the pleiades and a few remarkable groups, it
is difficult to recognise a constellation in every position, without
great practice and continued observation.

The Equatorial furnishes the best and readiest means of dis-
covering or identifying any particular star, but the great price
of this instrument, and the complicated nature of its adjust-
ments, render it unfit for learners.

The instrument which we are about to describe, is in its
principle the same as the Equatorial, though not pretending to
any thing like the same degree of accuracy ; but it has this
advantage over it, — its adjustments are more simple and ob-
vious, consequently, better adapted to the capacity of learners ;
and it can be afforded at a very moderate expense, the price
not exceeding that of a common globe.

A, B, C, D, is the stand of the instrument, composed of
three triangular pieces of wood glewed together, so that the
plane of the upper piece, D B C, makes with that of the lower
piece, A B C, an angle equal to the co-latitude of the place
it is intended for.

On the upper piece, D B C, is described a circle, E F G, the
circumference of which is divided into twenty-four hours, and
every hour into twelve parts, equal to five minutes each.

From the centre of this circle, and perpendicular to the

374

Portable Instrument for acquiring

plane on which it is described, rises a pillar, the top of which
appears at H above the cone I, which can be made to revolve
upon it as an axis. — On the surface of the cone is delineated
the principal stars visible in England, and the lower edge is
divided into 365 parts, representing the days of the year.

On the top of the pillar is fitted a segment of a circle, K, of

a Knowledge of the Stars. 375

about 140» : viz. 90° of north, and 40° of south declination,
which may be made to revolve upon the pillar as an axis inde-
pendently of the cone. To this part is attached the scale, L,
divided into degrees of north and south declination, corre-
sponding to those on the semicircle, — and so contrived as in
every situation to touch lightly the surface of the cone.

To the declination circle K is attached the alidade M, which
may be set to any degree required, and serves as an index to
direct the eye of the observer to any object, which may be
viewed along the edge of it, or through the small holes in the
sights O P.

Having described the several parts of the instrument, it only
remains to shew the use of it ; which will be best explained by
means of a few problems.

Problem 1. To adjust the instrument.

The instrument being made for the place of observation, need
only to be placed on a perfectly horizontal stand, and with the
line joining the hours XII and XII on the circle, in the direction
of the meridian : the former of these adjustments may be veri-
fied by means of a small level applied to the stand at N, in the
directions B C and A N successively. If found incorrect in
either position, let a piece of card be put under that foot
(A, B, or C) from which the bubble is found to recede, and
let this operation be repeated until the bubble rests in the
middle, in both positions.

The instrument may be brought into the meridian by the
assistance of a magnetic needle fixed to the frame at N, or on
the opposite side, or more correctly by means of the sun, pro-
vided the time be exactly known, thus : —

Set the index M to the sun''s declination, turn the circle K
round its axis, till the scale L points to the hour and minute
on the circle E F G. Then if the instrument be correctly
placed, the sun will be seen through the sights O, P, or what is
the same thing, the light admitted at the hole O will fall on
the hole P. If not, the instrument must be turned about till
this effect is produced.

The instrument being once carefully adjusted to the meri-
dian on any immoveable stand, such as the sill of a window,

376 Portable Instrument for acquiring

the top of a post, &c., lines may be drawn on the stand in the
direction of the sides A B, A C, or B C, by means of which it
may at any time be replaced with little trouble. ..„.,, |^ ,

Problem 2. The instrument being correctly ' pMfced and
levelled, the next operation will be to adjust the conical
projection to the day and hour of observation.

Turn the cone round till the day of the month on the circle,
at the bottom of it, coincides with the hour and minute on the
circle E F G.

Example. — To adjust the cone for the 15th January, at
twenty minutes past nine at night. Turn the cone till the
15th January on the circle attached to it coincides with IX h.
20 m. P. M. on the circle E F G.

Problem 3. The cone being adjusted, and any star pro-
posed, to find its place in the heavens.

The cone remaining at rest, turn the declination segment K
till the scale L cuts the proposed star on the projection ; note
its declination on the scale and set the index M to the same
degree on the segment K, when the index will point to the
star, which, if the adjustments have all been correctly made,
will be seen through the sights P, O.

Example. — To find the star Aldebaran ; look for Aldebaran
on the projection, bring the scale L to cnt it, and you will find
it against 16° north declination. Set index M to 16° N. P., and
look along the edge of it, or through the holes P, O, and you
will see the star.

Problem 4. Having observed a star in the heavens, to find
it on the projection.

Set the cone as accurately as you can to the day and hour,
then turn the declination segment round, and elevate the index
till you can see the star through the sights P, O. Note the
declination at the segment K, cut by the index M, and against
the corresponding degree of the scale you will find the star on
the projection.

If no such star can be found, you may then conclude that
it is a planet, or a new star.

By this means the place of the moon, of a planet, or a
comet, may be noted down, from time to time, and their ap-
parent paths traced out.

a Knowledge of the Stars. 377

Problem 5. To find the hour of the day by the sun.

Turn the segment K, and elevate the index M, till the sun
is seen or shines through the sights O, P, and the scale L will
point to the hour and minute on the circle E F G.

Problem 6. To find the hour of the night by means of a
star.

Direct the index M to the star, so as to be seen through
the sights P, O ; then laying hold of the scale L, to keep it in
that position, turn the cone till the star on the projection is cut
by the scale, when the day of the month on the circle at the
bottom of the cone will coincide with the hour and minute
on the circle E F G.

This instrument, though not capable of extreme accuracy,
might, by means of careful workmanship, and the addition of a
small telescope, be made sufficiently so for finding stars in the
day time ; but such a one as that now described will answer
all the purposes of a learner, and enable very young people to
acquire a correct and extensive knowledge of the stars in a
very short time.

The surface of a cone has been adopted for the projection,
in preference to that of a globe or planisphere, having been
found, after repeated trials, the figure best suited to the nature
of the instrument.

^.'tiri?>i't : . .,

mm'-,

An Introduction to the Comparative Aiiatomy of Ani7nals^
compiled with constant reference to Physiology^ and elu-
cidated by twenty copper -plates. By C. J. Cams, M.D.,
&c. Translated from the German, by R. T. Gore, Mem-
ber of the Royal College of Surgeons in London.

Ip we except Sir Everard Home's splendid work on compa-
rative anatomy, we have no original treatise on that subject
which deserves notice ; and even Sir Everard's lectures must
rather be considered as a series of essays on detached parts
of that branch of science, than as a regular and systematic
view of it. We have long been acquainted with the w^ork of
Dr. Cams, and have always considered it as a laborious and
accurate epitome of the principal facts and authorities in
the study to which it relates. From the immense field of
inquiry which it embraces, it is necessarily complicated, and

378 Comparative Value of Fuel.

in some places a little obscure, but it is entirely free from
those speculative and hypothetical wanderings which are too
characteristic of the German school of physiology ; and
though it contains some systematic notions in which we cannot
acquiesce, and a few new words, not the most harmonious in
the world, it may very safely and properly be recommended
to the student as a text-book, and to the proficient as a work
of reference. The plates by which it is illustrated are upon
an economical scale, sometimes rather too small to be distinct,
but they are otherwise accurate and carefully drawn ; and
we are aware that it is impossible to obviate these objections
without incurring such expense as would probably render
the work inaccessible to those readers for whom it is princi-
pally compiled .

Mr. Gore has assiduously and faithfully executed the
difficult task of translation, and has added no inconsiderable
quantity of new and important matter in the form of notes,
rendering the English work more complete, and upon many
points much more satisfactory than the original.

Exferiments to determine the Comparative Value of the
principal varieties of Fuel used in the United States, and
also in Europe, and on the ordinary Apparatus used for
their Combustion. By Marcus Bull. Philadelphia and
London, 1827.
The population of London and its immediate environs may
be estimated at about two millions, and the annual con-
sumption of coals within the same district does not fall far
short of two millions of chaldrons, or seventy-two millions
of bushels. Of this prodigious quantity of inflammable
matter, a very considerable portion escapes combustion, and
lodges in the form of soot in our chimneys, or is vomited forth
to contaminate and cloud the atmosphere of the metropolis :
so great is this loss, that independent of the mere advantage
of getting rid of smoke, its prevention is an important eco-
nomical problem ; and though the rage for smoke-burning
has passed over, we are quite certain that the subject still
deserves the most serious attention, being convinced that, of
the fuel consumed in the ordinary processes of warming our
houses and cooking food, at least one-third is uselessly
thrown away, and might be saved by a more economical
and scientific construction of common grates and fire-places.
All useful and well-conducted experiments, therefore, in

Meteorological Essays and Observations, 379

relation to these matters, deserve notice ; and though much
of Mr. Bull's essay is not applicable to our case, it contains
a variety of interesting facta and information : his experiments
appear to have been very carefully conducted, and should
be consulted by all those who are engaged in similar in-
vestigations.

Meteorological Essays and Observations. By J. Frederic
Daniell, Esq., F.R.S. Second Part, 1827.

We hope to be able in our next Number to enter into a
detailed examination of the subject of Mr. Daniell's inquiries ;
at present, therefore, our object is merely to announce the
second edition of his valuable and laborious essays, and the
publication of the present second part, in which, for the con-
venience of those who possess the former edition, all the new
matter is collected. It includes the following essays : —

1. On the Trade winds, considered with reference to Mr.
Daniel I's theory of the constitution of the atmosphere ; in a
letter from Capt. Basil Hall, R.N., F.R.S.

2. On evaporation as connected with atmospheric pheno-
mena.

3. On climate, considered with regard to horticulture.

4. On the oscillations of the barometer.

5. On the gradual deterioration of barometers, and the
means of preventing the same.

6. Addenda and notes — among which will be found a
valuable table of the elastic force of aqueous vapour, calcu-
lated by Mr. Galbraith from the experiments of Dr. Ure, by
the formula of Mr. Ivory.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London ,
for the year 1827. Part II.

The following are the contents of this Part of the Society's
Transactions: —

On a new form of the differential thermometer, with some of its
applications. By William Ritchie, A.M., rector of Tain Academy.
Communicated by J. F. W. Herschel, Esq., Sec. R.S.

On the structure and use of the submaxillary odoriferous gland
in the genus Crocodilus. By Thomas Bell, Esq., F.L. and G.S.S.
Commrunicated by Sir Everard Home, Bart , V.P.R.S.

On the permeability of transparent screens of extreme tenuity
of radiant heat. By William Ritchie, A.M., rector of Tain Aca-
demy. Communicated by J. F. W. Herschel, Esq., Sec. R. S.

380 Philosophical Transactions.

On the derangement of certain transit instruments by the effects
of temperature. By Robert Woodhouse, A.M., F.R.S., &c.

On some of the compounds of chromium. By Thomas Thom-
son, M.D., F.R.S. L. and E., Professor of Chemistry, Glasgow.

Rules and principles for determining the dispersive ratio of
glass; and for computing the radii of curvature for achromatic
object-glasses, submitted to the test of experiment. By Peter
Barlow, Esq., F.R.S. , Mem. Imp. Ac. Petrop, &c.

On the change in the plumage of some hen-pheasants. 6y
AVilliam Yarrell, Esq., F.L.S. Communicated by William Mor-
gan, Esq., F.R.S. ^

On the secondary deflectiong produced in a magnetised needle
by an iron-shell, in consequence of an unequal distribution of
magnetism in its two branches. First noticed by Captain J. P.
Wilson, of the Honourable East India Company's ship Hythe.
By Peter Barlow, Esq., F.R.S., Mem. Imp. Sc. Petrop.

On the difference of meridians of the royal observatories of
Greenwich and Paris. By Thomas Henderson, Esq. Commu-^
nicated by J. F. W. Herschel, Esq., Sec. R.S.

Some observations on the effects of dividing the nen^es of the
lungs, and subjecting the latter to the influence of voltaic elec-
tricity. By A. P. W. Philip, M.D., F.R.S. L. and E.

On the effects produced upon the air-cells of the lungs when the
pulmonary circulation is too much increased. By Sir Everard
Home, Bart, V.P.R.S.

Theory of the diurnal variation of the magnetic-needle, illus-
trated by experiments. By S. H. Christie, Esq., M.A., F.R.S.

On the ultimate composition of simple alimentary substances j
with some prehminary remarks on the analysis of organized bodies
in general. By William Prout, M.D., F.R.S.

A Practical Treatise on the use of the Blowpipe in chemical
and mineral analysis ; including a systematic arrangement
of simple minerals^ adapted to aid the student in his pro-
gress in mineralogy , by facilitating the discovery of the
names of species. By John Griffin, Author of Chemical
Recreations. Glasgow, 1827.

Performing with the blowpipe is something like playing
upon the fiddle — it looks mighty easy, but for its perfect
accomplishment requires a combination of skill and dexterity
which practice alone can confer. We are disposed, therefore,
to think lightly of those essays upon the subject which pre-
tend to instruct the beginner in the actual use of the instru-
ment ; telling him how he is to puff out his cheeks, breathe
through his nose, make a valve of his tongue, and keep up a

Circle of the Seasons^ 8cc. 381:

perpetual stream tlirough the nozzle of the tube ; all which
18 much easier described than done, and is entirely matter
of experimental acquisition, more easily attained without
than with the usual nistructions. In the little work before
us, all these matters are passed over with fit brevity, and
the attention of the student is chiefly directed to the appear-
ances which different substances exhibit before the blowpipe,
and by which minerals may be distinguished and classed.
The liistory of these constitute the bulk of Mr. Griffin's
duodecimo, being preceded onli^ by a few remarks upon the
diff'erent kinds of blowpipe, respecting which we have merely
to observe that justice is not done to Mr. Newman, who
first suggested what is here called *' Dr. Clarke's blowpipe ;"
indeed elsewhere the author seems a little angry with Mr.
Children for recommending Mr. Newman's apparatus. We
observe, moreover, that no notice is taken of Mr. Newman's
and several other papers on the blowpipe, which have ap-
peared in the old series of this Journal ; nor of Dr. Clarke's
original Essay, published in the second volume of that work,
from which, ancl sundry other symptoms, we conclude that
Mr. Griffin is a pupil of Dr. Thomas Thomson. Be this as
it may, we bear him no malice, and very conscientiously
recommend his book to the mineralogical student, as a
valuable and clear epitome of what relates to the behaviour
of substances before the blowpipe.

Circle of the Seasons, and Perpetual Key to the Calendar
and Almanack ; to which is added the Circle of the Hours
and History of the Days of the Week, being a compen-
dious Illustration of the History, Antiquities y and Natural
Phenomena of each Day in the Year. London, 1828.
Small 8vo.

The title of this book may lead our readers to suspect it as
an interloper among works on science ; but it touches upon
many points of scientific inquiry, and upon botan}'' especially,
arid is compiled with so much evident labour and accuracy,
as to merit recommendation. The saints and festivals of
each day are recorded, by which we make the acquaintance
of many worthy persons and curious anecdotes ; there is
also a brief natural history of each day, containing short
notices of the plants which on an average begin to flower or
to fade, and of the birds which arrive or begin to sing.

OCT.— DEC. 1927. 2 C

382 ConversiXtiom on the Animal Economy.

The ttieritso/the descriptive poetry, which is thickly inter-
spersed, we leave to other critics. Those who are destined
to live in the " fuliginous tenebrosity" of this smoke-satu-
rated metropolis, and to breathe an atmosphere *' sated with
exhalations rank and fdl," care little about the first peeping
forth of the modest snowdrop, or the early bursting of the
golden crocus ; but such as reside in the country will be
glad to have their attention pleasingly directed to the suc-
cessive products of the field, the flower-garden, and the
green-house.

Conversations oh the Animal Economy, By a Physician.
2 vols, small 8vo. London, 1827.

We have more than once expressed our opinion on the sub-
ject of conveying information to young people in the way;
of ** Conversations," which in the present volumes are car-
ried on between Dr. A., Harriet, Sophia, and Charles; they
are at once instructive and amusing, and evidently the pro-
duce of one possessed of much information upon the subjects
discussed, and, what is more to the point, of the art of
pleasantly and intelligibly conveying it.

The Conversations open with an account of the coverings-
or integuments of animals ; their arrangements by systematic^
writers are then adverted to, and a short but useful descrip-
tion is given of the varieties of mankind, as enumerated by
Blumenbach and illustrated by Camper. The bones and
muscles form the subjects of the fifth and sixth conversations ;
they are concisely described, and with sufficient accuracy.
The brain and nervous system and the organs of sense are
next talked about. The doctrines of phrenology are fairly
explained; and in the conversations on smell and taste,
vision, hearing, and touch, the anatomy of the respective
organs, and their varieties in the different animal tribes are-
treated of, the dulness of the details being relieved by phy-«
siological illustrations. The remaining conversations are
occupied with an account of the principal functions o£
animals, and of the several organs chiefly concerned in their,
performance ; the varieties of teeth and stomachs are here,
treated of, and the structures of the heart and blood-vessels^
as concerned in circulation and respiration. The produc-
tion of heat by animal systems is then noticed ; and the
twentieth and concluding conversation is employed in the
exposition of the general phenomena of growth ^nd decay.

Mf . Lindley on u new Genus of Plants, ft8§

We have thus briefly stated the contents of these volumes^
Tvliich are further illustrated by numerous woodcuts and
several plates; and are perfectly ready to commend the
performance as an extremely useful and proper book for
young persons, but not, in our opinion, of both sexes : we
should have been better pleased if Harriet and Sophy had
been replaced by William and Thomas; for we cannot
fancy the subjects here discussed as quite fit for young ladies.
Boys, on the contrary, ought to know much more of these
matters than they commonly do ; and for conveying such
information in a pleasing and familiar, yet neither vulgap
nor superficial style, this compilation seems perfectly appro-j
priate, and will, we trust, find, as it ought, a numerous cjass
of readers.

Notice of a New Genus of Plants discovered in the Rocky
Mountains of North America by Mr. David Douglas. By
John Lindley, Esq», F. L. S., &c. &c.

Upon his journey across the rocky mountains in April 1827,
in latitude 52° N., longitude 118° W., at an estimated elevation
of 12,000 feet above the level of the sea, the attention of Mr.
Douglas was attracted by a brilliant purple patch amidst the
surrounding snow. On approaching it, he was surprised to
find that the colour which had arrested his eye was caused
by the blossoms of a little plant, from which the superincumbent
snow had not yet melted away. The well-known Saxifraga
oppositifolia immediately occurred to his recollection, and he at
fiirst imagined he. had either discovered that species, or one
nearly allied to it; but upon a closer inspection, he per-»
ceived that it was no Saxifraga, but a genus apparently newi
Specimens having been submitted, to me for examination
since Mr. Douglas's return, the following description has been
drawn up: —

' The plant forms a thick tuft consisting of numerous perennial
'branched stems, the lower of which are covered with the persis-
tent decayed leaves and fruit of previous sumtners. The stenis
tire round, bright purplish brown, covered v^ith scattered, rigid^
bratiched, short hairs, and densely clothed with opposite spreading
leaves. Tbe leaves are a dull glaucous green, Semi-amplexicaul^

2C2

384 Mr. Lindley on a new Genus of Plants

linear, obtuse, about five lines long and three-quarters of a
line broad, so closely covered with hairs like those of the
stem, that the whole epidermis is hidden. Their veins are
concealed by the hairs; but if the latter are removed, they
appear to consist of a thickened liiid-rib, land a few nearly
simple spreading vense primariai. The flowers, proceed from
the axillae of the upper leaves, from three to six on each little
branch ; at first they are sessile, but their foot-stalks subse-
quently lengthen by degrees until the fruit is ripe, when they
are from three-quarters of an inch to one inch in length_, and
covered with the same sort of hairs as the leaves and stem.
The calyx is hairy in like manner, obconical, angular, with
five equal erect narrowly triangular teeth, about the length of
the tube. The corolla is of a vivid purple colour, infundibuli-
form, wholly destitute of pubescence ; the tube is a little
ventricose and rather longer than the calyx, its whole length
being about three lines; the limb is spreading, five-pajted
with cuneate, oblong, obtuse, segments ; the orifice is guarded
by five transversely linear calli, placed under each sinus, and
corresponding to the same number of external depressions
of the neck of the tube. The anthers are linear oblong,
nearly sessile, opposite the segments of the corolla, and a little
enclosed within the tube. The ovarium is superior, of an
obovate figure, one-celled, with a central, free, fungillifbrm
placenta, the lower edge of which has five teeth corresponding
to an equal number of peltate ovula ; the style is fihform, as
long as the tube of the corolla, and continuous with the
ovarium; stigma, a ntiinute depressed cup. The capsule is
of a cartilaginous texture, surrounded by the persistent calyx;
one-celled, with five recurving valves ; the seeds are two, peltate,
oblong, convex on the outside, concave in the inside, dark
brown, covered closely with minute dots or depressions ; four
only having been founds their internal organization has not
been determined. '^^ ^^^' ^J l'*>bjir»o^r:>b hi^d ^i ^^-^mi itdiinl

Hence it appears that, with the exception of the interior of
the seed, the whole structure of the plant is determinable:
it is also obvious that it is referable to Primulacese, of which it
possesses all the characters. In fact it is closely akin both to
Primula and Androsace. From both these genera, however^

Mr. Lindley on a new Genus of Plants, 38S

its ovarium which exhibits the greatest instance of reduction
of ovula yet known in the order, and its dispermous capsule,
"with oblong cortcave seeds, readily and essentially distinguish it
f'^ihtivei therefore, named it after its indefatigable discoverer,
whose active and successful researches in its native country,
richly entitle him to the distinction.
>h*i(ffoc^< DOUGLASIA.

^AT, OnD. Primulacece i inter Primulam et Androsacen.
Y^^CHTyr obconicus, angulatus, 5-<lentatus. Corolla infundibularif?, tubo ven-
bVre firicoso, limbo piano 5-partito, fauce callo lineari sub utroque sinu. Ovarium
i^^^ mjiloculare placentft, centrali libera pedicellata fungilliformi, marginc 5-den-
tato ; ovula 5 dentibus placentae opposita, Capaula vestita, unilocularis,
iUVfT ,5:v;jvis. iSwn-'/fa duo concava scrobiculata. — Cb^s^qs suffruticulosus (Ame-
)o rftl'licsD borealis), foliis indivisis, pube rigiddramosA, floribus axillaribus soli*
,Jt, n ' tariit,

i Sp. 1, Douglasia nivalis.
jh^nfif !^fcr'' ■ — —

A Description of the Aurora Borealis seen in London on the
'Evening and Night of the 25^/t of September, 1827 ; with
"^^Critical Remarks upon other Descriptions of the same, and
^^ previous Appearances of the Meteor, both in the Northern and
*W^ Southern Hemispheres. By E. A. Kendall, Esq., F.S.A,

On^ the evening and night of the 25th of September last, the
horizon of the metropolis, toward the north, and toward the
north-west and the north-east, exhibited a remarkable display
of the meteor Or phenomenon called, after the example of the
Italian philosopher Gassendi, Aurora Borealis.

The weather, for many days preceding, had been mild,
with alternate sunshine, clouds, and showers. The wind had
been generally in the west and south-west quarters ; though
on the 18th and 19th it was in the north-west, and on the
20th in the north-east. The barometer, at three o'clock in
the afternoon, had stood at from 30° 40' to 30° 20', to which
latter height it had descended on the 20th ; and, from that
day to the 25th, it had remained at 29° 90' and 29° 75'. The
thermometer, at the same hour, between the 14th and the
20th, had ranged between 65° 6' and 59° Z ; and it stood, on
the 25th, at 59° 6', with the wind in the south-west. The
sky, toward the zenith, on the evening of that day, was par-

386. . Description of the Aurora BoreaUs ,

tially clear, and partially covered with shifting clouds, On.
the north, and on the west and east of north, heavy and
stationary clouds blackened the whole horizon, to an elevation
of more than five degrees ; and the southern hemisphere was

dark with dark clouds from the horizon to the zenith.

» _ • ....

I. By some, the Aurora was seen from the time when the
sun Avas set ; but the first appearance in the heavens, which
attracted the. ^.tteution of the present writer, whose situation at
tie moment shut out from him the horizon upon all sides but
the west, was that of a certain breadth of red or copper-coloured
light, or of light of a colour nearly resembling that reflected
by an ordinary conflagration of buildings, pointing upward
from the west. The colour, indeed, was dissimilar from that
which is usual upon the occurrence of a fire on a cloudy
night ; yet, in the absence of any other immediate explana-
tion, he should not have hesitated so to understand it, except
for the figure within vv^hich it was circumscribed, and which,
instead of being diffusive, and less and less conspicuous toward
its extremities, or rounded in its outline, like masses of ruddy
Smoke, had the peculiarities of an equal breadth, rectilinear
sides, a square top, and sharp outlines. Its height was con-
tinually increasing ; but not even that phenomenon, nor even
the curve to the eastward, across the heavens, and which it
presently began to add to its figure, were appearances abso-
Iptely to dissipate the illusion of the existence of a fire ; and
it was scarcely, therefore, till this breadth of colour, throwing
itself entirely over the heavens, and descending, at its pro-
jected extremity, toward the east, formed an arch, of which,
perhaps, the elevation was seventy degrees, (which was
not the work of many minutes, the motion, at the same
time, being visible, but of moderate rapidity,) that its real
character of a natural phenomenon distinctly impressed itself
npon the mind of the present writer, its observer. While
this, however, was proceeding, the road which he was pur-
suing had brought him more into view of the north-western
and northern horizon ; and, then, the light in the north, and to
the west of north, which, from behind the clouds that lined
the horizon, seemed like the light of ^a rising moon, or of the

sfien in London, September 25,. 1827. 3§5

breaking d^y, together with the vertical projection of rays of
Jight, beneath and above the arch, removed every doubt ^s to
the cause of the appearance, by demonstrating its connexion
with an Aurora BoreaUs. . :,? -, ,

i It wa^ Dpw about a quarter past eleven o'clock. The sky,
beneath the lower or inner edge of the arch, was clear and
star-light, and, throqgh the contrast created by the ruddy
colour placed against it, appeared of a lively blue. The upper
edge of the arch, in the meantime, was relieved only by thq
dark gray of the clouds, which, with more or less continuity^
averhung the upper part of the heavens. But these latter
were now dispersing ; the cloudless zenith, which presently
afterwards disclosed itself, was now progressively and swiftly
preparing ; and, as the clouds moved and fled, the outline^
of the arch lost their sharpness, the colour changed, from
that of fire or of copper, to something more or less of purple
or of the rose ; it spread itself in the vapour, and with the
yapour vanished.

«imj Yv. ;■-■ '

,.,iL .But this was only the curtain of the stage, behind the
folds of which the tri;e scene had it^ existence. This latter,
still concealed, to a certain and uniform height, by a parapet,
as it were, . of dark and unbroken clouds, consisted, first, in
the ground of white light, already described as resembUng thai;
of a sky in the midst of which clouds shut out the disk of the
moon, or rather that in which the rising sun is just about to
appear ; and, secondly, ip a range of columns, or fountains, or
jets of light, more coloured than the ground, which, rising from
behind the ridge or parapet of clouds, and from and in the
midst of the white light, formed, together, not the figure which
would have been produced by their uniform convergence
toward the zenith, but one which bore some resemblance to
tliat assumed by the sticks of a fan, or still more to the appear-
ance of stalks in a flower-basket, or in a, sheaf of corn. For,
in this manner, the column, which, in general terms, may be
called the central one, and which arose in the due north, wa^
vertical, and therefore projected toward the zenith ; while those
which extended from it upon either side, tliat is, toward the
^^sj^ or towfurd the east, gradually inclined more and more

388 Description of the Aurora Borecdis

toward the horizon on their respective sides ; and, as to the
outer columns on the east, inclined, not in rectilinear figures,
but in curves more or less decided. In these columq&^-ot
coruscations several particulars were to be remarked. ,rf< vfn',

1. That, within the space of from one hour to two, the
whole group appeared to traverse the horizon together, from
the west of north to the east of north, as if upon one movable
base, or as if the source of their appearance became gradually
exhausted to the west of north, and grew gradually into acti-
vity upon the east of north ; alternatives of explanation, how-
ever, which might materially affect the theory of their pro-
duction. During the whole change, in the meantime, the
north preserved its splendour, appearing uniformly as the
focus of the fire, or as the pivot of the machine, or as the well
from which all else was supplied. The change consisted in the
appearance of columns, of more or less magnitude, strength,
and brightness, more or less advanced from the north toward
the west, or from the north toward the east ; but the north,
during all this variation, suffered no other change than this,
that whereas, in the beginning of the evening, the greater
portion of the columns rose to its west, while, in the latter
part of the night, the greater portion arose to its east. But,
besides this general configuration, and this united motion of
the meteor, there was to be observed, in the several columns
themselves, both the variations of colour which distinguished
one from another, and the irregular and independent move-
ment of each, always in the direction of its length or altitude,
and , situate in the interior, as it w^ere, of its body; and also
that peculiarity of form which distinguishes these coruscations
from all other luminous appearances.

2|.^^The colours of the columns, in that part of their height
which is nearest their base, and where, as a ground, they had
only the white light of the horizon, by which, and by their
motion, audit should, perhaps, be added, by their yividnf^,
they were distinguished, is a point upon which the writer
speaks with some hesitation, and with respect to the more
close observation of which he could like to enjoy a second
opportunity of beholding the phenomenon. The variety and
richness, and sometimes the terrible grandeur, of the colours

seen in London^ September 25, 1827, 389

exhibited in the Aurora Borealis, is the constant theme of
spectators and naturalists ; and, upon the late occasion, an
observer, apparently of more regularly scientific habits of pur-
suit than himself*, has particularly insisted upon a column, of
a violet colour, rising west of north, and the place of which he
thinks corresponding with that of the magnetic pole ; a coinci-
^ctice from which, as it may seem, he would believe a confir-
mation of the magnetic theory of the production of the Aurora
to be obtained. In setting do^vn the present description, the
trrtter tasks himself to the most faithful description of what
he actually saw, and suppression of all desire to support or
condemn a theory, of which his mind is capable ; and by those
♦rilles, therefore, the whole statement will be guided. His de-
'kcription already differs from that of some of his fellow-wit-
nesses, as will be expressly considered below ; but he con-
'fesses that while, in point of persuasion, he much inclines
to the idea, that all the light displayed by the Aurora is in
itself white, and only tinctured to the eye of the spectator by
the atmospherical medium through which it is seen ; and
M/hile, with respect to all those deeper colours, whether crim-
son or purple, or blood- colour, which appal the superstitious,
itttd are described by the picturesque narrator as exhibiting
*{he terrible in matters of vision, he judges it supposable that the
T^hole machinery consists in the same interposition of vapour,
'hfear the horizon, which so often gives to the sun and moon
themselves the appearance of being coloured like blood :
#hile, therefore, he still adheres to his opinion, that the
'Vidlours ascribed to the Aurora are wholly extrinsic ; and, to
'Bbrrow the words of a scientific writer, *' dependent upon the
medium through which they are seen ;" he is obliged to
'Acknowledge, that it did appear to him, that the several co-
lumns, in truth, were yet variously coloured, of pale, but bright
'^ttd pleasing colours, from a pale yellow to a pale pink and a
|5a!le' Violet, ahd this in the direction of their height or length, —
'tt'jShenomeribn which wholly excludes, as to those columns
S,ttd their colours, the influence of an interposing medium, the
effect of which would be perceived horizontally, and across the
whole range of columns, or part of the range, and not ver-
* Literary Gazette, Sept. 29, 1827.

^99 -description' of- the Aurora Borealis,^

lically nor obliquely, according to the direction of each column,
and within the limits of its sides. He confesses, also, that h^
did take notice of the pale, but bright violet-coloured column,
tlistinguished also by its breadth and height, and situated to
the west of north ; but which column, he is surely right in
adding, ultimately moved, with those next to it, toward the
north. He distinctly and pointedly observed, at the same
time, that the columns which stood due north were always
white, and that the colours of the other columns appeared to
strengthen in proportion as they were distant from the due
north, either west or east ; and he came to a fixed conclusion,
^vhile the phenomenon was under his eye, that, to his judg-
raent at least, the strength of the fire, so to say, was in. that
point of the horizon which lay due north ; and that there wa^
a diminished brightness, with a proportionable increase of
colour, : tQ the right and left.

3. As to the separate movements of the columns, these, in
the first place, were quick, and forced upon the eye, while the
movement which gradually deployed or advanced the .right
wing of the celestial arm, and gradually contracted or with-
drew the left, was slow, and perceived only by its results ; and,
in the second place, while these Jatter were parallel to4h^
horizon, the former were either vertical, or in the oblique or
curved direction of the bodies of the columns. But this
motion consisted either in vibration, or in irregular but altera .
nate projections and contractions ; and the motion of each
column, as has been said, was independent on that of others.
Harely. two adjoining columns were in motion at the same
time. Almost always the moving column or columns were
seen to start from the midst of others, which, for the time^
Vf^re quiescent, but which had had their turn before, aiyl
would presently have it again. What eminently struck the
writer, however, was the internal motion of that to which he
.cannot allow himself to give another name than that of the ap-
parent luminous material of the columns. It seemed to him as
if the volume of each column or coruscation was itself com-
posed of parallel lines of luminous matter, arranged in the
direction of the column, and every one of which was separately
the subject of movements similar to those^ of the entire

seen in London^ September 25, 1827. 39J

jcolumn, or entire bundle of lines ; or as if the whole columij
were like the stalk of a plant, and filled with upright and
luminous fibres, or like a skein of thread, drawn vertically or
obliquely, and of which each particular thread should hav^
particular motion in the direction of the whole ; or (what
he thought the comparison which proclaimed the very nature
of the material of the columns) like fountains, or jets of water
in the sun, in which every particular particle should be
moving in the general fJirection of the jet, and yet each moving
a^id shining for- itself • ni<>?';<i« ?4

4. And this apparent nature of the substance of the columti?
or coruscations allies itself to what finally regards them;
nanaely, their fbrm. In this description, they have hitherto
jbeen spoken of by the name of columns or pillars ; and the
similitude, which that name suggests, is justified by the general
^gure of all the lower parts of their bodies, which, unlike the
figure of rays of light on the one hand, and unlike that of
flames of fire on the other, is a tall or lengthened object, of small
comparative diameter or breadth, and of which the sides con^
sist in right and nearly parallel lines. But^ by the Engli^sh,
these columns, pillars, or coruscations, were anciently called
so many burning spears ; and they have also receiyed the
names of streamers and pencills *, which two latter, in the
history of appurtenants of war, signify long and narrow,
and pointed banners or flags. Their similitude to flags is ex-:
cusably fancied from their quick, capricious, and irregulaif
motions; but their likening to *' spears,'' is that which may
claim to be thought the most felicitous, as to the true concep-
tion of their form, as it is also that, the idea of which contri-
butes to render the phenomenon the most fearful in tlie

♦ " Pencells. — Pencills, or flagges for horsemen, must be a yard and a
halfe long." Harleian MSS., cited in an interesting and valuable essay on thQ
'' Banners used in the English army, from the Conquest to the rei^n of Henry
VIIl." By N. H. Nicolas, Esq., F.S.A.—Relrospectire Review, Oct. 1, Ifi^T;

** The Pensell, or Pennoncelle, was the diminutive of the Pennon, being a
lopg narrow flag." — Meyrick*s Ancient Armour.

" Streamer. — A Streamer shall stand in the toppe of a shippe, or in the
forecastle, an^ tlierein be put no armes, but a man's conceit or dcwice, and
may be of the lenji;tlie of twenty, forty, or sixty yards ; and it is slit, as well
as a guydhomme or atandarde." — Harlkian MSS.

Ad item,. in a bill of parcels, charged to the Earl of Warwick, in 1437, cob-;
sists of" a great Stremour for the Ship, of xl yerdis lenghth, apd viiji yeirdisln
bred&."-T-BAiiNfiRs ufifp ik Tuji Emci^isu A«KHr, &c* • • ^■■' . -'. -*

392 IJescnption of the Aurora Borealis^

survey of ignorance and superstition. But the spear-shape
is descriptive, because the coruscations, unUke rays of light,
and unlike flames of fire, have neither the obtuse figure of
a pyramid, nor the acute one of an obeUsk, upright or re-
versed ; but, after rising, through almost their whole height or
length, of an equal or nearly equal diameter, terminate in a
point which is formed, not of right lines, like the point of a
dagger, but of curved lines, so as to form the rounded point
of a spear, or that figure which is so familiar to botanists,
as spoken of ^* spear-shaped" leaves* A ray of light, in
whatever direction it is thrown, broadens, with right-lined
sides, from the first point of its departure, to the furthest
stretch of its projection; a flame of fire points uniformly
upward, with the same regularity of form, excepting only as
it is liable to undulation from the motion of the atmosphere ;
but, the columns, spears, streamers, or coruscations of the
Aurora Borealis, have no form but that under review. no-y
5. About half-past eleven o'clock, or nearer to twelvfe^
several powerful columns shot toAvard the zenith ; while, to
the east of north, others were at once curved in their form,
and projected in an angle of about thirty degrees with Ihe
horizon. But while,' upon the west of north, the sky, above
the ridge of clouds, was entirely clear, so that, there, the
columns played upon a ground which formed a slight con-
trast with themselves, here, the clouds were still heavy, and
the columns behind them appeared, in consequence, of a fiery
red, deepening as they approached the outer edge of the whole
display, at which was the sharpest outline, contrasted in the
distinctest manner with the dark sky. The light upon that
side called to the mind of the writer the ** dunnest smoke of
hell," of Macbeth ; while, as to its outer fine, as seen from the
east end of Pall-mall, the sides of the stone spire of St. Mar-
tin's church, which rose to the eastward of it in the sky, were
not more sharply defined ; the dark intervening sky affording
relief to both, though not equally so, upon account of the
superior brightness of even the obscured columns. But, in
taking leave of this columnar, or spearrlike, and main part of
the Aurora, it may be permitted to add, that, in those tapering
forms, together with their xuotioDs, (though the comparisoa

seien in London, September 25, 1827. 393

may still be sufficiently remote and fanciful,) it was easy to
discern the origin of their having been resembled to weapons
of war ; that isi to the spears of an army, raised, lowered, laid
at angles, and gleaming, glittering, crossing, and clashing in
battle. And equally, too, from their quick, varied, and sepa-
rate, and, as it were, whimsical motions, might they reasonably
receive, in their milder displays, and in moments of more
peaceful and cheerful association, the' very i different name of
Tnerr^ dancers! - ' •

iti «tH^il 'to 'i^vi

^>'>iIIL Though, as will presently be found, it is the ruHng
Idea of the present writer, that the Aurora Borealis is a single
object,! its appearance, when unmodified byith^ accompani-
ments of clouds or fogs, being merely that of its own corusca-
tions, playing in the free expanse, yet for the purposes of
trijalytical description and contemplation, it is here thought
convenient to divide it into the three parts in which, through
the temporary and accidental intervention of the coloured arch
before-mentioned, it appeared in the night now in recollection.
These three supposititious parts, then, may be understood as
follows : first, the arch, belt, or band which was temporarily
llil^tt'tuirtDiSs the heavens; second, the main body of the
coruscations below the arch; and third, the coruscations above
itj and in or near the zenith. It is of these only that it remains

{T It was not till about midnight that the zenith itsetf (which,
ft<dwever, formed the southern boundary to this part of the dis-
play) became the scene of a class of appearances, differing,
indeed, essentially, in their forms, from those in the horizon,
but closely connected, as it may be believed, with all the ma-
t^Hftls,' and all the movements, of these latter. The zenith, at
thii hour, was cloudless, and resplendent with stars, and
the air was freshened by a gentle breeze from the south.
B^tW^eh the earth and the stars above, there was no apparent
mte^venihg vapour, and nothing, therefore, save that atmo-
spherical fluid which eludes the sight. But, through that
m^ium^ "if such only it was, coruscations w-ere now con-
tinually shooting, of which the appearance was, that it over-
spread this portion of the vault of heaven with an ever-shaken

394 ^Description of the Aurora JSorealis

^eet of thin, gauzy, white, or yellowish-white, and nebulous;
or cloudy matter. T6 the writer, this superior portion of the
Aurora, though not the most lustrous, and, therefore, not the
most striking of the whole, was yet by no means the least
interesting and inviting to attention ; for, here, as it appeared
to him, the material and the manner of operation of ths
meteor were brought nearer to the eye, and exhibited with such
a back-ground (the starry heavens) as gave a transparent view
of the same matter as that, which, (as he thought,) seen ver-f
tically, and in the horizon, appeared comparatively, at least,
opaque. The transparent medium, however, above, through
which, even when shook or vibrating, and even when whitened
^vith light, the stars were always seen in more or less bright-*
hess, was now in continual motion; or, ineteoric light or mattef
was continually, though irregularly, and as it were, playfully
shot through it. The illuminated substance (whether the
atmospherical fluid, reflecting the light of the meteor, or the
luminous body of the meteor itself, but probably the latter)
was incessantly discovering itself in different places ; now here^
now there, now bright, now dim ; but far less in a manner, dr
with an appearance, to be compared with lightning, than witH
such as resembled the changes of ripple upon the bosom of a
wide-spread water, when a variable breeze blows over it ; first
in one part, and then in another ; and now in one direction,
and the next moment in a second. Or, the canopy of heaven^
at this time, might be said to be composed of d Ikce or gauze
bearing a figured pattern, of which the fluttering motion
continually changed the places, or hid or re-displayed the
figures represented ; or the picture, perhaps, will be more
easily imagined, if conveyed in the very appropriate language
of an older hand, which, referring to the appearances dis-
played in the zenith, remarks, ** They break out in pkceS
where none were seen before, skimming briskly along the
heavens ; are suddenly extinguished, and leave behind a uni-
form dusky track. This, again, is brilliantly illuminated in
the stlme manner, and as suddenly left a dull blank." It
should be understood, however, that, at least as seen by the
present writer, iii this mixture of white and blue, the blue
iv^ds always the- preponderating colour; or, in other words^

s'e^ in L&ndbrit September 25', 18JK. 3SS

that, the field of the uhoccdpied zeniih always bbre a large
proportion to the space or spaces covered, however mo-
Vnentarily, with light, or with the luminous substance. For the
rest, the particular mentioned in the passage which has now
been quoted, namely, that of the residue of a dusky track,
aft^r the departure of the white light, did not, if it was
there, attract the attention of the present writer, upon the late
occasion ; but he certainly, in many instances, remarked the
1-eturn of the light to the places in which it had been visible
bfef(Hre J and this feature, either with or without that of the
continuance of a dusky track, is possibly capable of adding
some support to the general opinion which he conceived at the
tnoment, which all subsequent information has still allowed
him to retain, and of which he proposes to make further use ;
namely, that the appearances in the zenith are only ex-
tended exhibitions of the luminous phenomena in the hori-*-
tton, or their southern extremities, or the tops of columns pro-»
jected from the northward. He thought that, in the zenith;
h)e Saw the same material, parcelled out, attenuated or diluted,
Spread thin, and, as it Were, shown with greater transparency,
with that which, in thicker volume, with more acccumulated
strength, intenser light, with more solid body, and withal
behind a denser mass of asmospherical vapour, rose^ and
glowed, and sometimes gloomed^ in the horizon. But, be this
as it may, it is, perhaps, this upper part of the exhibition, in
which the lights Or streamers seem to interweave, or cross and
recross each other, to dance in and out of the area, and to
indulge m motions still more Capricious or anomalous than
is probably the real fact ; it is, perhaps, this upper part which
has alternated, as before recalled to view, the names and simi-
litudes of spears, gleaming, glittering, interposing and clashing
as in battle, and o( merry dancers, the latter the gayer com-?
parison of the dancing north.

IV. The Aurora continued to fix the attention of the writer
till between twelve and one o'clock of the morning of the
26th ; and he presumes that it continued visible till the supe-^
rior light of the rising day eclipsed its glory. The 2Gth was
,warra, but Qppre$sed with fogi through which the sun broke

396 Description of ihe' Aurora Bofealis

only at intervals ; and, between four and five o'clock in the
evening, a small but steady rain commenced, and continued, or
rather increased in heaviness, till after midnight. Between
eleven and twelve, while it still rained, the writer, on looking
at the sky, which was covered with a uniform mass of clouds,
the writer observed, from point to point, over the northern and
southern hemispheres, a glow of ruddy light, which he sus-
pected, and still suspects, to have been produced by the light
of the continued Aurora, reflected by the vapour. He took the
opinion of a fellow-traveller, which coincided with his own ;
but it has not come to his knowledge that any individual, him-
self and his companion excepted, has formed a similar conjec-
ture— nor, indeed, is it impossible that it was no more than the
light of the hidden moon. The night of the 27th was star-
light, though with fog near the surface ; and there was then no
appearance of an Aurora. The night of the 28th was remark-
ably clear, and there was still no return of the Aurora. The
morning of the 29th was warm, with continued and heavy
rain; but, after this, there succeeded a week or more of
clear and dry weather; and these united particulars close
the history of the phenomenon, as far as belong to the per-
sonal observation of the writer. The direction of the winds,
and the state of the barometer and thermometer, were of
the same general description, during many days subsequent
to the appearance of the Aurora on the 25th, as that which
had belonged to them from the 20th, and almost for many
days before, and of which the particulars have been stated
above ; and these remarks may merit record, as connected
with the question of the ordinary duration of the Aurora,
and of the weather by which it may be thought produced,
or which it may be thought to bring. In many instances,
it has been observed, even in its splendour, and even in
southern latitudes, for several nights in succession ; and an in-
fluence upon the weather has likewise been expected from its
appearance. Upon this occasion, there was no remarkable
change in the latter till the night of the fourteentli day after
the Aurora (October lOth), when there occurred a violent gale
of wind from the south-west, accompanied with loud thunder,
and the most vivid lightning ; subsequently to which, as usual,

seen in London, September 25, 1827. 397

the air, for a few days, was felt to be cooler than before.
It has been said, that a gale of wind, from the south-west, is
alwaysfto be looked for within twenty-four hours after the

• -it/'. ^ ' •

**T. The astrt)nomrcal writer, already more than once men-
tiOT^ed, speaking of the Aurora of the 25th of September, de-
scribes it as ** that mysterious phenomenon ;" and Mr. Adams,
the meteorological correspondent of the publication referred to,
r^6Mt'ii ak, '** perhaps, as conspicuous as any that has ever
beeh'sefen in England*;" so that, assuming these impressions
in both instances to be well founded, neither the present state
of ^science upon the one hand, nor the specimen of the phe-
nomenon upon the other, are such as to discourage either of
the objects of the remainder of these pages ; namely, the one to
contribute, as fully as possible, to the completion of a faith-
ful account of the Aurora, as seen in London upon the late
occasion, by uniting, and by analysing the descriptions that
Hkve' caught already the eye of the writer; and the other, to
correct, and to enlarge if it should be practicable, the natural
history of this description of meteor, by the comparison of
what has hitherto been usually written upon the subject, either
descriptively or philosophically, as well with the results of
the late actual observations, as with the several facts or
oprnidns more anciently registered. According to some, the
interval which had elapsed, since an equal or a superior display
of the phenomenon was witnessed in London, is twenty-four
yiedird/'arid, according to others, thirty-six; nor is the scanty list
of^^kteples scientifically recorded, at all inconsistent, from the
wide separation, as well as irregularity of its dates, with such a
viiB'<v'*bf the iilfrequency and uncertainty of any considerable
appearance in other southern latitudes. The opportunity,
therefore, now offered, ought not, perhaps, to be neglected; and
the writer is not wholly without the prospect, that, upon a re-
examlnktion, both of opinions and facts, some safe and inevi-
table coTiClusions may be elicited, both as to the history and
the -ttik>if^'6f the "tbeteor; hithierto, . th6 one h&rtiiy '^received,

• Meteorological Journal, Literary Gazette, Sept.29tli.
OCT.— DBC. 1827. 2 D

398 Description of the Aurora Borealis

and the other negligently overlooked, or unwarrantably contra-
dicted. The paragraphs, then, which immediately follow, will
connect and review the accounts of the writer's fellow-obsers'er
of the 25th of September ; while those which succeed will be
devoted to a brief enumeration of statements already recorded
in books ; though, to a certain extent, both these paths will
involve us in mixed investigations, historical and theoretical.

1. " It first appeared," says Mr. Adams, who dates from
Edmonton, in Middlesex, ^' about eight o'clock in the evening,
as a strong white light, much resembling the approach of sun-
rise ; and so continued till a short time after eleven, when a
considerable number of dark clouds collected toward the north
and north-west, and several streaks of a pale white light were
seen proceeding from the clouds, and reaching nearly to the
zenith. But the most remarkable part of the phenomenon was
exhibited in a N.N. E. direction, where, at about 30° above
the horizon, was a small dense cloud, above which was a
broad streak curved, artd about 10° in length, varying in colour
from a deep copper hue to a red." '' From this," continues
Mr. Adams, ** the coruscations were incessant, and remark-
ably bright, darting frequently to the zenith, where they were
frequently crossed by others equally bright and numerous,
proceeding from the west toward the east."

2. The astronomical writer, who dates from Deptford, de-
scribes the phenomenon as commencing at a quarter past eight
o'clock, and travelling, from west and north-west, to north-
east; and the streaks, or streamers, or, as he denominates
them, the flashes, " converging to the zenith," and " coruscating
with great velocity.'* He also particularises the peculiar ap-
pearance of " a streak or column of a phosphorescent violet
tinge ;" and adds, " The two red beams of light, seen in the
easterly and Westerly direction [directions], were diametrically
opposite to each other, and ninety degrees distant from the
violet light (by far the most luminous, though comparatively
quiescent) which was to the west of north, and therefore could
not be far from the magnetic meridian, which would be crossed at
right angles by a line joining the places of the red beams. The
southern edges of these were accurately defined, not blending
with the adjacent azure, but most distinct from it, and per-

seen in London, September 25, 1827. 399

pendicular to the horizon." Finally, this gentleman speaks of
the general luminous aspect, as " much resembling the tail of a
comet," and says, that Ursa Major, and other stars, were visible
through its medium ; that three meteoric stars also appeared,
during the phenomenon, in the east and north-east ; and that
the entire horizon was obscured by dark, heavy clouds, from
three to five degrees in height*."

3. Besides these observers, two or three others, if not
many more, less scientific, perhaps, but yet entitled to atten-
tion, have communicated to different newspapers their accounts
of the same phenomena. " The metropolis," says one of these,
" was surprised on Tuesday night by a brilliant display of
Northern Lights, which but very seldom stray so far south.
The last which we beheld in London were in the autumn of
1804, about the end of September, or beginning of October ;
and the fancied prodigy filled all the superstitious heads, at
the time, with fearful prognostics, and loosened the tongues of
a hundred prophets. The spectacle, then, was truly magni-
ficent. On Tuesday night (the 25th) the northern parts of the
heavens displayed, about eleven o'clock, so ruddy a blaze, as to
appear like the reflection of a mighty conflagration. An hour
later, the red hue was gone ; but the whole horizon, from the
north to the east, was lined with a thin cloud, from which the
rays of light rolled, or sudden rays flashed up, and as suddenly
vanished, to appear in a different part." *' At about half past
eleven o'clock," says a second, " my attention was attracted to a
singular appearance of light and streakiness in the sky. I ob-
served it for nearly two hours. The sky, to the north, was
obscured, for about fifteen degrees above the horizon, by a
dense stratum of black clouds ; from the upper edge of this, the
light became first apparent, extending from nearly north-east to
north-west, exceeding considerably in power that arising from
the moon just previous to its rising. From this broad stratum
of pale yellowish light shot beautiful pencils, of a luminous, hazy
appearance, up to the very zenith, changing momentarily in
length and intensity. During this period, the wind blew gently
from the south ; and I frequently observed, that when it fresh-

♦ Literary Gazette, as above.

2 D 2

400 Description of the Aurora Borealis.

ened a little, the Aurora Borealis became more brilliant in its
appearance, sending beautiful coruscations of light, in rapid
succession, towards the zenith, and frequently passing that
point ten or fifteen degrees to the southward. I have been
assured, by those who are ;well acquainted with this beautiful
phenomenon, that they have not seen any appearance of it
equal in brilliancy and beauty to this, for upwards of six and
thirty years." " Last night," says a third, '' we were favoured
with that interesting phenomenon, the Aurora Borealis, or
Northern Twilight, which so often amuses and cheers our
neighbours in the north, but seldom, I believe, is seen in our
latitude. It was without those varied colours," adds this
writer, '^ which cause it to be a grand spectacle in those re-
gions." " Not far from the horizon," he adds, " in the northern
hemisphere, were transparent bodies of light, eclipsing the bright-
ness of the stars, which, however, were perceptible through it.
From hence, beams of light, varying in degrees of brightness
and breadth, shot up towards the zenith ; here streamers of
light flew from the east to the west, and from west to east.
The southern hemisphere was cloudless, the stars shining with
brilliancy. By the light of this phenomenon, I could discern
the time of night, which was between eleven and twelve, as well
as other objects, as they appear on a moon-light night, when
the moon is obscured by clouds." " The sky in the north," we
are told by the fourth, " appeared as if a light shone from be-
hind some dark masses of clouds. As I approached Hamp-
stead, the silvery light was gradually tinged with rosy spiral
streams, like those which sometimes precede the rising and
follow the setting sun. These spiral red streaks did not appear
to move quickly ; but they were subsequently followed by the
merry dancers, which fully maintained the character bestowed
upon them by our northern neighbours. After passing through
Hampstead, I crossed the heath, and came down what is called
North-end Hill, to Golder's Green, Hendon. When you arrive
at the foot of the hill, you enter upon the open part of Golder's
Green, where you have a clear and unobstructed view of the
sky from west to north. I never shall forget the grandeur of the
scene which awaited me there. A continuous border of dark
cloud skirted the horizon completely from west to north, whilst

seen in London^ September 25, 1827. 401

from behind it, incessantly and rapidly shot up the most beau-
tiful coruscations of white light, which, being relieved by the
dark border, added double brilliancy to the ever-shifting scene."

VI. But, after transcribing these respective accounts, it
may be permitted, for the purpose of uniting them with that
submitted in the preceding pages, to remark,

1. That the account by Mr. Adams, of the appearance
worn by the Aurora at an early hour in the evening, is, no
doubt, entirely correct ; and that it is easy to understand,
from this description of that early appearance, why little ob-
servation was attracted to the phenomenon till about eleven
o'clock at night, the time assigned, as well in this, as in all
the other accounts, for the commencement of the phenomenon.

2. That the " streaks of a pale white light," which Mr.
Adams describes as proceeding, a short time after eleven,
'*/rom the clouds," must be understood, as stated by the writer
last quoted, as proceeding " from behind the clouds ;" that,
when the astronomical writer at Deptford speaks of Ursa
Major and other stars being seen through the Aurora, it must
be recollected, that, perhaps, this remark should apply to the
medium of the thin and shifting lights in or near the zenith ; and,

3. That it is with respect to the ** broad streak, curved," of
Mr. Adams ; the *' two red beams of light," of the astronomical
observer at Deptford ; and the •* arch" of the present description,
that the principal, if not only discordance obtains. Neither
of the other three writers appears to have seen any thing,
Whether of one " broad streak, curved," and " varying in colour
from a deep copper hue to a red," or of ** tico red beams," as
spoken by the writer at Deptford ; while, in each of the three
accounts in which that part of the phenomenon is actually
referred to, the descriptions are materially dissimilar : —

1. The writer at Edmonton mentions only a single streak,
while the writer at Deptford speaks o^two. >^ A^^ l'£if}'diit\«.

2. Thd wYiter at Edmonton describes his slhgle sti^att' as
curved, while the writer at Deptford says nothing of curvature ;
and, in describing the position of the beams as '* perpendicular
to the horizon," may seem to leave no curvature to be
understood.

402 Description of the Aurora Borealis^.

3. The writer at Edmonton seems to lift his " broad curved
streak" much above the horizon ; for he first places a small
dense cloud 30° above the horizon, and, then, his broad streak
above the cloud ; thus describing a curve of which the situation
was near the zenith, while the writer at Deptford is describing
** two red beams," standing perpendicularly to the horizon.

4. The writer at Edmonton places his *' broad streak, curved,"
" in a N. N. E. direction ;"" while the writer at Deptford records
" two red beams of light, seen in the easterly and westerly
direction." Lastly,

5. The writer at Edmonton seems to make coruscations,
•* incessant and remarkably bright," dart from his *' broad
streak, curved ;" while the writer at Deptford seems only
anxious to place his " two red beams," as perpendicular pillars,
standing on either side of the magnetic meridian,

VII. And, from the whole of this, from the total silence of
four accounts, and from the extreme discordance of the other
three, the present writer presumes to draw the following in-
ferences, including that of the accuracy of his own original
statement :

1. That the two perpendicular red beams of light, of the
writer at Deptford, should be joined with broad curved streaks
of a deep copper, or red hue, of the writer at Edmonton, to
complete the arch which has been spoken of in the foregoing
pages.

2. That this arch, or curved streak, with its feet east and
west, sent forth no coruscations itself; but that the corusca-
tions rose beneath it, and passed above it.

3. That it was described upon the clouds only ; was no part
of the Aurora ; and, from its connexion with the clouds only,
had an evanescence which, on the one hand, was the cause
of the various descriptions, and, on the other, of no de-
scriptions at all. The present writer observed this part of the
phenomenon from its beginning to its ending. He saw it rise
in the west, extend itself from the north, and descend in the east;
and he thinks it reasonable to ascribe the variations concerning
it, in the coincident narratives, to the different points of time
to which alone they really refer. The writers at Edmonton

seen in London^ September 26, 1827. 403

and Deptford seem to have had their attention fixed upon
it at different epochs of its progress ; and all the four other
writers, who have been cited, seem to speak of a time sub-
sequent to its disappearance. The present writer does not
recollect the small cloud below it, spoken of by Mr. Adams ;
but he well remembers the clouds above it, and along and
near the northern edge of which it seems to be formed. He
does not recollect seeing its definite southern outline contrasted
with the azure sky ; but he well remembers seeing that outline
contrasted with the dark clouds above it, or to its southward ;
and also the contrast of its definite . northern outline, as con-
trasted with the azure sky beneath.

VIII. It is necessary to take notice, also, of what is said
above, by the astronomical observer at Deptford, as to the
" flashes converging to the zenith," and, further, of the omis-
sion, both by this writer and by Mr. Adams, to speak of the
curved beam, streamer, or coruscation, to the east of north,
as described above. The whole veracity of the foregoing
description depends upon the denial of a uniform conver-
gence of the streamers, pillars, columns, or coruscations
toward the zenith ; nor was it, in all probability, the inten-
tion of the writer at Deptford, to assert any such convergence,
but only, to speak of those coruscations, or shifting lights,
in the zenith, which are described by Mr. Adams as cross-
ing each other from east to west. It is remarkable, at the
same time, that neither the one nor the other of these writers
have mentioned that direct reverse of convergence which marked
the general figure and arrangement of the streamers or columns
of the Aurora, and which was so opposite to what would have
been given to it by the phenomenon of convergence. In-
deed, the violent curve of the extreme column to the N. E.
or N. N. E., shrouded, too, as that column was with a body of
dense vapour through which its light appeared of a deep and
/dull red colour, might make the description of this itself answer
to the " broad streak, curved," of Mr. Adams, if we were not
certain, from other particulars mentioned, that Mr. Adams
really refers to the curve which formed part of the arch. For
the rest, no mention of the real directions of the several columns
having been made by any observer of the Aurora of the 25th

404 Description of the Aurora Borealis

of September but himself, and especially none of the outward
curve of the easternmost column, it is satisfactory to the
writer to have found an account of an appearance similar to
this last, in an Aurora of which he will presently have occa-
sion to speak.

IX. Finally, there is an observation to be made upon that
part of the description, by the second correspondent of the
newspapers, where it is said, that during the appearance of the
coruscations in the zenith, ** the wind blew gently from the
south," and the spectator " frequently observed, that when it
freshened a little, the Aurora Borealis became more brilliant in
its appearance ;" to which it may also seem the writer's intention
to add, — " sending beautiful coruscations of light, in rapid suc-
cession toward the zenith, and frequently passing that point,
ten or fifteen degrees to the southward." Now the reality of
any dependence of the light and motion of the Aurora upon
the freshening of the breeze, would seem too strongly to affect
the question of the nature and action of the auroral matter,
to be admitted without cautious examination. In truth, what
was it that constituted the luminous matter which we saw in
the zenith ? The stars were visible through it. But for luminous
appearances that flew or skimmed along the heavens, we should
have said, that the latter were clear, and that there was nothing
but the purest atmosphere between the earth and the heavens.
Was it, then, the atmospherical matter which was thus illumi-
nated, and which, being ruffled by the breeze, can be supposed
to have really exhibited the appearances described by this
writer, or, was it not, rather, illuminated auroral mattery
which was shot through the atmosphere ; and, if this last,
how are we to understand that its brilliance, and still less the
frequency and vigour of its coruscations, could have been
affected by the freshening of the breeze ?

X. But, taking, now, a final leave of the description of the
Aurora of the 25th of September, and of the observations
specially suggested by it, let us here examine the several par-
ticulars which are commonly offered as part, at least, of its
true history ; an undertaking, for the greater convenience of
which the account given in a modern work of much and

seen in London^ September 25, 1827. 405

deserved reputation, shall be quoted and considered sentence
by sentence, as follows :

1. ** Aurora Borealis, Northern Light, or Streamers ; a
kind of meteor, appearing iri the Northern part of the heavens,
mostly in the winter time, and in frosty weather.

2. *' It is in the Arctic regions that it appears in perfection,
particularly during the solstice.

3. " In the Shetland Islands, the Merry Dancers, as they
are called, are the constant attendants of clear evenings, and
prove great reliefs amidst the gloom of the long winter nights.

4. *' They commonly appear at twilight, near the horizon,
of a dun colour, approaching to yellow ; sometimes continuing
in that state, for several hours, without any sensible motion,
after which they break out into streams of stronger light,
spreading into columns, and altering slowly into ten thousand
different shapes, varying their colours from all the tints of
yellow to the obscurest russet.

5. " They often cover the whole hemisphere, and then make
the most brilliant appearance.

6. ** Their motions, at these times, are most amazingly quick,
and they astonish the spectators with the rapid change of their
form. • .11 ji-i.'u'-'i

7. *' They break otit iii places where none were seen before,
skimming briskly along the heavens ; are suddenly extinguished,
and leave behind a uniform dusky track.

8. " This again is brilliantly illuminated in the same manner,
and as suddenly left a dull blank.

9. "In certain nights, they assume the appearance of vast
columns ; on one side of the deepest yellow, on the other, de-
clining away till it becomes undistinguished from the sky.

•^ '10. " They have generally a tremulous motion from end to
end, which continues till the whole vanishes.

11. " In a word, we, who only see the extremities of these
northern phenomena, have but a faint idea of their splendour
and their motions.

12. *• According to the state of the atmosphere, they differ
in colour.

13. ♦' They often put on the colour of blood, and then make
a most dreadful appearance *."

• Encyclopaedia BHtannica. Art. Aurora Borealis.

406 Description of the Aurora Borealis

1. Now, with respect to the first and second of the sentences
here transcribed, there seems reason to doubt the accuracy
of the account which almost hmits the appearances of the
Aurora to the " winter time," to " frosty weather," and espe-
cially to the winter " solstice." The frequency with which the
season approaching to Christmas, or that of the winter solstice,
is distinguished by the occurrence of weather peculiarly mild,
insomuch that, almost every year, the period is marked by
observations upon what is annually called the extraordinary
and unseasonable genialness of the weather, cowslips blooming,
leaves budding, and birds building their nests ; this frequency
of a mild temperature of the air about the period of the winter
solstice, may justify, even under a general view, a doubt of the
accuracy with which, as things of course, the winter solstice,
and frosty weather, are spoken of as arriving in conjunction.
But, that the appearance of the Aurora Borealis is not peculiar,
either to the occurrence of frosty weather, or to the period of
the winter solstice, whether the two latter phenomena are
related or otherwise, seems probable, as well from the mildness
of the weather at the late appearance, as from the various
seasons of the year in which the few others described in our
books are recorded to have presented themselves. The earliest
mentioned was seen in London in the year 1560, on the
30th day of January. The next was in 1 564, on the 7th of
October. The next, in 1574, on the 14th and 15th of November.
The two next, observed in Brabant, in 1575, on the 25th of
February, and 28th of September. The next, at Wurtemburg,
as we are assured by Meestlin, seven times, in the year 1580.
The next, in an extraordinary manner, in the months of April
and September, 1581 ; and in a less degree, at some other
places, in the same year. The next, observed all over France,
in 1621, on the 2nd of September. The next in 1707 and
1708, during which two years the Aurora was witnessed five
times. The next, in the month of March, in 1715-16. The
next, in 1737, on the 16th of December ; that seen in London
in 1791, of the month of which the writer is uninformed ;
another in 1803, or 1804, at the latter of September, or the
beginning of October ; and this, of 1827, on the 25th of Sep-
tember. Byt, from these statements, it is now seen, that,

seen in London, September 25, 1827. fff^

exclusive of appearances of the Aurora in respect of which
the month is not particularised, eight of the different months
of the year occur by name ; that is to say, the months of
September, October, November, and December, January,
February, March, and April ; leaving only four months (May,
June, July, and August, the identical summer-months of the
Polar regions, or months during which the sun visits the
Polar horizon !) hitherto undistinguished by the phenomenon
of the Aurora, and almost establishing, as the season of its
occurrence, not the middle point of the winter solstice, but
the whole period extending, in general terms, from the au-
tumnal equinox to the vernal, beginning at or before the
first, and ending at or after the last ; or, what may be called
the entire winter of the northern hemisphere, or the period
during which the sun's course is to the southward of the tropic
of Cancer ; a deduction from the scanty data offered by such
archives of the phenomenon as we possess, not, perhaps, of
trifling importance toward the establishment of the true theory
of the cause, as well as of the purpose of its being.

2. The third sentence, where it describes the Aurora Bore-
alis as the constant attendant of clear evenings in the Shetland*
Islands, and thereby a great relief to the gloom of the long
winter-nights, is probably tainted with errors in regard to the
phenomenon, such as affect its whole history and philosophy.
The suggestion has just been hazarded above, that at least
considerable displays of the Aurora are probably almost as
rare, even in the Arctic regions, as in climates further south ;
and the truth of this persuasion, as the writer anticipates,
will fully appear below. In the sentence now referred to,
the word " constant" should, at least, give way to " fre-
quent," if not to " often ;" and a distinction should be allowed
for, between those feeble appearances which alone, it may be
suspected, are even often beheld in the Shetland Islands, and
those extraordinary displays which make themselves visible to
their southward.

•' 3. The fourth of the above sentences, in which the Aurora is
said to appear commonly at twilight, will have been seen to
agree with the time assigned for the commencement of the
Aurora in the late example ; and this, when coupled with the

408 Description of the Aurora Borealis

observation in the third, that, in the Shetland Islands, it is the
constant attendant of clear evenings, will seem to suggest,
what, indeed, will probably be easily agreed to, that the Au-
rora, in itself, is peculiar neither to clear evenings nor to
evenings at all ; but is in activity during the twenty-four hours,
or without intermission ; though, to be visible to human eyes,
first, the atmosphere must be dark, and, secondly, it must
be more or less clear. It may also be thought apparent,
from the terms of the twelfth and thirteenth sentences, that
too much has not been said by the present writer, of the
degree in which the peculiar spectacle, upon each separate
occasion, depends, not alone of the proper and really uniform
features of the x\urora itself, but also of the atmosphere
through which it is seen, with the appearance of which its
own appearance is combined ; and of the consequent value
of a careful separation of the real phenomena of the Aurora,
from the adventitious phenomena of the intervening and sur-
rounding atmosphere. That the colours which, whether visibly
connected with the atmosphere or otherwise, are displayed dur-
ing the appearance of the Aurora Borealis, are wholly derived
from the atmospherical medium through which we behold it,
and that the Aurora itself exhibits only a pure white light, is
what the writer greatly inclines to suspect, and what may
seem to be rendered still more credible by that which is re-
ported by those who have obtained a partial glimpse of the
Aurora Australis, or corresponding phenomenon of the south.
This is described, by Mr. Forster, who sailed round the world
with Captain Cook, as consisting in ^' long columns of clear
white hght;" but the whiteness, in the eyes of the narrator,
seemed to establish a difference, instead of a similitude, be-
tweeti the Aurorae Austrahs and Borealis, Mr. F. wholly over-
looking the explanation which his own account supplies !
** These columns," says he, '' though in most respects similar
to the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) of our hemisphere,
yet differed from them in being always of a whitish colour,
whereas ours assume various tints, especially those of a fiery or
purple hue. The sky was generally clear when they appeared,
and the air sharp and cold, the thermometer standing at the
freezing point." Now this text is its own commentary. The

seen in London, September 25, 1827. 409

Aurora could not have been seen if the sky had not been more
or less clear. But the sky was very clear ; and this because the
weather was severely frosty . The thermometer " was standing
at the freezing point." The weather was settled frosty, and
therefore settled clear ; for the Aurora appeared for *' several
following nights." The atmosphere, therefore, was clear ; there
was neither cloud nor fog, and thence the whiteness of the
Aurora. But these views of the Aurora Australis were partial
occurrences, and were characterised, as we must conclude, by
the state of the atmosphere at a particular conjuncture, or at a
particular season of the year. In point of fact, the Aurora was
seen on the IGth of February, 1773, in latitude 58° S. This
w^as the beginning of the Australian winter, and it might be a
very cold, and therefore a very clear beginning. But the at-
mosphere of the southern half of the globe is not always thus
translucent ; and when it is otherwise, we may depend upon it
that the columns of its Aurora *' assume various colours,' espe-
cially those of a fiery and purple hue," more or less like our own.
A friend of the present writer was in the same latitude (58° 12'
S.) in the month of March, a few years since; and, upon
asking that gentleman whether he had ever beheld an Aurora
in the Southern Hemisphere, his answer was in the negative.
The season of his visit, however, was a month later in the
southern winter than the visit of Messrs. Cook and Forster ; the
weather Avas thick and sleety ; it was unfavourable to any view
of an Aurora at all ; but, had the phenomenon happened to
present itself, its appearance, we may believe, would not have
presented that of a uniform, clear, white light.

4. In the fourth and sixth sentences, what is said of " change
of shape," and " change of form," is of a nature exceedingly to
mislead such as, never having themselves witnessed the phe-
nomenon, may desire either to figure it to their imagination, or
to reason upon its appearances. In reality, there is no such
change of shape or form as the words naturally suggest to
our ideas; the forms, under all changes, are still linear; and
the actual changes, as to form, are limited to such changes only
as can be produced with the single material of lines, lengthened,
shortened, varied in their direction, and now fixed, now shaken,
now darting; and now joined in rapid and intermingling motion.

410 Descripfion of the Aurora Borealis

Add, that these lines are luminous, and varied in colour from
white to yellow, red, and crimson, and, sometimes, perhaps, tb
purple and to violet ; that they play, in the lower heavens in
a field of light, and in the upper over a sky of blue ; and the
picture of the Aurora Borealis is well nigh complete. The ob-
servation in the ninth sentence, that the vast columns, of which,
upon some occasions, the Aurora displays the forms, are of a
deep yellow upon one side, which, upon the other, fades gr^l-
dually into that of the sky, is to be understood, as expressing,
that, as in the late example, the outer edges of the columns,
or those next the dark or unillumined portion of the horizon,
are sharp and strongly defined ; while the inner ones are less
distinguished from the general field of light in which they
stand; and which distinction, after all, is but a delusion of
the eye, which more readily distinguishes the variation of
colour in the outer edge, which is so strongly relieved by the
dark and colder-coloured part of the sky, than the colour of the
inner part and edge of the column, which, more or less, ap-
proaches that of the ground behind it.

5. Sentences seven and eight appear to the present writer
to convey the most accurate description possible, of the appear-
ance of the Aurora in the zenith. The *' dusky track," which
remains after the lights which have enlivened it are extinguished,
and in which they are so often seen again, may seem to attest
the justice of his opinion, that these appearances in the zenith
are no other than the far-projected tops of the columns which
have their bases in, or rather below, the horizon ; tops
which, while they fill the southern half of the zenith, to the
view of spectators under our parallel, must gradually descend
toward the horizon, in the eyes of such as behold them further
and still further to the south ; till, like the topmast of a re-
ceding ship, they first scarcely remain discoverable above the
convexity of the surface intervening, and finally dip and sink
beneath it. But, upon this assumption, the appearance, and
therefore office, of the Aurora Borealis, must be conceived as
extending far to the southward of even our own island ; and
the statement, as in the eleventh sentence, becomes more or
less inaccurate, that " only the extremities of these northern
phenomena" are witnessed by ourselves. In reality we are

seen in London, September 25, 1827. 411

ourselves inhabitants of ^the Northern hemisphere ; and the
relationship of the Aurora to the wants of the whole hemi-
sphere is more extended, perhaps, than we have commonly
imagined. It is even a contradiction to say, as in the eleventh
sentence, that we see only the extremities, that is, the
Southern extremities of these Northern phenomena, after
having said, in the fifth sentence, that ** they often cover the
whole heavens, and then make the most brilliant appearance ;"
unless, indeed, in both of these remarks reference is made to
the spectacle beheld under more Northerly parallels, a refer-
ence which is further suggested, together with their apparent
origin, in the terms of a description by Gmelin, to be cited
below, of the Aurora as beheld upon the coasts of the Icy Sea:
If the Aurora, there, or upon the banks of the Lena or Yenesei,
is seen to rise in the north, but yet to stretch itself over the
whole hemisphere, it must follow, that its ** extremities," that
is, its southern extremities, so far from being all that is seen in
these situations, are really projected, on those occasions, so
far to the southward, as to escape the ken of our northern
optics f a fact of which the explanation must be familiar,
inasmuch as, owing to the convexity of the surface of the
globe, the horizon of every part is narrowly bounded, whether
upon the South or upon the North; whence it results, that
any celestial, or even atmospherical appearance, stretching
only a httle way beyond us to the Southward, or toward the
East, or toward the West, must soon reach the horizon upon
either of those sides, and thus cover all that, to the eye
of any individual, is visible of the '* whole hemisphere."

6, But the description, by Gmelin, of the Aurora, as seen
upon the shores of the Icy Sea, and more than all, the simpli-
city with which the naturalist is disposed to fix its birth-place
in that precise interval of the earth's surface which divides the
mouth of the river Yenesei from that of the river Lena, in the
North-east of Asia, (a spot so far to the North-eastward, too, of
our own!) while it may possibly explain the origin or bearing
of remarks, that it " sometimes covers the whole hemisphere,
and then makes the most brilliant appearance," will also
afford something of an answer to such as, with the writer
quoted above, seeking to connect the Aurora Borealis with th^

41 2 Description of the Aurora Borealis

Magnetic Pole, would discover its same birth-place, or focus,
in the North-west, or nearer to the North-west of America, than
to the North-east of Asia ! It may furnish a reply, also, to
Gmelin himself, who, though he tells us that, even upon the
banks of the Lena and Yenesei, the Aurora is still seen to rise
to the North or North-east of those situations, yet imagines
those very banks to be its ** real birth-place ;" for is it not
plain, in the meantime, and this from the very statement of
the author, that, travel as far northward, or north-eastward, as
we will, the birth-place of the Aurora still retires from our
feet ; that, even upon the shores of the Icy Sea, the joyous
phantom is still to our Northward, or North-east, and that we
may reasonably conclude, that even a voyage upon that sea
w ould not carry us to the cradle in pursuit ; that, in short, at
the North Pole, we should still behold it rise in the North, or
the North-east, or the North-west ; that we might sail down
the Western Hemisphere, and yet only discover, that the Aurora
was now in the North behind our backs, as it had been before
in the North before our faces ; and that, in short, so long as
we do but admit its existence in the North, the particular soil
or sea is best described in the most general terms : —

'' In Nova Zembla, or the Lord knows where !"
The search, too, for the paternal hearth of the Aurora Borealis
in any particular division of the Northern Hemisphere, and
especially the attempt to find it at the Magnetic or Elec-
tric Pole, is, perhaps, so much the more hopeless, after
ascertaining, as above, that each hemisphere has its Aurora ;
and after concluding, as we may have been led to conclude
with reason, that each Aurora, other things equal, resembles
the other ! What is remarkable, also, is that, in the Southern
Hemisphere, as well as, according to Gmelin, in the Northern,
it is to the Eastward, or to the East of North, that the Aurora
has its apparent focus. " A beautiful phenomenon," says
Mr. Forster, (Feb. 17, 1773, lat. 58° S.) '^ had been observed
during the preceding night, which appeared again this and
several following nights. It consisted of long columns of white
light, shooting up from the horizon to the eastward, almost to
the zenith, and gradually spreading over the whole southern
part of the sky. These columns are gradually bent sideways

seen in London^ September 25, 1827. 413

at their upper extremities ; and, though in most respects similar
to the Northern Lights (Aurora Boreahs) of our hemisphere,
yet differed from them in being always of a whitish colour ;
whereas ours assume various colours, especially those of a fiery
or purple hue. The sky was generally clear T^hen they ap-
peared, and the air sharp and cold ; the thermometer stand-
ing at the freezing point." This occasional bending of the
columns, " sideways at their upper extremities," instead of
uniform convergence toward the zenith, observed by Mr.
Forster in the Aurora of the South, is plainly the same
peculiarity which was recently witnessed in London, in the
Aurora of the North, and a circumstance which, in what-
ever way explained, assists in the identification of the na-
tures of the two phenomena ; and, if we are still to hesitate,
upon account of the whiter light of that of the South, let us
believe that particular to originate in some peculiar consti-
tution of the Southern atmosphere, from which, in one way or
another, not here to be discussed, the cause of the difference
may offer itself. But Gmelin's account of the Aurora of the
North, to which the attention of the reader has already been
called, is that which is here required to follow. It is to serve
to illustrate, as will be remembered, much of the foregoing :
" This Northern Light," says that author, " begins with the
rising of single light pillars in the North, and almost at the same
time in the North-east, which, gradually increasing, fill a large
space in the heavens, rush about, from place to place, with
incredible velocity, and finally almost cover the whole sky, up
to the zenith : the streams are then seen meeting together in
the zenith, where they produce an appearance as if a vast tent
was expanded in the heavens, glittering with gold, rubies, and
sapphires. A more beautiful spectacle cannot be described ;
but whoever should witness such a Northern Light for the first
time, could not behold it without terror ; for, however beautiful
the illumination may be, it is attended, as 1 have learned from
the relation of many persons, w^ith a hissing, crackling, and
rushing noise, throughout the air, as if the largest fireworks
were playing off. To describe what they then hear, they make
use of the expression, ' Spolochi chodjat ;' that is, 'The furious
army is passing P The hunters, who, upon the confines of the
OCT.— DEC. 1827. 2 E

4)4 Description of the Aurora Borealis

Icy Sea, follow the chase of the blue and white foxes, are often
overtaken in tlieir excursions by the Northern Light; and, upon
this occurrence, their dogs are so much frightened, that they
will not move, but cower obstinately upon the ground till the
noise is over. The weather, after the appearance of the
Northern Light, is usually clear and calm. I have heard these
accounts, not from one person only, but from many of those
who have spent several years in these very Northerly regions,
and inhabited different countries from the Yenesei to the
Lena, so that no doubt of its truth can remain ; for here
§eems to be the real birth-place of the Aurora Borealis."

8. Upon this statement itself, it is only needful to remark,
that the rising of the pillars in the North-east, or to the East
of North, rather than to the North-west, or West of North,
almost at the same time with their first appearance in the
North, is not, perhaps, even as seen between the Lena and
Yenesei, so uniformly the case as M. Gmelin may have been
led to believe ; and that, at all events, as above described, the
progress of the late display, observed in London, was, first from
North to West, and afterward from West to East; the North
being always the centre, or always light, while the West and
East were changed. The covering of the whole sky, and the
splendour of the scene produced, have been the subject of pre^
vious remark ; and the observation, " that the streams (pre-s
viously called pillars) are then seen meeting together in the
zenith," entirely corroborates what the present writer has said of
the nature of the lights seen skimming across the zenith, and
across each other, and the deduction which he has thence made,
that the luminous appearances in the zenith are the summits
of those very pillars of which the bases are on or below the
horizon. The clear and calm weather which, on the shores of
the Icy Sea, commonly follows the appearance of the Aurora
is, in some degree, in concord with the phenomena of its
recent appearance in London; where, without any material
change in the temperature, a succession of clear, calm, and
bright days supervened, within a day or two of the Aurora.
As to the hissing, crackling, or rushing noise, which is said
to accompany the Aurora in the more northern regions, and
which has sometimes been compared to that of the furling and

seen in London, September 25, 18^. 415

unfurling of flags, there is nothing difficult, (knowing what we
do of the noise of winds and of thunder,) in admitting its pro-
bability, unless what may arise from the consideration, that
the noise might, or might not, be expected to be heard, where-
ever the phenomenon is to be seen. But the most striking
and important truth, communicated in the foregoing account, is
that which we cannot but rigorously infer from the collective
testimony of two very distinct descriptions, which is afforded
in two of the concluding sentences. It consists in that
real in/requency, as well in the Northern, as in the Southern
Hemisphere, of the appearance of the Aurora ; an infrequency
the knowledge of which is so essential to the true history of
the phenomenon, and therefore to its true philosophy, and
consequently to much of the history and philosophy of nature
at large ; — an infrequency which^ the present writer has given
notice of above, as a proposition for which, in dissent from all
received authorities, he will contend ; and upon the opposite
account of which matter, in the general account quoted, he
has already requested the reader to suspend his judgment. It
is obvious that, as a natural phenomenon, an Aurora Borealis,
which, though constantly experienced in the more Northerly
regions, is but rarely observed in the more Southern ; that is,
an Aurora Borealis which, though familiar to the Samoiede,
the Laplander, and even the Shetlander, is an extraordinary,
and a terrific, or at least a marvellous event, to the Italian, the
Frenchman, and even to the Englishman ; it is obvious, that
such an Aurora Borealis, constant in its occurrence a little
further to the Northward, and almost the solitary spectacle of a
generation a little further to the South, is, as a natural phe-
nomenon, a very different thing from an Aurora Borealis
which, though far enough to the South, sufficiently frequent in
comparatively trivial magnitudes and lustre, is seen, either in
the South or in the North, in its greatness, and in its splendour,
but yet rarely, and with, perhaps, almost equal rareness ; it is
obvious that, as natural phenomena, and not less so as sights
connected by mankind with their own fortunes, the two things
now described are exceedingly unlike as matter of history, and
equally so as matter of philosophy. If we are simply to record
the occurieace, it is pue thing to speak of a phenomenon

8E3

4lG Description of the Aurora Borealis

which, in the South, is seen only at long intervals, while it is a
" constant attendant" in the North ; and another thing to
speak of that which, whether in the South or in the North, is
equally rare, and equally out of the '* constant" course of na-
ture. If we are to write the history of nature, it is one thing
to relate, that such phenomena, or rather others, infinitely more
splendid, more terrific, or more marvellous, than that which
was witnessed in London, in the month of September in this
year, or in the same month some three-and-twenty years ago,
or else some six-and-thirty, and, to judge by experience, is
not to be looked for, in the same city, during twenty or thirty
years again ; — it is one thing to relate that, in the Shetland
Islands, such a spectacle is a *' constant attendant of clear
evenings," and another thing to relate, that though, perhaps,
on clear evenings, in the Shetland Islands, some small dis-
plays of the Aurora are not unfrequently perceived, yet, that
such an exhibition as has recently been witnessed in London,
Q,nd still more, such as, more effulgent, and more extended,
and more vigorous, and even coloured by the atmosphere
into the terrific ; — that those exhibitions, in short, of which
our naturalists and men of science would persuade us, that,
while beheld nightly by those of the North, they are known
to us by very faint examples alone ; — those exhibitions, — that
those extraordinary examples of the brightness and vigour of the
Aurora — are as rare, or almost as rare, not only in the Shet-
land Islands, but in Iceland, and on the shores of the Icy Sea,
as in the streets of London themselves ! It is obvious, too,
that if we are to speak of this phenomenon philosophically,
if we are to attempt to explain its origin and use, — its source
in the natural elements, and its office in the natural economy ;
here, too, the solving of this question of the frequency or infre-
quency, the constancy or the inconstancy, of these mighty
exhibitions, even in the North, and under the Pole itself, is
matter of foremost importance. And what is the testimony,
upon these heads, which is borne by the accounts collected by
(jmelin ? Is the Northern Light of the German naturalist,
the apparently constant attendant of clear evenings, even in the
countries between the Lena and the Yenesei ? Is the spectacle,
?ind the atmospherical hurley, which seems to rush over the

seen in London, September 25, 1827. 417

hunting-grounds of the hunters and their dogs, and which
frightens the very dogs, and pins them to the ground till it is
passed, or has seemed to pass ; is this the *^ constant attendant
of clear evenings," or, is it a prodigy so uncommon as to defy
familiarity ? But, if this evidence is insufficient, let us look to
what is said of its influence, in these countries, on the subse-
quent state of the atmosphere. So far from the Aurora being
an attendant or follower of clear evenings, it seems that clear
evenings follow the Aurora ! It is said, that after its occur-
rence, clear and calm weather is customary to follow ; and,
here, the expression itself is implicative of the rarity of the
occurrence. If it were constant, how should this result come
to be noticed ; and, indeed, if the Aurora Borealis were the
constant attendant of each twenty-four hours, and if clear
weather were usually in the train of the Aurora Borealis, how
could it ordinarily happen, that there should be any thing else
than clear weather, in the countries visited by the Aurora, or
any foul weather for the Aurora to dispel ? Yet, such is the
established prejudice concerning this supposed frequency
of the more powerful displays of the Aurora in the climates
further to the North than our own, that a writer, quoting the
very statement above, absolutely prefaces it with the remark,
that Gmehn, in pointed terms, speaks of the Aurora as " fre-
quent,'* as well as " very loud," " in the North-eastern parts
of Siberia*!" A simple perusal, in the meantime, is sufficient
to show, that Gmelin says nothing affirmative as to its fre-
quency; while a slight consideration of the facts which he
adduces must satisfy us, as no doubt they satisfied Gmelin
himself, that the occurrence, even m Siberia, is actually infre^
quent I

XI. In reference, however, as well to the image presented
above, of '* a vast tent expanded in the heavens, glittering
with gold, rubies, and sapphires ;" as also to many less
ambitious and figurative descriptions of the spectacle of the
Aurora Borealis, (not excepting that indicted by himself,)
the author is anxious to suggest a caution against the too
exaggerated conception of the realities intended. Words,
• pncyclopsedia Britannica.

4i8 • Description of the Aurora Borealis

upon such occasions, are rarely more than imperfect pic-
tures, presenting but feeble likenesses, and either deficient
or excessive in the amount of beauty, or of the reverse, of
whatever kind, which they attempt to copy from their originals ;
and the inconvenience is seriously great, whenever the object
portrayed is wholly strange to the mind before which it is placed.
The imperfect power, both of words and written characters,
to convey precise, and sometimes even tolerable ideas, of
th6 objects, either sensible or abstract, which they are intended
to represent, and the superior intelligibility so often belonging
to diagrams or figures, or other resources of the art of drawing,
(the primitive, and, for so many purposes, the most instructive
mode of writing *,) would have led the present writer, had
time permitted, to endeavotir, feis often as possible, to elu-
cidate by such means the sieveral parts of the foregoing
observations ; but which means, at last, and in reference to the
actual phenomena of the Aurora, would necessarily fail to
convey the due, and yet no more than the due impression, to
such as are wholly without its ocular acquaintance. We are
little aware how much, upon ordinary occasions, our under-
standing of words heard or read is assisted by our previous
knowledge of the sensible objects, or of the acquired notions,
to ^hich they refer ; and the examples would be endless, of
the sensible objects preposterously misconceived, as well as
the propositions made false or ridiculous, through the frequent
inadequacy of words to communicate truths entirely neW

* The individual, social, and political importance of making the art of
drawing a branch of general education, is a subject which the author can
never cease to urge upon the attention of his fellow-countrymen, and of all
the civilised world. It is more than ten years since he first endeavoured to
lead the public eye .to its regard. In England, and with a view to the
subsistence of a large and always increasing population, it is an Education
IN THE Arts which is the great want; and the art of drawing^ besides being
the assistant of all knowledge whatever, is peculiarly so of all other arts than
itself, or of all other works of the hand. A recent Sermon, by the Lord Bishop
of Bath and Wells, preached at Wells, for the benefit of the Diocesan National
Schools, bears ample testimony to the deficiency, and even the dangers, to
the poor not less than to others, in all the present popular education ; and, so
far, therefore, to the soundness of the author's principles, and to the fitness
of his remedy. His own design, however, is not only to remedy an evil arising
from the present practice, but also to produce an independent good; and,
not merely to aid the poor, nor merely to promote the political welfare of this
kingdom, but to increase the resources, physical and intellectual, of all classes,
and to promote the welfare of the whole world.

$een in London^ September 25, 1827. 419

to the disciple. Even the history of opinions concerning the
Aurora BoreaHs itself, might be cited upon this very point.

The ordinary and natural resource, in such circumstances, is
comparison ; but even comparison has been the source of
great and endless errors of description. Of the degree of
resemblance proposed between the known and the unknown,
there is no common measure for the minds of the hearer and the
listener, and the point or points of comparison intended by
the first must often be mistaken by the second ; or, if reference
is made to a similitude under one aspect, the imagination
conceives a resemblance also under another: thus, if it is
said, that an unknown animal is as large as a horse, the idea of
the figure also of a horse, is apt to be attached, A modem
English work of science premises, upon the subject of the
Aurora Borealis, that its appearance is so well known as to
render description needless. It is true that the work referred
to is printed in the Northern part of the island, where the phe-
nomenon is doubtless more familiar than in the Southern ; but,
in the foregoing pages themselves, it has, perhaps, been de-
monstrated as probably certain, that if it is any where suffi-
ciently known to render description trite for the common eye,
it has at least never hitherto been described with sufficient pre-
cision for the aid of speculative research. To attempt to ex-
plain its cause^ and to relate its entire history, its appearance
must first be either observed or described with accuracy ; and
we have seen, above, that some of the most scientific reason-
ings which have hitherto been oflfered ae to the former, are
wholly inapplicable to the true peculiarities of the latter.

Considered simply as a visual object, and as a meteor
differing from all others, and especially from all other luminous
meteors, in this, that its duration extends to hours, if not to
days and months ; the only resemblance, perhaps, that can be
suggested, is to that description of lightning which is called heat-
lightning^ the frequent companion of our summer-evenings.
But, here, the similitude is inexpressibly feeble ; since heat-
lightning has nothing, either of the splendour, the volume, or
the beauty of the Aurora ; and since the light of the latter,
however mobile, varied, and, from time to time, increased and
diminished in itself, is yet, as to general effect, continuous and

420 Description of the Aurora Borealis

steady. There remains, then, but to compare the phenomenon
of the Aurora with the rising or the setting Sun. In both of
these latter, as in the Aurora, the light is in the horizon, and
that light is shot upward, perpendicularly, or obliquely,
toward the zenith or toward the right and left; and both of
these, like the Aurora, are more or less constantly attended with
a variety of colouring, similar in hue if not in depth, and
always beautiful, and often gorgeous. With the Sun, and
with the beams of the Sun, ancient description, in point of
fact, has confounded the Aurora Borealis, to the degree, per-
haps, of giving origin to some of the ancient and poetical
descriptions of the Sun, utterly inappropriate and inexplicable
as understood of that day-star, but easily recognised in the Au-
rora ; yet the dissimilitudes, at last, are numerous and great !
Of the essential difference of figure, both as to the beams of the
Sun, and the beams of the Aurora, in severalty, and of the in-
evitable difference of indication of which, as to their nature,
mention has been already made ; and also as to the general or
collective figure of the beams of the Aurora, as contrasted with
that of the rising, or of the setting Sun. The next point is the
homogeneity of colour in the beams of the Sun, however the
apparent colour may vary, as it is seen to do, from horizontal
stratum to horizontal stratum, from the horizon to the zenitli,
according to the varied density of ithe medium between the
light and the eye of the spectator. The light, upon the
other hand, of the beams of the Aurora is heterogeneously
coloured in itself, and is so displayed ; and not, therefore,
varied as the beams ascend from horizontal stratum to hori-
zontal stratum, or as crossing all the beams together, but
found in each particular beam itself, and attending its
direction, whether vertical or inclined, and whether recti-
linear or curved. Waiving, then, any comparison in detail,
between the phenomena of the Aurora, and the phenomena of
the rising or of the setting Sun, but admitting that, to a certain
degree, all are alike vast in dimensions, splendid in light, rich
in colour, and durable upon the eye ; there is ^till nothing else
to be subjoined, than that, at least with reference to vastness of
dimension and magnitude of the volume of light ; to the quan-
tity of light diffused ; and to the richness and gorgeousness of

seen in London, September2by 1B27. 421

the attendant colouring; there can be little risk in the asser-
tion that, vast, and splendid, and beautiful, and rich, and gor-
geous, as, when seen in the most favourable situation, and
under the most favourable circumstances, the Aurora may be,
it is, at last, but insignificant, when compared, for those fea-
tures, to the vastness, the splendour, the beauty, the richness,
and the gorgeousness, more or less, from day to day, displayed
in the rising or the setting of the Sun ; and, that for chaster
beauty, and even for amount of light diffused, it is not even to
be likened to the silver Moon ! As a substitute, too, for either,
or for both, the Aurora, in the regions of cold and night, may
justly demand the admiration and the blessing of mankind;
and, in regions cold and inclement, its rarity, not unaccom-
panied by beauty, by grandeur, and sometimes even by the
terrible in appearance, may well invite the gaze and fix the
attention of beholders ; but, considered along with the light of
the luminaries of heaven, its claims reduce themselves in
quality, though certainly not in degree, to a level with those of
an artificial lustre ; and we almost repeat, in reference to the
light of the Aurora, as compared with that of the Sun, or even
of the Moon, what the poet has said in reference to the lights
of our chambers : —

" Who but rather turns
To heaven's broad beam his unconstrained eye,
Than to the glimmering of a waxen flame ?"

The Moon, in the meantime, inferior as she is to the Sun^
has been ♦' blessed," from age to age, for her *^ useful light ;'*
and the " useful light" of the Aurora, also, has its claims to
** blessing." It co-operates with the Sun, the Moon, and with
other agents of nature, to make, not merely the Polar regions
of the earth, but the entire globe of the earth, fruitful, at once,
and habitable * !

* The author has an opinion, that among the " agents of nature,'* for equalise
ing the temperature of the surface of the globe, is to be reckoned, not only
the Northern and Southern Lights, but the entire Ocean ; and that this agency
ia the immediate object aimed at in the existence of this last, as one body of
iirater surrounding the entire globe. Flis evidence consists in geographical,
hydrographical, meteorological, and physiological facts, as also in the apparent
reason of the case. lie supposes, in consequence, a perpetual circulation of
the waters of the sea, longitudinally round the globe, or from North to
South, and from South to North again j and the result of Captain Parry's late
attempt to reach the Arctic Pole, as also some of the facts which have trans-
pired respecting Captain Franklia's late land expedition, appear to confim;!

422 Description of the Aurora Borealis

XII. In a succeeding paper, the author may possibly
feubmit to the consideration of his reader, the particular and
novel hypotheses which he has allowed himself to form, as
to the substance, causes, and effects of the Aurora ; hypotheses
partly dependent upon those facts in its natural history,
which, above, have been almost the exclusive objects of atten-
tion. At present, the leading particulars of the natural history
of the phenomenon, which it has been attempted either to
bring or to fix in view, are these :

1. That the Aurora is a phenomenon observed both in the
Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

2. That, in either hemisphere, it is observed in the general
direction of the corresponding pole of the earth.

3. That, in the Northern Hemisphere, on the shores of the
Icy Sea, or at the furthest distance north, its situation is still
observed to be the northward.

4. That, in the Southern Hemisphere, it has been observed to
the east of the South Pole, and in the Northern, to the east
and west of the North Pole.

5. That, upon the late occasion, the place of its columns,
during the exhibition, was observed to change from the west
of north to the east of north ; but, so as always to have the
north for the apparent centre of its strength.

6. That, in the Arctic regions, the appearance of the Aurora
is said to be usually followed by clear and calm weather.

7. That the appearance of the Aurora Borealis is no wise
peculiar to the winter solstice, but has been observed in each of
the eight months of September, October, November, December,
January, February, March, and April, and may be regarded,
therefore, as coincident with the Arctic winter ; and that the
appearance of an Aurora in the Southern Hemisphere, in the
month of February, or beginning of the Antarctic winter, as ob-
served during the voyage of Captain Cook, in the year 1773, is

his theory, according to wliich the physical use, or final cause, of the existence
of the Ocean has never previously been understood. His theory affects the
question of the North-west Passage, whicli latter object he suspects to have
never yet been pursued in the true direction; even the discoveries of Captain
Parry appearing to him to have fallen short of ascertaining the communication
■with the Polar Sea by the channel of Davis's Strait. — Some introductory ob-
servations upon this subject have been already made in an article in the New
Monthly Magazine for October, 1826, (vol. xvii. p. 371.)

seen in London^ September 25, 1827. 423

consistent with the persuasion, that the Aurora Australis, in
its turn, is a phenomenon of the Austral or Antarctic winter.

8. That considerable or powerful displays of the Aurora are
infrequent, even in the extreme Polar regions ; and that it is
very considerable or powerful displays alone, which make them-
selves visible in the lower latitudes, north or south of the
equator*

9. That no appearance belongs to the Aurora itself, but that
of its coruscations, columns, spears, or streamers ; and that
all colours, therefore, or coloured figures, not belonging to the
coruscations, but coincident in their appearance, are to be
regarded only as reflections or refractions of light, derived
from the coruscations by the clouds which happen to cover the
sky.

10. That the colours, or coloured light, proper to the Aurora,
or seen in the columns or coruscations themselves, are varied
from column or coruscation to column or coruscation, and
severally continued in the direction, and throughout the length
or height, of each.

11. That, in the late example, the columns or coruscations
situate in the due north, or apparent centre or focus of the phe-
nomenon, exhibited a light at least comparatively white ; and
that the variation, from white to colour, had an apparent
relation to the comparative remoteness of each column or
coruscation from the column or coruscation in the central
north.

12. That the direction or position of the columns or co-
ruscations of the Aurora, are so far from being uniformly con-
vergent toward the zenith, or uniformly vertical, or from the'
horizon to the zenith, that, in the late example, they did not
converge toward the zenith, but, contrariwise, diverged from it ;
spreading themselves like the sticks of a fan, or like stalks in a
flower-basket.

13. That the columns or coruscations of the Aurora are not
uniformly rectilinear in their figure ; but that, in the late ex-
ample, those on the north-eastward were curved outwardly,
or " bent sideways," as described in the appearance of the
columns or coruscations of an Aurora seen in the Southern
Atlantic, during the voyage of Captain Cook, in the year 1773.

424

Proceedings of the Royal Society.

The anniversary meeting of the Royal Society for the election
of a president, and other oflicers, was held as usual at Somer-
set House, on Thursday, the 30th of November, being St.
Andrew's day.

Till within a few days of the election, it was generally un-
derstood that the Rt. Hon. Robert Peel was a candidate for
the chair ; in consequence, however, of that gentleman having
dechned, Davies Gilbert, Esq., M.P., was put in nomination,
and was almost unanimously elected the President of the
Royal Society.

The late secretaries, Messrs. Herschel and Children, having
resigned their respective offices, Dr. Roget and Captain Sa-
bine were nominated in their places, and were duly elected.

The accession of Mr. Gilbert to the chair having rendered
vacant the office of Treasurer, Major Kater was elected in his
place.

The following council was elected, to continue in office
until St. Andrew's day, 1828.

Davies Gilbert, Esq.

Major Kater.

Dr. Roget, M.D.

Captain Sabine, R.A.

Dr. Wollaston, M.D.

Dr. Fitton, M.D.

Dr. Young, M.D.

Dr. Paris, M.D.

Dr. Prout, M.D.

Dr. Goodenough, D.D.

Dr. Buckland, D.D.

J. W. Croker, Esq.

Lord Colchester.

Sir E. Home, Bart.

Sir H. Davy, Bart.

John Pond, Esq.

Capt. F. Beaufort, R.N.

Francis Baily, Esq.

John Guillemard, Esq,

Proce edings of the Royal Society. 425

In consequence of having been elected President pro tempore
by the council,) the chair having been vacated some weeks
previous to the general election,) the duties of the office were
performed by Mr. Gilbert, on occasion of the present anni-
versary. After having read over the hst of members admitted,
and of those deceased during the last year, he proceeded to
announce the disposal of the Royal and Copley Medals, as
awarded by the votes of the council.

Of the Royal Medals, one was awarded to Sir H. Davy,
and the other to Professor Struve. Of the Copley Medals,
one was given to Dr. Prout, and another to Lieutenant Forster.
On this occasion Mr. Gilbert pronounced an eulogium upon
the respective receivers of the medals ; and, in adverting to the
labours of the several individuals, he justified the decision
of the council, in bestowing upon them these marks of dis-
tinction, in a learned and eloquent discourse.

Proceedings of the Horticultural Society,

September 4th»

A PAPER by Mr. Lindley was read upon the new hardy plants
which had flowered in the Society's garden ; among them a
number of new shrubs were mentioned, which appeared likely
to prove acquisitions to the public. A thermometer was ex-
hibited by Mr.Bregazzi, of Derby, for ascertaining the tempera-
ture of bark-beds. It consisted of a thermometer enclosed in a
shaft of copper with a wooden handle, and a door in its side,
by which the temperature can be ascertained with precision.
It is needless to point out the superiority of this plan, over the
common mode of determining this very essential point, by
feeling of a stick previously stuck in the bed ; the sensation of
heat Avhen the stick is grasped in the hand will obviously
depend in a great degree upon the temperature of the hand
itself. As usual, there was an extensive display of all the
choicest flowers and fruit of the season. One hundred and
seventy-two subjects of this description were placed upon the
table. Among the flowers, the most remarkable was a new
hardy climber from Mexico, with deep purple blossoms studded

42S Proceedings of the

with glittering green glands, called Maurandya Barclaiana ;
among the fruit was a fine specimen, from Lord Grantham's
garden, of the Papaw, a tropical fruit never ripened in England
before,

September ISth.

The exhibitions of this day were chiefly confined to a display
of Dahlias, which for magnificence exceeded any thing of the
kind we ever witnessed before. The large meeting-room was
filled with masses of the richest and most lively colours. In
the whole, eight hundred and fifty-one varieties were shown,
among which the finest were from the garden of William Wells,
Esq., of Redleaf ; but where all are so excellent, it is almost
invidious to particularize. The time will be remembered by
many of our readers when gardens in the autumn contained
little besides marigolds, sun-flowers, and sweet-peas ; by the
aid of dahlias and chrysanthemums the autumn has now be-
come the liveliest season of the year, and the beauty of the
flower-garden is only destroyed by the severest of the winter
frosts. Among the grapes upon the table was a remarkably
excellent yellow-berried kind, from Portugal, from the garden
of Mr. Holford, of Hampstead, which was quite new to
this country. Apples, nectarines, peaches, and pine-apples
abounded.

October 2nd.

Among the flowers was a fine bunch of ranunculuses, from
Mr. Groom, of Walworth, a rare sight in October ; they were
obtained by having been planted in July and carefully protected
by tulip-shades when coming into flower. The season for
softer fruits being nearly over, pears and apples formed the chief
display ; of these a vast number, upwards of one hundred and
eighty of the latter, were upon the table : the Blenheim orange,
or Woodstock pippin, pomme gris, scarlet nonpareil, court-
pen du plat, golden reinette, and packhorse apples ; and Chap-
man's, Marie Louise, and brown beurre pears, appeared to us
to excel all their rivals. The famous glpux morceau and
beurre d'Aremberg pears were also exhibited, but were not
ripe.

Horticultural Society, 427

October IQth.

The first number of a new periodical work, called the Porno-
logical Magazine^ consisting of coloured figures of the fruits
cultivated in Great Britain, was placed upon the table. Among
the apples were specimens of a variety sent from England
to Connecticut, in the year 1636, and reimported from America
within a few years. It proved to be a kind not known at the
present day in this country, but still cultivated in France. In
the gardening books of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
it is mentioned under the name of the haute bont6. The
specimens exhibited served to disprove the opinion that many
of the American apples are European kinds altered by climate ;
these, although the produce of trees which have been growing
in America for nearly two hundred years, differed in no respect
from French samples exhibited at a subsequent meeting of the
Society.

November 6th,

An excellent paper was read upon the method of cultivating
horse radish, in Denmark. The roots are cut into slips, and
planted horizontally, the lower end inclining a little upwards,
and the crown of the plant hanging over the alleys, by which
the beds are separated. From time to time the roots are un-
covered, and all the lateral fibres are carefully removed, by
which the size and length of the roots are much increased.
The place hitherto occupied by dahlias, Avas now taken by
Chinese chrysanthemums, of which a large number, consisting
of twenty-two different varieties, was exhibited at the bottom of
the room.

November 20th.

Cuttings of the fine new Portugal grape, of which fruit was
exhibited on the 18th of September, were distributed to the
members present. A few dahlia flowers still showed themselves,
notwithstanding the unusual severity of some early frosts, and
the room was crowded with chrysanthemums. The gloux mor-
ceau and beurr^ d'Aremberg pears were tasted, and found to
retain the statiop which has been assigned to them ^ the head
of all known varieties.

428

ASTRONOMICAL AND NAUTICAL
COLLECTIONS. For Jan. 1828.

i. EpHEMEitis of the periodical Comet for its Return in
1828, computed with the consideration of a HEsisTiiJG
Medium. By Professor Encke.

:?}

Mean Equinox
1829 Jan. 9.72.

Elements,

Mean anomaly 1829 Jan. 9.72, mean time at Paris, = 0° 0' 2". 83
Mean daily sidereal motion = 1069". 87572.

O / //

Longitude of the pephelion = 157 17 26.2'

Ascending node . . = 334 28 47,

Inclination = 13 20 47.9

Angle of the eccentricity zz 57 38 25. S;

Ephemeris*

Aug.

Sept.

m time, 182

23.3

a. A.
2%

R.

/ //
50 + ..

Decl. N.

O / //

22 42 + ..

Ix)g. D'isf.

0 G

.34603 .19571

24.3

50.. .

52

.34411

.18983

25.3

49...

23 1

.34217

.18390

26.3

48...

10

.34022

.17791

27.3

46.. .

19

.33825

.17187

28.3

44

29

.33626

.16577

29.3

41

38

.33425

.15962

30.3

37

47

.33222

.15341

31.3

33

56

.33017

.14714

1.3

28

24 6

.32810

.14082

2.3

22

15

.32602

.13444

3.3

16

24

.32392

.12801

4.3

9

34

.32180

.12153

5.3

1

43

.31966

.11499

6.3

25

53

52

.31749

.10839

7.3

44

25 2

.31531

.10174

8.3

34

11

.31310

.09504

9.3

23

20

.31087

.08829

10.3

11

29

.30862

.08148

11.3

24

58

38

.30635

.07462

12.3

45

47

.30406

.06771

13.3

30

56

.30174

.06075

14.3

15

26 5

.29940

.05375

15.3

23

58

14

.29704

.04670

16.3

41

23

.29465

.03961

Astronomical and Nautical Collections^

429

Mean Parisian time, 1829. A.

R.

DecLN.

Log.

Dist.

o

t //

o

» //

0

e

Sept. 17.3

23

22+..

26 32 + ..

.29224

.03247

18.3

2

41

.28980

.02529

19.3

22 41

49

.28733

.01806

20.3

19

58

.28484

.01080

21.3

21

56

27

6

.28232

.00350

22.3

32

14

.27978

.99617

23.3

6

22

.27721

.98881

24.3

20 39

30

.27461

.98142

25.3

10

37

.27198

.97400

26.3

19

40

45

.26933

.96656

27.3

9

52

.26665

.95910

28.3

18 37

58

.26393

.95162

29.3

3

28

5

.26118

.94413

30.3

17

27

11

.25840

.93663

October 1 . 3

16

50

17

.25559

.92913

2.3

16

11

22

.25275

.92164

3.3

15

31

27

.24987

.91415

4.3

14

49

32

.24696

.90668

5.3

5

36

.24402

.89923

6.3

13

20

39

.24104

.89181

7.3

12 34

42

.23803

.88442

8.3

11

45

44

.23498

.87707

9.3

10

55

46

.23189

.86976

10.3

4

47

.22876

.86251

11.3

9

10

47

.22559

.85532

12.3

8

15

46

.22238

.84820

13.3

7

19

45

.21913

.84116

14.3

6

21

43

.21584

.83421

15.3

5

21

39

.21251

.82735

16.3

4

20

35

.20913

.82059

17.3

3

18

30

.20570

.81394

18.3

2

14

24

.20223

.80741

19.3

1

9

17

.19871

.80101

20.3

0

3

9

.19515

.79474

21.3

358

56

0

.19154

.78861

22.3

357

47

27

49

. 18787

.78263

23.3

356 38

38

.18415

.77681

24.3

355

28

25

. 18038

.77116

25.3

354

17

11

.17656

.76568

26.3

353

5

26

56

.17268

.76037

27.3

351

53

40

.16874

.75525

28.3

350

40

22

.16475

.75031

29.3

349

27

4

.16069

.74557

30.3

348

14

25

44 .

.15657

.74102

31.3

347

1

23

.15239

.73668

Nov. 1.3

345

47

1

.14814

.73253

2.3

344 34

24 38

.14382

.72858

OCT.--DEC. 1287.

2F

430

Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

Mean Parisian time, 1829. A. R.

3.3

343 21 +

4.3

342 9

5.3

340 56

6.3

339 44

7.3

338 33

8.3

337 23

93

336 13

10.8

335 4

11.3

333 56

12.3

332 48

13.3

331 41

14.3

330 36

15.3

329 31

16.3

328 27

17.3

327 23

18.3

326 21

19.3

325 19

20.3

324 18

21.3

323 18

22.3

322 19

23.3

321 20

24.3

320 21

25.3

319 23

26.3

318 26

27.3

317 28

28.3

316 31

29.3

315 34

30.3

314 37

ember 1 . 3

313 40

2.3

312 43

3.3

311 45

4.3

310 48

5.3

309 49

6.3

308 50

7.3

307 50

8.3

306 49

9.3

305 47

10.3

304 44

11.3

303 40

12.3

302 34

13.3

301 27

14.3

300 18

15.3

299 7

16.3

297 54

17.3

296 40

18.3

295 23

19.3

294 5

Decl. N.
o / //

24 14+..

Log. Dist.

0 e

.13943 .72483

23 49

.13497

.72128

23

. 13044

.71793

22 56

.12.583

.71477

29

.12114

.71180

0

.11638

.70902

21 31

.11153

.70642

1

.10660

.70399

20 31

.10158

.70172

0

.09647

.69961

19 29

.09126

.69765

18 57

.08595

.69583

25

.08055

.69415

17 52

.07505

.69258

19

.06944

.69113

16 46

.06372

.68979

12

.05788

.68854

15 39

.05193

.68738

5

.04585

.68630

14 31

.03965

.68529

13 56

.03331

.68434

22

.02684

.68345

12 47

.02022

.68261

12

.01346

.68182

11 37

.00655

.68106

2

.99948

.68034

10 26

.99225

.67964

9 50

.99484

.67897

9 14 N.

.97726

.67833

8 37

.96949

.67772

8 0

.96153

.67713

7 23

.95336

.67657

6 45

.94499

.67605

6 6

.93640

67556

5 27

.92759

.67513

4 47

.91854

.67476

4 6

.90924

.67446

3 24

.89969

.67425

2 42

.88987

.67415

1 58

.87978

.67418

1 13

.86939

.67437

0 27 N.

.8,5870

.67475

0 19 S.

.84770

.67536

1 8

.83638

.67623

1 58

.82474

.67742

2 49

.81276

. 67896

3 42

.80042

.68091

Astronomical and Nautical Collections. 431

Mean Pamian time, 1829. A. R.

DecLN.

Log.

Diat

O / //

O / //

0

e

Dec. 20.3

292 45+..

4 36+..

.78771

.68333

21.3

291 23

5 32

.77465

.68627

22.3

289 59

6 29

.76123

.68980

23.3

288 34

7 27

.74746

.69399

24.3

287 8

8 27

.73334

.69889

25.3

285 42

9 27

.71890

.70456

26.3

284 15

10 28

.70416

.71107

27.3

282 48

11 30

.68917

.71845

28.3

281 23

12 32

.67.399

.72677

29.3

280 0

13 34

.65871

.73604

30.3

278 39

14 36

.64342

.74629

31.3

277 21

15 37

.62830

.75750

1830 Jan. 13

276 9

16 37

.61348

.76969

2.3

275 2

17 36

.59920

.78278

3.3

274 1

18 33

.58572

.79670

4.3

273 9

19 29

.57832

.81139

5.3

272 25

20 22

.56231

.82673

6.3

271 50

21 12

.55304

.84259

The opposition to the sun will be 1828, Oct. 12.34; while its
light is weak, it may be observed on or near the meridian.

On the 10th of Nov. 1828, its distance from the sun will be the
same as at the time of its discovery in 1818, and it will be consider-
ably nearer to the earth ; and on the 21st of December, its position
with respect to the sun will be the same as at its last observation
in 1819 ; and with respect to the earth, its situation will be more
advantageous. The 1st of January, 1829, it will set with the sun.

It follows, that the most advantageous time for seeing it will be
during the whole of November, and the first 25 days of December.
It will scarcely be seen before the end of September, as it has here-
tofore never been observed more than two months before the time of
its perihelion, and even in the dark winter nights will scarcely be
visible more than 14 or 15 weeks before that period. After the peri-
helioii it will not be visible in these parts of the world.

ii. Elementary F/^?^) o/^A^ Undulatory Theory of Light.
By Mr. Fresnel.

[Continued from the last Number.]
In order to complete the explanation of the conditions neces-
sary for the formation of the fringes, it remains to show why
a small hnninous point must be employed in experiments on
diffraction, and not an object of any considerable dimensions.
If we resume the case of the interior fringes of the shadow of

2F 2

432 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

a narrow body, it will be easy' to apply similar arguments to
other cases of diffraction.

The middle of the central band, which is always formed by
the simultaneous arrival of rays, which depart at the same
instant from the luminous point, must be found in the plane
drawn through this point and the line bisecting the narrow
body ; because, since every thing is symmetrical on each
side of this plane, the rays which unite in it Xnust have passed
through equal routes on each side, and must consequently
arrive at the same instant, unless they have passed through
diflPerent media, which is not the case, to be considered at
present. The situation of the middle stripe being deter-
mined, that of every other stripe must also be determined
accordingly. Now it is evident that if the luminous point
should change its situation a little, and be moved to the
right, for example, the plane, which has been supposed,
would incline to the left, and would carry with it all the
fringes which accompany the middle stripe. And if, instead
of supposing such a motion, we suppose the luminous point
to become of sensible dimensions ; the integral points of
which it is composed will each produce a group of fringes,
and their "Situations will be so much the more remote as the
luminous object is larger ; and ultimately, if its size is suffi-
ciently increased, they will extinguish each other and disap-
pear. This is the reason that, when the rays cross each other
at sensible angles, as in all the phenomena of diffraction, it
becomes necessary to employ a very fine luminous point, in
order to discover their mutual influence: and the point must
be so much the finer as the angle formed by the rays is
greater.

However minute the luminous point may be, it is always
composed, in reality, of an infinite number of centres of oscil-
lations, and it is of each of these centres that we must under-
stand what has been said of a luminous point. But as long
as they are very near to each other in comparison with the
breadth of the fringes, it is obvious that the different groups
of fringes which they produce, instead of mixing with each
other in a confused manner, will be superposed almost ex-
actly, and instead of extinguishing, will co-operate with each
other.

Astronomical and Nautical Collections* 433

When the two systems of waves which interfere are paral-
lel, the interval which separates their corresponding points
niust remain the same for a great portion of the surface of
the waveSt that is to say, in other words, the fringes will
become almost infinite in breadth, so that <i very considerable
displacement of the centre of undulation will cause very
little difference in the agreement or disagreement of their
vibrations. And in this case it is no longer necessary to
employ so small an objecttifl ,oj:d^r,,to^p?^Wye,t}ie ^ffect^ of
their mutual influence, it hm^Imh tftfv»>(rf Mf.in^ .^rU in ^iv, ).\

If the coloured rings, which are produced by the interfer-
ence of two systems of undulations nearly parallel, exhibit,
like the fringes, and often within a very short distance, alter-
nations of dark and bright stripes; this circumstance depends
entirely on the want of uniformity in the thickness of the
plate of air interposed between the glasses, which causes a
variation of the difference of the routes of the rays reflected
at the first and at the second surface of this plate, of which
the mutual interference produces the bright and dark rings.

We shall readily be able to understand why the luminous
rays, although they always exert a certain influence on each
other, exhibit it to the eye so seldom, and in cases so much
limited, if we consider that it is necessary, for such an exhi-
bition, first, that the rays concerned shall have been derived
from a common source; secondly, that the difference between
their paths shall amount to a limited number of undulations
only, even when the light is as homogeneous as possible ;
thirdly, that they shall not intersect each other at too great
an angle, because the fringes would become so small as to
be invisible even with the assistance of a strong magnifier ;
and fourthly, unless the riiys are nearly parallel, that the
luminous object should be of very small dimensions, and the
smaller in proportion as the inchnation of the rays is greater.
.Jt has been thought necessary to insist so much at length
on the theory of interferences, because of its numerous
applications to the calculation of the most interesting of
the laws of optical phenomena. These considerations may
perhaps appear at first somewhat delicate and difficult of
comprehension, notwithstanding the minuteness of the expla-*

434 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

nation ; bat with some reflection it will be found that nothing
can be simpler than the principles on]which they are founded,
and their application will soon become familiar to the imagi-
nation.

In order to complete the bases of the general theory of
diffraction, it remains for us to consider the principle of
Huygens, which appears to be a rigorous consequence of the
system of undulations.

The principle may be thus expressed : The vibrations of a
luminous undulation^ in each of its points, may he regarded
as the result of the elementary motions which would be trans-
mitted to that point, at the same instant, from all the points
of the undulation, considered separately, as they existed in
any one of its earlier situations.

It is a consequence of the principle of the co-existence of
small motions, that the vibrations, produced at any point of
an elastic fluid, by several agitations, are represented by the
result of all the velocities belonging to that point at the same
instant, as derived from the difi'erent centres of the undula-
tions, combined according to the laws of motion, whatever
may be the number and situation of the centres, and what-
ever the periods and nature of the undulations. This general
principle is applicable to every particular case. We may
suppose the agitations infinite in number, of the same kind,
simultaneous, and taking place in contiguous points of a
plane or a spherical surface : it will also be convenient to sup-
pose the motions of the particles to take place in the same
direction, perpendicular to the surface, their velocity being
proportional to the condensation of the medium, and none of
them retrograde in their direction. In this manner a deriva-
tive undulation will be produced by the union of these agi-
tations, and the principle of Huygens may be truly applied
to such a propagation. [This may be called a rigorous
consequence of the system, but it can scarcely be considered
as a proposition mathematically demonstrated : and the fun-
damental law of Huygens must perhaps be assumed as an
axioni or a phenomenon. Tr.]

The intensity of the primitive undulation being uniform
throughout the surface, it results from this *' theoretical"

Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

435

consideration, as well as from other reasoning, that the uni-
formity will be preserved throughout the progress of the
undulation, unless any part of it be intercepted or retarded;
because the result of the elementary motions, which have been
mentioned, will be the same for all the points. But if a por-
tion of the undulation be intercepted by the interposition of
an opaque body, then the intensity of each part will vary
according to the distance from the margin of the shadow, and
these variations will be particularly sensible in the neigh-
bourhood of the tangent rays.

Let C be the luminous point, AG the screen, and A ME
the wave, arrived at A, ami partly intercepted by the opaque
body. We may suppose it to be divided into an infinite
number of small arcs, Am', mm, mM, Mtz", nn, nn^ and
so forth. In order to find its intensity at the point P, be-
longing to any subsequent situation of the undulation, BPD,
we must find the result of all the elementary agitations
which each of these portions of the primitive undulation
Would produce there if they acted separately.

The impulse, which has been given to every part of the

4«i$ Astronomical and Nautical Collections,

primitive undulation, being perpendicular to its surface, the
motions of the particles of ether in this direction must be
more considerable than in any other ; and the rays depend-
ing on these motions, if separately considered, would be so
much . the. weaker as they deviated the more from this di-
rection.

The investigation of the law by which their intensity would
be governed, according to their direction, as derived from
any separate centre of agitation, would certainly be of very
difficult investigation : but happily we are not obliged to
determine this law, for it is easy to see that when the incli-
nation to the perpendicular is considerable, the effects of the
different rays must very nearly destroy each other : so that
these rays, which sensibly affect the quantity of light re-
ceived at each point P, may safely be regarded as being equal
in intensity. - > ^c-t

When the centre of agitation has undergone a condensa-
tion, the expansive force tends to urge the molecules in every
direction ; and if they do not perform a retrograde motion,
it is only because their initial velocities forwards destroy
those which the expansion of the condensed fluid would
otherwise generate backwards : but it does not follow from
this that the agitation can only be propagated in the direc-
tion of the initial velocities ; for the expansive force in a
perpendicular direction, for example, will combine with the
primitive impulse without any diminution of its effects. It
is obvious that the intensity of the undulation thus produced
may vary much at the different points of its circumference,
not only from the nature of the initial impulse, but also be-
cause the condensations are not subject to the same law on
every side of the centre of the agitated part [?] . But the
variations of the intensity of the derivative undulation must
necessarily be subjected to a law of continuity, and may con-
sequently be considered as insensible in a very small angular
interval, especially in the neighbourhood of the perpendicular
to the surface of the primitive undulation ; for the initial
velocities of thq. .iiaplecules, referred to any given direction,
being proportional to the cosines of the angles made by that
direction with the perpendicular, these results vary rauoh

Astronomical and Nautical Collections, 437

more slowly than the angles themselves, while they remain
inconsiderable.

If, in fact, we consider rays sensibly inclined to each other,
such as EP, FP, IP, meeting in the point P, which we may
suppose at the distance of a great number of breadths from
the undulation EA : and if we take two arcs, EF and FI, of
such a length that the differences EP — FP and FP — IP may
be equal to half an undulation : on account of the marked
obliquity of the rays, and of the smallness of a semiundula-
tion, in proportion to their length, these two arcs will be
almost equal, and the rays which come from them to the
point P will be nearly parallel ; so that on account of the
difference of a semiundulation between the corresponding
rays of the two arcs, their effects will mutually destroy each
other.

We may therefore suppose all the rays sent by the differ-
ent }:>arts of the undulation at AE, to the point P, to be of
equal intensity, since the only rays, with respect to which
this hypothesis would be incorrect, are such as have no sen-
sible influence on the quantity of light which it receives.
For the same reason, in order to simplify the calculation of
the result of all these elementary undulations, we may consi-
der their constituent motions as performed in the same direc-
tion, the angles which they form with each other being
inconsiderable.. The problem is thus reduced to that which
has been solved in the Memoir on Diffraction, already
quoted : To find the result of any number of systems of
parallel undulations of lights of the same frequency , when
their mtensities and relative situations are given. — The
intensities are here proportional to the length of the small
illuminating arcs, and the relative situations are given from
the differences of the paths described.

We have considered, correctly speaking, only the section
of the undulation made by a plane perpendicular to the mar-
gin of the screen represented by A. We may now take into
account the whole extent of the undulation, and suppose it
to be divided, by equidistant meridians perpendicular to the
plane of the figure, into infinitely thin wedges or strata;
and we may apply to all of these the reasoning which has

48^ Astronomical and Nautical Collections,

been employed for one section, and thus demonstrate tliat
the rays which have a marked obliquity must destroy each
other.

These strata, in the case here considered, being all parallel
to the edge of the screen, and infinitely extended, while the
undulation is intercepted but on one side ; the intensity of
the result of all the impressions, which they transmit to P,
will be the same for each of them : for the rays emanating
from them must be considered as of equal intensity, at least
for the very small extent of the generating undulation, which
has a sensible influence on the light received at P. Besides,
each elementary result will evidently be retarded by the
same quantity, with respect to the ray derived from the
point of the stratum nearest to P, that is to say, to the
point in which it cuts the plane of the figure : consequently
the intervals between these elementary results will be equal
to the differences of the paths described by the rays AP,
mP, mF, and so forth, which are in the plane of the
figure, and their intensities will be proportional to the arcs
Am, m', m, mM, and so forth. We may therefore con-
sider the intensity of the general result as determined by the
calculation already mentioned, as belonging to the section of
the undulation made by a plane perpendicular to the margin
of the screen.

While the outline of the screen remains rectilinear, it is
sufficient, in order to determine the situations of the dark
and light stripes, and their relative intensities, to consider
the section of the undulation made by a plane perpendicular
to that outline : but when it is curved, or composed of lines
meeting at any angles, it becomes necessary to obtain the
integral effect for two directions at right angles to each other,
or for a circle surrounding the point considered. This last
method is the most simple in some particular' cases, as when
we have to calculate, for example, the intensity of the light
in the projection of the centre of a circular screen or opening:
[a simplification which, thougli sufficiently obvious, had per-
haps not occurred to Mr. Fuesnel, until it was pointed out
to him by the Translator of this paper.]

It will now be easy to form a distinct idea of the method

Astronomical and Nautical Collections. 439

which must be followed, in order to calculate the situation
and the intensity of the dark and bright stripes, in the dif-
ferent circumstances under which it is proposed to compare
the theory with experiment. When the screen is infinitely
extended on one side, or is broad enough to allow us to
neglect the rays which pass beyond it, we are to determine,
for any point P at the distance of the place at which the
fringes are to be observed, the result of all the elementary
undulations coming from the part AMF only of the incident
wave ; and comparing the intensities at different collateral
points, P, F, P", we are to find the situation of the darkest
and the brightest points. In this manner we find, for a
screen closed on one side, 1st, that the intensity of the light
decreases rapidly within the [shadow] beginning from the
tangent CAB, and so much the more rapidly as the undula-
tion is smaller ; and this in a continuous manner, without
any alternations of maxima and minima ; 2ndly, that out of
the shadow, the intensity of the light, after augmenting con-
siderably to a certain point, which may be called a maximum
of the first order, decreases to another point, which is the
minimum of the first order : that it increases again to a
second maximum, to which succeeds a second minimum, and
so forth ; 3rdly, that none of these minimums completely
vanish, as in the case of fringes produced by the concourse
of two luminous pencils of equal intensity, and that the dif-
ference between the maxima and minima diminishes in pro-
portion as we go further from the shadow ; whence we may
understand why the fringes which surround shadows in a
homogeneous light, are less marked and less numerous, than
those which are obtained by a combination of two mirrors,
and those in white light much les^ brilliant ; 4thly, that
the intervals been the maxima and minima are unequal, and
diminish, as we depart from the shadow, in proportions
which remain unaltered, whatever may be the distance from
the screen at which we measure them ; and .5thly, that the
same maxima and minima, calculated for different distances
from the screen, are situated in hyperbolas of a sensible cur-
vature, of which the foci are the edge of the screen, and the
luminous point. All these consequences of the theory are
precisely confirmed by experiment.

440 Adronomical and Nautical Collections,

The general formula gives the position of the maxima and
minima for any distances whatever of the luminous point from
the screen, and from the screen to the micrometer, when the
length of the undulation of the light employed is known.
In order to submit the theory to a decisive test^ instead of
determining the length of the undulation by measures of the
external fringes, and then employing it in calculations of the
same kind, I deduced it from an experiment on diffraction of
a very different kind ; and after having first verified it by
the fringes obtained from two mirrors, of which it repre-
sented the breadth within a hundredth part of the truth, I
introduced it into the formula which I afterwards compared
with 125 measurements of exterior fringes, made under very
different circumstances ; for the distance of the radiant point
from the screen was varied from four inches to six or seven
yards, and the distance between the screen and the microme-
ter was varied from -jVth of an inch to more than four j^ards :
and the results of all these comparisons were perfectly satis-
factory, as may be seen in the comparative table published
in the Xlth volume of the Annales de Chimie et de Phy-i-i
sique, p. 339, 343.

When the screen, instead of extending infinitely on one
side, is narrow enough to admit some light on that side, not
too much weakened by the rapid decrease of intensity pro-
duced by obliquity, we must take into the calculation the
light on both sides, and find, for each point of the shadow,
the general result of all the elementary undulations derived
from the points on the right and left. We thus demonstrate
that the interior parts of the shadow must be divided by a series
of dark and bright stripes, nearly equal in breadth, of which
the situations differ very little from those which would be
deduced from the approximative formula which has already
been given for the same purpose, when they are still separated
from the borders of the shadow by an i aterval of .several iof
their breadths. But when the opaque body is narrow enough,
and the micrometer far enough removed for the. observed
stripes to be. very near, the exterior stripes, tlien the /results
of this more exact calculation, as well as those of experiment,
show that the approximation is no longer accurate. The cal-

Astronomical and Nautical Collections. 441

culation determines also, with remarkable precision, the sin-
gular alterations which the exterior fringes often undergo,
wlien the other series extends beyond the shadow, and mixes
its eftects with those of the exterior.

I have also verified the theory by examining the fringes
derived from a narrow slit of indefinite length; and deter-
mining, for the different points enlightened by the luminous
pencil, the result of all the elementary undulations derived
from the part of the primitive wave comprehended in the
breadth of the slit; and I have found a satisfactory agree-
ment between the calculation and the observations, even
when the fringes thus obtained afforded the most capricious
and apparently irregular appearances.

In this mode of considering the problems relating to dif-
fraction, we have not taken into the calculation the greater or
less thickness of the edges of the screen, but merely the
extent of the primitive wave which is capable of sending
elementary undulations to the points for which we are to find
the intensity of illumination; and the opaque substance has
no other effect than simply to intercept a part of the wave :
for this reason the result is necessarily independent of the
nature of the body, of its mass, and of the thickness of its edges.
Nevertheless, if the surface of the edges were very extensive,
it would be impossible to consider the portion of the wave as
quitting the slit without having received some previous mo-
dification, and it would be necessary to take into the calcula-
tion the small fringes derived from the eff'ect of the remoter
parts of the slit. But while the thickness is moderate, or
the edges rounded oft* into a well marked curve, the small
fringes derived from this cause may be neglected, and the
emerging wave may be considered as of equal intensity through-
out, at the moment of its quitting the screen, especially if the
intensity of the light is to be calculated for a pretty consi-
derable distance from the screen. We must not, indeed, for-
get, that according to the reasoning which has been emplo)^ed,
the formulas for diffraction are only sufficiently exact when
this distance is very considerable, in comparison with the
breadth of an undulation, since it is in this case only that
we can neglect the rays that are decidedly oblique, and

442 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

can suppose all those, which are essentially concerned in the
effect, to be nearly of equal intensity. It is not, however,
surprising that the same formulas will give the position of
the fringes with sufficient accuracy at small distances from
the screen, when its edges are thin, since, the mean breadth
of an undulation being but about one fifty thousandth of an
inch, a tenth of an inch becomes comparatively a very consi-
derable distance.

These are the three principal kinds of phenomena presented
to us by diffraction, when the edges of the screen, or of the
opening made in it, are sufficiently extensive to afford fringes
independent of any effect from their terminations: and in
such cases it is sufficient to make the integral calculation for
the plane perpendicular to the edges of the screen only, in
order to determine the position of the dark and bright
stripes, and their comparative intensities. But when the
screen or the opening are of small dimensions in every direc-
tion, it becomes necessary to extend the integration to the
effects produced in two perpendicular planes: and the results
of the calculation agree perfectly v/ith observation, as will
appear from two curious instances.

. When the screen is circular, the calculation leads to this
singular result, that the centre of the shadow projected by
it must be as much enlightened as if the screen were not in
existence. It was Mr. Poisson that first pointed out this
consequence of my formulas, which I did not at first observe,
though it is immediately deducible from the theory by very
simple geometrical considerations, Mr. Arago made the
experiment with the- shadow of a screen -jVth of an inch in
diameter, perfectly round, and fixed on a plate of glass. The
result confirmed the fact which had been announced by the
theory. It is only the centre itself that possesses this pro-
perty, and the same brightness is only extended to a sensible
distance from this mathematical point when the screen is of
very small diameter, and when its shadow is observed at a
great distance : for the wider that the screen becomes, the
more the little bright circle is contracted; and when the
screen is four tenths of an inch in diameter, we only see a
single point of light, at the distance of a yard, even with a
powerful magnifier. It must be observed, that if the screen

Astronomical and Nautical Collections. 443

were too large, the reasoning, from which the formulas have
been deduced, would no longer be rigorously applicable to
the rays inflected into the shadow, because of their too great
obliquity, which would render it impossible to consider their
effects as equal in intensity to those of the direct rays.

When we calculate, by the same formulas, the intensity of
the light in the centre of the projection of a small circular
aperture, made in a large screen, we find that this centre
will exhibit alternately a bright and a dark appearance, ac-
cording to the distance at which the shadow is viewed ; and
that in homogeneous light this darkness must be perfect.
This new inference from the general formulas may be deduced
from the theory by very simple geometrical considerations.
Thus we find that the values of the successive distances, at
which the centre of the shadow becomes completly dark, are

b = ^^' -, b = ^^' , b = _^?1_ ; andsoforth;
2ad- r' 4ad - r^' 8ad -r^

r being the semidiameter of the aperture, a and b its respec-
tive distances from the luminous point and from the micro-
meter, and d the length of the undulation of the light em-
ployed. Now, if we place the micrometer at the distances
indicated by these formulas, we observe, in fact, that the
centre of the projection of the opening is so completely de-
prived of light, that it appears like a spot of ink in the middle
of the illuminated part, at least with respect to the minimums
of the first three orders, as indicated by the formulas here
inserted : those of the subsequent orders, which are nearer
to the screen, exhibiting no longer the same degree of dark-
ness, on account of the want of homogeneity of the light
employed.

There is still a multitude of other phenomena of diffrac-
tion, such as those of multiplied and coloured images,
reflected by striated surfaces, as seen through a texture of
fine fibres, as well as the coloured rings, produced by an
irregular collection of such fibres, or of light powders,
consisting of particles nearly equal, placed between the
eye of the spectator and a luminous object; all of which
may be explained and rigorously computed by means of the
theory which has been laid down. It would, however, oc-
cupy too much of our time to describe them here, and to

444 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

show how exactly they concur in confirming the theory;
which indeed appears to be abundantly demonstrated by the
numerous and diversified facts which have been already
adduced in support of it. It will be sufficient to conclude
this extract of the Memoir on Diffraction with a detailed de-
scription of an important experiment of Mr. Arago, which
furnishes us with a method of determining the slightest dif-
ferences of the refractive powers of bodies, with a degree of
accuracy almost unlimited.

We have seen that the fringes^ produced by two very nar-
row slits, are always placed symmetrically with regard to
a plane passing through the luminous point and the middle
of the interval between the slits, as long as the two pencils
of light which interfere have passed through the same me-
dium, for instance, the air, as happens in the ordinary arrange-
ment of the apparatus. But the result is different when
one of the pencils continues to pass through the air, and the
other has to be transmitted by a more refractive body, a
thin plate of mica, for example, or a piece of glass blown
very thin : the fringes are then displaced, and carried to-
wards the side on which the transparent substance is placed :
and if its thickness becomes at all considerable, they are
removed out of the enlightened space, and disappear altoge-
ther. This important experiment, which was first made by
Mr. Arago, may also be performed with the apparatus of the
two mirrors, if the plate be placed in the way of one of the
pencils, either before or after its reflection.

Let us now see what inference may be drawn from this
remarkable fact, by the assistance of the principle of inter-
ferences. The light stripe in the middle is always derived,
as we have already seen, from the simultaneous arrival of
rays which have issued at the same moment from the lumi-
nous point ; consequently, in the common circumstances of
the experiment, they must have described paths exactly
equal, in order to arrive in the same time at the place of
meeting: but it is obvious that if they pass through mediums
in which light is not propagated with the same velocity,
that pencil, which has travelled the more slowly, will arrive
at the given point later than the other, and the point will

Astronomical and Nautical Collections. 445

therefore no longer be in the bright stripe. The stripe must
therefore necessarily change its place towards the pencil which
travels the more slowly, in order that the shortness of its
path may compeiiisate for the delay during its transmission
through the solid : and the converse of the proposition
enables us to conclude, that where the stripes are displaced,
the pencil towards which they move has been retarded in its
passage. The natural, inference, therefore, ** fromMr. Arago*s
experiment," is, that light is propagated more rapidly iu
the air than in mica or glass, and generally in all bodies more
refractive than the air ; a result directly opposite to the
Newtonian theory of refraction, which supposes the particles
of light to be strongly attracted by dense substances, which
would cause the velocity of light to be greater in these bodies
than in rarer mediums.

This experiment furnishes a method of comparing the
velocity of the propagation of light in different mediums, [or,
in other words, the refractive density, which is always sup-
posed in this theory, to be reciprocally proportional to it.]
If, in fact, we measure very accurately, by means of a sphe-
rometer, the thickness of the thin plate of glass which has
been placed in the way of one of the luminous pencils, and
if the displacement of the fringes has been measured by the
micrometer ; since we know that, before the interposition of
the glass, the paths described were equal for the middle of
the central stripe, we may calculate how much difference is
occasioned by the change of position, and this difference
will give the retardation in the plate of glass, of which the
thickness is known : so that, by adding this thickness to the
difference calculated, we shall find the little path which the
other pencil has described in the air, while the former was
transmitted by the plate of glass; and this path, compared
with the thickness of the plate of glass, will give the propor-
tion of the velocity of the light in the air, to its velocity
within the glass.

We may also consider this problem in another point of
view, with which it is convenient to make ourselves familiar.
The duration of each undulation, as we have seen, does not
depend on the greater or less velocity with which the agita^

OCT.— DEC. 1827. 2 G

446 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

tion is propagated along the fluid, but merely on the duration
of the previous oscillation which gave it birth ; consequently,
when the luminous waves pass from one medium into another,
in which they are propagated more slowly, each undulation
is performed in the same interval of time as before, and the
greater density of the medium has no other effect than that
of diminishing the length of the undulation, in the same
proportion as the velocity of light is diminished : for the
length of the undulation is equal to the space that the first
agitation describes during the time of a complete oscillation.
We may therefore calculate the relative velocities of light in
different mediums, by comparing the length of the undula-
tions of the same kind of light in those mediums. Now, the
middle of the central stripe is formed by the reunion of such
rays of the two pencils as have performed the same number
of undulations, in their way from the luminous point, what-
ever may be the nature of the mediums transmitting the
light. If then the central stripe is brought towards the
side of the pencil which has passed through the glass, it is
because the undulations of light are shorter within the glass
than in the air; and it is necessary, in consequence, that the
path described on this side should be shorter than the other,
in order that the number of undulations may remain the
same. Let us suppose, then, that the central stripe has been
displaced to the extent of twenty breadths of fringes, for
example, or of twenty times the interval between the middle
points of two consecutive dark stripes ; we must necessarily
conclude that the interposition of the plate of glass has re-
tarded the progress of the pencil passing through it to the
extent of twenty undulations; or that it has performed within
the plate twenty undulations more than the same pencil would
have performed in an equal thickness of air, since each breadth
of a fringe answers to the difference of a single undulation.
If then we know the thickness of the plate, and the length
of an undulation of the light employed, which is easily de-
duced from the measurement of the fringes, by the formula
that has been given, we can calculate the number of undu-
lations comprehended in the same thickness of air, and by
adding twenty to the number, we shall have that of the un-

Astronomical and Nautical Collections, 447

dulations performed in the thickness of the glass ; and thd
proportion of these two numbers will be that of the veloci-
ties of light in the different mediums. Now this proportion
is found by experiment the same with that of the sines of
incidence and of refraction between air and glass ; which
agrees with the theory of the refraction of undulations, as
will be seen hereafter.

The same experiment maybe employed, on the other hand,
for determining with extreme precision the thickness of a
thin plate of a substance of known refractive density; placing
it in the way of one of the two pencils of light, and measuring
the displacement of the fringes which it occasions.

This method of determining: refractive densities is hoW*"
ever liable to some difficulties, when we wish to apply it to
a body much more dense than air, such as water, or glass, for
example ; since it is necessary to employ a very thin plate
only, in order that the fringes may not be too much dis-
placed for observation ; and then it becomes difficult 16
measure the thickness of such a plate with sufficient accu-
racy. We may, indeed, place in the way of the other pencil
a thick plate of a transparent substance, of which the refrac-
tive density has been ascertained by the ordinary methods,
and we can then employ as thick a plate of the new sub-
stance. But then it becomes simpler to measure its refrac-
tive density by the common method : [unless we choose to
immerse the whole apparatus in a fluid very nearly approach-
ing to it in refractive density, which may sometimes be done
without inconvenience. Tr.]

The case, in which Mr. Arago''s experiment has a decided
advantage over the direct method, is when we desire to
determine very slight differences of velocity in mediums of
nearly equal refractive density : for by lengthening the pas-
sage of the light in the two mediums of which we wish to
compare the refractive density, we can increase the accuracy
of the results almost without limit. In order to form an ided
of tlie extreme precision that may be attained by these mea-
surements, it is sufficient to observe that the length of the
yellow undulations in air being about .000021 E.I., there are

two millions of them in the length of about 42 inches. Now

2 G 2 ■ -^

448 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

it is very easy to observe the difference of one fifth of a
fringe, which corresponds to a retardation of one fifth of an
undulation in one of the pencils, that is, the ten millionth
part of the whole length of 42 inches ; we might therefore,
by introducing any gas or vapour into a tube of this length,
terminated by two plane glasses, estimate very accurately the
variation of its refractive power.

I take the length of an undulation of the yellow rays,
which are the most brilliant of the spectrum, and of which
the dark and light stripes consequently coincide with the
darkest and brightest stripes of the fringes produced by
white light, which is commonly employed in these experi-
ments, both because of its greater brightness, and because of
the more marked character which it gives to the central stripe,
so as to prevent any other from being mistaken for it.
. It was an apparatus of this kind that Mr. Arago and
myself employed for measuring the difference of the refrac-
tive powers of dry air, and of air saturated with moisture at
80° F., which is so small, that it would escape every other
method of observation, because the greater refractive power
of aqueous vapour is almost exactly compensated by the less
specific gravity of moist air. But, in the generality of cases,
the slightest mixture of one vapour or gas with another
produces a considerable displacement in the fringes : and if
we had a series of experiments of this kind, made with care,
the apparatus might become a valuable instrument of chemi-
cal analysis.

[To be continued.]

iii. Remarks on the Action of ConvvscvLAuFoncES. In
a Letter to Mr. Poisson.

My dear Sir,

I AM very glad to see that you have been applying your
analytical powers to the investigation of the acustical effects
of corpuscular forces, and that, among many more refined de-
terminations, you have confirmed several of the results relat-
ing to sounding bodies, which were published twenty years
ago in my Lectures on Natural Philosophy : though they
were generally such as might have been derived from the cal-
culations of Bernoulli and Euler ; which I attempted in some

Astronomical and Nautical Collections, 449

measure to simplify by the introduction of the element which
I called the Modulus of Elasticity of each substance. You
have very properly observed that it is often difficult to re-
present the combination of these corpuscular forces by an
integral, since in many practical cases the integral must
vanish, where it would naturally be applied to the pheno-
mena: and, from similar considerations, I trust you will be
prepared to admit the objections that I made long ago, to
the reasoning of your great predecessor^ Mr. Laplace, to
whose station in the mathematical world you appear so emi-
nently qualified to succeed.

The equation, which may be called final, in Mr. Laplace's
Supplement to the Xth Book, p. 47, is Q cos. (^ — 6) =
(2§ — §') K sin. 0. Now this, in my opinion, is a perfect
reductio ad absurdum : for Q must always be incoirvparahly
less than K ; the attraction of the particles lying between a
cylinder and its tangent plane being always infinitely less
than that of the particles in an angular or prismatic edge :
or if this were denied in general, it would obviously become
true when the cylinder itself becomes a plane, and Q va-
nishes altogether ; which will always be the state of the
problem, when the surface of the solid is so inclined to the
horizon, that the surface of the fluid may remain horizontal,
the appropriate angle of contact being unaltered in these
circumstances, as it is easy to show by making the experi-
ment with mercury.

I entreat you to consider this objection with patient atten-
tion, and to tell me if you can find any arguments to supersede
it. I would also presume to ask your opinion of my own
method of deducing the force of capillarity from the elemen-
tary attractions and repulsions of bodies, at the end of my
Illustrations of the Celestial Mechanics, Art. 382 ; Appendix
A, p. 329 to 337. The volume is in the Library of the Aca-
demy ; or I should have taken the liberty of sending you a
copy, as an inadequate return for so many valuable communi-
cations with which you have had the kindness to favour me.

Believe me always, dear Sir,
Very truly yours,
London,\%Nov.\%21. # * # *

m

Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

jv. Calculations of Luna-r Phenomena. By Thomas
Hendehson, Esq.

Principal Lunar Occultations of the Fixed Stars in the Months |

of January, February

, March, and April, 1828 ; calculated for 1

the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. 1

Date,

Names of Stars.

Majjni.
tude

Immersion and
"Emersion.

Apparent
Difference of

Point of
Moon's

Mean Time.

Declination.

Limb.

H. M. S.

,^ n

Jan. 4

K Cancri

5.6

Imra. 10 51 43

13 18 S.

172 R.

Em. 11 44 48

7 19 S.

91 R.

31

a} Cancri

6

Imm. 11 14 52

7 45 S.

134 L.

Em. 12 35 56

2 19 N.

88 R.

>j

K Cancri

5.6

Imm. 18 38 0
Em. Under

0 58 N.
Horizon.

47 L.

Feb. 7

a^ Librae

3

Imm. 20 29 54

1 35 S.

69 L.

Em. 21 37 54

4 33 N.

107 R.

22

h^ Tauri

5

Imm. 7 0 9

3 47 S.

90 L.

Em. 8 16 39

6 34 S.

146 R.

28

u3 Leonis

6.7

Imm. 11 24 25

14 57 S.

165 L.

Em. 12 3 15

9 17 S.

145 R.

March 10

^ Sagittarii

5

Imm. 16 14 54

4 24 N.

105 L.

Em. 17 20 39

1 25 N.

62 R.

23

u Geminonim

5.6

Imm. 8 4 36

2 48N.

55 L.

Em. 9 18 11

7 46 N.

94 R

24

k Geminorum

5

Imm. 9 12 5

3 53 S.

78 L.

Em. 10 28 34

3 55 N.

HI R.

26

ic Cancri

5.6

Imm. 7 41 25

7 6 S.

132 L.

-

Em. 9 3 38

3 14 N.

83 R.

April 2

v^ Librae

6

1mm. 14 7 43

12 43 N.

38 L.

Em. 14 34 56

15 49 N.

10 R.

v'^ Librae

6.7

Imm. 13 58 36

2 IS.

99 L.

Em. 15 13 58

6 19N.

76 R.

'' 29

a} Librae

6

Imm. 16 15 38

14 48 S.

126 L.

Em. 16 48 16

11 55 S.

174 R.

cf} Librae

3

Imm. 16 33 5

15 54 S.

145 L.

Em. 16 43 5

J5 3 S.

162 L.

The fifth column shows th

e apparent difference of declination between the

Star and Moon's centre at th

e immersion and emersion j the letters N and S

•denoting the Star to be nor

th or south from the Moon. The sixth or last

xolumn shows the point of t

le Moon's limb where the immersion and emer-

sion take place, reckoning

from the vertex or highest point; the letters L

and R sig^nifying to the left 1

land or right hand of the observer.

An errpr of I } seponds in

the computed difference of declination between

the Moon and Star, will be s

ufficient to convert the expected Occultation of

tt- Libra, on 29th April, intt

) an Appulse ,• and a less error will considerably

affect the tinaes and places of

immersion and enjersioo.

[To be continued.] j

s

CD
r-t

2

0)

en

U

B
O

0

U

(M i—t

The places of the Sun and Moon have been taken from the Nautical Almanac, th^ se of Mercury from J^'^denau s ^J' '^«- ^"^ The s^in +

other P anets from Schumacher's Ephemeris ^The si^ + denotes the motion in A. R. to be d.rect ; the s|gn "> ^^^^^^^^^^ will ur^ve to

denotes .he motion in N. P. D. to be towards the South j the sign - towards the North. None ot the preceding Conjunctions will prove to

1

'ci

(N kA F^ Ol »rt CO

+++ 1 1 1 1 7 1 1 +++ 1 ++

1

.5.5

•w65«OC<JOl(MOlCDOJ»5"^»ft(NQO<Nift

+ + + 1 1 + 1 + 1 1 1 + + + + +

Time of nearest

Approach,
Apparent Time.

•.-*«OI>Oi00CO!>O5kftift0O?O^OWr>CO

* CO "^ Oi iO ^ --^ ''J^ O rt* <M (M <N CO — ^

•0^'Nn<QD'^OQOT»«^i-i;01>COCQCO

* ^ -H <M (N ^ rt (M '-H fH ph ^

•^p-«l>;0(MC00>(MC0(MC0OCOir5aDC0

I i

If

.GOCO^COCOOQOinOOi^COOiirt— '^t^

~(NCMcooiir500'^coGviinir5in(M (Ni«
0'^inoQoaDQD!>oeo'©o>eoT(j;ci>

-(N -^ (M -< ;0 ^ CO

o

cc
S5
O

O

o

O

n3

c

s:
5

■s

u

W

-B
fee

.S

1

(.«

en
H
>5

M

0 5^-

*co CO in r-i inLdOiOiO^OiOico

^3^G^JCDC0^(M0J»nC0int>^t>l>O0i
^Ttift(MC0CQC0(M-OrHi-l r-H —

-jJ^ift'-^'rf-^OCOO'M-HCCrMCOirtCOO
CO C>OOOOOOt>OOi.-»OOJ>OiO

•t>OiOi>'>*<o^ocoinoinor^"^GD

'"'^OJ'^ Tf'MOliOift COrH rj^iTS

.s;v005<OOitNOOOI>^i0CQ<MC0l>C0
'^CO'^'^'^'^COCOCO'— <^^i— itM"— lirt

5 ^

1 i

aort«inb-<oi>oaO'^<oococicooico
o«o ooi>t>i>'^«oaoiftinoiniOcocoin

(» (/) CZ3 OD M <2 CO ^ CO C/i 1/5 O) OJ OJ C/J (/5

1 a

vCO'^coocQcoO'-^aDOiftcooaocooi

^ r-HOlOl^CQ^COCOrfr-iCC'ift CO

^•Tt* COCOCO'^'-^'^ft-'^COOC^^'-^OOOSOJ
COCOCOCOCOCOCO(NCOCOCOeOCO(M(N<N

1

it:

!/: 12^* :zi ;z; Z !2i oi J^i ^* ^ c/J izi Iz; cr? c» co
"^05'^«ocooco'*oot>eo(Mo>oa50

(Nost't iO rt-iOrMTff-Hrt<^C0>-<
"fN ^ (M-*;c^Tj< CO

■11
1^

• ,^OTt<i>o>cocO'-^«ocooco^'M»r)to
"'i-^oOift '^t'iOinT^Tfcococo <-* c^ ^

a«>oi>ao«ocoo^QDcoi>oaDQDi>coo

>SO«0'M"^CDi-(OCD'?t<i-<(N;OI>COG<lCO
Q^^I>;0CQC00iCQ5CrNe0O;0»«0De0

'^ = ^* i: *n 'C 'C ^ ^ fi i^i^ Ei a.*: c'

« ?t 'X: ?t ?i- ?t 0 ?t DCM ?!■ ?t Of ?i- Jt (H 0 0+

452

Astronomical and Nautical Collections,

Apparent Distance of Jupiter's Satellites from Jupiter's Centre,
at his Conjunctions in A. R. with the Moon.

Date.

1628.
January 11

February 7

March 6

April 2

29

Satellite.

I.

II.
III.
IV.

I.
II.
III.
IV.

I.
II.
III.

IV.

I.
II.
III.

IV.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

Distance.

1 14 East

0 51

4 16 West

2 21

1 6 West

2 40 East
2 16 West
4 27

1 51 East

2 24 West

3 14 East
8 44- ■

1 44 West
0 15 *

4 58 East
7 30 West

0 14 West t

2 51 East
0 32 West

6 East

Date.

Satellite.

1828.
May 26

June 22

July 20

August 16

I.
II.
III.
IV.

I.

II.
III.
IV.

I.

II.
III.
IV.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

Distance.

44 East
8 West

15

38 East
59 West

4 East J
10 West

56

51 East

50

55^ ■

51

43 West

12 .

21 East
53

• On Jupiter's disk. f Eclipsed. J On Jupiter's disk.

These Configurations have been computed from De Lambre's Tables.

453

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE,

^ I. Mechanical Science.

1. On the Adhesion of Screws. — ^The following results, respecting
the force necessary to draw iron screws out of given depths of wood,
are by Mr. Bevan, and should be placed by the side of those he has
given with regard to nails*.

" The screws I used were about two inches in length, 0.22 dia-
meter at the exterior of the threads, 0.15 diameter at the bottom,
the depth of the worm or thread being 0.035, and the number of
threads in one inch =12. They were passed through pieces of
wood exactly half an inch in thickness, and drawn out by the
weights specified in the following table r

Dry beech 460 pounds

Do. Do 790

Dry sound ash 790

Dry oak 760

Dry mahogany 770

Dry elm 655

Dry sycamore 830

" The weights were supported about two minutes before the
screws were extracted.

*' I have also found the force required to draw similar screws
out of deal and the softer woods about half the above.

*' From which we may infer as a rule to estimate the full force of

adhesion, in hard wood 200.000 d ^ t =: f

and in soft wood 100.000 d ^ t := f

d being the diameter of the screw ; o the depth of the worm or
thread ; and t the thickness of the wood into which it is forced ; —
all in inches; /"being the force in pounds io extract the same."
We may, from the above experiments, observe the approximation to
perfection in the art of screw making ; for had the screw been
greater in diameter, there would have been a waste of material, or
had it been less, it would not have been sufficiently strong, which
may be proved as follows : the cohesion of wrought iron has been
found, from a number of experiments, to be about 430001bs. per
cylindrical inch ; and as the smallest diameter of screw used in my
experiment was 0.15, it would have been torn asunder by a force
of about 9681bs. ; or if the hard wood had been about -^ of an inch
thick into which it had been screwed, the screw would have been
broken instead of forcing its passage out of the wood. — Phil. Mag.
N.S.iu29i.

2. Improvement in Steam-engines. — According to the valuable
records kept of the duty of the steam-engines at the mines in Corn-
wall, a most important improvement has been effected in two

♦ See page 860, vol. xvii. of the former series of this Journal.

454 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

instances, of en^nes erected by Captain Samuel Grose ; dependent
entirely upon attention to the smaller details of the machines.
The best engines, heretofore, had not done more than raise forty
millions of pounds of water one foot high, by each bushel of coals
consumed, except indeed upon short occasions. In one of the cases
in question, an engine at Wheal Hope, of sixty-inch cylinder, work-
ing single as usual, the duty rose to fifty, fifty-four, and fifty-five
millions of pounds ; and in the other, an engine of eighty-inch
cylinder, at Wheal Towan, the duty rose in

April 61,877,545

May 60,632,179

June 61,762,210

Jidy 62,220,820

August 61,764,166

thus exceeding by nearly fifty per cent, what had been effected
before that time,

3. Improved ClocJc.^—Among the articles displayed at the first
National Exhibition of the Objects of Arts and Industry, at Neuf-
chatel, Switzerland, last year, was a clock made by F. Houriet, of
Lode ; in which steel was used only in the main springs and in the
axes of the moveable parts ; all the other parts were in brass, gold
alloy, and white gold. The number of pieces in gold, gold and
silver, gold andplatina, is sixty-two : all the pivots turn on jewels,
and the functions of the free escapements are effected also by means
of pallets in precious stones. It had been supposed that the es-
capements and the spiral spring not being of steel, inconvenience
would result from the smaller degree of elasticity, but numerous
trials with favourable results have removed the objection ; and it
appears that gold, hardened either by hammering or other means,
is more elastic than hardened and untempered steel. The clock
had gone for six days, exposed to the contact of a magnet compe-
tent to lift twenty-five or thirty pounds, without suffering any de-
rangement. — Rev, Ency.

4. Method of dividing Glass by Friction. — The following method
is described by Dr. Hare : " Some years ago Mr. Lukin showed
me that a small phial or tube might be separated into two parts, if
subjected to cold water after being heated by the friction of a cord
made to circulate about it, by two persons alternately pulling in op-
posite directions. I was subsequently enabled to employ this pro-
cess in dividing large vessels of four or five inches in diameter, and
likewise to render it in every case more easy and certain by means
of a piece of plank forked like a boot-jack, and also having a kerf
cut by a saw, parallel to and nearly equidistant from the principal
surfaces of the plank, and at right angles to the incisions productive
of the fork.

^•By means of the fork, the glass is easily held steadily by the
hand of one operator ; by means of the kerf, the string, while circu-

Mechanical Science, 455

lating about the glass, is confined to the part where the separation
is desired. As soon as the cord smokes, the glass is plunged
in water, or if too large to be easily immersed, the water must be
thrown upon it ; the latter method is always preferable when,
upon immersing the body, the water can reach the inner surface.
As plunging is the most effectual method of employing the water
in the case of a tube, I usually close the end which is to be im^
jnersed/'^— (St7/ima/i*« Journal^ xiii. 7.

5. Use of Soapstone in diminishing Friction. — In a letter to
Professor Silliman upon this subject, Mr. E. Bailey of Boston,
says, " I understand the Soapstone has been used for this purpose
in the extensive manufactories at Lowell, for about two years, and
with great profit and success. Besides answering the purpose to
which it is applied very much better than any other substance that
can be procured, it saves a great deal of trouble and expense. It
is first thoroughly pulverized, and then mixed with oil, tallow, lard,
or tar, whichever may be the best adapted to the use for which it is
designed. It is of course important to procure that which is free
from grity and it can be purified in a good degree by mixing the
powder with oil, and decanting it after it has stood a few minutes.
The heavier particles will form a sediment to be rejected. It is
used in all kinds of machinery where it is necessary to apply any
unctuous substance to diminish friction, and it is said to be an
excellent substitute for the usual composition applied to carriage-
wheels.

Some idea of the value of soapstone thus applied, maybe formed
from the following fact communicated by D. Moody, Esq., the
superintendent of the tar-works on the mill-dam near this city.
Connected with the rolling machine of that establishment, there is
a horizontal balance-wheel, weighing ybwr^ee;i tons, which runs on
a step of five inches diameter, and makes from seventy-five to one
hundred revolutions in a minute. About one hundred tons of iron
are rolled in this machine in a month ; yet the wheel has some-
times been used from three to five weeks without inconvenience,
before the soapstone has been renewed. The superintendent thinks,
however, that it ought to be more frequently employed.

*' The use of soapstone was discovered at Lowell. It has been
said never to fail in producing the desired result when applied
to machinery which had began to be heated, even in those cases
when nothing else could be found that would answer the pur*
pose." — Silliman* 8 Joumaly xiii. 192.

6. On peculiar Physical RepulsionSy by M. Saigey. — I intend to
give in this bulletin the description of a very simple apparatus, by
means of which I have made many experiments, which have con-
ducted me to the following results : —

i. All bodies exert between themselves a feeble repulsive action
in ordinary circumstances. The repulsion between bismuth and

456 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

antimony and the poles of a magnetic needle, is a caseof this gehe»
ral law, and is not due to magnetism. Nor is it magnetism which
occasions the direction of needles formed of other substances than
iron, announced lately by M. Becquerel.

ii. A very marked attraction may be observed between a cold
and a heated body, or between two bodies of different temperature,
whether screens be interposed or not.

iii. The metallic plates in the Cabinet de Physique de Paris,
intended for the repetition of M. Arago's experiments on magnetism
by rotation, contain more or less of iron capable of attracting a
very mobile magnetic needle. These plates, and those of M. Arago,
were made by the same person and from the same materials.

iv. I believe that, in many cases, results obtained without the
appreciable developement of magnetism or electricity, have been
attributed to these powers ; and from well-proved experiments I
shall deduce new results relative to the diurnal variation of the
needle, the direction of the plumb-line and the density, temperature
and attraction of the planetary masses. — Bull. Univ. A. viii. 287.

7. On the Magnetic Effects of Metals in Motion. — M. Seebeck has
endeavoured to determine the effects of various metals in diminish-
ing the oscillations of a magnetic needle 2^ inches in length, and
suspended by a silk fibre three lines distant from and above the
plates. The oscillations were counted from an amplitude of 45*^
to 10°.

116 oscillations above a plate of marble

112 layer of mercury 2 lines in thickness.

106 plate of bismuth 2 „

94 platina 0.4 ,,

90. antimony 2.0 „

89 lead 0.75

89 gold 0.2

71 zinc 0.5 „

68 tin 1.0

62 brass 2.0

62 copper 0.3 „

55 silver 0.3

6 >, iron 0.4 „

It is also stated that he has found, from experiments, that by
alloying such metals as are magnetic, like iron, nickel, and cobalt,
with other metals, which like antimony diminish the magnetic force,
alloys are obtained entirely neutral in their effects ; thus the alloys
formed by four of antimony with one of iron, three of copper with
one of antimony, and two of copper with one of nickel, produce no
diminution of the number of oscillations, these amounting to 116 as
with the plate of marble. These three alloys are, therefore, the best
for the manufacture of compasses, those of copper and nickel being
the most malleable. — Annal. des Fhy. 1826. Bull. Univ. A. viii. 136,

jBh' Mechanical Science. ' 457

8. Duration of the Effects of Light upon the Eye.^U. Plateau
of Liege has endeavoured to determine the length of time during
which the impression of certain luminous rays upon the eyes
remains ; and has given the following results :

Flame 0''.242

Ignited Charcoal 0".229

White , 0".182

Blue !•'.',;;... 0M86

Yellow ,..t. ::.::.. omts

Red ..;;.r;i.r:--.. o'M84

■ ■• . »

9. On the Measurement, of the Tjitensity of Light, by M. Peclet.—
A very usual photometrical process is to interpose an opaque body
between a white screen and the two lights to be measured, and
to move the latter until the shadows produced are of equal inten-
sity ; the intensity of the lights being then as the square of their
distances from the shadows they illuminate. Sometimes a trans-
lucent body, as unpolished glass or oiled paper, is used in place
of an opaque one, the shades produced by transmission being
observed.

In both these methods, the apparent intensity of the shadow
varies with the position of the observer. If the shadows are equal
when observed from a point perpendicular to the white screen at
the middle of the distance of the two shades, they will be no longer
so on removing from that position, and the shadow nearest to the
observer will always appear the darkest. These apparent variations
are greater as the shadows are farther apart, or with reflected sha-
dows as the screen is smoother, or with transmitted shadows as the
interposed obstacle is more diaphanous.

The explanation given of this fact is, that unpolished opaque
bodies, like paper, plaster, &c. never disperse the light incident
upon them, in an uniform manner, more rays passing in the direc-
tion in which regular reflexion would take place, than in any other.
Hence, when two equal shadows are produced upon such a surface,
either by two equal lights at equal distances, or by two unequal
lights at unequal distances ; the shadow nearest to the observer
must necessarily appear deeper than the other, because it is en-
lightened by the nearest light, the rays from which are reflected in
greatest abundance away from the observer ; and, on the contrary,
the shadow further from the observer should appear lightest, be-
cause the rays which fall on it from the furthest light are reflected
in greatest abundance towards the side on which the observer
stands. The reason, also, why the effect is greater as the shadows
are further apart is evident ; and why in every case it is reduced to
nothing when the observer is in a plane perpendicular to the screen
and equidistant from the two shadows.

From these facts and explanations it may be concluded, that, in
all photometrical measurements by reflected shadows, the screens
should have all smoothness removed from them, and the two sha-

458 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

dows brought as near tog-ether as possible, and even made to
touch or over-lap ; or that, when this cannot be done, the observa-
tion should be made from a point equidistant from the two sha-
dows. As to the shadows by transmission, the apparent variations
of intensity are so great for small changes in the position of the
eye, as to render the method altogether inapplicable. — Bull. Univ.
A. viii. 248.

10. On the apparent Decomposition of White Light by a Reflect-
ing Body when in Motion. — The following experiment is described in
the MSS. of M. Benedict Prevost and published by M. P. Prevost. A
ray of solar light being introduced into a darkened chamber, is to have
a square piece of white paper about two inches in the side, passed
across it perpendicularly to the direction of the ray. The light
reflected by the paper, instead of being white, will present a small
white central portion, surrounded by the seven principal colours,
nearly in the order of the prismatic spectrum. When a red surface
is used instead of a white one, the decomposition of the light is
still more complete. When the paper has a slight blue tint, the
effect is less perfect than with the white paper. With a black sur-
face no colours appear, but a sort of smoky shade towards the
middle. A single passage of the paper is sufficient, but it is neces-
sary that it pass entirely through the ray, no part remaining in it. — -
Bib. Univ.— Bui. Univ. A. viii. 248.

11. On the Barometer. — The following are conclusions at which
M. Bohnenberger has arrived relative to the barometer: i. The
surface of mercury in a tube 14.5 lines in diameter, is slightly
rounded at the edge; but, at the distance of two lines from the glass,
capillary depression disappears, and the surface is level, ii. The
mercury in a tube 5.8 lines in diameter, is convex over the whole
surface, the depression being .035 of a line. iii. The depression is
generally less in a vacuum than in the air, so that a syphon baro-
meter gives results too high, and the more so as the tube is smaller.
iv. Barometers constructed with tubes five lines in diameter, do
not require tapping to cause them to assume their proper height ;
and comparatively slight blows easily make the mercury rise too
high in tubes of a smaller diameter. — Annal. der Phys. und Chem.

12. Easy Method of reducing Barometrical Observations to a
Standard Temperature^ by S. Foggo. — The expansion of mercury
deduced by the different philosophers who have examined it, is given
below; omitting the results of Sir G. Shuckburgh, as being rather
loo far from the mean of the others.

Expansion of mercury, from 32° to 212° F.

De Luc l-56th

Lavoisier and Laplace l-55.22th( , ^r a<m\,

Halstrom l-55th ["■ean. l-55.43th,

Dulong and Petit l-&5.5th

Mechanical Science, 459

For 1° of Fahrenheit's scale, this is equal to 0^4, or .00010023:
ipvhioh may be called one ten -thousandth, without the most trifling
error in practice. The barometric column may, therefore, be re-
duced to the standard temperature of 32° F. by the following sim-
ple rule, which will make a table unnecessary. Before the first
three figures of the observed height place two cyphers, multiply by the
temperature of the mercury — 32°, and subtract the product from the
observed height. Example; barometer 30.597, temperature of mer-
cury 74°.

^40 - 32<i = 4^<* .00305 X 42 = .128 and 30.5^7 - .128 =i
30.469 the correct height.

When the temperature of the mercury is lower thah 32°, the
temperature is to be subtracted from 32°, and the product, obtained
as before, is to be added to the observed height. Thus, let the ba-
rometer be as before^ and the temperature 15° : then 32°— 15° =
17;. 00305 x 17 = .052, and 30.597 + 052 = 30.649, the correct
height. — Jameson's Journal^ 1827, p. 378.

1 3. Diamond Lenses. — I see by the last number of the Journal
of Science and the Arts, that Mr. Varley has made a Diamond
Lens, and also a single microscope with such motions as enable
the observer to follow an animalcule in a diagonal direction. It is
very odd, but this is precisely my plan for a microscope, which I
drew up about four years ago ; and as I could not get any opticiati
to undertake it, I sent it to the Society of Arts, and recommended
them to offer a premium for the best diamond lens, but they returned
it. I have had a microscope of this sort (made by W. and S. Jones,
Holborn) about a year and a half, and it answers the purpose com-
pletely ; as a person not at all used to microscopes may use a lens
of ^^5 inch focus and find a small object with it, and bring any part
of it into the field of view with the greatest facility, and follow the
motions of an animalcule in a diagonal direction. There are some
alterations and improvements, which I have since made, that have
rendered it a very complete microscope ; a drawing of which I
could'^end you, if you think it would be acceptable.

I am. Sir, yours, &c.
Tringham,^ Norfolk, July 9th, 1827. G. Dakin.

14. Sapphire Lenses for Single Microscopes. — As it may justly
be feared that, notwithstanding the incontestable superiority of
diamond lenses, the cost and difficulty attendant on their produc-
tion will enhance their value beyond the reach of the public, Mr.
A. Pritchard, No. 18, Pickett Street, has applied himself with
indefatigable perseverance to the formation of Sapphire Lenses.
The valuable experiments of Dr. Brewster have determined that
the sapphire possesses a stronger refraction than any other sub-
stance capable of giving a single image (diamona excepted),

460

Miscellaneous Intelligence.

while its dispersive power is only 0.026 compared to water as
0.035. Thus if a sapphire is ground in the same tool which v.'ill
form a lens of glass of the ^\ inch focus, it will come out about
the -j^-jj inch focus ; being almost double the power of the glass in
linear amplification, and more than double in superficial ; in which
latter mode of estimation the powers of the glass and sapphire may
be rated at 360,000 to 1,000,000. The faint blue tinge of the sap-
phire is not felt in thin small lenses formed of this substance, which
thus come next in order to diamond ones, and form an excellent
pis aller for those who cannot come at the latter. Many of our
first microscopists are already in possession of them, and have
honoured them with their unqualified approbation.

There is a property possessed by small single lenses formed by
precious stones, which is worthy of being commented on : viz. They
can be burnished fast into brass rings, and thus safely cleaned and
removed at pleasure from one setting to another. The cohesion of
glass is too slight to permit this operation, during which it is
almost sure to burst into shivers. — C. R. G.

15. On a Method of Securing and Preserving the Rowing Pins
in Boats. — Dear Sir, — To remove a petty inconvenience of hourly
occurrence, by some simple contrivance, is often productive of a
greater mass of advantage than an invention of greater splendour,
and of apparently more extensive utility.

In the accompanying drawing, you have a plan for preserving
that indispensable requisite in a boat, the towels, or rowing pins ;
the loss of which is not only very teasing, but often productive of
serious inconveniences; while the practice of stealing them from
each other forms a constant source of petty depredations, leading
to perpetual quarrels among seamen in harbours. He who has
been detained the better part of a day in the island of Sky, till half

Mechanical Science. 46t

a dozen of these pins could be procured, well knows how to value
that trifle, the neglect of which has caused the loss of his voyage,
and might have led to that of his boat and his life also.

Fixed towels cannot well be used when boats are to be hoisted
in alongside, as they are subject to be broken ; and they are often
inconvenient in getting in water casks, as well as in many other
cases. Hence, pins capable of being unshipped are preferable.
These are frequently lost, and the want is not always discovered till
it cannot be replaced ; or else it is not replaced without loss of that
time which is often so valuable at sea. Very often, also, the delay
of even a minute is rendered inconvenient or even dangerous;
when the boat is dragging alongside by the painter in a heavy sea,
and the vessel is either drifting or standing on.

The drawing requires little explanation. By pulling at the
lower pin, the two upper are fixed at once, and on being unshipped
they hang secure from loss ; while the lower one serves as a spare
towel, should any be broken. As not one boat in twenty thousand
is provided with this invention, which is indeed scarcely known, it
will not perhaps be found undeserving a place in your Journal. —

I am, &c. J. M.

1 6. Cold Injection for Anatomical Preparation. — If a mixture of
Varnish and vermilion has a small quantity of water mixed with it,
it soon sets and becomes hard. This affords an excellent compo-
sition for anatomical injection, being very beautiful and very pene-
trating, (so much so, that it frequently returns by the veins,) and
requiring no heat to be applied to the subject. The writer of this
article frequently had, in the course of his medical education, the
office of preparing this injection, of which he has, however, unfortu-
nately forgot the proportions, and the particular nature of the varnish.
It was, he thinks, a spirit varnish ; the water was not mixed until
the instant the injection was wanted, when it was well worked up
with the syringe, and immediately thrown in ; in the course of a
night it would have set beautifully. This particular kind of injec-
tion was invented by an American anatomist of the name of Ram-
say, and preserved as a valuable secret by him for the exclusive
use of his own dissecting room. The proportions, &c. of the ingre-
dients will soon be attained by a few experiments.

II, Chemical Science.

1. Extraordinary Experiments on Heat and Sieain hy Mr. Per-
kins.— " I discovered that a generator at a certain temperature,
although it had a small crack in it, would not emit either water or
steam. This fact I mentioned to a very scientific friend, who ques-
tioned its accuracy, and to convince him I tried the experiment ;
but he concluded that the expansion of the metal must have closed
the fissure. To remove every doubt, I proposed to drill a small

OCT.— DEC. 1827. 2 H

462 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

hole throui^h the side of the generator, which was accordingly done.
After getting the steam up to a proper temperature, I took out the
plug, and although we were working the engine at thirty atmos-
pheres, nothing was seen or heard to issue from the plug-hole ; all
was perfectly quiet : I next lowered the temperature by shutting
the damper, and opening the furnace door; a singing from the
aperture was soon observable, and when a coal was, held before it,
rapid combustion ensued; nothing, however, was yet visible : but as
the temperature decreased, the steam became more and more visi-
ble, the noise at the same increasing, until finally the roar was tre-
mendous, and might have been heard the distance of half a mile.
This was conclusive. I should mention that, at the aperture, the
iron was red-hot." " The hole was one quarter of an inch in dia-
meter."

"The experiment affords some data towards answering the ques-
tion, at what distance from the heated metal the water remained,
when under the pressure of thirty atmospheres ; we may safely aver
that it exceeded one-eighth of an inch." — Silliman's Journal, \iu. 46.

2. On the Use of feeble Electric Currents, for effecting the Com-
hifiation of numerous Bodies, by M. Becquerel. — A highly interest-
ing memoir on this subject is inserted in the thirty-fifth volume of the
Annates de Chimie, the intention of M. Becquerel being to show
that electro-chemical powers may be used not only for the decom-
position and analysis of bodies, but also for the production of new
compounds. *

The facts described in the paper are commenced by one in-
tended to illustrate future reasoning, by shewing what takes place
when a very feeble electric current traverses a metallic circuit, in-
terrupted in one part by a neutral solution, into which the two ex-
tremities of the wires forming the circuit are immersed. Two
small copper wires were connected together by loops, and the two
free ends joined to the ends of a galvanometer wire; the circuit
was then cut in one place, and th« extremities immersed in a solu-
tion of chloride of sodium. Then, if one of the loops be raised to a
red heat by a spirit lamp, an electric current is produced, the heated
loop furnishing negative electricity. Now if the ends plunged
in the saline solution are terminated by platina or gold wires,
710 current of electricity is observed; with silver terminations,
the current is very feeble ; but with wires of zinc, lead, iron or tin,
the current is very energetic. These remarkable effects, highly
important in the phenomena hereafter to be considered, are no way
connected with the conductibility of the metals ; for lead and zinc,
which are the worst conductors, are those which, with the copper,
produce the most powerful effects. The current ceases altogether
as soon as the lamp is removed.

As the zinc, copper, lead, and iron, belong to the class of oxida-
ble metals, M. Becquerel concludes, from this experiment, that

Chemical Science^ 46S

when very feeble electricities are g^enerated in any point of a metallic
circuit, interrupted by a saline solution, a current of electricity is
formed or noty according as the two similar metallic terminations,
which dip into the solution^ belong to an oxidahle or non-oxidable
metal. If the saline solution be replaced by an acid, then a current
will be obtained, though platina wires be used; because that kind of
fluid does not interrupt the current.

With respect to the production of new compounds by electro-
chemical powers, very much depends upon the strength of the
power employed, and M. Becquerel only pretends, as yet, to indicate
a new field of research, and not to point out the precise paths to be
pursued. Two methods may be adopted. As an illustration, let a
tube, from 4 to 8 hundredths of an inch in diameter, be bent into the
form of the letter U, and place a plug of amianthus at the bend, to
prevent the mixture of the fluids in the limbs: into one leg put a
mixture of deutoxide of copper and solution of the sulphate of
copper, the former will fall to the bottom ; into the other put a satu-
rated solution of common salt, and also an excess of the dry sub-
stance, then communicate the two fluids by a plate of copper. Very
shortly the end plunged in the sulphate will be covered with me-
tallic copper, and the acid set free will act upon the oxid6 of copper
below and form more sulphate, so that a set of decompositions and
recompositions will occur, and ultimately comparatively large crys-
tals of copper will be obtained.

In the other branch of the tube, a portion of the salt will be de-
composed, the muriatic acid will act upon the copper, which is
oxidised in consequence of its positive state, and will probably
produce an oxychloride, which will combine with the chloride
of sodium, and then octoedral crystals will be formed on the plate
of copper. The effects are produced either with or without access

iair.

When the crystal? are well dried and inclosed in a tube herme-
tically sealed, they suffer no change ; but they are decomposed by
water into chloride of sodium and submuriate of copper.

If the voltaic experiment be continued for one or two months, the
crystals, from being colourless and Hmpid, become violet, and ulti-
mately acquire an emerald green hue, still remaining transparent. If
the 6hloride of sodium side be tested, it will be found that soda is
evolved during the experiment. A piece of copper simply immersed
in a solution of common salt, produces nothing more than a sub-
muriate of copper, which precipitates.

fFith silver. — If a similar tube to that described have both
limbs filled with a solution of salt, a platina wire introduced into
one limb, a silver wire into the other, the extremities of the wire
connected so as to form a voltaic circuit, and the whole left for
some months, in about fifleen days crystals will be observed on
the silver wire ; these will gradually increase and assume a rhom-
boidal form. They have not yet been particularly examined, but

2HS

464 Miscelldneous Intelligence.

are known to be unchanged by water : during a long experiment
they change colour, becoming, first, violet, tiien blue.

Experiments similar to that with the copper, when repeated with
the same solutions, &c., but the substitution of plates of lead and tin
for the copper plates, produced crystalline double chlorides of these
metals and sodium.

Muriate of ammonia being substituted for common salt in these
experiments, another series of double compounds was obtained with
copper, silver, lead, and zinc.

A double chloride of barium and lead was formed slowly in a
similar way.

When a solution of the iodide of potassium or sodium was used
instead of the solution of salt, then double iodides were obtained :
thus with lead rather a rapid formation of silky crystals occurred
upon the lead, which, when examined by water, were decomposed,
producing iodide of lead and solution of iodide of potash or soda.
A tube two or three times the diameter of the former may be used
for the experiment.

The second method of producing new combinations by weak
electro-chemical powers, depends upon the electro-motive action,
which is caused whenever a metal touches the oxides, or an oxide
of another metal. If an oxide of a metal, a plate of metal, and a
liquid be put into a tube closed at one extremity, there will be an
electro-motive action of the metal with the oxide, and of the liquid
with both these bodies ; and the chemical effect will be according to
the resultant of these three forces, which can only be ascertained
by experiments.

As an illustration of the effects thus produced, three tubes, from
eight to twelve hundredths of an inch in diameter, were prepared, a
little protoxide of lead being put into one, deutoxide into the se-
cond, and peroxide into the third ; solution of muriate of ammonia
and a plate of lead were then added to each tube. After a time,
lead was precipitated in the first tube, very slight chemical changes
took place in the second, but a large quantity of double chloride of
lead and ammonia crystallized upon the lead in the third, in the
form of needles. Thus very different effects were produced, accord*
ing to the state of oxidation.

Solution of salt gave similar results with the oxides of lead and
lead.

The oxides of copper, with solutions of alkaline muriates, gave
curious results. With muriate of ammonia, crystals were produced
of considerable size, and different to those obtained by the former
process. In this experiment, the black and anhydrous deutoxide of
copper gradually acquired a blue colour, as if a hydrate were
formed under the influence of the feeble electric current formed
by the arrangement.

, Copper, its deutoxide, and solution of corrosive sublimate, pro-
duced a double chloride, crystallizing in plates, and possessing a
metallic lustre.

Chemical Science, " 465

3. Crystallization of Metallic Oxides. — If a solution of nitrate of
copper, mingled with very fine charcoal powder, or even deutoxide
of copper, be put into a similar tube to that described in the last
article, then a plate of copper be introduced and the vessel closed
up, iu about fifteen days small red transparent octoedral crystals
of protoxide of copper will be formed on the plate of metal. Other
metals have been subjected to similar experiments, but probably
Iiave not yet remained long enough under action. — -47m. de Chimie,
XXXV. 113.

4. On Bromine^ by M. A. de la Rive. — M. de la Rive has remarked
a curious fact respecting the conducting power of fluids for elec-
tricity in the habitudes of bromine and water. He found, in the
first place, as M. Balard had stated, that pure dry bromine did not
conduct the electricity of a voltaic battery, consisting of sixty pairs
of plates very strongly charged, a delicate galvanometer being the
test : a similar experiment was then made with pure water, the
water being contained in a glass capsule, and communicated with
the battery and galvanometer by platina wires*, and the deviation of
the needle was scarcely sensible. Some other experiments induced
M. de la Rive to believe, that water perfectly distilled and put into
vessels made of substances absolutely unacted upon, would not
conduct any portion of electricity : the purer the water, and the
more unchangeable the substance of the vessel, the feebler does the
conducting power become, until at last it is insensible.

A few drops of bromine were then added to the water, which soon
acquired a yellow colour, by dissolving a small portion of the sub-
stance ; being now included in the voltaic circuit, the galvanometer
needle was deviated 70°, and an abundant disengagement of ga^
took place from tlue platina wires. These were oxygen and hydro-
gen, in the usual proportion, proving that the water only had been
decomposed.

From these experiments it results, that a body which does not at
all conduct voltaic electricity, or at least but very badly, namely,
pure watery may be rendered a very good conductor, by its mixture
with a few drops of perfectly non-conducting suhstancey namely, bro-
mine. M. de la Rive has found the same fact to occur with iodine,
and iodine and water; and his father had observed, in a course of
experiments made a long time ago on the conducting power of
fluids, that diluted sulphuric acid is a better conductor than very
much concentrated acid : may not anhydrous sulphuric acid then be
a non-conductor like bromine, &c. ? — Annales de Chimiey xxxv. 161.

b.' Elementary Nature of Bromine. — Iodine colours a solution of
starch blue, bromine renders a similar solution orange colour. M.
A. de la Rive added a few drops of bromine to a solution of starch

* Sec, on this point, the statement by M. Becquerel, p. 462, relative to the
use of platina wires, when forming a communicating n^edium with fluids.

466 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

coloured blue by iodine, and obtained A compound which gave two
distinct colours with starch, one brown, the other yellow ; the differ-
ence of colour corresponding- with the two bromides of iodine de-
scribed by M. Balard. These compounds of iodine and bromine,
dissolved in a solution of starch, were subjected to the voltaic pile:
immediately the yellow solution became blue about the negative
pile, and orange about the positive pile, indicating the separation
and places of the iodine and bromine. Thus the smallest quantity of
iodine may be discovered in bromine ; but when the experiment was
resorted to, to prove whether the idea thrown out, that bromine
was a compound of chlorine and iodine, was founded in fact or not,
it gave no such indication, and a solution of bromine in starch elec-
trified for a long time together, gave no appearance of iodine.
Hence M. de la Rive concludes, that bromine contains no iodine,
but is an element analogous to iodine and chlorine.

When bromine and iodine are combined, the former passes to
the positive pole, and is consequently more negative than the latter ;
which accords with the observation of M. Balard, that it should
occupy a place between chlorine and iodine.

According to the Bulletin Universelle, when the letter to M. Arago,
containing an account of the facts above referred to, was read to
the Academy of Sciences, that body decided that the assertion of
M. Dumas that bromine was a compound of chlorine and iodine
should be considered as retracted, and that it should be so entered,
upon the proc^s-verbal of the sitting. — A. viii. 209.

6. Quantity of Bromine in Sea- Water. — One hundred pounds of
sea-water, taken up at Trieste, treated by chlorine, ether, &c., ac-
cording to M. Balard's process, produced five grains of bromide of
sodium, or 3.278 grains of bromine. It would appear that, in the
sea-water of Trieste, the bromine is unaccompanied by any iodine,
and the same is the case, according to M. Hermbstadt, with the
waters of the Dead Sea. In the water of the Mediterranean^ on
the contrary, iodine always appears with the bromine.

7. Sale of Bromine. — The discoverer of bromine, M. Balard, has

been enabled, by his improvements, to prepare that peculiar body

in quantities sufficient to permit its sale. It may be obtained at his

shop. Rue Argenterie h Montpellier, or at M. Quesneville's manu-

actory of chemical substances at Paris. The price is four francs

the gros (about 60 grains), fourteen fraiics the half ounce, and
twenty-three francs the ounce.

8. Preparation of lodous Acid. — M. Pleischl says that, in pre-
paring this acid, three parts of chlorate of potash with one of iodine
are to be used, and not equal parts according to M. Sementini ; and
also that it is indispensable to cool the receiver considerably during
the whole operation*

Chemical Science, 467

9. On a peculiar Nitric Acid, and Sulphate of Potashy by Mr.
Phillips. — For the purpose of preparin<r nitric acid of the greatest
Etrenfrth, Mr. Phillips mixed 70 parts of nitre with 70 parts of oil
of vitriol. S. G. 1.8442 at 60^ and distilled for eight hours. The
nitric acid obtained was reddish yellow, weighed 46.13 parts, was
of S. O. 1.5033, and by an experiment on carbonate of lime, was
found equivalent to 34.24 of that substance ; the latter fact indi-
cates that 36.98 of real acid was present, and the liquid acid there-
fore consisted of

Real nitric acid. , . . , 36.98 or 80.16

Water 9.15 .. 19.84

46.13 100.00
Supposing" this acid to be a definite compound of two atoms of
acid, 108, and three of water 27, it would consist of

Real acid 36.90 or 80

Water 9.23 .. 20

46.13 100

The salt remaining in the retort weighed 92.87 parts ; nearly this
weight of water being added and heated, the whole was dissolved,
and on cooling, a salt, consisting of extremely minute filaments
resembling asbestos, was obtained, which, by capillary attraction^
retained a part of the residual solution so powerfully, that it was
necessary to absorb it by filtering paper.

Although it appeared improbable that the crystals could be a
variety of the known form of bisulphate of potash, yet supposing it
might be that salt with either less, or more than two atoms of water,
Mr. Phillips proceeded to its analysis. Some of the salt was readily
dried by exposure to the air of a warm room: 100 grains, by mu-
riate of baryta gave 154.75 grains of sulphate of baryta, equivalent
to 52.45 sulphuric acid ; 109 grains heated to redness, lost 21.6 sul-
phuric acid and water, and left 78.4 grains of neutral sulphate of
potash. The latter contain 35.6 grains of sulphuric acid, which,
subtracted from the whole quantity of 52.45, indicates 16.85 as
the quantity dissipated by heat ; and this again, subtracted from the
21.6, indicates 4.75 water in the crystals. The quantity of acid
separated by heat is, therefore, very nearly half that remaining in the
neutral sulphate, and the salt in question appears to be a sesqui-
sulphate of potash, consisting of

theory. experiment.

3 atoms sulphuric acid 120 55.33 52.45

2 „ potash 96 42.66 42.80

1 atom water 9 . . . . 4.00 .... 4.75

225 99.99 100.00

Mr. Phillips found it difficult to prepare the sesquisulphate free

468 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

from bisulphate ; and on repeating the attempt to procure it exactly
as before, obtained "a large quantity of bisulphate, and a small quan-
tity of the peculiar salt ; although the quantity of water present is
known to have an important influence on the nature of the sulphates
produced, yet the precise circumstances on which the formation of
sesquisulphate depends, are at present unknown. ^ — Phil. Mag.
N. S., ii. 429.

10. On certain Properties of Sulphur. — The effect of heat upon
sulphur in first fusing it, but afterwards causing diminution of fluidity
in a certain degree proportionate to the temperature, has been long
and generally known, as well also as the peculiar soft state into
which the sulphur may be brought, by pouring it, when hot and
thickened, into cold water. M. Dumas has been led to examine
these phenomena for the purpose of acquiring a precise and partir
cular knowledge of the effects and changes.

Fused sulphur began to crystallize between 226° and 228°. Its
fusing point may be considered as 226°.4. Between 230° and 284°
it is as liquid as a clear varnish, and of the colour of amber ;
at about 320° it begins to thicken, and acquire a red colour ; on
increasing the heat, it becomes so thick, that it will not pour. This
effect is most marked between 428° and 572° ; the colour being
then a red-brown. From 572° to the boiling point it becomes
thinner, but never so fluid as at 248°. The deep red-brown colour
continues until it boils.

When the most fluid sulphur is suddenly cooled, it becomes
brittle, but the thickened sulphur, similarly treated, remains soft,
and more soft as the temperature has been higher. Thus, at 230°,
the sulphur was very liquid, and yellow ; and cooled suddenly by
immersion in water, it became yellow and very friable ; at 374° it
was thick, and of an orange colour, but by cooling, became at first
soft and transparent, but soon friable, and of the ordinary appear-
ance ; at 428°, it was red and viscid, and when cooled, soft,
transparent, and of an amber colour ; at the boiling point it was
deep brown red colour, and when cooled very soft, transparent,
and of a red-brown colour.

It is not necessary, as is sometimes stated, to heat the sulphur
a long time to produce this effect ; all depends upon temperature.
The only precaution necessary is, to have abundance of water, and
to divide the sulphur into small drops or portions, that the cooling
may be rapid. If it be poured in a mass, the interior cools slowly,
and acquires the ordinary hard state. A¥hen the experiment is
well made at 446°, the sulphur may be drawn into threads as fine
as a hair, and many feet in length.

M.Dumas, in remarking upon this curious effect of sudden
cooling, classes it with the similar effect which occurs with bronze.
Although difficult to assign the exact cause, yet he notices that the
tendency to crystallize can evidently be traced as influential over
some of the appearances, the hardness and opacity, for instance.

Chemical Science. 469

which always occur together when the crystalline state is assumed ;
whereas, when rapid cooling has hindered crystallization, the mas^
remains soft and transi)arent, until it crystallizes, which usually
happens in twenty or thirty hours. — Arm. de Chimie, xxxvi. 83.

11. Oil the Fluidity of Sulphur and Phosphorus at common tem-
peratures, by Mr. Faraday. — I published some time ago a short ac-
count of an instance of the existence of fluid sulphur at common tem-
peratures*; and though I thouglit the fact curious, I did not esteem
it of such importance as to put more than my initials to the account*
I have just learned, through the Bulletin Universel for September,
p. 178 t, that Signor Bellani had observed the same fact in 1813»
and published it in the Giornale di Fisica, vol. vi. (old series). I
also learn, by the same means, that M. Bellani complains of the
manner in which facts and theories, which have been published by
him, are afterwards given by others as new discoveries ; and
though 1 find myself classed with Gay-Lussac, Sir H. Davy,
Daniell, Bostock, &c., in having thus erred, I shall not rest satisfied,
without making restitution, for M. Bellani, in this instance, certainly
deserves it at my hand.

Not being able to obtain access to the original journal, I shall
quote M. Bellani's very curious experiments from the Bulletin,
in which they appear to be fully described. " The property which
water possesses, of retaining its fluid states, when in tranquillity, at
temperatures 10° or 15° below its freezing point, is well known ; phos-
phorus behaves in the same manner; sometimes its fluidity may be
retained at 13° (centigrade ?) for a minute, an hour, or even many
days. What is singular is, that, though water cooled below its
freezing point, congeals easily upon slight internal movement, how-
ever communicated, phosphorus, on the contrary, sometimes re-
tains its liquid state even at 3°, even though it be shaken in a
tube or poured upon cold water. But, as soon as it has acquired
the lowest temperature which it can bear without solidifying, the
moment it is touched with a body at the same temperature, it soli-
difies so quickly, that the touching body cannot penetrate its mass.
If the smallest morsel of phosphorus is put into contact with a
liquified portion, the latter infallibly solidifies, though it be only a.
single degree below the limit of temperature necessary ; this does
not always happen when the body touching it is heterogeneous.

" Sulphur presented the same phenomena as phosphorus ; frag-
ments of sulphur always produced the crystallization of cold fluid
portions. Having withdrawn tlie bulb of a thermometer which had
been plunged into sulphur at 120°, it came out covered with small
globules of sulphur, which remained fluid at 60° ; and having
touched these one after another with a thread of glass, they became
§olid ; although several seemed in contact, yet it required that each

♦ Quarterly Journal of Science, xxi. S92.
t The Italian Journal has not yet arrived in this country.

470 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

should be touched separately. A drop of sulphur, which was made
to move on the bulb of the thermometer, by turning the instrument
ill a horizontal position, did not cong^eal until nearly at 30° ; and
some drops were retained fluid at 15°, i. e. 75° of Reaumur below
the ordinary point of liquefaction."

The Bulletin Universel then proceeds to describe some late and
new experiments of M. Bellani, on the expansion in volume of a
cold dense solution of sulphate of soda during* the solidification of
part of the salt in it. The general fact has, however, been long
and well known in this country and in France ; and the particular
form of experiment described is with us a common lecture illustra-
tion. The expansion, as ascertained by M. Bellani, is -^ of the ori-
ginal volume of fluid.

According to the Bulletin, M. Bellani also claims, though certainly
in a much less decided manner than the above, the principal ideas
in a paper which I have published on the existence of a limit to va-
porization, and I referred back to the Giornale di Fisica for 1822,
(published prior to my paper,) for the purpose of rendering justice
in this case also. Here, however, the contact of our ideas is so
slight, and for so brief a time, that I shall leave the papers in the
hands of the public without further remarks. It is rather curious
to observe how our thoughts had been at the same time upon the
same subject. Being charged in the Bulletin with quoting an ex-
periment from a particular page in M. Bellani's memoir, (which
I did from another journal, in which the experiment only was de-
scribed,) I turned to the original place, and there, though I found
the experiment I had transferred, I also ibund another which I had
previously made on the same subject, and which M. Bellani had
quoted.

I very fully join in the regret which the Bulletin Universel
expresses, that scientific men do not know more perfectly what has
been done, or what their companions are doing ; but I am afraid
the misfortune is inevitable. It is certainly impossible for any per-
son who wishes to devote a portion of his time to chemical expe-
riment, to read all the books and papers that are published in con-
nexion with his pursuit ; their number is immense, and the labour
of winnowing out the few experimental and theoretical truths which
in many of them are embarrassed by a very large proportion of un-
interesting matter, of imagination, and of error, is such, that most
persons who try the experiment are quickly induced to make a
selection in their reading, and thus inadvertently, at times, pass
by what is really good.

12. Separation of Selenium from Sulphur. — Berzelius says, that
these substances, so much resembling each other in their general
properties, may be easily separated by the following process.
When sulphuret of selenium is fused with carbonate of potash,
the alkali not being in excess, the fused mass, dissolved in water,
leaves selenium undissolved and free from sulphur.

Chemical Science, 471

Some of the sulphuret of selenium from Lukawitz, in Bohemia,
was dissolved in potash, and the solution converted into hyposul-
phite by exposure to the air at the temperature of 65° F. ; 0.1125
of the sulphuret experimented with were precipitated, and found
to be pure selenium. The solution being of a deeper red colour
than that of the common sulphuret, a piece of sulphur was put
into it, and the whole boiled for a moment ; a quarter of a grain of
selenium, perfectly free from sulphur, was precipitated.

A solution of a neutral seleniate, or of one with excess of base,
is soon rendered turbid by having sulphuretted hydrogen passed
through it. At first pure selenium separates ; afterwards sulphuret
of selenium ; and, lastly, mere sulphur. The solution should be
considerably diluted ; when concentrated, the precipitate formed is
of a flame yellow colour, but soon becomes brownish-black, and
sulphur is deposited, sometimes crystallizing at the surface of the
deposite.— PAz7. Mag., N. S., ii. 390.

13. On a new Compound of Selenium and Oxygen-^ Selenic Acid,
by MM. Mitscherlich and Nitzsch. — This acid contains half as
much more oxygen as that discovered by M. Berzelius, and with
potash forms a neutral salt, having the same form and optical pro-'
perties as sulphate of potash, containing no water when crystal-
lized, and producing insoluble precipitates with barytic salts. The
acid is isomorphous with the sulphuric, and may with propriety be
called selenic acid, that described by M. Berzelius being consi-
dered as the selenious acid.

The new acid is easily prepared : for this purpose selenium,
selenious acid, a selenite or a metallic selenuret is to be fused with
nitre. Selenuret of lead, being the most abundant source, has
been used for this purpose, but being accompanied by sul-
phuret, the selenic acid is usually contaminated by sulphuric
acid. The selenuret of lead is to be freed from carbonates by
muriatic acid, and the residue mixed with its weight of nitrate of
soda, and thrown gradually into a red-hot crucible. Water then
dissolves out seleniate nitrate and nitrite of soda, no selenium
remaining in the residue The solution quickly boiled, deposits
anhydrous seleniate of soda, and this being separated, by cooling
crystals of nitrate of soda are formed; these being removed, ebulli-
tion again causes more seleniate to fall down, and proceeding in
this way an imperfect separation is effected. The seleniate, like
the sulphate of soda, is most soluble in water at 181°. To purify
the salt completely, the nitrite should be changed into nitrate by
nitric acid ; but then sulphate of soda would remain as an im-
purity formed from sulphuret in the ore, and no attempt to sepa-
rate this has as yet succeeded.

But if the seleniate of soda be mixed with muriate of ammonia
and heated, selenium, nitrogen and water come over, no trace of
sulphur appearing. The selenium may, however, be dissolved in
excess of nitric acid, and the selenious acid produced tested by

472 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

muriate of baryta, which would then separate sulphuric acid if
present ; the clear solution is to be saturated with carbonate of soda,
evaporated to dryness, and the mixture of selenite and nitrate of
soda obtained, fuzed in a porcelain crucible over a spirit-lamp.
Then proceed by crystallization as before, and a pure S'cleniate of
soda will be produced.

To separate the seleatc acTd,* the solution is to be decomposed by
nitrate of lead ; the seleniate of lead is as insoluble as the sulphate,
and being: well washed, is to be decomposed by a current of sul-
phuretted hydrogen, which has no action on the selenic acid ; the
solution being filtered, is to be boiled, and is then diluted selenic
acid. Its purity, as respects fixed bodies, is ascertained by its
entire volatility ; if sulphuric acid be present, it may be ascer-
tained by boiling" a portion with muriatic acid, which produces
selenious acid, and then testing by muriate of baryta, a precipitate
indicates sulphuric acid.

From the isomorphism of selenic acid and its salts with sulphu-
ric acid and its salts, M. Mitscherlich concluded, that the oxygen in
the acid should be to that in selenious acid as 3 to 2 ; and to that in
bases when it forms salt, as 3 to 1. These views were confirmed by
experiments. From the decomposition of seleniate of potash by
muriate of baryta, it appeared that the seleniate was composed of

Potash 42. 16 ... . oxygen 7.15

Selenic acid . . 57.84 21.79

100.00

The composition of the acid was determined by boiling a cer-
tain weight of the seleniate of soda with muriatic acid in excess,
and decomposing the selenious acid formed by sulphite of soda ;
4.S8 of the salt gave 2.02 of selenium, from which, and the above
result, it would appear that the acid is formed of

Selenium 61.4

Oxygen 38.6

100.0

According to Berzelius, selenious acid consists of 100 selenium,
and 40.33 oxygen; and supposing this contains two-thirds the
oxygen in selenic acid, the latter should consist of 62.32 and
37 . 68. From the analysis above given of the seleniate of potash,
it is evident that 100 of selenic acid saturates a quantity of base
containing 12.56 of oxygen, which would agree with the latter
estimate of selenic acid.

Selenic acid is a colourless liquid, which may be heated to 536"^,
without sensible decomposition ; above that it changes, and is
rapidly resolved into oxygen and selenious acid at 554°. Heated to
329°, its specific gravity is 2.524 ; at 512°.6 it is 2.6 ; at 509° it is
2.625 ; but by that time selenious acid has been formed in it. A
portion of concentrated acid, from which the selenious acid had

Chemical Science. 473

been removed, consisted of 84.21 selenic acid, and 15.75 water;
but it is certain that the selenic acid begins to decompose before it
has resi{yned the last portions of water.

Selenic acid has a powerful attraction for water, and evolves
much heat when mixed with it. It is not decomposed by sulphu-
retted hydrog^en ; so that the latter body may be used to decom-
pose the seleniates of lead and copper. When boiled with muriatic
acid it produces selenious acid and chlorine, and the mixture, like
aqua reg-ia, will dissolve gold or platina. Selenic acid dissolves
zinc alid iron, evolving hydrogen ; it dissolves copper, evolving
selenious acid ; and it dissolves gold, but not platina. Sulphurous
acid has no action on selenic acid, but instantly decomposes the
selenious acid. A solution containing selenic acid is easily decom-
posed, by first boiling it with muriatic acid, and then adding
sulphurous acid.

Selenic acid is but little inferior to sulphuric acid in its affinity
for bases ; seleniate of baryta is not completely decomposed by
sulphuric acid. Its combinations being isomorphous with those
of sulphuric acid, and possessing the same crystalline forms, and
the same general chemical properties, present but very slight,
though very interesting differences from the sulphates. These will
be resumed by M. Mitscherlich in a future memoir, with the
express object of illustrating the theory of Isomorphism. — Ann. de
Chimiey xxxvi. 100.

14. Preparation of Hyposulphuric Acid. — According to M.
Heeren, to obtain the greatest quantity of this acid in the process
of passing sulphurous acid over black oxide of manganese, the
temperature should be low, and the oxide finely divided. The
largest portion of hyposulphuric acid is formed at the commence-
ment of the operation.

15. Singular Habitude of Phosphoric Acid with Alhvmen. —
MM. Berzelius and Englehart differed in their results respecting the
effect of phosphoric acid on albumen ; the latter found the acid
caused precipitation of the substance, the former the reverse. For-
tunately coming into company, they made some experiments, and
discovered a very singular property of the acid. The acid in Ber-
zelius's laboratory not precipitating albumen. Dr. Englehart pre-
pared a fresh portion from phosphorus and nitric acid, evaporating
the solution in a platina vessel, and heating it to redness. This
acid, dissolved in water, precipitated both animal and vegetable
albumen abundantly. Another portion of acid, prepared by burn-
ing phosphorus in air, also precipitated albumen. After many ex-
periments to discover the cause of difference in the acids. Dr. En-
glehart remarked, that the two acids lie had prepared, gradually
lost their power of precipitating albumen, and in some days were
like the acid of Berzelius. This change took place both in open
and closed vessels, and was not at all hastened by ebullition.

474 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

Upon evaporating the acid, and heating it to redness, it recovered
its precipitating power, but gradually lost it again by a day's
repose. The cause of this difTerence escaped detection ; it evidently
does not depend upon a difference of oxidation. " May it not be
supposed," says Berzelius, "that there exists a chemical combina-
tion of phosphoric acid with water, which is not formed until some
time after solution, and which is incapable of precipitating albu-
men ?'* — Annates de Chimie, xxxvi. 110.

16. Economical Preparation of Beutoxide of Barium. — This
process is due to M. Quesneville. Nitrate of baryta is to be put
into a luted earthenware retort, to which a tube is to be attached
for the purpose of conveying the liberated gases to a water-trough.
The retort is to be gradually heated to redness, and retained at that
temperature as long as nitrous acid and azotic gas pass over ; the
evolution of these substances indicates that nitrate of baryta still
remains to be decomposed, but the instant that pure oxygen gas
passes off, the fire is to be removed and the retort cooled. The
product of this decomposition is a peroxide of barium ; it falls to
pieces in water, without producing heat, disengages oxygen when
boiled with water, and is reduced to a protoxide by a strong heat.
When acted upon by sulphuric acid, no nitric acid was evolved ;
and when subjected to nitric acid, no nitric oxide was produced.
The production of this peroxide is easily understood, for the prot-
oxide formed by the decomposition of the nitrate being in contact,
at a red heat, with a large quantity of oxygen in a nascent state,
combines with it, and is retained, unless the heat be so high as to
decompose W.^—Annales de Chimie, xxxvi. 108.

The decomposition and effect are precisely the same as those
lately pointed out by Mr. Phillips as occurring with potassium when
the nitrate of potash is decomposed by heat. — Seep. 483 of the last
volume of this Journal.

17. Preparation of Aluminum — Chloride of Aluminum. — Accord-
ing to the accounts published, the following process has succeeded in
the hands of M. Oersted, in decomposing alumina and evolving the
base aluminum. Pure alumina is to be heated to redness, and then
well mixed with pulverized charcoal ; the mixture is to be placed in
a porcelain tube^ and being heated to redness, is to have dry chlorine
gas passed over it ; the charcoal reduces the alumina, the base
combines with the chlorine, and oxide of carbon is formed. The
chloride of aluminum is soft, crystalline, and evaporates at a tem-
perature a little above 212° Fahrenheit : it readily attracts moisture
from the atmosphere, and becomes hot when water is added to it.
Being mixed with an amalgam of potassium, containing much of
the latter metal, and immediately heated, chloride of potassium is
formed, and the metallic base of the alumina combines with the
mercury. The amalgam quickly oxidises by exposure to air ; but,
being heated out_of contact with the atmosphere, the mercury is

Chemical Scierice, 475

yolatilized, and a metallic button is left, having the colour and
splendour of tin. A fuller account of the researches of M. Oersted
on tliis subject is expected. — Ilensmann's Repertoire — Phil. Mag,
N. S, ii.

18. Mutual Action of Lime and Litharge. — M. Fournet heated
a mixture consisting of 7.12 parts of calcined lime, and 27.89 parts
of litharge, very strongly; a coherent mass was obtained, which,
pulverized and digested in water, gave, when filtered, a perfectly
clear and colourless liquor, which, when treated with sulphuretted
hydrogen, threw down an abundant black precipitate ; hence oxide
of lead is rendered soluble in water by means of lime. — fAnn. det
Mines, i. 538.

19. New Chloride of Manganese discovered by M. J. Dumas.-—
This chloride corresponds in proportions to the manganesic acid,
and in contact with water, produces muriatic and manganesic acids^
It is easily obtained by putting a solution of manganesic acid into
contact with concentrated sulphuric acid, and fused common salt.
Water and the new chloride are formed ; the former is retained by
the acid, the latter volatilizes in a gaseous form. The body does not^
however, appear to constitute a permanent gas *, for though, when
produced, it appears as an elastic fluid having a cupreous or green-
ish tint, yet when passed into a tube, cooled to 5° or 4° Fahrenheit,
it condenses into a liquid of a brownish green colour.

When the perchloride is produced in a large tube, its vapour
gradually displaces the air present, and the tube becomes filled
with it; if it then be poured into ajar with moistened sides, the
colour of the gas changes as it comes into contact with the moist
air ; a thick smoke of a fine rose colour appears ; and the sides of
the vessel acquire a deep purple colour due to the manganesic acid
formed. The water thus coloured is abundantly precipitated by
nitrate of silver, and, acted upon by a solution of potash, produces
all the changes of the mineral chamelion.

The most simple process for the preparation of this body appears
to be to form a common green chamelion, to convert it into red
chamelion by sulphuric acid, and to evaporate the solution, which
will give a residue consisting of sulphate and manganesate of
potash. This mixture, acted upon by concentrated sulphuric acid,
produces the solution of manganesic acid, into which the commcm
salt is to be thrown in small pieces, until the vapours which rise are
colourless ; the latter effect is a sign that all the manganesic acid is
decomposed, and that muriatic acid only is produced.

An analogous compound is formed when a fluoride is used in.
place of the common salt. But all attempts as yet made to collect
a sufficient quantity for examination have failed; the chloride, on
the contrary, is easily formed and examined, although it is not so
easy to preserve it. — Annates de Chimie, xxxvi. 81.
* Query, what is a permanent gas P-*'Ei>.

47B Miscellaneous Intelligence.

20. Preparation of pure Oxide of Zinc, by M. Hermann. — It is
by no means easy to obtain this substance perfectly pure ; the fol-
lowing is M. Hermann's process : Oxide of zinc, or metallic zinc, is
to be dissolved in excess of sulphuric acid, and the solution being*
filtered, sulphuretted hydrogen is to be passed through, so long
as a brown or yellow precipitate is formed. Cadmium, lead, or
copper, being thus separated, and the solution filtered, it is to be
treated with solution of the chloride of lime, (bleaching powder,)
by which the iron and manganese will be separated. The solution,
again filtered, is then to be crystallized in porcelain vessels, by
which sulphate of lime is rejected, and a mother liquor separated,
which usually contains cobalt and nickel. The crystals of sulphate
of zinc are to be dissolved in as small a quantity of cold water as
possible, and the sulphate of lime filtered out ; then the solution,
being rendered more dilute, is to be decomposed by carbonate of
soda in slight excess, and the precipitate well washed, dried, and
heated to redness : it is then a perfectly pure and beautifully white
oxide. — Bull. Univ. A. viii. 263.

21. Deuto-Sulphuret of Cobalt. — Mix finely divided oxide of
cobalt with three times its weight of sulphur, and heat to very dull
redness, until no more sulphur sublimes. The deuto-sulphuret con-
sists of 100 cobalt + 109 sulphur; it is black; is reduced to gray
proto-sulphuret by a strong heat. — Sitterberg.

22. Separation of Bismuth from Mercury by Potassium. — M.
Serullas has pointed a striking instance of the separation of bismuth
from mercury. He says a twelve hundred thousandth, and even less
of bismuth, when dissolved in mercury, may be separated and
rendered visible by the addition of a certain quantity of the amal-
gam of potassium and a little water. A black powder is observed
to rise from the substance of the metal, and is a mixture of bismuth
and mercury in a very divided state ; it rises to the surface or ad-
heres to the vessels.

Copper, lead, tin, and silver, are equally separated, but not so
promptly, or so evidently to the eye as bismuth ; for they are not
associated with divided mercury, at the time of their separation, like
the latter : with bismuth a mere atom is rendered visible, and M.
Serullas thinks that chemistry does not present a more delicate test
than the amalgam of potassium for bismuth in mercury. — Annates
de Chimicy xxxiv. 195.

23. Sulphur et of Arsenic proportionate in Composition to Arsenic
Acid. — M. Pfaff acted upon arsenious acid by nitro-muriatic acid,
and obtained a pure arsenic acid soluble in water, and deliques-
cent in the air. This, dissolved in 40 parts of water, had a cur-
rent of sulphuretted hydrogen i)assed through it, which instantly
produced a yellow orange precipitate of a pulverulent form, con-
tinuing identical in composition, until no further precipitate was

Chemical Science, 477

occasioned. The fluid was then perfectly free from arsenic. The
precipitate was pure sulphuret of arsenic, soluble in ammonia
when slightly heated, and composed of equal parts of sulphur and
the metal.

M. PfafT further says that arsenic acid may be separated from its
combinations with bases, by dissolving the arseniates in nitric acid,
and passing sulphuretted hydrogen through the solution ; an abun-
dant precipitate of sulphuret of arsenic is formed, containing no trace
of the base of the arseniate decomposed. — Bull. Univ,A, viii. 256.

24. New Double Chromates. — Mr. Stokes has obtained several
new salts, by mixing chromate of potash with metallic sulphates.
Chromate of potash, mixed with sulphate of zinc, gave a precipitate
of chromate of zinc; and the mother liquor, by concentration, yielded
certain yellow crystals in the form of a flat rhombic prism, which
Dr. Thomson had mistaken for impure sulphate of zinc, but which
Mr. Stokes recognised as a new compound: 50 grains gave 18.33
sulphuric acid ; 0.18 chromic acid ; 9.87 oxide of zinc; 8.91 potash;

12.6 water; 0.11 loss.

Chromate of potash and sulphate of nickel were mixed in atomic
proportions, and the solutions heated; after the chromate of nickel
was separated, they were evaporated to dryness. The residuum, di-
gested in water, was filtered, and the deep red solution obtained upon
cooling, yielded grass green crystals in the form of oblique rhombic
prisms; 50 grains of these, when analysed, gave 12.26 sulphuric
acid; 0.978 chromic acid; 8.2 oxide of nickel ; 9.862 potash;

12.7 water.

A similar salt may be obtained by mixing chromate of potash
and sulphate of copper. It is of a light green colour, and has pre-
cisely the same form as the salts already described. In every case
crystals of bichromate of potash were produced in the second crop
crystals.— P^i/. Mag. N. S. ii. 427.

25. Dobereinei^s finely divided Platina. — 'The following is |M.
Dobereiner's process for obtaining finely divided platina, fit for the
performance of the experiment wliich he first made on the combi-
nation of oxygen and hydrogen, at common temperatures. Mix
muriate of platina with a solution of neutral tartrate of soda in a
glass tube, half or three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and twenty
or thirty inches in length, and apply heat until the fluid becomes
slightly turbid ; aft^erwards expose it for several days to the sun's
rays. The greater part of the platina will separate from the solu-
tion, and be deposited in minute laminae, of a greyish black
colour on the sides of the glass ; the tube and its contents are to
be put into a glass vessel containing water, and it is to be filled
with hydrogen gas ; the platina becomes almost immediately white
and shining like silver, and may then be readily detached from the
glass. During the reduction of the platina the tartaric acid is partly
converted into carbonic and formic acids. ** As the inflamma-

OCT.— DEC. 1327. 2 I

478 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

tion of the hydrogen," it is said, " is caused by abstracting' a por-
tion of the caloric from the oxygen, effected by the platina, the
smaller the laminae of the metal are, the more readily is the incan-
descence produced." Spongy platina for the lamps for instantaneous
light, is prepared of great power, by moistening the muriate of am-
monia and platina with a concentrated solution of ammonia ; the
paste formed is to be heated to redness in an earthen or platina
crucible. — Hensmans Repertoire — Phil. Mag. N. S. ii. 388,

26. New Metals. — Professor Osann, of Dorpat, is said to have
discovered three new metals in the crude platina, obtained from
the Uralian mountains. One, which has occurred only in one spe-
cimen of the ore, resembles osmium in some of its compounds.
The second forms white acicular crystals from a nitro-muriatic acid
solution ; these, when heated, being softened and reduced. The
third is insoluble in nitro-muriatic acid, and, by a particular pro-
cess yields a dark green- coloured oxide. The account as yet giyen
of these substances is not precise enough to allow of any judgment
respecting their claim to the character of new metals.

27. Analysis of Porcelain, Pottery, Sfc. by M. Berthier. — Earthen-
ware manufactures are divided by M. Berthier into three kinds,
those of 1. Porcelain; of 2. Pottery; and of 3. Crucibles, Bricks,
&c. The following is the composition of certain porcelains :

Porcelain.

Sevres. English. Piedmont. Tournay.

(i.) (li) (iii-) (iv.)

Silica 0.596 0.770 0.600 0.753

Alumina 0.350 0.086 0.090 0.082

Potash 0.018 .. .. Innxn

Soda r^^^

Lime 0.024 0.012 0.016 0.100

Magnesia 0.070 0.152

Water 0.008 0.056 0.136 0.006

0.996 0.994 0.994 1.000

(i.) Sfevres service — Paste strongly heated. It is formed from
0.63 washed kaolin of Limoges ; 0.105 quartz sand; 0.052 Bou-
geval chalk ; 0.21 of the fine sand obtained from kaolin by wash-
ing, and which is a mixture of quartz and felspar. The glaze of
this ware is made of a rock composed of quartz and feldspar. When
reduced to a fine powder, it is found to be composed of silica .730,
alumine 162, potash 84, water 6 : it fuses into a perfectly transpa-
rent and colourless glass.

(ii.) Worcester porcelain — Paste taken from the workshops,
unbaked.

(iii.) Porcelain of Piedmont — Paste dried. The base of this
manufacture is the magncsite of Baldissero.

(iv.) Porcelain of Tournay — Clay, chalk, and soda enter into iU
composition. It is very fusible, but not very fragile.

Chemical Science,

479

Pottery.

Nevers. Paris. Ger»ovia.

(i.) (ii.) (iii)

Silica 0.572 0.541 0.544

Alumina 0.124 0.127 0.220

Lihie 0.226 0.0fi3 0.064

Oxide of Iron 0.066 0.070 0.098

Magnesia 0.024 0.038

Water 0.173 0.020

"0.988 0.998 7^984

(i.) Earthenware of Nevers — Paste of a pale red. Made of a
marie occurring close to the town ; the glaze is a white enamel,
containing both tin and lead.

(ii.) Paste of the brown earthenware made by M. Husson at
Paris. The biscuit is red, but is covered by a brown glaze, co-
loured by oxide of manganese.

(iii.) Red earthenware resembling the Etruscan, and found in
the ruins of Gergovia near Clermont.

Crucibles, &c.

St. u

Hessian. Paris. English. Etienne. Nemours. Bohemta. Crenaot.

(i.) (ii.) (Tii.) (iv.) (V.) (vi.) (vii.)

Silica 0.709 0.646 0.637 0.652 0.674 0.680 0.680

Alumina 0.248 0.344 0.207 0.250 0.320 0.290 0.280

Oxideof Iron.. 0.038 0.010 0.040 0.072 0.008 0.022 0.020

Magnesia trace .. .. trace trace 0.005 trace

Water 0.103 0.0 10

0.995 1.000 0.987 0.974 1.002 0.99T 0.990

(i.) Hessian crucibles — formed of a clay very aluminous, with
which siliceous sand is mixed. They sustain rapid changes of
temperature without fracture, but cannot retain fused litharge very
long together, and have too coarse a grain for many purposes.

(ii). Paris crucibles, manufactured by Beaufaye — they are made
from the clay of Andennes, near Namur; part of the material
being baked and coarsely powdered, and the rest in its natural
state : no sand is mixed with it, and the inner surface of the ves-
sels is finished with a thin coat of the unbaked material. They
are said to be more refractory than the Hessian vessels, not more
liable to fly by change of temperature, and more retentive of
litharge.

(iii.) Fragment of an unbaked crucible prepared for an English
cast-steel work,

(iv.) Paste with which the crucibles are made for the steel
works of Berardiere, near St. Etienne.

(v.) Fragment of a used crucible from the glass works of Ba-
gneaux, near Nemours ; it had been made from the clay of Forges
(Seine Inferieure).

(vi.) A used crucible from a Bohemian glass-house.

(vii.) Bricks with which the blast furnace* at Creusot are con-

212

480 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

structed ; they are made of a mixture of baked and unbaked clay.
— Annales de Chimie, i. 469.

28. On the Composition of simple Alimentary Substances^ by
Dr. Prout. — It is well known that Dr. Prout has of late years
devoted that portion of his attention which he gives to chemistry,
exclusively to the consideration of organized substances, with the
important object of making the knowledge he might obtain subser-
vient to the study of physiology and pathology ; and during the
last session of the Royal Society, a paper by this philosopher was
read, containing many important and apparently accurate results
relative to the particular subjects which he has pursued ; some
account of which we are desirous of giving in this place.

Dr. Prout*s first object was to devise, if possible, an unexcep-
tionable mode of determining the proportions of the three or four
principles, which, with few exceptions, form organic bodies ; and
after numerous trials, he adopted a method founded upon the fol-
lowing well known principles. When an organic product, contain-
ing three elements, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen, is burnt in
oxygen gas, one of three things must happen : i. The original
bulk of oxygen gas may remain the same, in which case the hydro-
gen and oxygen in the substance must exist in it in the same pro-
portions in which they exist in water ; or, ii. The original bulk
of the oxygen may be increased, in which case the oxygen must
exist in the substance in a greater proportion than it exists in
water ; or, iii. The original bulk of the oxygen gas may be
diminished ; in which case the hydrogen must predominate.
Hence it is obvious, that, in the first of these cases, the composition
of a substance may be determined, by simply ascertaining the
quantity of carbonic acid gas yielded by a known quantity of it ;
while, in the other two, the same can be readily ascertained by
means of the same data, and by noting the excess or diminution of
the original bulk of the oxygen gas employed.

The apparatus consists of two inverted glass syphons which act
the part of gasometers ; these are connected when required, by a
small green glass tube, in which the substance is to be decomposed
and burnt : the syphons are very carefully gradated ; so that the
quantity of gas in them can be accurately estimated ; and are sup-
plied with cocks both above and below, so that they can be filled
with mercury, the mercury drawn off and gas introduced, the gas
transferred through the green glass tube, or the contents retained
in an undisturbed state, with the utmost readiness and ease. The
substance to be decomposed, may be put into a platina tray, and
introduced alone into the green glass tube, and being there heated
by a spirit lamp, be burnt in the gas passing over it ; or it may
be mixed with pure siliceous sand ; or, what is most generally pre-
ferable, be mixed with peroxide of copper, which is always left, in
consequence of the excess of oxygen gas used, in the state in which
it was introduced. After the experiment the volume of gas is easily

Chemical Science. 481

corrected for pressure, and if necessary for temperature, and the
carbonic acid ascertained by the removal and analysis of a portion.
No correction is required for moisture, the gas always being used
saturated with water.

Dr. Prout considers the principal alimentary substances as redu-
cible to three great classes, the saccharine^ the oily, and the albu-
minous ; and his paper relates to the first of these. This, with
certain exceptions, includes the substances in which, according, to
MM. Gay Lussac and Thenard, the oxygen and hydrogen are in
the same proportion as in water. Such substances are principally
derived from the vegetable kingdom, and being at the same time
alimentary. Dr. Prout uses the terms saccharine principle and
vegetable aliment as synonymous.

The following tables show some.of Dr. Prout' s results with several
substances, extreme care having been taken in every case to obtain
the bodies pure, and nc\y processes often resorted to for that
purpose.

Sugar.

Carbon. Water.

Pure sugar-candy 42.85 57.15

Impure sugar-candy. 41.5 to 42.5 58.5 to 57,5

East India sugar-candy 41.9 58.1

English refined sugar.' 41.5 to 42.5 58.5 to 57.5

East India refined sugar 42.2 57.8

Maple sugar 42.1 57.9

Beet root sugar 42.1 57.9

East India moist sugar 40.88 59.12

Sugar of diabetic urine 3(). to 40? 64. to 60 ?

Sugar of Narbotme honey 36.36 63.63

Sugar from starch 36.2 63.8

Amylaceous Principle.

Carbon. Water.

Fine wheat starch 37.5 62.5

dried (i.) 42.8 57.2

„ highly dried (ii.). . 44 56

Arrow root 36.4 63.6

dried (iii.) 42.8 57.2

„ highly dried (iv.) 44.4 55.6

(i.) Dried between 200^ and 212® for twenty hours, lost 12.5
per cent.

(ii.) Part of the former, dried between 300° and 350° for six
hours, lost 2.3 per cent.

(iii.) Dried as (i.), lost 15 percent.

(iv.) Part of the last, heated to 212° for six hours longer, lost
3.2 per cent. more.

LiQNiN, or Woody Fibre,
Obtained by rasping wood, and then pulverising it in a mortar ;
boiling the impalpable powder in water till nothing more was

482 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

removed, then in alcohol ; again in water, and dried in the air till
they ceased to lose weight.

Carbon. Water,

From box. 42.7 57.3

dried (i.) 50. 50.

From willow 42.6 57.4

dried (i.) 49.8 50.2

(i.) Dried at 212° for six hours, afterwards between 300° and
350° for six hours. That from box lost 14.6, that from willow
14.4 per cent.

Acetic acid 47.05 52.95

Sugar of milk 40. 60.

Manna sugar 38.7 61.3

Gum arabic 36.3 63.7

dried (i.) 41.4 58.6

(i.) Dried between 200° and 212° for twenty hours, lost 12.4
per cent. The same gum further heated to between 300° and 350°
for six hours, lost only 2.6 per cent., and had become deep brown.
Vegetable Acids. Carbon. Water, Oxygen.

Oxalic acid 19.04 42.85 38.11

Citric acid 34.28 42.85 22.87

Tartaric acid 32.00 36.00 32.00

Malic acid 40.68 45.76 13.56

Saclactic acid 33.33 44.44 22.22

29. Preparation of Sidphate of Quinia and Kinic Acid, without
the use of Alcohol. — The following is the process of MM. Henry
and Plisson : About two pounds of bark are to be coarsely powdered
and boiled with water, acidulated with sulphtlric acid in the usual
manner. When the hot liquors are cleared, recently prepared and
moist hydrate of lead is to be added until the fluid is neutral, and
has acquired a faint yellow colour ; this must be done carefully,
lest too much hydrate of lead be added. As the decoloration of
the decoction is necessary, the liquid, if it remains turbid until the
next morning, must have a little more hydrate added and be re-
filtered, but the operation is rarely subject to this inconvenience,
being usually finished in a few hours. The yellow liquid contains
a little kinate of lead, much kinate of lime, kinate of quinia or
cinchonia, a little colouring matter, and traces of other substances.
The washed deposite consists of colouring matter, combined with
oxide of lead, sulphate of lead, and a portion of free quinia ;
contains no sub-kinate of lead.

The lead, dissolved in the fluid, is to be separated by a few drops
of sulphuric acid, or a small current of sulphuretted hydrogen, and
the filtered liquid is to be precipitated by adding caustic lime, pre-
viously mixed into a thin paste with water, until the earth is in
very slight excess ; in this manner the quinia is precipitated. The
addition of sulphuric acid readily converts this quinia into sulphate,

Chemical Science. 483

which may be obtained in very white and silky crystals. The fluid
left after the separation of the quinia, contains a kinate of lime
almost pure. Being evaporated until of the consistence of syrup,
it readily crystallizes in a mass, which may then be purified by
recrystallization. The kinate of lime maybe precipitated by means
of alcohol, and then be crystallized after solution in water or diluted
alcohol ; or, by adding oxalic acid drop by drop, according to the
directions of M. Vauquelin, the lime may be separated and kinic
acid obtained. Two thirds of the quinia or cinchonia in a specimen
of bark may be thus separated, and with such facility as to offer a
ready test of the presence of these alkalies in any wood or bark
submitted to examination. — Atin» de Chimie, xxxv., 166.

30. Pure Narcotine prepared. — The following process is that
practised by Mr. Carpenter. Digest one ounce of coarsely pow-
dered opium in one pint of ether for ten days, frequently submitting
it to ebullition in a water bath ; separate the ether and add fresh
portions until the opium is exhausted ; place the ethereal solution
in a wide-mouthed bottle, and, covering the mouth with bibulous
paper, allow the ether to evaporate spontaneously, but slowly ; as
the fluid diminishes, it leaves the sides of the bottle coated with
crystals of narcotine ; as the solution becomes more dense, the
crystals enlarge and accumulate, and the bottom of the vessel iis
covered with large transparent crystals, accompanied with a brown
viscid liquor and extract, which contains an acid resin, caoutchouc,
&c. Separate these substances and wash the crystals in successive
portions of cold ether to remove the extract ; then dissolve them
in warm ether, and evaporate slowly as before ; beautiful snow
white crystals of pure narcotine will be obtained : those on the sides
of the vessel assume plumose and arborescent forms; they enlarge
as the solution becomes more concentrated, and the bottom of the
bottle becomes covered with pure narcotine, assuming the rhom-
boidal prismatic form with some modifications of maccled crystals.
The crystals towards the bottom are transparent, but the most
minute at the top are opaque and snow white. By picking out the
largest and most regular crystals, ugain dissolving and evaporating,
and repeating the same process, each time selecting the largest and
best crystals, some were obtained the eighth of an inch in diameter,
and still larger might be produced by similar operations. — SillimarVs
Jour.f xiii, 27.

31. Uncertain Nature of Jalapia. — Relative to Mr. Hume's
supposed vegeto-alkali Jalapia^ M. Pelletier says it is nothing
more than a mixture of sulphate of lime and sulphate of ammonia. —
JoxM-. de Pharmacie,

32. Preparation of pure Mdlitic Acid, by M. Wohler. — Concen-
trated solution of carbonate of ammonia was poured upon finely
pulverised mellite, and boiled until the excess of ammonia was

484 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

dissipated ; the solution was filtered and left to crystallize. The
pure crystals, being dissolved in water, were precipitated by acetate
of lead, and the mellitate of lead, after being well washed was de-
composed by sulphuretted hydrogen; being filtered, the solution was
evaporated to dryness, during which the mellitic acid precipitated
as a white powder; being dissolved in cold alcohol, and left to
evaporate spontaneously, the acid was obtained in acicular ciystals.
In this state it is very acid, unaltered by air, very soluble in water
and alcohol, and sustains a considerable heat without change ; it
does not fuze, but ultimately sublimes, though probably not without
decomposition. When boiled for a considerable time with alcohol,
it undergoes a peculiar change, and occasions the production of a
new acid substance, resembling the benzoic acid.

33. On a New Acid existing in Iceland Moss. — The reddish
purple colour which is produced by adding a decoction of Iceland
moss to per-salts of iron, has been attributed to the presence of
gallic acid, but is found by M. Pfaff to be occasioned by a new acid
body which may be separated in the following manner. A pound
of the lichen cut small is to be macerated in solution of carbonate
of potassa, until all that is soluble is separated; the above quantity
will neutralize two gros* of the carbonate. The filtered liquor is
to be precipitated by acetate of lead, and the brown precipitate
produced, when well washed, is to be diffused through water, and
sulphuretted hydrogen passed through it until all the lead is sepa-
rated. The filtered liquor is acid, and by spontaneous evaporation,
yields dendritic crystals. The crystals, when heated, carbonize,
but produce no odour like that of tartaric acid, and lime is left.
If they be dissolved and acted upon by alkaline carbonates, car-
bonate of lime is thrown down, and alkaline salts, containing the
new acid, are produced.

The potash salt crystallizes in quadrilateral prisms, needles or
plates, and is not deliquescent. The soda salt has similar charac-
ters, and the ammonia salt crystallizes in needles. These salts
abundantly precipitate the acetate and muriate of iron of a red
brown colour; they precipitate sulphate and nitrate of zinc white ;
muriate of manganese slightly of a clear brown colour ; barytic and
strontian salts abundantly white ; being mixed with strong solutions
of muriate or acetate of lirae, they gradually produce an acicular
crystalline white precipitate ; acetate of silver yields an abundant
white precipitate, which does not change colour in less than
twenty-four hours : they do not precipitate salts of glucina, mag-
nesia, alumine, uranium, nickel, copper, cobalt, gold or platina.
This substance has been named the lichenic acid, and is dis-
tinguished from boletic acid by the different character of its va-
pour, and by forming an insoluble salt with baryta. — Bull. Univ.
A. viii. 270.

34. Bemarks on the Preparation ofM. Gautier^s Ferro'prussiate

* About one hundred and twenty grains.

Chemical Science. 485

of Potash, as described in this Journal for July, 1827.*— It is
stated in the above article, "numerous investigations induced
M. Gautier to conclude that when animal matter is calcined alone,
it yields but little cyanogen ; that when mixed with potash it gives
more ; that the substitution of nitre for potash, and the addition of
iron or scales of iron, augmented the production of cyanogen and
gave a ferro-prussiate. The following is the process of manufac-
ture to which M. Gautier has ultimately arrived," (for which see
the Journal, 227.)

M. Gautier giving the proportions of materials, directs —

Blood in a dry state .... 3 parts

Nitre 1 ^

Iron scales -J ^ of the blood employed.

Blood not being at hand, animal muscular fibre was substituted,
and the following results were obtained. I am not aware that the
dried parts of animal muscular fibre are more inflammable than the
coagulated and dried parts of blood : —

Muscular fibre .... 3 parts

Nitre 1 „

Iron filings 3^ of the undried muscle employed.

The muscular fibre, nitre and iron filings were beat into a mass,
and partially dried by a moderate heat ; they were then returned to
the mortar and reduced to a perfectly homogeneous greyish white
powder. This was dried and weighed, and appeared to be reduced
to nearly equal parts of nitrate of potash and animal fibre.

The desiccation having been completed by a very moderate heat on
a sand bath, will not, as far as I am aware, differ materially from that
produced by exposing the mass in " an airy situation to dry," as
nitrate of potash undergoes no decomposition by admixture with
animal matters at a low temperature.

When the desiccation was completed, the mixture was charged
into an iron cyHnder, placed in the sand-bath, and though combus-
tion was not anticipated in this part of the process, yet the mouth
of the cylinder was turned towards the wall, lest an accident should
occur, (which appeared to me to be more than probable in some stage
of the process.) In about two hours aft^er the cylinder had been
heated, I was surprised to see its contents ejected with considerable
force, in a state of brilliant combustion. Supposing something in the
above experiment had been overlooked, and that, if the materials
had been longer in contact previously to subjecting them to com-
plete desiccation, this inflammation would not have taken place, the
experiment was repeated with the following precautions: after the
muscular fibre had been subjected to the action of the pestle in
combination with the prescribed quantity of nitrate of potash, the
mass was boiled with water for some hours, and then gently eva-
porated to dryness ; even now, by applying a piece of red-hot
charcoal, it was found that the nitre was in a conditiou to enter

s 207 and 208.

486 Mlscellaneom Intelligence,

into active combustion, and if the cylinder had been again charged
and subjected to a temperature capable of producing ignition, there
cannot be a doubt, but that a similar inflammation would have taken
place.

However this might be, this quantity of material was now
mixed with hydrate of potash to an equal weight with the nitre
used ; and the mass subjected to the heat of a sand-bath for some
hours, and afterwards submitted to the action of a naked tire for
rather more than an hour, and the heat brought up to redness.
No considerable action took place, but some particles of the car-
bonaceous matter were ejected, and produced brilliant scintillations
in the fire, so that we may conclude, notwithstanding the presence
of so large a quantity of potash, the properties of the nitre were not
destroyed. tt p

Canal'ttreeU Birmingham,

III. Natural History.

1. Squalls of Wind on the African Shores. — The following
description is by D. M. Milnegraden, from the relations of his
father. " The approach of the squall is generally foreboded by the
appearance of jet black clouds over the land, moving in a direction
towards the sea, at the same time that a gentle breeze blows
towards the shore. In these circumstances, the precaution which
my father usually adopted, was to take in immediately all sail, so
as to leave the ship under bare poles, and send the whole of the
crew below decks. As the tornado approaches nearer, the rain is
observed to be gushing down in torrents, and the lightning darting
down from the clouds with such profusion, as to resemble con-
tinued showers of electric matter. When, however, the squall
comes within the distance of about half a mile from the ship, these
electric appearances altogether cease ; the rain only continues in the
same manner. As the tornado is passing over the ship, a loud crack-
ling noise is distinctly heard among the rigging, occasioned by the
electric matter streaming down the masts, whose points serve to
attract it, and I think that I have been told, that when this pheno-
menon takes place at night, a glimmering of light is observed over
every part of the rigging. But when the squall has removed to
about half a mile beyond the ship, exactly the same appearances
return by which the squall was characterised in coming off the
shore, and before reaching the same distance from the ship. The
lightning is again seen to be descending in continued sheets and in
such abundance as even to resemble the torrents of rain themselves
which accompany the squall. These squalls take place every day
during a certain season of the year called the Harmatan season.
The jet black clouds begin to appear moving from the mountains
about nine in the morning, and reach the sea about two in the
afternooni Another very singular fact attending these tornados is,
that, after they have moved out eight or nine leagues to sea, where

Natural History* '4^

they become apparently expended, the h'ghtni'nfl^ is seen to rise up
from the sea. The violence of the wind during the continuance
of the storm is excessive.'* — Jameson* s Journal 1823, p. 367,

2. Destruction of an Oak by Lightning. — ^M. Muncke describes
a case in which an oak, being struck by lightning, was rent and
destroyed in an extraordinary manner. The trunk of the tree was
about fifteen feet in height, a foot and a half or two feet in diameter
at the branches, and three feet in diameter at the root. The top
of the tree was separated as if by the stroke of a hatchet, and with-
out any appearance of carbonization : the trunk was torn into a
thousand pieces, exceedingly small in size when compared with
the original mass, and thrown to a great distance. The division
and destruction was such as to sustain the thought, that in certain
cases the lightning might cause the entire dispersion of the tree,
an opinion which was suggested by the circumstance that lightning
which had fallen at Le Chateau de Marbourg left no traces of a
rafter that had occurred in its course. — Bull. Univ. A. viii. 194.

3. Description of a Meteoric Fire-Ball seen at New Haven by
the Rev. S. E. Dwight. — The meteor appeared on Saturday evening,
March 21, 1813, a little before ten o'clock. The sky was much
overcast, but the covering thin, and the stars were in full view
towards the north where the meteor appeared. Dr. Dwight was
standing on a platform on the north side of the house looking
eastward, when the light first broke upon him, and for a moment
supposed it to be lightning, but was instantly induced by its conti-
nuance to look at the luminary. The following are the observations
luade at the time.

i. The meteor was at first about 35° above the horizon, and,
judging from the course of a fence near at hand, its direction about
N. 20°. E.

ii. Its figure nearly that of an ellipse, with the ends in a slight
degree sharpened or angular.

iii. The length of its transverse diameter appeared to be about
equal to the apparent diameter of the moon when on the meridian,
and that of the conjugate about three fourths of the transverse.

iv. The colour rather more yellow than that of the moon.

V. A tail of light, ten or twelve degrees in lengtb, was formed
behind it ; broadest near the body ; decreasing in breadth very
slowly for about two-fifths of its length, after which it was uni-
form, and about as wide as the apparent diameter of Venus.
The direction of the tail was coincident with that of the transverse
diameter.

vi. The ball was far more luminous than the tail, and the part
connected with the tail scarcely less distinct than the opposite part.

vii. The light was such that all objects cast distinct shadows,
though less strongly marked than when the moon is full.

viii. Numerous sparks continually issued from the ball of the

48^ Miscellaneous Intelligence.

meteor; they were of the apparent size, but much motfe bHlliant
than the smaller stars, and after descending a little distance, dis-
appeared.

ix. The meteor was visible for about eight or perhaps ten seconds.

X. A second or two before its disappearance, three much larger
sparks or luminous fragments were thrown off at once, two of them
the apparent size of Venus, the third larger. These were the last
pieces which were seen to leave the body. Their paths were at
first nearly parallel with that of the meteor, yet beneath it. From
this direction, however, they all deviated constantly and rapidly, in
parabolic curves, until they seemed faUing perpendicularly towards
the earth. Each fragment became less and less distinct until it
disappeared. The largest continued visible until about 20° from
the horizon.

xi. The meteor itself disappeared as suddenly as if, in one in-
divisible moment, it had passed into a medium absolutely opaque,
or as if, at a given moment, it had left the atmosphere ; but a few
moments afterwards there was a distinct and somewhat extensive
illumination over that part of the sky for about a second.

xii. When the meteor disappeared, it was about 30° above the
horizon in the direction of N. 45° E. or 25° east of the place
where it was first seen. The direction of the path was probably
from W. by S. to E. by N. The meteor was obviously going
from the observer, its path making an angle with the optic axis of
about 60°.

xiii. Between eight and ten minutes after the disappearance of
the meteor, there was a loud and heavy report, accompanied by a
very sensible jar ; it did not much resemble either thunder or the
report of a cannon, but was louder, shorter, and sharper than
either, and was followed by no perceptible echo.

xiv. A friend of Dr. Dwight's, who was in Berlin at the time,
about twenty-three miles due N. of Newhaven, saw the meteor
distinctly, but made no particular observations. His account ac-
corded generally with that given ; but the meteor appeared to him
larger, more elevated, and somewhat more to the east in its appa-
rent place. No account could be obtained of any fragments which
had fallen from it. — Silliman's Journal^ xiii. 35.

4. Remarkable Meteoric 'Phenomenon, described by Chladni. — A
noise, resembling thunder in its rolhng nature, was heard at Saar-
bruck and the environs, about four o'clock on the 1st of April,
1826, the atmosphere being clear, and the sun shining brightly.
During the sound, a greyish object, apparently about three feet
and a half in height, was seen in the air, rapidly approaching the
earth, and there expanding itself like a sheet; there was then
silence for about a minute, after which another sound, resembling
thunder, was heard, as if it had originated at the place where the
meteor fell. Nothing was found when the place was afterwards
examined. — Bull, Univ, A. viii. 143.

Natural History. 489

b;\'^rora Borealia seen in the Day-time at Canonmills. — The
morning of Sunday, September 9th, was rainy, with a light gale
from the N.E. Before mid-day the wind began to veer to the
west, and the clouds in the north-western horizon cleared away :
the blue sky in that quarter assumed the form of the segment of
a very large circle, with a well-defined line, the clouds above con-
tinuing dense, and covering the rest of the heavens.' The centre of
the azure arch gradually inclined more to the north, and reached
an elevation of nearly 20®. . In a short time very thin fleecy clouds
began to rise from the horizon within the blue arch ; and through
these very faint perpendicular streaks, of a sort of milky light,
could be perceived shooting; the eye being thus guided, could
likewise detect the same pale streaks passing over the intense
azure arch, but they were extremely slight and evanescent. Be-
tween nine and ten in the evening of the same dajs the aurora
borealis was very brilliant: so that there is no reason to doubt
that the azure arch in the morning, and the pale light seen shoot-
ing across it, were connected with the same phenomenon. — Jame-
son's Jour. 1827, p. 378.

6. Aurora Borealis in Siberia. — Baron Wrangle says, that in
Siberia, when shooting stars pass across the space occupied by
polar lights, fiery beams suddenly arise in the place traversed by
the shooting star: further, that when a polar beam rises high
towards the zenith, the full moon also being high, it gradually
forms a luminous circle around the moon, at a distance of 20° or
30° from her, remains in this form for a short time, and then dis-
appears.

7. On the Presence of Ammonia in Argillaceous Minerals. — Being
engaged in the examination of different specimens of gypsum,
M. Bonis observed, that traces of ammonia were evident in one
containing much argillaceous matter. The peculiar odour common
to argillaceous minerals when breathed upon, was very striking in
this specimen of gypsum ; when a portion of it was moistened with
solution of potash, and muriatic acid brought near, white vapours
were produced, and reddened litmus paper was very quickly ren-
dered of a blue colour in its vicinity.

It was now suspected that all mineral substances, emitting an
argillaceous odour, contained ammonia ; a great number of speci-
mens were tried, being moistened with solution of caustic potash,
and examined by litmus paper. In no case was ammonia absent,
and, with common clay it continued to be evolved for more than two
days. Amongst the substances tried, were pipe clay, other cjays,
numerous gypsums, Paris plaster, steatite, &c. The antiquity of
the mineral seemed to have no relation to the ammonia.

M. Bouis concludes that, in all cases, the argillaceous smell of
minerals is connected with, and dependent upon, the presence of
ammonia, the latter being the vehicle of this particular odour. —
Annales de ChimiCy xxxv. 333.

49(^ Miscellaneous Intelligence.

8. Composition of Apatite. — According to M. Rose, the apa-
tite from the following localities g^ave the annexed proportions of
chloride and fluoride of calcium, the rest being phosphate of lime
with occasional traces of iron and magnesia: —

S. O. Ohio. Calc. Fluor. Calc.

Apatite from Suarum in

Norway 3.174

4.280

4.590

Cabo de Gota in Spain

3.235

0.885

7.049

Arendal

3.194

0.801

7.010

Greiner in the Tyrol .

3.175

0.150

7.690

Faldigl, ditto

3.166

0.100

7.620

St. Gothard

3.197

trace

7.690

Ehrenfriedersdorf

3.211

trace

7.690

Annales de Chimie.

9. Burmese Petroleum Welb. — *' The gentlemen of the mission
examined carefully the celebrated Petroleum Wells, near which they
remained for eight days, owing to the accident of the steam-vessel
taking the ground in their vicinity. Some of the wells are from
thirty-seven to fifty-three fathoms in depth, and are said to yield at
an average, daily, from 130 to 185 gallons of the earth-oil. The
wells are scattered over an area of about sixteen square miles. The
wells are private property, the owners paying a tax of five per cent,
of the produce to the state. This commodity is almost universally
used by the Burmans as lamp oil. Its price on the spot does not,
on an average, exceed from fivepence to sevenpence halfpenny per
cwt. The other useful mineral or saline productions of the Burman
empire are coal, saltpetre, soda, and culinary salt. One of the
lakes affording the latter, which is within six or seven miles of the
capital, was examined by the gentlemen of the mission.'* Craw-
ford's Mission to Ava. — Jamesoris Journal^ 1827, p. 366.

10. Direction of the Branches of Trees. — Professor Eaton remarks
that all trees with spreading branches accommodate the direction
of thfe lower branches to the surface of the earth over which they
extend, as may be seen in orchards growing on the sides of hills,
and in all open forests ; and inquires what influence can the earth
have upon the branches on the upper side of a tree, which causes
them to form a different angle with the body of the tree from the
angle formed by the branches on the lower side, so that all the
branches hold a parallel direction to the earth's surface. — Silli-
mans Journal, xiii. 194.

11. Effects of Light on Vegetation. — The following observations
by Professor Eaton are dated Rensselaer school, Troy, April 30,
1827. " Clouds and rain have obscured the hemisphere during the
last six days. In that time the leaves of all the forests which are
seen from this place have greatly expanded. But they were all of
a pallid hue until this afternoon. Within the period of about six
hours, they have all changed their colour to a beautiful green. As
the only efficient change which has taken place, is that we have a

Natural History. 491

serene sky, and a bright sun, we may say with confidence that
this change of colour is produced by the action of the sun*s rays.

Seven years ago, next month, I had a still more favourable op-
portunity to observe this phenomenon in company with the Hon.
J. Lansing, late Chancellor of this State. While we were engaged
in taking a geological survey of his manor of Blenheim, the leaves
of the forest had expanded to almost the common size in cloudy
weather. I believe the sun had scarcely shone upon them in
twenty days. Standing upon a hill, we observed that the dense forests
upon the opposite side of the Schoharie were almost white. The
sun now began to shine in full brightness. The colour of the forest
absolutely changed so fast that we could perceive ks progress. By
the middle of the afternoon, the whole of these extensive forests,
many miles in length, presented their usual summer dress. — SillU
maiCs Journaly xiii. 193.

12. Organization and Reproduction of the Tnifle. — The trufle,
according to the account given of it by M. Turpin, in a memoir
read to the Academy of Sciences, is a vegetable entirely destitute
of leafy appendages or of roots ; it is nothing more than a rounded
subterraneous mass, absorbing nourishment upon every point of
its surface, and the reproduction of which is dependent upon bodies
generated within its substance. The trufle is composed of, i. glo-
bular vesicles, destined, to the reproduction of the vegetable ; ii.
short and barren filaments, called by M. Turpin, tigeUutes, The
whole forms a substance, at first white, but which becomes brown
by age, with the exception of particular white veins. This change
of colour is dependent upon the presence of the reproductive bodies
or tntfinelles. Each globular vesicle is fitted to give birth, on its
internal surface, to a multitude of these reproductive bodies, but
there are only a few of them which perfect the young vegetable.
These dilate considerably, and produce internally other smaller
vesicles, of which, two, three, or four increase in size, become
brown, are beset with small points on their exterior surface, and
fill the interior of the larger vesicle. The small masses thus formed,
are the tntfinelles, and become trufles after the death of their parent.
Thus the brown parts of the trufle are those which contain the tru-
finelles, and the interposed white veins are the parts which are des-
titute of trufinelles. The parent trufle, having accomplished ita
growth and the formation of the reproductive bodies within, gra-
dually dissolves and supplies that aliment to the young vegetable
Which is proper for them ; the cavity originally occupied by it in the
earth is then lefl, occupied by a multitude of young trufles, of
which the stronger starve or destroy the others, whilst they fre-
quently adhere together, and, enlarging in size, reproduce the phe-
nomena already described.

The reporters of this memoir to the Academy state that they
have verified M. Turpin's account, but point out a circumstance in
the natural history of the trufle, which is still unexplained. If the

492 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

method described be the only mode in which the trufle is reproduced,
then it is difficult to comprehend the enormous multiplication of
that vegetable in certain parts of France, where immense quantities
are annually collected without exhausting or even diminishing the
race. If the plant has no means of progression, how can the
young trufles leave the place of their birth, and become dissemi-
nated over the soil ? The Mt^moire received the approbation of the
Academy. — Revue Ency. xxxv. 794.

13. Alteration of Corn in a subterraneous Repository. — An
inhabitant of Deneuvre in the department of Merthe, whilst ex-
cavating in the locality of the ancient citadel of that town, found a
large quantity of corn which appeared to have been carbonized.
A portion was sent to M. Braconnot for examination, but without
any particulars of the cavity containing it. The grain was smooth
on the exterior, and unchanged in form, but its aspect announced
the entire destruction of its proximate principles. It floated on
water, could be crushed between the finger to a black powder, and
when rubbed on paper left traces resembling those of black chalk.
Being analysed, it was found to consist principally of a sub-
stance resembling ulmine in its properties, ulmate of lime and car-
bonaceous matter : the proportions were

Ulmine . . .... 26.5

Ulmate of lime, containing some phosphate of lime

and a little oxide of iron . . 42.0

Carbonaceous matter ... , 30.0

Muriates of potash and lime . . . ">

Nitrates of potash and lime . . j ^'^

Fatty matter of the consistency of wax, undetermined.

100.0
Although the time during which this corn has been stored up is
probably very long, still M. Braconnot thinks the principal cause of
the change in it has been humidity ; and thinks also that the same
may have been the case with the corn lately found in an Egyptian
tomb*, and quotes the known fact of corn having been found at
Scarpone, an ancient Roman station, preserved in good condition
during eighteen centuries, in a reservoir constructed of Roman,
mortar.

The best use that could be made of the carbonized corn of
Deneuvre was to apply it as a manure, for it contained the best ele-
ments of a substance of this kind, andM. Braconnot had long since
observed the presence of ulmine in good manure, its acid properties,
and its effects on vegetation. He adds also that Bruyeres earth
of excellent quality gave one-fourth of a combustible matter formed
of ulmine and a carbonaceous body but little soluble in potash, the
remaining three-fourths being a pure siliceous sand without a trace
of lime. Yet so effectual is this earth, that, where it cannot be
obtained, certain exotics cannot be cultivated. — Annates de Chimie, ■
xxxY. 262.

* See p. 210 of the last Number.

Natural History, 493

14. Quick Method of putting Insects to Death. — ^The following-
method is by M. Ricord, for the use of naturalists. The insect is
to be fixed on a piece of cork and put under a jar or vessel with
a little ether ; the latter being placed either in a capsule, or on
the plate on which the jar or glass is placed : the vessel should
apply closely, that the vapour of the ether may be retained, and
the air within be prevented from changing its place. The insect
thus immersed in the ethereal atmosphere will soon die without
having time to hurt its form or appearance by violence. — Bull,
Univ, B. xii. 295.

15. Destruction of Snails by common Salt, — M. Em. Rousseau had
applied common salt as a manure to a small piece of garden, and
remarked that where snails had come in contact with the salt they
quickly died. Wishing to confirm the fact, he strewed some salt
upon the ground and placed a number of snails amongst it ; all
those which came out of their shells and touched the salt imme-
diately threw out a greenish globular froth, and in a few minutes
were dead. The fact may be turned to account by agriculturists
and gardeners. — Bull. Univ. D. viii. 276.

16. Remarkable Hairy Man. — ^The following account is given
of an individual of this kind in Crawford's Mission to Ava. ** As
connected with this department may be mentioned the existence at
Ava of a man covered from head to foot with hair, whose history
is not less remarkable than that of the celebrated porcupine man
who excited so much curiosity in England and other parts of
Europe near a century ago. The hair on the face of this singular
being, the ears included, is shaggy, and about eight inches long.
On the breast and shoulders it is from four to five. It is singular
that the teeth of this individual are defective in number, the mo-
lares or grinders being entirely wanting. This person is a native
of the Shan country', or Lao, and from the banks of the upper
portion of the Saluen, or Martaban river ; he was presented to the
king of Ava as a curiosity, by the prince of that country. At Ava
he married a Burmese woman, by whom he has two daughters ;
the eldest resembles her mother, the youngest is covered with hair
like her father, only that it is white or fair, whereas his is now
brown or black, having, however, been fair when a child, like that
of the infant. With the exceptions mentioned, both the father and
his child are perfectly well-formed, and, indeed, for the Burman
race, rather handsome. The whole family were sent by the king
to the residence of the Mission, where drawings and descriptions of
them were taken.** — Jameson's Jour. 1827, p. 368.

17. Application of Remedies by Absorption from the Surface. —
The following are the results obtained by M. Bailly, who has been
assiduously engaged in trying this plan.

Salts of Morphia, applied in this manner, speedily exhibit their
OCT.— DBC. 1827. 2 K

494 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

action upon the brain and nervous system, by the contraction of
the pupils, and often by dysuria and ischuria ; nausea and vomiting"
are rare; sometimes a sensation of itching- is felt in the nasal cavi-
ties, and papular eruptions not unfrequently appear upon the skin.

Extract of Belladonna, applied upon the upper surface of the feet,
produced all the consequences derived from its internal exhibition ;
such as dilatation of the pupil and impaired vision.

Extract of Squill, while it augments transpiration, promotes the
urinary secretion, and facilitates expectoration.

ff ell powdered Strychnine supports the suppuration of wounds-
tolerably well, and stimulates the locomotive system without incon-
veniently exciting" the brain. It happens also in certain palsies, such
as those which are caused by the carbonate of lead, that the power
of motion is restored without the production of those violent
shocks which have been so unpleasant to patients. M. Bailly has ob-
served, with respect to this medicine in g^eneral, that it often excites
a marked turgescence about the head, heightening the colour of
the face, which demands the suspension of the remedy, if not the
intervention of blood-letting.

Perchlo ride of Mercury (corrosive sublimate) produces an intense
sensation of heat, and corrodes the parts with which it comes in
contact. Sometimes, however, it has been known to relieve the
pains of exostoses, &c. The proto-chloride (calomel) also excites'
pain, particularly if rubbed upon a recently blistered surface. In
this way it may cure old syphilitic affections ; but as a set-off
against these advantages, there is sometimes a difficulty in keeping
up the action, as the absorbent powers of the surface wear out by
long continued contact.

One great advantage of the endermic practice is the exemption of
the digestive organs from an inconvenient or unaccustomed stimu-
lus ; and its importance must be apparent where the stomach is
incapable of retaining medicines, or the power of deglutition is
lost. — Nouv. Bib, Med. — Med, Rep, v. 341.

18. On the Strix Cuniculariay or Coquimbo Owl. — Captain
Head, and every reader of his " Rough Notes," will, we are sure
thank us for any hint tending to throw light on facts related in that
spirited and interesting narrative ; particularly as, in the course of
his adventures, circumstances are occasionally recorded somewhat
startling to those who are in the habit of considering whatever
surpasses their ken or comprehension as a travellers' tale. Thus
the concluding part of the following passage, however true to the
very letter, as we shall show, has we know excited considerable
surprise, and possibly considerable doubt as to its accuracy.

" The Biscacho* is found all over the plains of the Pampas;
like rabbits they live in holes, which are in groups in every direc-

* This animal is probably either the Cavia Paca, Spotted Cavy, or Arcto-
mys Monax, Ferruginous Brown Marmot, though the latter is described as
principally found in North America.

Natural History. 495

tion, and which make gallopmg over these plains very dangerous.
These animals are never seen in the day, but as soon as the lower
Hmb of the sun reaches the horizon, they are seen issuing from
their holes in all directions, which are scattered in groups like little
villages, all over the Pampas. The biscachos, when full grown,
are nearly as large as badgers, but their head resembles a rabbit,
excepting that they have large bushy whiskers. In the evening
they sit outside their holes, and they all appear to be moralising.
They are the most serious looking animals I ever saw ; and even
the young ones are grey headed, have mustachios, and look
thoughtful and grave. In the day time their holes are always
guarded by tiuo little owls, who are never an instant away from
their post. As one gallops by these owls, they always stand looking
at the stranger and then at each other, moving their old-fashioned
heads in a manner which is quite ridiculous, until one rushes by
them, when fear gets the better of their dignified looks, and they
both nm into the biscachos* hole.'* — (Head's Rough Notes, p. 82.)

Captain Head has not given us the name of this owl, but in all
probability it was the Strix Cunicularia, or Coquimbo Owl, which is
described as flying in pairs, sometimes by day, and making its
nest i?i long subterraneous burrows*. In the singular motion of
its head, it however corresponds with the Strix Brasiliana, or
Brownish Horned Owl, mentioned by Marcgrave in his History of
Brazil, which he says is easily tamed, and can so tiirn about its
neck that the tip of the beak shall exactly point at the middle of
the baok ; that it also plays with men like an ape, making many
m,owes, (as Willoughby translates it,) and antic mimical faceSy
and snapping with its bill. But for the best account we have
met with, we are indebted to the spletidid continuation of Wilson's
American Ornithology by Lucien Bonaparte, under the title *' Bur-
rowing Owl — a bird," he says, " that go far from seeking refuge
in the ruined habitations of man, fixes his residence within the
earth ; instead of concealing itself in solitary recesses of the forests,
delights to dwell on open plains, in company with animals remark-
able for their social disposition, neatness, and order. Instead of sail-
ing heavily forth in the obscurity of the evening or morning twilight,
and then retreating to its secluded abode, this bird enjoys the
broadest glare of the noon-day sun, and flying rapidly along^
searches for food or pleasure during the cheeiful light of the day*
In the trans-Mississippian territories of the United States, this
very singular bird resides exclusively in the villages of the Marmot^
or Prairie Dog, whose excavations are so commodious, as to render
it unnecessary that it should dig for itself, as it is said to do in
other parts of the world, where no burrowing animals exist.
These villages are very numerous, and variable in their extent, some-
times covering only a few acres, and at others spreading over the sur-
face of the country for miles together. They are composed of slightly

♦ Turton, Lin. vol. i. 169. ,

2 K 2

496 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

elevated mounds, about two feet in width at the base, and seldom
exceeding eighteen inches in height. In all these Prairie dog vil-
lages, the burrowing owl is seen moving briskly about, or else in
small flocks scattered among the mounds, and at a distance it may
be mistaken for the marmot itself when sitting erect. They mani-
fest hut little timidity, and allow themselves to be approached suffi-
ciently close for shooting ; but if alarmed, some or all of them soar
away, and settle down again at a short distance : if further dis-
turbed, their flight is continued until they are no longer in view,
or they descend into their dwellings, whence they are difficult to
dislodge. The burrows into which these owls have been seen to
descend on the plains of the river Platte, where they are the most
numerous, were evidently excavated by the marmot, whence it has
been inferred by the learned and indefatigable Say*, that they
were either common, though unfriendly residents of the same habi-
tation, or that the owl was the sole occupant by right of con-
quest." We have in the statements of Captain Head, however, a
proof that both tenants habitually resort at the same time to one
burrow ; and we are assured by Pike and others, that a common
danger often drives them into the same excavation where lizards
and rattlesnakes also enter for concealment and safety.

In the above extracts we have noted in italics the striking simi-
larity to the account given by Captain Head. E. S.

19. Naturalisation of Fish. — ^We have received the following
from Mr. Arnold of Guernsey.

Sir, 16th August, 1827.

Having understood that the correctness of Dr. Mac Culloch*s
statements respecting my pond, and the attempts to propagate sea
fish in it, have been questioned, I beg to say that his statements
are perfectly correct ; and to add further, that during nearly four
months of the year the water is perfectly fresh, and is drunk by
cattle.

In summer, the saltness varies ; but no examination yet made
has discovered in it more than half as much salt as is contained in
the neighbouring sea-water.

I further beg leave to add, that the general size of the pond in
summer is about four acres and a half; in winter, when swelled by
the rains, it is extended to upwards of fifteen acres ; which will
account for the freshness of the water.

I remain. Sir, your obedient humble servant,

To the Editor of the Quarterly Journal. J. B. Arnold.

20. Mode of keeping Apples. — It seems not to be generally
known, that apples may be kept the whole year round by being

* We have had no opportunity of consulting Say, and therefore can only
refer our readers to an author who has collected an interesting store of facts
relative to natural science, and particularly with regard to this bird.

Natural History, 497

immersed in corn, which receives no injury from their contact.
If the American apples were packed among grain, they would
arrive here in much finer condition. In Portugal it is customary
to have a small ledge in every apartment, (immediately under the
cornice,) barely wide enough to hold an apple : in this way the
ceilings are fringed with fruit, which are not easily got at without a
ladder ; while one glance of the eye serves to shew if any depreda-
tions have been committed.

21. On the Cultivation and Forcing Sea Kale. — The Crambe
maritima, or Sea Kale, is an indigenous plant of this and other
countries of Europe, and found on the sandy beach of the sea-shore.

It has been long introduced into our gardens as a culinary
vegetable, but it is only within the last thirty years, that it has
been brought into general use, and subjected to a mode of cultiva-
tion, very different from that which was first bestowed upon it.

The principal value of this plant is its property of early growth ;
appearing at table at a time when few such things can be had. It
precedes asparagus, for which it is no bad substitute ; and as it
makes a dish of itself, it gives a variety to the delicacies of the
table ; and if the opinions given of its medicinal virtues be correct,
it is well worth cultivation, and the notice we are about to take of
it, in describing an easy method of having it in great perfection
throughout the winter months, and up to the time it may be
gathered from the natural ground.

Prepare one or more beds (with alleys two feet wide between)
for the reception of the seeds, in the following manner: mark out
the bed or beds two and a half feet wide, and of any required
length, as near as can be from east to west ; line off the sides and
ends, driving a stake at each corner to ascertain the boundaries ;
dig out the earth of the bed one spade deep, removing it to some
distance ; fill this excavation with the purest and finest sand which
can be procured in the neighbourhood, either from the sea-shore,
the bed of a river, or from a pit. It signifies nothing of what
colour it is, so it be pure, and as free from loam as it can be had ;
for in proportion as the soil of the bed is poor or rich, so will the
flavour of the plant be when dressed. When this precaution is not
taken, and when the plants are suffered to enjoy the rich and culti-
vated soil of a kitchen garden, or the situation made so, by rich
dressings or coverings of fresh manure, the plants are stimulated
into an unnatural luxuriance, which deteriorates the flavour, impart-
ing to them that strong disagreeable scent and taste, resembling
common cabbage, than which nothing can be a greater drawback on
the value of the vegetable ; but when grown entirely in pure sand,
the flavour is mild and pleasant, and is relished by most palates.

When the bed is filled with sand and raised therewith about
six inches above the natural level of the ground, (and this should
be done previous to the end of March, which is the sowing season,)
draw a drill along the middle, from end to end, about three inches

498 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

deep, in which drop the seeds pretty thickly, as they can be thinned
out to the proper distance after they come up. If the sand or
weather be dry at the time of sowing, g^ive a little water in the drill
and immediately cover up. If the seed be good, the plants will
soon appear, and when they are advanced to a size large enough
to enable the gardener to choose the most promising, let them
be thinned out to the distance of six or seven inches, the distance
at which they may remain. During the summer, the bed should
be occasionally watered with dujig water ; and this for the purpose
of encouraging the growth of the plants on their first setting off";
and as manure given in this shape is more fugitive than when
applied in a more solid or concentrated state, it cannot impart
rankness to the plants when they arrive at that age fit to be brought
to table.

The plants cannot be forced, nor should any of their shoots be
cut, the first winter after sowing ; but should be suffered and
assisted to establish themselves, and gain sufficient strength to
yield adequate crops, in the succeeding years.

About the month of November in the second winter after sowing,
a part at one end of the bed should be prepared for forcing. For
this purpose, and in order that it may be done with facility and
effect, a rough wooden fi^ame or frames should be made, eighteen
inches high behind, and one foot high in front, shaped like a com-
mon hot-bed frame, and of any convenient and portable length ;
and in width, the same as the bed. Light wooden covers in con-
venient lengths should be fixed by hinges to the back ; these
may be raised at will for admission of light and air, and, in fine
weather, may be thrown entirely back. When the frames are
placed, dig out the alleys one foot deep to receive linings of hot
dung, which may be banked up against both the back and front of
the frame. The surface of the bed within the frame must be
covered with soft, short straw, or hay, nine inches thick, to arrest
,the heat which rises from the linings, and form that warm humid
region into which the shoots will advance. The temperature of
these dark frames must be regulated by due attendance ; and in
intensely cold or frosty weather, the frames at night will require
coverings of mats and litter, to prevent the plants receiving a
check.

The required supply of the family — the time for it — and the
length or number of the frames, must be judged of by the gar-
dener, and who will act accordingly ; but two frames are indis-
pensable ; because the second should be considerably advanced by
the time the crop in the first is all cut.

Young plants may be transplanted ; and if they are to be had,
may be tried ; but the safer way is to sow and plant both, to pre-
vent disappointment ; and in order that the roots be not too much
exhausted by forcing, one bed should be forced in one year, and
another the next.

The crowns of the roots have a tendency to rise; and as annual

Natural History. 499

additions of sand will be required after the autumnal dressing, the
beds by these additions become unsightly; but cutting off the
most aspiring (with its flowering stem) every summer, will keep the
whole within proper bounds. Instead of covering with dung or
litter, to protect from winter's frost, the frames may be set on those
parts intended to be forced, to answer that purpose; and the
uncovered parts of the beds may receive a coat of mould out of
the alleys, to be drawn back off the sand in the spring.

The writer of this began to force Sea Kale as long ago as 1798,
using hot dung within, as well as without, a frame with glazed
lights ; but soon found that, neither the glass nor dung inside
was necessary or suitable: he, therefore, afterwards succeeded,
by the above plan, to produce the tinest crops of this vegetable, at
any time in the winter months ; and can confidently recommend
such management, especially to those who have no hot-house or
hot-bed frames ; because when there is any early forced house or
frames, if old roots are properly selected and potted in the
autumn, and placed in such house or frame, where there is suf-
ficient heat, and well shut up from light by whelming other empty
pots over them, a crop may be had in this way, without the trouble
and expense of out«door forcing.

J. M.

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INDEX.

Abernbthy, Mr., SS7

Aberration, of glass and of diamond
lenses, compared, 20

Absorption from the surface, remedies
thus applied, 493

Abydus near Thebes, excavations by
Mr. W.Banks at, 182

Acid, on a new vegetable, 217

Aeon, Mr., James, on the growth of
early and late grapes, 159

Adamant, difficulty of making lenses
of, 16

Adams, Mr. his account of the Aurora
Borealis seen in London, 898

Africa, season of malaria and fevers, 41

African travellers, hint respecting, 55

Ag^ns Physiques, leur Influence sur la
Vie, par W. F. Edwards, D.M,, 137,
296

Agnano, Lake, 45

Air, night, why avoided, 43

Air, on the determination of the mean

, temperature of the, 223

Alimentary substances, on, by Dr.
Prout, 480

Alkaline springs of the West Riding
of Yorkshire; their presumed vir-
tues, 25

Altheine, a new vegetable principle;
discovered by M. Bacon, 217

Aluminum, preparation of, 474

Americans, North, possess swift mer-
chant vessels, 32

Aniici's microscopes, Professor, 198

Ammonia, its presence in argillaceous
minerals, 489

Amphitheatres, Roman, 366

Anatomy of animals, the comparative,
by C. J. Carus, M.D., 377

Ancient substances, chemical researches
relative to certain, 209

Animal economy, conversations on the,
382

• fossil, generally found at Ro-
man stations^ 368

known to the Romans, 369

Apatite, composition of, 490

Apothecaries, Society of, incorporated,
888

Apothecary, dissertation on the word,
337

Apples, kept well in corn, 49B

Arago's, Mr., experiment on the refrac-
tive power of bodies, 444

Architecture, naval, its theory, 26

Architecture, on the modern ornamenta
of, 292

Armies destroyed by the influence of
malaria, 54

Arnold, Mr. J. R., respecting the na-
turalisation of fish, 496

Arsenic, its separation from nickel or
cobalt, 209

snlphuret of, 476

Astronomical and nautical collections,
\\%etzeq. 428

Average duration of human life in va-
rious countries, 58

Audition, experiments on, 67

Augustus Ca?sar, Egyptian tablets re-
lating to his victory, 314

Aurora Australis, described by Mr.
Forster, 408

Aurora Borealis, seen in London, its
description, by Mr. Kendall, 385

, general description of

this phenomenon, 405

seen in the day-time

at Cannonmills, 489

in Siberia, 489

Aurora, Guido's; critical examination
of the composition, 11

Bacon, Anthony, Esq., stoves employed
in his garden, 174

Banks, Mr. William, his discovery of
the list of monarchs in hieroglyphics,
182

Bark-beds, Mr. Bregazzi's thermome-
ter for, 425

Barometrical observations reduced to
a standard temperature ; by S. Foggo,
458

Barrowby, Dr., anecdote of, 345

Basse, the, a voracious enemy of other
fish, 325

Bellani, M., his reclamations of che-
mical discoveries, 469 — 470

Berthicr, M , on porcelain, 478

Berzelius, M., 471

, his canons, 64

Beurr^d'Aremberg Fear, described, 173

Bichat's treatise on asphyxy, 141

Biot, M., pendulum apparatus em-
ployed by him, 155

Birds, subjected to experimental in-
quiry, 299

Bismuth, property of, 202

, its separation from mercury,

by potassium, 476

502

INDEX.

Bisulphuret of copper, volcanic, 226
Bitter principle from aloes, on the, 214
Bitter substance produced by the ac-
tion of nitric acid on indigo, silk, and
aloes, 210
Blair, Dr. Patrick, his history, 344
Bleeding, practice of, height to which

it was carried in France, SSI
Blight in fruit-trees prevented by

painting a garden wall, 169
Blowpipe, treatise on the use of the,

by John Griffin, 380
Bond, Thomas, Esq., on the cultiva-
tion of strawberries, 168
Botanic garden at Chelsea, 337
Bouvart, M., humorous anecdote, 330
Branches of trees, their direction, 490
Bromine, M., A de la Rive on, 465

, its elementary nature ascer-

. tained, 466

, prepared for sale by M. Ba-

lard, its discoverer, 466
Browne's, Mr., articles in the Ed. Rev.

relative to the hieroglyphics, 317
Bruckman, Mr., his employment of the
. plough in excavations, 197
Brunei^ Mr., his carbonic acid engine,

65
Bull, Marcus, on fuel, 878
Burckhardt, I. L., travels in Nubia, 189
Burnett, Mr. Gilbert, 76
Burton, Mr., his discovery of a triple

inscription in Egypt, 92
Butler Dr., William, his tobacco prac-
tice, 339
, anecdotes of, 342

Caledonia, the proportions of this ship,
33

Camaldoli, convent of, 45
vCamellias, on the cultivation of, 172

.Cantharides, preservation of, 231

Carbazotate of ammonia, 212

of baryta, 213

of copper, 213

of lime, 213

■ of magnesia, 213

of potash, 212

of silver, 2 13

of soda, 212

Cardoon, on the varieties of, by Mr. A.
Mathews, 162

Carlini, professor, his pendulum expe-
riments on Mont Cenis, 153

Case, Dr. John, 830

Cattle, subject to intermittents and epi-
demics, 59

Celery, on the transplanting of, 168

, upon the culture of, by T. A.
Knight, Esq, 166

C ementation of iron by cast iron, 207

Champollion Figeac, M., 185

Champollion, M., his interpretation of
hieroglyphics, 185, 315

Chemical Manipulation^ by Michael
Faraday, F.R.S., 221, 275

Chemistry, elements of, by Dr. Ed-
ward Turner, 60

Cherry, Chinese, [Prunus Pseudocera-
sus], described by T. A. Knight, Esq.,
178

Chevalier, MM. Vincent, their apla-
natic object-glasses for diverging
rays, 248 ; their microscopes, 257

Chinese language. Baron Von Hum-
boldt's letter on the genius of the, 92

Chloride of lime applied in cases of
burns, 231

Chlorine, on its existence in the na-
tive black oxide of manganese, by
John M'MuUen, Esq., 258

Chromate, new double, by Mr. Stokes,
477

Chronology, the Bible, compared with
that of the hieroglyphics, 185
of Manetho, the, 180

Chrysanthemums, 426

Circle of the seasons, and perpetual

key to the calendar and almanack, 381
Cities of Great Britain compared with

those of other European nations, 285
Cleopatra of Egypt, tablet containing

her name, 313
Cline, Henry, epitaph for the eminent

surgeon, 333
Clock, improved, made by F. Houriet,

of Loch, 454
Cobalt, deuto-sulphuret of, 476
Cobbett's English Grammar, 96
Cochrane's, Captain C. S., Journal in

Colombia, 356
Cocoa palm, the, 262
Coins, British, having the tapir and

elephant on them, 358 — 361
Columbium, a metal discovered by

Mr. Hatchett, 277
Combination of numerous bodies ef-
fected by the use of feeble electric

currents, 462
Comet, Ephemeris of the periodical,

for its return in 1828, 428
Commerce of the Romans with India,

361
Complexions, sallow, in countries sub-
ject to malaria, 58
Cooper, Sir Astley, 337
Coptic alphabet, the, 177
Cordus, Euricus, account of, 880
Corn, its alteration in a subterraneous

repository, 492

rNDEX.

503

Corpuscular forces, on the action of,
448

Covelli, M. N., his examination of Ve-
suvius, 226

'Crambe maritima, on itscultivation,497

Currants, preservtfd upon tlie bushes,
169

Curves, on the beauties contained in
the oval and ellipiic, by H. H. Kein-
agle, R.A., 1

Cyanic acid, on the composition of, 303

Dahlies, on, by Mr.William Smith, 170

Dahlia, display of beautiful varieties of
the, 426

Dalmahoy, epitaph for, 8S4
. Danaus, his migration from Egypt to
Greece, 185

Davy, Sir Humphry, experiments by, 62

Denham, Major, 55

Desideratum in naval architecture,
stated, 32

Desormes, M. Clement, on the action
of a current of air, and the pressure
of the atmosphere, 19S
.Deutoxide of barium, preparation of,
474

Diamonds, formed into single leases for
microscopes, 15

Diamond lenses, lettter of Mr. G. Da-
kin, 459

Diet, attention to, essential to travel-
lers in tropical countries, 55

Diffraction, theory of, 484

Dominica, fever at, 59

Douglas, Mr. David, 191, 888

Douglasia, a new genus of plants, de-
scribed, 38S

Dragon's blood, new substance con-
tained in, 216

Drowning, recovery from, 281

Duncan, Sir William, M.D., 844

Dumas, M., on the properties of sul-
phur, 468

Dutrochet, Dr., his experiments, 77

Ear, physiology of the, 67

Edwards, Dr. W.F., De 1' Influence des
Agens Physiques sur la Vie, 187

Egg-plants, on the esculent, by Mr. A.
Mathews, 167

Egyptian history, on the recent eluci-
dations of early, 176

Ejectric currents, use of feeble, by M.
Becquerel, 462

Electrical excitation, M. Walcker on,
201

Electricity, 62

Elephant, number of species unknown,
865

elephants, carnivorous, S56

EUephanls, remains discovered uear
Belturbet, remarks thereupon, 354

still existing in North Ame-

rica, 856

Enchorial inscriptions, 810

Encke, Professor, on the return of the
I periodical comet, 428
I Engiscope, improved Amician, 200

Engle, M., his mode of preserving pa-
I per, 198

English language, on the character of
the, 93

Ethers, on the mutual action of these
and other substances, 221

Etruscan vases j illustmiions given, 12

Europe, climate of its various divi-
sions, 40

Evelyn, Alexander, Esq., 190

Exodus, disquisition relative to the
date of the, 186

Faraday, Mr., his Chemical Manipu-
lation, 61

, his experiments on the

disinfecting soda liquid, 84

Faro in Sicily, remarkable effects of
malaria, 51

Fashion destructive of taste, 14

Ferro-prussiate of potash, on its prepa-
ration, by M. Gautier, 207

Fever attendant on the houses of the
opulent at Rome, 52

Fever, causes of intermittent, 40 et seq.

Fish, on the naturalisation of, by Dr.
Mac CuUoch, .320

Chinese method of fattening, 284

subjected to experiments by Dr.

Edwards, 297
Fish-store or depot, recommended by

Dr. Mac Culloch for f^ondon, 328
Flora Danica, coloured set of the, 192
Fluidity, ol sulphur and phosphorus,

by Mr. Faraday, 469
Fluoric acid and fluates, experiments

on, 205
Fog from across the sea, a vehicle of

ague, 46
Fossil bones and remains, 858
France, large districts of, insalubrious,

57
Frigates, large French, with curvilinear

sterns 36
Friction diminished by the use of soap-
stone, 455
Fruits, the specification of those of the

best quality^ displayed before the

Horticultural Society, 192
Fruit-trees, on planting the alluvial

banks of rivers with, 1 70
on walls, protecting frame

for, 167

504

INDKX,

Fuel, on the varieties of, and the appa-
ratus for their combustion, bv M.
Bull, 378

Gadus Polachius, the, [or whiting pol-
lack], 73

Gaseous exhalations of the skin, upon
the, 230

Gases, on the specific heat of, by MM.
de la Rive and Marcet, 200

Galvanism, effects of it in cases of as-
phyxia by submersion, 230

Gardening among the Romans, 264

landscape, 270

ornamental, 268

Genus of plants, discovered in North
America, by Mr. David Douglas, S83

Gold, compounds of, 209.

, a native argentiferous, M. Bous-

singault's tables of, 225

Gore, Mr. R.T., 377

Goring's, Dr., modification of the Ami-
cian reflector, 15, 199

Gower, Charles, M.D., his humour, 334

Gowrie, Carse of, 39

Grammar, English, disquisition respect-
ing, 95

Grapes, observations on the growth of
early and late, by M. J. Aeon, 159

Grapes of the Portugal yellow fruit,
grown at Hampstead, 426

Greece subject to autumnal fevers, 56

Greeks, ancient^ uninfluenced by arbi-
trary fashions, 14

Grindall, Richard, sketch of, 335

Grose, Captain, Samuel, 453

Guido, his Aurora, 11

Hachette, M., 193

Hannibal's line of march indicated by

the fossil remains of his elephants, 368
Hare's, Dr., experiments on opium, 215
Hayes, Captain, 28
Head, Captain, Rough Notes of, 494
Heat, its evolution during the compres-
sion of water, 201
Hecquet, Philip, the prototype of Dr.

Sangrado, 331
Henderson's, Mr. T., calculations of

lunar phenomena, 450
Henry, Dr., his style, 61
Hieroglyphical fragments with some

remarks on English grammar, 92
^ illustrative of

inscriptions in the British Museum,

310
Hieroglyphic Catalogue of the Egyptian

kings, discovered, 182
Hieroglyphics, their language, 92
• the old Chinese, 94

Hippopotamus, the, S62

History of Egypt developed by the mo-
dern science in hieroglyphics, 178

Holbeck Spa, in Yorkshire, 21

Holland, calculation as to the duration
of life in, 58

Holly trees and hedges in Scotland, de-
scribed by Joseph Sabine, Esq., 174,

EJorticultural Society, communications
to the, 168

proceedings of the, 190, 425

Horticulture, modern improvements of,
261

Howship, Mr., 249

Hoya, description of the several plants
of the genus, 164

Human organization and phenomena,
303

Humboldt, letter to the Baron, 92

Hunter, Dr., 50

Hunter's, Dr.. anatomical lectures, 336

Huskisson,Mr., his speech on the ship-
ping interests, 35

Hyposulphuric acid, its preparation, 473

Iceland moss, on a new acid existing in,
484

Indigo and indigogene, M. Liebegon
220

Injection, cold, for anatomical prepara-
tions, 461

Inman's, Dr., naval constructions, 28

Insects, method of putting them to death,
493

Instrument to enable young persons to
acquire a knowledge of the stars, by
S. Lee, Esq., 371

lodous Acid, on, 204

preparation of, 466

Italv, its shores pestilential in summer,
4'l, 56

Jalapia, uncertain nature of, 483

Jamaica, malaria, at, 50

Jebb, Sir Richard, M. D., his blunt

manner of speech, 333
John of Gaddesden, surgeon, 336
Josephus, his extracts from the history

of Manetho, 180

Karnac at Thebes, palace of, 184
Kings of Egypt, chronological list of

the, 180
Kinic acid prepared without alcohol,

482
Kitchen gardening, 272
Knight, T. A., Esq., on the culture of

celery, 166

on the culture of the mango

and cherimoyer, 190

INDEX.

505

Labarraque.M.jhis chloride of oxide of

sodium, 81
Lamprey, sea, described, 72
Laudanum, denarcotized, 21.^
Lens, diamond, art of forming it, 15
Lenses, sapphire, Mr. Prilchard's, 459
Leopards, the breed of dogs crossed

•with, 865
Liebeg, M. Just, 210
Light, undulatory theory of, by M.

Fresnel, 113, 4S1
duration of its effects upon the

eye, 457

its effects on vejjetation,490

on the apparent decomposition

of white, 458
on the measurement of the inten-

sity of, 457

Lightning, destruction of an oak by,
487

Lignin or woody fibre, 481

Lime and litharge, their mutual action,
475

Lime, on the incandescence and light
of, 20 1

Lindley, Mr. J., his account of a new
genus of plants, 109

Lines, theory respecting beauty in, 2

Linnaius, the sexual system of, 269

Liquefaction of gaseous substances, ex-
periments of Sir II. Davy, 62

Lister, Mr. J., 248

Lilhotrity, reward adjudged to M. Ci-
viale for his discovery of, 230

Litmus as a test, fallacy of the infusion
of, 214

Llovd's list, calculation of shipwreck
from, 26

Lucretius, reference to, 62

Luminous appearances in the atmos-
phere, 222

Lunar observation, rule for the correc-
tion of a, by Mr. W. Wiseman, 1S5

Lunar phenomena, calculations of, by
T. Henderson, Esq., 450

Mac Culloch, Dr. J., review of his Es-
say on Malaria, 100

Madder, purification of, 219

Magnetic repulsion, results of M. Bee-
querel's experiments, 202

effects of metals in motion, on

the, 456

Malaria, an Essay on the production
and propagation of, by Dj. Mac Cul-
loch ; reviewed, ."^O, 100

accompanying fogs, 48

Mammiferae, observations on, 305

Mammoth, the, considered to be fabu-
lous, 371

Man, remarkable hairy, in Ava, 493
Mandouei, King, inscription at Karnac

bearing this name, 188
Manetho, his history of Egypt written

in Greek, 179
Manganesic acid, on, by M. Unverdor-

ben, 204
Manganese, new chloride of, discovered

by M. J. Dumas, 475
Mango-Capac, suppositions respecting

him, 359, 300
Mangosteen, living plants introduced

from the East Indies, by Captain

Drunmiond, 191
Mantua, Napoleon's precautions against

sickness before, 54
Mapp, Mrs., celebrated bone- setter, 34 1
Maremma of Tuscany, 58
Mastodon, the bones of the, 356
Mathews, Mr. Andrew, 167
Maurandya Barclaiana, a new Mexican

flower,' 425
Mayerne, Sir Theodore, M.D., 3l0
Mayo, Dr. Herbert, on the sensitive

p'lant, 76
Meadows, drains in, cause malaria and

fever, 104
Meconic acid, Dr. Hare's method of ob«>

taining 217.
Medical garden, Mrs. Gape's, '^38
Melons, grown on open borders, 172
Mellitic acid, preparation of pure, 483
Memnon, or Amenophis, statue of, 181
Mems., Maxims, and Memoirs, by W,

Wadd, Esq., 329
Menes, monarch of Egypt, 180.
Mental powers atfecled by residence in

a pestilential climate, 58
Merchantmen, bad construction of Bri-
tish, 26
Merrilt's statistical notices of the popu-
lation of the British empire, 288
Melals, three supposed new, discovered

by Professor Fsaun,478
Meteoric fire-ball at New Haven, 487
phenomenon described by

Chladni, 488
Meteorological diary for June, July and
August, 1827, 236

for September,

October, and November, 500

Essays by Mr..Daniell, 379

observations atChiswick, plan

of a journal of, 1G9

Mexico founded by the Aztees, 359

Microscope, Dr. Brewster quoted re-
specting the improvement of the, 17

with a double convex dia-
mond lens, 17

, with sapphire lenses, 406

SOS

INDEX.

Mimosa Pudica, observations on the
motion of its leaves, 76

Moist air, the chief conductor of ma-
laria, 46

Moisture and heat, effects of their com-
bination, 41

Moles, destruction of, 232

Montezuma's address to Cortez, re-
lative to his ancestors, 359

Montfalcon, medical observation by, 45

Moon, on the supposed influence of
the, by M. Arago, 222

Morphia, its extraction from dry poppy
heads, 216

Nantes, 57

Narcoline, pure, its preparation, 483

Naval construction, observations on the

state of the English, 25
Naval revision, commissioners of, 27
Nitre, peculiar formation of, 205
Nitric acid, test for the presence of, 205
on a peculiar, by Mr. Phil-
lips, 467
Northern light, or streamers, described,

405
Notes to books condemned, 97
Nubia, monuments of, 184
Nugae Canorse, or Epitaph ian Memen-
tos of the Medici Family of Modern
Times, S29
Nugae Chirurgicse, or a biographical
miscellany, by W. Wadd, Esq., 329

Object-glasses of M. M. Chevalier, the
aplanatic, 248

Ohio, the American man of war, 35

Old system of ship-building, evils en-
tailed by it, 35

Opium, Dr. Hare's test of the presence
of, 215

Orache, varieties of, and cultivation of,
by Mr. W. Townshend, 170

Orchards, and orchard fruit, 271

Osymandyas, statues of, the Mandouei
of the inscription at Karnac, 189

Oval and elliptic curves, evidenced in
the motion of ships, the form of fea-
thers, leaves, and fruits, 13

Ovals, formed into elegant diagrams, 6

Ousirei, tomb of king, discovered by
Belzoni, 1 87

Owl, the Coquimbo, 494

Oxalate of lime, existence of its crys-
tals in plants, 214

Oxygen gas, 141

Paintings, Egyptian sepulchral, disco-
vered by Belzoni, 187

Paper, preservation of it from humidity,
198

I Parian marbles, the, 1 85
Passifloras, eatable, 169
Pears, five varieties of, from Jersey, 173

the most celebrated, 426

Pendulum apparatus, the Milan, 155
— experiments on Mont Cenis,

by Professor Carlini, 153
Penitentiary in Westminster, 52
Pennsylvania, the extraordinary length

of this American first-rate, 35
Persian monarchs, their names in the

Phonetic characters of Egypt, 188
Peter the Great, anecdote of, 338
Petromyzon Marinus, description of the,

72
Petroleum wells, Burmese, 490
Pharaohs, dynasty of the, 1 78
Philse, inscription on the base of the

obelisk of, 178
Phillips, Mr. Richard, 258
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal

Society of London for 1827, part II.

contents, 379
Phonetic characters of the Egyptians,

176
Phosphorus, crytallization of, 206

, solutions of it in oils, 206

, its fluidity at common

temperatures, 469
Phosphoric acid, its singular habitude

with albumine, 473
Physical agents, on the action of, 137

et seq.
Physicians, college of, the new and old

buildings, 332
Physiology, 139
Pine apples preserved by removing

their crowns, 228
Pine-cone, enormous, of Pinus strobus,

from the river Columbia, 191
Pitcairn, Dr., his treatment of fever, 332
Planting of trees a safeguard against

contagious winds, 53
Plants, on acclimatizing, at Biel, in.

East Lothian, 164
report upon the new or rare, at

Chiswick, 167
Platina, Dobereener's,finely divided,477
Pleischel, M.,201
Plough, use of the, in excavating canals,

197

Polypi, cure of nasal. 232
Pomological Magazine, the, 427
Pontine marshes, the, 53
Pope, cause of the poet's death, 76
Porcelain pottery, its analysis by M.

Berthier, 478
Portsmouth dockyard, education of ar-
chitects for the royal navy, 26

Duchess of, admonished by

her physician, 331

INDEX.

507

Potash, ferro-prafliiaie of, remarks on

M. Gautier's preparation, 484
■ ■ ■ ■ sulphate of, 467
Powder, on the inflammation of, when

struck by brass, 20T
Power, microscopic, of various lenses,

80
Priestley, Dr., on the relation of gase* to

respiration, 141
Pritchard, Mr. A., on the forming of

diamonds into microscopic lenses, 15
Proth^eite, a new mineral, discovered in

the Tyrol, 226
Protocarbazolate of mercury, 213
Prout, Dr., on the composition of

simple alimentary substances, 481

Quadrupeds, remarks on some supposed

to be extinct, 350
Quartz, peculiar crystals of, by Mr. W.

Phillips, 223
Quinia, rewards for the discovery, 229
, sulphate of, preparation of, 482

Raffles, Sir Stamford, relates that the

tapir exists in Sumatra, 861
Raphael, his painting of the dispute on

the sacrament, 1 1
principle in his compositions,

II
Raspberries, red and white Antwerp, 169
Red cabbage, infusion of, a chemical

test, 278
Reevesia, new genus of plants named,

109
Reeve, Dr. Thomas, 844
Reeves, Mr., genus of plants sent by

him from China, and named Reevesia,

109
Reflector, Amician, 17
Refraction, single, its superior light, 1 6
Reinagle, R> R., Esq., discourse on the

oval and elliptic curves, 1
Repulsions, on peculiar physical, by

M. Saigny, 455
Reynolds, Henry Revell, M.D., his

personal elegance, 33 i
Rheine, a new substance from rhubarb

218
Rhubarb, Buck's (rheum undulatnm),

168
upon forcing garden, by Mr.

W. Stothard, 173
Rive, M. A. rJela, observations on bro-
mine, 465
Robertson, Mr. John, on fruit-trees, 170
Rocks under the surface of theaea^how

discoverable, 198
Rome ; accidental causes of malaria,51
Rosalndica, branches budded upon the;i
190 '

Roses, method of increasing the odour
of, 228

Rosetta stone, the, its importance to
learning and history, 178

Rowing pins in boats, means of securing
them, 460

Royal Society, proceedings of the, 424

Royal Navy, architectural education for
this service, 26

Rubens, the coronation of Mary de
Medicis : character of the compo-
sition, ] 1

Sacchara, tablets transmitted by Mr.

Salt from, 311
Sail, quantity of in ships, 36

Salad-herbs, on growing them at sea, 233

Salamanders subjected to experiments,

142
San Quintino, letter to the Cavaliere,
with remarks on M. Champollion*s
opinions. 310

Savart, M. Felix, 67

Sapphire lenses, by Mr. A. Pritchard, 459'

Scarborough, Sir Charles,his works, 331

Screws, on the adhesion of, 453

Sea-kale, on the cultivation and forcing
of, 497

Selenic acid, 472

Selenium and oxygen-selenic acid, new-
compound of, 471

Selenium, its separation from sulphur,
470

Sensitive plant, Dr. Mayo's observa-
tions on its leaves, 76

Seppings, Sir R., vessel boik on his
system, 28

Ship-builders, 27

Ship-building, great principles of the
art of, 31

Ships, French, their great relative
length, 31

Ships with four masts, 37

Shisak, king of Egypt, identified in the
inscriptions at Bubaste, 185

Sicily, insalubrious villages of, 45

Sickness and death of Prince Henry in
1612, 340

Sienna, mortality at, 56

Skeleton of an elephant in a tomb at
Mexico, 359

Smith, Mr. W., on the varieties of the
dahlia, 170

Smyth's, Captain, respecting the cli-
mate of Sicily, 45

Snails, their destruction by eommon
salt, by M. Em. Rousseau, 493

Soapstone used in diminishing friction,
455

Soda liquid, disinfecting of, M. Labar-
raque, 84

508

INDEX.

Soleb, on the river Nile, 184

Solubility of substances by heat dimi-
nished, 202

Sowando in Russia, fall of the lake, 227

Spallanzani, investigations of, 142

Spawn of fishes, Chinese method of
transporting the, 327

Squadrons, experimental, 29

Squalls of wind on the African shores*
486

Stanley, near Wakefield, mineral spring
at, 21

Stars, Mr. Lee's instrument for gaining
an early knowledge of them, 371

Statistical Notices by Mr. Merritt, 283

Steam and heat, experiments by Mr.
Perkins, 461

Steam-engines, improvement in, 453

Stoop, on the means used with the in-
tention of curing a, by Mr. Shaw, 287

Stoves, heating them by hot water, 174

Strawberries, novel method of culti-
vating, 168

Street, Mr. John, on acclimatizing
plants, 164

Strix Cunicularia, or Coquimbo owl,
494

Sulphate of copper, its decomposition
by tartaric acid, 208

Sulphocyanide of potassium in saliva,
208

Sulphur, on certain properties of, 468

Tar-water introduced as a remedy by
Bishop Berkeley, 342

Tattam, Mr., his Coptic grammar, 92

Tests, chemical ; litmus paper and tur-
meric paper, 279

Theory of the oval and ellipse, applied
to an historical composition of Ra-
phael, 1 1

Thomas Dawson, M.D. , hismarriage,330

Thomson, Dr. Thomas, 60, 64

Thought, experiments on, 308

Tic douloureux, on, 346

— — , surmise respecting its

cause and nature, 108

Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, 185

Transportation of fishes, 326

Trufle, organization and reproduction
of the, 491

Tulley*s,Mr.W.,doubleobject-glass,254

Turner, Dr. Edward, 60

Turtle, fossil remains of the, 364

Tobacco, a preve;jta;^^;^^^ga^nst disease,
55 ; old

Toilet, Geo., Esq., on the preservation

of apples, 168
Tooke, Home, his grammatical in

inquiries, 95
Torpid animals, experiments on SCO
Torpor, vegetable, 228
Transpiration ; inquiry of Dr. Edwards

into the causes of perspiration, 151
Tusks, species of elephants without,365
Tychsen, M., of Gottingen, 316

Varley, Mr., 17.
Vases, Etruscan, 12
Vases, formed from the oval, 7
Villa Borghese, deserted, 52
Ville de Paris, the, her proportions, 33
Viper, bile of the, remedies, 232
on the poison of the, 232

Vegetable diet important, in Africa and

Hindostan, 55
Vegetable substances, condensed, and

preserved for ships'provisions, 229
Velocity, the great purpose of naval

construction, 34
Vesuvius, Mount, 226
Vogel, M. on heavy muriatic ether, and

chloric ether, 204
Undulations of light, theory of the, 113

Unicorn, the, 362

Wadd, W., Esq., 346

Watson, Sir William, his treatise on

time, 310
Wild-beasts, their destruction by the

Romans and Moguls, S66
Wilkes, John, his flashes of wit, 345
Wilkinson's, Mr., inscriptions, 319
Willaumez, Admiral, his frigates having

a round stern, 36
Wine, M. A. Chevalier's tests for the

natural colouring matter of, 215
Wiseman, Mr. W., on the correction of

lunar observations, 135
West, Mr. William, his analysis of a

mineral water, 22
Wohler's, M., cyanic acid, 203
Wollaston, Dr.,67, 276
Woods and coppices, occasioning dis-
ease, 104
Woodville, Dr., his death, 345
Writing, indelible, 223
Writing, the formal Egyptian, 177

Young, Dr., 113, 316, 318.

Zinc, preparation of pure oxide of, by
M. Hermann, 476

YithhJAH ChOWss, Stamford Stieet«