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THE

QUARTERLY JOURNAL

OF

SCIENCE,
LITERATURE, AND 1;HE.ARTS.

VOLUME X.

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.

1821.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY WILLUM CL0VTC5»

MorthuraberUttd'-court.

CONTENTS

OF

THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL,

N°. XIX.

ART. PAGE

L On the Inscription on the Column at Alexandria. By

the Earl of Mountnorris 1

IL On the Apparent Changes of Place, Colour, Size, and
Figure of the Heavenly Bodies. By G. W. Jordan,
Esq., F.R.S., Sfc 13

in. On the Native Country of the Potato, and on some
American Plants. Communicated by A. B. Lambert,
Esq., F.R.S., 8fc 25

IV. On the Granite of Aberdeenshire, and on the Identity
of certain Varieties of Granite with other Rocks ap-
pertaining to the Trap Family. By J. Mac Culloch,
M.D., F.R.S., ^c 29

V. On the Employment of Common Salt for the Purposes

of Agriculture. By Samuel Parkes, Esq., F.L.S.,^c. 52

VI. On the Origin of the Ashantees, and Inhabitants of the
Gold Coast of Africa. By J. E. Bowdich, Esq 73

VII. An Account of an Extraordinary BiHary Calculus.
Transmitted to the Editor, by Sir Everard Home,
Bart., F.R.S., &c 86

VIII. On a New Method of Secret Writing. By Richard
CiiENEvix, Esq., F.R. & A.S., M.R.I.A., &c 89

IX. Description of an Improved Lamp, invented by Mr.
Parker. •• 101

X. On the Diallage Rock of Shetland, By J. Mac Cul-

loch, M.D.,F.R.S.,&c 103

XI. Observations on Aroma, being the substance of a
Paper read by M. Robiqubt to the Philomathic So-
ciety of Paris .••••••••f»*«« 109

II CONTENTS.

Arfr. PAGE

XII. Facts relative to Gold. Extracted from a Memoir
read to the Institute, by M. Pelletier 117

XIII. On the New Hygrometer. By J. F. Daniell, Esq.,
F.R,S., &c )23

XIV. Meteorological Journal for the Months of June, July,
and August, 1820 144

XV. Astronomical and Nautical Collections,

No. III.—

i. Tables subservient to the Calculation of Lunar Oc-
cultations, viz., A Table of the Places of all the Stars
not below the Fourth Magnitude, that are liable to
Lunar Occultations. 2. A Table shewing the Loga-
rithms of the Corrections in Seconds, to be applied
with the proper signs of the Sines. 3. Occultations
for the different places of the Moon's Node. 4. Ex-
planation of the Second Table. 5. Computation of
the Elements for an Almanac. 6. Computation of
a Visible Occultation 145

ii. Errors of the Lunar Tables, deduced from 4068 Ob-
servations, computed by order of the Board of Lon-
gitude , * , . . 166

XVI. MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

I. Mechanical Science.

§ Optics, the Arts, Sfc.

I, On the Structure of the Diamond. 2. Optico-Meteoro-
logical Question. 3. Double Refraction of Minerals.
4. Restoration of the white in Painting. 5. Distant
Visibility of Mountains. 6. Earthen- ware Reflectors.
7. GasTube 167

II. Chemical Science.

§ Chemistry.

1. Veratrine, a. new Vegetable Aleali. 2. Benzoic Acid.
3. Antiseptic Power of the Pyroligneous Acid. 4. Pu-
rification of Pyroligneous Acid. 5. Acids of Manganese.

CONTENTS. HI

• PAGE

6. On the Ferro-prussiates. 7. Preparation of Phos-
phorus. 8. Metallic Vegetations. 9. Muriate of Potash
in Rock Salt. 10. Iodine in Marine Animals. 11. Ful-
minating Mercury. 12. Test for Copper. 13. Process
for procuring pure Zirconia. 14. On artificial Gems.
15. Spontaneous Combustion of Cloth. 16. Evaporation
of Spirits. 17. Electrical Experiment, 18. Improve-
ment in Dyeing. 19. Test for Baryta and Strontia.
20. On Meteoric Stones, by M. Laugier 171

III. Natural Histouy.

§ Medicine.

1. Remedy for Bronchocele. 2. Antidote for Vegetable
Poisons. 3. Vegetable Antidotes to Poison. 4. On the
Poison of the Viper. 5, Cure for the Hydrophobia.
6. Substitute for Peruvian Bark. 7. Plantain Root a
Febrifuge. 8. Medical Prize Question. 9. Prize Ques-
tions 192

^ Mineralogy, Geology, Meteorology, Sfc.

1. Chromate of Iron in Shetland. 2. Boracic Acid. 3.
Fluoric Acid in Mica. 4. Tremolite. 5. Volcanoes of
Tartary. 6. Temperature of Lakes. 7. Organic Re-
mains. 8. Falling of a Mountain. 9. Earthquake.
10. Red Snow. 11. Regions of perpetual Snow 196

IV. General Literature.
1. Modem Greek Literature. 2. Philology. 3. Antient
Latin Manuscripts. 4. Excavations at Pompeia. 5. Po-
pulation, &c. of Paris. 6. Population of Sweden. 7.
Population of Glasgow. 8. Statistics of America.
9. Carmine. 10. Death of an Elephant. 1 1. On the Co-
lumns of the Athenian Temples. By T. Allason, Esq.
12. Geological Maps and Works. 1 3. Mineralogy of Scot-
land. 14. St. George's Medical and Chemical School. 201

Select List of New Publications 208

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

The Editor regrets that Mr. G. Mansel*s Paper reached him
too late for publication in this Number.

We presume that our Correspondent J. F. D. allows his
communication to stand over till next Number.

The Letter, signed V., has been received.

The Editor begs to apologize to Mr. Watts for the term
** illiberal," used in the Index of Volume VIII. of this Journal :
it escaped his observation till Mr. W. pointed it out.

An additional Plate will be given in No. XX.

The Chemical Lectures and Demonstrations in the Laboratory
of the Royal Institution commence on Tuesday, the 10th of
October, at nine in the morning : for particulars, see pag«
215 of this Number.

A new edition of Mr. Brande^s Manual of Chemistry, consi-
derably enlarged, in 3 volumes, 8vo. is in the press, and will
be ready early in the Spring.

CONTENTS

OF

THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL,

N". XX.

ART. PAGE

L Observations on the Analysis of Mineral Waters.

By W. T. Brande, Sec. R.S. ; Prof. Chem. R.I., &c. 217

II. On some Properties of the Catenarian Curve, with Re-

ference to Bridges by Suspension. By Da vies Gil-
bert, Esq., F.R.S. M.P., &c 230

III. On Humboldt's Two Works on the Geography of Plants. 235

IV. Hints on the Manufacture of Catgut Strings 26/

V. Observations on the Theory which ascribes Secretion and

Animal Heat to the Agency of Nerves. By W. P. Ali-
son, M.D., F.R.S., &c 269

VI. Account of an Optical Deception 282

VII. A Letter to the Editor, on certain Inaccuracies and
Omissions in the Rev. Mr. Todd's Edition of Johnson's
Dictionary 284

VIII. An Analysis of the Root of Rheum Palmatum, or Rhu-
barb. By W.T. Brande, Sec. R.S.,&c 288

IX. Experiments and Remarks illustrating the Influence of
the Eighth Pair of Nerves over the Organs of Respira-
tion and Digestion. By S. D. Brougiiton, Esq., &c. 292

X. Account of the Method of preparing a black resinous

Varnish, used at Silhet in Bengal 315

XI. Observations on the Chemical Part of the Evidence
given upon the Trial of the Action brought by Messrs.
Severn, King, and Co., against the Imperial Insurance
Company. By S. Parkes, F.L.S., M.R.I., M.G.S.,

&c 316

XII. On the Spontaneous Evaporation of Mercury. By Mr.
Faraday ,....3 54

II CONTENTS.

ART. PAGl

XIII. Account of Captain Parry's Discoveries in the
Polar Regions. ...... . , ^ 355

XIV. On the recent Discoveries in Magnetism and Elec-
tricity ; 36 1

XV. Letters from a Traveller in Africa to the Marquis 364

C ANOVA

XVI. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 378

XVII. Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, . , , 388

XVIII. Analysis of Scientific Books 393

I. The Philosophical Transactions for 1 820, Part II. — i. On
a new Principle of constructing Ships in the Mercantile
Navy. By Sir Robert Seppings, F.R.S 303

ii. Upon the different Qualities of the Alburnum of
Spring and Winter felled Oak-trees. By Thomas Andrew
Knight, Esq., F.R.S 395

iii. Experiments on the Fungi which constitute the Co-
louring Matter of the Snow discovered in Baffin*s Bay. By
F. Bauer, Esq., F.L.S. 395

iv. On the Errors in Longitude as determined by Chrono-
meters at Sea, arising from the action of Iron in the Ships
upon the Chronometers. By George Fisher, Esq 396

V. On the Measurement of Snowdon by the Thcrmome-
trical Barometer. By F. J. H. Wollaston, B.D., F.R.S. 397

vi. On Sounds inaudible by certain Ears. By Wii^liam
Hyde Wollaston, M.D. F.R.S. 398

vii. On the Compressibility of Water. By Jacob
Perkins, Esq 399

II. An Historical and Practical Treatise on the internal
use of the Hydrocyanic, or Prussic Acid, in i'ulmonary
Consumptions, &c. Second Edition. By A. 1'. (Gran-
ville, M.D., F.R.S., &c 399

III. Recherches Experimentales, sur les Chaux de Con-
struction, Ics Betons, et les Mortiers ordinaires. Par L. J.
ViCAT, ancien Eleve de TEcole Polytcchnique, &c ^"407

XIX. Astronomical & Nautical Collections, No. IV.

i. Remarks on the Calculation of Parallax for a Spheroid 412
ii. Places of the Comet of 1 822. Calculated by Pro-
fessor Encke, and communicated by Dr. Olbers ..... . . 413

iii. Dr. Olbers' Essay on Comets, continued from Vol IX. 4l6

XX. Corections in Right Ascenyons of Forty-six principal
fixed Stars to every Day of the Year, together with some
Observations on the Transit Instrument, &c. By James
South, Esq. F.L.S., Hon. Mem. of the Cambridge Philo-
wphical Soc.,andMem.o.fthcAstronomicalSoc. of London 427

CONTENTS. Ill

ART. PAGE

XXI. Miscellaneous Intelligence 445

I. Mechanical Science.

1. Prize Questions in Agriculture and the Arts. 2. Re-
medy for Mildew in Wheat. 3. Yeast as a Manure.
4. Reaping of Corn. 5. Spade Husbandry. 6. Ripening
Wall-fruit. 7. Protection of Fruit from Wasps. 8. Dry Rot.
9. Preservation of Eggs. 10. Le Bateau Roulant. 11. Whale
Torpedoes. 12. Terrestrial Globe in Relief. 13. Light-
houses. 14. Mathematical Prize Question 445

ir. Chemical Science.
1. On the Application of Chromate of Lead to Silk, Wool,
and Cotton, 2. Sulphuret of Chrome. 3. Preparation of
the Oxide of Chromium. 4. Chromate of Potash. 5. Me-
tallographical application of Fusible Metal. 6. Reduction
of Chloride of Silver. /. Sulphate of Platinum a Test for
Gelatine. 8. Spontaneous Combustion of Oatmeal, p. Eflects
produced by Time on Wood buried in the Ground. 10. Test
infusion of Violets. 11. Wodanium. 12. On Iodine and
its existence in Sponge. 13. Cantharadin. 14. Prepa-
ration of Specimens of Animals. 15. Observations made
during the late Solar Eclipse. l6. On the Dip of the
Needle and Intensity of the Magnetic Force. IJ. On the
Coe Fire of Derbyshire. 18. Discharge of Lightning through
a bad Conductor. I9. Sea-salt in Vesuvius. 20. Meteoric
Stones. 21. On the Chromate of Iron in the Shetland
Islands. 22. On rendering Cloth incombustible. 23. On an
Improvement in Gas-Illumination 45 1

III. Natural History.

1. Medical Prize Questions. 2. Meadow Saffron. 3. On
the Vitality of Plants. 4. Luminous Ph'denomena produced
by a Flower. 5. The Potato. 6. Geology of the Himalaya
Mountains. 7. On the Tape-Worm in the Pointer and
Spaniel , . 465

IV. General Literature.

1. Classical Manuscripts. 2. The Black Prince. 3. Prize
Question. 4. Cleopatra's Needle. 5. Island rent asunder.
6. Mr. Salt; Information from Egypt, — African origin
of the Potatoe 473

XXII. Meteorological Journal for September, October, and
November , 477

Quarterly List of New Publications 478

Index 484

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Captain Vetch's Paper on the remains of the Mammoth ; and
a communication on the Solar Eclipse of the 7th of September
last, will appear in our next Number, with appropriate En-
gravings.

Z. has reached its destination. December 23.

Royal Institution, December 1, 1820.

The Members and Subscribers are informed, that the Lectures
will commence on Saturday the 3d of February next at two
o'clock, and that the following arrangements have been made :

On the Elements of Chemical Science, embracing the subjects of
Attraction, Heat, and Electricity.

On Geology, and its connexion with Agriculture and Miner-
alogy.

By W. T. Brande, Esq., Sec. R, S. London, and F. R. S.
Edinburgh, Professor of Chemistry, Royal Institution.

On the Application of Natural Philosophy to the useful Pur-
poses of Life. Illustrated by appropriate apparatus.

By John Millington, Esq., Civil Engineer, Professor of Me-
chanics in the Royal Institution.

This Course will commence on Wednesday the 7th of February.

On Music — By William Crotch, M.D., Professor of Music
in the University of Oxford.

Thomas Harrison, Secretary.

Mr. Brande will commence the Second Course of the Lec-
tures and Demonstrations in Chemistry, delivered in the Labora-
tory of the Royal Institution, on the first Tuesday in February,
punctually at nine in the morning. This Course will embrace the
Chemistry of the Metals, and of Animal and Vegetable Products,
and the subject of Geology.

A new edition of Mr. Brande's Manual of Chemistry,

with more than one hundred plates, wood-cuts, &c., in three vo-
lumes octavo, is in the Press, and will be published in the month
of February, 1821.

THE

QUARTERLY JOURNAL,

October, 1820.

Art. I. — On the Inscription on the Column at Alexandria^
in a Letter to the Editor, hythe Earl of Mountnorris.

Arley-Hall, June 21, 1820.
My dear Sir,

OO much has been written respecting the inscription on the
column at Alexandria, formerly called the Pillar of Pompey,
that T think the accompanying drawing of the inscription made
by Mr. Salt last year, and forwarded by him to me, will be in-
teresting to many of your readers. The correctness of Mr. Salt's
pencil is so well known that his drawing must put an end to
all disputes as to the actual inscription on this celebrated
column ; but it may not be uninteresting to trace the progress
made in ascertaining it ; I have therefore sent you copies of the
inscription as given by Pococke, Colonels Leake and Squire,
and Dr. Clarke.

To Pococke is certainly due the merit of having first at-
tempted to decipher this inscription ; that he has in a great
degree failed is excusable when it is considered under what
difficulties every Christian then laboured who attempted to
examine the antiquities of Egypt. Had he been able to dedicate
more time to the work, he would have, probably, been more
successful ; as in one short visit he correctly ascertained the
two first letters of the third line and the three first letters of
the fourth line.

It is extraordinary that the French savans should not have
made out any part of this inscription during their long residence
at Alexandria, when they ought to have known that Pococke
had read a part of it, and that other travellers had mentioned

Vol. X. B

2 On the Inscription on the

its being legible. That they totally failed in doing so is evident
from the concluding paragraph of the article on this column,
by Monsieur Norry, given in the first volume of the Mtmoires
sur VEgyptCj who says, *' On doit beaucoup regretter qu'une
inscription qui etoit sur Tune des faces du piedestal ne soit
plus lisible ; on seroit eclaire sur ce monument, que les auteurs
attribuent, les uns k la memoire de Pompee, d'autres a celle de
Septime Severe."

An attempt was afterwards made to give to Monsieur Jaubert
the credit of having made out the inscription, and to Monsieur
Villoison of having first explained it; but there can be no doubt
that the former obtained a copy of the inscription as taken by
Messrs. Leake, Squire, and Hamilton, in 1802, and which had
been widely circulated by them, and this is strongly corrobo-
rated by Monsieur Chateaubriand, who, in giving the inscription,
says, " Je crois etre le premier voyageur qui Tait rapportee en
France," and adds, " Le monde savant la doit a quelques
officiers Anglais."

These officers were Colonels Leake and Squire, who, in
September 1801, ascertained that the inscription was still in
part legible. The deciphering of it was however delayed till
the March following, by the absence of Colonel Leake, who
accompanied Mr. Hamilton to Upper Egypt, but it was actively
undertaken on their return, and the result was the ascertaining
the whole of the inscription excepting three words.

In February 1803, Colonels Leake and Squire communicated
their discovery to the Society of Antiquaries, and in their letter
they give full credit to Mr. Hamilton as a fellow-labourer. An
unsuccessful, attempt has, however, since been made to deprive
Messrs. Leake and Hamilton of all share in the thanks due to
the discoverers by the literary world. Two letters have been
published by Dr. Clarke, written by Colonel Squire to his
brother, and from which the doctor infers that " all idea of
attempting the discovery is due to Colonel Squire, and that he
had the greatest share in its execution*. "

• Clarke's Travels^ Sec. II. Part IL page 257.

Column at Alexandria. 3

The first letter, as given by Dr. Clarke, is without a date,
but evidently written later than February 1803 ; it is as follows :
" I believe the paper presented to the Antiquary Society, con-
tains the best history of the discovery of the Alexandrian in-
scription. I wish not to be brought forward in any literary
dispute, but the fact is, that most of the letters were discovered
by me while Messrs. Hamilton and Leake were in Upper Egypt.
I had seen the same inscription in Pococke's Travels before I
knew of its existence from that book." The second letter is
dated Alexandria, Christmas-day, 1801. " Here let me remark
that it is not impossible but that part of the inscription on the
great pillar may yet be read, fl and O are legible enough,
and by other remains of characters, I can plainly perceive that
the inscription consisted of four lines in Greek. With sulphur,
an impression of these characters might be taken, and perhaps
something satisfactory discovered. Before we quit the country,
I will certainly endeavour to make the experiment *.*'

The conclusions drawn from these letters by Dr. Clarke,
imply that Messrs. Leake and Hamilton have assumed to them-
selves a share in a discovery to which they had no right : this
is a very serious charge, and which does not appear to me to
be sustained by the letters themselves, even admitting the
statements in them to be perfectly correct. Colonel Squire does
indeed claim for himself the having discovered most of the
letters during the absence of Messrs. Leake and Hamilton, in
Upper Egypt ; but this could not be called a discovery, for the
same had long before been done by Pococke, and nothing can
be more different than the ascertaining that detached letters are
distinguishable, and the deciphering a sufficiency of the in-
scription to show its sense, and to whom the column was de-
dicated. Indeed, the only two letters Colonel Squire claims as
having made out, were fl and O, and these had already been
given by Pococke, who had also given the following or third letter;

• On this Dr. Clarke observes, " that even the device of the sulphur
was due to him." There was but little merit in this device ; it was tried,
and a third part of the inscription was taken off; but without the dis*
covery of a single additional letter. It was, in fact^ totally useless.

B2

4 On the Inscription on the

so that in fact, on the arrival of Messrs. Leake and Hamilton at
Alexandria, in March 1802, Colonel Squire had less knowledge
of the inscription than he might have obtained from Pococke,
whose work he, probably, had not with him. The expressions
used by him in his letter of Christmas-day 1801, when Messrs.
Leake and Hamilton had been absent three months, show
clearly how little had then been done. He then considered it
" as not impossible that part of the inscription might be read,
and that f perhaps, something satisfactory might be discovered;"
and he had then " determined to endeavour to make the ex-
periment." That he did any thing in the following two months
of January and February is no where asserted by him, but, on
the contrary, he declares in the letter published under his
signature and that of Colonel Leake, that the first discovery of
any word was made in March 1802, and in the same letter
he admits that Messrs. Leake and Hamilton had an equal share
in the meritorious and successful endeavour to decipher the
inscription.

I should have been sorry that so respectable an officer as
Colonel Squire should have asserted any thing in a private
letter which was at variance with what he had published under
his hand, but this he has not done. He has not claimed for
himself the first idea of deciphering the inscription, or that he
had the greatest share in the execution. Had he done so, I
should still have given credit to the positive assertions of
Messrs. Leake * and Hamilton f, that they had a full share in
deciphering the inscription. I cannot therefore agree with
Dr. Clarke '* that all the information afforded by the inscription
would have been consigned to everlasting oblivion but for the

, • Classical Journal, No. XXV., page 152, and No.^XXIX., page 161.

t HLgyptiaca, page 403. In this place Mr. Hamilton expressly asserts
that he was a fellow-labourer in the deciphering of the inscription, and
adds that, " after visiting it for several days successively at the most fa-
vourable hour, when the rays of the sun first struck obliquely on the plane
of the letters, we obtained the following lines :" This passage Dr. Clarke
has quoted as his authority for asserting " that Mr. Hamilton arrived in
Alexandria, as it has been related by him, after the inscription had been found,
and the undertaking for copying it had been begun."

Column at Alexandria. 5

important discovery made by the late Lieutenant-Colonel Squire,
of some remaining characters upon the pedestal, while Mr. Ha-
milton, and his companion Major Leake, were in Upper Egypt."
On the contrary, I believe that if these gentlemen had never
returned to Alexandria, Colonel Squire would have done as little
after March 1802, as he had done in the six months preceding.

During my residence at Alexandria, in the spring of 1806,
Mr. Salt dedicated many days to the deciphering and
drawing of the inscription. This drawing was unfortu-
nately lost after my return to England, but from memory I
was enabled to state * that the pillar was unquestionably dedi-
cated to Diocletian, and that the three first letters of the name
of the prefect were HOC, as had been originally stated by
Pococke. On the appointment of Mr. Salt to fill the station of
His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General in Egypt, I most par-
ticularly requested him to re-copy the inscription. I have now
the pleasure of forwarding to you the result of his labour, by
which are ascertained the three words left undeciphered by
Messrs. Leake, Squire, and Hamilton, viz., TIMIWTATON
ANIKHTON, and the name of the Prefect FIOCIAIOC.

Colonel Leake conjectured the first word to be TIMItOTA-
TON, and the deciphering of the Ml before the (a) has proved
it to b so. Jaubert had asserted it was OCIWTATON.
Chateaubriand had suggested CO<l>C0TATON.

The second word had been ascertained by Mr. Salt in 1806,
and it had been communicated to Colonel Leake and others, yet
many years afterwards Chateaubriand had recommended
AYrOYCTON; and Dr. Clarke, CEBACTON. The
second investigation of Mr. Salt has confirmed his first.

The third word may be considered as the most important, as
it ascertains the name of the Prefect who dedicated the pillar
to be nOCIAIOC and not HOMnHIOC as conjectured
by Dr. Raine ; nOCTOMOC, as conjectured by Dr. Clarke ;
or nOAAIWN, as conjectured by Chateaubriand.

Dr. Clarke has attempted to establish, that the beginning of

• Valentia's TraveU, Vol. HI. page 464.— London, 1809.

6 On the Inscription on the

the third line of the inscription ought to be read AION AA-
Pl ANON ; but, as he admits that he did not decipher a single
letter of the inscription, his conjecture cannot be placed against
the positive testimony of Messrs. Leake, Squire, and Hamilton,
who first ascertained the name to be AIOKAHTIANON ;
and of Messrs. Jaubert, Salt, and Chateaubriand, who equally
assert that they distinguished clearly this name, to which, if
necessary, I could also myself testify.

No doubt can now remain that the inscription; must be read
as follows :

TON TrMIWTATON AYTOKPATOPA
TON nOAIOYXON AA€HANAP€IAC
AIOKAHTIANON TON ANIKHTON

nociAioc enAPxoc AirvnroY

; [" Posidius, prefect of Egypt (has erected) the most honoured emperor, [
the guardian deity of Alexandria, Diocletian the Invincible."}

I do not mean to assert that there was no fifth line, but I cer-
tainly could not distinguish any vestiges of it ; and Mr. Salt's
drawing shows that, on his second examination, he was of the
same opinion.

I cannot but wish that the name of the Prefect had been
Pompey, as it would have accounted for the name by which this
celebrated pillar has been latterly called. Sandys says, that
" it was called by the Arabians Hemadeslaer, but by the Western
Christians the Pillar of Pompey." With these foreigners,
therefore, the modern name originated, and not with the natives.
Tradition could have no weight against positive testimony, were
there any to support its former name. It is now proved that
the column was dedicated to Diocletian, and it will, probably,
in future, be called by his name.

Believe me to be.
To My dear Sir,

W. T. Brande, Esq. Yours, ever faithfully,

Royal Institution, Mountnokrih.

Colunui at Alexandria. 7

The inscription on the column at Alexandria, copied by
Pococke : —

X3 .. 7 ...OCOTATOIP.O.P.TA
TCC . . OCON lOY . . TON AAEAAA
AlC MAPPOAnONTONAAI..
nOCE APACC

The inscription as given by Dr. Clarke : —

TO (OTATON AYTOKPATOPA

TON nOAIOYXON AA€EAN AP€I AC
AlO I ANONTON ....... .TON

no cnAPxocAirvnTOY

The inscription as copied by Colonel Leake, Colonel Squire,
and Mr. Hamilton : —

TON tOTATONAYTOKPATOPA
TONnOAIOYXONAA€EANAP€IAC
AIOKAIITI ANONTON A. . . .TON

no enAPxocAinrnTOY

The inscription as copied by Mr. Salt : —

T M I tOTATONAYTOKPATOPA
TO nOAIOYXONAA€EANAP€IAC
AlO AHTIANONTONANIKHTON

nociAiocenAPxocAinrnTOY

Column at Alexandria,

X

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OiiiiilWi

Art. II — On the apparent Changes of Place, Colour,
Size, and Figure of the Ileavenlj/ Bodies, — Bt/ G. W.
Jordan, Esq., A.M. F.R.S.

All the celestial luminaries are observed to be subjected to
apparent changes of place, beginning at points below the zenith,
where no change is, and increasing at stations descending
towards the horizon. Of the sun and moon at considerable
elevations, the light is more or less white, but at lower altitudes,
these luminaries become tinged with dilute tawny colours,
and the sun, when so low that it may be viewed with the naked
eye, becomes of a brilliant yellow, which changes to a brilliant
red, of decaying brightness until the orb sinks below the horizon.
At equal altitudes, the moon exhibits similar but fainter colours.
As the sun declines, not only these changes occur of place, of
colour, and of quantity of light, but the disc itself also undergoes
considerable apparent changes, primarily of dimensions, and
subsequently of figure. Primarily a general enlargement of
disc appears, subsequently a contraction of vertical diameter,
accompanied with a more considerable extension of horizontal
diameter, and a change of upper and lower limbs from circles
to ellipses, the lower being considerably more eccentric than
the upper. In this state of approach to the horizon, the lower
limb occasionally suffers considerable fluctuations, and variations
of outline, contracting and enlarging in different points at the
same time.

These changes of place, colour, brightness, dimensioas, and
figure, have been variously accounted for. As they occur at
the same stations, and under the same circumstances, they are
unquestionably to be referred to the same causes. Each how-
ever has been considered apart from the other, with other views
than that of ascertaining the true causes of each, or of all.
The change of place has been considered by astronomers with
a view to ascertain its amount at a given station, and from
this to estimate its variation and amount at other stations.

10 On the apparent Changes

The change of dimensions and of figure, particularly on the
verge of the horizon, has exercised the ingenuity of the greatest
philosophers, and still remains vexata questio. The change of
colours has only been occasionally remarked upon. All these
changes will however be found concurrent and illustrative of
each other ; whilst tlie various attempts to account for them
singly, exhibit such a misapplication of principles, and want
of information respecting the ordinary phenomena of light, as
will only surprise him who knows not how little is at present
generally and correctly understood of light, in its causes and
principles of existence.

Astronomers, who first noticed the changes of place in the
heavenly bodies, have variously attempted to account for their
existence, and to estimate their amount. They consider the
atmosphere as consisting of innumerable concentric laminse, of
various densities, and of refractive powers increasing in the
approach to the surface of the earth, — that the rays of light, in
passing thruogh the atmosphere thus constituted, are subjected
to refractions, such as occur at the confines of different refrac-
tive media, by which they are similarly bent, in various direc-
tions towards the perpendiculars to these laminse, and that
changes and elevations of the apparent places of objects are in
this manner produced. At the confines of different adjacent
refractive media, there is always a division of the light into
two portions reflected and refracted, each of them containing
a given portion of the incident light. By calculations founded
upon the continuance of twilight, after the sun has sunk below
the horizon, it has been estimated that at the distance of from
40 to 75 miles from the surface of the earth, there are powers
in the atmosphere, capable of producing the twilight ; and at
these elevations, these concentric laminae are referred to, as
reflecting from their supposed lower surfaces, light adequate
to the effect produced.

This estimate, however, of the height of the atmosphere on
which twilight depends, is in itself incorrect, as being founded
on the false principle that it depends on single reflections at
the preceding altitudes of the light of the sun sunk below the

of the Heavenly Bodies. 11

horizon, whereas it is produced by many and repeated reflec-
tions of the vapours floating in the atmosphere, and at last
reaches the eye of the spectator by a course so indirect, as to
leave no power of estimating the distances from the earth of the
reflecting particles.

Of these floating particles, upon which twilight and other
atmospheric phsenomena depend, the altitudes thus assumed
exceed all reasonable estimate. All observations respecting
the constitution of the air, show twilight to be the product
of the whole atmosphere, and its contents near the surface
of the earth. The tops of the highest mountains, five miles
above the level of the sea, are scarcely attained and sur-
mounted by any vapours, by any reflecting particles, capable
of producing sensible effects from their sizes or numbers. The
supposed height of the atmosphere capable of reflecting the
height of twilight, being 50 miles according to Keill, whose
estimate is a mean between others, the lengths of air traversed
by light in the horizon is 12 times greater than in the zenith.
(Vide KeilVs Astronomy , p. 244.) This gives the enormous
tract of 600 miles for the passage of the horizontal light of the
luminaries. Through an atmosphere of 75 miles, 50 miles, or
40 miles height, divided into various reflecting and refracting
laminee, as alleged, not the light of twilight, not the light of
the meridian sun would reach the surface.

Euler supposed a single bending of the rays at the confines of
«ether and atmospheric air, such as occurs between any other
two transparent refractive media. This hypothesis escapes the
preceding objection, but is subjected to the difficulties of an
hypothesis which would establish confines between air and
fiether, similar to those between other transparent media of dif-
ferent refractive powers, together with all tlie other objections
to atmospheric refractions.

The atmosphere is not a laminated but a continuous body.

In the passage of light through a transparent continuous
medium, there is neither reflection nor refraction by the
medium ; and therefore there are in fact no atmospheric refrac-

12 On the apparent Changes

tions, aiid some other mode of accounting for the phsenomena
must be resorted to.

The atmosphere is a transparent continuous body : nor will
the division into ideal laminse, by imagining surfaces, produce
effects which depend upon a distinct separation of parts, into
distinct surfaces, severally belonging to the several media at
their confines. Of transparent continuous bodies, the reflec-
tions and refractions are only made at their confines, where
they are adjacent to other transparent continuous bodies of
different refractive powers, at which confines exists that state
of discontinuity and distance, upon which their reflections and
refractions depend.

The difference of refractive powers of any two adjacent por-
tions of the atmosphere, if any difference can be supposed, if
any formation of laminae can be admitted, if any state, similar
to that of the confines of two different media of different re-
fractive powers, can be imagined to exist, at every mental or
ideal division of the continuous fluid of air — the difference,
it may be observed, of the refractive powers of tiiese portions
of the air where they join, cannot but be less than that of
crown glass and flint glass. The solid bodies of crown glass
and flint glass, pressed together by powers considerably less
than the ordinary weights of the atmosphere, may be made so
closely to approach together, that all reflection and refraction
will be extinguished at their confines, and light pass through
both, as uninterruptedly as through one continuous body. The
parts of the air are of one continuous body, and if they were
not, are yet so powerfully pressed together that they would be,
for the passage of light, as parts of one continuous body.

When a portion of light, in a continuous transparent medium,
passes by the side or edge of any other body in that medium,
it is inflected or bent towards that body, in angles proportioned
to the distances of the parts of the light from the side or edge.
These bendings have been observed by philosophers, and by
them named inflections. The principal phssnomena of inflec-
tions^ more than thirty years ago, I observed and explained.

of the Heavenly Bodies. 13

correcting some very important errors of great authority, dis-
posing of the supposed anomaly of the repulsion of light by
bodies, and of that repulsion being changed at other distances
into attraction, by pointing out the bodies whose attractions
had been mistaken for the repulsions of other bodies, and thus
referring all the appearances to the single and simple principle
of attraction. These inflections exist in the same continuous
medium, refractions never but at the discontinued confines of
different media. These inflections, in the continuous medium
of air, produce all the preceding observed changes of the
heavenly bodies.

In imperfectly transparent media, as opals, rubies, coloured
glasses and tinctures, various particles are diffused throughout
the bodies, which by their inflections change the directions and
colours of the light at varying thicknesses. Such a continuous
medium is the atmosphere; transparent in itself, imperfectly
transparent in consequence of the floatage of various particles
of other bodies throughout and between its parts.

At the confines of any two adjacent transparent bodies, there
is a discontinuity, and separation to definite intervals, of the
particles of both, dependent upon the relative attractions of
the particles of each body, for themselves, and for the particles
of the other body; which attractions, although they prevent
guch an intimate union of the bodies as would end the reflective
and refractive powers of both, does not altogether cease to
exist between the neighbouring particles of each fbr the other ;
and there is one class of transparent continuous bodies, between
whose particles there exist in given lines of direction, intervals
of aggregation similar to the intervals between different media,
which although the bodies cease not to be continuous aggre-
gates, yet, at these intervals, a division of the light takes
place, similar to that between different transparent bodies, and
produces a double refraction within the bodies, in lines duly
related to these and other lines of aggregation. This original
conjecture respecting the causes of the double refractions of
certain crystals, was happily confirmed by the splendid dis-
coveries of Malus, who observed that a polarization also takes

14 On the apparent Changes

place in the light divided at the confines of different transparent
bodies, similar to that produced in the light divided within
doubly refracting crystals. Thus from similarity of effects is
established the suggested similarity of causes in both, of causes
existent, and derived from the phsenomena.

These supposed causes of the changes of place in the
heavenly bodies being thus disposed of, the modes of esti-
mating or calculating their amount may be next considered.
Together with these unsupported hypotheses of causes, may
at the same time. be disposed of, all methods of calculation
founded exclusively on the existence and operation of these
causes.

Professor Vince, in his Complete System of Astronomy, has
detailed at large the principles adopted to account for these
apparent changes of place, and the different methods invented
for estimating their amount, and that of the occasional variations
observed in these changes themselves.

** When a ray of light passes out of a vacuum into any
medium^ or out of any medium into one of greater density, it
is found to deviate from its rectilinear course towards a per-
pendicular to the surface of the medium into which it enters.
Hence light passing out of a vacuum into the atmosphere will,
where it enters, be bent towards a radius drawn to the earth's
centre, the top of the atmosphere being supposed to be spherical
and concentric with the centre of the earth ; and as in ap-
proaching the earth's surface, the density of the atmosphere
continually increases, the. rays of light as they descend are
constantly entering into a denser medium, and therefore the
course of the rays will continually deviate from a right line
and describe a curve ; hence at the surface of the earth the
rays of light enter the eye of the spectator in a different direc-
tion from what they would have entered, if there had been no
atmosphere ; consequently, the apparent place of the body from
which the light comes must be different from the true place.
Also the refracted ray must move in a plane perpendicular to
the surface of the earth ; for conceiving a ray to come in that
plane before it is refracted, then the attraction being always

of the Heavenly Bodies, 16

towards the perpendicular which lies in that plane, the ray
must continue to move in that plane. Hence the refraction is
always in a vertical circle."

These are the accepted doctrines of the day, and delivered
as such by the Professor.

According to these statements, ** when the light passes (ob-
liquely it should have been stated), out of any medium into one
of greater density, it is found to deviate." To produce this
deviation however, the circumstances stated are not sufficient.
The light must pass not only out of " any medium into one of
greater density," but out of one medium into another — into
another and not the same — not the same even increased in density
— into another distinct and separate medium, not merely of
greater density but of greater refractive power. Refractive
power is not identical with density. The refractive power of
glass for instance, is to that of water as 55 to 34, its density
as 87 to 34. Change of density alone, and not of medium, and
of refractive power will not produce the reflection, refraction,
dispersion, or change of direction of light. Thus the principles
assumed to account for the apparent changes of place in the
heavenly bodies fail, together with all the observations de-
pendent upon and connected with them.

A ray of light always moves after refraction in the plane of
incidence, whether it falls on a plane or curved surface. That
refracted rays therefore may move in vertical circles only, they
must come in vertical planes only. But rays of light do not
necessarily move either before or after their supposed refractions
in vertical planes, and their bendings therefore are not always
necessarily in vertical circles. If this were the case, no changes
of the diameters, parallel to the horizon, of sun or moon could
ever take place, and all measurements thereof to discover any,
would be useless. It is however to be conjectured and feared,
that this opinion, of the supposed refractions necessarily being
in vertical circles, has influenced observation, has led to erro-
neous conclusions respecting the phsenomena, and affecting
even the judgment of observers in their measurements and
estimates, has contributed to establish and continue error.

1^ On the apparent Changes

Such are the defects of the doctrines of the astronomical
schools on this subject. They are not to be imputed to the
Plumian professor, but belong to the system, which he de-
livers as received. His esteemed work was among my books,
and in seeking to give an account of atmospheric refractions,
as they are called, my opinion of him led me to that. I should,
have found the same things in any and every treatise of astro-
nomy to which I could have referred.

The different methods of ascertaining the amount of these
changes of place, determining it for one altitude and object by
direct observation, and estimating it for other altitudes, objects,
and places, do honour to the talents of astronomers in every
age. Tycho, Cassini, De la Caille, Newton, Bradley, Hawksbee,
Maskelyne, and others, calculated, but possessed no correct
conceptions of the causes of the phsenomena.

These changes of place having been found to vary in them-
selves, not only at different altitudes of the luminaries, but at
the same elevations also, in different states of the atmosphere,
and changes in the barometer and thermometer having been
observed to be cotemporaneous with those; these, although
themselves depended upon other changes, have been considered
as connected with and influencing those, and have been taken
into the account in which those were estimated and calculated.
There are, however, conditions and changes of the atmosphere,
dependent upon other causes than its temperature and weight,
which are indicated by the hygrometer, and upon which the
phaenomena themselves more immediately depend. These,
therefore, rather than those, or perhaps together with those,
are to be considered ; and thus it appears how uncertain all
knowledge is, not founded upon a knowledge of causes.
Rect^ scire est per causas scire. — Bacon.

The apparent changes of place in the luminaries, in their
lowest stations near the horizon, are indeed subjected to ano-
malies, which render confessedly, the calculations applied to
the higher, not to be depended upon in these last stations.

Whether in calculations, which require these apparent vari-
ations of change of place to be taken into the account, and

of the Heavenlj/ Bodies. 17

therefore to be correctly determined, any estimate can or ought
to be depended upon, except derived from observations made
at the time, and upon the occasion, during the existing state of
the atmosphere, and independently of the principal observations,
will hereafter appear. Many modes of making these observa-
tions will occur to practical astronomers, to whom we defer
with all due respect in matters purely astronomical.

The apparent and extraordinary changes of dimensions, and
of figure, in the sun and moon in stations just above the horizon,
have been referred by various conjectures to various causes.

Des Cartes, Wallis, and others, suppose that a better judg-
ment being formed of the distance of the moon by comparison
with objects in the horizon, she is considered as more remote,
and therefore appears larger in the horizon than in the zenith.

Ptolemy, considered the effect, as in part a fancied, in part
an actual enlargement of apparent disc, and conformably to
this latter opinion Roger Bacon ascribes the enlargement to
refraction. Gassendus ascribes the appearances to an in-
creased dilatation and flatness of the pupil of the eye in
less light producing a larger picture on the retina ; Berkeley
to the diminished horizontal light of the moon ; Smith to the
apparent figure of the sky as being less than an hemisphere,
the moon retaining her size unchanged, and appearing, upon
the principles of perspective, larger at supposed remoter
distances.

The horizontal diameters of sun and moon have been sub-
jected to actual measurements with varying conclusions.
Riccioli afiirms, that together with Grimaldo, having, with a
sextant, carefully and repeatedly measured the horizontal dia-
meter of the sun, one by the right, the other by the left limb,
they distinctly ascertained the increase to be what the naked
eye exhibits. Almost all other philosophers have considered
the appearances to be delusive, to be optical deceptions, and
have affirmed that measurements by instruments give no in-
crease of dimensions. Almost all are of opinion that the re-
fractions, which, as they suppose, produce these appearances,
can only be in vertical circles.

V^OL. X. C

18 On the apparent Changes

Riccioli and Grimaldo state, the observed diameter of the
sun in the horizon to be from 45 to 60 minutes, of the moon
from 38 to 40 minutes.

Molyneux objects that the moon ought to have appeared
under an angle of 5 degrees. Did any person ever see the
moon extended under an angle of 5 degrees in the horizon ten
times larger than usual ? This argument then fails in fact, as
does also the other, that there is no refraction or change of
place but the vertical, and therefore no dilatation.

I agree with Riccioli and Grimaldo ; because their measure-
ments accord v^ith the theory hereafter to be developed ; because
they agree in their amount with the appearances, vertical as
well as horizontal; and because of their very differences ; for of
the sun and moon, the mean apparent diameters are nearly
equal, and severally about 32' and 31', and according to their
observations, the measure ji diameters are from 45' to 60' of
the sun in the horizon, from 38' to 40' of the moon, the weaker
marginal light of the moon being extinguished, and her size
more reduced by the atmosphere through which she appears,
than that of the sun.

The size of a candle, viewed through different deeply-coloured
glasses, is considerably diminished by the loss of its fainter
marginal light ; and so the sun and moon ought, on account of
the loss of light in passing through the atmosphere, to appear,
and would appear, diminished in diameter, but that this cause
of diminution is more than compensated for, and the discs are
more enlarged by, the lateral inflection of the rays than di-
minished by the extinction of the marginal light. By the in-
creased extinction, however, of the weaker marginal light of the
moon, her apparent size is more reduced than that of the
brighter and more strongly illuminated sun, the atmosphere,
through which they both are seen, acting as a coloured glass,
giving colours to both luminaries in different degrees and pro-
ducing these differences in the measurements of Riccioli and
Grimaldo.

Thus the theory to be hereafter developed, confirms the ob-
servations of Riccioli and Grimaldo made, particularly upon

of the Heavenly Bodies. 19

the horizontal diameter of the sun, and established so distinctly
by the plain perceptions of sense, that nothing but that ingenious
learning, which in every age has puzzled the plainest things,
could have induced a doubt respecting what was actually seen,
although the cause was not understood.

Riccioli accounts for the differences of opinion and measure-
ment of others, by supposing that, by the adopted modes of
measurement, which he states, differing from his, the external
light of the limb of the object is intercepted, and its size reduced.

I have endeavoured variously to account for these continued
errors of the acutest observers, by supposing that taking it for
granted that all changes of place, or refractions, as they called
them, were made in vertical circles, which is not correct, and
that all measurement of any but the vertical diameter of the
luminaries was unnecessary, upon finding this to be what was
expected, they abandoned all further observations of horizontal
diameters, not perhaps so conveniently measured as in the
vertical line, or made them without sufficient care and attention.

The rainbow has been referred to, as exhibiting near the
horizon, a considerable increase of breadth, upon the same
principles which produce the apparent enlargement of the
horizontal sun and moon, and thus confirming them. But one
error is here adduced to support another. The cases are en-
tirely different. The rainbow is seen under very different
circumstances, and at short distances, which allow neither the
imagination to act nor the atmosphere. Of the falling drops
of rain, the increased sizes near the horizon, extend the spaces
of formation of the radiants which they reflect, increase their
number and divergence, and thus enlarge the dimensions of the
bow which they form. I have seen the primary rainbow com-
pletely formed, and at the same time the following appearances
exhibited : In the thin vapour of the cloud on high, was formed
a narrow principal bow, attended with three or four inflected
orders of colours, which are known to depend upon the small
sizes of the drops. By degrees, lower down, these accompanying
bows disappeared by uniting into the single primary, whose
dimensions in the horizon became dilated into more than double

C2

20 On the ap'parent Changes

its original breadth, in consequence of the increased sizes of
the united drop^.

, The changes of colour, and of brightness, have not been
attentively considered, or happily explained in themselves, or
as connected with the other changes of place or of figure. The
attempts to account for these are not more philosophical than
those of the poet : —

Ipse Dei clypeus, terrS, cum tollitur im^
Mane rubet, terr^que rubet cum conditur im^.
Candidus in summo est ; melior natura quod illic
iEtheris est, terraque procul contagia vital.

Ov. Metamor. lib. 15. 1. 192—5.

In a continuous medium, a ray of light, passing by the side
or edge of any body contained therein, is inflected by the at-
traction of the body near which it passes, and bent towards it.

In such a medium a ray of light passing between two bodies,
is inflected and bent by the difference of the forces of the two
bodies, towards that body nearest to which it passes, and whose
attraction consequently prevails.

A ray of light so passing, is not only so bent and inflected,
but is also dispersed and divided into parts more or less bent
in various directions towards the inflecting body, the colours of
its several parts being changed, from that of the original light,
into rays of what are called prismatic colours, which coloured
rays, even in the refractions of the. prism, are produced by in-
flections, the blue being nearest to, and most attracted by, the
inflecting points, the red most remote from and lest bent to-
wards them, the intermediate, in and into intermediate di-
rections.

A ray of light, passing perpendicularly through a series of
particles concentrically arranged in the plane of incidence,
and at equal distances between the particles, passes on without
deviation or bending.

A ray of light, passing obliquely through a series of particles
concentrically arranged in the plane of incidence, will be in-
flected and bent, in a direction inclined towards the radius
drawn from the centre of arrangement to the point of passage.

of the Heaveulj/ Bodies. 21

A ray of light, passing perpendicularly, at equal oTstdnces',
between the particles of each series, and successively through
many series of particles, concentrically, and more and more
numerously arranged in different successive planes, will be
attracted by, and inflected towards the planes, in which the
greater number of particles are disposed.

A ray of light passing obliquely and successively, through
and between various concentric series of particles in various
planes, and of variously increasing numbers in those planes,
will be inflected and bent, into directions compounded of the
directions given by the succeeding different planes and con-
centric series, conformably to the established laws of motion.

The body of air, incumbent upon the earth and its waters,
acting by its powers of solution becomes more or less charged,
more numerously at small, less numerously at greater distances
from the surface, with particles of water floating in it, in states
intermediate between absolute solution and rapid precipitation.
These particles in a further state of separation from, and floatage
in the air, are congregated into visible forms, and become fogs
and clouds. In the intermediate state between perfect solution
and visible separation, though they do not entirely destroy the
transparency of the atmosphere, they yet exist in the air as
floating detached bodies, capable of acting upon light by re-
flecting and inflecting it, and show their existence and powers
frequently, by exhibiting the tracts of the sun-beams passing
from between clouds through the air, or by otherwise variously
acting upon objects seen through the vapours which they
compose.

By the observation of those who ascended Mont Blanc, and
were terrified at the black apparent void beyond the top, there
were then no particles in the air, higher than the mountain,
capable of reflecting light. Mont Blanc is not quite three miles
above the level of the sea. Seldom higher than this, above the
level of the surrounding region, can the vapours of flat countries
be considered to rise, so at least as to become sensible by their
actions on light, and to this height must be reduced the great
concentric masses of sensible vapours supposed to be from fifty

22

On the apparent Changes

to seventy miles high. The principal accumulations of vapours,
are indeed considerably short of this height, and being upon or
near the surface, their strata may in effect be considered as of
various horizontal diameters from 12, to 24, to 30, miles long,
as they may be estimated to be of the height of one, two, or
three miles.

of the Heavenly Bodies, 23

Let S, be the place of a spectator, ED the sun, LM a line
drawn through the centre of the sun parallel to the horizon,
TS a line drawn from the centre of the sun to the spectator,
HI a circular series of particles of vapour arranged at given
distances from each other in the same plane with LM, and TS,
and cutting TS at right angles, a ray of light from T passing
along TS, through the circular series HI, at right angles and at
equal distances between any two particles will proceed directly
without bending to the eye of the spectator. Let LH and MI
from the points L, and M in the line LTM, be rays parallel to
and in the same plane with TS. As TS falls perpendicularly
on HI, so LH and MI will fall obliquely on HI, and instead
of passing on to N, and C will be bent at H and I,
towards the perpendiculars to HI, into lines intersecting the
line TS, and coming to the eye of the spectator in the di-
rections SH, SI. This is the case with a single series of par-
ticles. Let the body of the sun ED be seen through many
strata consisting of many similar circular series of particles,
increasing in number and density in the several strata to the
surface downwards, a ray of light TS, entering between the
strata at right angles thereto, and descending through the
lower strata interposed between the luminary and the eye, will
be successively bent in the plane of the vertical in which TS is,
and a change and elevation of place of the point T in the vertical
will be produced. In this manner the points D and E, will be
raised to G and F, and all the points between D and E, to
places between G and F. But as in passing down between
various successive strata, other the rays LH and MI are acted
upon by two forces, one between the strata for elevating them
vertically, the other by the circular series they enter obliquely
for inflecting them towards their perpendiculars, these rays will
consequently move in directions diagonal to the directions of
these combined forces, and the points L and M will be not only
elevated, but dilated externally from and out of the vertical on
both sides, and apparently transferred to the points A and B.
In the same manner all the rays proceeding from all the inter-
mediate points of LEMD are variously elevated, dilated, and

24 On the apparent Changes

transferred to intermediate points of AFBG, and the luminary
appears, with a smaller vertical, and extended horizontal
diameter, of the form of two half ellipses combined on the same
major axis, the lower considerably more eccentric than the
upper. All rays not passing as above, will be dispersed and
lost, or stopped and extinguished, and in an undulatory state
of the strata of vapours, the observed undulatory changes of
outline and limb, particularly of the lower limb will be pro-
duced. All these rays, vertical as well as horizontal, in passing
on to the eye of the spectator, will not only be thus inflected
and bent, but will be variously distributed, and dispersed into
various colours, by the first and successive orders of particles
by which they pass, and not only divided, but by degrees en-
tirely separated from the rest of the direct light, in the order
of colours from blue to red. First, all the blues will be dis-
persed, and separated from the rest, and scattered over, and
variously reflected by the whole atmosphere, giving it, when
seen free from clouds, the usual coerulean blue, in the manner
described in a paper on the Colours of Waters, in the 9th
Number, Vol. V., p. 81, of the Royal Institution Journal, and
never before clearly accounted for. After this separation, the
colour of the luminary becomes yellow, until by the increased
action of the denser strata of lower vapours, into which it
descends, the yellow is entirely separated and dispersed after
gilding with its colours the lower surfaces of the horizontal
morning and evening clouds, leaving the sun of a bright red
sustainable by the eye, and of a lustre continuing to decay, as
long as the orb continues to be seen.

The phaenomena, thus dependent upon the vapours of the
atmosphere for existence, will vary also with these vapours,
their quantities contained in air, and their states of perfect or
partial solution therein, of more or less absolute separation up
to that of rapid precipitation in the form of drops of water.
The hygrometer fitted to determine and to measure these
changes, of numbers of particles, and of condition of air de-
pending thereon, would obviously be the instrument to be
used in observations, rather than the barometer and thermo-

of the Heavenly Bodies. 25

meter, or together with these, inasmuch as the states indicated
by these instruments mutually affect each other. In ordinary
cases, these instruments may be consulted, but where extra-
ordinary accuracy is required in determining the places of the
heavenly bodies, recourse must be had to more direct obser-
vations made at the time.

I have thus accounted for the changes of place in the heavenly
bodies, the changes of colour, the changes of figure and di-
mensions, and the occasional undulatory changes of limb and
outline, together with the occasional variations even of these
changes, by referring them to the same principles, to one and
the same existing cause, acting variously, and variously mo-
dified ; and he who can continue to believe that the apparent
increase of size of the sun and moon, in the horizon, is a de-
ception produced by comparison with terrestrial objects, or by
assigning them, according to the principles of perspective, di-
mensions depending upon their places in a supposed less than
hemispherical, or rather oblate spheroidical sky, may ascribe
all the other concurrent appearances and changes, change of
colour, change of place, change, of figure, undulatory changes
of limb and outline, to delusions, not only ocular but mental,
of the mind as well as of the mind's eye. G. W. J.

Art. III. On the Native Count ry of the Potato y and on
some American Plants . Communicated 63/ A . B . L a m b E rt,
Esq., F.R.S., Sec. S^c.

It has long been a desideratum among botanists to ascertain
the native country of the potato, Solanum tuberosum. I beg
leave now to offer some communications on that subject, which I
have lately received in a letter from the celebrated author of the
Flora Peruviana, Don Jose Pavon, who resided many years in
South America, dated, Madrid, September 23, 1817, who says,
** The Solanum tuberosum grows wild in the environs of Lima,
in Peru, and fourteen leagues from Lima on the coast ; and I
myself have found it wild in the kingdom of Chili. I can
assure you this is the truth. The Indians cultivate it in great

26 On the Native Comitiy of the Potato ^

abundance in Peru and in Chili, and call it Papas, There are
other wild species, such as Solanum montanum which also gives
a radix tuberosa." Of this I have received from the above-
mentioned author of the Flora Peruviana fine wild specimens
with the root. In another letter, dated Madrid, Nov. 10,
he again repeats, " I mentioned to you that Solanum tuberosum
grows spontaneously near Lima, and in the kingdom of Chili,
where it was also found by my companions Dombey and Ruiz ;"
I have lately received from Don Pavon very fine wild specimens
of Solanum tuberosum, collected by himself in Peru. Don
Francisco Zea, companion and friend of the celebrated Mutis,
who long resided in South America, assured me, when he was
in this country, that he had often found it wild in the forests
near Santa Fe de Bogota, observing at the same time, that the
reason why Baron de Humboldt had not found it when he was
in that country, was, because he had not time to examine those
places where it grew. In a letter (addressed to Mr. Frazer of
Sloane-street, Chelsea,) lately received from Dr. Baldwin, an
excellent American botanist, who has lately returned from the
coast of South America, in the Congress frigate, of the United
States, he says, " I found many plants that appeared to be new
during my excursion in South America, and had the satisfaction
of submitting most of my specimens to M. Bonpland, who has
settled himself in the vicinity of Buenos Ayres. It was not the
least pleasing of my discoveries to find the famous Solanum
tuberosum growing spontaneously among the rocks on Monte
Video ; in a part of the country, too, where this valuable vege-
table is not cultivated. I also found it on the same side of the
river in the vicinity of Maldonado." A species of Solanum was
found by Commerson in the neighbourhood of Monte Video,
named by Dunal, in his Synopsis of the Genus Solanum, page 5,
Solanum Commersonii, from a specimen preserved in the Museum
at Paris. It is also described in the Supplement to the Ency-
clopedic Methodique, Vol. III., p. 746. I have no doubt that this
is the same with the plant found by Dr. Baldwin. On making
inquiry, relating to this plant, of Captain Bowles, who has
lately returned from the South American station, and who has

and on some American Plants. 27

resided for a considerable time at Buenos Ay res, he told me he
knew it well, and that it is a common weed in the gardens and
in the neighbourhood, bearing small tubers like those of the
potato, but too bitter for use. Whether this be the original
stock of our common potato improved by cultivation, future
observation must determine. Molina, in his History of Chili,
speaking of the potato, says, " It is indeed found in all the
fields of that country, but those plants that grow wild, called
by the Indians Maglia, produce only very small roots of a
bitter taste."

There appeared lately in the English newspapers an account
of a root which is very much cultivated in Peru under the name
of Arracacka^ and which would be a very desirable acquisition
to this country. The before-mentioned Don Francisco Antonio
Zea, formerly professor of botany at Madrid, who has lately
arrived in this country from Santa Fe de Bogota, (New Granada,)
informs me that the Arracacha grows abundantly at Santa Fe,
Junga and Pamplona, where it is very much cultivated and eaten
in the same manner as we do potatoes in this country ; and says
that the plant which produces it belongs to the natural order
UmhellifercB, and that it has a tapering root, about six inches
long and two inches thick. I have little doubt that this is the
same with the Heracleum tuberosum, foliis pinnatis ; foliolis sep-
tenis; ftorihis radiatis ; of Molina, who gives the following
account of it : " This plant resembles very much in its leaves,
flowers, and seeds, the Common Cow Parsnip, but is distin-
guished from it by the greater number of roots it bears, which
are six inches long and three inches thick, of a yellow colour,
and of a very agreeable taste."

Don Zea has also afforded me another piece of information,
relating to a small species of Mays, or Indian corn, which was
introduced last year from France under the name of Mays de
Poulet, and which ripens its ears two months earlier than the
common kind. I had suggested to Mr. Sabine, (who has men-
tioned it in the Horticultural Transactions,) that it was very
probably the Zea Caragua of Molina ; and my opinion is now
confirmed by Don Zea, who knew it at once on its being shewn

28 On the Native Country of the Potato, &c.

him. He informs me that it is cultivated in great abundance
in Chili by the Indians, particularly in the district called Ca-
ragua, whence its name.

I beg leave to mention another communication, also from
Don Jose Pavon, relating to a substance which has been several
times sent from Spain, under the name of Spanish tinder,
resembling very much the Moxa of the Chinese. We never have
been able till now to ascertain the plant from which it is manu-
factured, which proves to be Echinops Strigosus. There are
three different sorts ; the first, Yesca de Espagna, or Amadou
d'Espagne, de Car do de lasflores (ex fioribus) ; the second,
Yesca de Espagna, or Amadou d'Espagne, de Cardo de los
hoga^ (ex foliis) ; the third, Yesca d'Espagna, or ximadou
d'Espagne de Cardo de las tallas (ex caulibus.)

I take this opportunity of inserting another observation which
I have also received from Spain.

The tree which produces the balsam of Peru, Myroxylon
Peruiferum, appears to be the same as Toluifera halsamum,
or that which yields Tolu balsam. The following account
of it is given by Don Hippolito Ruiz : " The balsam of
Quinquina is procured by incision at the beginning of spring,
when the showers are gentle, frequent, and short. It is
collected in bottles, where it keeps liquid for some years,
in which state it is called white liquid balsam; but when
the Indians deposit this liquid in mats or calabashes, which
is usually done in Carthagena, and in the mountains of
Tolu, after some time it condenses, hardens into resin, and
is then denominated dry white balsam of Tolu, by which
name it is known in the druggists' shops." Having ex-
amined the specimens of Toluifera balsamum, from the her-
barium of Sir Joseph Banks, I find them exactly the same as
Myroxylon Peruiferum, and which was sent to Linnaeus by
Mutis, as the plant producing the balsam of Peru. I have
lately received fine specimens in flower and fruit, and also a
specimen of the trunk of the tree with the bark on ; it is between
three and four inches in length and about three inches in dia-
meter, and was collected by the authors of the Flora Peruviana.

29

AiiT. IV. — On the Granite of Aberdeenshire, and on the
Identity of certain Varieties of Granite, with other Rocks
appertaining to the Trap Family — By J. Mac Cul-

'' LOCH, M.D., F.R.S. Communicated by the Author.

It is well known to those who are conversant ^with rocks, that
many members of the trap family, including under that term all
the unstratified rocks which lie above the secondary as well as
the primary strata, bear a striking resemblance in their mineral
composition and general aspect, to some of the varieties of
granite ; there being comprised under this denomination, all
the unstratified rocks which are inferior, not only to the se-
condary, but to the primary strata. A very remarkable instance
of this resemblance, is pointed out in the article which relates
to the Isle of Sky, in my work on the Western Islands of
Scotland ; and similar examples, if less striking, may be seen
in many parts of that country, so fertile in all the interesting
appearances which are found in the rocks of this multifarious
family. The important views that may be deduced from these
facts, will be considered hereafter ; it being the primary object
of this paper, to confirm this important analogy by evidence
from a different source, but of the same nature, derived from
the existence of those rocks which form some of the most
common and conspicuous varieties of the trap family, not only
in the situation occupied by granite, but connected with the
most authentic masses of that substance by a bond of mutual
and imperceptible transition.

Those who are acquainted with Scotland, know that granite
occupies an extensive space in Aberdeenshire ; and that where
it does not appear at the surface, it is covered, and often to a
very inconsiderable depth, by different members, both of the
primary and secondary strata.

Among these, gneiss is the prevailing rock. In some situa-
tions, it forms mountains of considerable elevation, such as Noath
and Coreen ; but, towards the eastern side of the country, it is
found at a general, but irregular low level ; like the granite,

30 Dr. Mac Cullocli on the

with which it is also intermixed in patches of various, often of
minute, dimensions, and of very uncertain recurrence.

Micaceous schist also occurs ; but towards the western side
of the county, principally ; as it is scarcely to be found in that
tract where granite is the prevailing rock, and which alone is
the object of the present paper.

The same remark may be made on quartz rock, which is
also found in considerable masses, in some of the western
mountains ; but it is either rare, or nearly altogether absent, in
those places where extensive masses of granite are visible at
the surface.

Clay slate occurs in a much more conspicuous manner ;
forming some tracts of considerable extent and of very moderate
elevation ; and, in many places, being, like the gneiss, in contact
with the granite. It is, further, in some cases, so thin, and so
intermixed in patches with that rock, as obviously to form but
a very superficial covering over it ; the fundamental granite
protruding through the schist in many places, in such a manner
as to allow its continuity to be inferred, even in those places
where it does not reach the surface.

It is unnecessary to notice particularly, the masses of ser-
pentine which are found in many parts of the district under
review ; and the more rare beds of primary limestone which lie
in the western and southern mountains among the other stra-
tified rocks.

These then form the whole of the primary strata which occur
in that part of Aberdeenshire now under review. Of the
secondary, the lowest or old red sandstone is found in diflferent
places ; but, with one rather doubtful exception, it does not
appear that any of the superior secondary strata, whether of
sandstone or limestone, exist in any part of this district.

It is, lastly, important to remark, that no instances of super-
incumbent trap rocks are to be discovered throughout this
extensive tract ; nor, after a careful research, could I find any
veins of these substances. That extensive body of these rocks
which occupies so large a portion of the central and secondary

Granite of Aberdeenshire, 31

district of Scotland, ceases entirely before the meeting of the
strata of this class with the primary ridge which forms the
southern boundary of the northern mountainous division of this
country. A few veins only, are, in some places, found to pe-
netrate the primary strata in this direction ; but, after no long
course they entirely disappear.

This slight sketch of the nature and disposition of the stra-
tified and superincumbent rocks which occur in the district
under review, will be useful in attempting to trace the general
extent and continuity of the granite which forms, not only the
basis, but the chief visible portion of that tract which is the
repository of the phsenomena to be described in this commu-
nication.

The most prominent and conspicuous masses of that rock,
are those which form the high mountains of Mar, and which
contain the sources of the Dee. In tracing from these moun-
tains towards the sea, eastward, the granite is found re-appearing
in numerous places ; the interruptions to its continuity being
produced by portions, more or less extensive, of the primary
strata already described, and, principally, of the gneiss. In
this manner it may be traced to Portsoy, and, more or less
interruptedly round the coast to Aberdeen. Without a map, it
would be impossible to convey any accurate ideas of its geo-
graphical position and extent ; but it will be sufficient here to
remark, that two irregular lines drawn from Ben Avon to the
places just named, will include the principal part of this rock
in Aberdeenshire, and all that which it is necessary for the
objects of this paper to notice.

Having formed a geological map of this entire district, I
have been enabled to infer, from a comparison of the several
apparent portions of the granite, and from the positions and
situations of the superincumbent strata, that the continuity of
that rock may not only be deduced, but, in many cases, actually
traced, in some place or other, in such a manner as to leave
no doubt respecting the identity and connexion of the whole.
This district must therefore 'be considered as formed of a

32 • Dr. Mac Cullocli on the

continuoas body of granite ; covered and obscured, in many
places, by portions both of the primary and of the most ancient
secondary strata, and appearing wherever these have been
removed by those wasteful operations of which this side of
Scotland presents so many other striking evidences.

The last very elevated mass of this granite in the north-
eastern part of Aberdeenshire, is the mountain Bennachie ; but,
between this point and the sea to the eastward, it appears, eyen
at the lowest levels ; occupying extensive spaces, without the
intervention of gneiss or any other superincumbent strata ; or,
in some places, covered with very thin portions of the former,
not exceeding a mile, or even much less, in dimensions. I am
induced to notice this tract more particularly, because it is
there that the peculiarities about to be described, are most
accessible and most conspicuous.

The general continuity of all the granite of Aberdeenshire
being thus established, it is next necessary to remark, that,
throughout the greater part, it exhibits those mineral characters,
which, even by those who imagine that there are distinctions in
the relative ages of different kinds of this rock, are considered
to be indications of the highest antiquity. The mountains at
the sources of the Dee, are well known, by all who have ex-
amined this country, to be formed of that granite which consists
of quartz, felspar, and mica ; and it is, perhaps, unnecessary to
say, that the same character pervades the flatter portions to the
eastward ; as the extensive use of the Aberdeenshire granite in
the pavements of London, has made it familiar to every one.
It will be necessarily noticed hereafter, that the variety which
occurs in Bennachie, presents, in particular, those characters
which are supposed to appertain to the most ancient granites ;
as the quartz and felspar in it, are, in many places, distinctly
crystaUized.

To this proof of antiquity derived from mineral characters,
may be added that which is usually inferred from geological
position, by those who contend for this theoretical view of a
difference in the relative ages of granite. It is, in most places,

Granite of Aberdeenshire. 33

inferior to gneiss ; and, if in some, clay slate, or even the red
sandstone, is found in contact with it, the continuity of these
portions with others which are immediately subjacent to gneiss,
is easily traced.

The preceding remarks on the general continuity and common
antiquity of all the granite of Aberdeenshire, might have been
spared, had this paper been intended for those only, who en-
tertain the same opinions as myself respecting the origin and
nature of that rock. But as many geologists still maintain,
that granite, like the stratified rocks which cover it, is of aqueous
origin, and as they have even imagined a succession of deposits
of this rock, some of which they have placed in their hypo-
thetical division of a transition class, it became necessary to
anticipate the objections which might be urged against the
facts immediately to be described, by showing that the writer of
this paper had investigated the subject as if he himself had
maintained, with them, those opinions which all his observations
have tau^t him to reject.

In traversing this country in the summer of 1819, I was
surprised to find blocks of greenstone and of basalt scattered
over the surface in different places ; particularly, as no indi-
cations of trap rocks in situ, or even of veins of that nature,
were any where to be discovered. These also were every where
accompanied by blocks of the common granite of the country ;
as usual, rounded at the angles by the effects of time. No
marks of wear, however, were in general to be observed in the
basalts and greenstones ; nor did they present those well-known
marks of long exposure and distant transportation, which, in
the rocks of this family in particular, become very conspicuous
after no long period.

Unable, however, to account for them from any other cause,
and finding their mineral characters to coincide very accurately
with those of the trap rocks of the Western Islands; and of the
central district of Scotland, I, at first, naturally attributed their
origin to some veins, or insulated masses, which had escaped
my observation. But the same substances recurring again in

Vol. X. D

34 Dr. Mac Culloch on the

other places, where, from examining the country around with
tlie most scrupulous accuracy, I was satisfied that no trap rocks
existed, I became unwilling to rest in the vague conclusion that
they had. been transported from some far distant situation, or
were the remains of masses long since vanished ; more parti-
cularly, as they shewed no marks of such transportation, and as
it was not easy to conceive that detached blocks of a small size,
should remain in a state of integrity, while the larger masses,
whence they must have been derived, had disappeared.

Recollecting that the trap rocks so often approximated to
granite in their mineral characters, I was thus induced to
suspect that granite might also, in the same manner, vary in
its characters, so as to resemble the specimens which, in that
family, are known by the name of basalt and greenstone ; a con-
clusion the more probable, as many of the fine grained granites
in which hornblende enters as a constituent, often resemble some
of the greenstones of the trap family ; differing from them,
principally, by containing quartz ; and that basalt, in some of
its varieties at least, consisted of the same ingredients as
greenstone, in a much more minute and intimate state of
mixture.

This suspicion was strengthened by the views, which have
long been familiar to myself and to many of the readers of this
paper, respecting the common igneous origin of both these
classes of unstratified rocks, and I was therefore induced
to search more minutely among the solid granite for a confirm-
ation of it. The incumbrance produced by the deep alluvial
soil of this country, for some time checked this investiga-
tion ; but it was at length completed, and in so many dif-
ferent places, as not to leave the shadow of a doubt respecting
the nature of the rocks in question, and of their common origin
and continuous connexion with the more ordinary granite of
the country.

Among other places, I may now point out, for the satisfaction
of other geologists, some recent sections of the granite between
Old Rain and Meldrum, and at several other points in the same
neighbourhood, which cannot be more particularly designated

Granite of Aberdeenshire. 36

for want of local references. In these, it is easy to see the
transition which takes place between the common granite and
these greenstones ; and the further change, by which the
coarser greenstone becomes a basalt, or assumes an uniform
texture in which the separate minerals are no longer distin-
guishable. If any suspicion had remained that these were veins
of trap traversing the granite, they would have been completely
removed by examining tlieir forms, their connexions with that
rock, and the frequent and imperceptible transitions which oc-
curred between the two ; transitions precisely similar to those
which take place where ordinary granite changes its character,
either by varying its composition, or by an alteration in the
nature of its texture.

On a further investigation, it was found that the rocks of this
character occurred in very considerable tracts ; irregularly in-
termixed with the common granite, in such a manner as to
€qual it in quantity, and to remove all possibility of hesitation
respecting their continuity and their community of geological
origin and position.

It was already remarked, that a part of Bennachie consisted
of an ordinary granite, in which the ingredients, and more
particularly the quartz and felspar, were frequently crystallized.
On the northern face of this mountain, the rocks in question
occur in great abundance ; passing into the common granite,
and forming, in some places, an equally large proportion of the
general mass. The want of artificial sections, prevents the
transitions from being here seen as clearly as in the places last
described ; but there is still no difficulty, by the use of the
hammer, and with proper attention, in confirming the truth of
those views on which it is now unnecessary to dilate any
further.

It only remains to describe the mineral characters of the
rocks which have thus been shown to form part of the general
mass of granite in this country ; and that description will still
further show the analogy which, in so many othev important

D2

36 Dr. Mac CuUoch on the

points, pervades all the unstratified rocks, however' distant in
position and in apparent antiquity.

Quartz so rarely enters as an ingredient into these substances,
that it may be altogether excluded from the present consider-
ation. The fundamental composition consists of felspar and
hornblende ; and, according to the magnitude of the parts, and
the relative proportions of these ingredients, the appearances
of the specimens vary. In some rare instances, the crystals of
hornblende are so large as to attain half an inch in length,
although they are not defined in form ; and as the felspar is
commonly white, these varieties form beautiful specimens for
collectors of rocks. From this size, the portions of each mi-
neral vary in gradation ; forming compounds which are undis-
tinguishable in every respect from the coarser and finer green-
stones of the trap family; from those, at least, in which
common, and not compact felspar, forms the other ingredient in
union with the hornblende.

In all the cases which came under my notice, the hornblende
is invariably black, but it is not always intermixed in an uniform
manner with the felspar; some instances occurring in which,
to the general indiscriminate mixture, are superadded large and
distinct patches or irregular crystals ; producing that appear-
ance which, when it takes place in ordinary granite from a
similar disposition in the felspar, has been called porphyritic.
In general, the felspar is white, and of that variety which is
called common. But in the minuter states of intermixture, it
has often a greenish hue, and so far loses its crystalline ap-
pearance, as to resemble the ordinary compact felspar which is
more common in the greenstones of the trap family than the
crystallized kind. Whether these varieties, however, actually
contain compact felspar, I have not quite satisfied myself; and
the confusion which sometimes exists between these two mi-
nerals is such, that I am willing to leave this point undeter-
mined ; however inclined to believe, that compact felspar
occurs in these rocks just as it does in the greenstones of the
trap family.

Granite of Aberdeenshire. 37

When the mixture of the two minerals, which forms the
greenstone of this granite, becomes minute, the rock is no
longer distinguishable from ordinary basalt; and, in some
specimens, it even appears that the felspar is at length entirely
excluded ; so that there remains nothing but that compact, yet
minutely granular aggregation of hornblende, which, according
to some mineralogists, constitutes the only genuine basalt. It
is further highly interesting to remark in this case, that these
basalts have often that internal concretionary structure which
causes them to exfoliate in laminse on exposure to air ; and
which is so remarkable a feature, not only in the basalts, but
in many of the greenstones of the trap family. I must also
observe, that among the rocks of this apparently simple cha-
racter, there are often found specimens which cannot be dis-
tinguished from the black clays tones which, by some authors,
are also called basalt, and which occur in such abundance in the
trap formation. In these, the peculiar lustre which characterizes
hornblende is absent ; the specimens presenting an uniformly
dull aspect, with an earthy fracture and a greater degree of
softness.

Although, in speaking of these compounds, I have occasion-
ally used the terms greenstone and basalt, on account of their
accurate resemblance to those substances as they occur in the
trap family, and because these names are justified by the mi-
neral composition and character of the specimens, they must
still be considered as varieties of granite ; using that term, in
a general and geological sense, to comprise all the unstratified
rocks which are found beneath the primary strata, and which,
whatever differences they may present, are still associated by
some general mineral characters, and by a bond of mutual
transition. These terms, however, cannot be applied in this
case without great inconvenience ; and ought not to be used
hereafter in speaking of these substances, whenever the facts
now stated shall be admitted by geologists as established. I
have, in other writings, pointed out the great, and almost in-
corrigible confusion, which has already arisen, from applying

38 Dr. Mac CuUoch oti the

the term syenite to compounds occurring both in the family of
trap and in granite; and the inconveniences of a similar
nature which have been produced, by using the term greenstone
in the same vague manner. It is evident, that the same con-
fusion, even in a greater degree, would follow from adopting
the term basalt in the present case.

In every instance in which rocks of a similar nature occur in
the primary and secondary classes, it is most important to
distinguish them by some expedient ; as geological descriptions
would either become unintelligible, or be attended with the
most inconvenient circumlocution. Limestone has thus been
distinguished by the addition of the terms primary and se-
condary ; argillaceous schist, by using, in one case, the deno-
mination of clay slate, in the other, that of shale. In the cases
of granite, and of the trap family, the confusion which would
ensue from neglecting to make such a distinction, would be even
greater than in the stratified rocks. With an origin far distant
in point of time, the members of the trap family are not only
found in contact with granite, but they also penetrate it in the
form of veins. It is scarcely possible, even with all the as-
sistance afforded by a distinct set of terms, to prevent super-
ficial geologists, who are contented with the first and obvious
appearances before them, from confounding such recent rocks
with the more ancient to which they approximate ; and, without
such terms, even the most careful observers could not convey
accurate information, without danger of misapprehension or
without circumlocution.

As an expedient towards attaining this object in the present
instance, it might be suggested that the addition of the adjective
terms, primary and secondary, would suffice ; and we should
then have primary and secondary basalts and greenstones.
But as the term primary has been sometimes applied, by those
who only judge from superficial examination, to the recent
veins of this nature which penetrate the older rocks, it appears
preferable to abandon its use altogether. Perhaps a better
expedient will be found by applying the adjective term granitic
to the rocks in question. Thus they may be designated by the

Granite of Aberdeenshire. 39

terms, granitic greenstonCf and granitic basalt ; denominations ,
which, while they indicate the geological connexions of these
substances, are also explanatory of their mineral characters ;
and of the relation which, in this respect, they bear to the
corresponding rocks of the trap family. It remains for geo-
logists to adopt or reject this expedient as they may see right.

In thus terminating this account of these very interesting
varieties of granite, I may be allowed to add, that their history
offers a very useful lesson to those geologists who are either
content with the first view of things, or who are always ready
to determine respecting the appearances which they find, ac-
cording to some preconceived opinions, or from the vague
and superficial notions derived from other teachers than that
great instructor, from a careful examination alone of whose
phenomena, truth can be elicited. It will also point out the
facility with which the most serious errors may be intro-
duced into geological science, by trusting to the mineral cha-
racters of rocks, and by neglecting to trace the connexions of
such substances with the surrounding masses. If the novelty
of the facts which have thus been described, had not rendered
the preceding minute details necessary, they would have been
still useful to the student, by pointing out the steps which
were followed in the investigation, and the nature of the rea-
soning from which the conclusions were deduced. If his
ambition be to extend the boundaries of geological science,
if he is not content to repose in the calm belief that every
thing is already known, to see through the eyes of teachers,
perhaps less competent than himself, and to describe in a
received phraseology, appearances, and analogies, which have
no existence but in that language which he has been taught,
let him be assured that he must bring to his task, industry,
patience, and, above all, an unbiassed mind. Nature will
neither long deceive nor disappoint him who is only desirous
of truth ; but the book which she opens to his inspection must
be studied with care, and, more especially, with a desire to
learn.

40 Dr. Mac Cullocli on the

Having thus shown the identity of certain varieties of granite,
with other rocks appertaining to the trap family, it will be use-
ful to place, in a condensed view, those instances already alluded
to in the beginning of this paper, where the members of that
family present the characters which are most generally found
in granite. A few of them have been pointed out in the author's
work on the Western Islands, to which allusion has already
been made ; but the importance of the subject is such as to
demand a more distinct statement of the several facts, while
the nature of the present communication affords an opportunity
of balancing and comparing them with the analogous pheno-
mena described in it. Thus it will more readily be perceived,
that whatever resemblance the most ancient unstratified rocks
may sometimes bear to the most recent, corresponding examples
are not wanting in the latter of a similar resemblance to the for-
mer. That this comparison has never yet been distinctly made,
or supported by the evidence of facts, will be an additional
reason for extending this paper so as to comprise whatever is
necessary for that purpose in the history of the trap family.

In the general, or geological, features of granite and of the
trap rocks, tliere are so many points of resemblance that they
cannot fail to have attracted the attention of the most ordinary
observers. Granite is never stratified, but is found in shapeless
masses which are subjacent to all the strata, of whatever anti-
quity, near to which they lie. To examine and analyze all the
contradictory opinions, which have prevailed on this subject,
is here inadmissible ; but it may be remarked, in a general way,
that the adduced instances of stratification in granite, may all
be referred to the laminar concretionary structure on the large
scale ; or are portions of gneiss of which the texture so often
becomes perfectly granitic ; or, lastly, are veins of that rock
traversing the gneiss in directions parallel to its stratification.

The trap rocks are also unstratified ; or, in the predominant
instances at least, these irregular forms prevail, while the masses-
differ from those of granite in being superior to all the rocks
which they accompany. Instances of u disposition which has

Granite of Aberdeenshire, 41

been esteemed a true stratification, are however not uncommon
among the rocks of this family ; but these, whatever resemblance
they may bear to genuine stratification, admit of other explana-
tions. Into the details of these it is also impossible here to
enter, as it would involve a long train of facts and discussions.
It must suffice to say, that all the instances of stratified trap
yet produced may be easily explained, and arc, indeed, in most
cases, demonstrably proved to be either veins parallel to the
strata in which they lie, or thin superincumbent masses of
which the forms have been determined by those of the sub-
jacent stratified rocks ; or else strata of shale, or of other sub-
stances, which have been converted into trap by the same
causes which sometimes change them into siliceous schist ; or,
lastly, tufaceous rocks which appear to have been either de-
posited in the shape of mud, as similar materials so frequently
are by volcanic eruptions, or else generated, like the sandstones,
from the wear of more ancient rocks of the same nature.

Granite, and the trap rocks, are both found in the shape of
veins, and they are the only rocks which are known to be dis-
posed in this manner, it being here understood that, under the
term trapj is included every instance of porphyry, as well as
those varieties which are peculiarly connected with the most
recent greenstones, basalts, or claystones. It has indeed been
asserted, that sandstone and limestone, and even clay-slate,
have been found forming veins, but it is easy to see that these
imaginary observations are either the result of ignorance or
inexperience, or are the produce of something more than volun-
tary self-deception for the purpose of supporting an hypothesis.

The veins, both of granite and of trap, have, in so many
instances been traced to principal masses of the same rocks
as to leave no reason to doubt that this character is, in both,
universal. In both cases the want of free access occasionally
prevents these connexions from being ascertained ; in the trap-
rocks another cause sometimes interferes with this investigation,
namely, the entire loss, from the effects of time, of the great
superincumbent masses, while the veins remain, protected from
destruction by the strata in which they lie.

42 Dr. Mac CuUoch on the

Both these classes of veins ramify, by subdivision, as they
proceed from the cefttral or principal masses ; but that feature
is most common in granite, while the veins of trap also differ
from them, very generally, in holding much longer courses
without any change of dimension. These differences, however,
do not destroy the analogy which subsists between these two
rocks ; and they admit of explanation by collateral circum-
stances which need not be examined in this place.

The passage, both of granite and of trap veins, through
strata, is accompanied by peculiar appearances which are, in
both cases, of a similar nature, and which often, indeed, cor-
respond very accurately. In their immediate vicinity the strata
are displaced, distorted, or broken. In the case of trap also
fragments of the adjoining rocks are often entangled in the
vein; and if that occurs less frequently in granite veins, it
still happens sufficiently often, both in these and at the con-
tact of the larger masses of granite with the strata, to justify
that general analogy which is alone contended for in this place.

The alterations in the mineral characters of the strata, which
occur at the junctions of these two classes of rock, are also
in both cases of a similar nature, resembling each other in their
general features, and only differing according to the previous
characters of the strata subjected to this influence. In both
instances of these junctions, the argillaceous schists are in-
durated and changed into siliceous schist. In some, the con-
tact of a granite vein converts that schist into hornblende, while
the contact of trap with the secondary argillaceous schist or
shale, frequently produces a substance scarcely differing from
basalt, and thus far analogous also to that mineral, which forms
the principal ingredient of this rock. The effects produced on
limestone, in both cases, correspond still more accurately
and obviously, because the limestones of the primary class,
which are those alone traversed by granite, differ less from
those of the secondary, which are principally subject to the
influence of trap, than any other of the analogous strata in
the primary and secondary classes do from each other. Such
limestones, when impure, or containing much siliceous and

Granite of Aberdeenshire. 4$

argillaceous earths, are in both cases, converted into substances
resembling chert. Where, on the contrary, they consist of
carbonate of lime alone, they assume a crystalline texture near
the points of junction with the veins ; and the causes of that
change are very obvious in those instances where, in the distant
portions of the rocks, these limestones have a compact or earthy
texture, as is particularly the case where chalk is traversed
by trap veins. If, in other cases, the veins of granite produce
less effect on the adjoining rocks than those of trap, it must
be recollected, that the former traverse exclusively the primary
strata, of which the mineral characters are such as to be scarcely
capable of undergoing those changes which, in the contact of
trap with the secondary strata of softer texture, are easily in-
duced.

On this subject of the general analogy between these two
classes of veins, it may lastly be remarked, that where granite
ramifies into minute filaments, the mixed crystalline texture
disappears, and the ultimate branches become uniformly com-
pact, appearing to consist of an intimate mixture of quartz and
felspar, or of felspar alone. In the same manner, where trap
veins have been found ramifying in the same way, the minute
branches lose the crystalline character and acquire a fine com-
pact texture, so as to resemble either pitchstone, or that siliceous
schist which is called Lydian stone. Such ramifying veins
it is true, are rare, but they have been pointed out, in that
work on the Western Islands already mentioned, in several
plates, namely, in Barra, South Uist, and Sky.

To enter further into this subject, and to support it by all
the evidence of facts which might be brought forward for that
purpose, would be to involve the whole history of these two
remarkable and extensive classes of rock, and, in fact, to pro-
duce a treatise utterly incompatible with the nature of this com-
munication^ and with the space to which it is unavoidably
limited. Practical geologists will be at no loss to supply,
from their own knowledge, whatever is wanting ; and those to
whom geological investigation is yet new, or who have suffered
themselves to be diverted from the study of nature by hypo-

44 Dr. Mac CuUoch on the

thetical dogmas, will thus be directed to the use of their own
faculties in observing the phenomena which they may witness,
and to the exertion of their own judgments in reasoning from
them.

Having thus pointed out the geological resemblances which
exist between the trap rocks and granite, it is necessary to
advert to one important point of difference, on which a greater
stress has been laid than the circumstances appear to justify.

It has been remarked, that although the former are found
to lie above the secondary strata, which they chiefly accompany,
granite is never found in the same manner lying on the primary.
Hence it is argued, that, even if the igneous origin of trap be
admitted, the defect of this important feature in granite, is a
sufficient reason to refuse to it a similar origin.

There are many collateral circumstances, however, to be con-
sidered, before the justness of this reasoning can be admitted.
The principal of these relates to the waste which the surface
of the earth has undergone ; but, on this subject, I need not
repeat that which is already familiar to geologists, and which
consists merely of general reasoning derived from analogies.
If indeed the instance quoted by Mr. Von Buch, in Norway,
of granite incumbent on conchiferous limestone, and the similar
fact immediately to be described as occurring in Sky, be ad-
mitted as examples of real granite, the doubt in question is
removed, and the fact of the super incumbence of that rock is
established.

But it will be seen hereafter, that no advantage is taken of
these examples, as they are considered to be modifications of
the trap family. The term granite, here used in a strictly
geological sense, is limited to all the rocks of this character
which are subjacent to the primary strata only, or, when both
classes occur together, to both. The veins which proceed from
it also penetrate the primary strata only, and not the secondary,
and thus it is proved to be of a date prior to the deposition of
the latter. In this rigid view, therefore, of the meaning of
the term granite, if ever it is found in a superincumbent form,

Granite of Aberdeenshire. 45

it must lie on the primary strata alone, and not on the secondary,
and thus also it might exist in masses intermediate between
these two classes of stratified rocks. We are by no means
sufficiently acquainted as yet with the multitude of existing
appearances to pronounce a negative on this subject ; and the
difficulty of investigating accurately phenomena of a much
more obvious and simple nature, will teach experienced geo-
logists to reserve their opinions respecting it for a period of
greater information.

It has moreover been shewn in this paper, that greenstone
and basalt, or rocks identical with these in their mineral cha-
racters, occur as varieties of the most decided granite ; and it
must also be well known to all observers, that the limits be-
tween granite and some of the porphyries connected with it,
are frequently evanescent. It is therefore far from improbable
that some of the superincumbent masses of these substances
which are found on the primary strata, are truly connected with
subjacent granites, and are modifications of that rock, not of
those of the more recent trap family.

Having thus stated the geological resemblance which exists
between granite and the trap rocks, and having, in the preceding
part of this paper, pointed out the identity in mineral character
between certain varieties of granite and others appertaining to
the latter family, it remains to enumerate some of the most
remarkable instances in which the trap rocks assume those
characters which are predominant, and have been esteemed
essential, in granite.

In the island of Sky there is found a body of primary strata,
succeeded by a tract of secondary limestone, shale, and sand-
stone. This secondary tract is, throughout the greater part
of its extent, covered by an immense mass of trap rocks, the
proofs of their superincumbent position being displayed very
distinctly in many places. Most of the varieties of this family
which are as yet known, and one which exists only here and
in the neighbouring land of Airdnamurchan occur in this space,
and the whole of them are connected by imperceptible gradations.

46 Dr. Mac CuUoch on the

Among these is found that compound of felspar and horn-
blende, with excess of the former mineral, to which the term
Syenite has been applied, and to which, together with the analo-
gous rocks of the same family, it is here exclusively limited. On
one side, this rock passes into porphyry in the usual manner ;
or, by the loss of its hornblende only, into a simple rock, which
in the same imperceptible manner, graduates into claystone.
But, in another part, quartz, and subsequently quartz and mica
both, are superadded to the compound of hornblende and fel-
spar ; and thus there is produced a rock, in no way differing
from many varieties of ordinary granite, and, in particular,
strongly resembling some of those which occur in Arran. The
connexion of this granite, or rather syenite of a granitic cha-
racter, with the adjoining ordinary trap-rocks, is such as to admit
of no doubt respecting its identity of origin ; and it is unne-
cessary to say that it is thus proved, even if more distinct
evidence of that circumstance were not accessible, to be super-
incumbent on conchiferous limestone. The instance already
mentioned as described by Mr. Von Buch, must doubtless be
considered as of the same kind ; and even those who would
otherwise be inclined to withhold their assent from this view of
its nature, will probably choose to adopt this conclusion, rather
than to admit of a granite more recent than the latest secondary
strata, or of one which occupies that superincumbent position,
the existence of which has been refused to those who argue in
favour of its igneous origin.

In St. Kilda, there is found a mass of trap, consisting chiefly
or entirely of that variety which I have called augit rock,
connected with a syenitic rock in which hornblende and felspar
form the chief ingredients, but which also contains quartz.
Although no stratified rocks are found in this island, it may
be concluded, from the mineral characters of these rocks, and
more particularly from the presence of augit, which exists as
an essential contituent only in the trap family and in the volcanic
rocks, that St. Kilda belongs to the family of trap, and not to
that of granite.

In this syenite cavities are of frequent occurrence, containing

Granite of Aberdeenshire. 47

both the felspar and quartz in a crystallized state, and very
nearly resembling in this respect many of the granites of
Bennachie, already mentioned, as well as some of those which
occur in Arran. The quartz, in particular, is remarkable for
bearing those characters which it so often presents in granite,
being brown, and often crystallized in its most ordinary form,
so as to attain an inch or more in length. It is remarkable
that the same circumstance occurs in the quartz belonging to
the granite of Arran, in a manner so exactly similar that the
specimens are undistinguishable.

Among the varieties of trap occurring in Sky is found a com-
pound of hypersthene and felspar to which I have given the
name of hypersthene rock. In its external general forms, the
aspect of this rock is such as to be undistinguishable from that
of granite. Like this, it is found in huge curved beds, some-
times divided into prismatic and cuboidal forms, and risings
into those sharp and permanent peaked summits, which are
so often characteristic of granite, and which have indeed been
deemed peculiar to it. Although the mineral composition of
hypersthene rock is entirely different from that of any granite
yet known, the texture is the same ; and it is further highly
worthy of remark, that, in some places, it assumes the foliated
tendency of gneiss, from a peculiar parallel disposition of the
crystals of hypersthene. Further, in many parts, it contains
garnets, disposed in the same manner as they often are in
granite, and of the same character.

That the ordinary greenstones of the trap family sometimes
resemble those similar compounds found in granite, by con-
taining quartz, is matter of such general notoriety that it is un-
necessary to describe the examples. Nor is mica necessarily ex-
cluded from these, although it must be considered as a rare
ingredient. With respect to the texture of the rock, or the
magnitude and disposition of the integrant minerals, it may be
observed, that the greenstones have a character which is often
perfectly granitic, the felspar and hornblende being distinctly
crystallized on a very large scale, and interfering with each
other's regular forms. The neighbourhood of Edinburgh pre-

48 Dr. Mac CuUoch on the

sents numerous and remarkable examples of this nature : and,
in that neighbourhood also, are to be found masses of ordinary
greenstone incumbent on the most recent strata, the forms of
which so perfectly resemble those of granite, in the prismatic
division of the parts and the subsequent rounding of the angles,
that they are undistinguishable without manual examination.
The Corstorphine Hills contain the examples of this latter occur-
rence, as the rocks near the Queen's-ferry do those of the
highly crystalline texture.

Having thus pointed out, in a general manner, the resem-
blances that occur between some of the rocks which belong
to granite and others which are members of the trap family,
I may notice, but in the briefest manner, the most conspicuous
differences which exist between them. Those of a geological
nature have been sufficiently described in treating of the points
of resemblance in this respect ;^and it only remains to notice
more particularly those differences in the mineral composition
and character which have not been so fully stated as they
deserve.

In respect to the mineral ingredients, the two substances,
felspar and hornblende, occur abundantly in both divisions ;
but, in granite, quartz and mica are very common and conspi-
cuous, whereas, in the rocks of the trap family, they are ex-
ceedingly rare. In the latter, compact felspar is also a very
common mineral, but it occurs in granite rarely and in small
quantities, apparently rather as an accidental than an essential
substance. Augit, also, and hypersthene, which I have pointed
out as ingredients in some of the trap rocks, have not hitherto
been found in any varieties of granite.

With regard to the several rocks of the trap family, it has
been a principal object of this paper, to show that greenstone,
basalt, and even clay stone, occurred as varieties of granite. It
is yet uncertain, as before remarked, whether porphyry may
not also, in some cases, be a member of the granite family ;
but, whether it be so or not, the limits between the two are
often very evanescent. In granite, however, no instances have

Granite of Aberdeenshire. 49

yet occurred of substances resembling clinkstone ; and if the
amygdaloidal structure never occurs in that rock, that circum-
stance is easily explained by the peculiar conditions necessary
for the production of that cavernous structure from which the
amygdaloidal seems to arise. That a large proportion, at least,
of the amygdaloidal nodules, are the result of a subsequent
infiltration, is proved by circumstances which I have stated in
other places, but into the details of which I cannot here enter.

In comparing, finally, the mineralogical differences of these
two classes of rock, it must be observed, that they consist more
in the relative proportions of the several varieties in each, than
in the different characters of those members, separately con-
sidered. In granite, the well-known compounds to which this
name is generally applied, abound almost to the exclusion of
those which have here been described, and that resemble the
rocks of the trap family. In this latter division, on the con-
trary, greenstone, basalt, and claystone, are among the pre-
vailing substances ; while the compounds that resemble granite
are very rare.

But, that too much stress may not be laid on the differences
which have here been pointed out, it is proper to remark, that
the several members of the trap family, differ as much among
each other, as the whole, collectively taken, differs from the
rocks that rank under granite. Even in comparing the individual
members, tlie contrast between the softest claystone and the
syenite of Sky, or between that simple rock and the numerous
porphyries which are found in this family, is as great as that
which exists between the same substance and granite.

It is not one of the objects of this paper, to protract this ex-
amination of the analogies and differences between granite and
the trap rocks, further. To enter more deeply on the discus-
sion, would require a space exceeding^* the limits assigned for
it ; since it would be necessary, among other matters, to point
out all the circumstances in the origin of both, and all tlie
probable causes which, in either, might have produced those
appearances which are not at all to be found, or exist more

Vol. X. E

50 Dr. Mac CuUoch on the

rarely in the other. It is sufficient to have indicated some facts,
hitherto unknown, which add a mineral ogical resemblance to
those formerly acknowledged to exist between two classes of
rock so remote in origin, and to have given a brief sketch of
the other circumstances of analogy which were required to
illustrate the main object for which these facts have been
brought forward. Those who may hereafter examine this
question as a matter of geological theory, and as connected
with the causes which have influenced the dispositions and the
characters of the rocks that constitute the visible portion of the
earth, will thus be furnished with additional facts from which
to reason.

But if, in the present state of geological science, the collection
of facts is necessary, it is not the less incumbent on the observer,
to reflect on the main object to which all such facts are des-
tined, and to keep steadily in his view the great purposes of all
such investigations, namely, the establishment of analogies,
and the discovery of those causes, a knowledge of which is no
less useful as a guide to our inquiries, and as forming an in-
dispensable part of the science, than it is an invincible desire
in all inquiring minds. In concluding this communication,
therefore, I shall, in the briefest possible manner suggest those
reasonings which the facts in question appear to indicate.

The arguments by which the igneous origin of the trap rocks
is supported, are so well known that they do not require to
be repeated ; were it even one of the objects of this paper to
enter on the general merits of this question. That doctrine is
now indeed so universally received among all those who have
shaken off the bondage of authority, and who have both the
capacity and the inclination to observe and to reason for them-
selves, that it may be considered as established. But the
phenomena displayed by granite, although, in the most essential
points, resembling those which occur in the trap family, have
as yet failed to produce the same general conviction with regard
to the igneous origin of that rock. Into the arguments of a
geological nature by which this doctrine may be supported, I

Granite of Aberdeenshire. 61

shall not here enter : it is sufficient that the chief points have
been indicated in a preceding part of this paper. Limiting the
present remarks to deductions from the corresponding mineral
characters of trap and granite, which have here been pointed
out, the following conclusions appear justifiable.

It is found that many important points of resemblance occur
between the mineral composition, the texture, and the general
structure and disposition, of many rocks in the trap family and
others in the family of granite. More particularly, it has been
pointed out, that, among the former, there occurs a compound
in no way differing from one of the most abundant varieties of
the latter. As the trap rocks are admitted to be of igneous
origin, it may be inferred that the same cause which has pro-
duced the granitic variety of this division, has also operated in
the production of the corresponding substance in the family of
granite. Again, it has been shown that in granite there occur
varieties, in no way differing from some of the prevailing rocks
in the trap family. Thus the analogy between the two is still
more closely drawn, and thus also it may be inferred, that if
m the latter, these rocks must be attributed to an igneous
origin, in granite also they have originated from the same
cause. And if, in this rock, it be admitted that any of the
varieties have an igneous origin, it is not easy to see on what
ground it can be denied to the remainder.

To complete this analogy, it would have been necessary to
inquire, to what circumstances it is owing that the compound,
which is among the most rare in the family of trap, is the
most abundant in that of granite ; and that, on the other hand,
some of the most rare varieties of granite are abundant in the
trap family. But this inquiry is too speculative for the pur-
poses of the present paper, and of too discursive a nature to
be admissible within the limits to which it is restricted. Those
geologists who have turned their attention to this subject, will
find no difficulty in pursuing that train of reasoning which the
author of the present communication thus leaves in their hands.

J.M.
Juney 1820.

E2

62

Art. V. On the Employment of Common Salt for the
Purposes of Horticulture. By Samuel Parkes, F.L.S.,
S;c.

[This Essay, extracted from the Horticultural Memoirs" of Edinburgh, was
rewarded by the Prize Medal of the Caledonian Horticultural Society
for 1819.]

As a science, Horticulture is comparatively but of a modern
date. It was unknown both in Greece and in ancient Rome ;
for in all the accounts which we have of the baths, the
grottos, and the aqueducts, which were considered so orna-
mental to their cities, there is, I believe, nothing described
which conveys any idea whatever of our modern gardens. The
Britons, like the Romans and the ancient Germans, made use
of herbs and fruits ; but, according to Strabo, they were such as
grew in the fields and woods, without cultivation. Indeed it
has often been questioned, whether the hanging-gardens of
Babylon, of which so much has been said, were not more for the
display of an original kind of architecture, or for the ostentatious
exhibition of ornamental and expensive sculptures, and enor-
mous idols of gold and silver, than for any purposes of real
utility.

Even in the Augustan age, when the wines of Italy were in
general estimation, little was known of the true method of culti-
vating the vine, as appears from a story which is recorded by
Pliny. He relates that a celebrated grammarian, who lived in
the reign of Tiberius*, bought a vineyard, which had been so much
neglected by its former owner, that it had become almost barren ;
and that when, by care and attention, he had rendered it fruit-
ful, his neighbours, who had no idea that trees could be so im-

* In a century or two after this period, it is probable that the Romans
had acquired more knowledge of the management of vineyards ; for we
read that, about A. D. 278, the settlers in Britain, finding that some
parts of the island were not unfit for vineyards, obtained permission from
the Emperor Probus to plant vhies here, and make wine from their
produce.

Use'of Sait in Horticuiture, 53

proved by cultivation, and whose vineyards had always been
much less productive, propagated a story that he had procured
such unusual crops by the arts of magic and sorcery*.

It likevrise appears from a variety of testimony, that the
ancients were equally ignorant-of the methods of rearing shrubs,
herbs, and plants. Such of these as were cultivated, were pre-
served merely for the purposes of medicine ; and though the
medical professors had this stimulus, their knowledge of va-
rieties seems to have been very limited. Theophrastus, a writer
of great credit, who carefully collected plants as well as minerals,
and who collected not only those of Greece, but travelled in
Egypt, Ethiopia, and Arabia, for the improvement of science,
was able to obtain only 600 species. M. Rollin, however,
tells us, that when, by order of Pope Nicholas V. in the
middle of the 15th century, a translation of the work of Theo-
phrastus was printed, the physicians of that day, perhaps the
only class of men who attended to the orders of plants, were so
dissatisfied with the narrow limits of botanical knowledge, that
resolutions were taken to go in quest of it to the very places
whence Theophrastus and others of the ancients had written.
He adds, that in consequence of these decisions, voyages were
made to the islands of the Archipelago, to Palestine, to Arabia,
and^ Egypt; and these expeditions were attended with so
much success, that in the beginning of the 16th century, the
learned were in possession of the description, not of 600 only,
but of more than 6,000 plants, with engraved figures of eachf.

It seems, however, that Botany did not obtain much of the
appearance of a science until the beginning of the last century,
when Louis XIV. with the munificence becoming a great prince,
commissioned Mons. Tournefort to make a botaniqal excur-
sion through many of the provinces of Asia and Africa, to
collect plants, and to make observations upon natural his-
tory in general. This great man received the king's order in
the year 1700, and although he was driven home in 1702, by
the fear of the plague which then raged in Egypt, he brought

• IHiny, lib. xiv. c. 3.
t Rollin's History of the AH$ and Sciences *fUie AnciailSy vol. iii.

54 Parkes on the Use

home so many new plants, that he could enumerate 1 ,356 dis-
tinct species, without including any of those which he had col-
lected in his former travels.

The learned throughout Europe were proud of these achieve-
ments, and Tournefort was considered to be one of the greatest
ornaments of France. In England, however, we had the excel-
lent and eminent John Ray, a man whom we had equal reason to
value and admire, who indeed rather preceded Tournefort, and
was equally assiduous in his endeavours to promote the know-
ledge of plants. In consequence of the exertions of this great
man, and of the methodical arrangements which he had formed
of the vegetable kingdom, together with the subsequent labours
of Boerhaave, Linnaeus, Hudson, and others, botany, about the
middle of the last century, assumed a distinguished rank
among the sciences of Europe.

Such are the fruits of industry, when directed by taste and
by the energies of an enlarged mind ; but the discovery and
arrangement of new plants were not the only benefits that
were achieved by the exertions of a succession of great men,
all directed to the attainment of one important object; for
with the knowledge of plants, the want of gardens increased*;
and as these became more common, the public gradually ac-
quired a taste for planting, until the desire of possessing a
garden became general throughout Europe.

The changes which this produced in society were many and
important ; and, I have no doubt that, a person now travelling
through Europe, and making this one of the objects of his in-
quiry, would find the character of each people more or less
favourable, according to the degree in which a taste for garden-
ing prevails among them. Were I asked to enumerate the

* I am aware that there were gardens in Great Britain before the Nor-
man Conquest, belonging to the monks, but the inhabitants in general had
not this useful luxury. There were also large vineyards here in the 12th
century. William of Malmesbury says, that the grapes produced in the
vale of Gloucester were of the sweetest taste, and made most excellent
wines, but these were likewise the property of the great barons, the monks,
and abbots : for the general inhabitants of the country participated neither
in the credit nor profit which was attached to these establishments.

of Salt ill Horticulture, 65

Cixu&es which produced that increase of civilization, which has
gradually taken place during the last two or three centuries, I
should most certainly place the introduction of gardening next
to the invention of printing. The possession of a garden has a
natural tendency to soften the character of the most ferocious ;
it attaches a man to home, and doubles the value of his habita-
tion ; and whenever its cultivation is engaged in with ardour,
it not only affords an innocent means of occupying leisure hours,
but it has also the important effect of diverting the attention
from all low and unworthy pursuits.

Buffon, the celebrated French naturalist, was so enamoured
of his garden, that he erected a pavilion within it, in which he
could study with convenience. There he usually retired at
five o'clock in the morning, and was then inaccessible. Prince
Henry of Prussia named this sylvan retreat the " cradle of
natural history." The illustrious Lord Bacon has pronounced
gardening to be the " purest of human pleasures, and the great-
est refreshment to the spirit of man."

The dissemmation of a taste for gardening is, in my opinion,
one of the most valuable effects of the establishment of all hor-
ticultural societies ; and I have no doubt but that, in this way,
the Caledonian Horticultural Society will be found to be emi-
nently useful. While addressing the members of this respect-
able association, I hope I may be allowed to say, that I feel
proud of having been enrolled among those whose efforts
tend not only to the improvement of natural history, and rural
economy, but also to the promotion of moral habits and pro-
pensities. Penetrated with these feelings, I shall greatly re-
joice if the following observations and collection of facts, upon
a subject in which the public seem now to take considerable
interest, should in any degree excite a general desire in others
to further the important objects of the Society.

The subject which I have now chosen for discussion and
investigation, is the application of Common Salt to the purposes
of Horticulture, the several branches of which 1 propose to con-
sider in the following order :

1st. That common salt, when applied in due proportion,

66 Parkes on the Use

has the effect of promoting the health and growth of vege-
tables.

2dly. That it has the property of rendering fruit trees and
esculent plants unfit for the food or the habitation of worms
and insects.

3dly. That common salt is one of the mos£ efficacious sub-
stances that can be employed in a garden for the destruction
of worms and insects ; and

4thly. That common salt may, with material advantage, be
likewise used for the destruction of weeds, or other noxious
vegetables.

Under the first division of our subject, it is to be observed,
that the celebrated Dr. Darwin, when treating of common salt
as a manure for land, asserts, that this substance *' is a stimulus
which excites the vegetable absorbent vessels into greater
action than usual, and that in a certain quantity, it increases
their growth, by enabling them to take up more nourishment in
a given time ; and consequently, to perform their circulations and
secretions with greater energy." Sir Humphry Davy, from what
he says in his Agricultural Chemistry, seems, on the other hand,
to think it also probable, '' thai common salt acts as a manure,
by entering into the composition of the plants, somewhat in the
same manner as gypsum, phosphate of lime, and the alkalies."

These opinions will be thought to have great weight ; but as
few persons, comparatively speaking, will be able to confirm
them by their own experience, in consequence of the very limited
attention that has hitherto been bestowed on the use of salt in
horticulture, the more useful way, perhaps, of treating, this sub-
ject, will be to lay before the Society the evidence of those prac-
tical men, who have already published the results of their ex-
periments, and then to draw such conclusions as their commu-
nications may seem to justify.

Dr.Brownrigg, who, in the year 1748, published a valuable
work " On the Art of making Common Salf'^ makes the follow-
ing statement :

** Salt," says he, " contributes greatly to fructify the earth,
and when properly used as a manure, affords ample nourish-

of Salt in Horticulture, 57

ment to corn and other vegetables, and renders kingdoms rich
and fertile, where it happens to abound in the soil." p. 158.

Mr. Hollingshead, a gentleman of considerable fortune, who
resided near Chorley in Lancashire, and spent many years in
making experiments on the application of common salt as a
manure, and who also made powerful efforts to obtain a repeal
of the salt laws, published a few years before his death, a very
interesting pamphlet on the subject. In this work, to which I
am greatly indebted for much useful information, he relates,
that " when foul salt was permitted to the farmers duty-free,
a person near Middlewich in Cheshire trenched his garden in
autumn, mixing with the soil a quantity of foul salt. The
following spring, it was dug or delved in the usual method,
and planted with potatoes. The crop produced therefrom'
was such as far exceeded his most sanguine expectations.
Twenty of the potatoes were produced, which weighed sixty
pounds."

Several other testimonies to the beneficial effects of common
salt in the culture of the potato might be produced, but I re-
collect none so decisive as that of the Reverend Dr. Cartwright,
which is published in the fourth volume of the Communications
to the Board of Agriculture.

Having previously prepared a piece of land for the experi-
ments, on the 14th of April 1804, a portion of the land was
laid out in beds of one yard wide and forty yards long, twenty-
four of which were manured in different ways ; one of the beds
had no manure, and fifteen of the beds had salt put upon them,
in the proportion of a quarter of a peck to each bed. On the
same day the whole was planted with potatoes, a single row in
each bed ; and that the experiment might be conducted with
all possible accuracy, the same sets were planted in each bed.
On the 21st of September, the potatoes were taken up, and
the produce of each row was accurately ascertained; from
which it appeared, that in every instance excepting one, where
the salt was used, the crop was found to be superior ; so that,
of ten different manures, most of which are of known and ac-
knowledged efficacy, salt proved superior to them all, one only

58 Parkes oti tlie Use

excepted, viz.j chandlers* graves ; and that bed in which salt
and soot were combined, produced of all others, the best crop.
But the most singular circumstance, and that which has in-
duced me to submit the relation of this experiment to the
Society, is, that where salt was used, whether by itself or in
combination, the roots were entirely free from the scabbiness
to wliich potatoes are often liable, and from which none of the
other beds were altogether exempt, although there were in the
same field nearly forty beds of potatoes, besides those which
were planted for the sake of these experiments.

In the culture of the turnip, salt is also very efficacious. In
the twenty-seventh volume of the Annals of Agriculture is a
paper communicated by Davies Giddy, Esq., President of the
Penzance Agricultural Society, which contains an account of
some very important experiments on this subject. At Michael-
mas 1790, Mr. Sickler, a member of the Society, entered upon
an estate, so much impoverished by the former tenant, as
scarcely to return the value of the seed. In the spring of 1791,
Mr. Sickler prepared two acres for turnips, which had borne
seven crops of oats in succession. The last crop did not pro-
duce nine bushels on an acre. In the first week of April, the
earth from the ditches was carried into the field, and laid in four
piles ; each received three cart-loads of sea-shell sand, and five
bushels of salt. The earth from another ditch, chiefly consisting
of the decayed soil, which had been taken qflf the ground in
former tillage, was placed in three more piles, and each of these
received also three cart-loads of sand, but no salt, on account of
the apparent richness of the earth. Half the field was manured
with the four first piles ; but the three last not being sufficient
for the other half, what remained without manure was sown
with salt, at the rate often bushels to an acre.

That part of the field where salt had been used, either mixed
with earth or alone, produced about half a crop of turnips, but
the crop totally failed where there was no salt.

In 1792, three acres, which in 1791 had borne a crop of
wheat, not exceeding twelve bushels on an acre, were ploughed
before Christmas, and brought into fine tilth by midsummer fol-

of Salt in Horticulture. 59

lowing. On each acre were sown twenty bushels of salt, except-
ing that two ridges towards the middle of the field were purposely
left without any salt ; on these two ridges the turnips totally
failed, but the remainder of the field produced a plentiful crop.

In 1793, four acres of land, completely worn out by succes-
sive tillage, were ploughed before Christmas ; three acres were
sown with salt, at the rate of twenty-five bushels, and the re-
maining acre with eighteen bushels, without any other manure.
The crop was in general a good one, but visibly best where the
greatest quantity of salt had been used. Since that time, crops
of turnips have been raised, with equal success, by the use of
salt; and in the severe winter of 1794-5, it was observed that
thiese turnips were much less injured by the frost, than others
similarly treated and cultivated in the common way. The
writer of the account suggests, that if turnips are less injured
by frost when they are manured with salt than when they are
cultivated in the usual manner, it must indicate an extraordinary
degree of health and vigour in the plant ; but a single observa-
tion is insufficient to establish such a fact.

The free use of salt, in the culture of the carrot, has also
been found very efficacious. The efiect of enlarging the growth
and consequently increasing the crop of all esculent vegetables,
has long been known to all the gardeners in America. Sir
John Sinclair likewise informs us, that drilled carrots grow well in
a salted bed, the salt being laid under the surface, in the centre
of the intervals between the rows, and at some distance from
the roots, in such manner, that it may be dissolved before the
fibres of tlie roots meet it. See Husbandry of Scotland, second
edition, vol. ii., Appendix, p. 182.

Some years ago. Baron Humboldt discovered that a weak
solution of any of the oxymuriatic salts has the property of
accelerating and increasing the growth of vegetables. This
effect is probably owing to the circumstance of the oxymuriates
being converted by exposure to the air into common muriates.
It might, however, be within the scope of your Society's plan
and intentions to offer premiums to such gardeners as would
willingly make farther experiments on bleachers* residuum, an

60 Parkes on the Use

article which may be had for httle or nothing, and which, if
divested of the sulphate and muriate of manganese, which is
always contained in it, would doubtless prove a very powerful
and beneficial manure.

A gardener of considerable celebrity at Chorley in Lancashire,
of the name of Beck, made use of common salt in his exten-
sive gardens for upwards of thirty years, especially upon his
ONIONS, and he found that the application of this salt very far
surpassed that of all other manures. He never took any care
to ascertain the exact quantity of salt which he employed ;
but when he was questioned as to this point, he said, that he
thought he was accustomed to use it in the proportion of about
sixteen bushels to an acre of land. His practice was to sow the
salt immediately after he had covered in the seed, a point which
should always be attended to, because it has been found, that,
if the salt be sown after the plants show themselves above
oTOund, the whole crop will inevitably be destroyed. On the
contrary, if a moderate quantity of salt be sown upon the land
as soon as the onion seed is deposited in the ground, say
about six pounds to one square perch of land, or four ounces
to a square yard, the result will not fail to be striking and ad-
vantageous.

The general failure of the onions last year has been much
spoken of, but I do not hear of a single gardener that employed
salt who had not a very abundant crop. As a corroboration of
this, I may refer to the letter of Mr. William Morton of Biel,
which was read to our Society on the 8th of September last, and
which states the benefits he had derived from the use of brine,
made by the solution of common salt in water, and which he
had applied to his beds of onions, shallots, and other roots.
I shall, however, have occasion, before I conclude this address,
again to refer to Mr. Morton's letter.

Seeing that common salt produces such striking effects in the
culture of potatoes, turnips, carrots, onions, shallots, ^c, I
cannot help being surprised that it has not been brought into
general use long since, especially as I observe, that more than
200 years ago, the Lord Chancellor Bacon, in the most unequi-

of Salt in Horticulture. 61

vocal manner, recommended its employment in the practice of
horticulture. His words are these : " Several herbs, such as
radish, beet, rue, pennyroyal, like best being watered with salt
water ; and I advise the extension of this trial to some other
herbs, especially those which are strong, such "as mustard,
rocket, and the like. — Lord Bacons Natural History. I must,
however, now proceed to the consideration of the effect of salt
in the cultivation of fruits.

The action of common salt upon fruit-trees, when judi-
ciously applied, is equally beneficial. In cider countries it
has been the practice on some estates, where the owners have
been ambitious to have fine orchards, to dig a small trench a
few .yards distant from each apple-tree, and to put within it a
small quantity of salt, which, by means of the rain, becomes
dissolved, and is gradually conveyed to the roots of the trees.
This practice is said to increase the quantity of the fruit, and
to preserve the trees in the utmost health and vigour.

Mr. Hollingshead, whom I have before mentioned, and who
studied this subject for many years, remarks, that " Those
farmers who reside near the sea-shore, might derive consider-
able advantage from watering their grounds with sea-water, or
sowing them with sand from the beach, below high water-mark,
during the spring and autumn, as the particles of salt contained
therein would be a great benefit. Fruit-trees," says he, " and
the hop plant should also be sprinkled with sea-water, or have
salt or sea-sand laid about them at some distance from their
stems. The cotton-tree and sugar-cane, in the West Indies,
would also derive considerable advantage from this mode of
treatment." Page 2 1 .

There is a very striking experiment on record, which was
made by the late Mr. Gilbert, steward to the late Duke of
Bridgewater, on the effect of common salt upon apple-trees ;
and from my own knowledge of that gentleman, I have no
hesitation in saying, that I believe the account may be strictly
relied upon. This gentleman, who was not only steward to the
Duke, but also a large salt manufacturer, had an estate conti-
guous to his salt-pits at Wincham in Cheshire, on which was an

62 Parkes on the Use

orchard planted with apple-trees, which, being grown old, con-
stantly bore in the spring a profusion of blossoms, but never
brought any fruit to perfection. To remedy this defect, the
tenant spread a quantity of rock-salt, bruised small, about each
of the trees, at some distance from their stems ; and ever since
that period all the trees in that orchard have continued to be
very productive, yielding abundance of fine, large, and well-
flavoured apples.

A merchant at Liverpool, with whom I am well acquainted,
has sent me an extract from a letter which he received from a
very respectable correspondent, on the state of the fruits in the
gardens at Droitwich, a town in Worcestershire, which is one of
the most considerable places in Great Britain for the manu-
facture of common salt. It runs thus :

" It is a remarkable circumstance, and worthy observation,
that about the 15th of July, when the small fruit began to fail,
and become scarce in the markets, in consequence of the great
drought, the fruit in the gardens at Droitwich had not the least
appearance of the want of rain, but, on the contrary, was in a
state of the greatest possible luxuriance ; and I am certain I
speak within compass, when I say I could have gathered
hundreds of clusters of currants that would have weighed half-
a-pound each. The stems of the bunches were so long and
numerous in the clusters, and the currants so large, that I re-
marked to my children who were with me, I was convinced their
appearance, so different from every other place at the same
time, arose from the presence of salt in the atmosphere, oc-
casioned by the boiling of so many pans at the salt-works
here."

In addition to these facts, I am desirous of remarking, that
the employment of common salt in agriculture and horticulture
is much more frequent in foreign countries than it is in these
kingdoms ; for I have the most unquestionable authority for
stating, that ** salt is employed in the cultivation of the vine and
other fruit-trees on the borders of the Rhone, and that they are
improved by this application."

Most of the persons who have borne testimony to the bene-

of Salt in Horticulture, (S^

ficial effects of common salt in horticulture, have observed, that
salt has the property of attracting moisture from the atmosphere,
and hence it is possible much of the important results may be
derived. It is probably owing to Ike property which salt has
of absorbing moisture, that it is customary, in bringing the
cuttings of curious vines from abroad, to dip fhem in salt water
before they are put on board. I have indeed been assured, that
cuttings of the myrtle and other shrubs may be brought from a
distance, with more certainty of their living, if they be pre-
viously dipped in a solution of common salt. Cuttings of the
weeping-willow, the Salix Babylonica of Linnseus, which is a
native of the East, could never be brought into this country
alive, until the expedient of steeping them in salt water was
adopted.

Requesting to be forgiven for these digressions, I shall con-
clude this branch of the subject in the words of a late vene-
rable writer, who had probably made more experiments on the
effects of common salt in horticulture, than any other indivi-
dual in Great Britain. " Every thing," said he, " that is sown
or planted in a garden or hot-house, should have a quan-
tity of salt sown on the surface of the ground round it. By thus
regularly forcing vegetation with salt, all the productions of the
field and garden would be brought to maturity three weeks or a
month sooner than they are by the present method of cultivation,
as well as the various grains being much improved in weight
and solidity, and the fruits in richness and flavour*." Sir John
Sinclair, in quoting this passage, remarks, that ** the advantage
which is derived from the application of Dutch ashes, (so full
of saline particles,) to the gardens in the Netherlands, is a full
confirmation of this doctrine."

The SECOND property which I have assigned to common
salt, when employed in the cultivation of a garden, is that of
rendering esculent plants and fruit-trees unfit for the food or
the habitation of worms and insects. Upon this, and the re-
maining branches of the subject, I must, however, be very con-

• Hints to Country Gentiemerif Sfc. By John Hollin^shead, Esq. Third
Edition, p. 19.

64 Parkes on the Use

. cise, else I shall extend this paper to too great a length to be
read at a single meeting of the Society.

The farmers who reside in the counties near the metropolis,
and in several other districts in England, never put their seed-
wheat into the ground until they have first steeped it in a very
strong solution of common salt, as they find this to be a specific
against the rust or blight in wheat, and that it prevents insects
from preying upon the seed. As this practice is so efficacious
in preserving seed-corn, why should it not be adopted with
garden seeds, such as those of onions, carrots, turnips, radishes,
celery, parsley, and the like ?

The HONEY-DEW, which every year makes great havoc with
fruit-trees, is, I believe, occasioned by small insects ; and this
may be entirely prevented from appearing by strewing the
borders where the trees grow with common salt. Ants never
appear in those parts of a garden where salt has been properly
strewn ; and how destructive these little animals are to trees,'
as well as to fruit, is well known. I have no doubt but that
the fly in hops might also be prevented by the proper use of
common salt.

Last year a gentleman called upon me from the Cape of
Good Hope, to ask me if I could contrive any method of
destroying an insect which attacks the vines in that colony, and
produces incalculable mischief. He informed me that this
is a peculiar insect, about the size of the millepedes,, or common
wood-louse, which creeps up the vines, and does so much mis-
chief, that some plantations are rendered quite unproductive by it.
Every crop would indeed be entirely destroyed, were it not that
the proprietors of the estates keep a great number of women
and children to pick off these vermin. These singular insects
burrow very shallow in the ground in the day-time, say half an
inch under the surface, and in the evening they come up upon the
trees. The female slaves and their children go every night to
the proprietor, carrying with them in their hats the produce of
their industry, which he examines separately, and then empties
it into a tub of water, which stands by him for the purpose.
The slaves and children are then rewarded according to their

of Saft in Horticulture. 05

deserts, and the quantity of insects which each brings in, while
the careless and indolent are proportionably punished. My
informant assured me, that the ravages of these insects, the
great number of hands that are required to destroy them, arid
the high price of labour at the Cape, have prevented the culti-
vation of vines, and the consequent improvement of the colony,
more than any other circumstance. To extirpate these creatures,
I advised salt to be spread upon the surface of the ground in
which the vines are planted, and I am promised an account of
the result of the experiment. Should 1 receive this, I shall not
fail to communicate it.

It is not a mere speculation that common salt will prevent the
ravages of worms and insects in gardens, for it has so often been
tried by gardeners of experience, that no doubt can remain on
the subject. More than fifty years ago, Mr. Thomas Hitt, who
was gardener to Lord Robert Manners at Bloxholme in Lincoln-
shire, and afterwards to Lord Robert Bertie, at Chislehurst in
Kent, published a very interesting work on the Management of
Fruit-Trees J in which he gives a variety of directions for the
use of common salt, founded upon the experience of many years'
practice. This work is written ynih so much modesty, and is
throughout so totally unassuming, that one feels inclined to
receive his testimony without hesitation. The following brief
extracts will, I trust, be interesting to the Society.

" I have," says he, " observed two sorts of caterpillars
feed upon fruit-trees, the one black, and the other green ; the
black generally make their appearance in March, if the season
be dry, upon the pear-tree, apple, and several others. Tlie
green caterpillar, that feeds upon fruit-trees, for ought I know,
may be the same as those that were black at their first appear-
ance, but by green food their colour may be changed ; but I
have found them very prejudicial to both the young branches
and fruit of the apricot, cherry, plum, apple, pear, currant,
gooseberry, ^c. When the caterpillars are first perceived upon
wall or dwarf trees, I have prepared a brine, the same as for
washing of walls at the time of pruning, and therein dipt a
brush or besom, and swept the trees all over ; this has destroyed
■ Vol. X. F

66 Parkes on the Use

many by beating some off and killing others. This should ]>e
often repeated in dry seasons." Page 266 — 269.

On preserving fruit upon standard-trees from being destroyed
by caterpillars, he remarks, that " as most noblemen have, at their
seats, engines for extinguishing fires, which are very proper
instruments for watering orchards, or such trees as cannot be
reached with a brush ; if orchard trees are watered all over
with these engines two or three times a week, it will destroy
many of the caterpillars. This should be done in the heat of
the day, for then they hang the loosest upon the trees ; and the
water should be mixed with salt. This work is not only neces-
sary when the trees are in blossom, but also before and after/*
Page 272.

*' The HONEY-DEW," says he, " is a glutinous substance,
very prejudicial to many kinds of fruit-trees, for it contracts
the minute vessels of their most tender parts, and prevents
their imbibing and perspiring such fluids as are required in
vegetable life. A few days after the honey-dew appears, you
may discover small insects on the underside of the leaves that
are shrivelled, almost without motion ; yet the heat of one fine
day will make them visibly increase both in bulk and strength,
and likewise in number." He adds, the honey-dew, " retards
the motion of the sap at the extremity of the branches, and this
prevents the fruit below from coming to any tolerable perfection,
and damages the young branches to such a degree, that they
are never after capable of bearing good fruit. Besides, many
trees are entirely killed thereby, if proper methods are not used
to prevent it. Though different kinds of SMOTiiEii-flies, or
those of different colours, are found upon different sorts of trees,
yet as they are all either bred from, or feed upon the honey-
dew, all trees require the same care and management, to pre-
serve them from these evils ; for no tree prospers well when
either the honey-dew or smother-flies are on the extremities of
its branches."

The remedy which he proposes for these evils is nothing
more than common salt, administered in the following manner :
*' If the season be wet, spread common salt all over the border,

of Salt in Horticulture. 67

about eight ounces to each tree ; for the more salts the juices
contain which form the young branches, the more compact and
smooth their leaves will be, and thereby less subject to the
penetration of the honey-dews. If trees are thus ordered at all
times, when the honey-dew appears on them, neither it nor the
flies can ever do them much injury." The foregoing paragraphs
are taken from the chapter directing how to treat trees in new
borders. In that " of the honey-dews and smother-flies on
fruit-trees growing in old borders," he has the following re-
marks : *' If the borders be impoverished, by having either too
much kitchen-stuff or flowers growing upon them, the trees will
be too weak ; and if the weather be dry, they must be watered
plentifully three times a week, with one ounce of salt added to
each gallon of water. If the fly be strong, double the quantity of
salt, and water the bottom of every tree before the soot or lime
is laid on at the time of trenching ; but if there is not an oppor-
tunity of trenching, nevertheless water thus mixed (with salt,)
must always be used for the above purpose."

" I have found these methods successful, even when the flies
haye been very strong upon the trees, and have in a few days
destroyed many of them, and caused the trees to shoot vigo-
rously." In obstinate cases, he directs to dissolve two ounces
of salt in a gallon of water, and with this mixture to brush the
trees all over, beginning at the bottom of the tree, and making all
the strokes upwards. This, he says, will cause all the infected
leaves to drop off" the trees, but will not injure the healthful ones,
but occasion the trees to make good shoots after, even such as
will produce fruit the next year on peaches and nectarines.**
Pages 279—281.

On the destruction of fruits by ants, this interesting author
gives the following important directions : " The ants," says he,
" are much complained of for destroying fruit and leaves ; but
when borders are rightly prepared and ordered they cannot live ;
nor in old borders, after they have been trenched and watered
with the composition mentioned for that purpose. Against old
walls, either of brick or stone, they are the most troublesome,
for as they lodge in the nail-holes, the watering of the borders

F 2

68 Parkes on the Use

only has no effect upon them ; but tlie walls should be watered
all over with brine, made by adding two ounces of salt to a
gallon of water." Page 282.

During a journey in the summer and autumn of last year,
through the north of England, and part of Scotland, I heard
repeated complaints of the failure of the onion crops, which were
said to be destroyed by the wire-worm. This was more parti-
cularly the case around Edinburgh, and throughout the county
of Fife. Letters from home also informed me, that in the neigh-
bourhood of London onions were so scarce for a month or two,
from the same cause, until foreign onions were obtained, that
they were sold in Covent Garden market nearly as dear as
peaches. It gave me, therefore, much pleasure, happening to
be at Edinburgh at the Anniversary Meeting of our Society, to
hear the communication from Mr. Morton, a gardener in the
neighbourhood of Dunbar, who informed us by a letter, directed
to the Secretary, that he had preserved his crop by the use of
salt water, while those in the gardens around him were all
destroyed.

Thirdly, common salt is not only a preservative of plants
and trees from the ravages of grubs, worms, and insects, but
it is one of the most effectual substances that can be employed
in a garden for the destruction of these animals themselves.
Of the truth of this assertion any one may satisfy himself in a
very short time by direct experiment. If a small quantity of
salt be sprinkled upon a common earth worm, its destructive
effects will be seen to be almost immediate. Its action on
worms is also very strikingly exemplified by its effect on the
hirudo, or common leech. When this creature has been em-
ployed in supplying the place of the lancet, it is usual to put
a small quantity of salt upon it, so as to touch its mouth ; this
occasions the leech instantly to disgorge all the blood into the
plate on which it is laid, but if too much salt be used, or if the
leech remain in contact with it too long a time, the salt is apt
to prove fatal : hence some of the people who bleed with
leeches, prefer taking the blood from them by pressure, rather
than risk the loss of them by using salt. The Right Honour-

of Salt in IJorlicii/lurc 69

able Sir John Sinclair, in a valuable paper which he has lately
published, thus explains the operation of the salt. " Salt,"
says he, " destroys vermin in the ground, by making them void
the contents of their bodies, such evacuations being too power-
ful for them to withstand. It has," he adds, " this additional
advantage, that the vermin thus become food for those very
plants which otherwise they would have destroyed."

Tlie eminent John Evelyn, the celebrated author oiSylva and
other interesting works, and who himself was very zealous in
the improvement of the art of horticulture, had learned the
effect of common salt in destroying slugs, worms, and other
creeping vermin, as appears from a paper in the first volume
of the Practical Husbandman and Planter, 8vo. 1733, page 58 ;
but it does not appear that he had regularly einployed it for
that purpose.

From an Essay on Plantership, published by Mr. Samuel
Martin of the Island of Antigua, it appears that common salt
has been employed in the West India Islands for the destruction
of grubs and insects. ** Soils," says he, " which are subject to
the grub, and must be fertilized by common dung, which is a
proper nest for the mother beetle to deposit its eggs, should be
well impregnated with the brine of dissolved salt, after the
dung is first cut up ; two large hogsheads of salt will make
brine enough for a dung-pan of fifty feet square. This cure for
the grub is a late discovery, for which I am obliged to a judi-
cious planter, and which I have tried with success."

" A land-surveyor of high character in my neighbourhood,"
says the Right Honourable Lord Kenyon, in his evidence de-
livered before the Board of Trade, " considers that the use of
salt would be likely to be very valuable in destroying the slug,
wire-worm, snail, Sfc, which often destroy even whole crops.
He also well remembers that salt was used largely in the neigh-
bourhood of the higher and lower Wiches in Cheshire, before
the duties were raised to their present height."

This is confirmed by a writer in Dr. Rees* Cyclopedia, under
the article " Salt," who says that " in Cheshire and other
counties, they make a great use of the water of iheir salt springs

70 Parkes on the Use

as a manure for their lands." He adds, " They let out the
water of these springs for a certain time upon the lands, after
there has been rain, and by this means the quantity of salt they
contain is so blended with the rain water, that it is too weak to
hurt the corn or grass, and yet strong enough to kill worms and
other vermin, and to improve vegetation."

The FouiiTii property which I have assigned to common salt,
when employed in horticulture, is that of destroying weeds and
other noxious vegetables. On this part of the subject the evi-
dence is not so abundant as I could have wished ; the following
testimonies however do, I think, deserve attention.

The author of an essay on the effect of salt on vegetation,
published in the first volume of the Practical Husbandman y
before quoted, expresses himself thus : " I am well assured
from a Scotch gentleman, that they have long used salt in that
part of Great Britain, always sowing ten or twelve bushels by
hand of their coarse salt, on an acre of young green wheat, some
time in November, December, January or February ; it being,
from the several accounts which I have had of it, very effectual
in the killing of tender weeds amongst corn, yet at the same
time cherishing the corn, and adds rnuch to the goodness and
plumpness of the grain." Page 48.

Bishop Watson, in his Chemical Essays, says, that " in
Cheshire, wherever the soil abounds with rushes and weeds
it is customary to lay a quantity of rock-salt upon it to destroy
them." Vol. ii. p. 73.

Gervase Markham, the well-known writer on rural affairs in
the middle of the seventeenth century, strongly recommends
the use of salt as a manure for land, in his book entitled " A
Farewell to Husbandry,'* and concludes his observations by re-
marking, that " there is nothing which killeth weeds and other
offences of the ground so much as saltness."

Major John Taubman, speaker of the House of Keys in the
Isle of Man, in giving his evidence before the Board of Trade,
in the year 1817, states, that " he has used refuse salt as a
manure on meadows, with advantage ; it was sown thinly by
hand, — caimot speak to the quantity used; the meadow had

of Salt in Horlicuiture. 71

been much covered with moss, which the dressing of salt en-
tirely destroyed."

" Mr. Sickler made a little heap of earth in the midst of a
field, on the top of which a cart-load of refuse salt was thrown ;
the earth in the heap itself, and, after its removal, the earth
under it for upwards of two feet deep, to the clay was rendered
so perfectly barren, that the most common weeds would not
vegetate in it. This barren earth, however, furnished the
richest dressing for the remainder of the field*."

I have now laid before you all the evidence which I have been
able to obtain on this part of the general question, — the use of sea-
salt in horticulture. I am, however, fully sensible that, although
enough may have already been proved for us to form the de-
cision, that the use of salt in gardening is essential, there are
probably many well established facts which have not yet come to
my knowledge, and from what we have already attained, we may
presume that our information on the subject is yet very limited.

To employ this very valuable mineral substance in the best
possible way, much is to be acquired by practical knowledge,
by direct experiment, and by vigilant observation. Every dis-
tinct vegetable, whether in the state of seed, root, or more mature
growth, from the plant to the largest fruit-tree, may possibly
have its distinct habitude and peculiarity. Some may require
more, others less ; some may admit of an immediate application,
while others require the salt to be laid on at a little distance.
In short, it is obvious that, since the general benefit of the
practice which I have endeavoured to impress upon your notice
has been substantiated by experience, we have now nothing more
to follow than experimental researches.

As a manure for land, sea salt is considered of so much im-
portance by the Board of Agriculture in London, and by the
Highland Society of Scotland, that both these associated bodies
have offered premiums for experiments on the subject. The
offer from the Board of Agriculture is announced thus : " To
the person who shall make and report to the Board, the most

♦ Case of the Salt DutieSy by Sir Thomas Bernard, Bart,, page 275.

"/^ Parkes on the Ljsc of Salt, S):c.

satisfactory experiments to ascertain the advantages or disad-
vantages which have attended the use of salt as a manure, either
simple or mixed with other substances ; — The gold medal or
fifty pouAds. Accounts to be produced on or before the 1st of
March, 1820." The Board adds : "It is to be hoped that this
premium willexcite a laudable spirit among enterprising farmers,
to ascertain particulars of such importance to the agricultural
interest."

The reward held out by the Highland Society of Scotland iSj
" To the person in Scotland who shall make and report to the
Society the best and most satisfactory experiments on the effects
of salt as a manure in general, — A piece of plate of thirty guineas
value, or that sum in money. The reports to be lodged with the
Deputy-Secretary on or before the 10th of November, 1820."

From the interest which I have long taken in this subject,
and the share I have had in obtaining the late act of par-
liament, for lowering the duty upon rock-salt for the pur-
poses of husbandry, I felt much pleasure and satisfaction on
seeing these premiums announced to the public ; and I am in-
clined to hope that the late concession of the Legislature will
prove the forerunner of a total repeal of all the existing laws
relating to salt, and that the offer of these premiums will oc-
casion such a spirit of emulation among the farmers, as must
conduce, in an eminent degree, to promote the improvement of
agriculture. Greatly do I wish that the Horticultural Societies
of London and Edinburgh may attach a proportionate degree of
importance to the employment of common salt in their experi-
mental researches, and thence be induced to offer such pre-
miums as cannot fail to stimulate the exertion and attention of
all our rational and scientific gardeners, so as to lead their in-
quiries towards the investigation of this very interesting and
curious subject. Should the foregoing collection of facts have
the least tendency to invite the Council of the Caledonian Hor-
ticultural Society to institute such a prize, I shall derive con-
siderable satisfaction from the circumstance of having suggested
a measure so important, in every point of view, to a great ma-
jority of persons, of all classes, in the British dominions.

73

AuTk Vi. On the Origin of tlie Ashantees, and Inhabitants
of the Gold Coast of Africa, By J. F. Bowdich, Esq.
Communicated by the Author.

The advance towards civilization and the arts, and the nu-
merous exceptions to the negro physiognomy, which astonished
me on penetrating to Ashantee, when associated with the
striking similitude of most of their superstitions, laws, and
manners, to those of the Egyptians, naturally excited inte-
resting speculations, and induced me to use my earliest leisure
in consulting those classical authors upon such subjects, whose
descriptions my memory could but imperfectly recall.

The traditions of emigration, not of the whole population,
but of particular families, so current in Ashantee, and the neigh-
bouring nations, persuade me that they are native Ethiopians,
mixed with settlers from ancient Egypt, as the Abyssinians
have been recently shewn to be, with the strongest probability,
in opposition to a former opinion, of their Arabian descent.

I will not dwell on the subjugation of Ethiopia by Sesostris,
but rest principally on the fact mentioned by Herodotus, that
130 years before his time, 240,000 Egyptians emigrated, or
rather fled from Psammiticus, and went as far beyond Meroe,
as Meroe is beyond Elephantine, or a journey of four months
from the latter country. That they presented themselves to the
king of that part of Ethiopia, who gave them the lands of some
of his enemies, whom they ejected, and that the Ethiopians
civilized themselves in adopting the manners of these Egyptians.

The Ethiopians, thus dispossessed by the Egyptians, were
doubtless only pressed or removed into the nearest convenient
country, and still preserving an intercourse, participated in
some degree in the civilization introduced by the emigrants
from Egypt. The sweeping expedition of Ptolemy Evergetes,
who, by the record of his triumphal monument at Adulis, is
known to have subdued nations southward of the sources of
the Nile, and others as far eastward, as we presume the present
kingdom of KuUa to be, no doubt compelled many Ethiopian
tribes or families, inheriting the opinions and customs their

74 Origin of the. Aahantces,

ancestors had adopted from the Egyptian emigration, to retire
still more westward, from the first alarm of his approach, the
the fear of a second invasion, or the apprehension of being
spoiled of the half of their possessions, as he records some of
the nations he subdued, to have been. We are to recollect
also, that the Egyptians had colonies at Tachompso, Meroe,
and Gojam ; that Ptolemy Philadelphus penetrated, with 500
horse, into the country of the Ethiopians, and founded the city
Ptolemais Theron.

Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, both agree in distin-
guishing the Ethiopians in some degree civilized, from others
who were savages ; speaking of the former as having been of
themselves a little advanced, and afterwards perfected, in laws
and manners by the deserters and colonists from Egypt.

Both authors impress that the genuine laws and customs of
these Ethiopians (preserved distinctly from those they had re-
ceived from the Egyptians,) were very singular, especially as re-
garded the succession or royalty. It will be seen that such laws
and customs of Ashantee, as cannot be assimilated with the
Egyptian, are of a very original and extraordinary character,
and especially as regards royalty or the succession.

Diodorus says of the Ethiopian savages, that some deposit
their dead bodies in the water as the most honourable sepul-
ture, and others in their own houses. Now it is remarkable,
that the Jum Jums, spoken of to Mr. Hutchison, as a cannibal
nation, adjoining the Niger, far to the eastward, were particu-
larly described as consigning their dead to the river in rude
coffins. The Sheekans and Kaylees, and other Anthropophagi,
whom T have mentioned and laid down for the first time in the
map of Africa, having conversed with individuals of these
nations, in the Empoongwa, or Gabon country, bury their dead
in their houses under the beds. It will be seen too in my
chapter on Geography, that the Jum Jums of Mr. Hutchison,
as laid down in a manuscript Arabic chart which he sent to
me ; the Yem Yems, the cannibals described to Mr. Horneman
as Houth of Cano, and the Niger ; the cannibal nations, behind
the river Gabon, (who eat their dead, even their own children.

and Inhabitants of the Gold Coast. 76

or expose them for sale the moment the breath is out of their
bodies,) all occur on these different authorities in the same
neighbourhood, if not in the same spot.

There can be no doubt then, that these nations, found almost
precisely where Ptolemy has placed his Ethiopes Anthropophagi,
are the descendants of the savage Ethiopians of Herodotus.

Having thus separated or disposed of the barbarous Ethio-
pians, by identifying them with the cannibal nations, still re-
taining such of their customs as are briefly recorded, and
found in the same geographical situation, I will return to the
Ashantees, whom I have considered to be the civilized Ethio-
pians of Herodotus and Diodorus, pressed westward by the
Egyptian emigrants, (by an intercourse, with whom they never-
theless acquired the arts, manners, and superstitions, which
now astonish us,) and afterwards driven, or emigrating still
further westward, by the sweeping expedition of Ptolemy
Evergetes.

The Ashantees, and their inland neighbours, must have again
been disturbed from time to time by the several emigrations of
the Carthaginians, and other nations of the Mediterranean,
whom Mr. Buache, in his researches for the construction of a
map of Africa, for Ptolemy, has at once discovered, by the
identity of the names, in the neighbourhood of the Mediter-
ranean and south of the Niger. The Mimaces, for instance,
are laid down by Ptolemy, a little south of Tripoli, and again
a little west of the modern Yarriba. The Nabatree, close behind
Algiers, and also where Dahomey now exists. The Dolopes,
in the present dominion of Tripoli, and again, where we expect
to find the negro kingdom of Kulla. The Blemmyi we find in
three places, on the Arabian Gulf; near Rees Ageeg, on the
eastern frontier of Abyssinia ; and south of the line, a little
above the track of the traders from Loango to Nimeamay.
Many other instances might be adduced of the same names
being found at remote distances north and south of the Niger,
whilst other nations, as the Samamicii, on the shore of the
Mediterranean, near Lebida, do not appear in Ptolemy's time

7B Oripjn of the As/tantees^

to have reached the Niger, but to have rested in their progress
on the northern frontier of the negro kingdom of Asbex*

As late even as the present time, I found a kingdom, called
Takima, on the northern frontier of Ashantee, and another
called Tahkema, was laid down by the Moors (who furnished
me with the MSS. charts,) between Timbuctoo anjl Fezzan.
The Fantees have still a tradition of their coming from Takima.
The expedition of Cornelius Balbus (the last Roman general
who had the honour of a triumph,) who reached the Niger, and
marched for some time on its northern bank, (apparently where
the modern negro kingdoms of Noofee, Yaoora, and Fillani,
are now situated,) must doubtless have disturbed many of the
colonies and aborigines, and induced movements to the south
of the Niger. The previous expedition of Suetonius Paulinus,
(who seems to have passed near where Park understood the
source of the Niger to be, into the country of the Perorsi, who
are placed by Ptolemy between the Gambia and the coast,)
must have also contributed to these secondary movements of
the Ethiopians. M. La Traille, of the Institute of France, did
me the honour to read to me his objections to the alleged extent
of this expedition, in a MS. he is about to publish ; but I have
since been informed by Major Rennell, that it appears from the
artless and consistent narrative of Scott, the English sailor,
(who was, undoubtedly, in Major Rennell's opinion, carried
across the lake Dibbir, and whose narrative is about to be pub-
lished,) that the Sahara, instead of being a continued ocean of
sand, is crossed by a belt of firm land, equal to nearly two-
thirds of the whole extent. This materially diminishes the
difficulties M. La Traille has ingeniously opposed to the ex-
pedition of Suetonius Paulinus.

Some may prefer the opinion, that a part of the numerous
emigrants and deserters from Egypt, may have penetrated as
far westward as Ashantee, as it will explain the coincidence
of manners and superstitions equally well ; but the identity of
many of their more extraordinary customs with those of the
Abyssinians, and their own traditions of emigration, incline
me to believe that they were once nearer each other.

and Inhabitants of the Gold Coast. 77

It appears too, that the Arabs whom Pliny, King Juba, and
other ancient writers, affirmed to have settled from Syene as
far- up as Meroe, have since that time penetrated south-west-
ward into the interior of Ethiopia ; for in the accounts and the
MS. charts, which I received from the natives, Wadey was
always distinguished as the first Arab dominion, and that people
were said to use a different diet, and their ambition only to be
repressed by the great power of the Emperor of Bournou.
This progress of the Arabs inland, must also have contributed
to the dislocation of the Ethiopic or negro nations.

The few extraordinary superstitions, which cannot be assimi-
lated to the Egyptians, may be considered for the most part as
pure Ethiopic, as is, probably, their original and poetical
tradition of the Creation .

That the Ashantee customs may have again been a little
diversified by intercourse with the Carthaginian colonies, which
settled south of the Niger, appears probable from some habits
I have recorded, particularly that of spilling a little liquor on
the ground as an offering to the Fetish or Deity, not only in
their sacrifices, as we read in the Greek and Roman writers,
but invariably on common occasions, a domestic custom which
Homer also attributes to the Trojans.

The Phoenicians confessedly made human sacrifices, and
" frequently even of those who were most dear to them,*' al-
though these sacrifices were early discontinued, as well as in
Egypt, without our being told why. The Phoenician priests
were in the habit of cutting their bodies with knives and lancets;
those who pretend to sudden inspiration, (or that the Fetish
has come upon them,) in Ashantee, lacerate themselves dread-
fully by rolling over the sharp points of rocks, beating them-
selves, and tearing their flesh with their own hands, so as to
present the most shocking spectacles. The Phoenician priests
also worked themselves to the height of frenzy by dancing,
and the violent exercise of their voices, and then raved or
prophesied, as if possessed by some irresistible power. I have
frequently seen the Fetish women or priestesses in Ashantee,
(and I think I was told that the priests did so too,) dancing or

78 Ofigin of the AshauleeHy

whirling round on one leg until they became stupified from
giddiness, yelling and screaming the whole time, and then,
uttering what was called the voice of the Fetish.

The Ashantees, however, will be found to retain the Egyptian
superstitions, laws, and customs, much more perfectly than the
Abyssinians ; because the latter must have abandoned many,
on their conversion, as incompatible with their new religion.

First, then, I shall shew wherein the superstitions, laws, and;
customs, of the Abyssinians and Ashantees still agree ; and,
secondly, submit the identity of those wherein they do not still
agree, with those of the Egyptians, as described by Herodotus
and Diodorus.

The following customs will be recognised as Abyssinian.
The King of Ashantee is never to be presumed to speak but
through his ministers or interpreters, who invariably repeat
even his simplest observations, however audible beforehand.
He confines himself to the palace, and is invisible to his sub-
jects for several days, twice every six weeks. Before decision
in criminal cases he always retires to a secret council. His
domestic officers and menial slaves live in a state of familiarity
with him unknown to the rest of his subjects. He never eats
in public, or before any but his slaves. It is high treason to
sit on the king's seat, which is turned upside down the instant
he quits it. He distributes gold chains, swords, and bracelets,
as the rewards of great actions.

In Abyssinia none inherit the throne with any bodily defect.
In Ashantee the most lawless intrigue is permitted to the females
of the royal family if their gallants are handsome, with the
view of securing the same pre-eminence of person to the heirs
of the throne.

The throne of Ashantee is hereditary in one family as in Abys-
sinia ; and I cannot but consider the prefix of Sai or Zai, (for it
was pronounced both ways, and at first I always wrote it with
a z,) to the names of all their kings as extraordinary, when I read
the following remark on a list of the ancient kings of Abyssinia,
by Mr. Salt. " Up to this time, we find Za or Zo prefixed,
which is the mark, I conceive, of the shepherd kings, or ori-

and Tnhafntanls of the (Jold Caast. 79

ginal Ethiopians ; but about this time the El which succeeds,
seems to denote a change in the dynasty, probably by a colony
of Syrians placed by Alexander to the south of the Axomites
near the mouth of the Red Sea." The people of a country
called Zatty were recorded in the inscription at Adulis, as one
of the Ethiopian nations subdued in the expedition of Ptolemy
Evergetes. Zerah was the name of the Ethiopian king whom
the Chronicles mention to have invaded Judah.

Another very extraordinary coincidence is, that the king of
Ashantee has, as part of his state household, a band of royal
or licensed robbers, organized in the same manner as those who
annoyed the earliest European visitors to the capital of Abys-
sinia, and who there also were attached to the royal household.
The kings of Abyssinia in their expeditions are always at-
tended by judges or civil authorities ; no Ashantee army ever
proceeds on a campaign without one being attached to it, and
if the king is present, three or four.

The Abyssinians, like the ancient Egyptians, never fight in
the night ; neither do the Ashantees, not even after sun-set,
whatever advantages they may lose. In general, execution im-
mediately follows sentence in both countries, and the bodies of
those who have been executed for treason or great offences, are
also, in both countries, left exposed, even in the streets, to the
wild beasts.

There is no such thing as marriage in Abyssinia but by-
mutual consent, subsisting only until dissolved by the wish of
either party. So in Ashantee, the mere return of the marriage
present to the husband, by the wife's family, on her dissatis-
faction, dissolves the contract. There was a law in Babylon
precisely the same as this.

Circumcision is arbitrary in Abyssinia, and it is rarely prac-
tised in Ashantee ; but in Dagwumba, and other of their more
eastern neighbours, who seem to possess a still superior degree
of civilization, it is general.

I think we shall discover that Josephus was right in placing
Sheba in Africa, for Mr. Salt mentions, that the Abyssinians
have a tradition from Ham, that one of their queens named

80 Origin of the AshanteeSy

Magueda, who was queen Df the south, visited Solomon, by
whom she had a son named Menelich. This tradition, with
additional circumstances, seems to have reached Mr. Hutchison
in Ashantee, who writes in his diary, " Balkis, (Queen of
Sheba,) according to them, adored the sun, and Solomon made
her turn and worship God ; he commanded the genii to trans-
port her palace from her own country to Jerusalem, and the
three palaces he built for her in Arabia Felix, had gold mixed
with the mortar with which they were formed." Mr. Hutchison
naturally concluded the country of this queen to be in Arabia
Felix, because it has hitherto been so placed by the greater
number of opinions. Arabia Felix was not mentioned to him
by the Negro Moors I am positive, I even question if Sheba
was, though in his mind there could not be the least doubt
that these countries were alluded to. If ever I have the plea-
sure of seeing Mr. Hutchison again, which I hope I shall, I
shall inquire particularly as to this tradition, which is the more
curious, as it asserts, that " the queen turned from worshipping
the sun and worshipped God," which, though not directly
stated, may be expected as a result from her exclamation,
(2 Chron. ix. 8.) and from the observation of Stackhouse :
" Accordingly it was Solomon's fame concerning the name of
the Lord, that is, concerning his knowledge of the Supreme
Being, and the proper manner of worshipping him, which ex-
cited her to take so long a journey. And therefore our Saviour
says, " that as she came so far to hear his wisdom, (his wisdom
concerning the nature and worship of Almighty God.) Matt,
xii. 42., she would, at the day of judgment, rise up against
that generation which had refused to listen to him." We have
thus traced the close resemblance, and in many cases the
identity of the customs of the Abyssinians and those of the
Ashantees, so that the latter are as evidently descendants from
the civilized Ethiopians of Herodotus as the former, especially
as the two or three particulars which he and Diodorus afford
of the customs of the savage Ethiopians, are not to be traced
at all in Ashantee, but are actually identified amongst the
Sheekans, Jum Jums, and the existing or modern Anthropo-
phagi of Ethiopia.

and Inhabitants of the Gold Coast. 81'

I will now shew that the Ashantees seem to have preserved
the superstitions, manners, and arts, which the Egyptian co-
lonists and visitors introduced amongst them, much more tena-
ciously than the Abyssinians.

The vitrified beads which they dig up frequently with sepul-
chral gold, and which (having lost the art of making them,)
they insist to be natural productions * ; the rude outline of the
Ibis, so frequent, and the only figure of an animal to be seen
in their buildings; their curious pottery, and the marked
Egyptian character of most of the ornaments of their florid
architecture, would show an intercourse with Egypt, even if
their existing superstitions and customs did not confirm it.

In Ashantee, as in Egypt, the women generally sit in the
markets, and the men always weave ; they are constant to their
ancient music ; the two sexes bewail the death of a friend or
relative, parading the streets in troops : false accusers are pu-
nished as the accused would have been if convicted : the king
has the actions of his ancestors and eminent men recounted to
him by the elders on his rising in the morning, as the scribes
read them to the Egyptian monarch for imitation out of the
sacred records : they do not eat with strangers ; besides many
other coincidences auxiliary to the opinion of their former con-
nexion with Egypt, though not so conclusive as the identity
of superstitions and customs strikingly original and extraor-
dinary, not common to the infancy of mankind, but more pe-
culiar to the two nations, which I proceed to subuit

Herodotus says, the Egyptians eat in the streets, but for the
other needs of nature they seclude themselves in their houses.
It is common in Ashantee to eat in the streets, but the passage
accounts for one of the most surprising of their superiorities,
namely, the Cloacee, in the retired parts of the houses of the
higher class, even in the upper stories, and to the construction,
and cleanliness of which, they pay so much attention.

• These beads, however, may as probably be Phoenician, from so many
of their descendants being found at once on the Mediterranean, and South
of the Niger.

Vol. X, G .

82 Origin of the AshanteeSy

Human sacrifices were practised by the ancient E^^yptians.
Men were sacrificed at Heliopolis, and to Juno or Lucina, at a
city in the upper Thebais, called by the name of that goddessi"'

Herodotus writes, *' In other nations, when in grief, they
shave their heads, especially the near relatives ; whereas in
Egypt these persons allow their beard and hair to grow on such
occasions." The present king of Ashantee had not his head
shaved, or his beard cut for twelve moons after the death of
his brother Sai Quamina, according to the custom of tl>e
country.

Herodotus speaking of the Egyptians embalming dead bodies,
adds, that the Ethiopians do so too, but in a different manner ;
the Ashantees smoke them for preservation.

The priests in Ashantee as in Egypt, enjoy a portion of the
offerings. When the king sends his frequent offering of ten
ounces of gold to the various deities, the distinct priests are
allowed to take half. The dignity of priesthood also is here-
ditary ; they are exempt from taxes, and they do not pretend to
divine of themselves, but merely to utter the will or disclosures
of the Deity : the same is recorded of the Egy-^ptian priests.

White is a colour as sacred in Ashantee as it was in Egypt ;
the priests are not only distinguished by white clothes, but they
even chalk their bodies all over. The king and all men of re-
spectability put on white clothes on their Fetish day, or Sunday.
The acquitted are always chalked by the king's linguists, as a
mark of their innocence ; and the king always swears, and
makes others swear on a white fowl.

In Egypt each month and each day was sacred to some god ;
in Ashantee, they have good and bad days, and good and bad
months, and all undertakings are regulated accordingly.

Crocodiles were sacred in Egypt, and fed with flesh. In
Ashantee the sacred crocodiles generally called alligators, (but
which as yet are only known in America,) are fed with white
fowls, by the fetishmen or priests. Diodorus mentions wolves
as sacred in Egypt. Hysenas are called wolves at the Cape
of Good Hope ; and they are sacred amongst the neighbours
of the Ashantees. Clement of Alexandria makes hysenas for-

and Inhabitants of the Gold Coast: 83

bidden food according to Moses. In Egypt to kill a sacred
animal designedly, was death ; accidentally, a fine to the priests;
such is the custom in these countries also, and the head of the
hycena is wrapped in white cloth, and buried, which is curious
when we recollect, that the Egyptians never eat the head of an
animal, and that the sacred animals had funerals. The vulture
(though it does not appear to be the Percnopterus,) is sacred
in Ashantee for the same reason as it was in Egypt, because it
consumes all the offal of the neighbourhood. Juno also was
worshipped under the form of a vulture in the upper Thebais.

In Ashantee some families do not eat mutton, some abstain
from fowl, others from goats* flesh, others from beef. We read
in the accounts of Egypt, " And the shepherds lived upon
cows* flesh, which made them a separate people." Herodotus
says also, that some of the Egyptians did not eat beef, others
did not eat mutton, others spared goats. Mr. Bruce observed,
that some of the Abyssinians would not eat fowl, others never
touched veal. Mr. Hutchison observes in his diary, (p. 412.)
" Thus many of them are so particular they will not stay where
eggs are, another shuns a fowl, ones hates beef, and many
mutter a charm if they meet a pig." Pigs were abhorred in
Egypt, and many avoided all connexion with those who tended
that animal.

Diodorus is particularly struck with the peculiarity of the
Egyptian custom, " that those who wish to exercise the calling
of thieves, are secretly registered by the superior of the fra-
ternity, to whom they carry all their spoil ; so that on the
losers' going to him, and particularizing their property, they
receive it again, on paymg one quarter of the value/* The fol-
lowing passage is from my chapter on the superstitions of
Ashantee. '* The inferior class of priests pursue their various
occupations in society, assist in customs and superstitious ce-
remonies, and are applied to as fortune-tellers or conjurors are
in Europe, especially in cases of theft, when from a secret
system of espionage, and a reluctance frequently amounting to
a refusal to discover the culprit, or to do more than replace
the property whence it was taken, they are generally successful."

G2

84' Origin of the Ashantees,'

Diodorushas certainly disclosed the secret of these transactions?, '
the existence of which affords a curious argument.

I have dwelt (in the chapter on the History of the Ashantees,)
on the distinction of the bush-cat, dog, buffalo, and tiger fa-
milies in Ashantee and the neighbouring states, and considered
the curious circumstance of individuals of different nations ar-
ranging themselves in the same families. Herodotus tells us,
that in Egypt a certain number of men and women were destined
to take care of particular animals, and that the son succeeded
to the father in that duty. Cats and dogs were sacred in
Egypt, and accordingly we find the relics of this curious insti-
tution still existing in modern Ethiopia, and that the Egyptian
colonists arid deserters introduced a custom, every trace of
which was lost, until these recent inquiries. The " Corn-stalk"
and " Red-earth" families were, probably, originally Ethiopian,
for Diodorus says, some were agriculturists, and some shep-
herds. I had an opportunity of petusing the researches of
Meinars, but I cannot help thinking, that as we prosecute our
acquaintance with the natives of the interior of Africa, we shall
find additional grounds to dissent from his opinion, — that there
is a greater conformity in customs and political institutions be-
tween the Egyptians and Hindoos, than between the Egyptians.
and Ethiopians.

The parias of India have been compared with the swineherds
of Egypt; and the appiadee, or servant race of Ashantee, cor-
responds "with both. The Ashantees observe the oriental custom
of using the left hand only for all ignoble purposes, and of <
cooking and eating with the right.

The Ashantees cherish their beards and ' swear by them' as
the eastern nations do, contrary to the impression of Strabo
and Meinars, that the neglect or want of a beard was one of
the few differences between the ancient and modern Ethiopians
and the Egyptians. The three classes of men in ancient Egypt
are to be recognised in Ashantee ; and Meiners' description of
the milites nobiliores as a rank not attainable by merit or
achievement but by birth alone, and as individuals sharing the
territory with the king, agrees precisely with the institution of

and Inhabitants of the Gold Coast. 85

the aristocracy in Ashantee, who until Sai Cudjo's time, always
gained this dignity by inheritance only, could never forfeit their
lives, and even now continue to share the territory and the
power with the king.

1 do not recollect to have ascertained that the Ashantees re-
tained the remarkable antipathy to beans of the ancient Egyp-
tians, but I think it probable, for it is extraordinary that when
they were assuring me there was really an Arab nation in the
interior, they always distinguished them as " eating beans'*
■ There are many remarkable coincidences of the customs of
the Ashantees with those of the Jews. - The British Critic thus
notices one in my work, which had not occurred to me. " About
ten days after the Yam custom, a sheep and a goat are sacri-
ficed in the palace in the afternoon, and the blood is poured
over the door-posts. It is scarcely possible but that this rite
must be connected with some obscure tradition of the Jewish
passover." The Jews too, it well be found, (whether they
learned it or introduced it in Egypt,) observed the same pe-
culiar delicacy which Herodotus records of the Egyptians, and
which has originated in the cloacae of the Ashantees, a refine-
ment almost unknown in many European countries*. The
Jewish priests received a part of the sacred offerings f. The
Jews did not trim their beards when in grief J. There is a
servant race or family in Ashantee. The Ashantees will not
touch milk : Mr. Hutchison mentions an anecdote in proof
of this observation. " A boy brought some milk covered,
and Apokoo lifted the lid to look what it was, some of it
touched his fingers, and he sent for water, herbs, and dif-
ferent things to purify his fingers ; he said he would give me a
present if I would give over drinking milk; I told him if he
sent me an ounce of gold daily I would not do it ; he cursed
the milk, and the boy for bringing it." The strict Jews do not
eat cheese, unaccountably founding their abhorrence, as I have
been told, on the command in Exodus, " Thou shaltnot seethe

"• See Deut. xxiii. 12, 13, 14.
t Levit. xxxi. t 2 Sam. xix. 24.

86 Account of a Biliary Calculus.

a kid in his mother's milky Strabo speaks of Jewish colonies
in Egypt.

Thus we discover, that Abyssinia is not the only country
which has been partly civilized by colonies from Egypt, and that
much light may be reflected on history as well as the physical
sciences, by pursuing our discoveries in Africa gradually and
in detail.

Should we reach Dagwumba, the seat of their great oracle,
and the repository of their rude learning, and traditions, MSS.
may be collected ; many other interesting eclaircisseraents of
Ethiopian history may result ; literature as well as science may
be benefited ; we may add historical to the osteological proofs
of Cuvier, that no race of negroes produced that great people
who gave birth to the civilization of ancient Egypt ; and v/e may
discover, that the civilized Ethiopians, not only from their in-
tercourse with Egypt, but abstractedly, were a much more in-
teresting people than even Herodotus expected.

J.Edward Bowdich.

Art. VII. An Account of an extraordinary Biliary Cal-
culus. Transmitted to the Editor 6y Sir E. Home, Bart.,*
F.R.S., (%-c. ^c.

Dear Sir,

Having received the biliary calculus and the accom-
panying case from a friend in the country, they appear to me
to create considerable interest, and not undeserving a place
in your Journal. Your inserting them will much oblige,

W. T. Brande, Esq., Yours, most truly,

Royal Institution. Everard Home.

Mrs. G., resident at East-Bourne, aged about 45, had been all
her life at times subject to bilious attacks, attended by their usual
symptoms, but she never had complete jaundice. Upon some
occasions the bilious symptoms were attended with a distressing
itching over the whole surface of the body. Within the last two

Account of a Biliary Calculus. 87

years she had frequently si/ffered pain in the region of the
stomach, especially after eating.

On Friday, the 28th of July, 1820, having been wearied by
a walk, she threw herself upon a sofa, and instantly screamed
from pain high up in the abdomen, which left her in a few
minutes. On Saturday evening, the 29th, she was again seized
with a similar attack, which was frequently repeated; five
grains of calomel and half an ounce of sulphate of magnesia
were administered, and afterwards she had several hours' sleep.
There was no tension, and the pain was but slightly increased
on pressure ; the pulse, however, had become very quick. On
Sunday mornings the 30th, there was considerable fever, the
pulse was beating 130 in a minute, but not hard; the bowels
had scarcely been affected ; twelve ounces of blood were now
taken from the arm, which moderated the pulse for a time, but
costiveness continued, and nothing would remain upon the
stomach. In this state she continued during tlie day, when it
was deemed necessary, in consequence of the pulse returning
to its former frequency, to repeat the bleeding, which was done
to the amount of twelve ounces at five in the afternoon.

On Monday the 31st the pulse again quickened; there was
much restlessness, sickness, and want of due evacuation from
the bowels, though the calomel and salts had been repeated. It
was therefore thought necessary to bleed a third time to the
extent of fourteen ounces ; pills of aloes, jalap, and calomel
were used at intervals, with the salts, and during the night
and on the morning of the first of August, the bowels began
to be scantily affected with manifest relief of pain.

Tuesday, Aug. 1. The pulse came down to 84; the bowels
continued sparingly active, and the stomach rejected gruel and
broth which were repeatedly taken in small quantities at a time.

Wednesday, Aug. 2. The symptoms remained as yesterday,
without increase of pain ; the sickness continued ; but two doses
of Epsom salt, of three drachms each, remained upon the
stomach.

On Thursday the third of August, the aperient medicines
were more effective than they had previously been during her

88 Account of a Biliari/ Calculus.

illness, and at seven in the morning the gallstone, represented in
Plate I. fig. 1 , was passed.

Friday, Aug. 4. The uneasiness and pain of the bowels
had entirely disappeared. She slept well during the night;
the pulse was about 80, and light food remained upon the
stomach.

Saturday, Aug. 5. Late last night and early this morning, the
pain returned nearly as violent as before, the pulse became
again 130 and 140 in a minute, the tongue very white, and
drowsiness alternating with delirium came on towards the
evening, but there was no vomiting, nor was the abdomen either
painful or tense. Under these circumstances it was deemed
advisable again to have recourse to the lancet, and eight
ounces of blood were withdrawn ; the calomel and Epsom salts
weF€ repeated, which fortunately remained on the stomach,
and soon occasioned an abundant evacuation, after which the
alarming symptoms quickly decreased and every thing continued
to do well. The amendment has been progressive up to the pre-
sent time, (August 26.) The last attack appeared to have been
caused by the irritation occasioned in the bowels by eating a
quantity of currants.

The shape of the gall-stone, as shown in the Plate, is nearl
cylindrical, with a tubercle projecting from its side ; its length
two inches, its diameter three-fourths of an inch ; it weighed
239 grains. One extremity was apparently broken, and two or
three fragments were voided along with it. The broken end
exhibits the appearance of concentric layers, the colour of the
exterior layers being rusty brown, while the central portion is
pale brown, and in parts nearly white.

This account is drawn up from a memorandum of the case
transmitted by Dr. Blair of Brighton, and from a letter from
a gentleman in whose family it occurred.

The gall-stone is almost entirely composed of the spermaceti-
like substance which M. Thenard has called cholesterine ; it i«
soluble in hot alcohol, and deposits crystalline plates as the
solution cools, leaving a very small portion of brown insoluble
matter.

Art. VIII. On a new Method of Secret Writings hy Richard
Chenevix, Esq., F.R. and A.S. M.R.I.A., <^c. CommvL-
nicated by tlie Author.

A METHOD of writing, so occult as to escape detection, has
long been among the desiderata of governments, and of all whose
occupations may make secret communication advantageous;
and though, from the earliest times, attempts have been made
in all countries to attain this object, no mode has yet been de-
vised which fulfils the three conditions required by Lord
Bacon: — 1st, that it should not be laborious either to read or
write : — 2nd, that it should be very difficult to be deciphered : —
3rd, that it should be void of suspicion. This great man under-
took a solution of his own problem ; but the cipher he produced
is remarkable for nothing so much as for transgressing the very
rules he had himself established, for it is very laborious to read
and write ; it is not very difficult to decipher ; and it is not void
of suspicion. Of these qualities the most desirable is the se-
cond ; secrecy being the essential property, the sine qua non, of
cryptography. The second in importance is the labour of the
cipherers and decipherers ; and last of all, should be taken into
account, whether a letter containing secret writing may pass the
inspection of a person interested in preventing communication
between the corresponding parties, without creating suspicion
in his mind. By much the greatest portion of the secret cor-
respondence carried on in civilized states is tolerated £ind
avowed ; in so much, that a professed decipherer not unfre-
quently makes one of the retinue of diplomatic establishments ;
and some have acquired so much address in the art of detecting
the contents of secret writing, that they can translate a ciphered
passage, even of a language which is unknown to them, from its
fictitious into its natural characters. Their skill in deciphering
has been the cause of considerable expense to governments ; for
as no cipher is supposed to be impenetrable, sovereigns and their
ministers have found themselves under the necessity of con-
veying intelligence by couriers, sent on purpose ; and this prac-
tice was, perhaps, encouraged by agents who considered their

90 Mr. Chenevix mi a new Method

own labour more than the public money. A cipher, which
should fulfil the second condition of Lord- Bacon, might be a
means of economy in all countries where communication by the
post office is safe and unrestricted ; and at all events might give
additional security to the expensive mode of couriers against the
accidents to which they and their despatches are exposed.

One of the oldest and most celebrated modes of secret writing
is the Spartan seytale ; but those by means of which the best
hope of practically accomplishing the intention of Lord Bacon
may be entertained, may be reduced under two heads : — 1st,
resolving the sentence to be written into its letters, and then distri-
buting those letters in another order, according to a known rule,
which rule forms the key of the cipher : — and 2nd, the substitu-
tion of fictitious symbols, in lieu of the true letter of a sentence ;
which symbols have a value determined by previous convention.
In the former, the true letters of the sentence are revealed to the
eye ; but their import is concealed by their dispersion. In the
latter, the order of the real letters determines the order of the
symbols ; but their meaning is disguised under the conventional
value attributed to those symbols.

As to the first of Lord Bacon's rules, the latter mode of cipher-
ing may be so contrived as to offer some advantages. When a
single symbol is substituted for a single letter, the additional
time and labour which secret writing requires more than common
writing, consist in the interruption inevitable whenever it be-
comes necessary to consult the key ; and this must happen
almost at every letter. However, it is possible so to construct
a diagram, as considerably to reduce the fastidiousness of this
operation ; whereas the division of a phrase demands that it
should be first written out, and the letters counted and dispersed;
and then copied again in their artificial order. But a single
operation is sufficient for the method by substitution ; and, if
the phrase is long, the unmeaning words may be written in let-
ters, the rest in symbols.

With regard to his second rule, that the cipher should not be
easily deciphered, substitution has infinite supericfrity. Be the
letters of a sentence dispersed as they may, study can detect

of Secret Writing. 91

the law of the new arrangement ; for, let any one letter be
chosen, and tried successively with those which follow, first omit-
ting one place, then two places, then three, SfC, and, if the first
letter fail, let another be tried ; a period must come when a
syllable is formed, and then a word ; and, the law once ascer-
tained, the deciphering of the whole ensues of course. But, in
substitution there is no palpable clue, at least of this nature ;
and a system may be devised, such as can elude all the known
rules and methods which authors who have written upon this
subject have laid down for the detection of secret writing.

Neither the one nor the other of these methods is exempt
from suspicion. Both may, indeed, present the ciphered sen-
tence under the appearance of a foreign language, but such a
deception could not long prevail in any of the nations now likely
to use a good system of ciphering. To comprise all the ends of
Lord Bacon in one system, seems to present insurmountable dif-
ficulties ; and the strongest proof that it does so, is that one of
the most powerful of human intellects did not accomplish what
it had conceived. It is probable that the sacrifice of some one
of these qualities is indispensable, in order to attain the others ;
and, in the great generality of cases, to avoid suspicion, is that
which may be the least attended to. In besie^d towns, in
camps, armies, and wherever suspicious correspondence is
likely to be intercepted, it is important to deceive, even as to
the very existence of secret communications ; and a cipher, so
constructed as to elude suspicion on this head, must be preferred.
Such a one may easily be devised on the present principles, but
it cannot be otherwise than laborious to the cipherer.

In the present system substitution is the mode employed.
The first object in view is secrecy ; the second ease to the
cipherer; the last to avoid suspicion.

The first and most important end is attained by a peculiar
arrangement of what is usually termed the key. In the present
system, the key is constructed upon principles which differ, very
materially, from any that have been made public ; and the effect
of tliis difference is to give, to a small number of symbols, a

92 Mr. Chenevix on a new Method

greater variety of values than appears to have been hitlierto
accomplished in any other system.

The English alphabet is composed of twenty-six letters ; u,
V, w, andi, j, being considered as having distinct functions.
No cipher can be complete if each of the twenty-six letters is
not represented. But, if the value of the symbol never changes,
immediate detection, as every cipherer well knows, is inevitable.
Even should their value alter, and return to be the same, at the
end of a certain period or revolution, the objection is still the
same, with this modification merely, that it is diminished in pro-
portion to the length of the period. Thus the period of a cipher
for an alphabet of twenty-six letters, each having its variable
symbol, offers 26 loci, if so they may be termed; and the diffi-
culty of unravelling it, compared to the difficulty of unravelling
a cipher in which the value of the symbols is invariable, is, as it
•were, multiplied by 26. But even this security is not sufficient
in practice.

To avoid the existence of a period, or so to lengthen the
revolution as to make it practically infinite, is the evident mode
to be followed, in order to accomplish secrecy ; and such is the
principle adopted in this cipher. For this purpose four addi-
tional symbols have been introduced, which in no manner com-
plicate either the theory or the practice, but which most amply
produce the desired effect. By their assistance the cipher is
composed of 26 original, and of four additional symbols ; conse-
quently the period of recurrent values must extend at least to
thirty ; but, such is the power of the four additional signs, aided
by other contrivances, that many new combinations interrupt
the period, even when but one single key, with all its variations,
is used ; and as 26 letters admit of a variety of permutations
which would be expressed by quadrillions, and have for type, all
the languages of the earth, it follows that the number of keys of
which this cipher is capable, would also be expressed by qua-
drillions ; and that these quadisillions, multiplied by the length
of the period of each key, with all the variable values of its sym-
bols, gives the number of loci contained in one entire period or

ofSHret Writing. 93

rerolutioa of the cipher, with all its changes, keys, and permu-
tationsr ; and this number amounts to quintillions, that is to say,
to practical infinity.

In order to give an idea of the power of the four additional
symbols, and the changes they introduce, it may be stated that
with a common key, and invariable symbols, any letter, word, or
phrase, can be written but in one manner ; whereas with the
present key, but without changing the value of the symbols, the
word Europe may be ciphered in 200 different manners ; Asia,
consisting of fewer letters, in 16 ; and Emancipation, in 1,280 ;
and so on in a certain ratio. Now as each locus of each key
gives a new symbol for each letter, it follows that, with one key,
admitting all the loci, Europe may be written in 6,000 different
manners ; Asia in 480 ; and Emancipation in 41,400. Thus,
with the entire cipher, and all its keys and permutations,
Emancipation may be written in hundreds of quintillions of
different manners. And this estimation is a minimum ; for the
four additional symbols, and other contrivances, do, in fact, by
giving rise to new combinations, increase the power of each key,
not merely in an arithmetical ratio.

This mode of estimating the power of a cipher may be held as
illusory ; for, however the symbols may be multiplied or com-
bined, the limits of their import are assigned by the number of
letters in the alphabet ; and the utmost number of values which
each can have is 26 ; consequently, the chances against detect-
ing the value of any given letter, are 25 to 1 ; and the chances
against detecting the meaning of any two letters united are 25,
25, or 25'?; and, in general, the chances against detecting the
meaning of any word or sentence composed of n letters, is 25",
Hence the chances against detecting the word emancipation,
written in cipher, are 25" ; a number which, to all intents and
purposes, is equivalent to that which expresses the modes of
writing that word of 12 letters by the entire cipher now under
consideration. Whatever be the air of mystery a cipher may
assume, if the number of letters in the alphabet it has to ex-
press be my and the number of letU rs in the ciphered word or
phrase be «, the chances in favour of secrecy are (m — 1)" ; that

94 Mr. Chonevix on a new Method

is to say, detection is reduced to a mere guess. Th« expression
(m — /)" may be considered as a limit ; and a cipher which at-
tains it does all that can be done, and much more than is indis-
pensable for absolute secrecy.

The ease with which this cipher may be used by those who
have the key, is the same as in all ciphers where a substitute is
employed for the true letter, and greater than in all ciphers
where that substitute is complicated. The most natural and
evident symbols which occur, are the letters of the alphabet,
with new values. They are so familiar to all persons as to be
executed without any perception of effort ; whereas, if new sym-
bols must be learned, innumerable inconveniencies may arise.
This, indeed, is a defect in the most ingenious and satisfactory
ciphers known, and particularly in one which is to be found in
JRees* Cydopcedia, Art. Cipher ; and which seems to possess the
requisite of secrecy, in a very eminent degree. The author pro-
poses the use of dots, or of lines, disposed according to a certain
law, above, upon, or below a horizontal line, reaching from left
to right of the page. But a cipherer is much more exposed to
commit mistakes in giving the due position to a dot, or the proper
length to a line, than in writing down a letter to which he has
long been habituated ; and indeed, upon the whole, no system
of symbols seems to unite so many advantages as the letters of
our common alphabet, to which new values are assigned.

The author of the article just alluded to has, upon some occa-
sions, adopted arithmetical figures. These, though preferable
to dots and lines, are not so convenient as letters; for in their
single state they have but ten varieties of forms, and beyond that
number, two units must be used. Now this requires not only
double time and labour, but a double effort of attention, and
doubles the chances of committing mistakes, since the specifi-
cation of each letter depends upon the united power of two
symbols.

It seems to be a radical fault in the cipher of that author, that
to express a single letter, he employs two symbols, and often
three ; or at least symbols composed of two or three parts, each
of which requires a separate operation both of time and of atten-

of Secret Writing. &5

tion, and consequently multiplies not only labour, but also the
possibility of error. A comparison between the phrases he has
written, and the number of dots or lines he employs, gives, for
result, at least three dots or lines, as composing the symbols of
each letter ; and when he uses the letters of the alphabet, at
least two of these are employed to form the symbols of one
natural letter.

The cipher proposed by Lord Bacon is still more defective in
this respect, as it requires five symbols for one letter, which five
symbols are translated into five other symbols, and thus, in fact,
one natural letter requires ten symbols, or one symbol composed
of ten parts. The present system has the advantage of employ-
ing the most easy and familiar symbols, and but one of these to
denote one letter ; and a single operation of hand and mind
suffice to express each natural letter, the number of which con-
tained in any sentence is, notwithstanding the additional sym-
bols, not less, and may even be greater, than the number of
symbols necessary to write it in cipher. The time which this
mode of secret writing requires more than common writing, is
the time which the cipherer employs to raise his eyes from the
paper on which he writes, to the key of the cipher, there to find
the symbol, and then to transcribe it on his paper. A good dis-
position of the key facilitates this labour, and habit still further
diminishes the loss of time ; but the trouble of transcription is
inevitable in every cipher where substitution is used.

The principles upon which this cipher is constructed are such,
the values of the symbols are so perpetually changing, their
variations are disguised under so much apparent irregularity,
their progress has so little conformity with any discoverable law,
that detection is next to impossible. In order to ascertain this,
however, it is submitted to the following test. A sentence com-
posed of 198 letters is here written in its natural characters,
intelligible to every person who can read English, and is then
ciphered in five different ways. If the clue is really discover-
able, this specimen is sufficient to detect it ; and the person who
unravels it will then be able to decipher another sentence con-
sisting of i9 letters, which is also ciphered in five different man-

96 Mr. Chenevix o;i a new Method

ners, but which is not written in its natural characters ; to do
this being the problem proposed to the decipherer.
The sentence proposed as the key is the following : —
If this sentence^ containing about two hundred letters, and
ciphered in Jive different ways, does not lead to detection, before
the first of January, one thousand eight hundred and twenty -two,
the method must be allowed to be tolerably secure.

Cipher No. 1.

S < — w8 enyc e^<p4va8u Icbfy^azbo yldkg il4 slddkzp u<pky
8i b4r r4yuam^s 4g zeha ugvepejn sgcm wl4n Snq cfiy to
^j(ihztlpo zkbqvj vej dor^v te qpsbozS U(im ^ivcxq^f o^ij<p
kevhcrd twi cfrxcq dgz ent r<i4pbl sk4f Ix ^t48xo if oz 8hv?>lbpvy
karonb.

Cipher No. 2, of the same sentence.

A < — f(ilv4k8cgmbhsa tjhnefighv4skrm orkxsiupe v<pdpoern
fjvuhby4 sewiSbhkdwjx yfs48r^heoxmgplmrb fiyso JbjuSavos-
p(pkcrxi w41dpyuvt L4qosapz8(itnxg(ibvpsenrfgy Pkewhcr
Rj(ixjdfrycq ehadmsp^dmtpk Vt84glvzsekxnhdlw hetyhzmtvfx
om8z.

Cipher No. 3, of the same sentence.

* — > et8u4jk <p48zfqa pfeja bdb VbpzlekhhkeqklenJ7
mrwguh4yamlztp d>guly(ptx<pt 8yltf(i) ydgurbk^(i)ez uyadosukeip
jrctidw(pxhskz4 qb8rjud(pcz i(i>swetcoxvraky4zswhpnj jipj c(i>fa
m4pt4ybntzl ybtixgljny ftdi<puwb8nh^aldxtbm vtglxmagj^kb(^y8.

Cipher No. 4, of the same sentence*

G < ' l^sb Isrh p^ko ajar rvmp spr4 pcia zycu ic^f cog8
qbpc (p(ixi iupl s4(ik x(pqw atlz nwhu bgkz vfoe xgdf juya ikgr
^Ibr I4jh sdu 8pen y4wi roql yji8 iyM ongt cqxs 8oai ndeu 4(prc
y8do sexa mtyl ^cwz jolq akxh n4^b hxdn ^g^k 4aj(i 4bq<^
hxSr ufxm 8jx.

Cipher No. 5, of the same sentence.

F — > 8zra jpo4 kpe8 udu8 iofg hgio drip 81oh ^o4r 8^qu
zixS f(pco m(p^c{ uhwn y^rx zs8x 8<i4s xcf<^ p^iy p^wx aSpr

of Secret Wnting. 97

fzvf ozme xq^t b8e^ xkv4 jenws^rb m8nx j^fo Ifsa m^pi 8w4j
xyoy rjup b(i4h tlpa gSzl ngk^ ^vzj s4pu Ifim vysd jumf bkv4
opug uiorariges.

The sentence proposed to be deciphered, and the explanation
of which may be one of the tests that the present mode of secret
writing has been detected, stands thus in the cipher.

Cipher No 6.
I < mroxfip^s sc gSmxqpre ozm ebzpcim.

Cipher No. 7, of the same sentence.
L ^ — juta km^z xwgk prcu uwjt ed>hnt.

Cipher No. 8, of the same sentence.
X . > ufdm ^xch feos wxha y^nx 8hfo fvio^.

Cipher No. 9, of the same sentence.
A < — yjj sb4lssrcglo<p^^wk(i>4<iiljj (pn\x(p.

Cipher No. 10, of the same sentence.

Z < — wfdStwaebzjlqqatqqdlugyurgtya.

The capital letter prefixed to all these ciphers indicates the
locus in which the key is used; and unless it is purposely changed
in the course of the sentence, it remains the same throughout.
This letter maybe called the indicator. Now such is the pliability
and extent of this cipher, that, by changing the indicator, one
single symbol may express every letter in the alphabet ; or, in
other words, the indicator may be used in lieu of the symbol,
and the symbol may stand in place of the indicator ; and thus
the mode of using the cipher is completely reversed, as in the
following example, in which the above short sentence is written
according to the reversed method.

Cipher No 1 1, of the same sentence.

m : p4gypmfbde^q8k^gh ftj zlu x^k wq8

which in the natural order would stand thus—

Cipher No. 12, of the same sentence.

Pm 4m Gm Ym Pm Mm Fm Bm Dm Em <J)m Qm 8m Km 4>m
Gm Hm Fra Tm Jm Zm Lm Um Xm <i>m Km Wm Qm 8ra.
Vol. X. H

98 Mr. Chenevix oji a new Method

and shews that it is possible to load this cipher with the defect
laid to the account of that which is in Rees^s Ci/clopcedia ; but
the admission of two symbols, or of one symbol composed of two
parts, has been studiously avoided.

The twelve examples here stated have been written with one
single key, varying merely the value of the symbols. Therefore
the problem to be resolved is proposed under the simplest aspect
possible ; unless, indeed, the variation of the value of the sym-
bols, which, when only one key is used, is essential to extreme
secrecy, be abstracted. Such, however, is the security of this
cipher in itself, and the generality of the principles upon which
it is constructed, that when two keys are used, and the four
additional symbols admitted, the variation of the value of the
symbols may be dispensed with ; and such is the form in which
this cipher offers the greatest practical utility, together with
sufficient compass to attain the indispensable object of secrecy.
So great is its power even in that state, that Europe may be
ciphered in 6,400 different ways, changing one letter each time;
Asia in 256; and Emancipation in 2,621,440. In this very
reduced condition, it is submitted to similar trial as the former ;
and a known sentence is ciphered in two different ways, by the
help of which an unknown sentence, ciphered also in two difFer-
ent ways, maybe deciphered, if the security of the method be
not extreme. The known sentence is the same as that ciphered
in ciphers 1,2, 3, 4, and 5.

Cipher No. 13.

grts dcwb zlwe algr u4fy kwlci) wajr y(pud iknp Iper xode
aojk wxuvicve mxtf hkl8 xvs^ orlu igb<i> myaj fkeo anpu xled
guwy wrds ferd n(psu ebuf stjf ^ko8 4wmy ucy4 <i)jfx vwzc enif
povm gwxe 4tlu byi4 ucth men4 mmf j er^j qy4m ekrd dyqr rjro
8bvg p8<pj gpm.

Cipher No. 14, of the same sentence.

Knwx envd jalu dfum gfsd jvwt szkb 4iyp 4yc(p fx8m mqrd
dS^g Imgw pn^h rmwl qgwb m^xa h<pfy <pn8j x4dz lyuq Ijxy
ymau luyv ysbt skhd uctx t8(i>y yxok wigh 8ylv ynki bnnp dtan

of Secret Writing. 99

dc^s x8^d nndd idfy 8uuy ynlq aucf xqiz dbaa ooid df bt ekol
ekbq bzdu uotn rux.

The following is the unknown sentence ciphered by means of
the same key as the above.

Cipher No. 15.

Znkiox dcwjba welfud nqbyrj ugp^xm dvguwy fynd^^ g(pod»d8
4senlut icav4w ooSdul w4vnpm vet4wj qgylxw hqgytkw.

Cipher No. 16, of the same sentence.

Bcy4qm yn\zd(p Idrsgt gozk(p(i> gkitpv eeuet4 sucrna uhveb4
xucagw pnlSit qergaw i^gxve wylnqg 4fst8q kuwys.

The assistance afforded in all these examples, by giving d.
known sentence as a kind of key to deciphering an unknown
sentence, is what is studiously avoided in all the applications of
cipher to real business ; and it might happen that a method of
secret writing which could not stand so hazardous and severe a
test as this, might yet be sufficiently secure for every practical
purpose, in which no aid were furnished to promote detection.
To ascertain this, another sentence is ciphered as the above, by
means of two keys, different from those before used ; but the
power of which is such, that Europe may be written by
them in 4,608 different ways; Asia in 256; Emancipation
in 1,917,728. No known sentence, however, is given as a help ;
and detection must be attempted without any such assistance,
and upon the common principles laid down by writers who have
prescribed rules for deciphering secret characters.

Cipher No. 17.

hnadvkz ofitkpmhr €f4 huxo(pag yd dgs8^ j{i<ppydmmm fooh
rxx isoio oartoio fouagxf acb upelfwqp qf(i>lx Iduhrqh t(p npa
fdmtglviixw jf^8frcqghfor(i)^o mmmht zq zjh jeexef<p jy8s.

And finally, the cipher is reduced to the very simplest state in
which it can stand, but one key is use^, and the value of the
symbols do not vary. In this condition the symbols which
denote Europe, are capable of 200 permutations; those in
Asia of 16 ; and Uiose in Emancipation of 1,280. This last

H2

100 Mr. Chenevix on a new Method

trial is proposed as an extreme case ; for, as in practice, the dif-
ficulty between using two keys or one is very trifling, and the
security at least one hundred times as great in the former case ;
it would always be more advantageous that two should be used.
The trial here made is under the same circumstances as would
attend the cipher in practice. No known sentence is given as a
help to detection.

Cipher No. 18.
sxkepazb ^s^ S^vfms kq IswmhpjSoedn vcka iihpjzh d>rss rv
yamp bzimdyk xcjw berr vxv z4qbm lyterj rv faro y84aekay
a^vh (ifaSg^i au bupcyr ddiaxcjw ^ykShmx pp yt<p4hpold yjy if
h4vfb ^kxdpz vvz gf 8a r4up4j pip jjmw uuut4 wuvipgzblych
qxkzpfFaqjq liy <phpxt trdt etev dSfq ceyucxegS pici pici xs.

Upon the whole the advantages of this cipher are, 1st, its
extreme simplicity in every respect, for any person may make
himself complete master of it in ten minutes : 2nd, the symbols
used are familiar to all persons, and easily written and read : 3rd,
but one symbol is used to express each letter, hence there is no
greater danger of committing errors than in copying any other
unknown language, and no more time lost than in any other
work of substitution : 4th, it is as secret as a cipher can be, for
its power exceeds the limit (m — 1)": 5th, it is applicable to
every language : 6th, it is applicable to every system of signals
by sea and land, and to every species of secret correspondence
by telegraphs, flags, Sfc, where letter symbols or signals are
used, as these alone are susceptible of being reduced to fixed
and general principles : 7th, any number of ciphers may be dis-
tributed and employed without danger of detection, as it is im-
possible for any person to decipher a sentence, unless he is in
possession of the exact keys, by means of which it was ciphered;
and no one diplomatic agent could penetrate the secrets of ano-
ther, while the chief alone may be possessed of all.

To ascertain the degree of secrecy which this mode of cipher-
ing really possesses, it is here submitted to inspection, and to
very severe trials. It is not presumed that any person will be
able to decipher the above unknown sentences, even those which

of Secret Writing. 101

are accompanied by a known sentence, still less to write an
answer to them, such as may be read by means of the key in
which they are ciphered : and least of all to compose those keys,
or any other key, upon the principles here applied to secret
writing ; for every one of these conditions must be fulfilled before
the alleged advantages of the method are proved to be illusory.
The first person, in any country, who accomplishes them all, and
makes known the result of his researches through the channel
ofthisjournal,orby a communication addressed to the author,
on or before the last day of December, 1822, shall immediately
receive one hundred pounds ; or should he do no more than
decipher Nos. 17 and 18, he shall immediately receive fifty pounds.

Art. IX. Description of an improved Lamp, invented btf
Mr. S. Parker.

The subject of light, during the last few years has engaged
much of the public attention from the introduction of gas.
This beautiful light has not, however, so far superseded
oil, as to render a more perfect lamp undesirable. The lamps
ROW in use for the dinner-table, for reading, or for evening fa-
mily occupations, have various objections which it has been
the design of the inventor of the SinumbraLamp to overcome.

The first imperfection that strikes every one who uses the
French lamp, perhaps the most convenient and perfect, is the
broad line of shadow cast from the ring oil-reservoir just about the
level of persons* faces sitting round the dinner- table, throwing a
gloom over their countenances where even brilliancy is desirable.

The second is the glare of light cast upon the table from its
not passing through any medium to soften or refract it, which
i« very injurious to the eyes, and unpleasant when the brightness
of the flame from underneath the burnished ring-reservoir flashes
on the eye on bending forwards or stooping.

The third imperfection which applies to all lamps is the waste
of light where it is useless, and the total want of economy in its
distribution.

The first is obviated by the new form given to the ring oil-

102 On the Sinumbra Lamp.

reservoir as described in Plate I. 2, figure B.B. and the peculiar
application of the frosted glass light-distributor.

The combination of these two improvements destroys all
shadow, as will be explained.

The second is effected by the total enclosure of the flame in
the frosted glass light-distributor, which refracts the light into
innumerable radiations, each proceeding from one of an inde-
finite number of small fractures or stars given to the glass in
the act of roughing or frosting it. Each one of these fractures,
when examined by a microscope, is a small star, from which the
light radiates as from a new centre of illumination, and pro-
duces what is called a soft light. The expansion of the dis-
tributor is sufficient by the radiation from these stars to over-
come the shadow otherwise projected from the ring oil-reservoir,
which in experiment we find it completely effects.

The last desirable object to attain in a perfect lamp, is to
command a powerful, agreeable, and equally-diffused light im-
mediately underneath it, diverging at an angle from the flame
so as to illuminate a table around which ten persons can com-
fortably dine, and at the same time to light the upper part of the
room and the persons sitting round the table. This is effected
in the lamp before us in a very perfect manner.

In the centre of the frosted glass light-distributor a burnished
metallic reflector is placed on the glass chimney, by metallic
springs, close to the flame, and rather above its centre,
which reflects some of the brightest light on the table, still
leaving a sufficiency for illuminating the upper part of the room.
By these means the light of two French lamps is obtained on
the table, without any additional consumption of oil, or any
glare injurious to the eyes. Thus we have in this lamp, a
strong and at the same time, if we may use the expression, soft
and delicate light, where most desirable ; we have no shadow
from any of its apparatus, and a light the least injurious to
the eye that has yet appeared.

Explanation of the Plate.

(A) The centre of illuminatioD.

(B) The Ring Oil Reservoir, the upper and lower surfaces of which are

shaped to conform with the direction of lines radiating from the

On the Diallage Rock of Shetland. 103

centre of flame (A) to (a), so that the greatest quantity of oH is con<
tained in a form that gives the least possible shadow.

(C) The metallic Reflector fixed on the Glass Chimney close to the Flame,
by metallic springs, and reflecting^ some of the brightest light upon
the table.

(D) The Frosted Glass Light Distributor.

The use of the Reflector with the Distributor gives the Sinambra
Lamp a great advantage in point of economy, as a very considerable
increase of light is downwards obtained without any additional
consumption of oil.

(E) The Pipes to conduct the oil from the Reservoir to the Burner.
<F) The Glass Chimney.

(G) The Button, to be unscrewed when the oil is introduced.
Fig. 3, represents the Lamp in its complete state.

Art. X. On the Diallage Rock of Shetland. Bj/ J. Mac
CuUoch, M.D. F.R.S., ^c, in a Letter to the Editor,

Dear Sir, Shetland, August 20, 1820.

As I am not aware that the relations of Diallage
Rock have been described by any author, a brief account of its
character, as it occurs in this country, will probably not be un-
acceptable to the readers of your Journal. I presume that we
are indebted to Dr. Hibbert for having first pointed out its
existence in these islands. I am, &c.

To W, T. Brands, Esq. J. Mac Culloch.

Royal Institution.

Diallage Rock forms a considerable part of the island of
Unst, and a small proportion of FeUar. It also constitute^
Houna, and the whole of Balta ; an island rendered remarkable
of late in the annals of astronomy, from its having been the
northernmost point of that arc of the meridian measured by thiQ
late Generals Roy and Mudge, under the direction of the Board
of Ordnance. It also occurs, but in very small quantity, at
Fedaland point, the northernmost promontory of the main land
of Shetland, and at Hills wick Ness.

In this district it cannot be said to confer any particular cha-
raoter on the general form of the land ; which, whatever rock is

104 Dr. Mac CuUoch on the

present, is almost invariably marked by an uniformly undulatinj^
insipid outline. Yet, when once examined, it is easily recog-
nised, even at a distance, by the peculiar aspect of the surface
which it occupies. Being unfavourable to the production of
peat, and mouldering with difficulty into soil, it is free from
that dense coating of the former substance, which covers al-
most all the rocks of Shetland to such a depth as to render the
examination of the interior country a matter of great difficulty,
and, not seldom, of considerable uncertainty. For this reason,
it protrudes every where through the soil ; resembling very
strongly in its effect, that appearance which is produced by
scattered blocks of granite. At the same time, the intervals
are distinguished by the greenness, no less than by the good-
ness of the pasture which they afford ; a circumstance always
attracting the attention of a geologist in this black and desolate
region, as it is rarely found in the interior country, or at a dis-
tance from the influence of the sea, unless where limestone or
serpentine are the substrata.

Balta, almost alone, affords an opportunity of remarking the
character of the rock when broken into cliffs, and exhibiting a
considerable extent of bare surface. The greater part of the
east side of this island is precipitous, in some places exceeding
eighty feet in height. These cliffs are peculiarly rugged, and
quite unlike in their appearance to any with which I am ac-
quainted ; presenting no marks of stratification, nor of the sur-
face of beds ; and, at the same time, differing from any similar
precipices of granite, or of trap, on the different coasts of
Scotland, which I have examined. They are broken into in-
numerable angular small parts, by fissures in every possible di-
rection ; and it will hereafter be seen that this peculiarity arises
from a circumstance in the constitution of this rock which also
obscures its stratified structure and disposition.

This obscurity of stratification in the diallage rock of Shet-
land is so considerable, that it would not be difficult, from
limited observations, to fall into the error of considering it as
an unstratified rock, and as analogous in its nature to granite.
More extensive and careful observations will leave no doubt re-
specting its stratified disposition. In examining the surface of

Diallage Rock of Shetland. 105

the country, it will be found that the protuberant masses above-
mentioned, are disposed in lines or interrupted ridges, which
are parallel to the general direction of the neighbouring strata,
or to the common tendency of all the stratified rocks of the
country ; that is, to the eastward of north. On the low shores
also, it will be seen that all the points projecting into the sea,
which are formed of the diallage rock, preserve the general
bearing in question ; being divided from each other by narrow
creeks, corresponding to those parts of the surface where the
rock does not rise above the soil.

Another indication of the stratified disposition of this rock is
found in its regular juxtaposition to the strata of gneiss, mica-
ceous schist, or argillaceous schist, which it follows ; and that
is still more strongly evinced by its occasional alternation with
beds of these rocks of different dimensions, often of very con-
siderable magnitude. The small elevation to which it rises
above the soil in the interior, and the lowness of the rugged
shores where it is laid bare by the sea, almost always prevent
the observer from satisfying himself respecting the stratified
disposition of this rock, by the unquestionable evidence of the
forms of the beds and their divisions ; and, in the high cliffs,
where he might expect to find them distinctly displayed, they
are rendered obscure by the innumerable fissures in all direc-
tions, already mentioned, by which the divisions between the
beds are confounded. But in the small island of Houna, which
lies between Balta and Unst, the stratification is perfectly dis-
tinct ; not only the direction but the dip of the beds being
easily traced, and their dimensions also admitting of measure-
ment. In Fedeland point also, where thin beds of diallage
rock are interposed among those of the other primary schistose
substances, there is no difficulty in tracing their regularly stra-
tified disposition.

Having thus proved that diallage rock is stratified, it remains
to point out the rocks with which it is here associated, and the
place which it must consequently hold in the system of succes-
sion among these.

In some places it is in immediate contact with extensive bodicit

106 Dr. Mac Culloch oji the

of gneiss, in others with micaceous schist, chlorite schist,
argillaceous schist, and serpentine. It may also be said to al-
ternate with every one of those rocks, while the large masses of
it also contain thin beds of most of these substances ; and, in
addition to these, similar portions of hornblende schist, talcose
schist, actinolite schist, and, more rarely, of serpentine.

It must of course be introduced into the system of the primary
rocks among the stratified substances ; and as I have on other
occasions, shewn that the order of succession among these is
variable and uncertain, so there is no place to which diallage
rock can exclusively be referred.

With respect to its transitions, I must remark that it appears
to pass into talcose and chlorite schists, as well as to contain
thin beds or laminse of those substances. In this case, the
essential mineral, diallage, appears to change its character, so
as gradually to pass into talc, or chlorite ; but as the other
ingredient remains unchanged, the resulting compounds are
feldspar and chlorite, or feldspar and talc. The apparent
passage into serpentine is less genuine, and it takes place
where the diallage rock approximates to that substance. In
this case, it is probable that the feldspar is excluded, and
a serpentine substituted in its place; the difficulty in de-
termining the exact point of change, arises from the dark
colour of the compact feldspar, and the hard nature of the
sterpentine ; so that in this state of minute admixture with an-
other mineral common to both, they are scarcely distinguish-
able. It must be recollected that this rock is as yet but very
imperfectly known, although it occurs abundantly in Piedmont
and in Corsica ; being, in the former country, associated with
serpentine as it is in Shetland. It is probable that when it shall
become better known, it will be necessary to add much to, and
to modify somewhat of, those particulars here contributed to*
wards its history.

In its internal large structure, it presents, independently of
its stratification, some peculiarities already hinted at, from
which arises that disposition to an irregular fracture which so
generally obscures the divisions of the strata. It is, in all parts.

Diaiiage Rock of Shetland, 107

often penetrated by laminee, almost invisibly thin, of talc,
chlorite, or mica ; in consequence of which the rock yields, on
the application of force, in numerous directions. Hence it is
scarcely possible to procure square or regular specimens from
the varieties which possess this character ; and hence also the
cliffs break in the irregular angular manner already described.
It is also much intermingled, on many occasions, with short ir-
regular veins or masses of the feldspar, which forms its chief, if
not its characteristic, ingredient ; and thus also its texture
often varies much even within very narrow limits.

That texture is often confusedly crystalline, like that of gra-
nite ; the rock breaking in the same manner indifferently in any
direction, though commonly with great difficulty, on account
of its extreme toughness. This is more particularly the case in
the small grained varieties, and also in those in which compact
feldspar is an ingredient : the larger grained kinds, and those in
which the feldspar is platy, or of the common kind, are gene-
rally easy to break.

But it is often fissile with considerable ease in one direction,
while it yields with difficulty in the other; the texture re-
sembling that of gneiss, or being imperfectly schistose. In
this case the fissility arises, as it does in gneiss, from a parallel
tendency in the crystals of the diaiiage.

I may lastly remark, that independently of those changes of
the magnitude or proportions of the two ingredients of which
it is composed, it often contains those veins called con-
temporaneous, in which the two minerals are either intermixed
in a very distinct form, and in large portions or irregular crys-
stals ; or in which one of the constituent minerals alone exists
to the exclusion of the other.

Diaiiage rock is essentially composed of feldspar and diai-
iage, but it also occasionally admits of quartz, of mica, of
talc, of chlorite, and actinolite. I am uncertain whether the
mixtures of diaiiage and serpentine should be ranked under it,
or whether they do not more properly belong to the varieties of
serpentine.

The diaiiage varies much in the magnitude of the crystals.

108 Dr. Mac Culloch on the

and not less in the proportion which these bear to the feldsjpar ;
although they are generally in much inferior quantity. It also
varies in colour, being of a very pale green, of a darker hue
of the same, of a pale grey, of a dark grey nearly approaching
to black, of a brown and of a purplish brown.
. The feldspar is sometimes compact, or very finely granular ;
both of these appearing to be modifications of compact feld-
spar. In either example it is compactly platy, and at the same
time irregular ; while it is occasionally also perfectly platy, as
is the mineral called common feldspar. In a few instances it
approaches to the glassy variety. The colour is either a greenish
white, or pale ochry, or pure white; and, in some rare in-
stances, it is brown, grey, and purplish brown.

It is easy to understand therefore, how, from the varying
tints of these two essential minerals, their varying proportions,
and the various magnitude of the parts, the colours, and ge-
neral aspect of this rock may vary, and it is unnecessary,
therefore, to dwell on this part of the subject. I may only add,
that where mica, or quartz, or any of the other minerals above
named, are present, they produce varieties which may readily be
investigated, and on which it is unnecessary to dilate further.

The following synopsis contains a brief view of the varieties
which have fallen under my notice ; including, for the present,
that which consists of diallage and serpentine.

Synopsis of Diallage Rock.

First Division. Simple, or composed of Diallage alone.

A. A confused mixture of crystals of diallage.
The aspect of this rock varies materially according to the
magnitude of the crystals ; and it appears rather to form veins
or concretions in the mixed rock, than to occur in distinct masses
or strata.

Second Division. Composed of two Ingredients.

A ^A mixture of diallage and feldspar.

a. Diallage and platy feldspar.

b. . Dialla geand fine granular feldspar.

c. Diallage and compact feldspar.

Diallage Rock of Shetland. 1 09

The aspects of these mixtures vary much, according to the
magnitude of the parts and the relative proportions of the con-
stituent minerals.

B. Diallage and actinolite.

C. Diallage and talc, or chlorite.

In this mixture, it is seldom easy to determine whether the
mineral mixed with the diallage, is talc or chlorite ; but both
of them seem to occur.

D. Diallage and Serpentine.
When this compound occurs as a transition between serpen-
tine and strata of diallage rock, it contains so much diallage as
nearly to exclude the serpentine. It may, however, be con-
sidered also as a variety of serpentine.

Third Division^. Composed of three Ingredients.

A. Diallage, feldspar, and mica.

B. Diallage, feldspar, and quartz.

These compounds are rare in Shetland, and are indeed rather
incidental than found in extensive masses.

If there is a quaternary compound of diallage, feldspar,
quartz, and mica, it has occurred to me so rarely, and in a
manner so limited, that I am yet unwilling to consider it as
deserving a place among the varieties of this rock.

Diallage rock occasionally contains imbedded portions, or
limited veins, of talc, chlorite, actinolite, asbestos, and steatite ;
but I am not yet aware that it contains, either these, or any
other minerals, embedded or intermixed in such a manner as to
modify its general character.

Art. XI. Observations on Aroma. Being the substance of a
Paper read by M. Robiquet, to the Philomathic Society
of Paris,

BoERHAAVE attributed odorous emanations to a subtile
fluid, which he regarded as capable of exerting great influence
on the phaenomena of vegetation and the animal economy, and

110 'Robiqnet on Aroma.

which he named spiritus rector, Spon after his time, it was
found necessary to modify this idea, so as to allow various
kinds of spiritus rector, and Macquer divided them into acid,
alcaline, and oily. He admitted, nevertheless, that this odorous
effluvia was generally composed of an oil more or less dense, and
a subtile acid. At the time when chemical language was rege-
nerated, the expression of spiritus rector was changed for that
of Aroma. The existence of this fugacious principle once
admitted, it was necessary to assign it a situation in the sys-
tematic arrangement of bodies, and it was placed among the
proximate products of vegetables. The great difficulty was to
characterize it by properties belonging exclusively to it. It was
examined closely, and was soon observed to differ perpetually
from itself: its existence as a principle could not therefore
be supported, and Fourcroy first placed it amongst imaginary
bodies. This learned chemist, in endeavouring to overthrow the
opinions of Boerhaave and Macquer has perhaps departed still
farther from the truth. He regards all kinds of odours as
produced by the simple solution of the odorous substance in
the air, or in a fluid : thus, the essential oils and aromatics
owe their odour, according to Fourcroy, to a portion of them-
selves completely dissolved in the air, in water, or in alcohoK
This idea is not confined to the bodies hitherto considered
aromatic, but is extended to all substances ; and it is admitted
by the same author that each substance has its particular
odour, relative to its volatility and its solubility. It is also
admitted, as a consequence of this opinion, that the compounds
which contain a volatile principle, owe their particular odour
to it ; it was established, that the aroma of aromatic plants
resided solely in their essential oils ; and it resulted, that dis-
tilled waters owed all their smell to a portion of this oil retained
in complete solution in them. Such was the opinion supported
in the Memoir e, published in 1798, by Fourcroy, and the
experiments of Prevost and Venturi were advanced in support
of the results.

Since that time no objection has been published : and this
view of tilings modified by the additional knowledge acquired on

Robiqnet on A roma . Ill

the developement of gases in space, is still that of the present
chemists. It has always, however, been easy to adduce some
facts which agree but awkwardly with this theory. There are
some bodies, such as musk, for example, which are not sensi-
bly volatile, and which yet spread a very strong odour. There
are also essential oils, the solutions of which in water are not
at all like the aroma of the part of the vegetable which has
yielded them. The odour of the essence of orange flowers
has not any analogy with the odour of the water distilled
from the same flower, and many others are in the same cir-
cumstances. There exists a considerable number of very
odorous flowers, such as those of the jasmine, the heliotrope,
and the tuberose, which are entirely destitute of essential
oil, or from which at least none can be obtained. It is,
therefore, to be supposed, that the real cause of odour in a
certain number of substances has not yet been ascertained.
I have had occasion to make some observations which support
this statement.

Whilst making researches on the presence of prussic acid in
some vegetable substances, and particularly in the kernels of
stone fruits, I have arrived at some results which appear to me
sufficiently interesting to be published.

There exists, as is well known, a strong analogy between
the odour of prussic acid, and of some vegetable products ;
and, indeed, according to the experiments of many chemists,
it is generally believed that it is to this acid that bitter
almonds, plum kernels, peach-flowers, the leaves of the laurel,
^c, owe their odour and deleterious effects. M. Vauque-
lin and M. Schrader have discovered it in many vegetables.
It appears to me, however, difficult to admit that a product so
ephemeral and fugacious should be capable of remaining in
these substances for an indefinite time. How is it to be con-
ceived that the residue of bitter almonds, from which the fixed
oil has been separated by pressure, should remain impregnated
for an unlimited time, with this prussic odour. M. Martre of
Montauban and M. Vogel of Munich, though they admit the pre-
sence of prussic acid in bitter almonds have nevertheless

112 Rohiqnet on Aroma,

ascertained that they contain an essential oil, of which they
have described several properties, and, among others, that of
having a decided odour of prussic acid. I had undertaken, con-
jointly with my companion M. Couverchel, some experiments
on the changes which are produced during the developement
of the kernel in stone-fruits, and the following is one of our
observations. We took apricots at the time when the stone
contained only a glairy transparent substance, in which the
vegetable embryo could be with difficulty discovered. The
gelatinous substance gave by pressure a juice slightly milky,
having a faint odour resembling that of starch boiled in water*
This juice, being filtered, was very liquid, and in time acquired
the odour of bitter almonds. If, immediately on its extraction,
a fragment of potash be added to it, it will instantly develope
an ammoniacal smell ; and what is remarkable, if the experi-
ment be repeated at different times, it will be found, that the
ammoniacal smell occasioned by the potash is stronger as the
odour of the prussic acid increases. We have also observed,
that the same juice, when distilled by itself, gives no trace of
essential oil, though it affords a considerable quantity, if a
small portion of calcined magnesia be added to it before dis-
tillation ; a water is then obtained very odorous and slightly
ammoniacal, and a very limpid oil. After a time the water
becomes milky, because charged with a greater quantity of
ammonia, it retains the oil in suspension. This coincidence in
the developement of the odour, and the volatile alcali, reminds
me of a fact I observed many years since, and which is con-
tained in the analysis of tobacco published by M. Vauquelin, in
the Annates du Museum. An. infusion of the leaves of tobacco,
after having been precipitated by acetate of lead, acted on by
sulphuretted hydrogen, filtered, and submitted to distillation,
gave a fluid product of an herbaceous odour ; but, on
adding potash or ammonia, this odour became so strong and
penetrating as to be insupportable. This observation is in
accordance with what is practised daily in the manufactories of
snuff in order lo give it pungency. It is made to suffer the
commencement of fermentation, and ammonia is then deve-

Rohiquet on Aroma. 113

loped, inconsequence of the decomposition of vegeto-animal
matter. It is a practice also to improve the snufF of inferior
quality, such, for instance, as comes from the refuse, by
adding a small quantity of the carbonate of ammonia to it.
The odour of the best snufF may be destroyed by mixing with
it a little pulverized tartaric acid ; no smell can then be distin-
guished but that of acetic acid arising from the decomposition
of the acetate of ammonia contained in the prepared snufF.

Is it not probable, from what has been stated, that ammonia
contributes considerably to the existence of the odour in the two
cases cited, and many other facts may be mentioned in support
of the proceeding. M. Vogel, in describing the properties of
the essential oil of bitter almonds, says that, exposed to the
air, it concreted, crystallized, and became inodorous. He at-
tributes this phajnomenon to the absorption of a certain quantity
of oxygen, and founds his opinion on the circumstance that
this solid oil can resume its primitive odour on agitation with
a few drops of the hydro-sulphuret of ammonia ; but, according
to the preening observations, it appears much more probable
to me, that it is the ammonia, and not the sulphuretted
hydrogen which is the important agent. It is certain that the
juice of the apricot kernels taken before the almond odour is
developed, or immediately after its preparation, loses the
power of becoming odorous, if it has previously been agitated
a few moments with a little ether. This experiment being
generally made in a long tube, the ether which floats above,
leaves on its spontaneous evaporation traces of an oil impreg-
nated with a slight odour. As to the juice thus washed by
ether, it, as before said, no longer has the property of be-
coming odorous by length of time, and it has lost the power of
giving ammonia on the addition of the alkalies. I have already
said, that M. M. Vogel and Maitin had ascertained the existence
of an essential oil in bitter almonds, characterized by the odour
of prussic acid. I nevertheless regard the existence of this
essential oil as very doubtful ; and I think it more probable that
the volatile product obtained on distilling the emulsion of hitter
almonds, is a combination of a particular principle contained in

Vol. X. I

114 Hoh'iquet on Aroma.

the almonds with a certain quantity of ammonia or its elements,
and the following is the reason for my opinion. It will, without
doubt, have been remarked, that I did not obtain any of this
supposed essential oil on distilling the recent juice of the
apricot kernel, whilst this same juice, distilled with calcined
magnesia, furnished a considerable quantity. It results also
from Ihe experiments of M. Vogel, that this volatile product,
exposed to the air, concretes, crystallizes, becomes inodorous,
and does not volatilize. He attributes these phscnomena to
the absorption of oxygen, but I regard them as occasioned by
the loss of ammonia. Finally, it is known that the essential
oils have a strong affinity for the fixed oils, and it is not evident
why these two products do not mix when bitter almonds are
submitted to strong pressure, though such mixture does not
take place if heat is not made use of, as M. Planche has de-
monstrated, and I have had occasion to verify the fact. I have
obtained an oil from bitter almonds as inodorous and tasteless
as that obtained by the same means from sweet almonds ; but
if the plates be slightly heated, as is generally the case, then
the combination is effected, and the oil is odorous. I do not
think that a doubt can be entertained, after what has been
stated, that the odour contracted by the juice of the kernels
by the assistance of time, is not really due to the developement
of ammonia. But is the odour the result of an intimate com-
bination of the essential oil with the ammonia, or should the
ammonia be considered as furnishing a convenient vehicle for
its developement ? This I cannot explain at present, but I hope,
nevertheless, to succeed in resolving the question.

It is possible, that, notwithstanding what I have said, no
difficulty may be found in admitting the continued formation
of prussic acid, and attributing the odour so strongly indicated
to the presence of this acid : I will oppose the following expe-
riment to those who may hold such an opinion : I took a cer-
tain quantity of the juice of the kernels of apricots that had
been prepared several days, and were very odorous. I put it
into a tube with powdered red oxide of mercury, and agitated
it many times, but did not perceive the slightest change in the

Robiquet on Aroma, 115

strengtii of the odour. These substances, after remaining in
contact many days, presented no new phsenomena, and yet
there can be no doubt that in this case, the prussic acid ought
to have been absorbed, as it was formed : but since the odour
continued to be developed, we must conclude, in my opinion,
that the prussic acid did not contribute towards it.

I do not doubt, that the influence of ammonia is manifested
in many other analogous circumstances, and that very fre-
quently it becomes the occasional cause of odours. It is easy
for me to point out many cases immediately. It will be found
in the Memoire of M. Chevreul on the Squalus Peregrinus, that
the cartilage, the oil contained in the spermaceti, and the liquor
extracted from the intervertebral cavities of this fish, are not
at all or only slightly odorous when fresh, but that they all
acquire an odour which becomes stronger as the decomposition
proceeds, at which time much ammonia is developed. I will
- mention also another fact recently observed by M. M. Guibourt
and Blondeau. Those two young apothecaries have con-
jointly published an analysis of musk. The first experiment
detailed is the following: Turkey musk, introduced into a small
retort, and distilled in a water-bath, gave a very ammoniacal
fluid, and the musk thus dried, had lost nearly all its odour.
These chemists have not inferred any thing from this experi-
ment; but, according to the idea I have advanced, it may
throw some light on a practice of long standing in the art of
the perfumer. There are some bodies, which, in order to
have their scent developed, require to be mixed with other
substances more fragrant, of which the emanations serve as a
vehicle. It is thus that only a slight perfume can be obtained
from ambergris when used alone, though, when mingled with
a little musk, it developes a very strong and decided odour.
Must it not be admitted in the last case, that the augmentation
of odour is occasioned, at least in great part, by the ammo-
niacal vapour of the musk. This hypothesis is also consistent
with the practice of perfumers, who expose their musk and
other substances in privies when they lose their power.

It appears to me sufficiently demonstrated, that in many

1 2

116 "RohiciXxei 071 Aromd.

different cases the ammonia lends as it were its volatility to
bodies, of which the odour, without this auxiliary, would
scarcely be sensible. I am far from generalizing this observa-
tion, but if we ought to admit with Fourcroy, that every
odorous emanation is the result of a vaporization in the portion
of air which affects our organs, I do not think, with that
illustrious chemist, that odour is constantly occasioned by a
pure and simple solution of the odorous body in this elastic
fluid; but I believe that this solution frequently cannot be
effected, except by the aid of an intermede, and that this
medium may vary according to the substance exactly in the
same manner as is the case with colouring matters which can-
not be fixed on cloth, except by means of mordants appro-
priated to their particular nature. To support this opinion on
some positive data, T will notice what takes place relative to
the essential oil of some cruciform plants, and particularly that
of the mustard-seed.

I have remarked, whilst repeating some of the experiments of
M. Thibierge, that the essential oil lost its odour by remaining
on metallic surfaces, and that a sulphuret and an inodorous
oil resulted. It is, therefore, by the intermedium of sulphur
that this oil acquires so penetrating an odour. Perhaps it may-
be necessary to add to these sort of combinations another
vehicle, for it is known, that the addition of a little acetic acid
considerably heightens the odour of mustard.

It results, according to my opinion, from the facts men-
tioned, that the odours which diffuse themselves in the air
ought not to be generally attributed to a simple volatilization or
emanation produced by the odorous body itself, but in many
cases to a gas or vapour resulting from its combination with
the vehicle appropriate and susceptible of diffusing it through
space according to known laws. As to odorous distilled wa-
ters, many of them are pure solutions of these combinations ;
and, approximating to Macquer's idea, I will willingly suppose
that the essential oils owe their odour to the combination of a
variable vehicle with an inodorous oil. Thus a problem will be
resolved which has long occupied those distillers who would

Robique t ow il romn . 117

•willingly find this inodorous volatile oil, that they may mix it with
the more rare and dear essences. I shall terminate this note
by a final observation ; it is, that the analysis of the essence of
turpentine, published by M. Houton Labillardi^re, and that of
the essence of lemons of M. de Saussure, afford such unequal
results as to indicate a similar composition, and show that the
different odours which distinguish them belong to causes
which have little influence on their intimate nature.

Art. XII. Facts relative to Gold, Extracted from a
Memoir read to the Institute, By M. Pelletier,

Notwithstanding the different researches on gold, and its
combinations, which have been published, there still remain
many points to be elucidated, especially relative to the saline
compounds of this metal in their property of forming, at times,
colourless combinations with the acids and the alcalies. This
property has been observed several years ago by chemists, and
principally by M. Vauquelin, but the theory of the effect remains
unknown. M. Pelletier, who, conjointly with M. Duportat, had
published experiments on this subject, did not conceal the
vacuities which existed in his work ; and it is with the intention
of filling them up, that the new experiments have been under-
taken, of which the following is an account.

M. Pelletier divides his memoir into several parts. The first
is devoted to the examination of the action of mineral acids on
the chloride of gold.

It is known that the chloride of gold is capable of combining
with water, and forming a yellow hydrate, which, when heated,
becomes of a purple colour, from the evaporation of the water.
By the continued action of the heat, this purple powder becomes
of a lemon yellow colour, and M. Berzelius then considers it a
sub-chloride of gold.

From this phien^menon it is easy to explain the action of acids
on the chloride of gold. The acids, such as the sulphuric,
nitric, and phosphoric, do not act, when cold, on this compound,

118 PelJfS^i' m ^^^d-

nor even when hot, unless the temperature be sufficiently high,
and then the chloride decomposes, exactly as if no extraneous
acid had been present.

The acids do not act on the chloride of gold, nor cause any
other decomposition than that due to the water they contain,
b^t with that water they act on the chloride, transforming it into
a chloride and metallic gold.

On the Action of Acids on the Oxide of Gold.

The oxide of gold used by M. Pelletier, is the per -oxide of
Berzelius, or the oxide of gold of those chemists who admit but
of one only. M. Pelletier found that the acids in general were
not capable of uniting to this oxide, and of forming saline com-
binations ; that the concentrated nitric, sulphuric, and acetic
acids easily dissolved the oxide when heated, but that the greater
part of it precipitated on cooling or dilution with water ; and
that the quantity remaining in solution was very small, and
incapable in any case of forming an auriferous saline compound.
The muriatic acid only possesses the property of energetically
dissolving the oxide, forming with it an incrystallizable chloride.
The hydriodic acid has an analogous action. M. Pelletier con-
cludes frona the experiments described in his paper, that there
are no salts of gold.

Action of Salts on the Chloride of Gold.

If the acids were susceptible of uniting to the oxide of gold,
observes M, Pelletier, to form true saline combinations, the
most favourable circumstances for their production would be in
the action of double affinities. Nevertheless M. Pelletier could
not, by this means, obtain any salts of gold. On pouring solu-
tions of sulphate of soda, phosphate of soda, <!^c., into solution
of the chloride of gold, nothing but mixtures were obtained.

The soluble salts of silver as the nitrate and sulphate, acted
differently. When poured into a solution of the chloride of
gold, a yellow brown precipitate was obtained, and the fluid
became colourless: containing only nitric or sulphuric acid.
An analogous precipitate is produced by the muriate of plati-

Pelletier m Gold, 119

num, as M. Vauquelin has observed. The precipitates obtained
by the salts of silver are, according to M. Pelletier, mixtures of
the chloride of silver and oxide of gold.

Action of soluble and insoluble salifiable Bases on the Chloride of

Gold.

This part of M. Pelletier's researches is the most interesting,
both for the difficulties which occurred, and the new results
obtained. The author commenced with the action of potash
on the per-chloride of gold, and the detail on this subject pre-
sents the key to all the pheienomena dependent on the action of
alcaline oxides, on the solution of the per-chloride of gold. The
potash acts differently according as it is added in excess or in
deficiency to the chloride. In the last case it does not imme-
diately cause a precipitate, but the liquor becomes of a deep red
colour, and at the end of some hours a precipitate appears,
which, however, may be produced immediately by heating the
liquor to ebullition. This precipitate recently prepared is of a
lemon yellow colour and gelatinous consistency. Frequent
washings with warm water separate the chlorides of gold and
potassium, which it at firist retains among its particles. It has
been considered by M. Oberkamp as a sub-muriate of gold, but
M. Pelletier having convinced himself that the muriatic acid in
it was not essential, joins in the opinion held by M. Vauquelin,
that it is an oxide of gold.

This oxide exposed to the air dries and loses its lemon co-
lour, becoming blackish brown. In this way it loses the water,
which as a hydrate it held in combination, but is still perfectly
soluble in muriatic acid. If it be dried at the heat of boiling
water, one part of the oxide is reduced to the metallic state,
and only the portion not reduced will then dissolve in muriatic
acid.

The fluid from which a part of the oxide of gold has been
precipitated by the addition of a portion insufficient for the
complete saturation of the chloride, remains of a yellow co-
lour, and is a mixture of the chlorides of gold and potassium.

If instead of employing the potash as above, it be added in

120 Pelletier on Gold.

great excess, the precipitate will form, but then in a great
measure disappear, and the portion which remains undissolved,
instead of being yellow and gelatinous, is black and pulver-
rulent. In this state it contains no water, the potash having
completely separated it. It is principally this difference in the
colour of the oxide, obtained in circumstances opposed to each
other, which induced M. Oberkamp to consider the black oxide
as a pure oxide, and the yellow oxide as a sub-salt. The ex-
periments of M. Pelletier prove this difference to be un-
founded.

It is remarkable that the solution of gold, thus treated with
excess of potash, entirely loses the colour of the salt of gold,
and becomes colourless, so ^s to prevent the suspicion of the
presence of any of this metal. The gold, however, is by no
means perfectly separated ; what, therefore, has become of that
left behind ? or how is it retained in solution ? It appears dif-
ficult to give an explanation of these effects. It is certain that
the yellow colour of the solution is restored by the addition
even of weak OjCid. M. Pelletier does not think with M. Vau-
quelin, that a triple colourless salt is formed, but in conse-
quence of experiments, described in his Memoirey accounts for
the appearances otherwise. It seems that the excess of alcali
on decomposing the chloride of gold perfectly re-dissolves the
oxide of gold formed, and that a binary colourless compound
results, in which the oxide acts as an acid to the alcali, so
that an aurate of potash remains in solution, mixed with chlo-
ride of potasium. It is evident from this fact, that the addi-
tion of an acid will decompose the aurate, by taking the alca-
line base ; and that the oxide of gold, set at liberty, will re-
act on the chloride of potassium, and re-produce chloride of
gold, the colour of which will then become visible. In these
circumstances a portion of alcali is set at liberty, and the fluid
becomes alcaline independent of the alcalinity of the aurate
remaining undecomposed. The following remarkable experi-
ment may be quoted in support of this statement : — If oxide of
gold be boiled in a solution of chloride of sodium, the fluid be-
comes yellow and alcaline*

I'elletier on Gold. 121

Potash has the power of dissolving oxide of gold, inde-
pendent of the presence of an alcaline chloride. M. Pelletier
boiled magnesia with a solution of the chloride of gold, and ob-
tained a precipitate of oxide of gold mixed with magnesia in
excess. This precipitate well washed, and deprived of all
traces of chloride, being acted on by a solution of potash, had
all the gold dissolved ; the presence of the metal in the solu-
tion was rendered very sensible by the addition of chlorine or
muriatic acid.

Magnesia and barytes, as well as soda, act in the same
manner as potash on the chloride of gold, but with phaenomena
less marked, in consequence probably of the slight solubility
of the two first substances.

M. Vaumont has said, that the oxide of gold may be
successfully obtained by acting on the chloride by the oxide of
zinc. M. Pelletier has found this process to succeed very well ;
but the oxide obtained must be washed with nitric acid, to
separate any oxide of zinc remaining from the oxide of gold.

Of the Iodide of Gold.

No chemist has yet mentioned this combination, M. Pelletier
being the first who has described it. He ascertained that gold
was not acted on either by iodine or the hydriodic acid ; but
the hydriodic acid, containing iodine, easily dissolves gold, and
especially when its action is assisted by the addition of a little
nitric acid ; it then forms an iodide of gold, which precipitates as
a brilliant yellow powder, apparently crystalline. The iodide of
gold may also be obtained by other means, as by making the
hydriodic acid and the oxide of gold act on each other, or
by precipitating the chloride of gold by the hydriodate of
potash.

Whatever process has been employed in procuring the
iodide of gold, the compound is identical. It is insoluble in
cold water, and boiling water dissolves only a very small quan-
tity. The muriatic, nitiic, and sulphuric acids, do not decom-
pose it when cold ; when concentrated and boiling, the gold is
dissolved by them, and the iodine set free. Heat alone also

122 Pelletier on Gold.

decomposes this substance : a temperature of 150° (302° Faht.)
being sufficient.

The alcalies in solution instantly decompose the iodide of
gold. With potash an iodate and a hydriodate of that base is
obtained, and the gold remains in a pulverulent metallic state.
This phaenomenon is easily explained, but, according to M. Pel-
letier, if the action of potash on the chloride of gold be com-
pared to its action on the iodide, it may be asked, why, in the
first case, the gold becomes oxidized, and why is no chlorate
of potash formed ? It appears that the difference is occasioned
by the stronger affinity possessed by iodine, than by chlo-
rine, for oxygen ; and the stronger affinity of potassium for
chlorine than for oxygen. This experiment also tends to
prove that the alcaline muriates are chlorides, and not mu-
riates.

This iodide gave on analysis :

Iodine 34 ; 100

Gold m 194.1076

M. Gay-Lussac having shewn the quantity of oxygen corre-
sponding to a certain quantity of iodine, M. Pelletier has cal-
culated, from the preceding results, the composition of the
oxides of gold, and has found the prot-oxide to contain
Oxygen .... 3.3495

Gold 100.

And the per-oxide. Oxygen .... 10.03

Gold 100.

These results differ from those of Berzelius, and therefore the
number for the atom of gold must differ also. It appears to
be 299, oxygen being 10.

M. Pelletier has from the above data calculated the following
proportions in the compounds of gold :

p 10 Oxygen ,... prot-oxide.
30 Oxygen .... per-oxide..
44 Chlorine .... proto-chloride.
132 Chlorine.... per-chloride.
M. Pelletier concludes his Memoire with an account of the
action exerted by organized vegetable substances on the solutioa

Gold 299.

Pelletier on Gold. 123

of gold. In general, the solution is reduced to the metallio
state, and the vegetable substances are attacked by the oxygen
.of the oxide, the chlorine, and the muriatic acid. Finally,
the author draws the following conclusions from his experi-
ments :

1. Gold ought to be considered as an electric negative metal,
i. e,y as a metal forming oxides, which tend rather to act as acids
than as bases.

2. The oxides of gold cannot form true salifiable compounds
with the acids.

3. The per-oxide of gold will unite to the alcalies and other
metallic oxides, forming combinations which possess peculiar
properties.

4. Gold in solution in aqua regia is in the state of per-chlo-
ride, and the supposed triple salts of gold are only mixtures in
which the gold is still in the state of per-chjoride.

5. Gold unites to iodine, forming a compound of which the
proportions are constant and easily determinable.

6. According to the proportions of the iodide of gold, those
of the oxides and chlorides may also be ascertained as given in
the Memoire.

7. The vegetable acids and salts have diflferent actions on tl^
chloride? and oxides of gold. Amongst them may be distin-
guished the oxalic acid and the oxalates, because their action
IS very peculiar, and supports the opinion of M. Dulong on the
oxalic acid.

Art. XIIL— Gw ^Ae new Hygrometer. J5y J. F. Daniell,
Esq., F.R.S., & M.R.I.

I HAVE now completed twelve months' regular ob^ei;vations
with my new hygrometer, and although not entitled to dra^
conclusions which, to be depended upon, can only be the result
of many years unremitting labour, I shall endeavour to point
out inferences which may fairly be considered as approxima-
tions, tp that accuracy whi^ch it is so desirable to attain. The

1 24 Daniell on a neiv Hygrometer,

register published in this Journal has been arranged almost
wholly from my own experiments, except, in some few instan-
ces, during short absences from London, when I have been in-
debted to the kindness of a friend, upon whose accuracy I have
reason to place great reliance. In the course of the remarks
which I shall have to offer, I shall likewise refer to other expe-
riments which I have taken the opportunity of making whenever
favourable circumstances have occurred, or I have been enabled
to take advantage of an atmosphere free from the smoke of our
great metropolis. Before, however, I address myself to this
subject, I must beg leave to say a few words in reply to some ob-
servations with which the editors of the BihliotMque Universelle
of Geneva, have favoured me in their number for March, 1820,
and in which they have done me the honour to publish a trans-
lation of my paper on the hygrometer. I am the more anxious
to do this, as the experience which I have now had has con-
firmed me in the opinion that the instrument is certain in its
construction, and infallible in its indications ; and I should
therefore wish to see it made extensively useful, by being
generally adopted.

In the first place, I am proud to record so strong a testi-
mony to the accuracy of the combination as the following : —
" On peut ne pas adopter toutes les theories de Tauteur ;
ni partager sa predeliction pour I'appareil qui fait I'objet
principal de son memoire ; mais on ne peut disconvenir que
cet appareilf tel quit est construit par Mr. Neivman, fonctionne
admirahUmentP The learned editors must pardon me if I en-
deavour, by removing their objections, or rather their predi-
lections, to make them absolutely partake of my preference for
the instrument. ** II est a presumer," say they, "que I'auteur
ne faisant mention nuUe part dans son memoire de I'hygrometre
^cheveu defeu De Saussure, n'en avait aucune connoissance ;
fait assez etrange vA la reputation qu'a acquise et que merite a
fort juste titre, cet instrument pour toutes les recherches deli-
cates. 11 est pour le moins aussi sensible que celui de I'auteur ;
ct pour la commodite du transport, et de Tusage, soit ^ Fair
libre, soit en vases clos, I'hygrometre a cheveu Temporte de

Daniell on a new Hygrometer, 126

beaucoup. II faut toujours faire iine experience avec celui de
I'auteur lorsqu'on veut connoitre I'etat hygrometrique de I'air ;
il faut uen provision d'ether, etc. Avec celui de De Saussure,
au contraire, il suffit de le regarder, en observant aussi le
thermom^tre, dont les indications doivent toujours marcher
pareilic telment h celles de Thygrom^tre, ainsi que I'a prescrit
soigneusement I'auteur dans son Essai sur THygrometrie, I'un
des fruits les plus remarquables de sa sagacite et de son genie."
Strange, indeed, would it have been, had the presumption
been correct, that I was totally unacquainted with the instru-
ment invented by the illustrious countryman of my annotators.
Long have I been an humble admirer of his sagacity and
genius ; and to no work have I been more indebted for useful
instruction on the subject on which it treats, than to the
essay above referred to. My reason for not making mention of
the hair hygrometer of De Saussure, was the conviction on my
mind of the general admission of the inadequacy of any known
application of the hygroscopic properties of animal or vegetable
bodies, whether hair, whalebone, or rat's bladders, to measure
the absolute quantity of vapour at any time existing in the at-
mosphere. I had selected one as the best contrivance of this
nature to elucidate this point, by contemporaneous observations
with ray own instrument ; and the editors of the Bibliotheque
Universelle themselves, in recording my opinion, ** on verra
combien ses indications sont vagues et peu concluantes," add,
*' Nous ne sommes pas tres eloignes de cette opinion." Now,
I must own that I am quite at a loss to conceive any objection
that can apply to the whalebone that does not equally affect the
hair, as a measure of vapour. But I shall prefer supporting this
conclusion by the authority. of others, rather than by any argu-
ments of my own, especially as I think that I can produce autho-
rity which the candour of the editors themselves will allow to be
conclusive. M. De Humboldt, the celebrated philosopher and
traveller, who is equally distinguished by his accuracy of obser-
vation, and by his philosophic generalizations, and who has had
opportunities of making observations upon this subject which
no other person ever yet enjoyed, and no other ever was more

126 Daniell on a new Hygrometer.

competent to appreciate, thus speaks of hygrometers in general,
and of these two instruments in particular :

* '* We know, by very accurate experiments, the capacities
of saturation of the air at different degrees of the thermometer :
but the relations which exist between the progressive lengthen-
ing of a hygroscopical body, and the quantities of vapour con-
tained in a given space, have not been appreciated with the
same degree of certainty. These considerations have induced
me to publish the indications of the hair and whalebone hygro-
meters just as they were observed, marking the degree shewn by
the thermometers connected with these two instruments."

" As the fiftieth degree of the whalebone hygrometer corre-
sponds to the eighty-sixth degree of the hair hygrometer, I made
use of the first at sea and in the plains, while the second was
generally reserved for the dry air of the Cordilleras. The hair,
helow the sixty-ffth degree of Saussure's instrument, indicates,
by great variations, the smallest changes of dryness, and has
besides the advantage of putting itself more rapidly into a state
of equilibrium with the ambient air. De Luc's hygrometer acts,
on the contrary, with extreme slowness ; and, on the summit of
mountains, as I have frequently experienced to my great regret,
we are often uncertain whether we have not ceased our observa-
tions before the instrument has ceased its movement. On the
other hand, this hygrometer, furnished with a spring, has the
advantages of being strong, marking With, great exactness in very
moist air the least increment of the quantity of vapour in solu-
tion, and acting in all positions ; while Saussure's hygrometer
must be suspended, and is often deranged by the wind, which
raises the counterpoise of the index. I have thought it might
prove useful to travellers to mentign in this place the results
of an experience of several years." *' Notwithstanding the doubts
which have been raised in these latter times, respecting the accuracy
with which hair or whalebone hygrometers indicate the quantity of
vapours mingled in the atmospheric air, it must be admitted that,
even in the present state of our knowledge, these instruments are

* De Humboldt's ^ Travels, translated by Helen Maria Williams. Vol. II.
p.8i,etseq.

Daniell on a new Hygrometer, 127

highly interesting to a naturalist, who can transport them from
the temperate to the torrid zone, from the northern to the
southern hemisphere, from the low regions of the air which rest
on the sea, to the snowy tops of the Cordilleras."

" I have never been able to reduce the hair on whalebone to
the degree of extreme siccity for want of a portable apparatus,
which I regret not having made before my departure. I advise
travellers to provide themselves with a narrow jar containing
caustic potash, quick -lime, or muriate of lime, and closed
with a screw by a plate, on which the hygrometer may be
fixed. This small apparatus would be of easy conveyance, if
care were taken to keep it always in a perpendicular position.
As under the tropics, Saussure's hygrometer generally keeps
above 83, a frequent verification of the single point of humi-
dity is most commonly sufficient to give confidence to the
observer. Besides, in order to know on which side the error
lies, we should remember that old hygrometers, if not cor-
rected, have a tendency to indicate too great dryness."

Mr. Leslie, in his Essay upon the Relations of Air to Heat
and Moisture^ makes the following remarks upon the same
subject. *' But these substances, (viz., hygroscopic sub-
stances,) especially the harder kinds of them, unless they be
extremely thin, receive their impressions very slowly, and
hence they cannot mark with any precision, the fleeting and
momentary state of the ambient medium." " The expansion
of the thin cross sections of box or other hard wood, the
elongation of the human hair, or of a slice of whalebone, and
the untwisting of the wild oat, of catgut, of a cord or linen
thread, and of a species of grass brought from India, have, at
different times, been used with various success. But the in-
struments so formed are either extremely dull in their motions,
or if they acquire greater sensibility from the attenuation of
their substance, they are likewise rendered the more subject
to accidental injury and derangement, and all of them appear
to lose in time insensibly their tone and proper action."

But it is to the Essay of Mr. De Saussure himself, that I
appeal with the most confidence for the confirmation of this

128 Daniell on a new Hi/grometer.

opinion. It is replete with acknowledgments of the obvious
defects of instruments constructed upon this principle,— defects
which it was impossible that a mind like his could overlook,
and it proves fully that his sagacity and genius were tasked to
the utmost to diminish sources of uncertainty, which it was
out of his power wholly to remove. Any person who had not
seen the minute instructions given by this able philosopher
for the construction of his hygrometer would be surprised at
the nicety required in its adjustment. The mere preparation
of the hair is a process of great delicacy and uncertainty. It is
previously exposed to an alcaline lixivium, upon the due
strength and regulated application of which, depends its most
valuable properties; and hairs which have been unequally
exposed to this action are no longer fit for comparisons with
■one another. " Les cheveux n'ont une marche parall^le, que
quand ils sont egalement lessives." So that it would be im-
possible for an artist in London, with the most scrupulous
attention to the directions contained in this Essay, to con-
struct an instrument which should range with one made in
Geneva, unless he had the means of actual comparison.
But after all the care which the ingenuity of such a philosopher
could devise, (and none but such a philosopher could be com-
petent to take such precautions,) thus guardedly and candidly
does the inventor speak of the best instruments : " Quant a la
comparabilite des hygrometres construits avec cette substance,
je puis dire que deux ou plusieurs de ces instrumens faits avec
des cheveux semblablement prepares, gradues sur les m6mes
principes, et exposes ensuite aux m^mes variations d'humi-
dite et de secheresse ont des marches que Ton pent nommer
paranoics. Je ne dirai cependant pas qu'ils indiquent toujours
tons le m^me degre, mais que leurs ecarts vont rarement au-
de\k de deux degres. Si apres que deux hygrometres auront
sejournes pendant long-tems dans un air tres sec, par exemple,
au quaranti^me degre de ma division, on en porte un dans un
air encore plus sec qui le fasse venir je suppose k trente, et
que pendant ce tems-1^, Tautre ait ete porte dans un air un
peu moins sec, par exemple, a cinquante degres; qu'ensuite on

Daniell oti a tiew Hygrometer. 129

les replace tous les deux dans Tair oil ils etoientd'abord, ils
ne reviendront ni Tun ni Tautre a quarante; celui qui vient
de Tail' le moins sec restera a quarante-deux ou quarante-
trois ; et celui qui vient de Tair le plus sec ne montera
qu'k trente-sept ou trente-huit. Cet hygrom^tre a I'incon-
venient de ne pas revenir bien exactement au mcme point
lorsqu'on Tagite un peu fortement ou qu'on le transporte d'ua
lieu dans un autre parceque le poids de trois grains qui tient
la lame d'argent tendue, ne pent pas la ployer assez exacte-
ment pour la forcer k se coller toujours avec la meme pre-
cision contre I'arbre autour du quelle elle se roule or on ne
pent pas augmenter sensiblement le poids sans des inconve-
niens plus grands encore. D'ailleurs si le cheveu est trop long,
le vent lorsqu'on observe en plein air a trop de prise sur lui et
communique ainsi a I'aiguille des oscillations incommodes."

The relation of the degrees of this hygrometer to the actual
quantity of vapour in the air is moreover very far from having
been determined, '* C'est ce que j'ai tente de faire," says the
inventor, " pour mon hygrom^tre ; mais on verra que ce tra-
vail difficile est encore bien loin de sa perfection."

When we add to these admissions the disturbing influence
of heat, which is so great, that the mere approach of the hand
causes a sensible movement towards dryness, the adhesion of
dust and spiders' webs, the choaking of the pivot of the wheel,
and the possibility of friction from the index, we shall have
some notion of the sources of error in this instrument, which the
great philosopher, its inventor, never attempted to conceal,
though he laboured to modify them.

It is thus that I reply, or rather, it is thus that universal ex-
perience replies, to the " pour le moins aussi sensible," of
the editors of the Biblioth^que Universelle. As to the ** com-
modite du transport, et de I'usage," I must remark, that the
whole of the new apparatus packs in a box, which may very
conveniently be carried in the pocket ; and although each ob-
servation with it may in strictness be called an experiment,
yet, that infinitely less time is required to make this experiment
than would be necessary to assure an observer with either the
. Vol. X. K

130 Daniell on a new Hygrometer.

hair or whalebone hygrometer, that " the instriiinent had
ceased its movement." The inconvenience of carrying a supply
6f ether may I think fairly be set against that of an apparatus
for rectifying the instruments described by De Humboldt, and
which he considers necessary to give confidence in their results.
But the instrument which 1 have presumed so strongly to
recommend, shall be still further judged by the very competent
authority to which I have been thus referred. M. de Saussure
sums up in his Essay the qualities which a perfect hygrometer
ought to possess, allowing candidly that his own falls very
short of the perfection which he proposes. All I would ask is,
if the one which I have invented fulfil all the conditions laid
down as follow, that for the good of science it may be adopted
^s a standard by experimental philosophers.

" Un hygrom^tre seroit parfait : Premierement, si ses varia-
tions etoient assez etendues pour rendre sensibles les plus
petites differences d'humidite et de secheresse.

" 2. Si elles etoient assez promptes pour suivre pas-a-pas
tbutes celles de I'air, and pour indiquer toujours exactement
son etat actuel.

" 3. Si I'instrument etoit toujours d'accord avec lui-meme,
c*est-^-dire, qu'au retour du meme etat de I'air il se retrouvat
toujours au m^me degre.

" 4. S'il etoit comparable ; c'est-a-dlre, si plusieurs hygro-

m^tres construits separement sur les memes principes, indi-

quoient toujours le meme degre dans les m^mes circonstances.

" 5. S'il n'etoit afFecte que par I'humidite ou la secheresse

proprement dites.

" 6. Enfin, si ces m^mes variations etoient proportionnelles
^ celles de Fair, en-sorte que dans des circonstances pareilles,
un nombre double ou triple de degres indiqudt constamment
une quantite double ou triple de vapeurs.'*

One observation more upon the verbal criticism of the learned
editors I cannot refrain from making. " L'expression de tem-
ptrature constitiiante de la vapeur,^ say they, " dont se sert
Tauteur, nous semble peu clair, et prater k I'^quivoque ; car
c'est plut6t la temperature destructive de la vapeur, celle qui la

MEAN PRESSURE OF

ATMOSPHERE,

and Extremes.

MEAN PRESSURE OmeAN

VAPOUR, >ERATURE,
and Extremes. Extremes.

Half
Quarter.

Quarter.

Half
Year.

Year.

Half
Quarter.

Quarter.

Half
Year,

irter.

Half
Year.

Year.

^

30.51

0.635

29.98

0.429

o

r

29.60

207

30.39

30.51

0.458

0.635

29.73

29.18

29.87

29.18

0.262

0.156

0.355

0.156

8
42

P

i

30.59

29.73

29.26

0.415

0.219

0.090

30.20

30.59

30.59

0.363

0.415

0.635

74

^

29.79

29.76

29.81

0.225

0.222

0.288

3

40

i

28.89

26.89

28.69

0.139

0.090

0.090

29

46 35

a

n

00 g

30.29

0.429

«>3 O

29.80

0.268

>
"-1

28.87

0.124

30.54

iO.54

0.490

0.490

S
^

29.95

29.88

0.333

0.300

31

29.16

28.87

0.168

0.124

42

C-4

30.46

•

0.721

30.01

29.60

0.421

0.263

30.26

30.46

30.54

30.59

0.655

0.721

0.721

0.

89

89

>

29.91

29.96

29.92

29.87

0.473

0.448

0.374

OB

551

48

I

29.39

29.39

28.87

28.87

0.328

0.263

0.124

0.^52

62 47

24

54 41

11

Tof«cer»Ke 131.

Daniell on a new Hygrometer, 131

tondense en liquide qu*on observe dans le cas cite." ^ Now, I
tnust confess, that the expression which I have adopted, (al-
thougli I am far from wishing to maintain that it is the very
best that might have been selected,) appears to me at least as
correct as that which my critics propose to substitute; for, con-
sidering that it is but a mathematical line which divides the
point at which vapour begins to exist, from the point at which
it begins to condense, he must have microscopic eyes indeed
thatcan discern the division; and supposing the " temperature
destructive de la vapeur," to be accurately represented by
60° of the thermometric scale, he will be an accurate mathe-
matician indeed who will represent the " temperature consti-
tuaiite" by any nearer sign.

And now, expressing my acknowledgments to the Genevese
philosophers for their admission of my new instrument, ** peut
fournir au physician qui le poss^de, le desir et les moyens de
I'employer, tant k la demonstration des principaux phenom^nes
de Tevaporation, qu'^ I'etude plus approfondie des singuli^res
et importantes modifications de la vapeur aqueuse, consideree
dans I'air et dans le vide," I shall proceed to contribute
my endeavours for the accomplishment of this desirable
purpose.

The annexed Table shows at one view the principal results
of the twelve-month's experiments, divided for the facility of
comparison into periods of half-years, quarters, and half-
quarters. It will be easily understood from inspection, and
will require but little explanation. The means of the different
periods are represented by the larger figures, and the extremes
by the smaller, shewing the range of the several instruments in
the respective intervals.

It may be observed, that the barometric results of the first
quarter do not exactly correspond with those already pul-
lished in the Journal. This is owing to a correction which I
have applied in consequence of a defect in the first barometer
which I employed. I have since made use of a very excel-
lent instrument of large dimensions of the syphon form, with
which I compare all others that I have occasion to employ.

K 2

132 Daniell on a new Hygrometer.

The correction alluded to amounts to +0.1 inches. It
may also be remarked, that the calculated means do not
rigorously correspond with each other : this is in consequence
of the decimal calculations having been carried on further in
some instances than others ; and fractions, which it was neces-
sary to leave out of the shorter periods, have become appre-
ciable in the longer, the means of the latter having been taken
from the whole series of experiments, and not from the mean*
of the former.

The use of the Table will be perhaps better imderstood
from the following comparison of the quarters. Beginning with
the three months, December, January, and February, it will
be observed, that the mean of the barometer during that
period was at its lowest, while its range was greatest. The
quantity and pressure of vapour least, and the variation also
least. The degree of dryness and rate of evaporation were
likewise both at their minimum. The quantity of rain nearly
the smallest. The temperature lowest, and the range of the
thermometer least. During the quarter comprising the three
months of June, July, and August, on the contrary,- the mean
of the barometer was at its highest, and its range was least,—*-
the quantity and pressure of the vapour was greatest, — the de-
gree of dryness greatest, — rate of evaporation greatest, — and
quantity of rain greatest. The mean temperature was also at
a maximum. It may farther be remarked, that the mean of
these two extreme quarters is nearly the mean in all respects
of the whole year.

The intermediate quarters, March, April, and May, and
September, October, and November, vary respectively very
little from the annual mean. The autumn, however, is marked
by more vapour, more rain and a less degree of dryness than
the spring, and it is during this period that the range of the
thermometer is greatest.

From the average of the whole year we find that the degree
of dryness in the afternoon exceeds that of ten o'clock in the
morning by 1^"^^ while the degree of dryness of the nightfalls
short of the same by 4°. The evaporation of morning, noony

Daniell on a new Hj/grotneier, 133

and night, are respectively a« 41 — 52 — 8, and the weight of
vapour in the space of a cubic foot is less at night, by 0.07 gr.
than in the afternoon*.

For the sake of comparison, I have selected five periods,
during which 1 have been enabled to try experiments con-
temporaneous with those in London, at a distance of twenty
miles in the country. It would be tedious to give the com-
parison at length, I shall therefore only state the mean rcr
suits.

The constant difference of the barometer between the twp
places was 0.09 lower in the country.

Temper.

Mar. 31st, to April 6th, 7 days, — London, 52^ ,

Country, 53 .

May 21st, to 31st, 11 days, — London, 58 ,

Country, 69 ,

June 12th,.to Jyne 194;h, 8 days,— rLondon, 58|^ ,

Country, 52 ,

Aug. 5th, to Aug. 7th, 3 days, — ^London, 63^ ,

Country, 60^ ,

Aug. 26th, to Aug. 28th, 3 days, — London, 57^ ,

Country, 56^ ,

It will be seen from this table that the mean quantities of va-
pour at these two stations, during these periods, corresponded
within a fraction of a degree, too small to name.

• The editors of the Bibliothique Universelle object to me, that I appear to
have been guided by no consideration in the selection of the periods of the
day for the performance of my experijnents. But obliged as I have been
to snatch a few moments from other avocations, it was necessary to consider
at what times I should be least likely to meet with interruption so as to be
able to continue the series in a regular manner. If I have not chosen quite
the most proper periods, (and that I have not I am most willing to allow,)
ths want of academic leisure must plead my excuse ; and I only trust that
those who are fortunate enough to have it in their power to devote their
whole time to the pursuits of science, and who have more ability for the
task, will copoplete the plan wliich I have only been enabled to trace.

V^aponr.

Drynesi.

45

.. H

44

.. 9

50

.. 8

52

.. -7

50

.. 8i

45^

.. 6i

54i

.. 9

56i

.. 4

52

.. 5i

52^

.. 7*

134 Daniell on a new Hygrometer,

My opportunities of trying experiments upon heights have
still been very limited ; so limited, indeed, that I dare not at^"
tempt to draw any inferences from their results. I shall content
myself, therefore, with noting the particulars of the few that
have been within my power.

On the 3d of April I had an opportunity of ascending Leith-
hill, in Surrey, which is about 800 feet above the level of the
valley of Mickleham, the place from whence I set out. The ba-
rometer, at the lower station, stood at 30.296, the hygrometer
denoted the temperature of the air 60°, and the point of deposi-r
tion 51°. On the top of the hill the barometer stood ^ 2^.406,
and the hygrometer marked 55° and 46° ; making a difference
in the pressure of the whole atmosphere of 0.890, and in the
pressure of the vapour 0.060.

On the 22d May, I again ascended the same hill.

Barometer at first station .... 30.178 Hygrometer. . 71-56

second station 29.348 • — .. 66-47

Difference of barometric pressure 0.830

Ditto of hygrometric ditto , 0.1 19

A third time, on the 14th of August.

Barometer at first station .... 29.948 Hygrometer.. 72-61

second station 29.055 .. 70-52

Difference of barometric pressure 0.893

Ditto of hygrometric ditto , 0.141

On the 4th of April I ascended to the highest point of Hedr
ley-heath, a hill in the same vicinity, about 600 feet above the
valley.

Barometer at first station ... 30.050 Hygrometer 58-34

at second station 29.370 59-32

Difference of barometric pressure 0.680

Ditto of hygrometric ditto 0.014

On the 7th April the same stations gave as follows :

Daniell on a new Hj/grometer, 136

Barometer at first station .... 29-582 Hygrometer 46-34

at second station. ., , 28.964 — — — — ^ 44-31

DiflTerence of barometric pressure 0.618

Ditto of hygrometric ditto 0.021

These results, it will be seen, are too discordant, and the dif-
ferences are too small, to throw any light upon the laws of the
decrease of the aqueous atmosphere at different elevations, a
point of the highest interest and importance. We learn, how-
ever from them that, in settled weather, such as that in which
these last experiments were made, the vapour does decrease
in density as we ascend. In showery weather, however, this is
not always the case, for I have seen several instances, when
there has been denser vapour upon the hill-top than in the plain
below, a state of circumstances which, as far as I have beeji
able to observe, has always been quickly followed by falling
weather.

I shall now conclude these observations with a series of ex-
periments, which I took the opportunity of making during the
great eclipse on the 7th September, for the purpose of ascer-
taining what effect this rare phsenomenon might have upon the
temperature and pressure of the gaseous atmosphere in general,
and of the aqueous atmosphere in particular. It had been re-
marked at Edinburgh, that, during the great eclipse of 18th
February, 1736-7, it was very cold, and that a little thin snow
fell, and it was not unreasonable to suppose that a sudden ob-
scuration of so large a portion of the sun's rays might produce
a very sensible change in the state of the atmospheric vapour.

The day was altogether very favourable to the purpose ; the
morning was hazy, and there were a few cirri; the wind was
S.E., and brisk. The following observations were made pre-
vious to the commencement of the eclipse :

Clock. Thermometer. Dew Pdint. Barometer.

lOJ 65 51 30.12

IH 65 51

Ul 68 51

12i 674 51

136 Dauiell on a new Hygrometer.

Very shortly after the commencement it was observed that
the wind died away to a calm, and the smoke drove from the
S.W., with a great tendency to beat down. The clouds in-
creased rapidly round the sun, assuming the form of cirro-
cumuli, the haze at the same time became more dense. They
continued to increase, and at intervals totally obscured the view,
till about fifty minutes past one, when they began tp dissolve,
and at 20 minutes past two the sun was again perfectly clear,
and remained so till the end. The barometer, as far as I could
judge, was unusually steady during the whole time. The ob-
servations were continued every quarter of an hour, as follow :

Clock. Thermometer. Dew Point.

121 67^ 51

12| 67| 51

1 66 ...... 52

li 65 51

IJ 64 ...... 50

1| 64 50

2 63^ 53 ,

2i 63 52

2^ 63 51

2f 63i 52

3 ... .. 64i 52

H ...... ^^ 52

5 65 52

Thus it appears that there was a depression of temperature
amounting to 5°, the maximum of which was 25 minutes, after
the greatest obscuration. There was also a sensible vacillation of
the point of precipitation ; but whether this, and the momentary
increase of the clouds, were occasioned by an accidental shift of
the wind, or whether all were dependent upon the change of
temperature, consequent to the obscurations of the sun's light,
may be matter of some doubt. The change of the wind was
permanent, and at eleven o'clock at night the constituent tem-*

Daniell on a new Hygrometer. 137

perature of the vapour had risen to 55°, the barometer still con-
tinuing at 30.12.

Towards the end of the eclipse, when the disc of the sun was
quite free from clouds, I had a good experiment upon the
power of the sun's rays. I directed, upon some gun-powder, the
focus of a small lens, which had very little more than sufficient
power to ignite it in clear sunshipe ; it was exactly at three-
quarters past two that it took fire, 55 minutes from the greatest
obscuration, and thirty-two minutes before the end of the
eclipse. This effect would appear to be very much greater than
the corresponding one produced upon the thermometer ; and I
could not but observe that the impression upon the feeling was
likewise much more than would have been expected from the
fall in that instrument. This latter sensation was probably
owing to the great increase in the radiation of the body, as was
the former effect to the decrease of absorption, both surfaces
being instantly sensible to the diminution of the sun*s energy,
while the air only felt the influence of bodies which had been
primarily affected *.
' . ■ ■ III

• A practical illustration of the unfitness of hygroscopic substances for
the construction of accurate 'instruments, may be found in the Annals of
Philosophy for the last month. It consists of the following memorandum,
appended to the Meteorological Journal, so accurately and ably kept by
Mr. Howard.

" The mean of the hygrometer is, for the latter serenteen days of the
month, 79.35, but the mean deduced for the like space, from a new one now
substituted for it, is 64.68 ; it appears, therefore, that the old one, the in-
accuracy of which has been heretofore stated, will require a deduction of
fourteen degrees from its later results. It appears to have been employed
from about midsummer, 1819, and the error, which has apparently arisen
from the stretching of a too slender piece of whalebone, has probably in-
creased from that time to the present.''

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145

Art. XIV. Astronomical and Nautical Collections. — No. III.

i. Tables subservient to the Calculation of Lunar Occultations.

1 . A Table of the Places of all Stars, not below the fourth Mag-

nitude^ that are liable to Lunar Occultations.

Extracted from Mr. Pond's Observations, Vol. II.

1820.
Jan L

AR

Ann.
Var.

N. P.

D.

Ann.
Var.

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3,9

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64

74

6 2| 73 Ceti

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3,16

82 21

3,8

16,7

7 /* 87 Ceti

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3,20

80 39

3,7

15,6

8 ^ 57 cp

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3,39

70 57

37,3

14,2

69

79

9 f 5 8

3 20 56,73

3,28

77 41

11,3

12,9

10 », 25 8

3 36 47,43

3,53

m 27

32,7

11,8

73

79

11 A 37 8

3 54 4,14

3,52

68 25

3,8

10,5

73

83

12 y 54 8

4 9 33,51

3,40

74 48

53,0

9,4

13 U 61 8

4 12 33,87

3,43

72 53

14,7

9,1

76

82

14 25 64 8

4 13 43,73

3,43

72 58

51,0

9,1

77

83

15 2x 67 8

4 14 42,45

3,54

68 13

10,8

9,0

75

85

16 • 74 8

4 18 7,01

3,49

71 13

38,4

8,6

76

86

17 a 87 8

4 25 36,02

3,43

73 51

39,2

8,0

80

81

18 . 102 8

4 52 20,54

3,57

68 40

33,9

5,9

78

88

19 ^ 112 8

5 14 55,07

3,78

61 33

16,5

3,9

84

86

20 f 123 8

5 26 53,36

3,57

68 58

35,9

3,0

81

91

21 132 8

5 37 58,24

3,67

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15,1-

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83

93

22 X 44Aur.

6 3 54,24

3,82

60 26 43,6+ 0,2

23 u 7 n

6 4 0,64

3,63

67 27

2,2

0,2

85

95

24 f* 13 n

6 12 3,09

3,63

67 24

13,8

1,2

86

96

25 » 18 n

6 18 16,35

3,55

69 40 59,7

1,5

87

95

26 • 27 n

6 32 51,07

3,69

64 42

1,3

2,8

88

98

27 f 43 n

6 53 25,56

3,56

69 10 28,5

4,5

90

100

Vol. X.

L

146 Astronomical and Nautical CoUectiom,

1820.
Jan. 1.

AU.

Ann.
Var.

N. P.

D.

Ann.
Var.

]) '9 Orbit
with Meridian.

H. M. S.

S.

O /

II

II

Dasc.

Ddesc.

28 ^ 55 n

7 9 21,65

3,59

67 41

42,5

5,9

91

101

29 . 60 n

7 14 32,08

3,74

61 51

12,5

6,3

30 y 69 n

7 24 49,05+3,71

62 42 46,5-1-

7,1

96°

98°

31 K 77 n

7 33 34,03

3,63

65 10

44,1

7,9

95

103

32 y 43 25

8 32 51,08

3,49

67 53 27,3

12,4

100

108

33 ^ 47 53

8 34 26,42

3,43

71 11

26,2

12,7

100

110

34 U 60 2S

8 46 4,97

3,29

77 41

30,7

13,2

104

106

35 2a 66 23

8 48 37,81

3,29

77 27

4,3

13,5

104

106

36 1 6 SI

9 22 13,98

3,25

77 54 27,3

15,4

104

112

37 14 SI

9 31 31,91

3,21

79 17

35,2

15,9

105

111

38 TT 29 ^

9 50 41,36

3,18

81 5 44,6

16,9

106

112

39 »j 30 ^

9 57 30,29

3,28

72 21

48,0

17,2

108

112

40 a 32 ^

9 58 46,43

3,21

77 9 23,0

17,3

105

115

41 e 47 ^

10 23 19,32

3,16

79 46

10,0

18,2

106

116

42 cr 77 ^

11 11 51,08

3,10

82 59

5,6

19,6

108

118

43 (» 78 SO

11 14 31,00

3,11

78 28

42,0

19,6

44 T 84 J^

11 18 40,61

3,09

86 9

10,3

19,7

108

118

45 t; 91 Jl,

11 27 43,87

3,07

89 49 48,1

19,9

109

117

46 {fi 5 m)

11 41 18,84

3,12

87 13

14,7

20,0

108

118

47 0, 15 itR

12 10 41,82

3,07

89 39 52,7

20,0

108

118

48 y 29 ttji

12 32 32,52

3,02

90 27

35,9

19,9

111

117

49 ^ 51 tm

13 38,17

3,09

94 34

26,5

19,0

108

118

50 a 67 m

13 15 43,25

3,15

100 13

2,4

19,0

107

117

51 i 6S tm

13 17 13,20

3,15

101 46

2,6

19,0

108

116

52 * 98 itK

14 3 18,18

3,17

99 24

57,0

17,2

106

114

53 ^ 100 ttji

14 9 22,88

3,22

102 32

10,4

17,0

105

115

54 2a, 9 =A=

14 40 56,08

3,30

105 17

9,2

15,2

103

113

55 4f 35 ^

15 22 45,78

3,36

106 13

5,91

12,8

100

110

56 y 38 =2=

15 25 28,31

3,32

104 10

48,0

12,1

102

108

57 X 43 =0=

15 31 35,29

3,43

109 5

8,1

12,2

99

109

58 X 45 £2=

15 42 53,87

3,45

109 37

8,3

11,4

98

108

59 ^ 46 =2=

15 43 35,17

3,38

106 11

29,6

11,3

107

109

60 w 6 TTl

15 47 58,66

3,59

115 35

8,0

11,0

94

104

61 ^p 4S ^

15 48 7,19

3,33

103 45

0,4

11,0

Stars liable to OccuUation. 147

Aiin.

N.E. Angle of

1820.

AR.

Var.

N. P. D.

Ann.

2)'»

Orbit

Jan. 1.

Vtr.

with Meridian.

H. M. S.

S.

O / //

^

3)a,c.

Ddesc

62 ^ 7 m

15 49 42,26+3,51

112 5 55,6 + 10,9

97°

107°

63 1^ 8 m

15 54 56,11

3,47

109 18 8,7

10,5

97

107

64 2^ 8 m

15 54 59,58 + 3,47

109 17 55,5 + 10,5

97

107

Q5 » 14 m.

16 1 32,69

3,46

108 58 57,3

10,0

96

106

QQ cr 20 ni

16 10 15,74

3,61

115 8 58,0

9,3

98

104

67 a 21 m

16 18 23,01

3,66

116 1 14,7

8,6

97

103

68 <p 8 0ph.

, 16 20 50,67

3,41

106 12 35,5

8,5

99

101

69 T 23 ni

16 24 41,41

3,71

117 49 50,1

8,2

""

70 A 36 0ph,

, 17 4 17,43

3,70

116 19 24,5

4,9

71 ^ 40Oph.

17 10 13,21

3,56

110 54 27,4

4,4

91

101

72 $ 42 0ph.

17 10 57,73

3,67

114 48 27,8

4,4

90

100

73 B 44 0ph.

, 17 15 22,77

3,64

113 59 50,0+

- 4,0

90

100

74 1/* 13 /

18 2 59,86

3,59

111 5 37,4-

-0,2

85

95

75 2a 15 t

18 4 28,73

3,59

110 46 11,0

0,3

85

95

76 ^ 19 /

18 9 28,02

3,84

119 53 30,0

0,7

11 -K 11 t

18 16 51,53

3,70

115 30 31,6

1,2

84

94

78 b 32 t

18 43 17,80

3,62

112 57 15,7

3,6

81

91

79 (7 34 /

18 44 5,88

3,73

116 30 21,5

3,6

82

90

80 39 /

18 53 53,29

3,59

111 59 35,7

4,6

81

91

81 T 40 /

18 b^ 41,89

3,75

117 bS 15,8

4,7

84

86

82 «• 41 /

18 59 3,14

3,57

111 17 53,8

4,9

80

90

83 >// 42 /

19 4 29,57

3,68

115 33 17,7

5,5

80

88

84 d 43 /

19 7 5,76

3,51

109 15 42,4

5,7

85 b 59 /

19 45 53,11

3,69

117 38 10,0

8,8

86 ^ 9 Y$

20 10 53,23

3,38

105 20 23,9

10,8

76

80

87 ^ 23 \»

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3,37

107 b% 23,0

13,8

69

79

88 .. 39 YS

21 26 59,04

3,37

110 15 54,8

15,7

70

74

89 y 40 VJ

21 30 6,08

3,34

107 28 6,9

15,8

68

76

90 ^ 49 YJ

21 37 5,43

3,33

106 b^ 13,1

16,2

67

75

91 5 43 ft^

22 7 19,36

3,17

98 40 27,8

17,5

66

74

92 2t 71 ;^

22 40 3,13

3,19

104 32 48,3

18,8

93 A 73 *5»

22 43 13,09

3,13

98 32 0,5

18,9

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73

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23 4 59,51

3,10

97 58,2

19,4

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152 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

3. OccuLTATiONS for the different Places of the Moon sr

Node.
Selected from Bode, Berl. Jahrb. 1780.

^ 9, in X, XP.

7° «X, »!f, /?8xAu.»yn,y gs, <7T^i3ailtJ^, 9r, era TTt,T/,7JYJ,

24 tX, »jf, /3 8 , t Au. tyn, ys^, ^ctTcJ^/^, ailtj^, w, o-arni, t /,

21 «X> »5f, /3 8 » xAu. tyn,y23,^crTj^ ^, aitf}^, 9r, crar Ttl , t /^

18 «X, »3f, ^8, JtAu. yxn, ySS, gTjf^/3, aittj^, w, crar TTl) t / ,

15 ,»3f, /3 8, t;xn, ySSa, ^tJ^, aittj;, 9r , craTTTl, 0-t/, 7^Y?,

12 , »jf, ^8,yxn, ySoa, ^rSl, ai ir|^ , w, crar TTl , err/, y^YJ ,

9 , »!f, ^8 jJ^n, ygsa, ^t ^,iltK, ^r, craT^n, ^-ti// / , y^YJ, P^a^
6 , »jf, ^8, Jtn,725a, 5Tj^,itlJ?, 9r,<raTTrL, err;///, y^YS, A;^

,'/, i3 8,'en,72Ba,^Ty^,it1^,7r,craTmrcr;^ /,■&>», Aj^

27° , »jf, /3 8 , J^n , a, ^y J^, itt|?, w, crartll, c^»^ / , ^YS , ,

24 ,.jf, ^8,''n,«, §t;^,itTK, TT.craTTTl A Oph. , en///, ^YJ ,,

21 , »)f, /3 8,«n, tea, ^y^J^,itt^, w, cralTl A Oph. , cri// / , SYJ, ,

18 , »jf,/38, «xn, ^2Sa, y,^,iitj?, tt, cram A Oph. ,a-\pf,BySy,

15 ,»!f, ^8, «n, te, y^, , w, cram A Oph. , Acn///, $yj, ,

12 ,»jf8,, 6xn, te, z;^,,w,cram AOph.,A<74//,$YJ,S>vv^

9 ,»3f8,, 'Jin, te, y^,, 9r, cram AOph. , Aurx/;/,$yf,^>^

6 ,»jf8,> ExD, te, y^, ,9r,(7am AOph.,^cr,J//,^\iJ,S;v^

3 ,>jf8, , exn, te,ycJl, , w, cram A Oph. , A;// / , SY? , ^AW

,ttS, , t'tn, 52S,y,J^, , TT, o-am A Oph. ,x/,,Sa^

^ SB in Y$, IX'.

27*=^ ,»jf8, ,6^xn,te, y^,,w, cram A Oph. , A / , , S ;^
24 , 79f8, ,i5Hn, te|7r,yj^ ,,,^am, ASOph. ,^/, , 5a«;
21 ,»f, 132 8,«^xn, |o9r^,,,,<r«m A $ Oph. , A»v / , , -9 j^

Stars liable to Occult ation. 153

18 ,»,f, 132 8, i^xn,|o9r^, , ,crani A^Oph. ,^»>/, , ^ft»;

15 •,»)f, 132 8, ^xn,|owJ^, , ,, o-m A^BOph. Xivo/, , $j«!5?

12 , uf, 132 8 , ^'tn , |o^ J^, , , , criti ^ B Oph. , .yo / , ,^aW

9 , uf, 132 8 , ^xn , |o9r ^, , , 5, o-TTt S B Oph. , »K09r / , , $ AW

6 , »,f, 132 8 , />i^«n , ^oirSl , , , ^m, ^ B Oph. , »vo^ / , , ,

3 ,»)f, 132 8,»JfA^«n,|o9r^, ,,^tn,^BOph. , .»07r/, ,ft;X

, f , A132 8,*)/*^xn,|o7rj|,, ,, ^ni,^BOph. , »»o7r/, , wX

g^ Q in /, VIII'.

27° ,, A 132 8,')i>*fn,|o9rJ^, , , ^m, •& B Oph. , .»09r /, , <.;X,
24 ,^cvo, A2xl32 8,'J/*?a,|o7rJ|,,iitK,M , B Oph. ,»vo9r/,,
21 , Jcyo, A2x 8 , »}/^n , |o7r,J^ , ittj? , 5rn, B Oph. , o^ra / , ,
18 , ^00, A2x 8 . »)/*? n , loTTc^, iwn, ^nx, B Oph. oTrd / , ^YJ , ,
15 , ^,A2>e8,'Jf*fn,o9rJ^,ittj?,^tn,BOph. , 1 .2/-c9rd / , ^Y$ , ,
12 , ^qp, A2xt 8 , »9/^vf n , oTT J^, ittj?, ^in, , 1.2/x7rd / , /S\:j , ,
9 ,^qp, A2x.f 8, »Jft»'fn, laaso^r^, i rrj?, ^tit, eOph.,

1.2/>t9rd/, ^YJ, ,
6 , ^cyD, A2xtf8, *3vfn, 1. 2aO509r5Q^, irf|^, xAiii:, ^ Oph. ,

1.2/xd/,/3\»,,

3 , ^cp, A2xtf8j "fn, ISictosoieSli '^Wi ytX-i^ ^ ^ Oph,,

1.2/>td/,/3VS,,
, ^cyo , 2>ttf 8 , "fn, 1.2ao3ow^, aittK, xX:G=,/STri eOph. ,

1.2/*d/,/3YS, ,

gj Si in rn, VII'.

27° fX,^cp,2x»f8,»n,l-2a2S09r^, aitfj?, xA£b,^»ni,5 0ph.

1.2/>cd/,^YJ,,
24 ?X, , »?8, vn, 1.2ag5ow^,, aiit^ , xX=a=, /3»in fOph. ,

1.2^d/,/3YJ,,
21 fX,,»?8, »n, 1.2«25o^, y,J^, ailTJ?, ax^:iv,,^„T^^ fOph.,

l,2/*d/,^\»,,
18 fX,,«»f8,^n, 1.2aS09r, w^, aittl^, axA=ii., /JvlllfOph. ,

l,2,*d/,^YJ
15 fX , , "fa , »n , 1.2a2509r, y^J^, attj?, axA=Ci=, ^»T11 ^Oph. ,

1.2/*d/,/3YJ,,
12 ifX , , «f 8 , vn , 1.2aSS09r, v Si, a, XtlJ^axXzGr, ^vTll ? Oph. ,

2/*d/,^vy,,
9 ifX, , «?8, »n, l.2»ssov, y^, «, ^ttj^a4?=G=, ^>tn?Oph. ,

2/*d/,/3V»,,
6 i^X, , « 8 , , ^ n , 1.2»2SoT, v^, «, xttK«4f=2=. ^.iix, , /3 YJ, ,

154 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

«?X,, l^«y , , 1.2a£507r, y<Jt, a,MtKa4f^=A,,yTn, , i^YJ, ,

«i Si in -, VI'.

27° •K,,1.2^«8, , 1.2a25o9r,u^,,MtKa4f^=iv,ytn, ,|3V5,,
24 iX,,1.2^«8,, 1.2a25o^, uJT,, ,MtJ^a4f^:^,,,^Y?, ,
21 iX,, 1.2^^8,, 1.2aa5o7r, u^,AttK4f^=A=,, ,i3YJ,^AW
18 £oX,, 1.2^«8, , 1.2ag5|o9r,t;^, ,AttK4f^=G= , ,,/3VJ, ^j«^
15 toX,, 1.2^s8, , 1.2ags|o,r, t;^, ,M1^4?S=A,,,, /3YJ , ^/JVN^
12 oX, , 1.2^8 , , 1.2a25|o9r^, , , «ltj?, 4fyS=£l:, (pOpb. , , ^\5 ,

9 oX,,1.2^<x8,, 1.2a2B|o7r, T^, $,Klt|?, 4fy$=Q,. (^ Qph. ,

6 oX,, 1.2^«8, 1.2a25|o7r,T^, ^, xtti?, yS=D=, (p Oph. , , /3Y5,

3 oX, , 1.2^a8,, 1.2aas|o^, T^, ^,xitj?, 7^=^=, ^Oph. , /3YJ

oX,, 1.2^a8,,|o7r,T^l3,A''tt^. y^=C=, (^^Oph. ,,^YS,^ft^

^ SB in ft??, V\

27° oX,,7l.2^aB ,,|o,T^i3,»)^,>£ttj^7S=A,, <pOph.,, ^YJ,^AW
24 oX, ,71.2^^8, ,|o,T^/3,»j^, xttj^y^d:^, (pOph. ,,/3Y$,Sa^
21 oX,,yl.2^c»8,,|o, T^/3, A '^tt|^7^=^, <pOph. ,d/, ^YJ,

Saw
18 , , 7I .2^« 8 , , I, , T^i3, A ^my^^, <P Oph. , d / , /3YS , S^^
15 , , 7 1.2^a 8 , , |,?T.J^/3, >3yS, KiijeyS:^, (pOph., d / , i3YJ , x?)^
12 , , 7l.2^a 8 , , I, §T^(3, *,yS, xtiK7=£>=, 9 Oph. , d / , , Xip^
9 vX,/*Cet. ,7l-2^a8,,,eo-^/3,»37,)ctij^7\//d:!=, (pOph. ,d/,,

6 vX^/^Cet. ,7l,2^«8 , , a,^<Tj^^, 737, xitj^ 7»|'=i^, <pOph. d /, ,

3 vX, /^Cet. , 7l.2^a8 J vn , a, §0-^/3, Tjyttj^, ytp=£v,, (p Oph. ,
d/, ,x<pAW

»X,|t*Cet. , 1.2^a8,vn,a, ^o-^,»7yltJ?, yi//^,(pOph.,d/,,

gj $^ in J^, IV.

27° v>jX, 2|/ACet. , 7l.2^a 8 , vn , a, ^a^, ytt;?, yy^^, <p Oph. ,

d / , , A(?'A«?
24 i-uX, 2|/*Cet.,7l.2^a8 jvfn,a,^<Tj^, ytij?, 7;^^, f Oph. ,

Stars liable to Occultatioti. 155

21 vrjX.^^fACet. ,yl.2^a8, »?n,a, §cr^, yllK, yv^:i>=, (p Opll. ,

18 vDX,2|/ACet. , yl.2^«8, "fn , ^ssa, q^Sl, ym, y+=G=»
(pOph. 2/xd/,$VJ, (p^

15 fdX , 2|/*Cet. , yl.2^a 8 An , te«, crSl, yim> y:^» <P Oph. ,
2|x^d/,$yy,,

12 »iiX,2|^Cet. ,yl.2^a8,>f«n,^2Sa,(rJ^,yttC,y=G=, (pOph.,

2/x«-d/,$\S, ,
9 y»jX»2||t*Cet. yl.2^a8» »?«n, teaj^, , , y^:^y ?»Oph. ,

2^$/,$YJ,,
6 v>?X, 2|^Cet. , 1.2^«f 8 , >f«n, tea^, , , y^:^, (pOph. ,

2/*07r/, Syj,,
3 r>}X, 2||(*Cet., 1 .2^f 8 » "f^x n , ^25, , , yS=fi:, ^Oph. , 2/*o9r / ,

^yVJ,,
v»}X, 2||ixCet. , 1.2^f 8 , vf^>tn ,'^55, , , y-^=Q=, ^Oph. ,2/AOff /-,

gj gi in qs, IIP.

27° v»jX, 2|/*Cet. , 1.2^f8, rvf^^n, te, , , y^=G=, § C>ph. ,

2/-co^/,:^yY$,,
24 »»)X, 2|/xCet. , 1.2^af8, rf^^-n, ^25,,, y^zi^, ^Oph. ,

21 v»3X» 2|it*Cet. , 1.2^af8» ijf^x n , ^25 , , , y^=fi:, fOph. ,

2/*lvo9r/,:&yYJ,,

18 r*)X, 21/xCet. , 1.2^£f 8 , »)^>t n , , , , y^=Cb, §Oph. , 2/*Uo9r / ,

yys,y

15 ^*jX, 2||i-tCet. , 1.2^jf8, 'J^'^n, , ,, y^:^, §Oph. , 1»o/,

yV$.,
12 r»jX, f*Cet. , l.25gt?8 ,'5^'tn , , , , y^=£i=, ^Oph. , Ivo / , yY?, ,
9 »*)X, /*Cet. , l^af8, 'j^'cn,*?^ ,, , y^^, ^Oph. , Uo/,

yVJ,,
6 »uX,,«»?8.'3^'^n,*j<Jl, , , 4fy^=Ar, vtri §Oph., Ji./,yYj

3 v>jX , "8, r,KU,r,Sl,,»4^y^^y "Ttl §Oph. , Iv/, yYJ ,

2tA«?
»>jX, , «' 8 »'J''n , *)^, , , 4^=A„ ,trt ^Oph. , 1 v / , «Yy, 2t««;

^ g^ in n, II'.

27° v»X,,«»l32 8, 'JS'^n, y55»,»^, , xitJ24{^=Q:, ^vTTl, 1»/,

«YS,2t««^
24 »uX., nl32 8,«'^n,yS5>9,»,a>»'^^4fS:A„^,irL,xi///,iYJ,

2Tj»y
21 »nX»,»1328,£)cn,y22>»,»^,,xtiK4f:A:,/3»niBOph.,X^/,

iYS,2-^

156 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

18 »'X,,«l32 8j«Jin,y23*), j<Q^,,xnj?4f^,/5*tTtBOph. ,^v|//,

15 i'X..»l32y , jxnjysjj, »,J^, ,)citK4f:2=,^)'itiBOph., Ao-\// /,

12 »X, > 2x132 B, «xn, ys*}, »,ft ' » HttK4f^=Q=, /?»Tri S B Oph. ,
AH//,£Yy,2TA^

9 vX,» 2x132b, sxn, y92vy »J^ , , xta?4fxA=G=, /SvlTl-^B Oph. ,
Acn///, £Yy,2TAW

6 ,, 2x132 8 , £xn, 725 »j, »,^, , xttj?4fxAsG=, /Sin^BOph. ,

Act;///, tYJ, 2tAW

3 ,,2x132 8, Exn,ys»j, i^, , xttji a^.^^ /5iii ^BOph. ,

oX,, A2xl32 8, s^n, r,J^,, 7, xtt^ axA^, /Siii^BOph. ,

AcriP/, iY$,2T;^

Q^ g^ in 8, I"-

27*^ oX, n A2xl32 8,«t;xn, r^Q,, 7, Jcuj^axA^D,, ^B Oph. , Ao-i^ /,
«V$,2tAW

24, oX, , A2x8,^'in, *j^, 7,xAllJ2axA:£v,, $BOph. , Acri/// , £YJ,

2TiJ^

21 oX , , A2x 8 , t; n , »i <f^ , 7^, AttKaxA=A= ^TTl, AS Oph. , o-t;// / ,
«YJ,2tA^

18 oX,>A2x8, vn, *3^ , 7-^, AtlKaxA=Q=3*Tn» ASOpll. , err/,

«Y$,2Tii^

15 oX,,A2x8, vU,riSl, y^,7^moi.K-K:£i= ^nt, ASOph. , ctt/,
eYS,2tj^

12 oX, , A8>»t;n, -nSl, 7^, AllJ^axd^^ni, ASOph.o-r/, lYJ,

2tA^
9 oX, ^^, A8, »yn,7)tJ^, 7^, Aitj?«=[vhri, AOph. err/, eYS,

2Tft%y
6 oX, ^, A 8 » It; n , »j Jl> 7^, AltJ?az5= ^TTl, A Oph. err / , £ YJ , ,

3 foX,^'^,A8,*yn,*jJ|^,r7S,Aitj^a=n=Jirt,AOph.,crT/,£YJ,,

foX,^^, .»yn, *3<J1,, »J7^, AttJ^^, crTtl A Oph. T / , sYJ,,
j^ g3 in CYD. 0^

27° fX, ^QP, , ty n , >j Jl, , *37^,AtfK^, crni A Oph. , rb / , ^Y?, ,
24 fX, ^cp, ^ 8 , »y n , »j^, , »Srfj^, ^, cratn AOph. , rb / , lYJ, ,
21 fX,^cp,'9^8,'t;n,»j,o-^,»3Stfj^,^,crainAOph.Tb /,£>»,,

18 fX, ^cp, „^ y , ty n ,*3, <r J^, »jtt^, , o-ain AOph. , rb / , .YJ , ,
15 £fX, ^Cip,.^^y,tyn,»j, 0-^/3, „ttK,,craTn AOph. ,T/,£Yf,,

12 «fX,^^, *Ji38 , xAur.tun , vi,eSl^, ricctt^, , crairt AOph. ,t / ,

Stars liable to Occultation. 157

9 ifX, .»)^8. xAur.»yn, , <r^^, jjatfj?, , cram AOph. T /,

6' if X, , »J^ 8 , «Aur. »« n , 725, <rSl&y riocnjl, , <r«1tl, ^t ^ , ly^Y? , ,
3 «X»,*>^8> xAur.iyn, y2S, o-J|^i3, an|^, ttTIX, ^ain,» ^t/,

«X»,»)i38, xAur.ivn, y2S, crj^jj, att^, wTtl, <?-ani» ^t /,

4. Explanation of the Second Table.

The method of computing the solar nutation, to which these
tables are adapted, is neither altogether new, nor always the
most convenient : but for the places of single stars, in cases
like the present, it possesses some advantages, and may there-
fore deserve to be further explained and demonstrated, notwith-
standing the trifling magnitude of the correction. •

The formula employed by Bessel for the right ascension is —
ta ^ ( ",3982 sin a sin 2 © + ",434 cos a cos 2 O) — ' -9173 sin
2 0; and for the declination, — ",3982 cos a sin 2 © + ",434
sin a cos 2 O . But it is known, that in general a sin a; + b cos

a:= -/ (a* + ^') sin {x + ang ta— J . (M. E. §.216) : and for the

a/ f

right ascension we have azz — ta ^ .3982 sin a — .9173, and
b zz. — ta 5* .434 cos a, and ang ta — zz ang cot — - iz ang cot

u

/.3982 .9173 . \ ^,„r ,

( — -r-, ta a 4- — -— • cot ^ sec. « = ang cot .9175 (ta a -f

\ .434 .434 J

2.3036 cot ^ sec a) : and this angle being found, the factor

V (a* + i* ) will be obviously equal to its cosecant multiplied

by by or by — .434 ta ^ cos a. In the same manner we obtain

for the declination a := — .3982 cos a, and 6 n: + .434 sin «,

and ang ta — zi ang ta — -^-— - ta a =: ang ta (—1.0900 ta a) :
a .oyo<i

the cosecant being again multiplied by 6 z= .434 sin «, for

the factor.

Taking, for an example, the first star of the table, « X, we

have a = 0" 53M 36^,5 = 13^ 24' and ^z= + 6° 55' (11")

whence nat. ta « = .2382, log ta « = 9.3770 log sec «= .0120

158

Astronomical aud Nautical Collections,

log cos a 1= 9.9880, log sin « 9.3650, log cot ^ .9161, and log
ta 9.0839 : then

AR.

Declination.

Log 2.3036

.3624

Log 1.0900

.0374

Cot^

.9161

taa

9.3770

Sec a.

.0120

L. ta 14° 33'
cosec

9.4144

N 19.522

1.2905

.2382
N tart

.6000

19.7602
Log .9175

1.2958
9.9626

.434
sin a

9.6375
9.3650

Lcot 3° 9'

1.2584

factor +

9.6025

cosec

1.2590

.434

9.6375

ta^

9.0839

cos a

9.9880

L. factor (— )

9.9684

The factor for the AR, being negative, we add 6 signs to the
angle, in order that the signs of the sines may be inverted, and
we have 6* 3° 9' for the angle. The angles never varying
much from those which belong to the lunar nutation, the two
series serve as checks on each other in the computation. For
reducing the factors into time we subtract log 15 — 1.1761, or
add 8.4614, instead of 9.6375. The angle for correcting the
declination is 14° 33', but the tangent being negative, the true
angle to be employed is 12"— (14° 33') or 6" — (14° 33'), since
the tangents are the same for opposite points of the circle ; and
by reverting to the original expression, we shall find that the
latter must be taken in this case : but for the correction of
the N. P. D. we take the former, when the declination is
north, in order to change the sign of the sine. The factor for
the declination is nearly constant for all the stars, and may
safely be assumed 9.62, which is equivalent to ",4 or ",41 for the
whole table, the error seldom amounting to so much as ",01.

Stars liable to Occult atioti, 159

5. Computation of the Elements for an Almanac.

i. With the longitude of the moon's node for the beginning
and end of each lunation, enter the first table, and put down
all the stars liable to occultation at either place of the node,
for further examination.

Example. In February, 1822, the node recedes from 10'
26° 5' to 10* 24^ 49', and the stars liable to occultation are,
uf/3 B, xU^a^vSl, ittR, TTcraTttl, A Ophiuchi, <7-»f//,SYJ.

ii. Find, by inspection of the moon's right ascension, the day
on which the conjunction with each of these stars will take place,
and compute the corrections from the sun's longitude and the
place of tlie node on that day.

Example. Taking v <J^, of which the AR. in space is
171° 56' f we find that the occultation will happen on the 8th,
a little before midnight, when the sun's longitude is 10" 19° 44',
and that of the ^ 10* 25° 41'. The time from 1st Jan. 1820
is 2 -^^-^ years, whence the precession is + 6%47 and + 4r',9.
For the aberration, we add 3' 9° 0' and 3* 0° 44' to the 0*s
longitude, making 13» 28° 44' and 13* 20° 28', and the loga-
rithmic sine of + 58° 44' being 9.9318, this being added to
.0935 gives .0253, or 4- P,06, for the correction in AR. ; and in
the same manner L. sin 50° 28', or 9.8872, added to .9058, gives
.7930 or + 6",2 for the correction of the N. P. D. The ar-
guments for the solar nutation are 5" 29° 56', and 6' 8° 47'
to which we add 2% 9° 28', making 27" 9° 24', or 3" 9° 24', the
sine of which is the cosine of 9° 24', and 9.9941 -f 8.785=
8.779, giving + ',06 for the AR. ; and 27" 18° 15' gives us
9.978 + 9.62 = 9.60, and the correction for the N.P. D. is ",4.
The lunar nutation is found from the arguments 5' 29° 50' and
6' 11° 13', making with 10' 25° 41', 16" 25° 31' and 17* 6° 54',
of which the logarithmic sines are 9.753 and 9,594, to be
added to .0426 and .8602, making 9.797 and .454, and giving
-H ',62 and + 2",8 for the lunar nutations. The result of the
whole is,

160 Astronomical and Nautical Coikctions.

V SI 11" 27^ 43^87 AR. N. P. D.

-f

6,47

+

1,06

+

,06

+

,62

11

27

52,08

89°

49'

48'a

+

41,9

+

6,2

+

,4

+

2,8

89

50

39,4

Or, 171° 58' r,2 Decl. 9 20,61^

iii. Find by inspection of the moon's right ascension, the
hour in which the occultation is likely to happen, and com-
pute, by means of first and second differences, the moon's
change of right ascension and of declination for that hour.

Example. In the Connaissance des Terns for 1822, the right
ascensions stand thus :

7 M 161° 10' 12" 1 Diff. a Diff. Mean.

8 N 166 52 41 "^ ^° ^^' ^^" — 6' 13"

M 172 28 57 ^ 36 16 ^ ^^ —5' 13"

9 N 178 59 5 32 2

Hence it appears, that the occultation will happen about
11 o'clock on the 8th : the change in an hour is 28' 1",3 be-
sides the second difference, which at 11" is 12", leaving 27'
49",3 for the change from 11 to 12. The declinations are,

7 M 6° 30' 22" * ^^^' ' ^^^' *'**"

8N 3 32 35 N 2° 57' 47" --0' 5"^^^,^

M 34 53 2 57 42 ^ ^^

9 N— 2 21 6 ^ ^^ ^^

Consequently we have 14' 48",5 for each hour, and 2",1 for
the second difference at 11", leaving 14' 46",4 for the change
in the last hour.

iv. To the proportional logarithm of the hourly change of
right ascension, add the logarithmic secant of the declination ;
subtract the sum from the proportional logarithm of the
change of declination, and find the angle of which the dif-
ference is the tangent, for the polar orbital angle, agreeing
nearly with the angle appropriate to the star in the second table.

Calculation of Occult atiom. 161

Example.

Prop. Log. 27' 49",3

.8109

Log. sec. 0° 35'

.0000

.8109

P. L. 14' 46%4

1.0858

Log. ta 62^ 2' 0.2749

V. The logarithmic cosine of this orbital angle added to the
proportional logarithm of the hourly motion in declination will
give the hourly motion in the orbit, differing but little from the
hourly change of longitude.

Example. Log. cos. 62° 2' 9.6711

P. L. 1.0858

P. L. 31' 30",3 0.7569

We therefore write D*s H. M. 31' 30", S. 62° 2' E.

vi. It will also be necessary to find the difference of declina-
tion at the time of tlie conjunction in right ascension, since this
element will be required for the subsequent computation with
regard to any particular observation.

Example. The moon's AR. at 11" is 172° 1' 7",7, that is,
3' &',5 beyond the star ; then

As27'49",3 P.L.A.C. 1892 Again, as 1" P.L. A.C. 5229
To 1" P.L. 4771 To6'**42s P.L. 1.4290

So is 3' 6",5 P.L. 1.7627 So is 14' 46'',4 1.0858

To 6" 42S 1.4290 To 1' 39" 2.0377

Now the declination at 11" is 49' 39",4, and consequently
at 10" 53^ 18% 51' 18",4, wliich exceeds that of the star,
9' 20 ",6 by 41' 57",8, the difference of declination. We there-
fore write 1822, Feb. 8, D vSl, 6 \i^ AR. 10" 53" 18% 3)41'

57",8 N.

6. Computation of a visible Occultaiion,

i. Find the moon's altitude for the instant of conjunction in

right ascension, and for an hour earlier or later, and compute

the parallactic angle, formed by the circle of declination with

the vertical circle : this angle subtracted from the polar orbital

Vol. X. M

162 Aafmnomkal and Nautical Collections,

angle, given by the previous computation, or added to it,
according to the relative situation of the angles, will give
the parallactic orbital angle, formed by the orbit with the ver-
tical circle.

Example. In the case of the occultation of y ^, since the
moon passes the meridian of Paris on the night of the 8th of
February, at 14" 5^, it is obvious that she will be in the east
at 11", and that the depression by parallax will accelerate
the occultation. We therefore calculate the altitude for 10"
53^^ 18^ the time of conjunction, and for 9" 53^ 18^ Now,
the moon's right ascension, in the former case, is 171° 58' 1",
or 11" 27^ 52^ in the latter 171° 30' 9", or 11" 26^^ 1^ : the
sun's 21" 28^' 26^ and 21" 28"" 16^ respectively : the differ-
ences 10" 0^ 34^ and 10" 2^' 15^ added to the sun's horary
angles, make 20" 53^^ 52^ and 19" 55^33^ W., or 3" 6"^ 8^
and 4" 4"^ 27^ E., for the moon's horary angles : and her de-
clinations are 51' 19' and 1° 6' 6" N. Then from the Re-
quisite Tables, XVI., we have

. Log rising 4.49425

L. cos 48° 50' 14" 9.81835

51' 19" 9.99995

2. Log rising 4.71336

9.81835

cos 1° 6' 6" 9.99992

n 20538 4.31255

n 34012 4.53163

N.S.66937MerA.42°l' 5"

N. S. 67255 M. A. 42° 15' 52"

N.S. 46399 Alt 27 38 42 N.S. 33243 Alt. 19 25

L. sec. Alt .05264 .02543

sin H. A. 46° 32' 9.86080 L. sin 61° 7' 9.94229

cos lat 9.81835 9.81835

sin P. A. 32° 38' 9.73179 37° 40' 9.78607

Now the moon being east of the meridian, the vertical circle
passes upwards to the west of the circle of declination, and
downwards to the S. E., so that the parallactic angles must be
subtracted from 62° 2' the angle S.E. of the moon's orbit, thus.

Calculation of Occultatiom

ira

62» 2'
- 32 38

Par. orb. angle 29 24

62° 2'
37 40

24 22

ii. To the proportional logarithm of the horizontal parallax,
properly reduced, add the logarithmic secant of the appa-
rent altitude, obtained from the approximate parallax in alti-
tude ; and first the secant and then the cosecant of the paral-
lactic orbital angle in each position. The first results will
give the parallax reduced to the true orbit, and their difference
will give the correction of the hourly motion in the orbit. The
difference of the second results will be the tangent of the an-
gular correction, if the corrected hourly motion be made radius.

*D.

t'^*

^^^'

^^"

^

^

EQVINOCTIAL

Example. The proportional logarithm of the equatorial pa-
rallax at 12" is 5092, increasing to 5115 in 12 hours; con-
sequently at 10" 53"^ it is 5090, at 9" 53^, 6088, and
adding 8 for the ellipticity, since the latitude is between 47°
and 51° (Astr. Coll. II. ii. XIII.), we have 509a and 5096-
Then

M 2

164 Astronomical and Nautical Collections.

P.L.

Log sec

27° 39'
49' 18"

5098
.0527

19° 25'
52'

31"

5096
.0254

P.L.

5625

5350

Log sec

26° 49' 42'

29° 24'

43' 15"
: 29° 24'

24' 23"

.0495

18° 32'

24° 22'
48'

24° 22'
21'

29"

6"
47"

.0231

P.L.

Log sec

5593
.0599

5327
.0405

P.L.

6192

.5732

Log cosec

3090
8683

.3845

P.L.

9172

The differences are 4' 51" and 2' 36", and the hourly motion
becomes 26' 39", instead of 31' 30"; hence

P. L. 26' 39" 8296

2' 36" 1.8403

Log tang 5° 34' 8.9893

62 2

56 28 Visible polar orbital angle.

29 24

23 50 Visible parallactic orbital angle.

iii. By means of the angles thus found, reduce the parallax
at the conjunction in right ascension to the visible orbit, and
to the direction perpendicular to it ; and reduce the difference
in declination to the same directions ; the sum or difference of
the former results, reduced into time, according to the visible
hourly motion, will give the time of the nearest approach
and the sum or difference of the latter will give the nearest
distance. The hourly motion may be reduced to the visible
orbit by increasing it in the ratio of the radius to the secant
of deviation.

Calculation of Occultations, 1 65

Example,

P. L. par in alt. 5593 P. L. H. M. 8296

Log sec 23° 49' .0387 Log sec 5° 36' .002 1

P. L. 45' 26" 5980 P. L. corr. H. M.

P. L. 1«

Log cosec 23° 50' 3935

P. L. 20' 4" 9528

3504
P. L. 22' 14" 9083

P. L. diff. decl. 41' 58" 6324 p ^ ^gM 49s
Log sec 56° 28' 2577 ' 1053 is

5579

P. L. 23' 11" ^ 10 3 29 MiddU.
Log cosec 56° 28' .0791

P. L. 34' 59" 7115
45' 25" 34' 59"
23 11 20 4

22 14 14 55 Nearest distance.

iv. It may be necessary, in some cases, to repeat the calcu-
lation of the effect of parallax at the time thus found, in order
that the true visible motion during the interval may be em-
ployed, instead of the hourly motion, and the calculations of
the two last precepts may be repeated with the correction of the
visible orbit thus obtained ; or the whole computation may be
verified by any of the common methods. The nearest distance,
compared with the moon's apparent diameter corrected for the
altitude, readily gives the length of the star's path behind the
moon, and the visible hourly motion the corresponding time.-

Exam-pie. Supposing 14' 5b" the correct distance, the moon*g
semidiameter being 15' 16" at noon, and diminishing 9" in
24 hours, it will be 15' 12" at 10", and the augmentation for
altitude 21° being 6", we have 15' 18" for the corrected semi-
diameter.

166

Astrofwmkal and Nantkal Colkctiom^.

Dist.
Semid.
Sum
Diff.

14' 5^''
15 18
30 13
23

P. L, for

P. L. semiduration

Immersion

10

P. L.
P. L.

Half sum
H. M.
7M 33s

3 29

.7750
2.6717
3!4467
1l7233

3504
1.3729

9 55 51; 10" ll'«7« Emersion.

The Connaissance des Terns makes the distance 14'^, and
the whole duration lO'*^ only,

ii. Errors q/* fAe Lunar Tables; deduced from 406S Obser-
vationSf computed by order of the Bo arb of Longitude.

MAYER

ana
MASON.

Mean Error.

Greatest Error, i

s

Long.

Lat.

Long.

Lat.

1783

± 23",7

1«",8

67",2

74'',0

1784

25,5

14,0

61,9

49,8

1785

35,6

13,0

72,6

44,4

1786

28,2

14,7

69,3

65,4

1787

30,5

13,0

86,5

111,5

1788

38,8

13,1

89,7

114,5

MASON.

1789

28,9

7,4

61,2

57,1

1790

28,4

6,7

52,2

28,0

1791

28,4

7,0

70,7

53,8

1799

24,8

6,8

50,7

21,8

179a

24,7

10,2

51,3

41,1

1794

21,0

11,4

56,9

39' 2

1795

24,9

13,4

60,0

56,6

1796

24,5

15,6

54,&

37'5

1797

25,0

16,6

53,8

80^4

1798

23,0

16,5

56,9

57,6

1799

25,8

19,4

58,3

58,3

1800

97,0

17,7

55,3

56,0

1801

30,9

17,4

65,4

54,6

1803

32,1

17,5

64; 1

79,^

1803

34,6

16,8

86,7

76,5

1804

36,0

10,1

67,0

43,1

LAPl.ACE

•nd MASON.

1805-'

+ 34,1
- 0,0

»y3

6j,i

30,4

I8O6 \

+ 36,7
- 0,0

11,1

67,6

41,0

Mean Error.

Greatett Error.

Long.

Lat.

Loiif. Lat.

''o^it'S'"

7",8

55'',5 36",4

'-i:s^

6,0

59,9 32,7

1809 ±

8,1

5,3

36,6 30,9

1810 ±

7,4

7,2

25,5 35,2

1811 ±

7'<^

9,6

19,5 43,4

1819 ±

8,8

10,8

28,7 34,8

LAPL. and

BURG.

1813 ±

6,5

8,3

5 17,2 31,7
)S; 15,2*

1814 ±

5,1

7,7

j 20,8 30,9
t.3; 12,3*

1815 ±

4,8

6,3

1 34,3 23,7
1 3 ; 13,4*

I8I6 ±

5,6

6,5

24,5 18,0
\3; 17,0'

,8,7)1

5,3
0,5

6,7

J5,l 20,1
a; 10,4*

isisS ='

6,4

6,7

16,3 39,4

2,3

3; 13,6*

,6,9jl.

6,1

,3

7,«

27,6 24,7
3 J 13,8*

LAPL. «n(

BUKCKHARDT.

,s,r| t

4,7

4,7

13,7 13,5

3,1

3 ; 11,2»

1818/^

5,0

5,2

21,4 25,5

lbl8< ^

2,3

3; 14,5*

,»,o{t

4,5

22,3 20,8

3,0

4,6

3 ; 12,5*

* Greatest mean of three consecutive errors.

167

Art. XIV. MuceUamous Intelligence*

I. Mechanical Science.

§ Optic?, the Arts, |c.

1 . On the Structure of the Diamond. — Whilst making ex-
periments on the optical structure of amber. Dr. Brewster was
led to compare it with the diamond. He found some singular
analogies in the two substances, but one diamond which he ex-
amined presented a new phaenomenon of a most unexpected
kind, which Dr. Brewster observes, is the only fact in the na-
tural history of this body that promises to throw light upon its
origin and mode of formation. The same phsenomenon occurs
also with amber. It is " the existence of small portions of air
within both substances, the expansive force of which has com-
municated a polarizing structure to the parts in immediate con-
tact with the air. This structure is displayed by four sectors of
polarized light encircling the globule of air, and can be pro-
duced artificially either in glass or in gelatinous masses, by a
compressing force, propagated circularly from a point. It is ob-
vious that such an effect cannot arise from any mode of crystal-
lization ; and if any proof of this were necessary, it might be
sufficient to state, that I have never observed the slightest trace
of it in more than 200 mineral substances which I have ex-
amined, nor in any of the artificial salts formed from aqueous
solutions. It can, therefore, arise only from the expansive
force exerted by the included air on the diamond and tile arn-
ber, when they were in such a soft state as to he susceptible of
compression from so small a force. That this compressible
state of the diamond could not arise from the action of heat is
manifest from the nature and the recent formation of the soil tk
which it is foimd ; that it could not exist in a mass formed by
aqueous deposition is still more obvious ; and hence we are led
to the conclusion, rendered probable by other analogies, that the
diamond originates like amber from the consolidation ofjperhaps,
vegetable matter, which gradually acquires a crystalline form by
the influence of time, and the slow action of corpuscular forces."

168 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

O'

These results were obtained with flat diamonds regularly crys-
tallized, but on examining Mr. Allan's collection, Dr. Brewster
found one of a perfectly octoedral form, having the same
structure, and containing also an air-bubble of considerable
size, which had produced, by its expansion, the polarizing struc-
ture already described. Edin. Phil. Journal, iii. p. 98.

2. Optico-Metcorological Question. — ^The following subject has
been given by the class of mathematics in the Royal Academy
of Sciences of Prussia:

*' To give a mathematical explanation of the luminous and co-
loured crowns, which are observed at times round the sun and
moon, conformable to experiments on light and the constitution
of the atmosphere, and in accordance with observations of the
phsenomena made with as much precision as possible."

Memoires cannot be received after March, 1822. The prize
is fifty ducats, and will be adjudged at the public sitting, on the
anniversary of Leibnitz, on the 3d of July following.

3. Double Refraction of Minerals. — The means of ascertain-
ing the double refraction of substances are very simple ; the
two following are quoted by M. Soret : — " Tw^o plates of tour-
maline, cut parallel to the axis of the crystal, and placed cross-
ways, so as to absorb all the light, form the apparatus. The sub-
stance to be examined is to be placed between the plates ; if it
is doubly refractive, the light re-appears through the tourma-
lines ; if not, all remains dark.''

The other method is to place the crystal to be examined over
a hole in a card, and examine the light transmitted through it
by an- achromatic prism of Iceland spar. If the two images
produced are differently coloured it indicates double refraction.
Journal de Physique, xc. p. 353.

4. Restoration of the White in Painting. — M. Thenard has
lately applied his oxygenated water with great success to the
arts. It is constantly happening in paintings where the white
used is prepared from lead, that sulphurous vapours change the

Mechanical Science. 169

tint, and render it brown or black. Paintings of the first mas-
ters are frequently injured in consequence of this effect, being
blotted, as it were, with spots of colour, which spoil the ef-
fect. An artist at Paris, who possessed a design of Raphael's
thus disfigured, and who was too careful of the original work
to re-paint the places, applied to M. Thenard for chemical as-
sistance. That chemist during his attempts, remembering the
effect of oxygenated water in converting the black sulphuret of
lead into a white sulphate, sent some water, very slightly oxy-
genated, to the artist, who, by applying it with a pencil, in-
stantly removed the spots, and restored the white. The fluid
was so weak as to contain not more than five or six times its vo-
lume of oxygen, and had no taste. Paper coloured by a slight
tint of bistre was not at all altered by it.— -Annales de €himiej
xiv. p. 221.

5. Distant Visibility of Mountains.

Distance in
Authorities. Miles.

Himalaya mountains Sir W. Jones 244

Mount Ararat, from Derbhend Bruce 240

Mowna Roa, Sandwich Isles (53 leagues) 180

Chimborazo (47 leagues) 160

Peak of Teneriffe from South Cape

ofLanzerota ,, 135

Peak of Teneriffe from ship's deck .... 115

Peak of the Azores Don M. Cagigal 126

Temaheud ^Morier 100

Mount Athos Dr. Clarke 100

Adam's Peak 95

Ghaut at the back of Tellichery . . . , .94

Golden Mount from ship's deck .... 93

Pulo Pera fromthetopofPenang .. 75

The Ghaut at Cape Comorin 73

Pulo Penang from ship's deck 53

The last six observations, and that of the Peak of Teneriffe,
were made by a writer in the Calcutta Monthly Journal, The
first of the Peak of Teneriffe is from Humboldt's Personal Nar^

170 MisceiianevHn Inteltigtm

c.

rativCf i. p. 98. The Peak of the Azores from the same volume,
p. 99, note. £din. Phil. Journal^ iii. p. 192.

6. Earthen-iuare Reflectors.
To the Editor of /Ae Quarterly Journal of Science, ^c.
Sir — I have great pleasure in informing you, that we have
adopted some of the reflectors proposed by Mr. P^illington, and
described in your fifth volume, to the gas lamps in our city,
and find tliem attended with such advantages, as to induce me
to write to you on the present occasion. They are made of
earthen-ware, with the common white glaze, are about eleven
inches diameter, and cost about seven shillings a dozen. They
not only considerably increase the light, but materially contri-
bute to the protection of the head of the lamp, by preventing
its being unsoldered, or injured, by the flame ; and I am per-
suaded, that if known, they would be duly appreciated, and ge-
nerally adopted. I am, Sir, yours sincerely,

Charles Wilkinson.
Bath, April 'IQ, 1820.

7. Gas Tube. — Mr. Phipson, of Birmingham, in order to ob-
viate the effects produced by the action of gases on copper or
brass pipes, through which they pass, has adopted the plan of
lining them with lead. A tube is formed of rolled copper, by
drawing it through a plate, and the edges are soldered together,
so as to form a safe joint, the superfluous solder is dresfeed off,
and the tube again drawn ; a piece of lead pipe is then drawn
through a plate on a mandrill, of the diameter of the tube re-
quired, and placed within the copper pipe ; then by passing
through it a conical mandrill attached to a rod, the lead pipe is
forced against the inner surface of the copper tube, so as to leave
them in perfect contact ; or sometimes a lead pipe is prepared
on a mandrill, of the diameter of the tube required, and a cop-
per pipe, already soldered, drawn over it ; they are then passed
both together on a mandrill through a draw-plate, so as to
bring the two into complete contact. The lead pipe is proof
against the action of gas, and the copper pipe, at the same
time tliat it supports and defends it, makes a better appearance.

171

II. Chemical Science.

§ Chemistry.

1. Veratrine, anew Vegetable Alcalu — M. M. Pelletier and
Caventou, have been actively engaged in searching amongst
those vegetables which possess strong powers over the animal
system, for new alcalis or other principles ; they have lately
succeeded in finding one in the veratrum sabadilla, or cevadilla,
the veratrum album, or white hellebore, and the colchicum
autumnaley or meadow saffron. It is an alcali, and has been
named Veratrine.

The substance principally acted upon, was the seed of the
cevadilla. Ether separated from them a yellow,'greasy^ unctuous,
acid substance, being a mixture of elaine, stearine, and a pe-
culiar acid. The acid was obtained by distilling the substance,
saturating the portion that passed over with barytes, evaporating
to dryness which produced a white salt, adding phosphoric acid
which caused the appearance of crystals, and distilling at a
low heat, when the acid passed over. This acid is crystallizable,
soluble in water, fusible and volatile at a low temperature,
soluble in ether and alcohol, and forms salts with bases. It
has been called the Cevadic acid.

The seeds were then acted on by boiling alcohol, which,, as
it cooled, deposited a little wax. The solution was evaporated
down to an extract, re-dissolved in water and again concen-
trated by evaporation, during which, a portion of colouring
matter fell. Acetate of lead was poured into the solution, and
an abundant yellow precipitate fell, leaving the fluid nearly
colourless. The excess of lead was tlirown down by sulphu-
retted hydrogen, and the filtered liquor concentrated by eva-
poration, was treated with magnesia and again filtered.
The precipitate boiled in alcohol gave a solution which, on
evaporation, left a pulverulent matter, extremely bitter, and
with decidedly alcaline characters. It was at first yellow, but
by solution in alcohol and precipitation by water, was obtained
in a fine white powder.

The precipitate by the acetate of lead, on examination, gav£

172 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

gallic acid, hence it is concluded that the new alcali existed in
the seed as a gallate.

Veratrine was found in the other plants before-mentioned.
It is white, pulverulent, has no odour, but excites violent
sneezing. It is very acrid but not bitter ; it produced violent
vomitings in very small doses, and according to some experi-
ments, a few grains may cause death. It is very little soluble
in cold water, boiling water dissolves about ^^j^^ part, and
becomes acrid to the taste. It is very soluble in alcohol, and
rather less soluble in ether. It fuses at 50° C=zl22° Fahrenheit,
and then appears like wax ; on cooling it becomes an amber -
coloured translucid mass : heated more highly it swells, decom-
poses, and burns ; decomposed by oxide of copper, it gives no
trace of nitrogen. It acts on test papers like an alcali, and
forms uncrystallizable salts by evaporation; these salts appear
like a gum. The super-sulphate only seems to present
crystals. Strong solutions of these salts are partially decom-
posed by water ; veratrine is thrown down and the solution
becomes acid. The sulphate appears composed of

Veratrine 93.723 100

Sulphuric acid 6.227 '. 6.6441

but excess of acid was present, and supposing it aa acid salt,
and in analogy with those of brucine, the neutral salt will be

Veratrine 100

Sulphuric acid . . 3.322
The muriate contains

Veratrine 95.8606 ...... 100

Muriatic acid .. 4.1394 4.3181.

Iodine, by acting on veratrine, produces an hydriodate and
an iodate ; chlorine produces a muriate and a chlorate.

Ultimately, cevadilla was found to contain elaine, stearine,
cevadic acid, wax, acid gallate of veratrine, yellow colouring
matter, gum, lignin, and ashes.

White hellebore on analysis, in the same manner gave very
nearly the same results. Starch was found in it in addition to
the other principles, and the ashes varied a little in the salts
they contained. Both contained carbonate of lime, phosphate

Chemical Science, 173f

of lime, carbonate of potash, silex ; the first also, muriate of
potash ; and the white hellebore sulphate of lime.

The colchicum was examined precisely in the same manner,
and gave the same results, with the addition, however, of
inuline. The ashes were in such small quantity as to be
neglected. — Annates de Chimie, iv. p. 69.

Dr. Meissner, also claims to have discovered in cevadilla, a
new alcali. He prepares it by making a tincture of the seeds
with moderately strong alcohol, evaporating till a resinous
matter remains, and rubbing the matter down with water ; to
the brown liquid obtained by filtration subcarbonate of potash
is added, till precipitation ceases; the precipitated matter is then
well-washed in water and dried. — Journal de Pharmacies Mai,
1820.

2. Benzoic Acid. — M. Vogel has found this acid in the tonquin-
bean between the skin and the kernel. It occurs in the form
of crystals ; these melt, at a moderate heat, into a transparent
fluid, which on cooling forms a crystallized mass. At a higher
heat it sublimes and forms fine brilliant needles, which are
similar in smell to the bean. A concentrated solution of them
in alcohol reddens litmus paper, and becomes milky with
water. They form a salt with ammonia which precipitates iron
of a brown colour. In fine, they are crystallized benzoic acid.

M. Vogel has also found the same substance in the flowers
of the trifolium melilotus officinalis. He obtained it by di-
gesting the flowers in pure boiling alcohol ; on cooling a fatty
substance falls, and in two or three days long crystals of
benzoic acid. To separate these substances they are digested
in boiling water, and the liquid filtered, the acid passes through
in solution, and when slightly evaporated yields the benzoic
acid in crystals.

3. Antiseptic Power of the Pyroligneous Acid. — Results of
some experiments, made by Mr. W. Ramsey. — See Edinburgh
Phil Journal, iii. p. 21.

A number of herrings were cleaned on the 10th of July, 1819;
and without being salted, were immersed for three hours in
distilled pyroligneous acid, specific gravity 1012. When

Tfif^ MiseelJane<iU5 InleUigence.

witlidrawn ihey were softened, and not so firm as fish taken out
of common pickle. They were hung up in the shade; July and
August were hot months, but the herrings had no signs of pu-
trefaction about them, but had a very wholesome smell com-
bined with that of the acid. One being broiled the empyreumatic
smell was very strong. The rest, after six months, were in
<fOmplete preservation.

It was afterwards found that the period of immersion had
beeh too long. If the fish are simply dipped in acid of specific
gravity 1012, and dried in the shade, it is sufficient for their
preservation; and such herrings, when boiled, are very agreeable,
and have not the disagreeable empyreuma of the former.
V A ntimber of haddocks were cleaned, split, and slightly
sprinkled with salt for six hours ; then being drained, they were
dipped for about three seconds in pyroligneous acid, and hung
in the shade for eight days. On being broiled, they were of
an uncommonly fine flavour, delicately white, and equal to the
nighly esteemed Finnan haddock.

Herrings were cured in the same way as the haddocks.
After being dried in the shade for two months, they were equal
in quality and flavour to the best red herrings. The fish re-
tained the shining and fresh appearance they had when t«.ken
from the sea.

A piece of fresh beef was dipped for one minute in pyro-
ligneous acid of specific gravity 1012, in July 1819. On March
4, 1820, it was as free from taint as when first immersed.
No salt was used in this experiment. A piece of beef was
dipped at the same time in pure vinegar, of specific gravity
1009. It was perfectly free from taint on the 18th of November.
This experimeftt indicates antiseptic powers in' pur^ vinegar;
some haddocks were cured with it, which remained free from
taint, but when cooked had an insipid taste.

When beef is partially salted, and then steeped for a short
thne in the pyroligneous acid, after being drained and cooked,
it has the same flavour as Hamburgh beef. Mr. Ramsey has no
doubt, that with proper modifications, the use of the acid may
be extended to the preservation of every species of animal fod3. '

In order to ascertain whetherthe volatile oil in the pyroligneous

Chemical Science, 175

acid, or the acid itself, was the agent which prevented putrefaction,
Mr. Ramsey dipped haddocks and fresh beef in pure vinegar of
specific gravity 1009. When fish were allowed to remain in
the vinegar a few minutes, he observed that the muscular fibre
was immediately acted on, a partial solution of the fish took
place, and the acid became milky. When vinegar of a stronger
quality was used, the fish was entirely dissolved, particularly if
aided by heat. Both fish and beef which were dipped in vi-
negar, of specific gravity 1009, and which were afterwards dried
in a summer heat, remained for a long time after perfectly free
from taint.

Mr. Stodart has repeated some of these experiments, and
especially those relating to the haddocks, with perfect success
in London.

4. Purification of Pyroligneous Acid. — M. Stotze, of Halle,
has discovered a method of freeing the vinegar of wood from
its impurities, by treatment with sulphuric acid, manganese,
and common salt, and subsequent distillation. He obtained a
prize from the Royal Society of Gottingen for the discovery.

He has also added to the verifications of the antiseptic
powers of pyroligneous acid, and has converted bodies into
mummies by continued treatment with it.

5. Acids of Manganese. — The results of some experiments
made by Dr. G. Forshhammer, on the chamjeleon mineral,
induce that chemist to believe that there are two acids which may
be formed by the combination of manganese and oxygen. These
exist in combination in the green and red chaniceleon ; the first
being a compound of manganeseous acid, and the other of man-
ganesic acid. M. M. Chevillot and Edwards were the first who
described the property manganese has of forming an acid com-
pound with oxygen, but they considered the red chamaeleon as a
neutral salt, and the green chamseleon as a sub-salt of the same
acid.

Dr. Forshhammer's experiments are published in the Annals
of Philosophy, 16, p. 130. Some of them have been selected and
abridged beneath. A solution of green chamaeleon was prepared

17€ MisceUa7ieous Intelligence.

by igniting'potash with per-oxide of manganese, and dissolving
in water. After solution a deut-oxide remained, oxygen having
been transferred to that part of the metal dissolved. The green
solution soon became red, and deposited deut-oxide of a brown
colour.

Solution of pure potash added to the red solution of chamseleon,
did not change the colour; but the least drop of alcohol
immediately made it green, and if enough were given, a beauti-
ful colour was produced. If too much were added, all colour
disappeared, and deut-oxide of manganese remained.

Hence the difference between the green and red chamaeleons
appears to depend upon the quantity of oxygen combined with
the metal. In forming green chamasleon, a part of the per-oxide
used is reduced to deut-oxide, and a part raised to the state of
an acid, forming the green compound with potash ; this green
compound gradually changes ; the acid in it divides into two
parts, one of which is reduced to deut-oxide, yielding up its
oxygen to the other which forms an acid more oxygenated than
the first, existing in the red compound. Alcohol, when added,
deprives this acid of oxygen, converting it first into the acid in
the green chamseleoiji, and then into deut-oxide.

Solution of potash, containing the powder of carbonate of
manganese, was poured into a portion of the red solution ; the
colour became green, and the prot-oxide of the carbonate be-
came deut-oxide. If too much of the carbonate were added, the
whole became deut-oxide.

The acid in the green chamaeleon, Dr. Forshhammer has
called manganeseous acid ; that in the red manganesic acid.
The manganeseous acid is very easy of decomposition, when
combined with potash it forms a sub-manganesite, and when-
ever the potash is saturated, or its action weakened, the man
ganeseous acid is decomposed into deut-oxide of manganese,
and manganesic acid : hence the changes of the chameeleon.
A green solution exposed to the air turns red by the absorption
of carbonic acid, which precipitates deut-oxide of manganese.
Acids have the same effect, and even water also in great quan-
tity, by weakening the power of the alcali. When the red

Chemical Science, 177

colour is changed to green, it is in consequence of the presence
of some body absorbing oxygen, as alcohol, prot-oxide of manga-
nese, 8fC. ; and Chevreul has shewn that even filtering through
paper will have the same effect.

In attempts to get the manganesic acid pure, a solution of the
manganesiate of potash was prepared by passing carbonic acid
through the green solution, and when filtered, sulphuric acid
was added to it ; this spontaneously evaporated, gave crystals of
sulphate, manganesiate, and bi-sulphate of potash. As in this
experiment it was evident that if sulphuric acid at all decom-
posed the manganesiate, it only did so to form bi-sujphate of
potash ; it proved that no pure manganese acid could be ob-
tained in this manner. A solution of sub-manganesite of potash
was then prepared, and nitrate of lead in solution added to it,
which threw down a brown powder, and instantly destroyed the
green colour. This brown powder was washed, and then care-
fully mixed with sulphuric acid, diluted with ten times its
weight of water, a portion of the brown powjder bejng preserved
to neutralize any excess of acid on the powder. The powder
must not be dried before the acid be added to it, and long di-
gestion is necessary for the complete combination of the acid
and the lead. In this process the prot-oxide of lead is changed
into per-oxide by the manganeseous acid, which itself becomes
deut-oxide ; and the two combine, forming the brown powder.
On adding sulphuric acid the per-oxide of lead is decomposed
to form sulphate of lead, and its oxygen combining with part of
the deut-oxide of manganese coayevts it into manganesic acid ;
this is obtained by decantation, in a separate state.

The manganesic acid thus obtained is in solution 1 ; it is of a
beautiful red colour, and sharp unpleasant taste ; it stains the
skin and other animal and vegetable substances of a fine brown
colour; it destroys the colour of litmus paper rendering it
brown by depositing deut-oxide, and would bleach well but that
the oxide deposited is of a brown colour itself. When evapo-
rated and heated it decomposes, forming brown oxide of manga-
nese, and giving a siyiell like that of an excited electrical
machine, and the same smell is produced from it by exposure

Vol. X. N

178 Miscellaiieomi Jnteliigence.

to the sun. When heated with muriatic acid it is entirely decom-
posed and reduced to prot-oxide, which combines v/ith the acid.
AlcaH is not required for the formation of roanganesic acid ;
hydrated per-oxide of lead, sulphate of manganese, and sulphuric
acid, will produce it on mixture, but it is then difficult to free it
from sulphuric acid. Also, when chlorine prepared from the
per-oxide of manganese is passed into a solution of potash, the
chlorine volatilizes a small portion of per-oxide of manganese,
and converts it, when acted upon by the potash, into manganesic
acid, which combines with the alcali. Again, when chlorine was
passed through water containing per-oxide of manganese, and
potash added to this saturated water, after separation from the
excess of oxide, a small quantity of deut-oxide was precipitated,
and the solution became red.

All the oxides of metals seem either to form soluble com-
pounds of a red colour with the manganesic acid, or to decom-
pose it, in which case the oxide added is converted into per-
oxide, and the acid into deut-oxide. The brown powder thus
obtained by lead is soluble in cold nitric acid with a brown
colour, when heated it turns red. Hence the brown powder is a
chemical compound of the per-oxide of lead, (acting as an acid,)
and the deut-oxide of manganese, for neither of these bodies
alone are soluble in nitric acid : when heated to the temperature
of boiling water, the oxygen of the per-oxide goes to the man-
ganese, and converts it into manganesic acid.

By igniting nitrate of barytes with oxide of manganese, and
washing the green powder thus obtained with boiling water,
a manganesite of barytes was obtained. It has a beautiful eme-
rald green colour, and when dry, is very little altered by the air.
The manganeseous acid was analyzed by adding to a certain
quantity of the green chamaeleon, nitrate of lead ; this threw down
the brown powder, which contained both the manganese and the
oxygen of the manganeseous acid, and prot-oxide of lead. This was
distilled with certain precautions with bi-sulphate of potash, and
the oxygen evolved estimated, it equalled 4.82 French duode-
cimal cubic inches, at a temperature of 10° centigrade, equal,
according to Biot, to 0.1303057 grammes, (1.7127 j>:r.). The

Chemical Science. 1 W

salt in the retort was then dissolved by water, the sulphate 6f
lead separated, and the manganese precipitated by carbonate of
potash ; this heated gave 0,282 grammes, (4,356 gr.) deut-
oxide of manganese, these are considered as equal to 0,261
prot-oxide, which were united with 0.1303 of oxygen in the acid.

Dr. Forshhammer then states the composition of 4 oxides of
manganese. The sub-oxide 100 metal +20.576 oxygen; the
prot-oxide 100 metal +31.29 oxygen; the deut-oxide 100
metal +42,04 oxygen; and the per-oxide 100 metal +62.819
oxygen; the numbers for the oxygen being nearly as 2, 3, 4, and 6.

The manganeseous acid consists of 100 metal, and 96.847, oxy-
gen, which is nearly as the number 9. But Dr. Forshhammer thinks
that from the action of water, ^c, the green ehamseleon already
contains a small portion of manganesic acid, and that the man-
ganesite of potash in solution is, when pure, of a blue colour; a
colour sometimes obtained in preparations of chamseleon. In this
case the proportion of oxygen would be less, and is placed by
Dr. Forshhammer at 8.

The manganesic acid was thus analyzed. A solution of green
manganesite of potash was made, and converted by carbonic
acid into manganesiate, in doing which 136 of deut-oxide fell.
The manganesiate was decomposed by alcohol, and gave 214 of
deut-oxide. In the preceding analysis ,282 deut-oxide, +,1093
oxygen, gave manganeseous acid; hence ,136+,214=:,350
deut-oxide would have ,1354 oxygen in the acid of the green
manganesite used above ; and this same quantity of oxygen, with
the ,214 of deut-oxide, would exist in the red manganesiate after
the action of the carbonic acid. The ,214 equals ,1506 manga-
nese, and ,0634 oxygen, which, added to the other quantity of
oxygen, gives ,1988. Hence manganesic acid is composed of
100 metal +132 oxygen, which approaches to the number 12;
and considering the difficulty of the analyses, and small quan-
tities of the substances, may be considered a near approximation
to the truth.

6. On the Ferro-prussiafes.--^M* Berzelius, in a letter to
M. BerthoUet, says, that in the ferro or ferrugineous prussiates,

N 2

180 Miscellaneous hiteUlgence.

the iron is always in the state of protoxide, and that the other
base contains twice as much oxygen as the prot-oxide of iron.
The acid of these salts is the prussic, composed as M. Gay
Lussac has described. Those ferruginous prussiates which
effloresce, such as those of potassa, baryta, and lime, lose
their water in a vacuum at the temperature of the air. The
effloresced salt is no longer a prussiate but a double cyanuret,
containing neither oxygen nor hydrogen. When the double
cyanuret of iron and potassium, or of iron and barium, are
burnt by black oxide of copper, the resulting gas contains
three volumes of carbonic acid gas, and two volumes of nitro-
gen ; one volume of carbonic acid gas remains with the base,
and forms with it a kind of double salt, composed of carbonate
and cuprate of potassa and baryta. The double cyanuret of
iron and lead, gives gas in the proportion of two volumes of
carbonic acid to one volume of nitrogen. In these combustions,
only traces of water are obtained, which are inseparable from
the pulverized substances. The ferruginous prussiate of am-
monia cannot be reduced to a cyanuret. It is composed of
prussiate of prot-oxide of iron and prussiate of ammonia.
When distilled, it gives prussiate of ammonia, and a little
water, formed by the conversion of the prussiate of iron to
cyanuret ; the cyanuret then becomes decomposed, and gives
nitrogen gas, leaving a carburet of iron composed of four
atoms of carbon and one of iron. When this carburet is
heated red, it takes fire, and appears to burn as if in oxygen
gas, though it is surrounded by nitrogen, and suffers no
alteration. The incandescence is analogous to that exhibited by
oxide of chrome, oxide of iron, zirconia, §*c., when heated
red. The same pheenomena may be remarked in the distil-
lation of nearly all the ferruginous metallic prussiates, but
with none of them is it so brilliant as with the ferro-prussiate of
ammonia. Nearly all the ferruginous prussiates dissolve in
concentrated sulphuric acid without decomposition. On at-
tracting water from the air, the acid frequently deposits
crystals of a combination of sulphuric acid with the prussiate
an acid salt with two bases and two acids. M. Berzelius

Chemical Science. • 181

thought at first, that these salts were formed of cyanurets and
sulphuric acid, but as the acid prussiate of the prot-oxide of
iron (ferro-prussic acid of Porret,) produces the same phee-
nomenon, it appeared evident that the bases were oxidated,
and that the cyanuret was combined with hydrogen. These
results make part of a long Memoire which will appear in the
Mimoires de VAcademie. — Annates de Chim. XIV. p. I9O.

7. Preparation ef Phosphorus. — M. Julien Javal, in pre-
paring phosphorus lately, observed, that failure took place to
a certain extent, when phosphoric acid was used, in conse-
quence of the volatility of this substance at high temperatures.
On making the phosphoric acid into bi-phosphate of lime, the
process went on well again. As a practical result from his
experiments, he advises that on adding the sulphuric acid to
the burnt bones in the usual way, only two of the former should
be put to five of the latter, in which case a proper bi-phosphate
of lime will be obtained. If, by any accident, the prepared
bi-phosphate should contain an excess of acid, or rather free
acid, then he finds it necessary to cover over the mixture of it
and charcoal, when in the retort, with a stratum of charcoal
alone, and to get this part of the retort hot before the lower.
With these precautions the phosphoric acid which rises is
decomposed in passing through the hot charcoal, but other-
wise it will be condensed, unacted on.

8. Metallic Vegetations. — " M. Goldsmith places a few filings
of copper and of iron on a glass plate, at a certain distance
one from the other. He then drops a little nitrate of silver on
each parcel ; the silver soon begins to precipitate, whilst the
iron and copper oxidize, and become coloured; then, by a
small wooden point, the ramifications are arranged at will,
whilst the flame of a taper being placed under the plate, in-
creases the evaporation, facilitates the re-action of the sub-
stances, blackens the lower side of the plate, and tluis forms
.as it were a design." — Annates de Chim. 14. p. 84.

9. Muriate of Potash in Rock Salt.--'la consequence of

182 J^scellaneous Intelligence,

Br. WoUaston's discovery of the existence of muriate of potash
in sea-water, Dr. Vogel has been induced to search for it in
common salt, either from salt springs, or from its native beds.
Salt from Hallein and from Berchtesgaden, and the brine from
Rosenheim, all yielded a precipitate with the solution of plati-
num. The simple solution will in no case do this, but when
evaporated, until much of the salt has fallen down, then a
precipitate may be produced. In testing sea-water for potash,
it is also necessary to evaporate till almost all the salt has
fallen down, and then no difficulty occurs in detecting the
potash by muriate of platinum.

10. Iodine in Marine Animals, — M. Chevreul, whilst engaged
in some experiments in animal chemistry, discovered the pre-
sence of iodine in the bones of the head of the crab, and of the
large lobster, (homard,) but could find none in those of the
common lobster.

11. Fulminating Mercury. — Between 100 and 150 grains of
fulminating mercury, on a piece of paper, were lying on a
wooden waiter an inch and a half thick, and covered by a glass
jar, abundance of glass apparatus lying about. A small portion
of the same powder was fired at a few feet distance by a hot
coal, and burnt without explosion. By some unknown means,
that under the jar exploded \ it slightly raised the jar without
breaking it, but the jar broke in falling, and it disturbed none
of the apparatus around. The wood was perforated by a
hole as large as the hand.

12. Test for Copper.— M. Pagenstecher of Berne has de-
scribed a very sensible test for the presence of copper. The
tests already possessed by chemists for this metal are very de-
licate, and not few ; but still every addition to this branch of
chemical knowledge is important. He says " if we drop into a
newly-prepared tincture of guaiacum wood, a concentrated
solution of a. salt of copper, the mixture instantly assumes a
blue colour. This effect does not take place when the solution
is very weak, as when there is not above half a grain of the

Chemical Science. , 183

salt to an ounce of water, but then by the addition of a few
drops of prussic acid, the blue colour is immediately deve-
loped of great purity and intensity. This colour is not per-
manent, but soon passes to a green, and, at length, totally
disappears. In want of prussic acid, distilled laurel water, or
that of plum or black-cherry kernels, may be employed. This
re-action succeeds, when the proportion of salt to the fluid is
not more than a -^Isj^ : in this proportion no other test, whe-
ther the prussiates of potash, soda, or ammonia, will develope
the least indication of the presence of copper/'

In using tincture of guaiacum, as a test for copper, care must
be taken that no other bodies are present which turn it blue.
Annates Generates dcs ScienceSf Sfc.

13. Process for procuring pure Zirconia. — Powder the zircons
very fine, mix them with two parts of pure potash, and heat
them red hot in a silver crucible for an hour. Treat the sub-
stance obtained with distilled water, pour it on a filter, and
wash the insoluble part well ; it will be a compound of zirconia,
silex, potash and oxide of iron. Dissolve it in muriatic acid,
and evaporate to dryness, to separate the silex. Re-dissolve
the muriates of zirconia and iron in water ; and to separate the
zirconia which adheres to the silex, wash it with weak muriatic
acid, and add it to the solution. Filter the fluid, and preci-
pitate the zirconia and iron by pure ammonia ; wash the preci-
pitates well, and then treat the hydrates with oxalic acid, boil-
ing them well together, that the acid may act on the iron, re-
taining it in solution whilst an insoluble oxalate of zirconia is
formed. It is then to be filtered, and the oxalate washed, until
no iron can be detected in the water that passes. The earthy
oxalate is when dry of an opaline colour; after being well
washed, it is to be decomposed by heat in a platinum crucible.

Thus obtained, the zirconia is perfectly pure, but is not
affected by acids. It must be re-acted on by potash as before,
and then washed until the alcali is removed. Afterwards dis-
solve it in muriatic acid, and precipitate by ammonia. The
hydrate thrown down, when well washed, is perfectly pure,
and easily soluble in acids.

184 ]\fiscellaneous Intelligence.

This process belongs to M. M. Dubois and Silveira. See
Annates de Chim. XIV. p. 110.

14. Oji Artificial Gems — M. Douault-Wieland, in an experi-
mental memoir on the preparation of artificial coloured stones,
has given the following directions and proportions, as better
than those before known;

The base of all artificial stones is the strass (paste), which he
cdMed fondant j when uniting it to metallic oxides to form the
imitations. When worked alone it imitates brilliant and
rose diamonds.

The paste is composed of silex, potash, borax, oxide of lead,
and sometimes arsenic. The silex should be perfectly pure ; if
obtained from rock crystal that is the case ; if obtained from
sand, though of the whitest kind, it ought first to be washed
"with muriatic acid, and then with water. The crystal, sand,
or flint, should be heated red hot, quenched in water, dried,
powdered fine, and sifted. The potash should not be mixed
with other salt ; it ought to be the finest pearlash, or else pure
potash, by alcohol. The borax of the markets gives a brown
glass ; the crystallized boracic acid, from the borax of Tus-
cany, should be preferred. The oxide of lead should be per-
fectly pure ; if it contains an atom of tin, the glass will be
milky. Red lead is preferable to the best litharge, or even to
the ceruse of Clichy. It should be analyzed before being
used.^ The arsenic should also be pure.
Hessian crucibles are better than those of porcelain, for though
they sometimes colour the matter more, they do not break or
run so soon. Either a potter's or a porcelain furnace, may be
used, and the fusion should be continued 24 hours ; the more
tranquil and continued it is, the denser the paste, and the
greater its beauty. The four following receipts have given
good paste :

No. I;

Grains. Grains.

Hock crystal .... 4056 Borax 276

Minium 6300 *Arsenic. ..,,.. . 12

Pure potash ,,,. 2154

Chemical

Science. ,

No. II.

Grmin*.

Gwini,

Sand 3600

Ceruse of Clichy 8508
Potash 1260

Borax .,.,*«...
Arsenic c ••••-•

. 360
. 12

No. III.

No. IV.

Rock crystal .... 3456

Minium 5328

Potash 1944

Borax 216

Rock crystal . .
Ceruse of Clichy

Potash

Borax

3600

8508

1260

360

Arsenic 6

185

Top A 25.

. Very white paste 1008

Glass of antimony • 43

Cassius purple • 1

Or,

Paste 3456

Oxide of iron, called Saffron of Mars 36

Ruby.

M. Douault-Wieland succeeded in obtaining excellent imita-
tions of rubies, by acting on the topaz matter. It often hap-
pened that the mixture for topazes gave only an opaque mass,
translucent at the edges, and in thin plates of a red colour.
One part of this substance being mixed with 8 parts of paste,
and fused for 30 hours, gave a fine yellowish crystal like paste,
and fragments of this fused before the blow-pipe, gave the
finest possible imitation of rubies. The result was always the
same.

The following are proportions also for rubies :

Paste 2880

Oxide of manganese , . , 72

Emerald.

Paste 4608

Green oxide of pure copper 42

Oxide of chrome 2

Sapphire.

Paste 4608

Oxide of cobalt 6S

1 86 Misce/ianeous Inieiligence.

This mixture should be carefully luted in a Hessian crucible,
and remain 30 hours in the fire.

Amethyst.

Paste ,, 4608

Oxide of manganese .... * 36

Oxide of cobalt 24

Purple of Gassius 1

Beryl, or Aqua Marina.

Paste 3456

Glass of antimony 24

Oxide of cobalt 1|

Syrian Garnet, or Ancient Carbuncle.

Paste 512

Glass of antimony 256

Cassius purple 2

Oxide of manganese 2

In all these mixtures, the substances should be mixed by
sifting, fused very carefully, and cooled very slowly, being left
on the fire from 24 to 30 hours.

M. Lan9on has also made many experiments on the same
subject. A few of his proportions are as follows :

Paste.

Litharge , 100

White sand „ 75

White tartar, or potash 10

Emerald.

Paste 9216

Acetate of copper 72

Per-oxide of iron, or saffron of Mars 1.5

Amethyst.

Paste , 9216

Oxide of manganese from 15 to 24

Oxide of cobalt 1

15. Spontaneous Combustion of Cloth. — About twenty-five
pieces of cloth, each of which contained nearly thirty ells,

Chemical Science. 187

were deposited upon wooden planks in a cellar at Lyons, on
the 8th of July, 1815, in order to conceal them from the armies
which then over-ran France. In the manufacture of the cloth*
25lbs. of oil were used for a quintal of wool, and the cloth
was quite greasy, each piece weighing from 801bs. to 901bs.
The cellar had an opening to the north, which was carefully
shut up with dung, and the door was concealed by bundles of
vine props, which freely admitted the air. On the morning of
the 4th of August, an intolerable smell was felt, and the person
who entered the cellar was surrounded with a thick smoke
which he could not support. A short time afterwards he re-
entered with precaution, holding a stable lantern in his hand,
and he was astonished to perceive a shapeless, glutinous mass,
apparently in a state of putrefaction. He then removed the
dung from the opening, and as soon as a circulation of air was
established, the cloth took fire. In another comer of the
cellar lay a heap of stuffs which had been ungreased and
prepared for the fuller, but they had suffered no change. The
above particulars were carefully established by M. Cochard.
Comte rendu des Travaux de la Soc. Roy. d' Agriculture, &c.
de Lyons pour, 1817. — Edinburgh Journal.

16. Evaporation of Spirits, — Mr. Ritchie, of Perth, has pub-
lished a curious statement respecting the evaporation of mix-
tures of alcohol and water. He commences by the following
theorem, — " The degrees of cold, induced by the evaporation
of spirits of different degrees of strength, are proportional to
the strength of those spirits, reckoning from the degree of cold
induced by the evaporation of water." This is established by
the following experiments : —

" Having made three very delicate hygrometers, according
to Leslie's construction, I moistened tlie bulb of one of tlieni
with strong whisky, the bulb of another with a mixture of
equal quantities of the same spirits and water, and the bulb of
the third with , water. I watched the descent of the fluids
in tlie stem till each had gained its maximum of coId> aafi
marked the cold induced by the water 40, by the dilute spirits

188 Miscelianeous IrUeUisrence

to'

64, and by the strong spirits 88. Now the difference . between
40 and 64, is 24, and between 40 and 88, is 48. Hence the
following proportion 24 : 48 : : strength of the dilute : strength
of the strong spirits. This I have tried with different propor-
tions of spirits and water, in different states of the atmosphere,
and found the same property uniformly obtain. The experiment
requires to be performed with great delicacy and care, as the
spirits soon acquire their maximum, after which the fluid in
the stem begins to ascend." — Annals of Philosophy ^ xvi. p. 215.

17. Electrical Experiment, — The following experiment is
described by Professor Moll. Place a thin piece of tinfoil
vertically between two horizontal and insulated rods of brass,
each terminated by a knob, and distant from each other between
one and two inches, then pass from one to the other a strong
cbarge of a large electrical battering. The plate of tin will be
found pierced by two holes, with their burs in opposite di-
rections. That the experiment may succeed, the tin foil should
be thin, and the charge strong, otherwise only two impressions
will be seen on the plate.

18. Improvement in Dyeing. — Cloths which are dyed in the
piece, frequently present at the edges a line corresponding to
the middle of the piece of cloth, more lightly dyed than the
surface. This sometimes produces a disagreeable effect. From
the Count de la Boulaye-Marsillac's experiments, it appears to
be occasioned by the water which remains in the wool before
immersion in the dye stuff, from the previous wetting process.
This water either excludes or dilutes the dye, and renders it less
effectual within the cloth than at the surface. To obviate this
the Count makes the cloth pass through rollers within and at
the bottom of the dye-vat, by which the mere water is very com-
pletely expelled, and the dye takes its place. In passing the
cloths backwards and forwards in the dye-vat, they are made
each time to go through the rollers.

Scarlet cloths thus dyed are so intense in colour as to appear
less bright than common scarlet, but this is obviated by adding
turmeric or fustic to the bath.

Chemical Science, 189

19. Test for Baryta and Strontia. — Baryta and strontia may
readily be distinguished from each other by the following
process : — Make a solution of the earth, whichever it may be,
either by nitric, muriatic, or some other acid, which will form a
soluble salt with it ; add solution of sulphate of soda in ex-
cess, filter and then test the clear fluid by subcarbonate of
potash ; if any precipitate falls the earth was strontia, if the
fluid remains clear it was baryta.

20. On Meteoric StoneSf by M. Laugier. — Among the sub-
stances which enter into the composition of aerolites, three may
be considered as characteristic : sulphur, nickel, and chrome,
the silex, iron, magnesia, and manganese, being common to
other lapideous mixtures. Of these three substances the sul-
phur is least important, because of common occurrence in
pyrites : the remarkable circumstance attending it is its constant
union with nickel. The nickel has had most importance at-
tached to it, partly because it occurs in greater quantity than
the chromium, and partly because found in those masses of
iron called meteoric.

The chrome has been considered as of least consequence,
because of the smallness of its quantity, and because it has
been said to be wanting in some aerolites, as in that from Stan-
nern, in Moravia. But if it be shewn that an aerolite contains
no nickel, whilst the stone from Moravia does contain chrome,
will it not be proper to consider chromium as the most important
character of these peculiar bodies ?

M. Laugier has drawn this consequence from a comparative
examination of the stone which fell recently at Jonzac, and
that of Moravia, specimens of which were given him by M. M.
Haliy and Brongniart.

The stone from Jonzac fell on the 13th of June, 1819, that
from Moravia on the 22d of May, 1808. Both present the
physical characters of aerolites, differing only in one of them.
Meteoric stones are generally covered by a compact uniform
dull black crust of a certain thickness ; the crust of these
two stones, on the contrary, is light grey, shining and glassy.

190 Miscellaneous Intelligence.

The mode of analysis was by successive treatment with
alcali and acid. The stone from Jouzac, thus examined, gave
no nickel, aiid when other essays were made to discover this
metal, they all failed. Hence it is concluded that there was
none in the stone, and from the facility of finding the metal
when present, there can be no doubt that the conclusion is
well founded.

It is composed of Oxide of Iron 36

Silex 46

Alumina 6

Lime 7.5

Oxide of Manganese . . 2.8

Magnesia 1.6

Sulphur . . ,, 1.5

Chrome 1

102.4
the excess resulting from oxidation of the metals.

All the meteoric stones which Mr. Laugier examined, were
found to contain chromium. He first found it in the stone from
Verona, which fell in 1663, and it was not long before its exis-
tence was ascertained in the stone from Moravia, which contains
a -^-^ part. It was found too in the native iron of Siberia.

In testing for the chrome M. Laugier observes, that " if
muriatic acid be immediately added to the alcaline solution,
there remains no symptoms of the chrome ; but that, if before
adding the acid, the alcaline solution be boiled with access of
air, and long enough to precipitate all the oxides of maganese
and iron, the yellow colour of chromate of potash will remain,
however small its quantity, and nothing is required afterwards
but to saturate the alcali by nitric acid, and to add a solution
of nitrate of mercury."

It results from M. Laugier's experiments, that among the
meteoric stones known, one contains no nickel, whilst all contain
chrome ; and hence he concludes that of the two, chrome is the
most important character. — Memoires du Museum, vi. p. 233.

191

III. Natural History.

§ Medicine, Sfc.

1. Remedy for Bronchocele. — ^The BiUioth^que Universelley
for July 1820, contains a paper by Dr. Coindet, on a new
remedy for the goitre, which, from his experience, appears to
be very effectual. From the circumstance that burnt sponge
formed the basis of all successful remedies as yet used for this
disease, Dr. Coindet considered that iodine might be the parti-
cular substance that was useful ; and, in consequence, applied
it in difterent forms. One preparation was a solution of forty-
eight grains of hydriodate of potassa, equivalent to thirty-six
grains of iodine, in an ounce of water.

Sometimes iodine is dissolved in this solution, to increase the
force of the remedy in very difficult cases.

Another preparation, called tincture of iodine, was made by
dissolving forty-eight grains of iodine in an ounce of alcohol of
35 (S. G. 842).

The quantity for an adult was ten drops of one of these pre-
parations, in half a glass of syrup of capillaire and water, taken
early in the morning, fasting ; a second dose was given at ten
o'clock ; and a third in the evening, or at bed-time. At the end
of the first week, fifteen drops were given in place of ten, three
times a day ; and, in a few days after, when the effect seemed
evident on the tumours, it was increased to twenty drops. This
quantity has rarely been increased, and was generally sufficient
to dissipate the larges goitrest.

After about eight days* treatment the skin becomes less tense,
and apparently thicker. The tumour softens, as becomes evi-
dent to the touch; the goitreous tumours, if there are several,
become more distinct and separate ; they soften and gradually
dissolve. In many cases the nucleus, or part which is orga-
nically deranged, becomes harder, diminished in size, and
isolated ; sometimes they become moveable; a circumstance
of great advantage in those cases where an operation is ne-
cessary.

In some cases the cellular structure, which pervaded the tu-

192 Miscellaneous Intellis^ence.

o

mour, remains swelled, and feels to the touch like an empty
cyst. Frequently also the goitre disappears only partially,
but to an extent sufficient to be neither inconvenient nor a de-
formity. In many cases it is dissolved, destroyed, and dissi-
pated in from six to ten weeks, so as to leave no traces of its
previous existence.

That the effect of the remedy might be obtained free from
any other effect, all local applications were avoided, which
either by compression, or from the saline substances they con-
tained, could produce any interfering result.

2. Antidote for Vegetable Poisons, — M. Drapiez has ascer-
tained, by numerous experiments, that the fruit of the feuillea
cordifolia is a powerful antidote against vegetable poisons.
This opinion has long been entertained by naturalists, but it has
not before been verified by experiments made in any part of
Europe. M. Drapiez poisoned dogs with the rhus toxico-
dendron, hemlock and nux vomica ; all those that were left
to the effects of the poison died, but those to whom the frjuit
of the feuillea cordifolia was administered recovered com-
pletely, after a short illness. To see whether this antidotp
would act in the same way applied externally to wounds, into
which vegetable poisons had been introduced, he took two ar-
rows, which had been dipped in the juice of manchenijle, and
slightly wounded with them two young cats ; to one of these he
applied a poultice, composed of the fruit of the feuillea cordi-
folia, while the other was left without any application. The
former suffered no inconvenience except from the wound, which
speedily healed ; while the other, in a short time, fell into con-
vulsions, and died.

It would appear from these experiments, that the opinioi^ en-r
t^rtained of th^ virtues of this fruit, in the countries where i^
is produced, is well founded. It would deserve in consequence
to be introduced into our Fharmacopceias as an important me-
dicipe ; but it is necessary to know, that it loses its virtues if
kept longer than two years after it is gathered. — Medical
Journal.

Natural History, 193

3. Vegetable Antidotes to Poison. — Dr. Chisholm, in a paper
read to the Society at Geneva, states, that the juice of the su-
gar-cane is the best antidote known for arsenic. It has been
tried upon various animals in the West Indies with complete
success, and always succeeds. Its power in the island of
Nevis is generally known.

Dr. Chisholm also mentions the singular powers of a plant,
well known to the Indians, as a remedy for the ophthalmia ; it
is called akouscrounie and warannie by them, and eye-root by
the white people. It grows in la Guyane, in the neighbour-
hood of Demerara, in a sandy soil, and is a species of bignonia,
which Dr. C. has since called ophthalmica. An Indian prepares
the remedy from the root of the plants, by first stripping off the
brown epidermis, and then separating a fibrous pulpy part im-
mediately beneath ; this he presses on cotton so as to collect the
juice, and then by means of a paper funnel conveys a drop or
two of it into the eye. This is repeated once a day for three
or four days, in which time the cure is generally completed.
Dr. Chisholm had occasion in his own practice to apply this
remedy in three cases ; and having only the dry root, he rasped
off the outside, and then made a strong infusion of the part
beneath. Six drops of this infusion were introduced into each
eye once a day, and in six days* treatment they were perfectly
cured, though they had suffered for many weeks previously.

4. On the Poison of tlie Viper. — M. Configliacchi has been
engaged on experiments with this poison. It was obtained by
pressing the vesicles behind the canine teeth into a watch-
glass, and applied by means of a needle.

He established, in the most positive manner, that this poison
had no effect, except when introduced into the blood-vessels ;
flour-pills were dipped into the poison, and swallowed by birds
without producing any injury to them.

One object was to ascertain the effect of Voltaic electricity on
birds poisoned by this venom. Some birds dead, but still
warm, were subjected, with others killed, either by breaking the
neck, suffocation, or decapitation, to the powers of a pile of

Vol. X. O

194 - Miscellaneous Intelligence,

24 pair of plates, excited by a solution of sulphate of alumine,
one pole being connected with the spinal marrow, and the other
with a muscle of the knee. The result was, that the irritability
of the muscles was considerably diminished in those animals
killed by the poison, its duration not being more than one- fourth
of that of the other animals, or even one-sixth of that of the
decapitated birds. It was also so weak, that four times the
quantity of plates did not produce an equal effect in them.

Another result was, that, when poisoned birds not yet dead,
were submitted to voltaic action, their death was hastened. The
mean of three experiments gave six minutes as the difference
between the death of poisoned birds electrified, and not elec-
trified.

It was also ascertained that birds poisoned by prussic acid,
more or less strong, as laurel-water, concentrated to various
degrees, gave the same results, except that the duration either
of the pain or of the irritability of the muscles was much shorter
.than with the viper poison.

5. Cure for the Hydrophobia The number of remedies for

this dreadful malady, of which accounts have lately been given,
is rather remarkable. Dr. Lyman Spalding, one of the most
eminent physicians of New York, announces, in a small pam-
phlet, that for above these 50 years the Scutellaria Lateriflora
has proved to be an infallible means for the prevention and
cure of the hydrophobia, after the bite of mad animals. It is
better applied as a dry powder than fresh. According to the
testimonies of several American physicians, this plant, not yet
received as a remedy in any European Materia Medica, afforded
perfect relief in above a thousand cases, as well in the human
species as in the brute creation (dogs, swine, and oxen.) The
first discoverer of the remedy is not known ; Drs. Derveer
father and son,) first brought it into general use. — Phil Mag, Ivi.
p. 151.

6. Substitute for Peruvian Bark. — M. Re, professor of Materia
Medica at the Veterinary School at Turin, has announced that
the Lycopvs Uuropceus of Linnseus is a complete succedaneum

Natural History. 195

for Peruvian bark. It is called by the peasants of Piedmont,
where it is found in great abundance in marshy places, the Herb
of China.

7. Plantain-Root a Febrifuge. — Switzerland. — Dr. Perrin has
lately read to the Society of Natural Sciences, of which he is a
member, observations made on the febrifugal virtues of the
roots of the plantain (plantago major, minor , et latifolia, Linn.)
He is of opinion that it may be employed with advantage in
intermittents. The question may easily be decided, as the plant
is common every where. ^

8. Medical Prize Question. — A satisfactory answer not having
been given to the question, " Can the existence of Idiopathic
fever be doubted," proposed last year by the Soci^te de M^di-
dne of Paris, it is re-proposed, the greatest latitude being given
to candidates, in the choice and developement of their opinions.

The prize will be a gold medal, of 300 francs value ; but, as
a further stimulus, the society will, if there be opportunity,
award gold medals, of 100 francs value, to the memoires which
may most nearly obtain the prize, and silver medals of emula-
tion.

The concourse will close on the 30th September, 1821. The
memoires, written in French or Latin, to be sent, carriage-free,
before then, to the Secretaire Generale de la Societe de Medi-
cine, Rue St. Avoie, No. 39.

9. Prize Question. — ^The Academy of Sciences of Paris, pro-
pose the following: — " To follow the developement of the
triton, or aquatic salamander, in its different degrees from the
egg to the perfect animal, and to describe the change which it
undergoes interiorly, principally in respect to its osteology and
the distribution of its vessels."

The Prize, of the value of 300 francs, will be adjudged in the
public sitting of 1822. The utmost term for the transmission
of Memoires is January 1, 1822.

O 2

196 Miscellaneous Intelligence

to'

10. Prize Question. — The Society of Sciences at Copenhagen,
have proposed the following : —

" Quibus naturae legibus regitur primaria evolutio corporum
animalium, et formam sive regularum, normalem, sive ab-
normera adsciscant?"

The author of the best answer to this question will receive a
gold medal, of the value of fifty ducats. The Memoirs should
be addressed, with the usual forms, before the end of December
1820, to the Secretary of the Society, Professor Oersted at
Copenhagen.

§ Mineralogy, Geology, Meteorology, ^c.

1. Chromate of Iron in Shetland. — It has been recently as-
serted that the chromate of iron was discovered in Shetland by
Dr. Hibbert. Without wishing to undervalue Dr. Hibbert's
labours, we must, in justice to Dr. Traill, remark that he
pointed out the existence of this mineral in Unst, many years
ago. It is true that he calls it magnetic iron ore, but the ex-
istence of a chromate was then unknown ; nor indeed, we
believe, had chrome been discovered at the time Dr. Traill
wrote his account. The substance, as we understand, is so
abundant that the ground is strewed with it, so that it could
not be overlooked.

2. Boracic Acid.—'Dv. Pleischl, of Prague, has given the
following as the composition of crystalline hydrated boracic
acid : —

Dry acid 54

Water , 45

During the experiments made to ascertain these proportions,
Dr. Pleischl endeavoured also to ascertain the action of dry
boracic acid on dry chloride of barium. The results coincided
with those of Gay-Lussac and Thenard ; no decomposition took
place nor was any new compound found.

3. Fluoric Acid in Mica. — M. Rose, of Berlin, at present
working in the laboratory of M. Berzelius, has ascertained that

Natural Historj/. 197*

all the kinds of mica, contain fluoric acid. Two species from
Sweden contained a considerable quantity.

4. Tremolitc, — M. C. G. Retzius analyzed the tremolite,
and found it to contain —

Silex 54.26

Lime 23.16

Magnesia • • 7.56

Carbonate of Lime .. 13.86
Loss 1.16

100.

5. Volcanoes of Tariary. — M. Abel Remusat, in a letter to
M. Louis Cordier, relating to the origin of the sal ammoniac,
obtained by the Calmucs, and by them distributed through
Asia, quotes the following passage from the Japanese edition
of the Chinese Encyclopsedia, in the king*s library, which not
only describes the source of this salt, but also two active vol-
canoes in the interior of Tartary.

"The salt, named (in Chinese) nao-cha^ and also salt of
Tartary and volatile salt, is obtained from two volcanic moun-
tains in Central Tartary. One is the volcano of Tourfan*,
which has given to this town (or rather to a town three leagues
to the east of Tourfan,) the name of Ho-Tcheou, or town of fire.
The other is the white mountain in the country of Bisch-Balikhf.
These two mountains continually emit flame and smoke. There
are cavities in them in which a greenish liquid collects, which,
when exposed to the air, changes into a salt, which is the
nao-cha ; the people of the country collect it for the prepa-
ration of leather,

A column of smoke may be continually seen coming from the
Tourfan, which, in the night, is replaced by a flame similar to
that of a flambeau. Birds, and other animals, illuminated by
it, appear of a red colour. This mountain is called the Hill of

* Lat. 43°. 30'., long. 87°. 11'. according to P. Gaubil.

t A town situated on the river 111, to the S. W. of the lake of Balgasch
>vhich the Chinese name the hot sea. The latitude of the lake of Balgascb,
is 46°. ; long. 70°. 11 . according to P. Gaubil.

198- Miscellanemis Intelligence.

Fire, Sabots, or wooden shoes, are worn by those who collect
the naO'Cha, for shoes of leather would be soon burnt.

The people of the neighbourhood also collect the mother-
■v^aters, which they boil in vessels, and obtain from them the
sal ammoniac in lumps or loaves, like those of common salt.
The whitish nao-cha is considered the best. The nature of the
salt is very penetrating. It is suspended in a stove to make it
very dry, and ginger is added to it to preserve it. Exposed
to cold, or to moisture, it deliquesces and is lost."

M. Remusat adds in his observations, that it is a curious fact,
and very little known, that there are two volcanoes actually in
combustion in the central regions of Asia, 400 leagues from
the Caspian, which is the nearest sea to them. — Annales des
Mines, v. p. 135.

6. Temperature of Lakes. — From observations made by M.
De la B^che, on the lakes of Thun and Zug, in Switzerland, the
following temperatures were found to exist at different depths.
The lake of Thun is about midway, between a point called
the Nase, and the village of Leissingen.

Fahr.
At a depth of 105 brasses the temperature was .... 41*^5

50 41°5

15 42°

At surface 60°

The bottom of the lake was sandy, and the water not very
transparent ; the thermometer and weight disappeared at the
depth of 7 or 8 feet.

The observations on the lake of Zug were made about a league
from the town, and in the direction of Mount Riggi.

Fahr.

At a depth of 88 brasses the temperature was 41°

25 41°

15 42°

At surface c 58°

The water of this lake was clear, and the lead brought up
very small gravel from the bottom.

^Natural History, 199

17. Organic Remains. — M. de la Buhe, in a letter to Professor
Pictet, says, " I was much surprised to see in this collection
(belonging to Professor Meissner, of Berne,) the teeth of a mas-
todon, and those of other animals of less size, enveloped in
the coal of Alpnach (if I do not deceive myself,) near the lake
of Zurich. Mr. Meissner informed me that the stratum of coal
occurred in banks of sandstone gres. This is a circumstance
which ought to draw the attention of the Swiss geologists. The
fact is certain. The teeth are black, and appear strongly im-
pregnated with bitumeij.

18. Falling of a Mountain. — On the 8th of July last, at four
o'clock in the morning, a part of the mountain Sichen-Retkren-
bergCf near Moselle, in the circle of Cochereim, ten leagues
from Coblentz, fell into the river. A movement almost insen-
sible, but neverless progressive, has been observed for many
years of this enormous mass. The damage occasioned by it is
almost incalculable ; more than 20 vineyards have disappeared.

A neighbouring mountain, called der Kessel, threatens also to
fall. Enormous crevices occur in it near the middle, and at
the summit, and the lower part descended three feet on the
morning of the 8th, with the loosening and falling of many large
pieces. It is feared that this mountain falling into the Moselle
will stop it up, and cause sad distress.

19. Earthquake, — A strong shock of an earthquake was felt at
Inspruck, on the 17th of July. It lasted four seconds. It is
curious that the shock happened at the very hour of the day on
which the people of the place were assembled together in prayer, *
which, according to a vow made in 1670, was to be made an-
nually, in consequence of a dreadful shock which happened at

that time.

>

10. Red Snow. — The red snow has appeared this year much

sooner than usual, and, though at two leagues from the convent

of St. Bernard, there was no place without snow, except some

steep rocks ; yet it was decidedly red at the foot qf inclined

places, and began to reunite in the channels formed by the

200 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

waters. It appears evident that it cannot be attributed to any
vegetable powder. — Tableau des Observation, &c. May, 1820. —
Bib. Universelle.

1 1 . Regions of perpetual Snow, — The following Table is from
the termination of a Memoire, by M. Alex, de Humboldt, on the
limit of perpetual snow in the Himalaya Mountains and the
equatorial regions. See Annales de Ckirn., XIV. p. 5.

Parts of the world, where the Mountains rise above the Limit
of perpetual Snow:

Equator. — Andes of Quito. (Africa?)

10° of lat. —Sierra de Merida^ Sierra de Santa Marta, (Mont
AlKomri?)

20° of lat. — Plain of Mexico, Mowna Roa of the Sandwich
Isles, High Peru (New Holland ?)

30° of lat. — Himalaya, Atlas near Morocco, Etna ? Sierra
Nevada de Grenade, Cote de Caramania, Chili,
(New Holland?)
Heights of perpetual Snows measured.

Andes of Quito (lat. 1°— 1° 30') 2,460 toises; Volcano of
Purace near Popayan (lat. 2° 18') 2,420 t. ; Tolima (lat. 4° 46')
2,380 t.(?) Nevados of Mexico (lat. 18° 59'— 19° 12') 2,350 t.
No perpetual snows on the peak of TenerifFe (lat. 28° 17')
1,908 t.; Himalaya, (lat. 30° 40'— 31° 4') southern side,
1,950 t.; northern side 2,605 t. (?) Sierra Nevada of Grenada,
the summit not the inferior limit (lat. 37° 10') 1,780 t. ; Etna
(lat. 37° 30') but only spots of snow 1,500 t.; the summit,
which also perhaps does not enter the curve of perpetual snow,
1,719 t.; Caucasus (lat. 42°— 43°) 1,650 t.; Pyrenees (lat»
42°,5—43°) 1,400 t.; Swiss Alpes (lat. 45-|°—46-i°) 1,370 t.;
Carpathian Mountains (49° 10') 1,330 t.; Norway (lat. 61°— 62°)
850 t.; (lat. 67°) 600 t.; (lat. 70°) 550 t.; (lat. 71-i°, but under
the influence of summer fogs, 366 t.

The heights of the places printed in Italics have been mea-
sured.

General Literature 4 201

IV.General Literature.

1. Modern Greek Literature — M. Koumas, first professor in
the great college at Smyrna, and distinguished by his learning
among the Greeks, has just published at Vienna the two last
volumes of his Course of Philosophy. The whole work is a
methodical abstract of all the best compositions of the German
philosophers. Its object is to instruct the Greeks in modern
philosophy, and its circulation is likely to be very consi-
derable.

The printing-office established at Chios has commenced its
operations, and is now in full activity. Its first production is
an excellent discourse of M. the Professor Bambas, read the
year before last, at the opening of tlie course of the great
college of Chios. This work is so elegant in its typography,
that it might seem to come from the presses of London or
Paris. This office will gradually spread through Greece a
number of valuable works that may contribute to the regene-
ration of this once classical land.

A college on a large scale is about to be founded at Zagori,
in the province of Epirus. The voluntary donations for this
establishment amount already to 60,000 francs. M. Neophytos
Doucas, a learned Greek ecclesiastic himself gave the sum of
10,000 francs.

2. Philology. — M. Frederick Adelung, counsellor of state to
the Emperor of Russia, has lately published, in 153 pages,
A View of all known Languages and their Dialects, In this
View, we find in all, 987 Asiatic, 587 European, 276 African,
and 1,264 American languages and dialects enumerated and
classed: a total of 3,064. This remarkable publication is
only the introduction to a Bibliotheca Glottica, on which this
indefatigable philosopher has been long employed.

3. Ancient Latin Mayiuscripts. — Baron Niebuhr, Prussian
ambassador to the Holy See, has again discovered and pub«
lished several ancient MSS. hitherto unknown. They are chiefly

202 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

fragments of Cicero's orations, pro M. Fonteio et pro C. Rabirio;
a fragment of the 91st book of Livy ; two works of Seneca, &c.
Baron Niebuhr has dedicated this edition to the Pope, by whose
favour he was enabled to discover these literary treasures in the
library of the Vatican.

4. Excavations at Pompeia, — A public edifice has recently
been discovered near the forum of Pompeia, which is supposed
to be the Chalcidicum, and an inscription importing that the
edifice was built at the expense of the Priestess Eumachia.
A few days after the above discovery, a statue of the same
priestess was found in perfect preservation. This statue is
said to very far surpass in grace, elegance, and grandeur, all
the works of art that had previously been dug from the ruins of
this town.

5. Population^ ^c, of Paris. — From a work lately published
in Paris, it appears, that that city contains 714,000 inhabitants,
ef which 25,000 are not domiciled. The consumption of bread
annually is 11 3,880,000 kilogrammes (251, 336,7 191bs.); of oxen,
70,000; of heifers, 9,000; calves, 78,000; sheep, 34,000;
swine, 72,000 ; eggs, 74,000,000 ; pigeons, 900,000 ; fowls,
1,200,000; wine, 870,000 hectolitres (22,968,000 gall.)

6. Population of Sweden. — According to the last census,
taken in 1819, the population of the kingdom of Sweden
amounted to 2,543,412 inhabitants. The amount of the re-
gisters of what is called the civil state of Stockholm, for the
year 1819, has produced a result unfavourable for the popu-
lation. The births were 2,329, and the deaths 3,238 ; a dimi-
nution has therefore taken place of 909 individuals. Almost
one-half of the children are born out of marriage ; out of three
children one has invariably died. The marriages have been
504, and the divorces 24.

7. Population of Glasgow.— An actual survey, to determine
the population of Glasgow, was completed in February, 1820.
The following is an abstract of the information derived from it :

General Literature. Ml

Population^ of the ten parishes within the Royalty 75,169

Barony Parish.

Anderson district • 7,1 L3

St. Vincent St. and Blythswood estate district 7,941

Port Dundas district 7,598

Calton and Mile-end district , , . . , 15,616

Bridge-town district 13,593 51,861

GorbaFs parish, including Hutchcson-town,

Lauries-town and Trades-town 2 1 ,768

148,798
As several thousand persons had left the population district
for want of work during the few months which preceded the
enumeration, and as some of these persons may be expected
to return, the population may be fairly stated at 150,000
persons.

8. Statistics of America. — The superficies of the territory of
the United States, from the Atlantic to the great ocean, is
estimated at 2,257,000 square miles, and the population at
11,000,000. The proportion of whites to blacks has increased
as follows, since the year 1790. In that year there were 27
blacks to 100 whites ; in 1800, the proportion was 20 to 100 ;
and in 1810, only 19 to 100. The number of emigrants that
arrived in the different states in 1794 was about 10,000 ; in
1817, 22,240, of whom 11,977 were British or Irish. From
the British possessions in America, there arrived, in the same
year 2,901 individuals.

9. Carmine. — M. Von Grotthus says, that carmine may be
freed from its yellow shade, by treatment first with ammonia,
and then with acetic acid and alcohol.

10. Death of an Elephant, — An elephant had been brought to
Geneva for exhibition some months ago, and was found to be
remarkably obedient and docile. In removing this animal
from place to place, it was not confined in a caravan, but
passed openly by the streets and roads, attended by three con-
ductors, and no accident had as yet happened in this way ;
but, on removing it from Geneva, the animal became ungo-

204 Miscellaneous Intelligence,

vernable, pursuing its guardians, and endeavouring to do
mischief. It returned towards Geneva again, and, by various
means, was got into a place of security ; and then its pro-
prietor, intimidated by a former accident, resolved to have it
put to death. The first intentions were to poison it, and, for
this purpose, three ounces of prussic acid were mixed with
ten ounces of spirits, and given to it. The animal took the
bottle, and drank the liquor; but, after the lapse of some
time, did not seem at all affected by it. Three balls were then
prepared, each containing one ounce of arsenic, mixed with
sugar and honey, and were eaten by the elephant. This
poisoning commenced at five o'clock in the morning, and, at
the end of an hour, not the slightest effect was produced on
the animal. Finding these means ineffectual, orders were
given, and the animal shot with a four-pound ball in the head.

After a while, the animal was dissected for the museum,
but the muscular parts were given to the people, who took it
home as food. Between three and four hundred persons ate
of it without any fear from the poison, and without any ill
effects except from indigestion.

This elephant was from Bengal, was about nine feet high,
and ten years of age.

11. Ow the Columns of the Athenian Temples, by Thomas AllasoUy

Esq.
To the Editor q/'<Ae Journal o/" Science and the Arts.

The following passage is extracted from the Travels recently
published by the Rev. Thomas Hughes : " Amongst the many
observations made by Mr. Cockerell, upon the architecture of
the Parthenon / remember one, which seemed very delicate and
curious ; it related to the entasis, or swelling of its beautiful
and finely-proportioned columns. With a great deal of diffi-
culty he measured them, and found by a straight line stretched
from the capital to the base, that this swell, at about one-third
of the height, equalled one inch ; that in the Temple of Ju-
piter at JEgina, half an inch, which was in proportion to the
other ; so that he had no doubt but that there was a general rule

General Literature. 205

on this point with the ancient architects : this protuberance
is so delicate, that it must be ascertained by measurement ; the
eye alone cannot perceive it: the fact had escaped Stuart, and
our other most accurate observers."

From this relation it might be too readily concluded that
Mr. Cockerell made the discovery therein mentioned, whereas
theTact is otherwise. It was myself who first noticed this pecu-
liarity, during an extensive tour through the Morea, with the
Messrs. Spencer Stanhopes, in the year 1814, when, having
formed my opinion, by a careful examination of the magnifi-
cent remains of the ancient structures at Athens*, I commu-
nicated the results to Messrs. Cockerell, Fauvel, Baron Haller,
Lusieri, and Tupper ; the two former gentlemen, however, con-
stantly opposed my ideas upon the subject. It was, indeed,
my actual intention to have ascertained the nature and extent
of the entasis of the columns of all the temples and other an-
cient buildings at Athens ; various unforeseen circumstances,
however, deferred its execution, which was finally rendered
impracticable by a severe illness, that obliged me to take a very
precipitate departure from the Athenian territory, after a resir
dence of about five months. It was thus arranged, that Baron
Haller and Mr. Cockerell should themselves measure, and make
the necessary experiments upon the columns of the Parthenon,
the Temple of Theseus, ^-c, and transmit the results to Mr.
Stanhope and myself.

We both felt so desirous respecting this inquiry that, on our
arrival at Naples, we wrote to Mr. Cockerell, reminding him
of the obligation he had taken upon himself ; it was, however,
more than a year afterwards that I received, through Mr. It.
Smirke, an admeasurement of the columns of the Parthenon,
confirming my opinions in every particular. I shall also here
beg to observe, that my remarks respecting the entasis of the
Greek columns was noticed in a report read by Mons. Barbie
du Boccage to the Institute, several months prior to my receiv-
ing Mr. Cockerell's communication.

I shall now take the liberty to inquire of the Rev. Thomas

* ?ee note to preface of n)y work on the Antiquities of Pola,

206 Miscellaneous InteUigence.

Hughes, why he relates this circumstance from memory, rather
than from the authority of his journal? I may, perhaps, ven-
ture to assign the genuine reason. The transactions alluded
to, occurred in 1814, twelve months after this gentleman had
left Athens ; and therefore it was not possible for his journal to
fcontain one tittle of the matter. Why also Ras the Reverend
Gentleman stated, that " this protuberance is so delicate, that
it must be ascertained by measurement, the eye alone cannot
perceive it?" The reason is obvious, Mr. Cockercll well knew
that I had no other means of satisfying myself respecting the
vntasiSy than from the most attentive ocular observation. This
opinion, therefore, is hazarded, in order to support his preten-
sions to the discovery, in opposition to mine, as I had not the
opportunity to pursue the satisfactory means which he was en-
abled subsequently to apply.

In requesting your insertion of the foregoing statement, I am
not so anxious to claim the merits of a discovery, although
unnoticed by so many distinguished travellers, as to direct the
attention of professional men and others, to so important a
feature, upon which principally depends the effect and beauty
of Grecian architecture.

I am, your obedient humble servant,

Thomas Allason.

27, South Moltonstr€€t, August 21, 1820.

12. Geological Maps and Works. — The Geological Map of
England, published by Mr. Smith, and the more recent and
accurate one of Mr. Greenough, have proved of great use and
value to the geological traveller; a set of small, but accurate,
county maps, coloured upon the same plan, would prove, per-
haps, a more valuable acquisition, and we trust that such a de-
sideratum will soon be carried into effect.

We are glad to understand that a geological map of Scot-
land will shortly be published by Dr. Mac Culloch, whose accu-
rate and extensive geological investigations in that part of the
kingdom, peculiarly fit him for the task.

We are also informed that Dr. Mac Culloch has nearly com-

General Literature. 207

pleted an elementary work on geology, and that he is engaged
in a description of Shetland, upon the same plan as that of the
Western Isles of Scotland, which he published last year.

13. Mineralogy of Scotland. — ^Prehnite has hitherto only
been found in Scotland in trap ; it is thus abundant near Glas-
gow and Dumbarton ; it also occurs at Edinburgh, in Fife, and
in the isles of Mull, Rasay, Arran, and Sky.

This mineral has lately been found in the north of Scotland,
in gneiss ; it occurs in the same botryoidal form as in the Kil-
patrick hills. It has also been found in the same rock, imper-
fectly crystallized, in the island of Guernsey.

Hollow spar has been lately discovered, for the first time, in
Scotland ; it occurs in clayslate, in the vicinity of Balahulish.

Cyanite, which has hitherto only been found in Shetland, and
at Boharm, in Banffshire, exists also in Cairnlia, one of the
summits of Ben-y-Gloe, and in Glen-Tilt ; it is embedded in
quartz.

Staurolite has lately been, for tlie first time, found in the north
of Scotland, in mica-slate ; the crystals are perfect, and occur
both simple and crossed ; they are of a large size, but differ in
composition from those of Brittany and Switzerland ; their colour
is dark lead-gray ; and their fracture not unlike that of clay-
stone.

14. St. George* s Medical and Chemical School. — ^Thef Courses
will commence on Tuesday, October the 5th.

1 . — On the Laws of the Animal Economy, and the Practice of
Physic, with Pathological Demonstrations; at nine in the morn-
ing, by George Pearson, M.D. F.R.S., senior physician to St.
George's Hospital, ^c. <^c.

2. — On Chemistry, in which Medical Jurisprudence will be
introduced, by W. T. Brande, Sec. R. S., Professor of Chemistry
at the Royal Institution, ^c.

3. — On Therapeutics, with Materia Medica; at eight in the
morning, by George Pearson, M.D. F.R.S., ^c.

4. — Surgical Lectures, gratuitously, to the Pupils of St.
George's Hospital, will be given by Sir Everard Home, Bart.

Proposals and Particulars may be had at No. 9, George-Street,
Hanover-Square, and at St George's Hospital.

208

Sefect List of Neio Publications during the last three

Months.

Transactions of Public Societies.

Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay, with en-
gravings, Vol. II. 4to. 3/. 3s.

Medical Transactions, published by the College of Physicians
in London, with coloured plates, Vol, VIII. 8vo. 12s. boards.

Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London, Vol. IV.
Parti. U. 13s.

Agriculture.

A New System of Agriculture, without Lime or Dung, or
Summer Fallows. By Major-general Beatson. 8vo. 9s.

Architecture and the Fine Arts.

The Heraldic Origin of Gothic Architecture ; by R. Lascelles,
Esq. of the Middle Temple, royal 8vo. 7s.

Chronological and Historical Illustrations of the Ancient Ar-
chitecture of Great Britain. By Mr. Britton. No. 6.

The Architectural Antiquities of Normandy. By J. S. Cot-
man. Part II. royal folio. 3/. 3s.

Views of the Remains of Ancient Buildings in Rome and its
Vicinity. With coloured plates. 7/. 7s.

Picturesque Views of the Architectural Antiquities of North-
umberland, from original pictures, painted expressly for the
work ; by Wm. Dixon and Thos. M. Richardson. Part I.
Elephant 4to. 12s. Atlas 4to. 18s.

Remains of a Roman Villa at Bignor in Sussex. By the late
Samuel Lysons, Esq. Atlas folio. 34 plates. 12Z. 12s.

Roman Costumes, drawn from Nature, by Pinelli, and on
Stone. By C. Hullmandell. No. I. folio, Qs. Coloured
plates. 12s.

Twenty-four Views of Italy, drawn from Nature, on Stone.
By C. Hullmandell, foho. 1/. 10s.

Views, illustrating the Route of the Simplon. Drawn from
Nature, by Major Cockburn, and on Stone, by C. Hullmandell.
Part I. folio, 8s.

The same Route of Mont Cenis. By the same Artists.
Part I. 8s.

Select List of New Puhlicationa . 209

Picturesque Illustrations of Buenos Ayres and Monte Video.
Part II. 4to. 12$.

Sketches, representing the Native Tribes, Animals, and
Scenery, of Southern Africa, from drawings made by the late
Mr. S. Daniell, and engraved by W. Daniell. Royal 4to. 3/. 3s.
Plates on India paper. 4/. 4s.

Botany.

Hortus Suburbanus Londinensis : or, a Catalogue of Plants
cultivated in the Neighbourhood of London. By R. Sweet,
F.L.S. 8vo. 18*.

Natural History and Natural Philosophy.

The Natural History of British Quadrupeds, with Figures.
By E. Donovan, F.L.S.A. 9s.

The Natural History of Ants ; by P. Huber. Translated
from the French ; with Notes. By J. R. Johnson, M.D.
12mo. 9s.

A Compendium of the Ornithology of Great Britain ; with a
Reference to the Anatomy and Physiology of Birds. By John
Atkinson. 8s.

A Select Cabinet of Natural History. By the late George
Shaw.

Geography.

A New and Improved Map of India, from the latest Docu-
ments. By John Walker. On one large sheet, 16s. mounted,
\l Is. ■

Mathematics.

An Essay on Involution and Evolution ; containing a New
Method of ascertaining the Numerical Value of any Junction of
an Unknown Quantity. By P. Nicholson. 8vo. 6s.

Medicine, Anatomy, and Surgery.

A Treatise on the Inflammation of the Mucous Membrane of
the Lungs. By Charles Hastings. 8vo. 10s. Qd.

. An Address to Persons afflicted with Deafness. By W
Wright. 4s.

A Synopsis of the various Kinds of difficult Parturition, with
Practical Remarks on the Management of Labours. By 8. Mer-
riman. 12s. boards.

Vol. X. P

210 Seiect List of l^ew Puhiications,

Case5 of a Sefous Morbic Affection, chiefly occurring after
Delivery, Miscarriage, &c., from various Causes of Irritation
and Exhaustion, and of a similar Affection, unconnected with
the Puerperal State. By Marshall Hall, M.D. F.R.S.E.
8vo. 4s.

Medical Jurisprudence ; a Dissertation on Infanticide, in its
relations to Physiology and Jurisprudence. By William Hut-
chinson, M.lft^^.L.S. 8vo. 5s. 6d.

A Treatise on the Mineral Water of Askern, near Doncaster,
Yorkshire. By T. L. Gay Brewerton, Surgeon, 8vo. 5s. 6d.

A Toxicological Chart, in which are exhibited at one view,
the Symptoms, Treatment, and Modes of detecting the various
Poisons. By a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in
London. 2s. 6d.

Cases, illustrative of tke Efficacy of the Hydro -cyanic or
Prussic Acid, on Affections of the Stomach, &c. By John
EUiotson, M.D. Svo. 5s. 6d.

An Inquiry, illustrating the Nature of Tuberculated Ac-
cretions of Serous Membranes, and on the Origin of Tubercles
and Tumours in different Textures of the Body. By John
Baron, M.D. Svo. plates, 14s.

Miscellaneous.

Cyclopaedia : or, a Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. Edited
by Abraham Rees, D.D. F.R.S., &c. 4to. Vol. XXXIX.
Part HI. and final, U. Is.

Supplement to the Encyclopsedia Britannica. Vol. IV. Part
n. 4to. IL Is.

The Naval and Military Exploits which have distinguished
the Reign of George the Third, methodically arranged and
accurately described. By Jehoshaphat Aspin. 1 vol., with
numerous coloured plates, 14s. boards, 15s. neatly bound.

Political Economy.

An Analysis of the true Principles of Security against Forgery,
by Sir William Congreve, Bart. Svo. U. Is.

Rules for repairing Roads ; drawn up from the Evidence of
Mr. Telford and Mr. M'Adam, Svo. 2s.

An Essay on the Construction of Wheel Carriages, as they
affect both the Loads and the Horses ; with Suggestions relative
to the Principles on which the Tolls ought to be imposed ; and
some Remarks* on the Formation of Roads. By J. S. Fry,
Svo. 6s.

* Seiect J Ast of New Publications. 211

The Improvement of English Roads urged, during the ex
isting Dearth of Employment for the Poor. 2s.

An Account of the Improvements on the Estates of the
Marquess of Stafford, with Remarks. By James Loch. 8vo.
12s. boards.

An Inquiry into the Causes of the present Distress of the
People. By Charles Hull, M.D. 8s.

Letter to the Earl of Liverpool, on the Distress of the Mer-
cantile Shipping, Agricultural and Manufacturing Interests,
with the several Remedies proposed. By Joseph Pinsent.
Is. 6c?.

A Letter to the Earl of Liverpool, on the present distressed
State of Agriculture, &c. 8vo. 3s. 6d,

Detail of a Combination to raise the Price of Bread. By the
Author of a Pamphlet, entitled. Relief of the Poor. 3s.

A Letter to the Right Hon. F. Robinson, M.P., on the Ne-
cessity of farther Protection to the Agriculturist. Is. 6d.

The Grounds and Danger of Restrictions on the Cora Trade
considered ; together with a Letter on Rent. 4s.

Remarks on the Merchants' Petitions and Publications re-
specting Restrictions on Foreign Commerce, &c. Is.

Substance of the Speech of the Earl of Liverpool, May 20,
1820, on the Motion of the Marquis of Lansdown for a Com-
mittee on the Extension of our foreign Commerce.

A few plain Facts relative to the Situation of the Country at
the Commencement of the Year 1820, in Regard to its Finances,
Morals, and Religion. Is. 6d.

A Letter to Earl Bathurst, on the Condition of New South
Wales and Van Dieman's Land. By Henry Grey Bennet.
M.P. 5s.

Brief Observations on the Necessity of a Renewal of the
Property Tax, under certain Modifications. By T. S. Hu-
bersty, Esq. of Lincoln's Inn. 2s.

Topography, (British).

A Topographical and Historical Account of Boston, and the
Hundred of Skirbeck, in the county of Lincoln. By Pishey
Thomson. With 26 engravings, 8vo. 1/. Is.

The History and Antiquities of Kensington, interspersed with
Biographical Anecdotes, &c. &c. By Thomas Faulkner. 8vo.

A Survey of Staffordshire, containing the Antiquities of that
county, with Portraits. By Rev. T. Harwood, B.D. &c. 8vo.
1/. Is.

P 2

212 Select List qf New Publications.

Historical and descriptive Sketches of the Town and Lake of
Horncastle, in the county of Lincoln, and of places adjacent.
By George Weir. Plates, royal 8vo. 12s.; royal 4to. 21s.;
elephant 4to. 24s.

Topography (Foreign.)

The Emigrant's Guide to Upper Canada. By Captain Charles
Stuart. 12mo. 7s.

Facts and Observations respecting Canada, and the United
States of America. By C. F. Grece, Esq. 8vo. 6s.

A Geographical View of Upper Canada, with Remarks on the
Situation of the Inhabitants, &c., and a complete Description of
the Niagara Falls, &c. By M. Smith. 3s. 6d.

Sketches of Lower Canada, Historical and Descriptive ; with
an Account of the Soil and Aspect, the Morals, Habits, and
Religious Institutions of that Country. By J. Sansom, Member
of the American Philosophical Society. 6s.

A Statistical, Historical, and Political History of New South
Wales, and its dependent Settlements of Van Diemen's Land.
By W. C. Wentworth. 8vo. 16s.

Voyages and Travels.

A Voyage to Africa, with some Account of the Manners and
Customs of the Dahomian People. By John M'Leod, M.D.
8.V0. 5s. 6d.

A Journal of two successive Tours upon the Continent, in
the years 1816^ 17, and 18. By James Wilson. 8vo. 3 vols.
11. \6s.

Historical Account of Discoveries and Travels in Asia, from
the earliest ages to the present time. By H. Murray. 8vo.
3 vols. 21 2s.

Classical Excursions, from Rome to Arpino. By Charles
Kelsall, 8vo. 12s.

Three Months passed in the Mountains, east of Rome, during
the year 1819. By Maria Graham, Author of a Journal of a
Residence in India, with plates, 8vo. 10s. 6d.

Sketches descriptive of Italy, in the years 1816, 1817, with
a brief Account of Travels in various parts of France and Swis-
serland in the same years, 4 vols. II. 12s.

An Itinerary of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Russia.
By M. Reichard. With a map, 18mo. 7s.

Travels through England, Wales, and Scotland, in 1816.
By Dr, S. H. Spiker, Librarian to the King of Prussia. Trans-
lated from the German. 12mo. 2 vols. 14s.

Selft List of Neto Publications. 213

Account of a Tour in Normandy, undertaken chiefly for the
purpose of investigating the Architectural Antiquities of the
Duchy ; with Observations on its History, on the Country, and
its Inhabitants. By Dawson Turner, Esq. F.R.S. &c. Royal
8vo. fifty plates. 2 vols. 21. 12s. 6d. Large paper,3/. 13s. 6d,

Recently imported

By Messrs. Treuttel and Wurtz.

Memoires de TAcademie Royale des Sciences de Tlnstitut de
France, annee 1818, torn. III. 4to. M. 16s.

Annuaire Historique Universal pour 1819, avec un Appendice
contenant les actes publics, traites, notes diplomatiques, pa-
piers d'etat, et tableaux statistiques, financiers, administratifs
et necrologiques ; une chronique ofFrant les evenemens les plus
piquans, les causes les plus c^l^bres, &c. Par C. S. Lesur,
8vo. 16s.

Titsingh, Memoires et Anecdotes sur la Dynastic regnante
des Djogouns, Souverains du Japon, avec la description des
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®i&e 30Co|)aI SnistUtttfon,

21, ALBEMARLE-STREET.

PLAN OF AN EXTENDED COURSE OF LECTURES,

AND DEMONSTRATIONS, IN

PRACTICAL AND THEORETICAL CHEMISTRY,

DELIVKRED IN

Cfie aalioiatori) of tfie JSloaal Engtitutfon,

BY WILLIAM THOMAS BRANDE,

Secretary of the Uoyal Society of London, and F.li.S., Edinburgh; Professor of Che-
^Imistt^ in the Royal Institution, and of Chemisti-y and Materia Medica to the Apo-
thecaries' Company.

1 HESE Lectures commence on the second Tuesday in October, at
Nine in the Morning, and are continued every Tuesday, Thursday,
and Saturday during the Season, which begins in October and termi-
nates in May.

The subjects comprehended in these Lectures are treated of in the
following order :

Division I. — Of the Powers and Properties of Matter ^ and the General
Laws of Chemical Changes.

$ 1. Attraction — Crystallization — Chemical Affinity — Laws of Combination and Decomposition.

\ 2. Heat — Its influence in Art and Nature.

5 3. Electricity— Its Laws, and connexion witli Chemical Phaenomen.i.

$ 4. Radiant Matter.

Division IL — Of Undecompounded Substances and their mutual

Combinations.

$ 1. Substances that support Combustion— Oxygen— Clorine— Iodine.

§ 2. Inflammable and Acidifiable Substances— Hydrogen— Mtrogen— Sulphur — Phosphorns—

Carbon — Boron.
$ 3. Metals— and their Combinations with the various Substances described in the earlier part of
the Course.

Division III. — Vegetable Chemistry >

i 1. Chemical Physiology of Vegetables.

{ 2. Modes of Analysis— Ultimate and proximate Elements.

$ 3. Processes of Fermentation and their Products.

Division IV. — Chemistry of the Animal Kingdom,

i 1. General Views connected with this department of tha Science.

9 2. Composition and Properties of the Solids and Fluids of Animals— Products of Disease.

\ 3. Animal Functions.

Division V. — Geology.

i 1. Primitive and Secondary Rocks— Structure and situation of Veins.

5 2. Decay of Rocks— Production of Soils— Their Analysis and Principles of Agricultural

Improvement. . ,. » , i

$ 3. Mineral Waters— Methods of ascertaining their Contents by Tests and by Analysis.
J 4. Volcanic Rocks— Phaenomena and Products of Volcanic ErnpUons.

In the First Course, the principles and objects of Chemical Science
and the general Laws of Chemical Changes are explained, and the

216 Mr. Brande's Lectures on Chemistry.

phasnomena of Attraction, Heat, Electricity, and Radiant Matter, de-
veloped, and illustrated by numerous experiments. The undecom-
pounded bodies are then examined, and the modes of procuring them
in a pure form, and of ascertaining their Chemical characters, exhibited
upon an extended scale. — The Lectures on the Metals include a suc-
cinct account of Mineralogy, and of the methods of analyzing and
assaying Ores. This part of the Course will also contain a full exa-
mination of Pharmaceutical Chemistry ; the Chemical Processes of the
Pharmacopoeics will be particularly described, and compared with those
adopted by the manufacturer.

The Second Course relates to Organic Substances. — The Chemical
changes induced by Vegetation are here inquired into ; the Principles
of Vegetables, the Theory of Fermentation, and the Character of its
Products, are then examined.

The Chemical History of Animals is the next object of inquiry — it is
illustrated by an examination of their Component Parts, in health and
in disease : by an inquiry into the Chemistry of the Animal Functions,
and into the application of Chemical Principles to the treatment of
Diseases.

The Course concludes with an account of the Structure of the
Earth, of the changes which it is undergoing, af the objects and uses of
Geology, and of the principles of Agricultural Chemistry.

The applications of Chemistry to the Arts and Manufactures, and to
economical purposes, are discussed at some length in various parts of
the Course ; and the most important of them are experimentally
exhibited.

A New Edition of Mr. Brande's Manual of Chemistry, intended as a Text-
Book for these Lectures, will be published in the course of the season.

The Admission Fee to each Course is Four Guineas ; or, by paying Eight Gui-
neas, Gentlemen are entitled to attend for an unlimited time.

Life and Annual Subscribers to the Royal Institution are admitted to the above
Lectures, on payment of Two Guineas for each Course ; or, by paying six Guineas,
are entitled to attend for an unlimited time.

Further particulars may be obtained by applying to Mr. Brande, No. 2, Claxges-
street, Piccadilly ; or to Mr. Fincher, at the Royal Institution, 21, Albemarle-
street.

LONDON :

Printed by W. Clowks, Nortluimbfrland-court.

THE

QUARTERLY JOURNAL,

Ja7wary, 1821.

r

Art. I. Observations on tJie Analysis of Mineral Waters,
% W. T. Brande, Sec. R.S. Prof. Chem. R.I., ^c.

J HE following observations relating to the analysis of mineral
waters have been drawn iip principally with a view to facilitate
the progress of the student, in that very difficult department of
analytical chemistry. I have endeavoured to simplify the details
by pointing out the readiest methods of recognising and sepa-
rating the substances which usually occur, and have, therefore
omitted the enumeration of the more rare ingredients, or of those
which are limited to particular places.

I have not adverted to the mode recommended by Dr. Murray,
(Edinburgh Philosophical Transactions^ VIII.^ because I cannot
readily admit the existence of incompatible salt;s to the extent
which his principle requires ; nor do I think that it materially
facilitates the analysis in those cases which present peculiar
difficulties to the plan of determining the ingredients by eva-
poration.

Sect. \.,0f the Tests and Apparatus required in the Examination
and Analysis of Mineral Waters.

Those who have not access to a regular laboratory will find it
convenient to arrange the following tests and re-agents in the
manner represented in the annexed drawing; (Plate II.) the larger
phials should contain about six ounces by measure ; the second
size, three ounces ; and the smallest, one ounce. Of these phials,
^he greater number should be simply stopped ; and a few of
them provided with an elongated stopper (22) dipping into the
fluid which they contain.

Vol. X. Q

218 Mr. Brande oji the Analysis

The larger phials may contain the following re-agents :-
Pure sulphuric acid.

nitric acid.

— — muriatic acid.

Dilute sulphuric acid, 1 acid ■\- 3 water.

— — . nitric acid ditto.

muriatic acid ditto.

Solution of potassa.
soda.

ammonia.

carbonate of potassa.
carbonate of soda,
carbonate of ammonia,
oxalic acid,
oxalate of ammonia.
• baryta.

acetate of baryta,
nitrate of baryta,
phosphate of soda,
sulphate of silver.

Alcohol.
The smaller phials may contain
Tincture of galls.
Solution of iodine in alcohol.

nitrate of silver.

ferro-prussiate of potassa.

muriate of lime.

hydro-sulphuret of ammonia.

hydriodate of potassa.

soap in alcohol.

Phosphorus.
Sulphate of lime.

Test-papers, turmeric, litmus, violet.
Black flux.
Nitrate of ammonia.
The tray should contain a few Florence flasks (1), Wedg
wood and glass basins (2, 3), a platinum and a silver crucibh

of Mineral Waters. 2ld

(4, 5), a sil^df Capsule (6), some funnels (7), test glasses (8), test
tubes (9), and glass rods, filtering paper, a spirit (10), and art
Argand Lamp (11), a retort (12), and receiver (13), a cop-
per btaiu to sterve as sand-bath (14), a blowpipe (15), a thermo-
meter (16), a scale of equivalents (17), a dropping bottle (18),
a few watch glasses (19), a support for holding glasses over a
lamp (20), a small brass stand with rings (21), a tube with a
bulb in the centre and a pointed extremity, for drawing up small
portions of liquids (23), platinum pincers (24, 25) : a small
but good balance, with well-adjusted weights, is also requisite,
accompanied by a phial and counterpoise for taking specific
gravities ; and lastly, a small mercurial trough. There should
also be a plentiful supply of distilled water, a portion of which
should be contained in a dropping bottle.

Sect. II. Examination of Mineral Waters by Tests.

1. Tlie term mineral water is applied to those natural spring
waters which contain so large a proportion of foreign matter as
to render them unfit for common domestic use, and to confer
upon them a sensible flavour, and specific action upon the
animal frame. Their temperature is liable to considerable
variation, and is sometimes their principal character, as is the
case with the waters of Bath and Buxton ; but they are gene-
rally so far impregnated with acid or saline bodies, as to derive
from them their peculiarities, and in this respect may convent-
enily be arranged under the heads of carbonated, sulphureous,
saline, and chalybeate waters. The mere taste of the water
enables us to determine to which of these subdivisions, it pro-
bably belongs.

2. In examining a mineral water, it is of importance to as-
certain its specific gravity, which gives us some insight into
the proportion of its saline ingredients, its specific weight as
compared with pure water, being of course augmented by its
foreign contents. Mr. Kirwan (Essay on Mineral Waters, p. 145.)
has given the following formula for calculating the proportion
of saline substances in a water of known specific gravity: " sub-
tract the specific gravity of pure water from that of the water
examined, and multiply the remainder by 1.4. Tlie product is

Q 2

220 Mr. Brande on the Analysis

equal to the saline contents in a quantity of the water denoted
by the number employed to indicate the specific gravity of dis-
tilled water. Thus suppose the specific gravity of the water
== 1.079, and that of pure water = 1.000, then 79 x 1.4 =
110.6 = saline contents in 1000 of the mineral water."

This is a useful formula, but open to certain objections; and
as it is often of considerable importance to acquire a just know-
ledge of the proportion of foreign bodies in water, it is advisa-
ble to conjoin the above method with the following.

3. Evaporate a given weight, say 1000 parts, to dryness, and
expose the residue for twenty-four hours to a temperature not
exceeding 300° upon a platinum capsule ; weigh it, and the
mean obtained from this and the former experiment, will give
the proportion of dry saline ingredients within an error of two
per cent. Thus suppose 1000 parts of the above- mentioned
water give by evaporation 114.4 dry residue, then 110.6 -f-
114.4 =: 225 -f- 2 = 112,5 r= quantity of saline matter in a
dry state (salts deprived of water of crystallization) existing in
the mineral water under investigation.

4. Having by these preliminary operations ascertained the re-
lative quantity of foreign matter in the water under examination,
the nature of the substances present is next to be inquired into.

The substances which have been found in mineral waters are
extremely numerous, but those which ordinarily occur, are the
following :

Oxygen.

Nitrogen.

Carbonic acid.

Sulphuretted hydrogen.

Carbonate of lime.

Carbonate of magnesia.

Carbonate of iron.

Muriate of magnesia.

Sea salt.

Sulphate of magnesia.

Sulphate of soda.

Sulphate of lime.

of Mineral Waters. 22\

a Oxygen and nitrogen exist in the greater number of spring
waters in the proportions constituting atmospheric air ; the pro-
portion of nitrogen is, however, not unfrequently predominant.
These gases give no peculiar flavour to the water.

b Carbonic acid renders mineral waters sparkling and effer-
vescent : it is detected by occasioning a precipitate in aqueous
solution of baryta, which dissolves with effervescence in dilute
muriatic acid.

c The presence of sulphuretted hydrogen is known by its pe-
culiar disagreeable smell ; by the production of a black preci-
pitate on dropping into the water a solution of nitrate of silver ;
and by the deposition of sulphur on adding a few drops of
nitric acid.

d The carbonates are dissolved in the water by excess of cat-
bonic acid, and consequently fall down upon its expulsion by
boiling. Carbonate of lime and magnesia are deposited in the
form of a white precipitate. Carbonate of iron occasions the
separation of a rusty brown ferruginous powder, and the water
is blackened by a few drops of tincture of galls.

e Mr. R. Phillips, in his analysis of Bath waters, has shown
that the delicacy of galls, as a test for iron, is curiously affected
by the presence of certain salts : if the iron be in the state of
protoxide, its detection is facilitated by salts with a base of
lime, and by alcalis; if in the state of peroxide, lime prevents
the action of the test. This is well shown by dissolving a very
minute portion of protosulphate of iron in a glass of distilled
water, and adding a drop of tincture of galls, which occasions
no immediate discoloration ; but a drop of lime-water, or other
alcali, instantly renders the presence of iron evident ; so that
the quantity of iron present in a water cannot be correctly judged
of by the degree of precipitation occasioned in it by tincture
of galls.

/ Ferro-prussiate of potassa is also a good test to show minute
quantities of iron in water, by the blue precipitate which it
occasions ; its action is aided by previously adding two or three
drops of nitric acid to the water ; but it is an equivocal test
compared with galls.

222 Mr. Braade qh the Analysis

g The presence of muriatic salts and of chlorides, is indicated
by a white cloud on adding sulphate of silver.

h The sulphates, when present in water, afford a white preci-
pitate on the addition of nitrate of baryta, which is insoluble
in nitric acid.

i Lime is recognised by a white cloud on dropping oxa-
late of ammonia into the water. A portion of the precipi-
tate collected upon leaf platinum, and heated before the blow-
pipe, may be burned into quicklime.

k Magnesia is rendered evident by adding carbonate of,
ammonia which throws down the lime, and subsequently pour-
ing in phosphate of soda, which, when magnesia is present,
carries a portion of it down in the form of a granular precipi-
ta,te of ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate.

Such are the readiest means of recognising the presence of
the various substances that commonly occur, by the action of
re-agents or tests ; and, having gained such general informatiop,
we next proceed to the analysis of the water, in order to ascer-
tain the relative proportions of the gaseous and saline ingre-
djlents )vhich it holds dissolved.

Section III. Analysis of Mineral Waters.

5. To ascertain the relative proportions of the gaseous contents
of water with perfect accuracy, is a very difficult undertaking,
and rarely necessary; the following method is sufficiently pre-
cise in all ordinary cases of analysis. Provide a Florence flask
capable of holding rather more than a measured "vvine pint,
which quantity of the water under examination is to be intro-
duced into it, and a cork carefully fitted to its neck, through
a perforation in which is inserted a glass-tube one-eighth inch
diameter, rising perpendicularly about eighteen inches, and then
bent so as to pass conveniently under the shelf of the mercurio-
pneumatic apparatus. (Where a sufficiency of mercury cannot be
procured, warm water may be substituted, if only carbonic acid
be present, and it may be absorbed by transferring the jar con-
taiping it to a solution of potassa.) The flask should be placed
over an argand lamp, and heat gradually applied till the water

of Mineral Waters. 2!i5

fully boils. The gas evolved is to be collected in the usual
way, in a graduated jar over quicksilver, and submitted to the
-following examination :—

6. Throw up a small quantity of solution of potassa, which,
if carbonic acid be present, will absorb it, and the quantity will
be shown by the diminution of bulk.

7. Introduce the remaining air, or a portion of it, into a small
bent tube, containing a bit of phosphorus ; heat it so as to
kindle the phosphorus, and note the diminution of bulk when
cold. It is proportional to the oxygen present, and, if equal to
one-fifth of the whole bulk, the gas may be regarded as at-
mospheric air *.

8. If sulphuretted hydrogen be present it may be separated
by strong alcoholic solution of iodine, which rapidly absorbs it,
and scarcely takes up more than its own volume of carbonic
acid gas. Chlorine, added to a mixture of sulphuretted hydrogen
and carbonic acid, will also produce the absorption of the former
if a little water be present ; but it cannot be conveniently used
over mercury.

9. During the ebullition it not unfrequently happens that a
precipitation ensues, indicating that the substances thrown
down were dissolved by carbonic acid; and in that case they
should be separated upon a filter A, after which the remaining
water may be evaporated to dryness in a glazed porcelain basin;
the dry residue transferred to a silver capsule, and perfectly
desiccated at a temperature not exceeding 500°. B.

The precipitate A may consist of carbonate of lime, of car-
bonate of magnesia, or of oxide of iron ; or it may be a mixture
of the three ; dissolve it in dilute muriatic acid, and add oxalic
acid which throws down oxalate of lime ; separate this by fil-
tration, and saturate the filtrated portion with carbonate of
ammonia, which precipitates the peroxide of iron, and having
removed this, evaporate the residuary mixture, and expose the

• In separating oxygen a solution of nitric oxide in protosulphate of iron
may sometimes conveniently be employed, but itdoes not give so accurate
a r«ftult as the action of phosphonw.

224 Mr. Brande on the Analysis

dry salt to a red heat in a small platinum capsule ; the maig-
nesia, if any were present, will remain ; if not there will be no
residue, for the oxalic acid and muriate of ammonia will be
destroyed and volatilized.

100 parts of oxalate of lime indicate 77 of carbonate of lime.

100 parts of red oxide of iron indicate 90 of black oxide, or
143 of carbonate of iron.

When carbonic acid holds iron in solution, the metal is in
the state of protoxide, and if air be excluded it requires long
boiling to decompose it ; for the same reason, if the water be
exposed, under the exhausted receiver of the air-pump, it does
not readily become brown, as is the case when it is exposed to
air ; a drop or two of nitric acid facilitates the deposition of
the red oxide.

100 parts of ptire magnesia ai'e equivalent to 213 of carbo-
nate of magnesia.

/ 10. The dry residue B, is to be digested in six or eight parts
of boiling alcohol, specific gravity 0.817, which will take up
muriate of magnesia, and in some rare cases (where no sulphates
are present) muriate of lime. Filter off the alcoholic solution,
and wash the residue C with a little fresh alcohol, which add
to the former, and evaporate to dryness D. The dry mass D,
exposed for some time to a heat of 500°., is generally pure
muriate of magnesia ; if it contain muriate of lime, the latter
earth may be separated by solution of oxalic acid, in the state
of oxalate of lime.

I have found it, in some cases, convenient to convert the
muriates of lime and magnesia into sulphates, by pouring upon
them excess of sulphuric acid, evaporating to dryness, and
heating the dry mass red hot. The sulphate of magnesia may
then be almost completely separated from the sulphate of lime,
by a small quantity of cold water ; or a saturated solution of
sulphate of lime may be used, which takes up the sulphate of
magnesia, and, of course, leaves the sulphate of lime.

The alcohol will also take up a very minute portion of sea-
salt, which, however, is too small to require estimation.

11. The residue C, insoluble in alcohol, may contain sea-salt,

of Mineral Waters. 225

sulphate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, and sulphate of lime ;
digest it in ten parts of boiling distilled water, which, when
cold, will have taken up every thing but sulphate of lime, of
which an inappretiable portion only will have been dissolved ;
separate the solution into two equal portions, a and h.

To a add nitrate of silver, and wash and dry the precipitate,
which is chloride of silver, and of which 100 parts indicate 41
of sea-salt.

To b add acetate of baryta as long as it occasions a preci-
pitate, which is sulphate of baryta, and which is to be sepa-
rated, dried and weighed. 100 grains are equivalent to 60.5
of sulphate of soda, and to 5 1 of sulphate of magnesia.

In order to ascertain the quantity of magnesia present, and
consequently the quantity of sulphuric acid belonging to it,
evaporate the liquid filtered off the barytic precipitate E to
dryness; it will contain sea-salt, acetate of soda, acetate of
magnesia, and, probably, a portion of the added acetate of
baryta ; ignite the dry mass, and wash it to separate the sea-
salt and soda ; magnesia and carbonate of baryta will remain
insoluble, upon which pour dilute sulphuric acid ; digest, filter,
and evaporate the clear liquor to dryness ; it is sulphate of
magnesia, equivalent of course to the original portion of the
salt ; deduct the sulphuric acid contained in it from the whole
in the precipitate E, and the remainder will give the quantity
united to the soda.

12. To estimate the quantity of sulphate of lime in the
water, the residue of the evaporation of one pint may be
washed with cold saturated solution of sulphate of lime, which
will dissolve every thing but that sulphate, and which may thus
be obtained and weighed ; or, add oxalate of ammonia to a
given quantity of the boiled and filtered water, collect the pre-
cipitate, and dry it at a heat of 500°. One hundred grains
of this oxalate indicate 104 of dry sulphate of lime.

13. Such are the general components of mineral waters, and
the means of ascertaining their relative quantities. Let us sup-
pose the following results have been obtained, with a view to

226 Mr. Brands on the Analysis

illustrate the mode of drawing up the analysis. By the pro-
cess 5, twelve cubical inches of gas have been expelled during
the ebullition of a pint of water. The exposure to solution of
potassa has occasioned a diminution of eleven cubical inches,
which, it having been previously ascertained that no sulphu-
retted hydrogen was present, may be considered as carbonic
acid. The remaining gas thrown up into a tube, containing a
portion of phosphorus, and heated, suffers scarcely any dimi-
nution, and the phosphorus does not burn : hence it may be
regarded as nitrogen. The gaseous contents, therefore, of the
water under examination are, in the wine pint —

Carbonic acid II cubic inches.

Nitrogen , 1 ditto *.

If sulphuretted hydrogen be present, it is best to have re-
course to a separate operation to estimate its quantity : for this
purpose collect the gas as before, and throw up into it a small
quantity of alcoholic solution of iodine. The absorption de-
notes the quantity of the gas. (8).

14. The next step of the operation relates to the examina-
tion of the precipitate, which has been deposited during
ebullition, 9. A. Let us suppose the weight of oxalate of lime
to be 3 grains, of oxide of iron 1 .5 grain, and of magnesia I
grain, then the above data give

Grains.
Carbonate of lime 2.2

Carbonate of iron 2.4

Carbonate of magnesia . , . , 2.1

15. The alcoholic solution (10) may be diluted and tested by
oxalic acid for lime ; if absent, evaporate to dryness as di-
rected. Let us suppose the residue to be

Muriate of magnesia 5 grains.

* Of this nitrogen, a small portion will probably have been derived from
the air in the tube connecting the flask with, the pneumatic apparatus ; a
little practice soon enables the operator to ascertain when it has been ex-
pelled ; or it may be received entire, and afterwards deducted frora the
whole produce.

of Mineral Waters. 227

If the quantity of muriate of magnesia be considerable, greater
accuracy is ensured by converting it into sulphate, which is
done by placing it in a capsule of platinum, pouring upon it
sulphuric acid, evaporating to dryness, and heating the dry mass
to dull redness. One hundred grains of this dry sulphate of
magnesia indicate 94 of muriate of magnesia ; hence the water
under examination would have given 5.35 grains = 5 grains of
muriate.

If the alcoholic solution contain muriate of lime, that earth
must be previously separated by oxalic acid; and 100 parts of
oxalate of lime are equivalent to 85 of dry muriate of lime.

16. The aqueous solution of the residue (C 11) being divided
into two portions, let us suppose the portion (a 11) to afford 8.5
of chloride of silver, which indicates of sea salt 3.5 grains =: 7
grains in the pint.

17. Let us assume, that the precipitate of sulphate of baryta
{b 11.) weighs 15 grains, indicating of

Sulphuric acid 5.1 grains.

The process directed in 1 1 furnishes of

Sulphate of magnesia 3.75 grains,

which contain 2.5 grains of sulphuric acid, and which deducted
from 5.1 grains leave 2.6 grains, which are adequate to the for-
mation of

Sulphate of soda ..,,.. 4.65 grains.
So that the pint (the water having been divided into two equal
portions) would contain of

Sulphate of magnesia 3.75 x 2 = 7.5 grains.
Sulphate of soda .... 4.65 x 2 = 9.3 grains.

18. The addition of oxalate of ammonia, or oxalic acid, to
a pint of the boiled water (12) furnishes a precipitate of 4.7
grains of oxalate of lime, indicating of

Sulphate of lime 5 grains.

19. To give a general view, therefore, of the components of
the mineral water which has thus been examined, we should
place them as follows : —

228 Mr. Brande on the Analysis

One wine pint contains

Cubi(^ inches.

Carbonic acid 11

Nitrogen I

Gaseous contents 12

Grains.

Carbonate of lime 2.20

Carbonate of iron 2.40

Carbonate of magnesia 2.10

Muriate of magnesia 5.00

Sea salt 7.00

Sulphate of magnesia * 7.50

Sulphate of soda 9.30

Sulphate of lime 5.

Aggregate weight of solid contents. . 40.50

20. Besides the substances now enumerated, and which may be
considered as the most frequently occurring ingredients in mine-
ral waters, there are others occasionally present, of which the fol-
lowing is an enumeration,with the best methods of detecting them.

a Carbonate of soda is known to exist in water, when after
having been boiled down to half its bulk, and, if necessary, fil-
tered, it reddens tumeric paper, and restores the blue of lit-
mus reddened by vinegar ; it also affords an effervescent pre-
cipitate with nitrate of baryta, soluble in dilute nitric acid.
This carbonate is incompatible with the soluble salts of lime.

Muriate of lime may also be used to detect the alcaline car-
bonates, with which it affords a precipitate of carbonate of lime.
Carbonate of soda is distinguished from that of potassa, by the
latter affording a precipitate in neutral muriate of platinum,
which the former does not. Carbonate of ammonia is ob-
viously discoverable by its smell, when acted on by caustic
fixed alcali, or lime.

b Silica is detected by evaporating the water to dryness, and
boiling the residue in dilute muriatic acid. The silica, if pre-
sent, remains as a white powder not altered by a red
heat, but instantly fusing with a particle of carbonate of soda=

of Mineral Waters, 229

c Boracic acid and borax have been found in certain lakes in
India, and in some parts of Italy. To detect boracic acid, eva-
porate to one-eighth the original bulk of the water, and add car-
bonate of soda as long as it occasions any precipitate ; boil
and filter. The filtered liquor will contain borate of soda, with
some other salts of the same basis ; evaporate to dryness in a
platinum crucible, and digest the residue in three or four parts
of sulphuric acid, diluted with its bulk of water. If boracic
acid be present, it will separate in micaceous crystals.

d Alumina has been found in a few mineral waters in the state
of a sulphate. It may be separated by the following process :
Evaporate to dryness, digest in alcohol, and re-dissolve the
residue in eight parts of water ; filter and add oxalic acid,
which throws down lime, and which being separated, leaves
magnesia and alumina in solution. Carbonate of ammonia
throws down the alumina and leaves the magnesia.

Pure ammonia throws down both alumina and magnesia.
These earths may be separated by solution of potassa, which
dissolves the former but not the latter.

e Manganese is sometimes found in water, but only in very
small proportion, so as not to amount to more than a trace.
Dr. Scudamore found a trace of manganese in the waters of
Tunbridge Wells, and it has never been discovered in larger
proportion.

f It has been said that certain nitrates are occasionally present
in water, but such solutions can scarcely be called mineral
waters. If nitrate of lime be present, it will be taken up from
the residue of evaporation by alcohol, and may be decomposed
by carbonate of potassa, so as to afford carbonate of lime and
crystals of nitre.

g It sometimes happens that water contains lead, which may
be detected by evaporation to one-eighth its bulk, adding a
few drops of nitric acid, and then hydriodate of potassa, which
gives a yellow insoluble precipitate; and hydro-sulphuret of
ammonia, which forms a deep brown or black cloud. These
precipitates may be reduced by heating them before the blow-
pipe upon charcoal, mixed with a little black flux.

230 Properties of the Cotenarian Cvrve

h If vegetable or animal matter be contained in water, it gives
it a brown colour, especially when evaporated, It may be de-
stroyed in the dry residue by igniting it with a small addition of
nitrate of ammonia.

The following analyses of mineral waters may be advanta-
geously consulted by the student, as containing a variety of
useful details, which are necessarily omitted in the above obser-
vations.

1. Analysis of the Hot Springs at Bath, by Richard Phil-
lips, Esq.

2. Analysis of the Brighton Chalybeate, by Dr. Marcet.

3. Analysis of the Tunhridge Wells Waters, by Dr. Scuda-
inore.

4. The sixth chapter of Mr. Children's Translation of
Thenard's Essay on Chemical Analysis.

Art. II. On some Properties of the Catenarian Citrve
with reference to Bridges hy Suspension. In a Letter to the
"EinToiLfrom Davies Gilbert, Esq. F.R.S. and M.P.

Dear Sir,

Now that the properties of the Catenarian curve have ac-
quired real importance from the construction of bridges by
suspension, I flatter myself, that the following investigation will
not be considered as wholly undeserving of attention : —

It is needless to remark, that almost every general principle
of mechanics requires to be modified in its reduction to prac-
tice. Thus inertia and friction are omitted in the abstract theory
of machines. The difference of form between the bridge and its
suspending chain, and still more, perhaps, the weight of the links
or bars connecting them together, must sensibly alter the mathe-
matical form of the curve : yet, from the catenary alone, can
the real principle for constructing these bridges be derived ; and
they will probably be found not more remote from practical
cases than other general principles, and equally capable of
receiving all necessary corrections.

The elements of the Catenarian curve are given in most in-
troductory treatises on fluxions ; but to avoid the necessity of

with refer e7Ke to Bridges. 231

referring to some particular work, they may be stated in a
few lines.

Let a = a constant force, estimated in length of the chain,
which acts horizontally on A, the apex of the curve:
z =: the length of chain or periphery of the curve, between
its apex A, and the point of section, by any ordinate
EP.:
y r: the ordinate :
X r=: the absciss.

Now the curve being sustained in equilibrio by these
forces.
By the weight of the chain acting perpendicularly
downwards ;

By the force at A acting horizontally : and
By the suspension acting in the direction of the

curve at P.
These forces must be represented in magnitude and
direction, by the incremental triangle P r p — therefore

X : y: : z : a, consequently x"^ : y"^ : : z"^ : a'

a;' +2/' : oJ* :: a'+z": z*

But a* +2/* = z"^ in all curves ; therefore

2' : x« : : a'+z'' : 2" And i =: ,

N° 1. x— Va'+z^—a

Equation A

N° 2. z = V2aar+x^

z'^-x''
N03. a:= -^7-

Again,

^1 • • • ax

X \ y W z : a, consequently ax ~ zy '.' y =

z
substituting from Eq. A N° 2

ax

y =

V^ax-^x"" And

a +0:4-'^ 2 ax -fa:* a-hx-^z

y =:• a X A i. ~ = axhL. ~

C32 Properties of the Catenarian Curve

or by substituting its value for a from Equation A
N° 1, and dividing by z-^x.

Equation B ..,...?/ = a x /* L. ^ + ^

z—a

Thus far see Dr. Hutton. Vince. Mac Laurin, Sfc.

Now, it is obvious, as there are not any arbitrary quantities,
that all catenaries must agree in specie, differing in magnitude
alone ; and since two Equations only can be deduced from the
general properties of the curve, and there are four unknown
quantities, no one of them can be exhibited in terms of any
other, unless some new Equation is introduced ; as in the case
of a maximum or minimum, or of an assumed relation in
magnitude between either two of the four quantities.

The maximum, with reference to the subject of this inquiry,
will evidently take place, when the force of suspension at P
acquires a -rate of proportional increase equal to that of y, or

if b represent this force, when — i^ But 6^ = a- + z^ r:

h y

a^ + 2«x + a,-" Eq. A N° 2.

b =1 a-Yx '.' h T^ X And ^^ — consequently

a-\-x y

X \y : \ a-\-x : y But

X \ y ', '. z la' therefore

n-]-x _ ^ ^ z + a
y ^ax But y = axh L. — consequentlv

z z—a ^

rt ii /j^ 7 -4- '7*

-=1 h L, Or substituting for z from Equa. A N° 2

a-^x v2aa;4-^''+ar

zz:. h L. f- — and therefore

'^lax-Vx' ' \flax-\-x'—x

'^1ax-^x''-\-x

^^ax^x" X h L. -.x~az=:f^

^2ax-i-x'^—x

The expression may now be simplified by assuming a = I

Then V2x-{-x'' x h L. . ~ — ,r — 1 - From

^2x-^x''^x

with reference to Bridges, 233

whence, by approximations, it will be found, that
xr= 0.81 very nearly
a and x being now given, z will be found from Equation A,

and y from Equation B.
The four quantities and b will therefore stand

X =: 0.81 Log 9.9084850

a=: 1

y = 1.1995 Log 0.0790003

z = 1.5087 Log 0.1786029

6=1.81 Log 0.2576786

Angle of suspension 56°.28', as deduced through the
incremental triangle from a z and h.

By applying these deductions to a span of 560 feet, equal to
that of the proposed bridge across the Menai Strait,

a =z 233.4 Feet ^ Where all the quantities must be con-
«=r 189.1 Feet I sidered as feet of the suspending chains,
y = 280 Feet / augmented proportionally in weight by
z = 352.2 Feet the horizontal bridge, and by the media
b = 422.5 Feet J of suspension

It is obvious, from these values of x and y, that the curva-
ture is never likely in any practical instance to meet the theo-
retical maximum.

When X is small in comparison of z, a much easier method

may be used than that by approximation, and sufficiently near

to the truth.

z-\-x ,

y has been found equal Xjo ay,h L, but when

Z—'X

z-\-x
X is small in comparison of z, the k L. of will

2x
not differ much from — then

z

y =: 2a — but a == -^ — Equ. A N° 3

*^ z 2x ^

Z* '- X* X T?— X'

.V = 2 X —27- X 7" *•* 3^ = — — '''^^ = 2»- ^ ^

a^ — yzrz x"* By completing the square, S^c.
Vol. X. R

234 Properties of the Catenarian Curve

r= I y-^V-^f -\-x' By using this value for z""

m

a--- ^^ Equ. AN°3

zy

a z=z -^ And since 6^ = a^+z^

Now assign to x and y their respective values 25 and 280
feet, as they are given for the Menai Bridge ; the quantities
will then be found,
a =1580 Feet
Xt:= 25
y = 280
z = 282.2

b — 1605 or about 5.7 X by |^ the weight of the chains,
bridge, ^c. or three times their weight nearly.
The angle of suspension 10° 8'.

If X be now doubled, or x and y are taken in the proportion

of 50 to 280, the quantities will be,

a = 808

0;== 50

y = 280

z = 288.0

6 = 8^8

The angle of suspension 19° 39'.

In this case the values of a and 6, representing the strains

at the apex of the curve and at the point of suspension, are

very nearly one-half of the former. And from the equations

zy , , a/4F+w^ .

a s= ~ and b ^ z x — ^-- it appears, that a, and conse-

Zx Zx

quently 6, must increase or diminish in the reciprocal proportion

to x, as y is supposed constant, and z is found to differ, when x

is 25 or 50 by no more than a few feet. If these relations of

X and y are taken as the bases of calculation by the strict

form&, the results will remain substantially the same, and

this general conclusion may safely be deduced from the whole.

loith reference to Bridges, 235

That with reference to the strength and safety of suspended
hridgeSt «w all cases likely to occur in "practice, their points of
attachment cannot he too lofty, nor consequently the curvature of
the chains too great.

The greatest span of a catenary arch, capable of being
formed by iron or steel, on the supposition of these metals sup-
porting the utmost degree of tension theoretically assigned to
them, may be estimated in the following manner :

If the tenacity of iron be taken at 50,000 pounds for a
square inch, and the specific gravity of iron at 7.8, the modulus
of tenacity will be 14814 feet. Put this equal to b, in the
expression for a maximum, then y will be found =: 9817 feet,
and consequently the whole span or 2y = 19634 feet, about
3.7 miles, but then x z=. 6629 feet, or 1.25 miles.

Steel, being supposed to have three times the tenacity of iron,
will extend all their movements threefold.

When X and 5/ are equal to each other, they will be 1.16
very nearly, a being unity, and z r= 1.914.

If a =: unity, and x, y, and z are taken indefinitely great,
z = 1+x

y^hL, lH-2vf

Art. III. Observations respecting the Geography of Plants.

Addressed to the Editor of the Quarterly Journal of

Science, &c.
Sir, Bath, \^th August, 1820.

The accompanying Letter, in Schrader's Botanical Jour-
nal *, appears to me to contain rtiuch valuable information upon
the new and interesting branch of science to which it relates,

* Jahrbiicher cler Gcwachskunde. Herausgegebeo von K. Sprebgel,
A. H. Schradcr unci H, F. Link, Ersten Baudes, erstes Heft. 1818.

R2

236 Observations on Humboldt's Works

Two papers upon the subject are, indeed, to be found in the
Ajncenitates AcadeiniccBy entitled Stationes Plantar um and Colonio
Plantarwn. These may, perhaps, be attributed to Linnseus him-
self. They are merely slight sketches, which were never filled
up. The inquiry appears to have slept afterwards, and it is
only very lately that it has been revived by Humboldt, Brown,
Wahlenberg, Stromeyer, Ramond, Decandolle, Engelhardt and
P arot, ^c. ^c. The principal writer, however, upon this subject,
is M. Humboldt, the celebrated traveller. The varied and ex-
tensive information of this philosopher is well known, and justly
appreciated ; but the extreme vivacity and brilliancy of his ima-
gination, and the propensity to generalize, which he manifests
upon all occasions, are too conspicuous, not to excite our doubts
respecting the accuracy of some of his conclusions. How far
we are justified in this, the following critical and illustrative re-
marks will shew.

I am, Sir, yours, ^-c. ^c,

J. F. D.

Observations upon two Works of A. de Humboldt, concerning the
Geography of Plants. In a Letter to A. H. Schrader.

At a period, when particular observations upon the distribu-
tion of plants have become so abundant, that the geography of
plants, from an insignificant number of scattered remarks, has
raised itself to an independent science, every new contribution
certainly merits the greatest attention. Permit me, therefore, to
communicate to you a few remarks upon two treatises which
have lately appeared upon this subject, by M. de Humboldt.
Should the interesting nature of the subject, and the desire which
I have frankly to lay before you my opinion thereon, give too
great an extent to this letter, I earnestly crave your indulgence.

The treatises alluded to are the following :

1. Alexander de Humboldt de distributione geographicd Plan-
tarum secundum cceli temperiem et altitudinem montium. As
the Prolegomena to the work : Nova genera et species plan-
tarum quas in peregrinatione collegerunt, descripsenmt et par-
tim adumbraverunt Bonpland et Humboldt; e schedis Bonplandi
in ordinem digessit Kunth. Tomus 1. Lutetice, 1815.

on the Geography/ of Plants. 237

2. Ejusdem sur les lots que Von observe dans la distribution des
formes Vcge tales. Paris, 1816.

Read in the Institute of France, 29th January 1816.

In the treatise which I have marked No. 1., the Author con-
siders chiefly the following objects : — 1 . The whole number of
hitherto known plants, and their distribution in the different
parts of the world. 2. The distribution, in regard to climate,
of some of the most important families. 3. The distinction be-
tween the social and solitary occurrence of plants. 4. Whether
the same plants are found in both great continents, and to what
extent. 5. The comparison of temperature in the old and new
worlds in different latitudes. 6. The influence of altitude upon
vegetation in the different zones; and lastly (7), he gives us an
essay on the determination of the climate that is best adapted
to any of the most important cultivated plants ; and in tlie work
itself, to which No. 1. forms the introduction, the families are
generally followed by a geographical view of the same. The
treatise which I have marked No. 2. cannot properly be con-
sidered as any thing more than an abridgment of No. 1. But,
before I enter upon the proposed examination, I wish to offer a
few observations upon what the author says, in a note p. xii.,
upon the science of the geography of plants.

If he, by the following: " Geographia plantarujn vincula et
cognationem tradit, quibus omnia vegetabilia inter se comiega
sintf terrcB tractus quos teneant, in ajtrem atmospkcericum quce sit
eorum vis ostendit, saxa atque rupes quibus potissimum algarum
primordits radicibusque destruanfur docet, et quo pacto in telluris
tuperficie humus nascatur, commemorat*/' intends to give a defi-
nition of the geography of plants, one cannot by any means ap-
prove of this view of the subject ; because, being merely an
enumeration of the chief points which constitute the science,
no advantage is gained by it. The examination of the natural
affinities between plants, or, in other words, the natural ar-

» This is taken literally from his earlier work, entitled Specimen Flone
Fribergensis. Beroiiui* 1793. p. Ix. Note.

^^8 Observatiom on Humboldt's Works

rangenient of plants, belongs to the philosophy of botany; and
cannot be treated of in the geography of plants, unless a most
arbitrary extension be given to the latter phrase, entirely at va-
riance with the meaning of the words, and every idea hitherto
associated with them. So little, likewise, can the influence of
vegetables upon atmospheric air be an object of this science,
that it, on the contrary, belongs to the province of physics ; or,
if it must be treated of in the science of botany, it is certainly a
part of the physiology of vegetables. The inquiry also respect-
ing those plants to which the disintegration of different species
of rocks is owing, belongs principally to mineralogy. The same
may be remarked of the question as to what plants are chiefly
concerned in the production of vegetable mould. Of the five
points, then, here given by the author, the second only belongs
to tlie geography of plants. But this does not include every
thing that belongs to the science. That the author should give
such a definition of the geography of plants, in the year 1793,
was not very blamcable considering the state of the science at
that period ; but that he should at this time repeat it, when
Professor Stromeyer* has so fully and satisfactorily established
the objects, of this branch of science, and when so much has been
done in it by that gentleman and others, is so much the more
surprising, as there is a striking difference between his own
Essay and the present Treatise, in this respect f.

On the other hand, the distinction which the author has made
between the Geography and the History of Plants, merits
entire commendation ; and is so natural, that one cannot but
justly wonder why it has not been retained by himself, and by
another writer subsequent to him. M. Humboldt, in his Essay,
includes both sciences under the title Geography of Plants;
but the subjects enumerated at p. xiv. belong to the geography,
and those at p. xix.— xxii., to the history, of plants. Wildenow:^

- * Commentatio inauguralis sistens historiae vegetabilium g-eographicae
specimen.— Gottingae, 1800.

t Essai sur la G6ographie des Plantes et tableau physique des regions
eqnatoriales.— Another preceding work of the author. T.

X Grundriss dor Kraiiterkundc. 7. Abtheilung.

on the Geographic of Plants, ^S9

comprehends both under the denomination History of Plants.
M. Stromeyer denominates both, Geoguaphical History op
Plants, by which the confusion is not obviated. However, he
has himself felt the necessity of a division, for the objects enu-
merated at p. xiv., under No. 1. 2. and 3., belong, the first, to
the geography, and the two last, to the history, of plants. This
perception, also, occasioned him to divide his arrangement into
two principal sections.

In my opinion, the Geography of Plants, is that science
which teaches us to know the Appearance, Dissemination,
AND Distribution of Plants, as these exist at present
WITH A due consideration of other matters connected
with tiiem. It considers the different habitats of plants, and
the distinction between those kinds which are social and those
which are solitary, as well as between such as are plentiful and
such as are rare; which is perhaps sufficiently expressed by the
word (vorkommen) occurrence. It determines the extent of dis-
tricts over which the plants are spread ; and the laws according
to which not merely the whole vegetable world, but likewise par-
ticiflar families and genera, are distributed in respect to geogra-
phical longitude and latitude, altitude, &c. It borrows from
physics and physiology the laws, according to which external
circumstances, as soil, temperature, moisture, c^c, act upon
vegetables, for the purpose of comparison with those by which
the geographical distribution, Sfc, are governed. We may also
compose an Q^conomical Geography of Plants, founded
on the results of scientific researches in civil occupations,
particularly in agriculture, gardening, and forest-culture.
(Forstwesen.)

The History of Plants, on the other hand, teaches us the
l.AWS, THE Varieties and the Decay of their Organi-
zation. This science, also, resolves the questions, When,
where, and how were vegetables first produced ? To what ex-
tent are we justified in admitting the transportation cf plants?
Have old species disappeared, and new ones been produced? Is
it possible that one species, through the influence of external

240 Observations on Humboldt's Works

.causes, or through hybrid generation, can be converted into
another ? S^c. Sfc.

This distinction appears to me the more natural and proper,
because the geography of plants is founded wholly upon obser-
vation ; whereas a part of the history of plants rests upon hypo-
thesis. We may then certainly regard, as separate branches of
science, the geography, the geognosy, and the oeconomical his-
tory, of plants.

1, Number of known Plants, and their distribution

IN THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WoRLD. (p. vii. xi.)

The author mentions 38,000 as the full number of* phanero-
gamous plants known in catalogues and herbaria.

It does not appear to me, by any means proper to refer to
herbaria in calculations of this sort ; since no person can have
the opportunity of seeing every collection of plants, and con-
sequently such calculation cannot be accurate. This actually
appears to be the case with the reckoning of the author ; of the
supposed 13,000 plants of South America, he takes 4,500, or if
we include those discovered by himself, 7,500 as the number
known in catalogues (Schriften), the remaining 8,500 or 5,500,
are then to be met with, only in herbaria. To the torrid zone of
Asia, he assigns, on the contrary, only 4,500; but since quite as
many belonging to this district are already to be found in cata-
logues, the author scarcely appears to have brought those which
are in herbaria, into calculation. But he has enjoyed oppor-
tunities of seeing plants collected in this portion of the globe, as
well as in America, and ought therefore, to have allotted a much
larger number to the torrid zone of Asia. If we were to regard
only those plants, which have been made known through cata-
logues, the highest number we could admit, would be 30,000,
for Persoon's Synopsis contains only 21,000 ; but take into con-
sideration all the herbaria, and the number 38,000 is certainly
too small.

But in my opinion, much more weighty objections may yet be

* Plants possessing visible stamens and pistils, or visible organs of
fructification.— T.

on the Geography of Plants, 241

made to the author's calculation. He distributes at p. xi., hit
38,000 phanerogamous plants after the following manner :

Europe 7,000

Asia, temperate zone ♦ 1,600

Asia, torrid zone 4,500

Africa, 3,000

The two temperate zones of America 4,000

The torrid zone of America 1 3,000

New Holland and the Islands of the South Sea 5,000

38,000
Since it is only through the addition of these numbers, that
the sum of 38,000 is obtained, a question arises, where the au-
thor has placed those plants which are common to several parts
of the world ; especially a great number which are common to
Europe and the northern part of Asia, and also to Europe and
the northern part of Africa. From a more exact examination
it would appear that only the most common are comprised in
the number of European plants ; whence it arises, that the tem-
perate zone of Asia has no more than 1,500 plants, although
Bribustein's Flora Taurico Caucasica, for a small part only
of the same, enumerates 2,000 plants ; and Africa receives only
3,000, notwithstanding the Flora of the Cape, contains nearly
as many*, and that of Algiers, according to the author's estimate,
p. X., contains 1,600. It is in any person's power easily to de-
monstrate the defects of this kind of calculation.

The author asserts, p. ix., that South America possesses only
one quarter of the plants belonging to the torrid zone; without,
however, adducing the evidence upon which the assertion is
founded, for he does not actually prove that South America
comprises about one quarter of the area of the whole torrid
Zone.

2. Geographical Distribution of the Families of
Plants, p. xii. — xx.

The author commences with the remark, that writers upon the

• Thunberg's Frodomus Flora; Capensis contains about 2,600 plants.

S42 Observations on Humboldt's Wo7-ks

geography of plants, have hitherto neglected the geographical
distribution of families. If he hereby means only the general
distribution, upon the whole surface of the earth, we must agree
with him; but, concerning the relative proportion of the families
of plants in particular countries, Dr. Wahlenberg, in his three
principal works*, has presented us with much valuable in-
formation.

According to my conviction, there are too few materials at
present, to enable us to establish the laws of this distribution
with accuracy, certainty and perfection. Since, however, the
subject is of so great interest, every attempt to fix them even
provisionally, certainly deserves the warmest support; but here-
in we must proceed with the greatest attention and caution, I
propose to go through the chief points, which in my opinion
should be taken into consideration, and, with the permission of
M. Humboldt, notice at the same time, how far they have been
observed by him.

In the present state of the science there are two methods, by
which the laws of distribution for different geographical lati-
tudes, or to speak more precisely, different climates, may be
investigated. We should either divide the surface of the earth
into certain zones, ascertain which of the known plants are
found in each zone, and then compare the different zones with
each other ; or we should first take some Floras of countries in
different climates, compare the plants which are found in those
countries, and draw conclusions from these with respect to the
distribution of plants in general. Of these two methods the
Author has chosen the last ; we do indeed find inscribed [upon
the heads of the table (No. 1., p. xviii.) Equatorial Zone,
Tempekate Zone, and Polar Zone, but in the calculations
prefixed to this table, he remarks that the computed distribution
of the equatorial plants is derived only from those found by
Humboldt and Bonplandtf, and the distribution in the polar

* Flora Lapponica. Tentamen de climate et vegetatioue Helvetiae Sep-
tcntrionalis.— Hora Carpathorum.
t In fact, aa we shall sec presently, only from a part of tlie same.

on the Geography of Plants, 243

zone only according to the proportion of the families of plants
in Lapland. In respect to the temperate zone, it cannot
clearly be shewn, how the author has produced the numbers
given for the same. As he had before exhibited the families in
Germany, France and North America, we could wish that the
numbers were the mean of the proportions of these countries ;
but as he gives in the superscription to the corresponding head
of the table a mean temperature of 10 — 14°, this cannot be the
case ; for to the northern part of Germany he ascribes a mean
temperature of only 8°. 5, to the southern part of France 16°. 7,
and in North America, according to him, the northern and
southern parts present a mean temperature of 18. (p. x.) It
were to be wished that the author had given the particulars of
his calculation here ; for no one can suppose that the numbers
were taken at hazard. In any case the proportion is not esti-
mated from all the plants of a temperate zone.

But this method has two very obvious defects. The first is
this : the countries in question not being contiguous to each
other, we remain wholly uninformed, as to the proportions
of plants in the intermediate countries. I suspect that this
circumstance has occasioned the singular and contradictory
results in respect to the Ferns. In the treatise. No. 2, the author
says that the ferns as well as the Glumaceae, Amentacea?, and
some other families, increase from the poles toward the equator.
But as this conclusion stands in opposition to what has hitherto
been admitted in respect to the geographical distribution of these
plants, it is surprising that the author does not give in the table