which Monf. Loriot cannot as yet take upon him to affirm, that this cement of his may be made fubfervient fo far as to fupply the place of plafter, clay, and other lefs folid fubftances, liable to fhrink or fwell. It is, however, already paft doubt, that the cement is very proper to obtain the hollow moulds of fuch figures as we would wish to copy; and Monf. Loriot hopes that, with the advice and affistance of the famous artists of our capital, he fhall, fome day or other, be able to contribute fomething, on his fide, to the fervice of the art which they fo affiduously cultivate. In the mean time, he will always be ready to answer anyletters addreffed to him concerning the poffibility or proba bility of applying his cement to any other purposes. SIR, New Method of raifing early Potatoes. Your humble fervant, Copy of a Letter from Mr. Kirk, of Wilderfpool, near Manchefter, to Thomas Butterworth Bayley, Efq. of Hope, F. R. S. Wilderfpool, Jan. 15, 1775. "IN pursuance of your request, I now fend you an account of a new method of raifing early potatoes, and doubt not that it will anfwer wherever it is fairly tried. On the 2d of January, 1772, I made a hot-bed for the forward fort of potatoes, and on the 7th put in the fets, placing a glass and frame over them, and taking every precaution to defend them from the froft. Of thefe fmall potatoes, or fets, there remained about forty in a basket, which was accidentally hung up in a warm kitchen, and there remained unnoticed till about the 25th of April. I then accidentally obferved the basket, and, perceiving fomething green on the edge of it, took it down, and, to my great furprife, found that the potatoes had fprouted half a yard in length, and that there was a great number of very small potatoes formed on the fibrous roots which had grown out. I took them into my garden, and planted them in a rich fandy foil, without any manure. The roots i put into the ground three inches deep, and laid down the ftems that had sprouted horizontally, and covered them with two inches of foil, but left the tops uncovered. Without farther attention they grew furpri fingly. On the 26th of May, I took up the roots planted in the hotbed on the 7th of January. They by no means answered my expectations, or paid for the trouble of their culture; but, at the fame time, I was aftonished to find the others, which were put into the ground fo lately, to have produced larger potatoes than the roots in the hot-bed. I took up all the roots and picked off the large potatoes from them (which amounted from four to twelve on each root) and then fet the roots again on the fame ground. ground. This, indeed, I have fuccefsfully practifed for many years, fometimes even twice, and have had a good third crop at Michaelmas. When this method is tried, the roots must be watered on the evenings of hot days. "In January, 1773, in order to make a fecond trial of this ex · periment with a large quantity, I placed a great many potatoes, of the early forts, on a thick layer of gravelly foil, clofe to each other, the potatoes being the largest of the Your humble fervant, Extraordinary Recovery from Suffocation. Tranflated from the Me. moirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris. N the 28th of last November, over an oven flated over, butter, ON to the fouth-weft, and covered them two inches deep with the fame earth. "At the end of April I took them up, and found the items about a foot long or more. For fear of injuring the fine and deiicate fibres of the roots, I took great care in taking them up, and planting them in the foil. This I now manured, but, in all other refpects, treated them in the manner above described, many of the fibrous roots having then potatoes formed upon them nearly as large as walnuts. For a week the plants came on furprisingly, when, by one fharp night's uncommon froit, they were nearly destroyed. However, notwithstanding this, fresh ftems grew up in a few days, and I actually gathered from them, on the 3d of June following, finer potatoes than were fold at that time at Manchefter from Is. to Is. 6d. per pound, being the produce of hot-beds. "After taking off the larger potatoes, I again planted the roots for a fecond crop, and, in September, obtained a very large produce. I weighed the increase of many feparate roots, which amounted from four pounds eight ounces to fourteen pounds twelve ounces, about fix o'clock in the evening, the Abbé Bricquet de la Vaux, a priest of the community of St. James's, was defirous of bathing in a bath warmed by means of a cylinder, with a charcoal fire. Scarcely had he plunged in before he loft his fenfes. Not a foui was in the chamber; but, as the Sieur Royer (the fon of the king of Spain's first furgeon) and myself were in an adjoining apartment, we heard, as it were, the groans of a dying perfon. We haftened to the bath, where we found the Abbé totally infenfible, with his head hanging over the fide of the bath.-Affilted by fome neighbours, who had by this time entered the apartment, we lifted his body out of the water, and conveyed it to a fpacious chamber, where there was a prodigious current of air. In endeavouring to expedite the bufinefs we ftruck the body against a glass-door, whereby the Abbé's arm was cut in two places. This, however, occafioned not the fmalleft fign of fenfation; on the contrary, the Abbé was, to all appearance, quite deprived of life; his face fwelled to an immoderate fize, and reddened remarkably; his eyes were fixed in an unmeaning ftare, and his body was infufferably hot. In trying to 14 recover recover him, we pursued the method laid down by the Sieur Portal in the Royal Academy. We ftretched the body on the ground, and opened the windows to let in a greater draught of air. There was a brifk cold wind; yet, agreeable to the directions, we fluiced the body with cold water. In a little time, the Abbé foamed at the mouth; the muscles of his face and eyes began to move, though with irregular convulfive motions; his eye-balls rolled in their fockets, and his lips, by contraction, came in close contact with each other. We feized this opportunity to pour vinegar down his throat, and to apply it to his nose. On the very first application, it had a wonderful effect, for it enabled him almoft inftantaneously to draw his breath. In a little time he could articulate, and, in a dejected tone of voice, cried out, "I am expiring!" We then attempted to give him more vinegar, but his throat was to violently convulfed that he could not fwallow: however, the little he did get down, with the efforts we made, proved fo extremely falutary, that, in a very fhort time, he recovered the perfect ufe of his fenfes. On inquiry, we found that he did not recollect a fyllable of what had paffed; that he remembered nothing of his having plunged into the bath; that he had not perceived any effects from the charcoal vapour; that he had felt nothing of the cuts he had received in his arm by the glafs, nor of the fluicing he underwent with the cold water; but that he had returned to life as if awakened from fleep, with a total oblivifcence of every paft tranfaction. A violent head-ach, for about half an hour, as if it had been occafioned by the too tight preffure of a bandage, was all the inconvenience he experienced, and he now is in as perfect a ftate of fanity as if nothing had happened. (Signed) BANAU, M. D. ANTIQUITIE S. State of Learning among the AngloSaxons. From Mr. Warton's Hiftory of English Poetry. T HE Anglo-Saxons were con verted to Christianity about the year 570. In confequence of this event, they foon acquired civility and learning. Hence they neceffarily established a communication with Rome, and acquired a familiarity with the Latin language. During this period, it was the prevailing practice among the Saxons, not only of the clergy, but of the better fort of laity, to make a voyage to Rome. It is natural to imagine with what ardour the new converts vifited the Holy See, which, at the fame time, was fortunately the capital of literature. While they gratified their devotion, undefignedly and imperceptibly they became acquainted with ufeful science. In return, Rome fent her emif. faries into Britain. Theodore, a monk of Rome, originally a Greek priest, a native of Tarfus in Cilicia, was confecrated archbishop of Canterbury, and fent into England by Pope Vitellian in the year 688. He was skilled in the metrical art, aftronomy, arithmetic, church mufic, and the Greek and Latin languages. The new prelate brought with him a large library, as it was called and esteemed, confifting of numerous Greek and Latin authors; among which were Homer in a large volume, written on paper with the most exquifite elegance, the homilies of Saint Chryfoftom on parchment, the psalter, and Jofephus's Hypomnefticon, all in Greek. Theodore was accompanied into England by Adrian, a Neapolitan monk, and a native of Africa, who was equally skilled in facred and profane learning, and, at the fame time, appointed by the Pope to the abbacy of Saint Austin's at Canterbury. Bede informs us, that Adrian requested Pope Vitellian to confer the archbishopric on Theodore, and that the Pope confented on condition that Adrian," who "had been twice in France, and,on "that account, was better ac"quainted with the nature and "difficulties of fo long a journey," would conduct Theodore into Britain. They were both escorted to the city of Canterbury by Benedict Bifcop, a native of Northumberland, and a monk, who had formerly been acquainted with them in a vifit which he made to Rome. Benedict feems, at this time, to have been one of the moft diftinguifhed of the Saxon ecclefiaftics: availing himself of the arrival of thefe two learned ftrangers, under their direction and affiftance, he pro cured cured workmen from France, and built the monaftery of Weremouth in Northumberland. The church he constructed of stone, after the manner of the Roman architecture; and adorned its walls and roof with pictures, which he purchased at Rome, reprefenting, among other facred fubjects, the Virgin Mary, the Twelve Apostles, the Evange lical History, and the Vifions of the Apocalypfe. The windows were glazed by artists brought from France. But I mention this foundation to introduce an anecdote much to our purpose. Benedict added to his monaftery an ample library, which he stored with Greek and Latin volumes, imported by himfelf from Italy. Bede has thought it a matter worthy to be recorded, that Ceolfrid, his fucceffor in the government of Weremouth abbey, augmented this collection with three volumes of pandects, and a book of cofmography wonderfully enriched with curious workmanship, and bought at Rome. The example of the pious Benedict was immediately followed by Acca, bishop of Hexam, in the fame province; who having finished his cathedral church by the help of architects, mafons, and glaziers hired in Italy, adorned it, according to Leland, with a valuable library of Greek and Latin authors. Bede, Acca's cotemporary, relates, that this library was entirely compofed of the hiftories of thote apoitles and martyrs to whofe relics he had dedicated feveral altars in his church, and other ecclefiaftical trea. tifes, which he had collected with infinite labour. Bede, however, calls it a moft copious and noble library. Nor is it foreign to our purpose to add, that Acca invited from Kent But into Northumberland, and retained in his fervice, during the space of twelve years, a celebrated chantor, named Maban; by the affistance of whofe inftructions and fuperintendance he not only regulated the church mufic of his diocefe, but introduced the ufe ofmany Latinhymns hitherto unknown in the northern churches of England. It appears, that before the arrival of Theodore and Adrian, celebrated schools for educating youth in the sciences had been long established in Kent. Literature, however, feems, at this period, to have flourished with equal reputation at the other extremity of the island, and even in our most northern provinces. Ecbert, ishop of York, founded a library in his cathedral, which, like fome of thofe already mentioned, is faid to have been replenished with a variety of Latin and Greek books. Alcuine, whom Ecbert appointed his first librarian, hints at this library in a Latin epistle to Charlemagne, "Send me from "France fome learned treatifes, of "equal excellence with those which "I preferve here in England un"der my cuftody, collected by the industry of my mafter Ecbert; " and I will fend to you fome of "my youths, who fhall carry with "them the flowers of Britain into "France. So that there shall not "only be an inclosed garden at "York, but also at Tours some "fprouts of Paradife," &c. William of Malmesbury judged this library to be of sufficient importance, not only to be mentioned in his hiftory, but to be styled, Omnium liberalium artium armarium, nobiliffimam bibliothecam. This repofitory remained till the reign of King Stephen, when it was deftroyed by |