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weight of the cable when suddenly put in motion by the rocket; two other rockets, of a middle size, with smaller ropes, were then fired, both of which succeeded in carrying the ropes to the opposite shore, where the anchor fixed so securely in the mud, that, on an experiment being made to move the anchor by a number of men pulling on the rope, the anchor held firm, and the rope broke.-This invention of Sir William Congreve does him great credit, and there is every reason to believe and hope that it will prove of essential service in case of shipwreck, and may be the means of preserving many valuable lives, as well as facilitating military operations in a country much intersected with rivers.

Moonshine.-Hitherto there has been no evidence of the thermometer acquiring warmth from the rays of the moon, though collected in the focus of a burning mirror, and calculations have been made to prove that they do not excite any. Dr. Howard of the United States, maintains, however, that those calculations and experiments are inaccurate. With a thermometer of his own construction, which he calls Differential, he has had proofs of the rays of a full moon, received on a concave mirror, a foot in diameter, raising the fluid eight degrees.

British Academy at Rome.-His Majesty, ever seizing with avidity all opportunities which offer for promoting the arts and literature, has presented 200 guineas towards the plan for establishing the British Academy at Rome.

Enormous Magnet.-Professor Patterson of Philadelphia has exhibited to his class an artificial magnet, of the horse-shoe form, which supported the enormous weight of 162lbs. Its own weight is 32lbs. This is said to be the most powerful magnet known. It was prepared under the direction of Mr. Lukens, of that city, who has discovered a method of touching which is much superior to that used in Europe. The large magnet will therefore in future be found among the curiosities in the Philadelphia Museum.

Edinburgh Wernerian Society.-A very able scientific essay on different modes of applying the power of the steam-engine towards impelling vessels through the water, has been read at the meeting of the Society. The advantages, the different construction, and the application of the paddle or wheel to this purpose, were detailed at considerable length, and were followed by statements of several other ingenious contrivances; such as a spiral worm working in a cylinder, which receives the water at the bow, and expels it at the stern; series of horizontal pumps, &c. &c.-Professor Jamieson read an article on the natural ferocity of beasts of prey; combating the notion that the same species of animal was naturally more savage in one part of the world than in another; and attributing the apparent difference to the knowledge which the animals may have obtained by experience of the power of man. He gave several instances in corroboration of the position; stating, that the authors who have affirmed the contrary, have drawn their facts from the habits of those animals which have existed in the neighbourhood of civilized human beings; and have thus apparently assumed the effect of locality as an original difference of disposition. The horn of a rhinoceros found in Scotland was then produced; it was rather more than two feet in length, slightly curved, of very great weight, and of large circumference at the base. It was a very interesting subject for reflection, as well as an object of admiration. A stuffed specimen, and also a

skeleton, of the Dugong, was then shewn to the Society. This animal is of the whale tribe, inhabiting the seas about Java. It wants the blow-hole of the whale. The anterior part of the skeleton has much resemblance to that of quadrupeds. The head exhibited many peculiarities, amongst which the teeth were the most remarkable: besides incisores and molares, there was an intermediate range distant from the others, of what might be called canine, were they not too numerous to make that designation correct; there were three of them on each side of the jaw; they are supposed to discharge the first functions of the molares, that is, of dividing previous to grinding. The molares were round and flat, the distinctive characteristics of animals not carnivorous. The stuffed specimen might be about three and a half feet long. This animal has large mammæ in the anterior part of the body. It frequently raises itself out of the water; and its round face, together with the mammæ, have given rise to the fable of the mermaid. A living ichneumon was let loose upon the Society, which caused no small disturbance, by running about amongst the legs of those present.

Magnetism.-M. Hanstæn, of Christiana, has made some remarkable discoveries with respect to the magnetism of the globe, by means of a small oscillating instrument, consisting of a magnetic steel cylinder, suspended by a very fine silken thread, and enclosed in a glass tube. The principal of these discoveries is, that the intensity of the earth's magnetism is subject to daily variation; that it decreases from the early hours of the morning until about ten or eleven o'clock, which is the period of its minimum; that it then increases until about four in the afternoon, and during summer until six or seven in the evening; that it again decreases during the night, and returns to its maximum about three o'clock in the morning.

Hydraulic Orrery.-Mr. Busby has recently opened an exhibition of an invention of his, the Hydraulic Orrery, which has excited considerable attention among the lovers of astronomy and of general science. The object of Mr. Busby's invention is not only to shew the various positions of the heavenly bodies at the different periods of their revolutions, but to produce a self-acting machine, that should imitate those silently gliding and harmonious movements which characterize the planetary revolutions. To effect these points, Mr. Busby has provided a circular reservoir, five feet in diameter, in the centre of which a floating vessel bears the sun, elevated considerably from the surface of the fluid; this vessel is made to revolve by the re-active impulse of water discharged in a minute lateral stream from a siphon. The earth and moon are also borne at equal elevations by floating vessels, and are similarly moved, excepting only the introduction of such mechanical modifications as were necessary to produce the parallelism of the earth's axis, and the changing modes of the moon's orbit. The whole apparatus ultimately performs the annual orbit by means of a larger re-acting siphon, which carries off the water previously used to effect the other imovements. This apparatus, which is situated in the centre of the room, is purposely confined to the elucidation of the motions of the three bodies most interesting to us, viz. the sun, the earth, and the moon; but another machine, which equally deserves notice, imitates, in silent but perpetual harmony, the motions of Jupiter and his satellites. This is also a floating apparatus; but the most curious circumstances attending it are, that the whole is moved by a stream of rarefied air,

produced by one small lamp, and that this lamp is so contrived as to impart a rotatory motion over a surface of water three feet in diameter, which being communicated to four floating rings, bearing the satellites, they are made to revolve at their proper distances about the primary, and with velocities regularly diminishing, as in nature, and doubtless from similar mechanism. This invention has been honoured with a gold medal from the Society of Arts, and with a testimonial from some leading scientific characters, among whom are Drs. Hutton, Gregory, and Kelly, and Messrs. Throughton, and T. and F. Bramah.

Improved Velocipede.-An ingenious labouring mechanic, named Henry Geering, travelled a short time since from Newark to Stamford on an improved velocipede, manufactured by himself, at the expense of about £11. He calls it a "mechanical horse." It differs from the fanciful things which excited so much notice a year or two ago, inasmuch as the rider on Geering's piece of mechanism does not depend on his legs and feet for making way, but places the latter in stirrups at the end of an axis provided for giving direction to two side-wheels, which wheels support the carriage, and keep it upright. A third wheel, towards the hinder end of the frame of the carriage, is turned with leather straps, on the principle of a lathe, and the power is communicated to these by a windlass placed conveniently in front of the rider, who turns it with both hands, and makes progress in proportion to his activity and force in so turning. Geering himself travelled at an average rate of seven miles an hour: progress up hill is of course attended with more labour.

Diving Bell.-A diving bell, under the direction of a submarine adventurer, called Crusoe, has been lately shipped from London to Holland to recover the cargo of a frigate sunk there 22 years ago. The frigate Lutine is stated to have 22 brass guns on board, £30,000 in gold, 32 casks of gold in bars, and 32 casks of silver in bars. The vessel lays in 30 feet at high water, which being very clear, the most sanguine expectations are formed of their saving the whole of the property. One of the casks of gold bars was lately raised to the water's edge, but from the bursting of the hoops, only one bar was saved, which weighed seven pounds and a half.

Petrifaction Ponds.-The following is a description of the Petrifaction Ponds at Shirameen, (a village near the Lake of Ourmia in Persia,) which produce the transparent stone known by the name of Tabriz marble.-This natural curiosity consists of certain extraordinary pools or plashes, whose indolent waters, by a slow and regular process, stagnate, concrete, and petrify, and produce that beautiful transparent stone, commonly called Tabriz marble, which is so remarkable in most of the burial-places in Persia, and which forms a chief ornament in all buildings of note throughout the country. These ponds, which are situated close to one another, are contained in the circumference of about half a mile, and their position is marked by confused heaps and mounds of the stone, which have accumulated as the excavations have increased. On approaching the spot, the ground has a hollow sound, with a particularly dreary and calcined appearance, and when upon it, a strong mineral smell arises from the ponds. The process of petrifaction is to be traced from its first beginning to its termination. In one part, the water is clear; in a second, it appears thicker and stagnant; in a third, quite black; and in its last stage it is white like a hoar frost. Indeed, a petrified pond

looks like frozen water, and, before the operation is quite finished, a stone slightly thrown upon it breaks the outer coating, and causes the black water underneath to exude. Where the operation is complete, a stone makes no impression, and a man may walk on it without wetting his shoes. Wherever the petrifaction has been hewn into, the curious progress of the concretion is clearly seen, and shews itself like sheets of rough paper placed one over the other in accumulated layers. Such is the constant tendency of this water to become stone, that where it exudes from the ground in bubbles, the petrifaction assumes a globular shape, as if the bubbles of a spring, by a stroke of magic, had been arrested in their play, and metamorphosed into marble. The substance thus produced is brittle, transparent, and sometimes most richly streaked with green, red, and copper-coloured veins. It admits of being cut into immense slabs, and takes a good polish. The present royal family of Persia, whose princes do not spend large sums in the construction of public buildings, have not carried away much of the stone; but some immense slabs which were cut by Nadir Shah, and now lie neglected amongst innumerable fragments, shew the objects which he had in view. So much is this stone looked upon as an article of luxury, that none but the king, his sons, and persons privileged by special firman, are permitted to excavate; and such is the ascendancy of pride over avarice, that the scheme of farming it to the highest bidder docs not scem to have ever come within the calculations of its present possessor.

LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

AGRICULTURE.

The Art of valuing Rents and Tillages, &c. By J. S. Bayldon. 8vo. 7s.

ANTIQUITIES AND TOPOGRAPHY.

The History and Antiquities of the Abbey Church of St. Peter, Westminster. By J. P. Neale and E. W. Brayley. 2 Vols. Royal 4to. £10. 10s.

The Antiquities of Freemasonry, comprising Illustrations of the Five Grand Periods of Masonry. By George Oliver. 8vo. 12s.

BIOGRAPHY.

Memoirs of the Life and Works of Sir Christopher Wren. By J. Elmes, architect. 4to. £3. 3s.

Lives of Learned and Eminent Men, taken from authentic sources, adapted to the use of Children of four years old and upward. 2 Vols. 18mo. 5s.

The Annual Biography and Obituary for the year 1822, containing Memoirs of the celebrated Men who have died in 1821-2. 8vo. 15s. Three Years' Adventures of a Minor in England, Africa, the West Indies, South Carolina, and Georgia. By William Butterworth, engraver. Post 8vo. 9s.

A Narrative of the Life and Travels of Serjeant Bthe Royals. Written by himself. 12mo. 5s.

late of

EDUCATION.

A History of England, from the first Invasion by the Romans to the End of the Reign of George the Third, with Conversations at the end of each Chapter, for the use of young Persons. By Mrs. Markham. 2 Vols. 12mo. 16s.

The School for Sisters, or the Lesson of Experience. 12mo. 6s. Hume and Smollet's Histories of England abridged, and continued to the Coronation of George IV. With 140 Engravings, after pictures of the great Painters of the British school. By John Robinson, D.D. 9s. bound.

Collectanea Latina, or Select Extracts from Latin Authors. By Thomas Quin. 5s.

FINE ARTS.

The Third Part (completing the work) of the Italian School of Design. By William Young Ottley, Esq. Colombier folio, 7} guineas; proofs, 10 guineas.

A Cabinet of Portraits, consisting of Distinguished Characters, British and Foreign; with Memoirs. 8vo. 18s.

The Loyal and National Songs of England, for one, two, and three voices. Selected from original MSS. and early printed copies, in the Library of William Kitchener, M.D. Folio. £2. 2s.

A Series of Groups, illustrating the Physiognomy, Manners, and Character of the People of France and Germany. By G. Lewis. Impl. 8vo. £3. 3s. Medium 4to. £3. 15. Royal 4to. £4. 14s. 6d. Lectures on the Art of Miniature Painting. By L. Mansion. 7s. An Essay on the History and Theory of Music, and on the Qualities, Capabilities, and Management of the Human Voice. By J. Nathan, author of the Hebrew Melodies, &c. Royal 4to. £2.

GEOGRAPHY.

Colombia: being a Geographical, Statistical, and Political Account of that country, adapted for the general reader, the merchant, and the colonist. 2 Vols. 8vo. £1. 16s.

HISTORY.

The History of England during the Middle Ages, comprisingthe Reigns of Henry VI., Edward IV., Edward V., Richard III., and Henry VII. By Sharon Turner, F.S.A. Vol. IV. £2. 2s.

The Fifth Volume of Dr. Lingard's History of England, containing the Reigns of the Queen Mary and Elizabeth. 4to. £1. 15s.

A Narrative of the Insurrection in the Island of Grenada, which took place in 1795. By John Hay. 5s.

Memoires, Historiques, Politiques, et Militaires, sur la Revolution de Naples, en 1820 & 1821, et les causes qui l' ont amenée. Par le General Carascosa; accompagneis de Pieces justificatives. 8vo. 12s.

The Saxon Chronicles, with an English Translation, and Notes, critical and explanatory. By the Rev. J. Ingram, late Saxon Professor in the University of Oxford. To which are added, a New Chronological, Topographical and Glossorial Index, with a short Grammar of the Saxon Languages. 4to. £3. 13s. 6d.

Anecdotes of the Spanish and Portuguese Revolutions. By Count Peuchio, an Italian exile. With an Introduction and Notes, by Edward Blacquiere, Esq. 8vo. 7s. 6d.

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