Abranchus. This genus, like the former, has been proposed by Harlan. General character destitute of branchiæ at all periods of its existence; four strong legs-five toes to the posterior, four to the anterior extremities; the outer edge of the feet fimbriated; two outer toes of the hind feet palmated clawless. The A. alleghaniensis is the only species known.

Fanus Bilobites.-In the cabinet of the Lyceum at New York there are some fos. sils from New Jersey, and the Catskills, labelled with the name bilobites; they were at first supposed to be remains analogous to the trifobites, but are at present referred to the Productus of Sowerby.

An instrument has been invented and ased with success in France, for destroying a stone in the bladder; but as it is straight, and consequently not adapted to the natural curve of the urethra, Mr. Griffiths, of Bentinck Street, has been induced to turn his attention to the subject, and he has constructed a small machine, by means of which the calculus can be retained more firmly than with any forceps, while it is perforated by a drill which works in a curve, and broken down into fragments, small enough to pass by the urethra, an operation, in the case of a large calculus, sufficiently tedious, but preferable to the dangerous one of lithotomy.

The latitude of Greenwich, as computed by Professor Bessel, from the mean of a great multitude of observations of different stars, is 51° 28′38′′ ·343+6′ 6′′ being a quantity so small that it may be neglected, though it has not been precisely determined. The mean error of each single observation is 0799. It is remarkable that this determination of the latitude of Greenwich agrees much better with Mr. Pond's former computation, than with that which Professor Bessel has deduced from Bradley's obser vations. The former was 51° 28′ 37′′-95, the latter 51° 28′ 39'60; the differences being-0393 and +1"-257.

A meteoric stone, weighing sixteen pounds seven ounces, fell at Nantgemory, in Maryland, February 10th of last year. Over an extent of about fifty miles square the explosion which preceded, and the whizzing noise which accompanied its fall, was heard by several persons; the stone was buried in the ground to the depth of twenty-two or twenty-four inches.

M. Marcet has communicated to the Society of Physic and Natural History at Geneva, a series of experiments instituted by him, which prove, most satisfactorily, that the mineral and vegetable poisons produce as deletereous effects on the vegetable as on the animal kingdom: the experiments were generally performed with plants of the kidney bean, phaseolus vulgaris, and a com

watered with spring water; the conclusion at which this eminent naturalist has arrived is, that if plants be destitute of organs corresponding to the nerves of animals, they are capable of being affected by such poisons as act upon the latter class, in a manner analogous to that in which animals are affected by them.

It may be readily ascertained in a mountainous country, that the length of a flash of lightning, during storms, frequently exceeds a league. This extraordinary length, and the awful sound produced by the flash, induces us to admit that the quantity of electricity which forms it is incomparably greater than that which may be accumulated in the largest electric batteries: but we cannot really judge of the intensity of electricity accumulated on our conductors, and on a thunder cloud, by the length of the spark. The electricity is retained on our conductors by the pressure of the air, the spark only occurs when this pressure can be overcome by the electricity. On the contrary, the electricity is retained on a cloud only by the resistance it affords to it as a non-conducting body; and equally pressed as it is by this fluid, which surrounds it on all sides, it should obey the slightest attractive or repulsive force by which it is affected. We may therefore conceive, that as soon as the electricity has formed a stratum, no matter how attenuated so that it be continuous, the flash may occur and pass through considerable distances. The intensity of the flash will be produced by the quantity of electricity contained in the immense stratum enveloping the cloud. If the stratum be not continuous, which is very possible in so bad a conductor as a cloud, or if all the electricity spread over the space occupied by the cloud have not had time to disengage itself, so as to arrive at the surface of the cloud, the discharge will only be partial, and then the redoubled peals of thunder will be easily understood. It appears impossible to M. Gay-Lussac, according to these observations, that the thickness of the electric stratum can ever be any thing like so great on the surface of a thunder cloud as on that of a solid conductor; for the repulsion of its molecules would dissipate it in the air. He perceives nothing to retain it but the resistance of the air as a non-conductor, and that resistance can be but very small.

An American mineralogist has observed, that globules of water and air were by no means unfrequent in specimens of amethyst which came under his eye; many of these, from the size of the globule or portion of liquid, &c. were highly interesting, and most of them were found among such as had been rejected on account of being too pale for good cabinet specimens.

S. Bizio, of Venice, having obtained by precipitation the colouring matter of coffee, has proved by numerous experiments,

that neither water, ether, alcohol, nor the alkaline sub-carbonates, have any effect on this colour, which is green. Caustic potash turns it sky-blue, soda does not alter it at all; and no acid, with the exception of the sulphuric oxalic, destroys the colour entirely. By dissolving this substance in acetic acid, a green tint is obtained the beauty of which is still greater.

To obtain the true ellipticity of the earth has long been a scientific desideratum: it is a problem which, during the whole of the last century, occupied the attention of every mathematician and philosopher. Newton had estimated it at ; La Place, by applying his profound calculus to the lunar motions, was led to conceive it 508 57. Each new measure of a degree on the earth's surface afforded a different result. Clairaut had given a formula, by which the ellipticity of the earth was connected with the centrifugal force at the equator; and as the latter can be determined by means of the pendulum, the latter may be readily deduced-to ascertain the force of gravity at the equator, and its total diminution from the pole to the equator, by observing the time in which a given pendulum oscillates in different latitudes, and thus to obtain the numerical value of certain terms in Clairaut's formula, has been the object of

T

of

Captain Sabine in his recent voyage. From some thousands of observations made between the latitudes of 13° south and 80° north latitude, he deduces, by calculation, that the ellipticity of the earth is the equatorial diameter: this, however, can only be considered as a good approximation, to be hereafter modified when observations on the pendulum shall have been made under these circumstances :- the difference between Sir Isaac Newton and Captain Sabine is, between Captain S. and La Place is 88

A chronometer, the principle of which consists in the continual displacement of the centre of gravity of the arm of a lever, has excited much interest in France. This lever has the form of an arrow, which is capable of moving round a horizontal axis fixed in the middle of a dial-plate divided into twelve hours. This ingenious machine has been ascribed by his countrymen to M Lenormand; it had previously been constructed in this country by an excellent mathematical instrument maker, Mr. Schmalcalder, who, with the modesty and candour of real merit, did not palm upon the world, as of his own invention, a piece of mecha nism, of which we believe him to have been the first constructor, but which is described in several old works upon mechanics.

DOMESTIC.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

THE meetings of this society were resumed on the 17th November, when a paper was read, "On the Changes that have taken place in some ancient Alloys of Copper," by John Davy, M.D., F.R.S.; and another, containing "Observations on the apparent Positions and Distances of 468 double and triple fixed Stars, made at the Observatory at Passy, near Paris, in the summer of 1825," by James South, F.R.S. On the 24th a paper was read, "On the Comparison and Adjustment of the new Weights and Measures," by Capt. Kater, F.R.S. On the 30th the society met for the choice of officers for the ensuing year; when John Barrow, Esq., John Bostock, M.D., Sir Astley Paston Cooper, Bart., Benjamin Gompertz, Esq., Sir Abraham Hume, Bart., Daniel Moore, Esq., Richard Earl of Mount Edgecombe, Peter Mark Roget, M.D., and James South, Esq., formed the list of the new council.

At the anniversary dinner of the society, Mr. Peel announced that his Majesty had placed two annual medals, of the value of fifty guineas each, at the disposal of the council of the Royal Society, to be distributed by them as rewards for scientific discoveries. The two Copley medals were awarded to M. Arrago, the Astronomer

Royal of France, and to Mr. Barlow, the Professor of Mathematics in the Military Academy at Woolwich. Both these medals were given for discoveries relating to the variation of the magnetic needle.

ROYAL ACADEMY.

At the annual distribution of premiums which took place on the 7th December, the following students received prizes for their performances.

Mr. Wood, the gold medal and the Discourses of Reynolds and West, for an historical painting, representing Joseph expounding the dreams of Pharaoh's chief butler and baker. Mr. Deare, the gold medal, with the same Discourses, for a model of the death of Goliah, an astonishing performance for a young man, abounding in grace, vigour, and propriety of action. Mr. Bassett, the gold medal and the same, for a design for a national edifice adapted for the Royal Academy, the Royal Society, and the Society of Antiquarians. Mr. Webster, a silver medal, with the Lectures of Barry, Opie, and Fuseli, for the best copy of a "Virgin and Child," by Vandykea performance which proves that this young artist has appreciated all the peculiar merits of his attractive original. Mr. Fancourt, a silver medal for the second best copy. Mr. Wood, a silver medal, with

Mr.

the Lectures of Barry, Opie, and Fuseli, for the best drawing from the life. Stour, a silver medal, for the second best drawing. Mr. Deare, a silver medal, with the Lectures of Barry, Opie, and Fuseli, for the best model from the life. Mr. Lote, a silver medal, for an architectural drawing of St. Stephen's church. Mr. Williams, a silver medal, with the Lectures of Barry, Opie, and Fuseli, for the best drawing from the Laocoon, a work equally correct and energetic. Mr. Smith, a silver medal, for the second best drawing. Mr. Presbury, a silver medal, for the third best. Mr. Gallaghan, a silver medal, and the Lectures of Barry, Opie, and Fuseli, for the best model of the same group. Mr. Panormo, a silver medal, for the second best model. After Sir Thomas Lawrence had delivered the medals, he made a few observations on the subject of the distribution. In speak ing of the historical paintings, he alluded to the case of one of the candidates (Mr. John Hayter), whose picture far surpassed every other, and had been re jected solely in consequence of some informality in regard to the regulations of the Academy: the President spoke in high terms of this picture, and said that the Academy were sorry to be compelled to reject a work which they would otherwise have been proud of. Sir Thomas regretted his inability on the present occasion to deliver a discourse on the Fine Arts. He had returned from the continent only the day before, and was wholly unprepared.

LONDON ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.

On the 11th of November the society resumed its sittings, when the President called the attention of the members to the remarkable circumstance of the appearance of four comets during the recess, an occurrence unparalleled in the history of astronomy. The last, which had been the object of anxious solicitude at every observatory, was discovered about July or August last. This comet, better known by the name of the Comet of Encke, the President remarked, has now made thirteen revolutions within the last forty years; six of which have been observed by astronomers. It was first seen in 1786, afterwards in 1795, 1805, 1819, 1822, and in the present year. It makes a complete revolution in about 1207 days, or about three and a half years. A paper was read, On the Latitude of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich,' ,, by the Astronomer Royal: the same paper includes some remarks on observations upon the pole-star, and an interesting circumstance, which is this:"The undulation to which a mass of mercury is liable, even with the greatest care, is in itself considered unfavourable to the

Mr. John Hayter did not attend, being seriously ill, and has since tendered a certificate signed by his Medical Attendant, but which was presented too late-Editor.

exact bisection of an image; but a circumstance occurs in the formation of the image in the telescope, which in some measure compensates the inconvenience. The vibrations of the mercury in a longitudinal trough occasion an elongated image of the star in the direction of the wire, appearing like a succession of stars, which become smaller as they recede from the central undefined mass, exhibiting an appearance like: beads threaded on the wire, which is extremely favourable to bisection." A letter was read from Mr. R. Comfield, a member of the society, to Dr. Gregory, describing an appearance noticed by him with a Gregorian reflector, power 350; and by Mr. J. Wallis, the lecturer on astronomy, with a Newtonian telescope, power 160, in reference to the occultation of Saturn Oct. 30th. A paper was next read, "On the Determination of Latitudes by Observations of Azimuths and Altitudes alone," by M. Lattrow, Assoc. Ast. Soc. Lastly, there was exhibited to the society a model, of one of the large reflecting telescopes, made by Mr. John Ramage, of Aberdeen; the reading of a descriptive paper, by Mr.. Ramage, was also commenced.

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

On the 16th August the large silver medal was presented to Mr. William Greenshields, a corresponding member, for a communication "On the Culture of the PineApple," which is printed in the Transactions of the Society; a paper was also read, "On the Management of the Amaryllis Vittata," by Mr. John Brown, gardener to Chandos Leigh, Esq., F.H.S. On the 4th October a paper was read, "On the Cultivation of the Passiflora Quadrangularis,' by Mr. John Mitchelson; and another, "On the Means of obtaining an abundant second Crop of Melons," by Mr. Charles Harrison, F.H.S.; and on November 1st an account was read, of "An easy and successful Method of destroying Wasps," also by Mr. Harrison.

inhabitants, the increase of wealth, the wider cultivation of corn, and to the better construction of the houses. It was a remark of the late M. Fabroni, that he never met with goitres in valleys formed by granitic rocks, but only in those formed by rocks containing magnesia. M. Ampert communicated some electro-dynemic experiments, to determine the value of that force, and its application to the formula, representing the mutual action of the two elements of voltaic conductors, as some new results deduced from that formula.

Lyons.-The Literary and Scientific Academy of this city has granted a prize to M. Dittmart, a celebrated professor at Berlin, for his researches in meteorology. M. Ozanam, a physician resident at Lyons, has been honoured in a similar way, for his communication relative to the preparation of silk; and M. Fortune Malbouche, of Paris, for a memoir on the important commercial question of taxes on the export and import of goods. Poetry is making rapid advances in this part of France, as the poetical prize was warmly contested by numerous candidates.

Besançon.. (Doubs.)-The Academy of Sciences, Belles-Lettres, and Arts has proposed the following question for the prize of 1827: During the last forty years, the extraordinary manner in which all minds

have been agitated, must have had an irresistible influence on the different branches of literature. What have been its effects at` the times when the form and the spirit of government have undergone the most remarkable changes? What will be its permanent results ?"

NETHERLANDS.

Brussels.-The Society of Physical and Medical Sciences, which has been formed only since July 1822, has already distinguished itself, by the publication of many learned memoirs. Dr. Laine, whose name has long been familiar to the medical world, is elected perpetual secretary.

Utrecht.-At the meeting of the Society of Arts and Sciences, a gold medal was voted to Messrs. Bennel and Van WideRoelandsz, the authors of a paper on the land, seas, straits, rivers, islands, &c. which had been discovered by the Dutch; although in more modern maps the names originally assigned them had been discarded for foreign ones. A gold medal, was granted to M. V. Letting, for his commentary on Herodotus, and a silver medal to the author of a memoir on the influence which the draining of the marshes in the northern parts of Holland would have ou the health of the community.

Observations on the Causes and Evils of War, its Unlawfulness; and the Means and Certainty of its Extinction; in a Series of Letters, addressed to a Friend, by THOMAS THRUSH, late Captain in the Royal Navy. Intended as an Apology for withdrawing himself from the Naval Service.-This is a pamphlet which has attracted some attention, and claims our notice. When a man acts up to the dictates of his conscience, he commands respect, and, at least, a patient hearing from an enlightened community. We have read the work before us with considerable interest, and will, as briefly as possible, give our opinion of it and its tendency.

No may, but one fitter for Bedlam than civilized Society, will maintain the justice or necessity of any kind of warfare but that which is DEFENSIVE. Our limits for bid our entering upon the question, whether the last war was of that character or not?' That England, like other nations, has prosecuted many offensive wars, cannot be doubted, and our Indian territories are a standing proof of the fact having taken place in our own days. Self preservation, we all know, is one of the first laws of nature. If an individual was dwelling on some lonely spot, and knew that many rapacious knaves lived near enough to

attack and plunder him, he would be justified, by the laws of God and man, in preparing for his defence. If he were attacked, and saw that the marauders intended to burn down his house and maltreat his family, he would be called on to exert every nerve to defend them; and, if a skilful man, he would try and carry the contest from his own dwelling to some distant and defensiLle spot.

The situation of this individual is the same as that of England. She is surrounded by vast empires, containing hundreds of thousands of warriors, and great resources. The rulers of these empires, and their forefathers, have shewn themselves desirous of conquest, and hungry for more dominions. England is the richest country in the world, and by her constitution keeps autocrats in continual apprehension of their subjects desiring some change, which will diminish their power. Her institutions, commercial influence, and mechanical superiority, give her a great ascendancy over these empires, and so create their envy and jealousy. If she were not ever upon her guard, and if these powerful neighbours were not conscious of her vigour and means of defence, would they not attack and subdue her, and then, perchance, like tigers, quarrel for her carcase? No man who is not in his dotage, can

doubt but such would be the case. If it should be the will of Providence that another scourge like Napoleon should come into being, and deluge the earth with faction, blood, and misery, it would only be common prudence to remove the arena as far from our homes as possible. If all our officers were to demand their discharges, as Captain Thrush has done, and all our soldiers and sailors were to declare their determination to serve no longer, what would become of England? Let Captain Thrush consider this point deeply, and see if he can justify the example he has set. His reasoning is not sound; and, with pious feelings and good intentions, we do not think that he has acted the part of a patriot and a christian. He has quoted Scripture very freely, and made it the ground-work of his reasoning; but he has forgotten, that the centurion Cornelius was a soldier, and has not mentioned the admonitions to men of the cohort to be contented with their wages, and to do their duty. We all know that the details of war are horrible, disgusting, and demoralizing.

The excesses committed by soldiers of every nation, when opportunities offer, are almost incredible, excepting to those who have witnessed them. We could refer to some Spanish pamphlets, on the excesses of our own troops after capturing towns from the French in Spain, which would astonish some of those who suppose our countrymen incapable of enormities.

We have heard the Duke of Wellington condemned for his unrelenting severity on all breaches of discipline, which tended to pander to the natural recklessness and ferocity of armies; but, with diffidence, we presume to say, that in so acting he proved his wis dom and added to his glory. He would be a monster who would not rejoice if the heavenly love of peace existed in every bosom, and had extinguished the last sparks of the desire for war. But that is not the case; so we must submit to the necessity of existing circumstances, and stand ready prepared to defend our religion, our laws, our homes, and our families, and all the blessings Providence has bestowed on our country. All offensive wars for the purposes of aggrandizement we deprecate, and believe, that the terrible means of destruction by elastic vapour will be a means of terminating the accursed game; for no men will bear to be swept by thousands from the earth, by machines against which no humen valour and activity can avail.

The instances of infernal conduct and appalling misery, quoted from various authors by Captain Thrush, are very striking, and should be read by all who love, or rather pretend to love (for we never knew any who had seen much service that did like it), the game of war.

Captain Thrush talks childishly when he terms our great seminaries of learning, 'fighting and classical schools," and be

comes anile when he writes, " Can we expect that the professed admirers of the heroes of Homer, will be the sincere and humble followers of Jesus?" We respect the writer's conscientious actions, though we think the foundation on which he has acted weak and prejudicial. His remarks on that disgrace of a free country, the im-` pressment of seamen, are worthy of consideration. We only know one instance in which it would be justifiable: a ship weakened by battle, or some other cause, on a foreign station-the captain having certain intelligence of an enemy of equal size not far off, and conscious that if he is captured it would be highly injurious to his country, falls in with merchant ships, he might complete his complement of men by impressment, if he could not induce them to volunteer for a limited period. We have carried our remarks to an unusual length, the peculiarity of the subject must be our excuse.

Sermons and Plans of Sermons on many of the most important Texts of Scripture, by the late REV. JOSEPH BENSON. Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4.-This, as an elaborate and useful work, is admirably calculated to assist the divine in the compilation of his parochial sermons. Although there appears no attention to general arrangement, each subject is clearly defined, and the different parts systematically arranged, so as to logically lead to a conclusion, usually turned, with much skill, to an admonitory "Application." Mr. Benson has proved himself to have been a scholar, and a man of great reflection, as well as of great compass of thought. The feelings expressed in these volumes are pious and noble, and cannot fail being productive of good. The references evince much patient industry, and considerable acquaintance with the great standard divines. We have not space to enter into a detailed examination of this work; but we must say, that we should not be inclined to accord with him on the subject of the "covenants." His opinion, that there have been several covenants, is the general one; but some of our profoundest writers, who have carried convic-. tion to our own minds by the profundity of their researches and closeness of argument, hold that there has been but one covenant, which, when broken by man, was graciously renewed by the Almighty, with those additions which he, as the Grantor, pleased to annex. Christ came not to abrogate the law, or Mosaic covenant, but to fulfil it.

In the 4th Part, the remarks on the intermediate state, are sound and judicious, but are not so full as they might have been.*

In Part iii., p. 64, is an admirable portion, on "what it is to be a disciple of

The notes to a little work, lately published, entitled "The Vision of Hades, or the Region inhabited by the departed Spirits," have gone much farther into this eurious and interesting subject,