pital. Here the ufual powers of medicine were ineffectually tried about a month, under the care of Dr. Fothergill; who, as a last resource, recommended a trial of electricity, under the management of the Rev. Mr. Underwood, an ingenious electrician. The whole procefs, perhaps too concifely defcribed, and the refult, will be beft given in Mr. Underwood's own words.

July 5. On the glass-footed stool for thirty minutes: sparks were drawn from the arms, neck, and head, which caufed a confiderable perfpiration; and a rafh appeared in her forehead. She then received fhocks through her hands, arms, breaft, and back; and from this time [quære, this day?] the symptoms abated, her arms beginning to recover their ufes.'-The coated bottle held near a quart.

July 13. On the glass-footed ftool forty-five minutes : received ftrong fhocks through her legs and feet, which, from that time, began to recover their wonted ufes; also four strong fhocks through the jaws, foon after which her speech returned.

July 23. On the glafs-footed ftool for the space of one hour: fparks were drawn from her arms, legs, head, and breast, which for the first time the very fenfibly felt; alfo two fhocks through the fpine. She could now walk alone; her countenance became more florid, and all her faculties feemed wonderfully ftrengthened; and from this time the continued mending to a state of perfect health.

"Every time the was electrified, pofitively, her pulfe quickened to a great degree; and an eruption, much like the itch, appeared in all her joints.'

We are not told whether fhe was ever electrified in the intervals between thefe three days, or how often; or whether nothing more was done than is related in this quotation. At the end of the article, Dr. Fothergill mentions his having cured a boy, by means of electricity, who had long had the St. Vitus's Dance, though not in fo great a degree as the above-mentioned patient.

Article 2. A Cafe in which the Head of the Os Humeri was fawn off, &c. By Mr. Daniel Orred, of Chefter, Surgeon,

&c.

In our xlivth vol. [March 1771, p. 211.] we gave an account of the first operation of this kind, performed by Dr. White, and of the success which attended it. The cafe before us appears to have been replete with difficulties; nevertheless, three months after the operation, Mr. Orred defcribes his patient as capable of raifing his arm a little from his body (though the callus was ftill foft) and enjoying the perfect flexure and use of his fore-arm,

Article

Article 6. Account of an extraordinary dropfical Cafe. By Mr. John Latham.

We do not suppose there is any cafe extant in the records of medicine, in which the operation of tapping had been fo many times performed on one fubject, as in the inftance now before us. The patient was a young lady, who was obliged, for the first time, at about the age of nineteen, to fubmit to that operation in June 1774. In fix weeks it became neceffary to repeat it; and afterwards once a month, to the end of that year. During the whole of the year 1775, Mr. Latham tapped her, on a medium, once in a fortnight: and from that time to the time of her death in May 1778, the generally underwent the operation every eight or nine days.

She was tapped 155 times, and, on an average, 24 pints were drawn off at each operation; fo that the whole quantity amounted to 3720 pints, or 465 gallons, that is, near feven hogfheads and a half. It is remarkable, that during the whole time the generally had a good appetite, and was very chearful; vifiting her friends at feveral miles diftance, except a day before and after each operation. The original complaint appears to have been an obstruction in one of the ovaria.

CHEMIST KY.

Article 3. Experiments on fome Mineral Subflances. By Peter Woulfe, F. R. S.

This paper contains fome curious chemical obfervations and experiments, made to discover the conftituent parts of various mineral bodies. The Author particularly treats-of cryftal, quartz, and flint ;-of a cryftal in Dr. Hunter's museum, which has been partly changed into felenetical fpar;-on fome mineral fubftances that contain the earth of alum;-on feld fpar, which, from the obfervations of the Honourable Mr. Greville, is fuppofed to owe its origin to clay; and from which, accordingly, Mr. Woulfe has procured a notable quantity of alum;-of fhirl, jafper, tin fpar, and a particular fet of fpars in the mufeum of Dr. Hunter, the properties of which were not hitherto known.

In the firft clafs of thefe experiments, the Author fhews, that neither cryftal, quartz, or flint, contain the earth of alum; though M. Baumé has afferted, that he obtained alum from each of them, by feparately forming with them a liquor filicum after fufing them with fixed alcali; precipitating the earths refpectively with an acid, and then diffolving each earth in vitriolic acid; from which solution he obtained real alum. Mr. Woulfe afferts, that by this treatment he never could obtain a grain of alum from any of these fubftances; but in its room procured a felenite; which proves, that the bafis of these subftances is not an earth of alum, but a calcareous earth. He

afcribes

afcribes the alum, which M. Baumé obtained from them, to the clay of the Paris crucibles, not perhaps fufficiently baked; and which had been acted upon and diffolved by the alcali, during the long continued ebullition, and the fufion of the ingredients for making the liquor filicum.

It may be acceptable to our philofophical readers, to abridge a part of this paper, in which Mr. Woulfe teaches how to diftinguish the various fubftances from each other that have a sparry appearance; but differ with refpect to their conftituent parts.

Crystal and quartz, he obferves, are eafily known by their great hardness, and by the copious fparks of fire which they afford when ftruck with fteel.

Some fpecimens of feld fpar likewife poffefs this laft mentioned property but its laminated texture, and its breaking into thombs, eafily diftinguish it from cryftal and quartz.

Phofphoric fpar (or that from which Mr. Scheele obtained the fluor acid) is easily known by the luminous appearance it exhibits when heated; as likewife by the fmell, refembling that of marine acid, which is perceived when it is added to oil of vitriol heated. It is found of various colours, and, when cryftallifed, generally forms perfect cubes.

Selenetical par is found cryftallifed in a great variety of forms; is heavier than phofphoric fpar, though not fo hard; and does not effervefce or diffolve in acids.

Calcareous fpar is neither fo hard nor fo heavy as the preceding fubftances. It diffolves, with effervefcence, in the nitrous and marine acids; but on adding the acid of vitriol to these folutions, a felenite is precipitated.

Gypfum is ftill lighter than calcareous fpar, and fo soft as to be easily fcratched with the nail: it neither diffolves in, nor effervefces with acids; and is the only fubftance that is converted into plafter of Paris by calcination.

Mica, or glimmer, is lighter than any of the fparry fubftances; and is compofed of very thin flexible flakes, or of coloured fcales of various colours, and more or less large.

Tin fpar, or white tin ore, has a fparry appearance; but by its lamellated texture, and great fpecific gravity, equal to that of tin grains, is eafily known. The Saxon mineralogifts affert, that it does not contain any tin. The only experiment I made with it,' fays the Author, was to digeft it in a powdered ftate with acids, by which means it acquires a rich yellow colour, like turbith mineral: the acid of falt anfwers beft for this experiment. This is the only fubftance I know of which has this property.'

White lead ore is very heavy, effervefces with, and totally diffolves in, the acids of nitre and fea falt, with the help of

heat.

heat. With the latter, it forms cryftals much resembling a filver coloured glimmer, just as common lead would have done; and it forms regular cryftals with the nitrous acid.

The pathofe iron ores powdered, and put on a red hot iron, inftantly become black; and look like a black, fhining, mica

ceous iron ore.

Zeolite is lighter than the calcareous fpars. Treated with an alcali, as in the procefs for obtaining the liquor filicum, it afforded no neutral falt. The powder edulcorated, and treated with acids, formed the fame kind of gelatinous matter, as when the zeolite is employed in its crude ftate *.

Article 4. Account of a Petrifaction found on the Coast of East Lothian. By Edward King, Efq; F. R. S.

This petrifaction contained a piece of rope, which had belonged to the Fox man of war, ftranded on the coaft of Scotland in 1745, where it had lain under water thirty-three years. This rope was adjoining, and probably had been tied, to an iron ring. The fubftance of the rope was little altered; but the fand inclofing it was fo concreted, as to have become as hard as a piece of rock, and now retains very perfectly impreffions of parts of the iron ring, resembling thofe of extraneous foffil bodies, that are often found in various kinds of ftrata.

From the circumftances attending this appearance, as well as from other obfervations, Mr. King draws two conclufions:first, that there is, on the coafts of this ifland, a continual progreffive induration of maffes of fand and other matter at the bottom of the ocean; fomewhat in the same manner as there is at the bottom of the Adriatic fea, according to the account given by Dr. Donati-and fecondly, that iron, and the foJutions of iron, contribute very much to haften and promote the progrefs of the concretion and induration of ftone, &c.'

In confirmation of the laft conclufion, Mr. King produces fome obfervations and experiments made by Dr. Fothergill; which tend to prove, that iron and folutions of iron give an extraordinary degree of hardness to ftones washed with them. Before the fign-irons were taken down in the city of London, the Doctor obferved, that on the broad ftone pavements, whenever he came juft under any fign-irons, his cane gave a different found, and occafioned a different kind of refiftance to the hand, from what it did elsewhere.'-He afterwards found, that every where under the drip of these irons, the stones had

Though there is a table of errata fubjoined to this volume, the two following grofs errors of the prefs, as we conceive them to be, are not noticed in it. Page 18, near the bottom, cawk is spoken of as being wetted with antimony:' we fhould furely read treated, or beated with antimony. At p. 30, a fubfiance is faid to melt with a moderate degree of tin: we thould read, a moderate degree of heat. acquired

acquired a greater degree of folidity, and a wonderful hardness, fo as to refilt any ordinary tool, and gave, when ftruck upon, a metallic found: and this fact, by repeated obfervations, he was at length most thoroughly convinced of."

He afterwards placed two pieces of Portland stone in the fame afpect and fituation in every respect; but washed the one frequently with water impregnated with rufty iron, and left the other untouched. In a few years, he found that the former had acquired a very fenfible degree of the hardness above defcribed, and, on being ftruck gave the metallic found; whilft the other remained in its original ftate, and fubject to the decays occafioned by the changes of the weather, which we find in many inftances make a moft rapid progrefs.

Mr. King proposes a practical ufe of thefe obfervations; recommending the attempt to make an artificial ftone, for covering the fronts of houfes, inftead of ftucco; by admixtures of common fea fand and folutions of iron; and to preferve fome of the fofter kinds of ftone in our buildings, by brushing them over with folutions of this kind.-By fuch means, he adds, the venerable remains of that fine pile of building, Henry the Seventh's Chapel, might have been faved from the deftruction with which we now fee it ready to be overwhelmed.'

The obfervations and hints contained in this paper certainly deferve notice; and they will, we hope, incite fome perfon, poffeffed of leifure and ingenuity, to profecute the inquiry, in an experimental way.

NATURAL HISTORY. Article 14. Account of the Organs of Speech of the Orang Outang. By Peter Camper, M. D. F. R. S. late Profeffor of Anatomy, &c. in the Univerfity of Groningen, &c.

It is a popular opinion among the honeft tars, that monkies could fpeak if they would. Some travellers with greater probability affert, that the Orang Outang, who approaches fomewhat nearer to our species, would be able to articulate if he thought proper. Profeffor Camper has demonftrated, in the prefent paper, by an anatomical diffection of the organ of the voice, that articulation is rendered impoffible in thefe animals, in confequence of the ftructure of that organ. From the nature and fituation of thofe parts, in the Orang, in the Ape, and in the Monkey, he has proved that no modulation of the voice, refembling human fpeech, can be produced in these creatures: becaufe the air, paffing through the rima glottidis, is immediately loft in two ventricles, or hollow bags, in the neck, which are fometimes united into one; with which all these animals are furnished, and which have a communication with the mouth, through the faid rima or flit: fo that the air, as he observes, muft return from thence without any force and melody, within

the