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LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.

Society of Civil Engineers. On the 2d January 1818, a number of persons practically connected with the profession of a civil engineer, met and agreed upon the plan of an institution, and have since that time been employed in forming laws and regulations for its government. Having accomplished this part of the object, it was resolved, at a meeting held on the 3d February 1820, to invite Thomas Telford, Esq. civil engineer, to become President of the Society. Mr Telford having accepted this office, the institution may be considered as estab lished, and an opportunity is now afforded to qualified persons to become Ordinary, Corresponding, or Honorary Members. The leading objects of the institution are, 1st, To form a depository of useful facts, of descriptions of various works, of new inventions, of discoveries, &c. on subjects connected with the profession of a civil engineer. 2d, To collect a library of books, maps, drawings, &c. which are useful in the profession. The number of members is limited, and is divided into three classes: 1st, Ordinary Members are those who, by profession, are practical engineers, and whose places of residence admit of their general attendance at the meetings. 2d, Correspond ing Members (by profession practical engineers) are those whose places of residence do not allow of their frequent attendance at the meetings. 3d, Honorary Members are persons who have written on topics connected with the profession of an engineer, and from whom no pecuniary contribution is expected. From the ability and zeal of many of the gentlemen who take the lead in this Society, we entertain very sanguine hopes that it will be an institution equally honourable and useful to our country. Edin. Phil. Jour.

Bristol Institution.—A new Literary and Philosophical Institution has been founded at Bristol. The foundation-stone of a magnificent building for this purpose was laid on the 29th February 1820.-Edin. Phil. Jour.

Felled Timber.-Mr T. A. Knight has ascertained, by direct experiment, that there is a striking difference between the properties of spring and winter felled timber; the former absorbing much more moisture than the other. He is of opinion that oak timber would be much improved if the tree, after being barked in the spring, was permitted to stand till the following winter.-Edin. Phil. Jour.

Uredo Nivalis.-Mr F. Bauer has found that the red globules of this fungus vegetated and produced new fungi when they were placed in fresh snow. He ascertained that they vegetated in water alone, but in this

VOL. VII.

case they produced green, in place of red globules. The original fungi were killed by exposure to excessive cold; but their seeds retained vitality, and when immersed in snow, regenerated new fungi generally of a red colour.-Edin. Phil. Jour.

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Violin and Violincello.-Mr James Watson, a blind musician from Dundee, has invented a method by which he can play upon these two instruments at once, with the greatest facility and correctness. plays on the violin in the usual manner, and on the violincello by means of his feet. His right foot goes into a sort of shoe at the end of the bow, and in consequence of his right thigh being supported by a spring attached to the chair on which he sits, he has the full command of his foot, without suffering any fatigue. By means of his left foot he acts upon a set of levers, by which he shortens the strings with great facility. Mr Watson has frequently played thirteen and fourteen hours in one day, without any extraordinary fatigue.—Edin. Phil. Jour.

New Musical Instrument.-M. Schortman of Buttstead has invented a new musical keyed instrument, the tones of which are produced by short rods of burned wood, of various lengths and breadths, thrown into a state of vibration by a current of air. Its pianissimo resembles the Eolian harp, and is described as imitating the harmonica, clarionet, horn, hautboy, and violin.-Edin. Phil. Jour.

Physical Strength of Men.-M. Coulomb, in his fine Memoir on the Physical Strength of Men, after remarking that he had always found the grenadiers to perform a third more work than the other companies, observes, that the mean quantity of action varies with the nature of the food, and particularly with the climate. “I have executed," he says, 66 great works at Martinique by the troops, when the thermometer rarely stood below 680 Fahrenheit: and I have executed in France the same kind of work by troops; and I am assured, that under the 14th degree of latitude, where the men are almost always inundated with perspiration, they are not capable of half the quantity of daily work which they can furnish in our climate." The following experiments by Peron, with Regnier's dynamometer, shew that the individual strength depends also on the climate.

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noise is three times greater in the night than in the day. Some writers have ascribed this to the cessation of the humming of insects, the singing of birds, and the action of the wind upon the leaves of trees; but this cannot be the cause of it at the Orinoco, where the humming of insects is much greater in the night than in the day, and where the breeze is never felt till after sun. set. Humboldt therefore ascribes it to the presence of the sun, which acts on the propagation and intensity of sound, by oppos ing them with currents of air of different density, and partial undulations of the atmosphere, caused by the unequal heating of different parts of the ground. In these cases, the waves of sound are divided into two waves, where the density of the medium suddenly changes, and a sort of acoustic mirage is produced, arising from the want of homogeneity of the air, in the same manner as the luminous mirage is produced from an analogous cause.—Ann. de Chim.

Golden Image of the Idol Vishnu.-This valuable image was found at Nassick in May 1818, with jewels and other property belonging to the Peishwa. It is composed of the purest gold from Mount Ophir, and weighs 370 tolas. Since 1707, when it was made, it has been preserved with the highest veneration as one of the principal household deities in the family of Leewajee and his descendants. A numerous and expensive establishment of bramins, and other attendants, were maintained for it. It accompanied the late Peishwa in all his pilgrimages, in a state palanquin, escorted by late Mahratta war, the deity was sent in some of his choicest troops. During the this manner to Nassick, where it was discovered by the British authorities, and sent to Poonah. As it is intended to be sold, it is hoped that the East India Company will purchase it for their museum. It is now deposited in the Company's baggage warehouse-Asiatic Journal.

Description of Rare Plants in the Botanic Garden at Berlin.-The first number of a description of the rare plants growing in the Botanic Garden at Berlin has just appeared, under the auspices of the minister who presides over the scientific department. The plates are coloured, and the arrangement of the whole is like that of Andrews' Repository.-Edin. Phil. Jour.

Germany. A quarry of marble of extraordinary beauty has been lately discovered, near Meran, in the country of the Tyrol. In the whiteness and fineness of its grain, it will bear comparison with the best marble of Carara, which now growing scarce, this discovery acquires additional importance. It is found in great abundance, and the proximity of the Adige renders its transportation easy to the Adriatic, while, in another direction, the river Gun

is only two days' journey distant from it by land.

The Assassins. A history of the Assassins, drawn from oriental sources, has appeared lately at Stuttgard. From this work we learn that the Assassins, a confederate people or society, which, in the time of the Crusades, for two centuries, acted an important part in Asiatic history, were originally a branch of the Ismaelites. The author, M. de Hammer, illustrates many of the events of the middle ages, and shews, at the same time, the advantageous use that might be made of oriental literature, if its cultivation were more generally attended to.

A number of convents having been suppressed in Poland, all their libraries have been removed to the University of Warsaw. In the same city, in the library of the Piarists, an Arabian astrolabe, made of copper, has been lately found. It is supposed to have been brought to Warsaw by some religious Piarists, who arrived thither from Spain in the year 1642. It pretty nearly resembles those which are in the cabinet of Kircher, at Rome, and in the observatory at Paris. M. Chiarmi, Professor of Oriental Languages in the University, rightly conceiving its importance for the history of letters, has made it the object of a dissertation presented to the Royal Institute of Sciences at Warsaw. Hipparchus, according to Pliny, was the inventor of the Astrolabe; Ptolemy and others, in succeeding ages, have laboured to bring it to perfec

tion.

Russia. The University of Moscow is now rebuilt on a better plan, and in a style of greater magnificence than before the conflagration. The Emperor, besides his other bounties, has consigned the sum of 400,000 roubles for the erection of an hospital close to the University, for the purposes of a Clinical school, wherein at present, at this charge,are 200 medical students, besides others intended for the Academy of Chirurgery. The new cabinet of natural history is progressively augmenting, under the assiduous direction of Professor Fischer, During the two last years, the collection has acquired a number of minerals, conchites, and birds, with the rich herbary of Dr Trinius.

Greece.-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 considerable.

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 the course of the Great College of Chios. This discourse is so elegant in its typography that it might seem to come from the presses of Paris or London. This office will gradually spread, throughout Greece, a number of valuable works, that may contribute to the regeneration of this once classical land.

A college on a large scale is about to be founded at Zigori, in the province of Epirus. The voluntary donations for this establishment amount already to 60,000 francs. M. Neophytos Doucas, a learned Greek ecclesiastic, has contributed himself the sum of 10,000 francs.

Egypt. On the subject of subterranean researches for antiquities in Egypt, we learn from recent advices, that the objects disinterred hitherto are very inconsiderable, in comparison with what remain to be discovered. A rivalship exists between the Arab inhabitants and the Europeans, as to the art of successfully excavating the mountains of sand, wherein have been buried, for ages, the porticoes, buildings, and subterraneous galleries of every description. The Arabs have pierced into the earth to the depth of several fathoms, and are continually collecting vases, mummies, and other remains of antiquity; and, though ignorant enough in other matters, can now distinguish objects that are rare and in good preservation, from others of an ordinary sort. The Arabs of Gournon are zealously attached to this occupation; so much so, that, considering the address with which they execute these labours, it is thought the Europeans will have no occasion to undertake them, but for money may procure whatever the bowels of the earth shall dis close.

Chinese Literature.-Letters from Canton report the successful prosecution of Mr Morrison's labours in the printing of his Chinese Dictionary. The second part was begun in April 1811: this volume consists of a thousand printed pages, in 4to, and contains above 12,000 Chinese charac ters, the most in use, with numerous examples. In Feb. 1819, 600 pages, comprising near 8000 characters, were completed. The printing of all the volumes of this important work will occupy a space of hardly less than ten years.

It appears that an official gazette is pub lished in China, which is considered as the organ of government in every matter connected with the religion, laws, manners, and customs of the country. In its plan, it totally differs from the gazettes of Europe, wherein articles of a miscellaneous description are inserted for money. No article appears in the gazette of China, which has not first been submitted to the inspection of the emperor, and having received his ap

probation, not a syllable can be added to it. A deviation from this rule would incur a severe punishment.

Compressibility of Water.-Mr Perkins, the ingenious inventor of the siderographic process of engraving, appears to have ascertained that water is compressible in a much greater degree than it appeared to be from the experiments of Canton and Zimmerman. "Having filled a cylinder, three feet long and four inches diameter, with water, into which a rod or piston was passed through a stuffing box, and having a sliding ring upon the rod, the whole was lowered 500 fathoms into the sea, when it appeared, by the situation of the sliding ring, that the column of water which pressed upon the piston had sunk it so as to have compress

ed the water one hundredth part of its bulk The same apparatus was placed in a cannon filled with water, and secured very tight, when a pressure equal to 500 fathoms was forced in by means of the hydraulic press, and the same results as in the experiment in the ocean took place." Journal of Arts.

New South Wales.-At Sydney, in New South Wales, there are, at present, three public journals, and five other periodical publications. A second printing office has also been established lately at Port Jackson. They now export cattle to the Isle of France, and the market at Sydney is considered as plentiful in the different commodities of Europe, as well as of India and China.

WORKS PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION.

LONDON.

MR CHARLES MILLS, author of the History of the Crusades, is engaged in preparing for publication, Travels in Europe, during the Pontificate of Leo the Tenth, a work similar in plan, but different in subject, to the Abbé Barthelemi's Travels of Anachar

sis.

Letters written for the Post and not for the Press, small 8vo, will speedily appear.

Mrs Graham, author of an Account of a Residence in India, is now publishing an Account of a Residence during Three Months in the Mountainous Country East of Rome, with engravings of the Banditti and Peasantry of the Country.

The author of the "Widow of Nain" intends shortly to publish a new poem, under the title of The Outlaw of Taurus-to which will be appended a few specimens of a free translation of the "Edipus Colonos" of Sophocles.

A translation is printing of Travels in England, Wales, and Scotland, in the year 1816, by Dr Spiker, Librarian to his Majesty the King of Prussia.

Capt. Prior is printing in one volume, with one hundred Engravings, Narratives of all the Voyages round the World, from Magellan to Kotzebue. Such a volume must at once be interesting and popular.

A Comic Poem is preparing for the press, on the Royal Coronation Claims, by J. Bisset, Esq. author of The Descriptive Guide of Leamington Priors, &c. &c.

A Biographical Class-Book is announced, on the plan of Blair's well known General Class-Book. It will consist of 365 lives of eminent men, from Homer to Grattan.

Speedily will be published, Popular Observations on Regimen and Diet.

The Rev. William Snowden, perpetual Curate of Horbury, near Wakefield, has in the press a volume of Sermons, Doctrinal, Practical, and Occasional.

Mr Francis Lathom, author of many esteemed novels and romances, will soon publish The One Pound Note, a Tale of MidLothian; and also new editions of some of his works that have long been out of print.

The author of Redmond the Rebel, who is a Scotch gentleman of rank, announces a new work, entitled St Kathleen, or the Rock of Dunnismoyle.

Miss Stanhope's (author of the Bandit's Bride, &c.) historical romance of the Crusaders, on which she has been employed the last two years, will appear early in July.

The Rev. H. K. Bonney will publish, in course of the Summer, Historic Notices in reference to Fotheringay, in an octavo vėlume, with engravings by Storer.

Memoirs of the Rev. Mark Wilks, late of Norwich, by his daughter, is printing in a duodecimo volume.

The Rev. Dr J. P. Smith will soon publish the second volume of Scripture Testimony to the Messiah.

Shortly will be published, Outlines of Midwifery, developing its Principles and Practice, by J. T. Conquest, M. D. F. L. S. &c.

EDINBURGH.

Lectures on the Philosophy of the Human Mind; by the late Dr Thomas Brown, Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh. 4 vols.

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Illustrations of Phrenology; by Sir Geo. S. Mackenzie, Bart. F. R. S. L. & E. 1 vol.

8vo, with sixteen engravings. This work is undertaken for the purpose of giving a succinct, and, as far as possible, a popular view of the new System of Philosophy, and of furnishing the Student with the means of satisfying himself of its truth by instructing him in the art of observing.

Elements of Geometry and Plane Trigo. nometry; by John Leslie, Esq. formerly Professor of Mathematics, and now of Natural Philosophy, in the University of Edinburgh. Fourth edition enlarged and improved,

Geometrical Analysis, and the Geo

metry of Curve Lines; by Professor Leslie. 1 large vol. 8vo.

Elements of Natural Philosophy; by Professor Leslie. 3 vols. 8vo.

Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Vol. IX. Part I. 4to. The Poems of Alexander Montgomerie, Author of the Cherrie and the Slae. With a Prefatory Memoir and a Glossary.

The Elements of Algebra in Theory and Practice, containing all the most useful Modern Improvements in the Science; by Robert Sharp, Teacher of Mathematics in Edinburgh.1 vol. 8vo.

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A Catalogue of a Miscellaneous Collection of Books, New and Second-hand, selling by J. Biggs. 2s.

A Descriptive Catalogue of Portraits representing distinguished Persons in the History and Literature of the United Kingdom. 4to. 2s.

BIOGRAPHY."

No. I. Portraits of Eminent Foreign Composers, accompanied with Biographical Notices. 75.

Biographia Curiosa; or, Memoirs of Remarkable Characters of the Reign of George the Third. No. I. and II. 2s. 6d. cach.

Life of President West; by John Galt. 8vo. 14s. boards-Part 2 separate. 7s. boards.

Memoirs of Grenville Sharpe; by Prince Hoare.

The Authentic Life of Augustus Von Kotzebue, from the German. 7s. Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq. No. I. written by himself. 1s.

BOTANY.

Rosarum Monographia; or, a Botanical History of Roses; by John Lindley, Esq. F.LS. 16s. plain-21s. coloured.

Hortus Suburbanus Londinensis; or, a

Catalogue of Plants cultivated in the neighbourhood of London; by R. Sweet, F.L.S. 18s. boards.

CHRONOLOGY.

Chronological Tables of Universal History, brought down to the end of the reign of George III.; by Major James Bell. royal folio. L. 1, 10s. half bound.

CLASSICS.

R. Porsoni Notæ in Aristophanem, quibus Plutum Comediam, partim ex ejusdem Recensione, partim e Manuscriptis emendatam et variis Lectionibus instructam præmisit et Collationum Appendicem Adjecit P. P. Dobree. L. 2, 2s. Imp. 8vo. L. 1, Is. med. 8vo.

DRAMA.

New Sacred Dramas, for young Persons. 8vo. 7s. 6d. bds.

Ricciarda, Tragedia, di Ugo Foscolo. 8vo. 7s. 6d.

Virginius; a Tragedy, by James Sheridan Knowles, Esq. 3s. 6d.

An Analysis of the Tragedy of Faust, in illustration of the outlines, and printed uniform with them. 6s.-large paper 8s.

Too late for Dinner. 8vo. 2s. 6d.
EDUCATION.

The Ladies' Arithmetic; by- Morrison. 18mo. 3s. 6d. half bound.

The Practice of Drawing and Painting Landscape, from Nature, in water colours; by F. Nicholson. 4to. L. 1, 1s. bds.

Dialogues, chiefly intended to assist in forming the Morals and Taste of Young Persons in the Middle Ranks of Life; by the Rev. J. Bowden. 12mo. 5s. bds.

A New Method of Studying the French Language, by the aid of which it may be learned at Home, without a master, in the course of three or four months. 2 vols. 12me. 10s. sewed.

FINE ARTS.

Retch's Series of Outlines to Goethe's Tragedy of Faust, engraved from the Ori

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