value to the commanders, a ftop would be put to all improper folicitations; and the directors left at liberty to purfue the Company's intereft only. Thus, no voyage, without fome unforeseen accident, need be longer than fixteen months, and it would effectually prevent all wilful lofs of passage and feafons. It would greatly promote the fpeedy difpatch of your fhips abroad, and confequently fave an incredible demurrage. It would likewife difcourage your commanders from putting into Ireland or elsewhere, outward or homeward bound, unless through real distress, or other neceffary occafions. Give your chief or firit mate twenty, the fecond fifteen, the third twelve, the fourth ten fhillings per day, to the end of fixteen months only; but if this, and what has been propofed for the commanders fhould not be thought fufficient, allow MORE. An inconceivable advantage will certainly arife to the Company, if you preferve your trade and chartered rights to yourselves; and thofe you employ will become rich, honeft, and refpectable. I have never heard more than two ob. jections to this plan the firit is, make them what allowance you will, they will till purfue the fame illegal practice. Bad men, indeed, in all flations of life, will perfevere in wrong actions. But, furely, if you pay them generoufly, and the parties acknowledge themfelves fatisfied, a law may be made to inflict an exemplary punishment on thofe who tranfgrefs.

The other is, that the captains and officers having their all, or their greatest property on board, will stand by the fhip, on all dangerous occafions much longer than if they had no property to be fwallowed up in the ocean, ur taken by an enemy. A failor is faid to fet little or no value upon his life; do allow, that failors are brave and intrepid. The fober and fenfible part of them have the fame feelings as other men, when their lives are at flake. As the law now ftands, they lofe all their wages, if the fhip does not arrive fafe. But if their wages are increased, to what their former advantages brought them in, they will not be injured. I could now with to recommend to the proprietors, to form fuch a law as may totally prevent that very deftructive cuftom of felling or buying commands, or births in the ships employed in their fervice. It is fraught with every mischief, and operates daily against every principle of juftice and common honesty.'

Here we fhall difmifs a fubject with which it will not be fupposed that we are very intimately acquainted, (efpecially fince the difqualification of fmall proprieters) only hinting to Sir Richard Hotham, that if he can but contrive to qualify our fociety to enter on the direction, and to review the affairs of this opulent Company, instead of confining our talents to the support of a monthly pamphlet,-we hereby engage, on fo defirable a translation, to render his farther remonftrances on this or any other fpecies of mal-administration, totally unneceffary: and we think he cannot have a fairer offer,

T 4

N.

ART.

ART, VIII. Philofophical Transactions. Vol. LXII. concluded: See Review for January, p. 28.1

ARTICLES relating to CHEMISTRY.

Article 19. Obfervations on different Kinds of Air. By Jofeph Priestley, LL. D. F. R. S.

TH

HIS long and valuable Article, which contains many original and important observations, both on the atmospherical, and on various kinds of factitious, air, has been very justly diftinguifhed by the Society to which it is addreffed, by their adjudication of Sir Godfrey Copley's medal to the ingenious Author of it. In his refearches into this interefting part of natural philofophy, Dr. Priestley has indeed been peculiarly fortunate: though it is fcarce just to pfe that expreffion in the prefent inftance; as few of his difcoveries have been the product of chance, but evidently the refult of a happy turn for philofophical fpeculation, and of a certain addrefs-a curiofa felicitas-in planning, felecting, and executing the most apt or appropriate experiments. As the Philofophical Tranfactions do not fall into the hands of many who may be both inclined and qualified to profecute and extend the Author's discoveries, we are glad to hear, not only that the Doctor is preparing a separate edition of this valuable article, which will shortly be publifhed; but that he has likewife very confiderably enlarged it with new and interefting obfervations. We fhall therefore defer giving any account of the prefent paper, till we have had the fatisfaction to perufe this larger and more complete detail of his philofophical inquiries.

The two remaining articles of this clafs contain only the analyfis of certain mineral waters. In Article 3, Dr. Donald Monro gives an account of thofe of Castle-Loed and Fairburn, in the county of Rofs; and of a purging water at Petkeathly in Perthshire. In the 32d Dr. Percival relates the experiments made by him on the waters of Buxton and Matlock, and adds fome obfervations with refpect to their use.

PAPERS relating to MEDICINE. Article 31. On the Digeftion of the Stomach after Death. By John Hunter, F. R. S. &c.

This article contains fome new and curious facts, and phyfiological deductions from them, which throw confiderable Jight on the procefs of digeftion. The ingenious Author obferves that all animal fubftances, while they are endowed with the living principle, are protected by it from the action of many other powers, to which they yield when they are divefted of it. Thus, as long as this principle remains in them, worms, or other infective in the ftomach, undisturbed by its di

2

gestive

geftive powers, and even breed and are hatched in that vifcus: but on the lofs of that principle, they become subject to thefe powers, and are decompounded. If it were poffible,' fays the Author, for a man's hand, for example, to be intro duced into the ftomach of a living animal, and kept there for fame confiderable time, it would be found, that the diffolvent powers of the ftomach could have no effect upon it; but if the fame hand were feparated from the body, and introduced into the fame ftomach, we should then find that the stomach would immediately act upon it.'

That the fubftance of the ftomach itself is not formed of indigeftible materials is well known; as the ftomach of a dead animal is eafily digefted in the living ftomach of another: but the Author has difcovered that the latter, though it is capable of refifting the digeftive powers which it contains, while it is poffeffed of the principle of life, is no fooner deprived of it, than it becomes immediately capable of being, itself, in part digested, merely by the remains of that very power, which it jult before poffefled, of digefting other inanimate substances; and which are now exerted upon its own substance.

In the diffection of dead bodies, the effects of this felf-digef tive power refiding in the ftomach have been often obferved; though the true caufe of the appearances was unknown. A confiderable aperture has been found in this organ, at its great extremity, through which its contents have been obferved to have paffed into the cavity of the abdomen, so as to come into contact with the spleen and diaphragm; on both which have appeared evident marks of diffolution. The edges of this opening have exhibited figns of their having undergone the action of fome folvent, fo as to resemble the ftate of a fleshy substance which had been half digefted in the ftomach of a living animal. There are very few dead bodies, the Author obferves, in whichsome traces at least of these appearances may not be observed.

It was natural to conclude that these feemingly morbid ap pearances had been produced during the life of the fubject; and as natural, fometimes, to consider them, as the probable causes of his death: but the Author never found that they had any connection with the fymptoms of the preceding difeafe; and was afterwards led to the true caufe, on finding these appearances moft frequent in thofe who had died a violent death. In one cafe, for inftance, here related, a man in perfect health, after having eat a hearty fupper, was killed outright by a single blow of a poker on his head. On opening the abdomen, the ftomach was found diffolved at its great end, and perforated; fo that a confiderable part of its contents had paffled into the general cavity of the belly.

In confequence of a variety of obfervations and experiments made by the Author on the fubject, he was led to conclude that it was from the process of digeftion going on after death, that the ftomach, being dead, was no longer capable of refifting the powers of that menftruum, which itfelf had formed for the digeftion of its contents.'. With this idea, he fet about making experiments to produce these appearances at pleasure, which would have taught us how long the animal ought to live after feeding, and how long it should remain after death before inis opened; and above all, to find out the method of producing the greatest digeftive power in the living ftomach.' But this purfuit led him, he obferves, into an unbounded field.

The general refult deduced by the Author from his various experiments and obfervations made on different animals, particularly fish, is, that the procefs of digeftion is not effected by means of a mechanical power, nor contractions of the ftomach, nor by heat; but that fomething is fecreted in the coats of the ftomach, which is thrown into its cavity, and there ani. malifes the food, or affimilates it to the nature of the blood. He adds, that in all the animals, whether carnivorous or not, upon which he has made obfervations, he has conflantly found an acid, but not a strong one, contained in the juices of their ftomach, when that vifcus has been in a natural flate. Article 34. On the medicinal Effects of a poisonous Plant exhibited inftead of the Water-parfnip." By Richard Pulteney, M: D. F. R.S.

This article contains the cafe of a gentleman, who had, during a course of feveral years, been afflicted with an inveterate diforder of the fcorbutic class, that thewed itself in blotches which came out on different parts, and were fucceeded by a copious feparation of fcales, as is ufual in leprous cafes. After having been reduced to the most deplorable ftate, in confequence of the diforder's gaining ground, notwithstanding the ex

* This pofition, we apprehend, the Author does not mean to extend to animals univerfally. From Reaumur's experiments it seems to follow that in birds which feed on grain, and which have a gizzard, digeftion is principally performed by a mechanical power, or by trituration. This force in the stomach of a turkey, measured by its effects in flattening certain tin tubes, which he obliged the bird to fwallow, was found by him to be equal to 437 pounds. At the fame time different forts of grains, raw, boiled, and hulled, inclosed in thefe tubes, which were open at their extremities, were not at all affected. Nevertheless he acknowledges an acid liquor to exist in their flomachs, which promotes a fermentation and affimilation of their food. See Mem. de l'Acad. Roy. de Sciences a Paris pour l'Année

1752.

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hibitic

hibition of the most powerful remedies, he was at length cured by taking the juice of a certain poisonous plant which had been given him, through mistake, in the room of that of the Waterparfnip. The Author, on having been informed of this cafe, procured a fpecimen of the plant, which had effected this extraordinary cure, and found it to be the Oenanthe crocata, or Hemlock drop wort; a vegetable which holds a distinguished place among the poifonous plants indigenous in this ifland; and concerning the deleterious effects of which the Reader will find fome obfervations communicated to the Public by Dr. Watson, in the 44th and 50th volumes of the Philofophical Tranfactions.

ZOOLOGY.

Article 20. An Essay on the periodical appearing and disappearing of certain Birds, at different Times of the Year. By the Hon. Daines Barrington, Vice Pref. R. S.

In this effay the Author difcuffes a very curious problem in natural history, which he folves in oppofition to the prevailing opinion among the most celebrated ornithologifts, who now in general concur in accounting for the periodical disappearance of certain intire fpecies of birds, by fuppofing that they migrate from hence into diftant countries: and yet, according to Mr. Barrington, the principal foundation of this opinion is, that in Europe we fee certain fpecies of birds in particular seasons, and lofe fight of them afterwards. From hence it has been haftily inferred that they crois the ocean, and vifit other countries.

Mr. Barrington denies that any well attefted inftances can be produced of this fuppofed migration, which, if there were any fuch periodical flight, could not poffibly have escaped the frequent obfervation of feamen. It has indeed been afferted that birds of paffage become invifible in their flight, because they rife too high into the air to be perceived, and because they choose the night for their paffage. The Author however expreffes his doubts whether any bird was ever feen to rife to a greater height than perhaps twice that of St. Paul's crofs;' and he further endeavours to fhew that the extent of fome of these fuppofed migrations (from the northern parts of Europe, for inftance, to the line) is too great to be accounted for, by having recourse to the argument founded on a nocturnal paffage.

The Author next recites, in a chronological order, all the instances that he has been able to collect, of birds having been actually seen by mariners when they were croffing a large extent of fea; and he endeavours to fhew that no ftrefs can be laid on the few cafual obfervations of this kind, that have been produced in fupport of the doctrine of a regular and periodical migration.

Mr. Barrington afterwards proceeds to invalidate M. Adanfon's celebrated obfervation with refpect to the migration of

the