This is a fingular cafe: the pins were forced into the breast, in a fit of mental derangement, and were only found inconvenient, when a blow had added to their irritation.

IX. Defcription of a new Key Inftrument for the Extraction of Teeth. By Mr. J. Savigny, Surgical-Inftrument Maker in London.'

The improvement defcribed in the prefent article feems to be a valuable one.

X. Some Account of the Effects of the Vapour of Vitriolic Æther in Cafes of Phthifis Pulmonalis. By Richard Pearfon, M. D. Member of the Royal College of Phyficians, London, and Phyfician to the general Hofpital near Birmingham.'

This practitioner has found the vapour of æther, breathed through a common funnel, very useful in hectic cafes. Half a drachm of the dried or powdered leaves of cicuta, macerated in about an ounce of the æther, for a few days preceding its afe, will render its vapour more effectual.

XI-XVIII. Extracts from the Philofophical Tranfactions, the Edinburgh Tranfactions, and the Memoirs of the Irish Academy.

XIX. An Eftimate of the Excefs of the Heat and Cold of the American Atmosphere beyond the European, in the fame Parallel of Latitude: to which are added, fome Thoughts on the Caufes of this Excefs. By Edward Auguftus Holyoke, M. D. F. A. A. From the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.'

This article is valuable as a collection of meteorological facts, though deficient in reafoning. The writer fays,

I have from this collection (Ephemerides Meteorologica Palatina), formed a table of the greatest heat and greateft cold, and of the mean of the greatest heat and cold, for a course of years, of twenty different cities in Europe; the fouthernmost of which is Rome, in lat. 41° 53', a few minutes fouthward of Bofton; and the northernmoft, Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, in lat. 59° 20, comprehending an extent of upwards of 17° of latitude; and from Rochelle, on the western coaft of France, to Buda, the capital of Hungary, comprehending 20° of longitude; which takes in all the middle region of Europe. To which are added, my own obfervations of the greatest heat and cold, &c. made at Salem, in Maffachusetts.

By this table, it appears, that of the twenty European cities mentioned in it, the thermometer was higheft at Wartzburgh, in the circle of Franconia, viz. 102° 4, which falls fhort of our greatest heat above 3 degrees. The greatest degree of cold happened at Sagan, a city in the western borders of Silefia. There

the mercury in the thermometer funk to-21° 32', which exceeds our greatest cold at Salem by 10° 3'; but is just as low, as we were informed by the public prints at the time, though I know not upon what authority, that the thermometer fell at Hartford, in Connecticut, and at New York, in the month of January, 1786. But what is moft to our purpose, the mean of the greatest heat in, all thofe places, taken collectively, for the period noted in the third column of the table, amounted to no more than + 860 41, which is more than 10 short of our greatest heat at Salem; and the mean of the greatest cold in thefe twenty cities, amounted to 3° 31′, which is fhort of the mean of our greatest cold upwards of 5 de grees.

But in order to determine the difference between our heat and cold, and the European, in the fame latitude, we must compare with thofe cities, which are fituated in latitudes neareft our own, viz. Padua, Marfeilles, and Rome. We find by the table, that the mean of their greateft heat falls fhort of ours 5° 62, 7o-42′, and 11° 59, refpectively. We also find the mean of the greatest. cold of these three cities is lefs than ours by 19° 41'; 29° 92′, and 35° 88', refpectively. Further, the mean of the greatest heat of these three cities, taken collectively, which is 88° 1', deducted' from the mean of our greatest heat, which is 97° 02', leaves à difference of 8° 92′ hotter. And the mean of the greateft cold of thefe cities, being 25° 96', taken from the mean of our greatest cold,2° 42', gives a difference of 28° 38′ colder.

a

The air of America then, in our latitude, is hotter in fummer (when hotteft) by 10 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, and colder in winter (when coldeft) by 5 degrees, than the whole inid-" dle region of Europe taken collectively, whofe mean latitude is about 49° or 50%, that is, about 7 or 8 degrees more northerly

than Boston.

Again, the air in America is hotter in fummer, by upwards of 8 degrees, and colder in winter, by 28 degrees, than those parts of Europe, which lie nearly in the fame latitude.' Vol. vii. p. 226.

The explanation is in fome measure difficult. The ufual reafon drawn from the numerous lakes, is fhown not to be wellfounded; and Dr. Holyoke thinks that the excess of heat and cold may arife from the greater drynefs of the air. The air of America is certainly more dry than that of Europe; but that it is more dephlogifticated, as our author endeavours to prove, is very doubtful; and even if this point were admitted, it would add little to his argument. His reafoning on the fubject is very delufive. The evaporation is certainly greater than in Europe; the quantity of rain greater. In America, there are more clear fair days, fewer cloudy, foggy, and rainy ones. Thefe facts, however, add as little to CRIT. REV. VOL. XXIV. Dec. 1798.

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the explanation. The reafon feems to be, that, while in America, as well as in Europe, wefterly winds chiefly prevail, in the latter thefe blow over a vast ocean, and, in the former, over an extenfive continent. The weftern coast of Ame rica, on this account, is warmer than the eastern coaft of Afia, in nearly the fame latitudes; and Stockholm than Tobolfki, which differs little in latitude from it. A remarkable affertion, which, if well-founded, might lead to fome curious fpeculations, is that, in the neighbourhood of woods of pine and other evergreens, frofts appear earlier, and continue longer, than in the neighbourhood of trees whofe leaves are deciduous.

XX. An Account of an uncommon Cafe of Emphyfema; and of an external Abfcefs, the Contents of which were discharged by coughing.'

In this cafe, one of the veficles in the lungs feemingly burst in coughing.

6

XXI. Account of a Locked Jaw. By Aaron Dexter, M. D. F. A. A.'

This cafe ended fatally, after the trial of almoft every remedy ufually recommended in fimilar complaints.

XXII. An Account of the Effects of Negative Electricity, in Cafes of Burns. By Mr. John Vinall.'

Here, perhaps, the fancy predominated in exaggerating the violence of the burns, and reprefenting the relief as more fudden and complete than it really was.

XXIII. Defcription of a Cafe of Hydrocephalus. By M. Tenghil, Profeffor of Surgery at Quiers.'

This cafe is very uncommon. A tumour depended, from behind the occiput, where an opening of the bone and a fungous excrefcence were obferved. Its nature, therefore, was the fame with that of the fpina bifida; its fituation different. We do not recollect to have ever met with the like inftance, though we have feen one where we fufpect a fimilar morbid change had taken place at the bottom of the facrum.

XXIV. Account of a Cafe in which a Stone, formed in one of the Kidneys, was extracted through an Abfcefs in the Back. By Herman Schützercrants, M. D.'

This is not a fingular cafe.

XXV. An Account of the poifonous Quality of the Juice of the Root of Jatropha Manihot, or bitter Caffada; and of the Ufe of Cayenne Pepper in counteracting the Effects of this and fome other poisonous Substances; with Remarks on the Efficacy of the Spigelia Anthelmia in Worn Cafes. By James Clark, M. D. Phyfician' in Do

minica.'

Boiling the cafada diminished its deleterious effects, with

out deftroying them. Cayenne pepper is a very powerful antidote to all narcotic poifons.

XXVI. An Account of fome Experiments made with a' View to afcertain the comparative Quantities of amylaceous Matter, yielded by the different Vegetables moft commonly in Ufe in the Weft India Iflands. By the fame."

Though there are many nutritious vegetables in the WestIndian iflands, they do not all produce ftarch. Those which our author tried, we fhall mention in the order in which they were found moft productive of this fæcula; 1. Jatropha janipha, fweet caffada; 2. Arum efculentum, eddoes; 3. Jatropha manihot, bitter caffada, from whose starch tapioca is prepared; 4. Mufa paradifiaça, plantanes, not ripe; 5. Diofcorea bulbifera, Guinea yam; 6. Convolvulus batatas, Weft-Indian potatoe; 7. Solanum tuberofum, Irish potatoe, used as a standard; 8. Diofcorca triphylla, couch-couch or yampee; 9. Maranta arundinacea, arrow-root.

XXVII. < A fatal Inftance of the poisonous Effects of the Enanthe Crocata Linn. or Hemlock Dropwort. By Robert Graves, M. D. Phyfician at Dorchefter.'

This fatal accident arofe from fwallowing the juice of œnanthe crocata, instead of the water parfnip.

2 Vols. 8vo. 18s.

Selections from the most celebrated Foreign Literary Journals and other Periodical Publications. Boards. Debrett. 1798.

THESE volumes, we understand from the advertisement, were published in confequence of the favourable reception given to the Varieties of Literature. The papers which they contain relate to various fubjects, and are confequently of various importance. In a work of this nature, methodical arrangement cannot be expected; but the various effays of M. Meiner, upon the fuperftitions and cuftoms of favages, ought, we think, to have been given in continued order, inftead of being carelessly scattered through the two volumes. The favourite opinion of this writer is, that there exifts an original difference in the races of mankind. The people of Celtic origin are the most elevated; and with thefe he claffes the northern tribes of Gothic defcent. These nations alone, he fays, have invented and perfected arts and sciences, and,

* See Vol. XVII. New Arr. p. 274

when they were funk, revived them. The Sclavonian nations are the next in rank; the orientals are third in this fcale of mental excellence; and the laft and moft degraded are the nations and tribes of Mongolian pedigree. Proportioned to their mental inferiority is their phyfical infenfibility.

Such is the theory of M. Meiner; and, like most theorists, he has wrefted facts to fuit his hypothefis. The fortitude with which the favage endures the most acute yet tedious torments, is attributed to his coarfe organifation: the women are faid to bring forth as eafily as the females of tigers and lions; and the more they are capable of fuftaining fatigue, hunger, pain, and other phyfical inconveniences, the more they refemble beafts. In thefe reprefentations there may be fome truth, but there is affuredly much of the spirit of a framer of fyftems. Habits of favage life will produce this patience the fpeculator may find it among his favoured Goths and Celts; and the death-fong of an American favage might have reminded him of Regner Lothbrog. The following anatomical remarks, however, if indeed they are founded upon experiments fufficiently numerous, are of fome importance to the author's fyftem.

:

6 The heads of real negroes differ from the heads of the naturally formed Europeans as much in their fize as in their fhape. The former are confiderably larger, as all the parts which are deftined to animal functions, the cheek-bones, the jaws, the muscles for biting and the teeth, are incomparably ftronger in negroes than in Europeans. Whereas the fkull, and particularly the occiput, the finciput, the brain-pan, and the brain are in negroes many degrees Jefs, as the paffage from the back of the head to the neck is much Batter than in men of our quarter of the globe. The heads of the negroes are on an average longer and more pointed, and the brain more crummy and firm which properties have been frequently obferved in filly and frantic people in Europe. Ears, lips, tongue and chops, with the apertures of the eye-holes, the nofe-holes and the auditory paffage, are larger in negroes than in Europeans; the flat nofe, on the contrary, and the apertures of the deep-funk eyes or eyelids are in the fame proportion lefs. In confequence of the peculiarities of the negro form, juft mentioned, the high checkbones, the prominent chin, and the long face, hollowed out as it were, the negroes, according to the remark of all voyagers, have an ape-like appearance. The fkin of the negro is not only blacker, but is confiderably thicker than with other men; and no less characteristic than the gloffy and thick fkin, are the fine, dry, and black woolly hair and the difgufting effluvia of the negroes, which is preferved in their defcendants of clearer colour, as long, and often longer than, the fhades of the negroe-hue. Attentive anato