The general depression under which the agricultural interest has long been labouring, has at length been distinctly brought before the house by Mr. Western, in a manner which reflects equal credit on his talents and his moderation. A committee of the whole House will in a few days take the subject into their consideration, and we have every reason to believe that some effectual remedy will be devised for the removal of an evil somewhat alarming in its appearance. The outlines of the plan intended to be submitted to the committee have already been printed, and circulated amongst the members of the House. Its principal objects are, a reduction of the duties on malt, beer, and spiritsa repeal of that part of the Corn Bill which permits the warehousing of foreign grain duty free,-an advance of exchequer bills to those who stand in need of an increase of capital,-the laying of additional duties on the importation of all articles which are the produce of foreign agriculture-and the encouragement, by drawbacks and bounties, of the exportation of the redundant produce of our own soil. Such is the substance of the resolutions proposed by Mr. Western, and as far as we are at present able to comprehend their various bearings, they have our hearty concurrence, though we reserve our more decided opinions till the proceedings of the committee shall have put us in possession of fuller information on the subject. We cannot however, in the meanwhile, avoid expressing our satisfaction, that a gentleman who has had the advantage of so much experience should have expressed his firm persuasion that the present depressions of the landed interest are not past the relief of Parliament and that too, it would seem, without touching the tythe and poor laws, which less practical reformers have erroneously considered the principal causes of the prevalent distress. These laws are founded in wisdom and justice, and have had the sanction of ages long since past by ;-no alteration should therefore be introduced into their provisions, but after the maturest deliberation.

We cannot close our present observations without suggesting one general hint for the guidance of all plans, public and private, which may have in view the removal of existing distresses, whether they affect the agricultural, the mercantile, or the manufacturing interests-To promote as much as in us lies the consumption of the produce of our own country, in preference to that of others. Such was the uniform policy of Buonaparte; fas est et ab hoste doceri: such is becoming the policy of Russia, America, and other countries; and if we really wish effectually to promote our country's good, such must be ours. March 21st, 1816.

MONTHLY REGISTER

OF

ARTS, SCIENCES, AND LITERATURE.

The Conductors of the AUGUSTAN REVIEW request scientific and literary men, and also Editors and Publishers, to favor them with authentic information relative to inventions, discoveries, and improvements in Arts and Sciences; Notices of works preparing for publication, and of those recently published; which will be thankfully received and communicated to the public in the subsequent Number, if sent to the publisher (post puid) before the 20th of the month.

INVENTIONS, DISCOVERIES, AND IMPROVEMENTS, IN
ARTS AND SCIENCES.

Alcohol and Ether.

The composition of Alcohol, according to the calculations of GAY-LUSSAC, founded upon the experiments of Saussure, is

Olefiant gas,

Vapour of water,

the whole being condensed into half its bulk. Ether, according to the same writer, is also composed of

Olefiant gas,

Vapour of water, ...

...

2 volumes, 1 volume, The specific gravity of and that of vapour of vapour of alcohol, ae

the whole condensed into one volume. Olefiant gas, he also considers as 0.978, water 0625. The specific gravity of the cording to his experiments, is 1613, and that of vapour of ether, 2.586. See Annales de Chimie, xcv.

Arsenic.

Dr. MARCET has lately re-examined the subject of detecting arsenic in the liquid contained in the stomach; and he thinks the best mode of proceeding is to mix the supposed arsenic of silver with a little potash and charcoal powder, and then to heat this mixture in a glass tube. A pelicle of metalic arsenic will be obtained on the inside of the tube, unless the quantity of arsenic present be very minute indeed. Ann. Phil. No. 39.

Cinnamon Stone.

Specimens of rock have lately been brought from Ceylon to London, which consist of schalstone, quartz, and cinnamon stone. The schalstone forms the principal constituent, and possesses all the characters of that variety, which is found in the Bannat of Temeswar. The quartz is regularly distributed, and without any appearance of cystallization. The Cinnamon Stone is in grains, and distributed throughout the mass; but very few of these grains exhibit any traces of a cystalline form, and in those in which any appearance of that form can be discerned, it is extremely imperfect. The difference between the Ceylon rock, and that which is found in the Bannat, which contains the Cinnamon Stone, is, that the former contains quartz, instead of blue calcarious spar, which constitutes oue of the ingredients in the other. Thomson's Annals, No. 39.

Columbium.

M. FREYSMUTH, a German chemist, has discovered Columbium in Bohemia. He extracted it from a mineral which was previously regarded as a native sulphuret of ziuc, and also as nigrin, to which it has a great resemblance. The same chemist thinks that Columbium aud Tautalium are very different metals, notwithstanding the resemblance which Dr. Woollaston found between them.

Copying Drawings.

M. DE LASTEYRIE has discovered a method of Copying Drawings with greater facility than was previously practised. For this purpose he wets the drawing paper with a vegetable essence, which renders it transparent. This he effected by washing one side of the paper with a brush dipped in essence of lavender or citron, or oil of spike. The essence used for this purpose should be as limpid and pure as clear water, in order that it may not stain the paper; and may easily be deprived of the colour which it usually has when purchased, by a second distillation. The paper thus prepared is to be laid upon the drawing, and the lines traced with a pencil; after which, holding the paper to the fire, the essence will be evaporated, and the paper become as white as before. By this means faosimiles of prints and drawings may be taken with great facility.

Fire Damp.

SIR HUMPHRY DAVY, who has laboured so successfully in the sause of humanity, and the interests of Coal Miners, has communicated further accounts of his experiments on this subject to the Royal Society. From these it appears, that a lamp burnt in a wire-gause cylinder, in which the apertures are of an inch in width, can be used with perfect safety from explosion in all circumstances. So that no new lamp, or other apparatus, is now necessary to guard the miners from the fatal effects of these explosions; as the common lamps now in use, when covered with a wire

gause screen, not only prevent all danger, but may be used to consume the fire-damp itself, and thus change it into a source of light. What a noble application of scientific knowledge in not only depriving this agent, which was lately so irresistibly fatal, of all its terrors, but even in converting it to purposes of utility!

The Gecko.

SIR EVERARD HOME has recently presented a paper to the Royal Society, containing some observations on the structure of the feet of the Gecko, a species of lacertæ, or East India Lizzard. This creature possesses the power of running along smooth ceilings with its back downwards, with the greatest ease; and the result of these observations was, that the feet of this animal have a resemblance to the actinia of those fish which adhere to the sides of ships; and that at every step they form a partial vacuum below them, by which they are enabled to proceed in that position, contrary to the laws of gravity.

Intense Cold.

On

THOMAS FOSTER, Esq. has communicated the following particulars, relative to the late Intense Cold, to Mr. Tilloch :the morning of the 7th of February, the cold very much increased, and in the night was very severe; the thermometer being about ten degrees of Fahrenheight. On the 8th it searcely rose above that degree all day, and at midnight was 6°; at three o'clock in the morning of the 9th, 5°; and at sun-rise 4°. In other parts of the parish of Hackney, it is said to have been two degrees lower. At Walthamstow, about three the same morning it was 1. The same night it was about 24° at Clapton. On the 10th it rose several degrees, and the ordinary cold of winter returned. Phil. Mag. No. 214.

MR. LUKE HOWARD, of Tottenham, also observes on this subject, with respect to the night between the 9th and 10th of February: At 8 p. m. a quicksilver thermometer, with its bulb supported a little above the snow, stood at Zero; at 11 p. m. a spirit thermometer in the same position indicated -4; the former, which had a pretty large bulb, had not sunk below -3. At half past seven a. m. the 10th, a quicksilver and a spirit thermometer, hung over night about eight feet above the ground, indicated respectively-3, and were evidently rising. The minimum of -5, which I have registered, was taken from a six's thermometer, the freezing point of which is very correctly marked on the scale, placed a little above the snow. As the float of this thermometer had not room to move further, it may not have indicated the actual minimum of the air in that situation; but I have other evidence that, at the usual height from the ground, of my standard thermometer, the temperature was at no time below -5. The exposure is north, and very open." Ann. Phil. No. 39.

Lightning Conductor.

The following description of a Lightning Conductor, has lately been given in a valuable work on the "Elements of Electricity and Electro-Chemistry, by GEORGE JOHN SINGER, Esq.;" and the utility and importance of the subject induce us to present it to our readers" The conducting rod or rods, (for if the building is large there should be several) should be formed of copper or iron, three quarters of an inch thick. Its upper extremity should be acutely pointed, and rise three or four feet above the highest part of the building. The parts of which the rod is formed should be jointed closely; the ends that are applied to each other being screwed together. All the metallic parts of the roof should be connected with the rod, and it should pass down in as direct a line as possible, and penetrate several feet below the foundation, from which it should be inclined outward. The underground part of the conductor is better formed of copper, to prevent its decay; it should be connected, if it possibly can, with a moist stratum of earth, or with a large body of water. The penetration of the conductor to some depth below the level of the foundation, will in many instances procure it this advantage. The conductor is sometimes made wholly of copper, it may then be thinner than if made of iron: for a stationary conductor, I should conceive, that a copper rod of half an inch thick, would answer every required purpose; and there is little doubt that a less quantity of metal made into a hollow tube, so as to increase its superficies, would be equally, or even more effectual. Conductors for ships should be attached to the mast, and where motion is required, an interruption should be made in the inflexible conductor, and its parts connected together by a Jength of spiral wire, which would be at once perfectly continuous, and sufficiently flexible to yield to every necessary movement. Such conductors will be much more effectual if they are connected with a strip of metal surrounding the deck, and continued to the copper bottom."

Nitric and Prussic Acid.

M. VAN MONS, writing to Mr. Tilloch, observes, that M. Berzelius no longer considers Azote as the radical elementary combustible of the nitric acid. He thinks that this acid is composed of 88.29 parts of oxygen, and 1172 parts of an unknown radical, which he calls nitria. The same writer also remarks, that Prussic acid has been found in opium in Germany; and from this discovery it has been concluded that the narcotic virtue of opium depends upon this acid.

Organized Substances.

M. VAN MONS likewise observes, I have found that we may extract the soluble parts of most organized substances, by treating Aug. Rev. VOL. II. 2 H

NO. XII.