far more highly venerated by posterity. The streets in that part called the University, or the Latin quarter, are so narrow, dirty, and inconvenient, that they disgrace the capital, and loudly call for the interposition of government, which should demand the plans of able architects for this great object. In many places, squares might be opened; in others, two parallel streets thrown into one. In the part called the city, some passages, called streets, are so narrow, that if two wheel-barrows met, great would be the embarrassment. It was said of Augustus, that he found Rome brick, and left it marble; and I think historiáns tell us, that he beautified the whole city by opening wide streets, and rewarding the erection of handsome houses. It appears also from the streets discovered at Pompeii and Herculaneum, that the ancients anticipated us, in the use of footpavements. It has however been the singular happiness of the English plan of government, that the ease and comfort of the people have been studied; and that idle splendour has been sacrificed to lasting utility. But to proceed with some other improvements, which still deserve praise, in waiting till the useful shall have become fashionable at Paris, we must not forget the new hothouse, and other buildings in the garden of plants, nor the new bridge, A new an object of solid utility. quay is also about to be constructed in the city; and the proposed square at the Bastile will have its merit. The attention of the government seems hitherto to have been occupied with the environs of the palace; but after this object is accomplished, it is to be hoped that the other parts of the city will not escape observation. Among the most capital improvements, must not be forgotten the new canal, or rather aqueduct, which is to join the river Ourq with the Seine, Conveying a copious supply of good water to the eastern part of the city. VOL. VI. NO. XXXVI. It is intended to construct a grand bason at the Bastile surrounded with an elegant square of houses. The commencement of the works was performed with considerable solemnity on the 23d of September, 1802. The magistrates of Paris and the prefect of the department proceeded to the house of the minister of the interior, whence a grand procession commenced. On arriving at the spot, the prefect made a speech enu- "It is not sufficient to feed some In the autumn 1804, I went to see this canal near Bondy, but had not time to examine it throughout the forest, where I was told by a Polish general, an able and practical judge, that the works deserved attention from the novelty, and boldness of the execution in cutting through a considerable eminence. 9 For the Literary Magazine. LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL INTELLIGENCE FROM EUROPE. WHEN M. de Saussure travelled in the Upper Alps, about twenty years ago, he remarked, for the first time, that immense fields of snow were tinged by a red powder, the origin of which he could not ascertain. To accomplish this object, he collected some of the powder, and subjected it to experiments, but his doubts on this head were far from being clear ed up; for, although it appeared to be of a vegetable nature, his attempts to discover the plant to which it belonged did not succeed. This last consideration at first induced him to regard it as the product of a singular combination of some earth, separated from the snow with air and light: but he afterwards returned to his first opinion, and regarded it as the seminal dust of some plant, probably of the cryptogamous kind. He was farther confirmed in this opinion on his ascent to the summit of Mont Blanc, when he reflected that the snow was never found tinged with this red matter, but at a certain and determined height, where many Alpine plants grew, and only during the season of their fecundation; and that at the summit of this mountain, which was wholly destitute of vegetation, the snow uniformly appeared of the most perfect white ness. He was, besides, anxious to learn whether a similar phenomenon did not occur in other mountainous regions. This circumstance, says M. Ramond, in the memoirs of the French National Institute, I had it lately in my power fully to ascertain, as I observed that the snow was of this red colour in the Upper Pyrenees. I have met with this coloured snow in the spring and during thaws, on mountains at the height of between two thousand and two thousand four hundred metres. In some places I observed this reddish tint in the furrows produced by the melting of the snow; but it was more particularly evident, and of a deeper shade, a the junction of several furrows, where a multitude of rills had deposited this colouring matter. I collected a portion of this snow, and allowed it to dissolve spontaneously. The fluid thus obtained became almost immediately clear, and the red powder was precipitated to the bottom of the vessel. Saussure doubtless had not observed this excess of weight, so opposite to that of a vegetable powder, which is specifically lighter than water; but this is the only one of its characters which is in opposition to its other sensible properties. On being exposed to a slight degree of heat, it exhales sometimes a smell like that of opium, and at others similar to that of plants belonging to the chicoraceous tribe; when the heat is augmented, it swells and bubbles up like vegetable substances, diffusing the odour peculiar to them. It remained to be sought whether the places where this powder was found might not throw some light upon its origin. I was engaged in botanizing on the highest of the Pyrenean mountains seven years, and had collected from fifteen to eighteen hundred species: these I carefully examined but did not meet with any whose pollen answered, either by its colour or abundance, to the phenomenon in question. The first time I noticed this appearance, I was in a country abounding with granite; the snow was detatched from the rocks by a partial thaw, but it was evident it had once been in a close contact with them; and at the origin of all the furrows, which carried down the coloured powder, I found very dark red grains, whence the tin evidently proceeded. What was my astonishment when, on examining them more narrowly, I discovered them to be small particles of mica, in a state of singular decomposition. This was not a simple oxidation of the iron contained in the mica, but a complete transformation of the whole substance into a light, red, and pulverulent matter. Many of these particles were completely changed, while others of them were but superficially altered. I selected these last, and scraped off the powder with which they were covered. This was really the colouring pow. der of the snow, and this substance, the mineral origin of which was thus proved, assumed a vegetable character in my crucible. On the following year, I found the red snow on the mountains in the form of micaceous schistus. Since which I have frequently discovered it, and always on lands abounding with mica. On Mont Perdu, and the surrounding tertiary mountains, I discovered the rose tint on the snow which covered the glacier of Tuque Rouye. On examining the rocks, however, all the hard grey stones were intermixed with almost imperceptible particles of mica. The production of the red powder does not depend on the presence of mica alone, but requires the concurrence of certain circumstances, which can only take place in the middle regions of these mountains, as also a concurrence of particular seasons and temperature, joined to a proper degree of oxigenation in the snow it is particularly evident in those places, and during that season, in which the elements most strongly tend to form new combinations. Nature, indeed, appears equally incapable of producing it at those immense heights, where her energies are enchained by a per. petual winter, or in the lowest regions, where they are exhausted by successive vegetation. On the whole, from the facts stated respecting the conversion of mica into a powder which acquires all the characters of a vegetable production, it appears to open a vast field for inquiry, respecting the means employed by nature in the successive production of organized beings from the molecules of inanimate matter. The secretary of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Lisbon, M. Francisco de Borja Carcajo Stockler, has published lately the first volume of his works, consisting of eulogies on various distinguished characters, among which is one on the celebrated M. D'Alembert; with some remarks on fluxions, that appear deserving of public attention, and reflect the highest credit on the author: it also contains a very interesting memoir on the maritime discoveries of the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. Improvements in agriculture, in One ton of fish-oil, or 252 £. 8. d. 36 00 3 40 5 0 0 32 gallons of vinegar, at 2s. 2 60 2 14 0 0 16 0 £ 43 5 0 298 gallons cost But the oil thus prepared is worth 4s. 6d. per gallon, or 671. 1s., leaving a profit of 231. 16s. on every ton of oil. As a specimen of the paints des 1 4 1 The whole composition will weigh 368 lb., of course the expence is at a rate less than one penny per lb: but to render it fit for use, to every eight pounds add a quart of the incorporated oil, and the same quantity of linseed oil, and it will be found a paint possessed of every requisite quality of beauty, durability, and cheapness; and in this state of preparation it does not exceed twopence half-penny per lb., whereas the coal tar of the same colour is sixpence. Upon the same principles, lead colour may be made for less than two-pence per lb.; a bright green for about three-pence farthing per lb.; a stone colour for two-pence per lb.; and a brown red for one penny per lb. In an additional communication from Mr. V., we have a receipt for a constant white, for the inside painting of houses, which, though not divested of smell in the operation, will become dry in four hours, and all the smell gone in that time. The composition of this paint is thus described: To one gallon of spirit of turpentine, add two pounds of frankincense; let it simmer over the fire until dissolved, strain it, and bottle it for use. To a gallon of the oil add one quart of this, shake them well together, and bottle it also. Let any quantity of white-lead be ground with the spirits of turpentine very fine, then add a sufficient portion of the last mixture to it, until it is fit for laying on. If in working it grows thick, it must be thinned with spirits of turpentine. It is a flat or dead white. Mrs. Jane Richardson has obtained from this society twenty guineas, as a premium for the following description of the process for clearing feathers from their animal oil: Take for every gallon of clear water, one pound of quick lime; mix them well together, and when the undissolved lime is precipitated in fine powder,pour off the clear lime water for use,at the time it is wanted. Put the feathers in another tub, and add to them a quantity of the clear lime water, sufficient to cover the feathers about three inches, when well immersed and stirred about therein. The feathers, when tho roughly moistened, will sink down, and should remain in the lime water three or four days, after which the foul liquor should be separated from the feathers by laying them on a sieve. The feathers should be afterwards well washed in clean water, and dried upon nets, which will take up about three weeks. To Mrs. Morrice has been adjudged fifteen guineas for a method of cleansing silk, woollen, and cotton goods, without damage to the texture or colour, which is thus performed: Grate raw potatoes to a fine pulp in clean water, and pass the liquid matter through a coarse sieve into another vessel of water; let the mixture stand till the fine white particles of the potatoes are precipitated, then pour the mucilaginous liquor from the fecula, and preserve the liquor for use. The article to be cleaned should then be laid upon a linen cloth on a table; and having provided a clean sponge, dip the sponge in the potatoe liquor, and apply it to the article to be cleaned till the dirt is perfectly separated, then wash it in clean water several times. Two middle-sized potatoes will be sufficient for a pint of water. The white fecula will answer the purpose of tapioca, and make an useful nourishing food with soup or milk, or serve to make starch and hair powder. The coarse pulp, which does not pass the sieve, is of great use in cleaning worsted curtains, tapestry, carpets, or other coarse goods. The mucilaginous liquor will clean all sorts of silk, cotton, or woollen goods, without hurting or spoiling the colour; it is also useful in cleaning oil-paintings, or furniture that is soiled. Dirty painted wainscots may be cleansed by wetting a sponge in the liquor, then dipping it in a little fine clean sand, and afterwards rubbing the wainscot with it. Under the article manufactures we notice the gold medal adjudged to Mr. William Corston, for Leghorn plait hats, &c. This is undoubtedly an invention of great importance to England, as we are told that the importation of this article of dress, during the ten years previously to Mr. Corston's method of manufacture, would furnish employment for 5000 female children and young women, and give cultivation to two thousand acres annually of very poor land to raise the straw, unfit for other culture; and thus diffuse the means of support and happiness to many hundreds of poor families, by the healthy and productive employment it will afford their children. The silver medal and forty guineas have been voted to Mr. Joseph Baird, for a machine for cutting and crooking wires for cards employed in carding cotton and wool. This machine occupies a space of 14 inches square; it is worked by a handle, on the axis of which a small fly-wheel is fixed; it receives two wires at the same time from two barrels or reels, on each of which a coil of wire is placed; the wires are drawn forward from thence on turning the handle of the machine, they pass through two rollers, and are cut and double crooked as they advance within it: the wires, when properly formed for pricking into the leathers, drop down into a re ceptacle under the machine. The advantages expected from this invention are, 1. The great expedition with which the machine does the business; 2. The great extent to which it may be employed; 3. That it does not waste wire as other machines do, on account of its feeding itself, which is a very material advantage. To Mr. Austin, of Glasgow, was adjudged the silver medal for various improvements made by him in manufactures: among these, in the manufacture of muslins, lawns, &c., are spotting shuttles, that save clipping and the waste of spotting yarn to nearly seven-eighths of its whole value, and the pattern improved thereby. Some of the machinery is worked by a single touch of the weaver's finger, although there be one hundred spots in the breadth of the web; and it is done in the same space of time that one of these spots was formerly worked by the weav er, who usually kept a boy on each side of him, each working spot after spot with his fingers: these spots are called brocaded or finger spots. Another part of the machinery goes obliquely through the shed of the web, and will make any figure of a spot on a plain or twilled mounted web, without hiddles or treadles. A third instrument will answer, with pressers, to keep down the yarn that is not in the spot, without spotting hiddles or treadles. The next improvement is a universal ravel or snifle, useful at the beaming of all kinds of webs. This machine, which costs but 30s., is of itself complete, and will beam from the coarsest to the finest web, and to any breadth required; whereas by those in common use, 120 different ones are necessary, the value of which is more than 1201. Mr. Austin has laid before the society specimens of types or figures, formed of burnt clay or porcelain, for printing patterns upon callicnes, or designs for articles to be sewed or tamboured. These types are not liable to be destroyed by fire, nor by lying in a damp place. They may |