to give assistance in a case where, after a person had been twenty
minutes under water, he was taken out, and by a very common but
serious mistake, carried with his head downwards. The usual means
were tried unremittingly, but unsuccessfully, for a whole hour, but
at the end of that time a little blood flowed from a vein that had
been opened, and a ligature being placed on the arm, ten ounces of
blood were withdrawn: the circulation and respiration were then
gradually re-established, horrible convulsions, and a frightful state
of tetanus coming on at the same time; copious bleeding was again
effected, after which a propensity to sleep came on: a third bleeding
the following morning was followed by the recovery of the patient.
Hence M. Bourgeois concludes that the means of recovering a drowned
person should never be abandoned until the decomposition of the body
has commenced.—_Bull. Univ._, C. xi. 213.
19. _Preservation of Cantharides_.—It is stated by M. Farines that
the active part of cantharides exists only in the soft organs of the
insect; that these are the parts which are attacked by a species of
acarus, and that in this way the cantharides are injured. Camphor
has no power of preventing the attacks of the acarus; but M. Farines
believes that pyroligneous acid will be found effectual, and proposes
to prepare cantharides with it, and even to kill them at the time
when they are collected by submersion in it.
20. _Chloride of Lime in cases of Burns_.—The good effect of chloride
of lime in cases of burns is confirmed by the experience of M.
Lisfranc. He has applied it in many cases of that kind, sometimes
immediately after the accident, sometimes after the application of
emollient cataplasms. Lint is moistened in a solution more or less
strong of chloride of lime, and then applied to the place, being
covered over with waxed cloth. The cure has been singularly hastened
under its influence and in one case where almost the whole of the
lower limbs, the arms and face, had been burnt, the use of the
chloride recovered the patient from the stupor into which he had
fallen at the end of four days, and a perfect recovery was effected
two months after the accident.—_Bull. Univ_., C. xi. 77. [p232]
21. _Cure of Nasal Polypi_.—Dr. Primus of Babenhausen asserts, that
the saffronised tincture of opium (of the Prussian Pharmacopœia)
possesses the property of gradually destroying nasal polypi when
applied to them. Certain cures, which have been thus effected, have
already been published, and a striking one occurred in January, 1826.
A man, 46 years of age, had one in each nostril. The tincture was
applied several times a day to the bases of the polypi, by means of a
small hair-brush or lint roll. In eight days the tumours had assumed
a paler appearance, and lost a little in volume; a serous secretion
from the nose, which had existed for a long time, was diminished, and
the pituitary membrane had acquired a more lively tint, as if in a
sub-inflammatory state. The application was continued, the tumours
continued to decrease, and at the end of three weeks had entirely
disappeared.—_Mediz. Chirurg. Zeitung_, 1826, p. 13.
22. _Bite of the Viper_.—M. Jacopo Sacchi, of Barzio in Valsasina,
having had occasion to take charge of some cases in which injury had
been inflicted by the bite of a viper (Coluber Berus), transferred
his observations upon them into the hands of Professor Paletta. From
these it appears that ammonia, recommended by Dr. Mangili, in 1813,
although an excellent remedy in many cases, is by no means sufficient
in all, but must occasionally be seconded by every possible means.
Although sometimes nature alone has power sufficient to overcome
the bite of a viper, yet, at other times, the injury is so great
and sudden as to resemble the effects of hydrocyanic acid. In these
cases he recommends that the patient should be put into a hot bed
covered with woollen clothes, and the most powerful sudorifics with
some tonics administered internally. Friction should be applied all
over the body, and at the same time the wounds are to be enlarged,
cupping-glasses applied, and tow, dipped in ammonia, applied to the
spot.
23. _Experiments on the Poison of the Viper_.—M. Desaulx confirms
the fact that dogs can swallow with impunity even large quantities
of the poison of vipers. He observed also that when this poison
was withdrawn from the vesicles it soon lost in power, and
after a certain time became inert: a portion ten days old being
introduced into a fresh wound of a living animal, only caused slight
tumefaction on the part. Mangili, on the contrary, found it, when
hermetically sealed up, to retain its virulence for many months. The
species of viper from which M. Desaulx obtained his poison is not
mentioned.—_Bull. Univ._ C. xi. 142.
24. _Destruction of Moles_.—The following method of destroying moles
is asserted, by the Count de Boisseulh, to be excellent. Grounds much
infested by these animals have been perfectly freed from them by
means of it. A number of worms must be procured, killed, and powdered
with pulverised vomica-nut; the whole is to [p233] be mixed and left
for twenty-four hours. The mole-tracks are then to be opened, and two
or three of these worms placed in each hole. If the meadow is large,
they cannot be placed in every hole; but by multiplying them as much
as possible, a good result is sure to be obtained.—_Ann. de Agricul.
de la Charente_.
25. _On growing Salad-herbs at Sea_.—On long sea-voyages, whatever
esculent roots, or fruit, or whatever vegetable essences may be
stowed in the steward’s stores, whether for the use of the officers
or crew, nothing can be a greater treat to the former, especially
within the tropics, than a dish of fresh salubrious salad-herbs. The
want of such an addition to the ordinary fare on board a ship has
often been a cause of disease, and misfortune, and even death!—it
is needless, therefore, to insist on the usefulness, or to state
the antiscorbutic, and consequently sanatory qualities, of fresh
vegetables in such situations; and however limited the means to
supply such a want as is described below, yet, as it may be highly
useful to convalescents, and in individual cases, the publication may
not be deemed altogether valueless.
Provide one, two, or three deal boards, made of well-seasoned inch
stuff, sixteen inches square, with a ledge all round, rising one
inch above the smooth surface of the board; and as it is intended to
hold water, the ledges must be closely and neatly fitted: at each
corner a nail, or small hook, should be placed, with strings tied
into a loop above, by which the board may be slung in the necessary
horizontal position; a thin covering-board, made of the same material
and dimensions, is also necessary, and which will serve for all the
boards.
Pieces of the _thickest_ flannel must be had for each board, cut so
as to fit exactly within the ledges. These flannels require to be
well soaked, and repeatedly washed in boiling water, before they can
be used, to discharge from them whatever is pernicious to vegetation
as they come from the manufacturer’s hands.
The board and flannel thus prepared, dip the flannel in water, and
place on the boards; sow the seeds pretty thick and regularly;
sprinkle them lightly with the hand, till all are moistened and the
flannel completely saturated; in which state it should always be kept
during the growth of the plants. Too much water floats the seeds when
first put on, and are thereby shifted from their places by the motion
of the ship. The cover-board must now be put on, and the whole hung
up in its place. The use of this board is to assist the vegetation of
the seeds, which it will do sufficiently in the course of twenty-four
hours; after which it may be laid aside.
The board must be frequently examined, and when the moisture thereon
is diminished by evaporation, or imbibed by the crop, a supply must
be given, just enough to keep the flannel in the proper saturated
state.
In six or seven days the crop will be (if the weather has been
favourable) two inches high,—it is then fit for use. The produce
[p234] of one board yields about as much as will fill a middle-sized
salad-bowl, and when dressed up with the usual condiments of onion,
salt, vinegar, and oil, a most agreeable salad will be composed, and
a most acceptable treat to the guests at the captain’s table.
It is necessary that the board, as well as the flannel, be scalded,
well washed, and dried in the sun, before it can be used again;—and
as one board yields one crop per week, two, or even three boards may
be used at the same time, in order to secure a regular supply. Larger
boards are not so convenient, because they can only be hung in some
by-corner of a cabin, quarter-gallery, or state-room, where they may
not only be out of the way, but out of the sun and currents of air.
The herbs suitable to be raised in this way are, radish, mustard, and
common garden-cress. The two first answer best within the tropics;
the last does not, being too delicate and diminutive;—but this does
very well when the ship is no nearer the equator than thirty degrees
of latitude. One peck of radish, another of mustard, and two quarts
of cress, will be sufficient for an India and China voyage,—a supply
of which may be had in China. I. M.
26. _Chinese Method of fattening Fish_.—The Chinese are celebrated
for their commercial acumen, indefatigable industry, and natural
adroitness,—in making the most of every gift of nature bestowed
on their fertile country. Useful as well as ornamental vegetables
engross their every care; and animals which are the most profitably
reared, and which yield the greatest quantity of rich and savoury
food, are preferred by them for supplying their larders and stews.
Their _hortus dietetica_ would form a considerable list; and
though they do not use such a variety of butcher’s meat and fowl
as Europeans do, yet in the articles of pork, geese, and ducks,
they surpass, in the use of fish they equal, us, and in their
domestication and management of them they excel all other nations.
A few observations on their _piscinas_, or fish-stews, is the design
of this paper; not merely as an historical description, but as an
object for imitation in this or any other country.
For twenty or thirty miles round Canton, and as far as the eye can
reach on each side of the river on which that city stands, the
general face of the country appears nearly a level plain, with but
little undulation of surface. The level is, however, richly studded
with beautiful hills, which diversify the landscape, and seem to rise
out of the plain so abruptly, that they form the most picturesque
features, united with the most pleasing combinations. The soil of
the plain consists of a pure alluvial earth of great fertility and
depth, and very retentive of water; which, by the by, is a proof
that, notwithstanding their claim to high chronological antiquity,
the waters of the deluge remained much longer (perhaps for ages) on
this portion of the continent of Asia, than it did in the interior:
and the circumstance of many of their hills being cultivated to
the [p235] very top, their numerous water-plants, and their almost
amphibious habits as to their domiciles, are still further proofs
that the country was, once, more of an aquaium than it now is.
Hence the facility of making canals, which are their high-roads (as
wheel-carriages, and beasts of draught, are too expensive appendages,
for the systematic economy of the celestial empire!) and hence the
ease with which a pond may be made in any otherwise useless corner.
Such tanks, or ponds, are generally met with in market-garden
grounds, where they serve the double purpose of a reservoir, and a
stew for rearing and fattening fish.
When a pond is made for this purpose, and filled with water, the
owner goes to market, and buys as many young store-fish as his pond
can conveniently hold; this he can easily do, as almost all their
fish are brought to market alive. Placed in the stew, they are
regularly fed morning and evening, or as often as the feeder finds it
necessary; their food is chiefly boiled rice, to which is added, the
blood of any animals they may kill, wash from their stewing-pots and
dishes, &c., indeed any animal offal or vegetable matter which the
fish will eat. It is said, they also use some oleaceous medicament
in the food, to make the fish more voracious, in order to accelerate
their fattening; but of this the writer could obtain no authentic
account.
Fish so fed and treated, advance in size rapidly, though not to any
great weight; as the kind (a species of perch) which came under
observation, never arrive at much more than a pound avoirdupois; but
from the length of three or four inches, when first put in, they grow
to eight or nine in a few months, and are then marketable. Drafts
from the pond are then occasionally made; the largest are first taken
off, and conveyed in large shallow tubs of water to market: if sold,
well; if not, they are brought back and replaced in the stew, until
they can be disposed of.
This business of fish-feeding is so managed that the stock are
all fattened off about the time the water is most wanted for the
garden-crops. The pond is then cleaned out, the mud carefully saved,
or spread as manure,—again filled with water, stocked with young fry,
and fed as before.
An intelligent Chinaman, from whom the writer had the above detail,
and who showed him as much of the process as could be seen during a
residence of three months, declared as his belief, that a spot of
ground, containing from twenty to thirty square yards, would yield a
greater annual profit as a stew, than it would in any other way to
which it could possibly be applied.
That fish may be tamed, suffer themselves to be caressed, and even
raised out of their natural element by the hand, has been long known
to naturalists; witness the famous old carp formerly in the pond
of some religious house at Chantilly, in France, with many other
instances on record. But it is probable no people has carried the art
of stew-feeding fish, and practising it as a profitable concern, to
such lengths, as is done by the Chinese at this day. I. M. [p236]
METEOROLOGICAL DIARY for the Months of June, July, and August, 1827,
kept at EARL SPENCER’s Seat at Althorp, in Northamptonshire.
The Thermometer hangs in a North-eastern Aspect, about five feet
from the ground, and a foot from the wall.
+------------------------------------------------------+
| FOR JUNE, 1827. |
+-------------+--------------+-------------+-----------+
| | Thermometer. | Barometer. | Wind. |
| +------+-------+------+------+-----+-----+
| |Lowest|Highest|Morn. |Eve. |Morn.|Eve. |
+----------+—+------+-------+------+------+-----+-----+
|Friday | 1| 47 | 65 | 29.50| 29.50| SW | SW |
|Saturday | 2| 42 | 62.5 | 29.60| 29.43| S | WbS |
|Sunday | 3| 44 | 63 | 29.67| 29.67| W | W |
|Monday | 4| 44 | 62 | 29.70| 29.79| W | W |
|Tuesday | 5| 47 | 59 | 29.70| 29.59| W | W |
|Wednesday | 6| 47 | 58 | 29.47| 29.60| W | NW |
|Thursday | 7| 43 | 60 | 29.78| 29.88| W | NW |
|Friday | 8| 36 | 63 | 30.02| 30.07| NW | W |
|Saturday | 9| 45 | 72 | 30.13| 30.17| W | W |
|Sunday |10| 48 | 68.5 | 30.17| 30.10| NE | NE |
|Monday |11| 46 | 70.5 | 30.09| 30.02| NE | NE |
|Tuesday |12| 46 | 66 | 30.02| 30.02| NE | NE |
|Wednesday |13| 51 | 65 | 30.02| 29.94| NE | NE |
|Thursday |14| 48 | 65 | 29.89| 29.78| NE | NE |
|Friday |15| 51 | 60 | 29.70| 29.60| NE | NE |
|Saturday |16| 52 | 71 | 29.60| 29.57| NE | S |
|Sunday |17| 54 | 73 | 29.66| 29.66| WSW | W |
|Monday |18| 54 | 72.5 | 29.78| 29.79| W | W |
|Tuesday |19| 50 | 68 | 29.79| 29.69| W | W |
|Wednesday |20| 48 | 65 | 29.65| 29.67| W | WbS |
|Thursday |21| 44 | 66.5 | 29.70| 29.73| SW | W |
|Friday |22| 43 | 64 | 29.80| 29.88| W | W |
|Saturday |23| 48 | 63 | 29.90| 29.94| W | W |
|Sunday |24| 43 | 66.5 | 29.94| 29.97| W | W |
|Monday |25| 49 | 66 | 29.97| 29.90| WNW | NNW |
|Tuesday |26| 46 | 69 | 29.90| 29.86| W | WbS |
|Wednesday |27| 53.5| 67 | 29.80| 29.69| SW | SW |
|Thursday |28| 56 | 66 | 29.48| 29.46| SW | SW |
|Friday |29| 56 | 70 | 29.46| 29.53| SW | SW |
|Saturday |30| 52 | 72 | 29.59| 29.68| W | W |
+----------+—+------+-------+------+------+-----+-----+
+------------------------------------------------------+
| FOR JULY, 1827. |
+-------------+--------------+-------------+-----------+
| | Thermometer. | Barometer. | Wind. |
| +------+-------+------+------+-----+-----+
| |Lowest|Highest|Morn. |Eve. |Morn.|Eve. |
+----------+—+------+-------+------+------+-----+-----+
|Sunday | 1| 55 | 69 | 29.60| 29.63| E | SW |
|Monday | 2| 49 | 66.5 | 29.70| 29.60| S | SW |
|Tuesday | 3| 49 | 69 | 29.63| 29.78| WbS | WbS |
|Wednesday | 4| 48 | 73 | 29.99| 29.99| W | WbS |
|Thursday | 5| 58 | 67 | 30.06| 30.20| NE | NE |
|Friday | 6| 42 | 70 | 30.29| 30.27| E | WNW |
|Saturday | 7| 55 | 75 | 30.27| 30.26| WNW | WNW |
|Sunday | 8| 53 | 74 | 30.26| 30.21| WbN | WbN |
|Monday | 9| 54 | 73.5 | 30.19| 30.08| W | W |
|Tuesday |10| 54 | 72 | 30.02| 29.87| W | WbN |
|Wednesday |11| 55.5| 67 | 29.90| 29.98| NW | W |
|Thursday |12| 45 | 68 | 30.02| 30.04| W | ENE |
|Friday |13| 44 | 73 | 30.06| 30.04| E | E |
|Saturday |14| 46.5| 71.5 | 30.04| 30.00| ESE | E |
|Sunday |15| 45 | 71 | 29.98| 29.91| E | NE |
|Monday |16| 47 | 71.5 | 29.91| 29.90| E | E |
|Tuesday |17| 46.5| 77 | 29.90| 29.88| SE | WbS |
|Wednesday |18| 57 | 72 | 29.83| 29.87| WSW | W |
|Thursday |19| 51 | 68 | 29.87| 29.71| W | SW |
|Friday |20| 57 | 69 | 29.59| 29.62| W | W |
|Saturday |21| 50 | 69 | 29.77| 29.80| W | W |
|Sunday |22| 45 | 64 | 29.82| 29.80| ESE | SE |
|Monday |23| 57 | 73 | 29.83| 29.88| EbS | W |
|Tuesday |24| 58 | 75 | 29.90| 29.89| W | WbS |
|Wednesday |25| 60 | 72 | 29.82| 29.82| SW | WNW |
|Thursday |26| 46 | 69.5 | 29.92| 29.78| W | SSW |
|Friday |27| 54 | 74 | 29.90| 30.00| W | W |
|Saturday |28| 58 | 79 | 30.00| 30.02| W | W |
|Sunday |29| 54 | 78 | 30.04| 29.92| ESE | SE |
|Monday |30| 65 | 75 | 29.62| 29.80| SSE | W |
|Tuesday |31| 52 | 72.5 | 30.03| 30.10| W | W |
+----------+—+------+-------+------+------+-----+-----+
+------------------------------------------------------+
| FOR AUGUST, 1827. |
+-------------+--------------+-------------+-----------+
| | Thermometer. | Barometer. | Wind. |
| +------+-------+------+------+-----+-----+
| |Lowest|Highest|Morn. |Eve. |Morn.|Eve. |
+----------+—+------+-------+------+------+-----+-----+
|Wednesday | 1| 51 | 72 | 30.04| 29.95| W | |
|Thursday | 2| 46 | 77.5 | 29.82| 29.67| W | |
|Friday | 3| 56 | 74 | 29.60| 29.50| SW | W |
|Saturday | 4| 58 | 71 | 29.48| 29.63| SW | W |
|Sunday | 5| 53 | 66 | 29.91| 30.06| W | NE |
|Monday | 6| 51 | 67.5 | 30.13| 30.18| NE | ENE |
|Tuesday | 7| 42 | 70 | 30.18| 30.10| E | E |
|Wednesday | 8| 40 | 68 | 30.04| 29.98| E | E |
|Thursday | 9| 41 | 70.5 | 29.93| 29.80| EbN | SE |
|Friday |10| 57 | 70 | 29.60| 29.48| SW | W |
|Saturday |11| 47 | 66 | 29.48| 29.44| W | W |
|Sunday |12| 50 | 62 | 29.55| 29.67| WSW| WNW |
|Monday |13| 46 | 67 | 29.76| 29.73| W | WbS |
|Tuesday |14| 51 | 70 | 29.53| 29.43| SW | SW |
|Wednesday |15| 60 | 68 | 29.22| 29.25| SE | WbS |
|Thursday |16| 51 | 67 | 29.30| 29.36| S | NE |
|Friday |17| 56 | 68 | 29.60| 29.76| NE | NE |
|Saturday |18| 54 | 60 | 29.87| 29.87| NE | NE |
|Sunday |19| 48 | 65 | 29.89| 29.90| NE | NE |
|Monday |20| 42.5| 59.5 | 29.90| 29.90| NE | NW |
|Tuesday |21| 56 | 67.5 | 29.90| 29.95| NE | NE |
|Wednesday |22| 51 | 59 | 30.03| 30.10| N | NW |
|Thursday |23| 48 | 68 | 30.20| 30.20| NW | NW |
|Friday |24| 52 | 63 | 30.14| 30.08| WNW | WbN |
|Saturday |25| 49 | 60 | 30.00| 30.04| WNW | W |
|Sunday |26| 44 | 58 | 30.08| 30.08| NW | N |
|Monday |27| 42 | 67 | 30.12| 30.16| N | NW |
|Tuesday |28| 47 | 64 | 30.16| 30.16| W | NW |
|Wednesday |29| 50 | 63 | 30.24| 30.24| NNE | NW |
|Thursday |30| 47 | 63 | 30.18| 30.07| W | W |
|Friday |31| 52 | 63 | 30.12| 30.20| N | NE |
+----------+—+------+-------+------+------+-----+-----+
TO OUR READERS AND CORRESPONDENTS.
The pages of this Journal are impartially open to all communications
upon the subjects of Science, Scientific Literature, and the Arts: it
is requested they may be forwarded to the Editor one month previous
to the publication of each number.
We shall be happy to receive papers from Provincial Scientific
Societies, and to publish them either on the part of the Society, or
of their respective authors.
Papers deemed unfit for this publication, will be immediately
returned to the source whence we received them, with our reasons for
their return.
* * * * *
The letters signed B. and T. R. S. we have thought it prudent to
suppress for the present.
* * * * *
Several books have reached us for notice in this Journal; but unless
they are sent earlier in the Quarter, we cannot insure attention to
them.
* * * * *
We have been favoured with communications from Mr. Swainson, Dr.
Littledale, Mr. Rose, and E. Z., which we are obliged to postpone.
* * * * *
A letter from a “Member of the Zoological Society,” reached us too
late for the purpose it was intended to answer. We fear we shall not
agree with him in opinion, but perhaps his _second communication_ may
clear up the difference.
* * * * *
We presume that “A Mechanic” will find the information he requires in
Mr. Farey’s account of the Steam Engine.
* * * * *
“An old Subscriber” is much in error—the _proceedings_ he alludes
to are copiously given in contemporary monthly publications; if
therefore we followed his advice, our information would be stale. The
motives he alludes to are out of the question.
* * * * *
We cannot give “A Vapourer” any authentic information respecting the
Steam Carriage, nor do we hear that the Gas Engine has advanced.
ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN,
Albemarle Street, _December 3, 1827_.
A COURSE OF SIX ELEMENTARY LECTURES ON CHEMISTRY, adapted to a
Juvenile Audience, will be delivered during the Christmas Recess,
by MICHAEL FARADAY, F.R.S., Corr. Mem. Roy. Acad. Sciences, Paris;
Director of the Laboratory, &c. &c.
_The Lectures will commence at Three o’Clock_.
_Lecture_ I. Saturday, December 29. Substances generally—Solids,
Fluids, Gases—Chemical affinity.
_Lecture_ II. Tuesday, January 1, 1828. Atmospheric Air and its Gases.
_Lecture_ III. Thursday, January 3. Water and its Elements.
_Lecture_ IV. Saturday, January 5. Nitric Acid or Aquafortis—Ammonia
or Volatile Alkali—Muriatic Acid or Spirit of Salt—Chlorine, &c.
_Lecture_ V. Tuesday, January 8. Sulphur, Phosphorus, Carbon, and
their Acids.
_Lecture_ VI. Thursday, January 10. Metals and their Oxides—Earths,
Fixed Alkalies and Salts, &c.
Non-Subscribers to the Institution are admitted to the above Course
on payment of One Guinea each; Children, 10_s._ 6_d._
The Weekly Evening Meetings of the Members of the Royal Institution
will commence for the ensuing Season, on Friday the 25th of January,
1828, at half past Eight o’Clock, and will be continued on each
succeeding Friday Evening, at the same hour, till further notice.
The Lectures will commence for the Season on Saturday the 2d of
February, at Three o’Clock, by WM. THOS. BRANDE, Esq., F.R.S. Lond.
and Edin., Prof. of Chemistry in the Royal Institution.
The Library of the Royal Institution is open for the use of the
Members and Subscribers every day on which the House of the
Institution is open; in Winter from Ten till Four, and from Seven
till Ten in the Evening; and in Summer from Ten till Five, and from
Seven till Ten in the Evening.
* * * * *
Mr. BRANDE and Mr. FARADAY will commence the Spring Course of their
Chemical Lectures and Demonstrations, in the Laboratory of the Royal
Institution, on Tuesday, the 12th of February, at Nine in the morning
precisely. A Prospectus may be obtained at the Institution, or of the
respective Lecturers.
* * * * *
_In the Press, and nearly ready for publication_,
A COLLECTION OF CHEMICAL TABLES, for the use of Practical
Chemists and Students, in Illustration of the Theory of Definite
Proportionals; in which are shewn the Equivalent Numbers of the
Elementary Substances, with the Weights and Volumes in which they
combine; together with the Composition of their most important
Compounds, and the Authorities for their Analysis.
By WILLIAM THOMAS BRANDE.
THE
QUARTERLY JOURNAL
OF
SCIENCE, LITERATURE, AND ART.
OCT.–DEC. 1827.
_On the Means generally used with the Intention of curing a
Stoop_.[37]