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ture of Germany, what Athens, Elis, and Pifa were to that of ancient Greece. Books are inceffantly manufactured and fold in them: and amid much mere bookmaking there are alío many labours of genuine erudition, occafional inventions and discoveries evincing true philofophical penetration, and not a few effuffons of poetical genius of fuperlative excellence.

Thofe Imperial prohibitions which have been recently oppofed against the importation of the production of foreign literature into Ruffia, cannot but very materially retard the advancement of knowledge and civilization in that extenfive empire. But the establishment of fo many of the emigrant nobility of France in the Ruffian provinces will, neceffarily, tend to counteract this effect to a certain degree. Nor will it be easily poffible either to drive the literary arts from that footing which they have already gained in Ruffia, or to prevent them from continually acquiring there new influence. A new Ruffian Atlas is mentioned in the continental literary journal as a work worthy of applaufe. There is reason to believe that we might yet borrow from the Ruffians, as from other nations, various improvements in our arts of domestic accommodation. We have had a recent opportunity of feeing a model of a Ruffian ftove for warming an apartment, which, on account of its equable diffufion of heat, its long prefervation of that heat, without wafte, and its capacity of affuming the form, even of any elegant piece of furniture, may, perhaps, more than vie with any thing of the fame fort that has been mentioned in the ingenious and beneficent communications of Count Rumford.

DENMARK does not, juft at this moment, prefent to us any thing fo interefting in literature as the celebrated account by NIEBUHR of the discoveries and obfervations of that famous miffion of Literati, which was fent under the aufpices of Count Bernstorff to explore the geography and natural hiftory of the Eaft. But, we have the pleasure of informing our readers, that Niebuhr, the only furvivor of thofe who went upon that expedition, ftill lives in comfort and good health at Copenhagen. The fon, a very elegant and well-informed young man, is now in Britain; is in no mean degree a mafter of the English, and will, very probably, be induced to give to the British public a complete tranflation of his father's whole work, which is, in truth, one of the most faithful, the most scientifically MONTHLY MAG. No. XLII.

accurate, and the most unaffected narratives of voyages and travels which have ever been published in Europe. It is but a meagre abridgment of Niebuhr's travels, of which an English translation was fome years fince published. Of the DANISH Drama, there has been recently prefented to us an elegantly tranflated fpecimen, under the title of " Poverty and Wealth," which fhews it to be, in comedy, very nearly of the fame character with that which now prevails on the theatres of Britain and France.

men.

SWEDEN no longer poffeffes a Linnæus, a Scheele, or a Bergman, but there are not wanting in it eminent chemifts and naturalifts, the pupils of thofe great "The Elements of Chemistry," by FOURCROY, fo well known by various tranflations in the English language, have been recently tranflated as well into the language of Sweden as into that of Denmark. The university of Upfal is ftill adorned by men of distinguished literary and fcientific activity.

A Profeffor GURLITT, of KlooterBergen, an eminent feminary of education in the Pruffian dominions, has recently published at Magdeburgh a very curious production on the nature and history of the ancient art of working in Mofaics. The lovers of the fine arts will, of course, be eager to procure this erudite and elegant treatife, and to affign it a place in their libraries, befide the writings of Winckelman.

A French gentleman, refident at Munich, in Bavaria, has executed a translation of the valuable effays of Count Rumford, which is now printing in the prefs of Manget at Geneva.

The FRENCH continue to cultivate fcience and literature with much of that energy with which they conquer countries, and dethrone kings. Some important experiments on GALVANISM, of which we fhall be able, next month, to prefent an abftracted account to our readers, evince the national inftitute to poffefs all thofe abilities for fcientific research which were formerly displayed in the memoirs of the academy of fciences. At a late meeting of the fociety for the improvement of the art of healing, at Nancy, in Lorraine, there were read two valuable effays on the medicinal properties of Iron, and on the natural hiftory of feveral varieties of the Laurel tree. The former of these effays was the production of Profeffor Mandel, and was replete with inte refting mineralogical and medical facts. The diverfities of form under which iron

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is found to exift in nature; thofe changes which art has power to accomplish upon it; its attractability to the magnet, and its property of acting as a conductor to the electric fluid; thofe ftrong affinities with oxygene which enable it to enter fo readily into combination with air, water, and faline fubftances, were among the most remarkable claffes of facts, into the detail of which he entered in the natural and chemical hiftory of this metal. In fpeaking of its influence on the animal œconomy, he confidered iron as exifting in a certain proportion in the blood and other humours when the human body is in a state of health; and as occafioning various diseases by its diminution under that proportion, or its augmentation above it. He felected chlorofis as one of the most remarkable of the difeafes which have this origin. In oppofition to the theory of Dr. ROLLO he maintained, that it is an excefs, not a deficiency, of oxygene in the blood, which occasions chlorofis, and that it is not oxyde of iron, but unoxydated iron, in a state of extreme divifion of its parts, which must be adminiftered for the cure of this diftemper. His effay concluded with a curious enquiry into the reality of thofe medical properties which have been afcribed to the magnet; the refult of which led him to ftate, that though not capable of working those wonders of cure, which have been attributed to it, the magnet will ftill, however, in feveral cafes, prove an ufeful remedy.

A Dr. LACOMBE, profeffor of midwifery, has recently given great offence to almoft all the other members of the medical faculty in Paris, by an outrageous public attack against that which is called in midwifery the Cafarian Operation. He has challenged the advocates of this prac tice to public difputations. Several very turbulent fcenes of difpute have paffed between him and his adverfaries. He triumphs as victorious and invincible, they, after contending in vain to hifs, and cough, and laugh, and talk him to filence, complain, that he will fuffer none but himfelt to utter a word as long as he is able to fpeak, and that when his animal fpirits are exhaufted, he then efcapes refutation only by retiring under the pretence of exceffive fatigue from the scene of the difpute. He denies that Julius Cæfar was cut out of his mother's womb, rejects the credibility of almost every fact in hiftory that reprefents the Cafarian Operation as capable of being practifed with fuccefs; affirms, that in the fixteenth century, this practice was profcribed in France on account of its certain danger and inutility; complains that a practice, which is neither more nor less than actual affaffination, should have, in the enlightened eighteenth century, become common in France, and almoft in France alone; and afferts, that, with proper care, delivery is in all cafes poffible, even without the ufe of inftruments.

THE NEW PATENTS lately enrolled.

MR. THOMASON'S FOR STEFS TO
CARRIAGES.
(With a Plate.)

O plan has been adopted for getting

riage, without the affiftance of a fervant to let down and put up the fteps. The invention which the patentee offers to the public, differs very little in appearance from the fteps in general ufe, and appears to effect that object. They fold up nearly in the fame manner, do not occupy more room, ftand in the fame place, within the carriage, and are not fo heavy. They are unfolded and let down by the action of opening the carriage door, and folded up by the action of hutting the carriage

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is fcrewed to the joint of the step, so that when the roller bears against the lever, it will of courfe raife upthe fteps. The handle of the door is made to go through, so that the perfon fitting in the carriage, while

bear upon the bended lever, and to raise up the fteps before the door is half way hut. A fpring then begins to act, which folds the tteps flat; the lower frame B. Aides into the upper frame C. A felfacting bolt fecures them firm together, and prevents the whole from making any noife in the carriage.

In the opening of the door, the steps will unfold and defcend with the fame rapidity as the door is opened, and if a perfon opens the door regularly, the feps will defcend finoothly, and without noife.

A fervant in putting up and letting down the fteps fhould take hold of the brafs handle D. and he will eafily put them

up

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up and down in lefs than half the time he could the steps in general use..

The peculiar advantages from thefe fteps are, that a gentleman may travel commodioufly without a fervant behind his carriage, or without the driver leaving his horfes, and in cafe the driver fhould be thrown from the horse, or the horfes become vicious, the perfon in the carriage may let himself out without any danger.

Mr. THOMASON's step has, we underftand, received the fanction of Meff. Hatchet, Leader, Vidler, and the other principal coachmakers.

MESSRS. SHANNON AND BURNET, FOR IMPROVING THE PROCESS OF VINOUS AND ACETOUS FERMEN

TATION.

In December, 1798, a patent was granted to RICHARD SHANNON, M. D: of Pancras, and BURNET, of Vauxhall, distiller, for improving the procefs of vinous and acetous fermentation.

It is well known that the process of fermentation is often checked or carried on too rapidly by the too great cold or heat of the atmosphere; and fince the chemical analysis by Lavoifier of the component parts and products of fermentable matter, it appears that the evolu

tion of hydrogen and carbonic acid gas is the effential caufe of fermentation, and that upon the proportions of thefe gaffes the quantity of ardent spirits materially depends. Dr. SHANNON therefore propofes that the fermentation fhould be wholly conducted in large vessels, which are to be kept at a proper temperature by the ufe of attemperator's or pumps of va rious conftructions, for the purpose of circulating either fteam or atmospherical air through the liquor. The fame or fimilar engines are made ufe of to impregnate the fermenting liquor with carbonic acid, hydrogen gas, or other elastic fluids, as may be found neceffary.

Mr. RALEY'S, FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A PHILOSOPHICAL FURNACE OR BOILER.

WILLIAM RALEY, of Newbold, Yorkshire, chemift, obtained a patent in December, 1798 for the conftruction of a philofophical furnace or boiler. In this boiler a larger furface of water is exposed to the heat of the fire than in ordinary boilers, hence with a smaller quantity of coals the evaporation is made to go on more rapidly. This improvement is applicable to all purposes in which the brisk evaporation of a fluid is required, as in the fteam engine, the cryftallization of falts, &c.

Account of Difeafes in an Eastern District of London. From the zoth of January to the 20th of February, 1799.

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