which we noticed fome time fince, will be published in a few weeks. Mr. BROWN'S difcoveries meet thofe of Mr. PARK's and complete the knowledge of that parallel of the interior of Africa, which is comprehended between 10 and 20 degrees of north latitude. A German tranflation of this work is already announced.

The Travels of the DUKE DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULT LIANCOURT, through the United States and Canada, will pofitively be deliverd in three or four days.

CAPTAIN TURNER, who has already interested the public by his account of the grand Lama, has in the prefs an account of his Travels through Thibet, and of his refidence in that part of Afia, at prefent fo little known to Europeans.

The first vol. of the "Necrology," will be ready for publication early in August. On the 28th of May, the SOCIETY

FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE ARTS, &c. made its annual diftribution of rewards. In confideration of the great abilities and public zeal manifefted by Mr. BARRY, in the fplendid feries of pictures which ornament their great room, the fociety unanimoufly voted him the gold medal, and 200 guineas. The fame was this day publicly prefented by the DUKE of NORFOLK, the prefident of the fociety; and when Mr. B. made his appearance he was received by a large and brilliant affembly, with an univerfal clapping of hands, and with other teftimonies of approbation, fuch as were never before exhibited in the fociety. Mr. COOKE, a joiner of Newington, received a bounty of twenty guineas, for a new and expeditious mode of turning fpheres with mathematical accuracy. Mr. GOODRICH received another bounty of fixty-five pounds for a new clock, in which a crank is fubftituted for an efcapement, and confequently it is perfectly filent while going the inventor thinks it may be applied with advantage to wooden clocks. Mr. ROBERT HYNAM of St. Petersburgh, received the gold medal for a curious machine for guaging the cutters of wheels ufed in clocks and watches, accompanied by a large volume of minute calculations, which are to be copied at

for the communication of a new method of making hay in wet weather, by tying it up in the form of a cone.

Mr. PLANTA, Librarian of the British Museum, will peedily publish his expected" Hiftory of Switzerland."

Mr. M. P. KING, has announced for publication by fubfcription, price one guinea, a "General Treatise on Mufic;" particularly on harmony, or thorough bafs, and its application in compofition: written on a new plan, tending to explain and illuftrate the fcience in general.

Dr. MAVOR, whofe judicious Work of British Biography (the British Nepos) has obtained a rapid eftablishment in the principal schools, is at this time preparing an elementary and popular work of Natural History, designed also for the use of fchools.

The LINNEAN SOCIETY will publifh the fifth volume of its "Trasactions” in the course of the autumn.

A new fociety, the object of which is to promote a knowledge of Eastern Literature, is about to be established in London, under the most respectable aufpices.

Mr. JossE, the author of a Spanish grammar, is preparing for the press, a work entituled El Teforo Espanol," or Elegant Extracts from eminent Spanish authors, with biographical notices.

"A Hiftory of Hat-making," the process of that manufactory, whether for wool or ftuff hats, with the various ways of defranding their mafters practifed by the journeymen, and the beft manner of difcovery, together with a lift, &c. of engines introduced into that business, will be published by a gentleman of Newcaftle about September next.

Our notice of Mr. BARRON's work was incorrect. The work which is underftood to have employed Mr., BARRON's pen for feveral years is the "Hiftory of Letters," the greater part of which is already finifhed. His Lectures on the principles of Rhetoric and Compofition he delivers annually in the University of St. Andrews. As long as Dr. BLAIR'S lectures on the fame fubject continue popular, it is not probable that Mr. BARRON will trouble the world with his improvements.

Mr.

Mr. GEISWELLER, a bookfeller in Pall-Mall, has elegantly illuftrated a copy of the "Travels of Mr. Coxe through Switzerland," with fine plates reprefenting the dreffes of the 16th and prefent century-the portraits of Lavater, Sauffure, Geffner, Mechel, Erafmus, Holbein, Balma, Pfiffer, Paccard, Shuppach, and with a number of other interefting fubjects.

In the " American Medical Repofitory," Vol. i. we meet with an excellent hiftorical and pathological account of the deftructive Plague of Athens," which broke out in that city 430 years prior to the chriftian era, and which in many points bears fo great a resemblance, both in its nature and origin, to the epidemic fevers of America, that the author thinks himfelf juftified in declaring it to have been, in all effential particulars, the fame difeafe-A due confideration of every circumftance cannot but imprefs the mind with a deep conviction of the unity of caufe in ages fo remote. This point being fo well established ought to make us careful how we overlook the more obvious fources of peftilential difeafes, in our search after those which are foreign and remote. If local caufes originated a peftilence in Athens, local caufes may generate a yellow fever in Philadelphia and New York.

The late Dr SMITH, phyfician to the New York Hofpital, informs us in the fame repofitory, that he has fuccefsfully treated a case of mania in a girl, 17 years old, with ftrong mercurial frictions, which, after inducing a gentle falivation, reftored ber reason. The Doctor at the fame time directed ftrong cathartics of jalap and calomel, which brought off large maffes of dark and hardened excrement. He feems however to doubt, whether to confider the diforder in queftion as a variety of hyfteria, of intermitting fever; or whether the cause of yellow fever could have excited the mania of this girl, whofe period was that of many fevers, and whofe cure, fuppofing it to have been affected by the falivation, is not hoftile to the fuppofition..

There has lately been commenced at Leipfic, a complete magazine of works, printed by the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg. The printed catalogue, containing not only the tranfactions of the academy, but likewife the works of Euler, Fuís, Georgi, Gmelin, Pallas, and other celebrated writers, together with a collection of the valuable maps, published by the academy, is to be

As this

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At Berlin,
At Hamburgh,
At Copenhagen,
At Vienna,

3,727 3,351 1,017 13,370 11,595 2,765 M. RAFN has lately read to the academy of fciences at Copenhagen, a treatife, containing the procefs and refults of certain experiments made by him during the last three years on the vegetation of plants, by the favour of divers mixtures of many forts of earth; experiments which he propofes to continue, and, according to which, it appears to him, that it is properly carbone, which ferves to the nutrition of plants and to the fertilization of the foil.

A fecond convoy of objects of the arts, collected at Turin, is now on its way to Paris, or is lately arrived there. It contains a number of antique idols, Egyptian, Greek or Roman, of Apis, Canopus, Venus, Cybele, &c. curious pieces of antique furniture, as keys, lamps, weights, clafps or braces &c.; mummies of children and animals; an infcription found in the ruins of Induftria; of pictures, Apollo and Marfyas of Guido, Adam and Eve by the fame painter, the children of Charles I. confidered as one of the best works of Vandyke, and a Bacchanalian by the fame; two or three pictures, which are not of his highest

on at Venice while he was ftudying Titian; a proceffion and the tower of Babel by Breughel, paintings which excite aftonishment by the details and the infinite variety of figures, which feem all in motion.

The skeleton of the famous cetaceous animal which was driven ashore alive laft year on the coaft of the ifles Marguerite (department of Var), is now to be feen in the Cour des Fontaines at Paris. A detailed defcription has not been hitherto given of it by the naturalifts. It appears however, that this animal belongs to a fpecies of whale very rare and unknown to fuch of the Greenland and Norway fishers as have feen it at Paris. When alive, its body was 22 metres long, by more than 15 in diameter. It had no teeth; but on each fide of the palate, it had very thin lamine of horn, difposed one befide another in a parallel fituation. The eyes were about twice as big as thofe of the ox, and covered with hairs and lids. On the fummit of the head, were found two vent-holes formed as noftrils, feparated from each other by a cartilaginous partition, and by means of which it threw up water at a prodigious height, with a biffing found like that of a cannon ball-nothing remarkable appeared in its voluminous ftomach-it could not be diffected accurately, as there was an immediate neceflity to cut away and inter the fleshy parts; the large mafs of fleth exhaling an odour which might have become infectious to the whole country.

The commiffion charged to defignate the French artifts that merit encourage. ment, has lately terminated its labours. The minifter had authorized the commiffion to lay before him their opinion relative to the most juft partition to be made of the fum of 100,000 francs which he had to difpofe of in favour of the fine arts. This fum has been thus divided; to the painters 63,000 francs; to the fculptors, 20,000 francs; to the engraThus nearly two thirds of the fum have been devoted to painting, and the remaining third will be for the other three arts.

vers 7000.

The celebrated PICCINI, who even in old age does not fuffer his lyre to repofe, is now usefully employed at Paris in compofing a journal of pieces for the voice and the piano forte, which will doubtlefs be well received in France and foreign countries. The fongs and the accompaniments for the flute, violin, and bafs, are by PICCINI; the accompa: im nts for

It appears from the last computation of the registers made at the house of education at Stockholm, that of 1,227 children entered there, 1026 have died; that is to fay, nearly 5 out of 6. This enormous mortality, to particularly witnessed in children of the first year, has attracted the attention and excited the alarms of different philanthropists in Sweden, with a view to point out to public notice the too probable caufes of a misfortune fo afflicting and which is ftill perpetuated.

Let

Profeffor FUCHS lately read to the Academy of useful Sciences, of Erfurt, a treatife on the compofition of a varnish for pottery ware, in which no lead enters. The discovery of this varnish, which combines all the requifite qualities, is the fruit of a long feries of experiments. there be melted, and kept in fusion for a quarter of an hour, a mixture of an ounce of fire-ftone, an ounce of pounded glafs, two drams of salt, half an ounce of tobacco-pipe earth, and an ounee and a half of borax. Let the pots be plattered over with this matter, after they have been already in the fire, and put them again in it, for about 17 or 18 hours.

That able and fkilful naturalift FREDERICK HUMBOLDT, had lately quitted Paris, to pass over to Algiers, in order to commence his fcientific travels in Africa. The object of the great journey which he had propofed to make, was to pafs to Algiers, in the Swedish frigate, the Jaramas, to ftudy Mount Atlas, and the defart called Saarah, to pafs over the defart with the caravan which goes from Tripoli to Mecca, and at last to join the French naturalifts in Egypt.-Circumftances, however, have prevented this defign; the frigate has suffered shipwreck in a port of Norway, and the Dey of Tripoli has prohibited the caravan from fetting out.-M. Humboldt, however, has not been deterred by these difcouragements, from his project of quitting Enrope, and tranfporting himself, with all his inftruments, into the Torrid Zone. He has repaired, therefore, to Spain, from whence he will pafs to Mexico, to Peru, to Chili, and to the Philippines. He is on the eve of fetting out for the Havannah, from whence he will repair to Vera Cruz. The king of Spain wished to have fome

difcourfe

difcourfe with him, and has given him all poffible facilities for his voyage, which promifes ufeful and important difcoveries for the fciences.

The following letter relative to the late paffage of Mercury over the fun, has been addreffed by LALANDE, the aftronomer, to the Editor of one of the Paris Journals. "I waited impatiently to mark the paffage of Mercury over the Sun, in his defcending node; he had never been obferv. ed completely in that position, and it will be 33 years from hence ere it can be done again. I had the pleasure to fee Mercury enter on the Sun like a fmall, black, round fpot, on the 18th of Floreal in the morning, at the very minute indicated in my new tables, the ground-work of which I gave in the first memoir, read at the first assembly of the first clafs of the Inttitute, on the very day of its eftablishment. This is fo much the more fatisfactory, as for the paffage of the 4th of May, 1786, there were 40 minutes of error in the beft tables of Mercury."

MICH.SZEKELY DE BIBORCYFALVA, infpector of the mines to Count SCHENBORN, at St. Niklas, near Munkash, in Hungary, has fabricated of the Afclepias Vincetoxicum, a fort of cloth mixed with filk. He has prefented a pattern of fix ells and three quarters in length, to the government established at Buda. This cloth, the first fabrication of which coft 9 francs, but which, according to the calculations of the inventor, will not amount in the fequel to above 4 francs, is two ells in width and pretty fine. It appears, however, that this is not the firft effay that has been made to convert the down of the afclepias to œconomical purposes; but hitherto the experiments have been only of fimple curiofity, and not practifed on a large fcale.

Citizen C. P. LASTEYRIE, member of the Philomathic Society, and of that of Agriculture, at Paris, in a treatise on Spanish fheep, &c. lately publifhed, has proved, by a number of inconteftible facts, that the fine wool with which Spain alone has fo long furnished the rest of Europe, is not owing to the phyfical fituation of that country, but to the apathy of other nations, and to certain prejudices which originate only in ignorance. He has fatisfactorily demonstrated the poffibility of obtaining, not only in France, but in the other countries of Europe, wool as fine as that in Spain itself; and for this purpose endeavours to imprefs upon agricultors, the neceffity of changing the yicious regimen to which fheep are at

present fubjected, and to infpire them with an emulation to ameliorate their flocks, &c.-It is certain that Spain has not been always renowned for its wool, and that its prefent moft excellent breed of sheep has been introduced there from foreign countries.

In a memoir on mineralogy, read lately at the course of mineralogy, to the National Inftitute, by Citizen DAUBENTON, profeffor in the Museum of Natural Hiftory, the author expreffes his diffatisfaction with most of the names impofed on ftones, difcovered of late years. He would have names to be found out in the proper language of each country, and is of opinion, that if names only are employed, which are understood by the learned, it will be rendering a differvice, &c. to the greatest number of our compatriots; and that many agriculturists, many manufacturers, and men, who if the names had been on a level with their capacity, might have felt their curiosity excited, and might have agreeably employed their leifure time in confidering fome of the productions of nature, will conceive the knowledge of thein to require too much time and pains, and being balked by names too learned, will remain deprived of the pleasureable inftructions of natural hiftory. Citizen DAUBENTON propofes to fubftitute rayonnant (striped) for actinote; equivoque ou ambigu (equivocal or ambiguous) for amphibole; fer de qache, (or German head of hatchet) for axinite, &c. and has accordingly fixed them together with the Greek names on the labels of the minerals, in the hall of mineralogy, at Paris; yet however they may be thought more intelligible to the French ftudent, the fame objection will apply as before, with respect to foreign languages, which will prefer the Greek etymologies, however arbitrary the definitions may be found. His practice does not appear to be altogether approved by his own countrymen, and certainly militates directly against that of Tournefort, Vaillant, Haller, Linnæus, and other great men, philofophers, botanifts, &c.

M. DANZEL, a refpectable mechanician, &c. of Hamburgh, has circulated in the German Gazettes, propofals for making public, under certain conditions, a certain method of moving a veffel forward, and making it obey the helm, in a time of calm, by a mechanical process. This machine, which is fimple in its compofition and management, and of finall expence, he has tried with fuccefs, on board the Alfter, even against an ad

verse wind, and pretty fresh, at north-eaft. It requires no other fluid to fet it in motion than the water, which it does not quit, fo long as it is at work; and it may be brought on fhore without much trouble. It is moved by men who remain for that purpose in the veffel. It is, in fact, an entirely new manner of haling or towing a ship. This mechanifm poffeffes divers other properties, not limited to a calm, nor to the water. He propofes to the connoiffeurs, to the admiralties, and to the commercial world at large, that expert perfons may be nominated, to judge by experiments of the utility of this invention; engaging to difclofe his procefs at an equitable price, as a compenfation for the much trouble and long labours he has undergone, to bring it to perfection.

Its

It appears from the French journals, that the rare and precious plants, cultivated in the inclofures of the Museum of Natural Hiftory, have fuffered nothing from the rigour of the last winter. They are all in perfect vegetation, and many of them now in flower for the first time. Among thefe laft, is a plant from Botany Bay, the feeds of which were a prefent from Sir Jofeph Banks. It is leguminous and appears to belong to the genus of the glycina. It is remarkable for its configuration, which is different from that of all the plants of its family. flowers are of an amethyft colour. The fruit is yet expected, which will enable the naturalifts to determine the nature of the plant with more precifion. The folanum polygamum, brought from the Antilles, by Captain BAUDIN, has alfo produced its first flowers. The corolla and the calyx,in lieu of being divided into five parts, like all the other fpecies of this genus, prefent only four fections. This new folanum, is a fmall fhrub of a pale green, garnished with reddish spines on the principal edging, (nervure.)

The Brucea dyfenterica is an Abyffinian fhrub, the bark of which is very fuccefsfully employed by the inhabitants, against the dyfentery. Mr. BRUCE, whofe life had been faved by this plant, during his travels, brought fome feeds of it into France, and prefented them to the National Mufeum of Natural Hiftory. Thefe feeds being fown, only one individual male came up, which the French botanists have confecrated to the memory of Bruce. This individual has been fince multiplied by its hoots, fo that its pro

geny in France confifts only of males.. The adminiftration of the Museum proposes to fend fome into the department of the Maritime Alps, where they are to attempt the culture of this fhrub, fo invaluable for medicine. It is in flower at this time, in the green-house of the Mufeum.

The beautiful fern-tree, from the Antilles, brought by Captain BAUDIN, after lofing the two leaves which it produced laft year, is now putting out three new ones, which appear to be more extenfive than the preceding ones.

A work has been lately published at Paris, entitled "The Correspondence of Voltaire, and of Cardinal de Bernis, from 1761, to 1777, as copied from their original letters, with notes, &c. The editor is Citizen BOURGOING, ci-devant Minister of the Republic, at Madrid, and now affociate Member of the National Inftitute. The authenticity of the letters cannot be contefted, as the manufcripts are in the poffeffion of the Chevalier AZARA, Ambaffador of Spain to the French Republic, who, it appears, was the friend and teftamentary executor of the Cardinal. In fact, the reader will eafily difcern in them the imprefs of the well-known character of Bernis, as well as Voltaire's turn of wit, in the epiftolary kind. Of ninety letters in this collection, two only have been printed before, in the Correspondance generale de Voltaire, and thefe are now printed again, to preserve tl.e correfpondence of those two celebrated men entire.*The Cardinal de BERNIS was a brilliant poet, and poffefled (as thefe letters fhew) wit, talents, a critical judgment, a fine tafte, and a high degree of found claffical literature: in fine, he was a man of letters, worthy of a better age.

*The Cardinal died at Rome in 1794, that is to say, about fixteen years after Voltaire. He had refided in that city fince 1 1769, under the character of Minister to the King, at the Court of Rome, and Protector of the churches of France. Previous to this he had heen Ambaffador at Venice, Minister of foreign affairs, difgraced according to custom,

then exiled, afterwards recalled, and made tion he was deprived of all his eclcefiaftical Archbishop of Alby. By the French revolurevenues in France, and reduced to his archbishopric of Albano in Italy, the income of which was fo moderate, that he accepted a penfion from the court of Spain, granted at the request of M. the Chevalier Azara.