that we find no deficiency, no. falling off' in the prefent, to induce us to detract from our panegyric.

In the general abstract of the falubrity of the fleet for 1797, we perceive many proofs of the attention of the officers and furgeons, of efforts moft actively and advantageoufly exerted; in confequence of which, the health of thefe floating armies appears to have been almost equal to that of well fituated villages. Mr. Baynton's method of treating ulcerated legs is spoken of respectfully, and fome inftances of true hysteria are mentioned as occurring among feamen of very different characters, after the alarming mutiny, in confequence probably of the agitation of their minds.

The first fubject treated of is contagion, in which our author repeats his objections to Dr. Smyth's plan of fumigating with nitrous vapour. Indeed, he carries his oppofition fo far as to hint, from the experiments of Dr. Mitchell, which we fhall foon again have occafion to notice, that this gas is the very contagion it is intended to deftroy, and affirms, that, though it may for a time difguife the fell, the offensiveness will, foon return, while it muft abforb the oxygen, on which the falutary quality of vital air depends. Experience only can decide on this fubject, but we own that we are more friendly to free air, cleanlinefs, and an immediate feparation of the af fected from the healthy feamen, than to any fumigations, which, we fear, will be often employed as a pretence for idle nefs, or as a difguife of fetid and fatally injurious filth. We will just notice one mistake in our author's reafoning, where he confounds the choak damp (hydrogen) with carbonic acid air: the latter, we believe, in no inftance, produces fever. A fimilar error occurs in one of the American thefes, where the author confounds azote with the femiel of the defert, which is hydrogen.

On the fubject of yellow fever, he does not add greatly to our former knowledge. He prefers Dr. Mofeley's practice, and thinks it neceffary, on coming into a hot climate, to bring down' the grofs European conftitution to the tropical climate. Our author, among all the journals of fea furgeons, has not, it feems, difcovered this advice; but he might have met with it, not in Hippocrates, but in a work of our worthy predeceffor, Dr. Smollett-the fecond volume of Roderick Random. Mr. Crawford's letter fubjoined, on this fubjec, is an excellent one. He obferves, that a man has fometimes refilled the contagion on beard an infected fhip, and immediately fickened on entering into another. Inftances of this kind may be obferved not unfrequently on fhore, where men are often condemned for introducing difeafes, who, on leaving an unwholefome fituation, have appeared perfectly well. Mr. Crawford thinks alto, that, in fome inftances, the yellow fe

ver communicates intermittents. As a remittent, we know it to be intimately connected with intermittents.

The fmall-pox is always a dangerous difeafe in fhips; and our author, on its appearance, recommends immediate inoculation with the cow-pox, as a lefs dangerous disease; adding, that the number in a fhip who have not experienced the malady, is feldom fo great as materially to weaken her force. An epidemical ophthalmia is next defcribed, as it occurred on board the Saturn, feemingly owing to damp hazy weather. In fyphilis, Dr. Trotter diftrufts the powers of nitrous acid, thinking it, without mercury, unequal to the cure, though a valuable remedy after its ufe, or when alternated with it, if that medicine fhould difagree. We may mention an inftance, from the mifcellaneous reinarks, of fcurvy coming on during the ufe of nitrous acid, and being cured by lemon juice, after which the difeafe appeared to yield to the repetition of the mineral acid. The other mifcellaneous obfervations, and the remarks on diet, deferve very particular attention, but are incapable of detail in this place. **

The malignant ulcer' is almoft a new fubject of inquiry, fince a fimilar difeafe feems only to have been noticed by Dr. Rollo. It generally appears when any wound has been made. in the fkin, though it foinetimes happens independently of any injury. The fore fpreads with unexampled rapidity and acrimony, very foon destroying all the furrounding parts; and, when these feparate, the fubjacent mufcle is very far from affuming a healthy appearance, but often becomes again irritable and inflammatory.

The ftriking peculiarities of this ulcer are,

ft. Its rapid progrefs, by which, in the fpace of a few days, it paffes through the various ftages of inflammation, gangrene, and fphacelus, when the injured parts flough away, which puts an end to an acute concomitant fever.

2dly. It has been obferved to prevail more in ships in port than at fea, or very shortly after leaving the harbour.

3dly. It has never affumed the complexion of a fcorbutic ulcer, which is diftinguifhed by the dark-coloured fungous mafs lying over its furface, that on being removed is quickly regenerated, and is commonly attended with fome fymptoms of fcurvy, fuch as foft fwellings of the legs, fpungy gums, and fallow looks; on the contrary, in this ulcer, when the putrid parts feparate, the furface is of a light florid colour. The fcorbutic fore is feldom painful; our ulcer is attended at times with exquifite torment.

4thly. It has not been relieved by large quantities of lemonjuice, even to a bottle per diem: nay, we have thought that in fone cafes much harm was done by this practice in the first stage.

5thly. We have not been able to diftinguifh particular confti

tutions more liable to be affected with it than others, except the ftrong and robust; nor have feamen been more exempt from it than landmen.

6thly. It has occurred in fhips where every attention is paid to exact difcipline, cleanliness, ventilation, and every circumstance connected with preferving health. It has also been treated by fome of the most experienced and able surgeons in the navy: and there is nothing peculiar to the foil forrounding the ports of the Channel where it has appeared.' P. 196.

Dr. Trotter thinks the difeafe owing to a high degree of excitement, rapidly deftroying life. We own, that we fuspec a fpecific infection, and fee many appearances of a contagious nature. No particular treatment feems to have been fingularly fuccefsful, though the doctor ftrongly recommends very early and active depletion by bleeding, both generally and topically, purging, &c. with the coldeft applications. In ulcers, fuppofed to be of a fimilar kind, though probably scorbutic, Dr. Harnels has found the gaftric juice highly ufeful. Mr. Hammick, of Plymouth, has difcovered hops to be a very ferviceable ingredient in poultices applied to ulcers.

Mr. Reilly's obfervations on the effects of nitrous gas on ulcers, are not very prepoffeffing in favour of the remedy, or of its falutary effect in general. Blood, expofed to this gas, grew darker than in open air. His defcription of a chameleon is too curious to pafs by unnoticed, and, in a work of fuch a different nature, it may occafionally be unobferved, by the cur fory reader.

About the time I commenced my experiments, Mr. Pritchard, mafter of his majesty's fhip Prince, prefented me with a chameleon, that had been fent him by a gentleman from Saffia in Barbary, which extraordinary production of nature I remarked with particular attention every morning after fumigating. On the admiffion of atmofpheric air I had this animal brought into the berth, and as regularly observed his colour change to a variegated black, which in no fmall degree excited my curiofity: unthinkingly, I one morning allowed it to remain in the berth during the fumigating process, which, I am forry to fay, ended its existence. I found, when it was dead, its colour was black, the reason of which I shall attempt to explain. As this animal is not known in England, I examined the comparative anatomy of the thorax and abdominal viscera, these being the only parts I diffected, having ftuffed his body; which will fully account for the fingular phenomenon that takes place in its changing to the fame colour with the object placed before it. On opening to view the thorax and abdomen, there appears no mediaftinum, but a thorough communication, without any intervening fubftance; the whole space of which is filled by three bladders, the middle and smallest of them may be called with propriety the fo

phagus and stomach. It is firmly attached to the os hyoides, and terminates in the anus. The other two bladders are attached to the trachæa, and in every refpect perform the office of lungs; and the animal can at difcretion fill itself out to a large fize, by inflating thefe vehicles, which are extremely pellucid, and, when inflated, fill completely the whole of the abdominal cavity, where there is no other fubftance but thefe tranfparent membranes; and the change of colour that takes place is occafioned by the reflection of any other colour on these transparent membranes, as the skin of the animal is extremely thin, and between the cellular fubftance, and the skin is a filamentary expansion of the membranes; which pellucid or transparent membrane ferves as a lens or mirror to reflect the rays of colour when objects are placed before it. A very clear demonftration of this is, that when a collapfe takes place, which is not unfrequent, it is not influenced by colour; and, on the contrary, when thefe bladders are full, its colour is influenced by the object placed in competition, but fcarlet more particularly, from its being more vivid. I doubt much whether nature has defigned this animal to live on food or not, from the following circumstance: that I very frequently gave it flies, which it never appeared to swallow with avidity; and I believe, if it were poffeffed of the power of returning them, that it would have done fo; and in diffecting it I found the whole of the flies unaltered in this middle fpace; and, as a farther proof, from the part of the cyft where the flies were, to its termination, was fo clofely filled with bezoar-mineral, that the most minute substance could not have paffed. This, in my opinion, clearly proves that nature did not defign it to live on food; or, if it had, that its fæces were of the bezoar mineral.

The tongue of this extraordinary animal is feven inches long, and in appearance like the fucker of a pump, with two apertures. The expanfion of the nerves are beautiful, having no muscular subftance to cover their colour: I counted diftinctly twenty-nine pair; they in every degree perform the office, of mufcles, and all motion is performed by them the fame as by the mufcles in other animals. The eyes are of a very particular structure; they are very prominent, with a small pupil; and the animal can look forward with one, and back with the other, at the fame time. Its colour, when not influenced by objects, is a bluish grey, beautifully variegated with fmall yellow fpots; its body about feven inches long; its head about an inch and one half, handfomely helmeted; its tail about five inches long, which it makes as much use of as any of its legs, particularly when defcending from heights; it is of the oviparous clafs, refembles much, only fmaller and handfomer, the gauana of the Weft-Indies.' P. 237.

Mr. Reilly's experience alfo is not in favour of the effects of fumigation with nitrous vapour, in deftroying contagion; nor, according to Dr. Trotter's idea, are the effects of the ace

um nitrofum (nitre diffolved in vinegar) more ufeful in fcurvy. Indeed, from the authority of captain Pendar, and his officers, he doubts of the exiftence of the difeafe, in any great degree, in the fhip, where the remedy was faid to have been employed with fuch extraordinary fuccefs, and in fuch large doses.

Some fingular furgical cafes, with Dr. Trotter's circular letter, requesting affiftance, conclude the particular fubjects of the volume.

In the Appendix are different American thefes, thofe of doctors Saltonftall, Bay, and Lent, explaining Dr. Mitchell's theory of the feptic acid, with his defence of the foap and tallow-chandlers, whofe bufinefs was fufpected to be noxious to the human frame, but was found (particularly during the prevalence of putrid epidemics) highly falubrious. Septon is Dr. Mitchell's term for azote. If we can procure thefe thefes *, we fhall examine the fubject more particularly. What Dr. Trotter has published in this Appendix are extracts only.

Outlines of a Philofophy of the Hiftory of Man. (Continued from p. 10 of the prefent Volume.)

IN treating of the northern nations, M. Herder speaks firft of the Bafques, the Gael, and the Cimbri. In his account of thefe races we think we perceive a little confufion. He diftinguishes, with propriety, the Celts from the Goths, which, even by authors of fome pretensions to the knowledge of ancient hiftory, are fometimes confounded; but he is not fufficiently exact in difcriminating the Belgic from the Celtic Gauls, or from the Cimbri; and he affigns to the Gael the druidical fyftem, with which they certainly had not the flighteft connection. Probably the Gafcon, the Gael, and the Cumraig races were wholly of Celtic origin: though they differ in language and in customs from each other, they differ more from the Gothic nations. Indeed the wandering tribes of Celts, in diftant fituations, may have eafily changed in all these refpects, and their various names may have been appellatives from their situation, as the name Cimbri means inhabitants of the mountains.

The Lettonians and the Pruffians are joined by our author with the Fins. They are evidently Finnish tribes which fettled on the coafts of the Baltic, and are found scattered in the neighbouring countries in every direction. They were never conquerors, but in modern times, when incorporated with the Germans, and are, in our opinion, fcyons of a north-eastern

As they are not on fale in this country, we should be obliged to any cors refpondent for the loan of them. N

CRIT, REV. VOL. XXX. October, 1800.