Rev. John Lightfoot, M. A. F. R. S. The first of these is a 'nautilus,' denominated from its place of abode, lacuftris,' and has likewife been named, helix lineata.' The fecond is without compartments, and is named, helix fontana.' The third, from the fharp-edged rings, which furround the wreaths, and which are elongated on the back of each wreath into a spur of compreffed and very tender fpines, is called helix fpinofula.' The fhell next described is the turbo helicinus,' so named from its resemblance to a helix. The fifth and laft is of the genus patella, and diftinguished by the epithet oblonga.' The author concludes with remarking that the fhells brought from the West Indies by the collectors, who give them the name of gold fhells, are really coverings or cells of an infect in its pupa ftate, and moft probably of a fpecies of coccus, or cochineal, not hitherto described.

Art. VIII. Obfervations on the Sulphur Wells at Harrogate, made in July and August 1785. By the Right Rev. Richard, Lord Bishop of Landaff, F. R.S. This refpectable prelate is particularly diftinguished by his tafte for the cultivation of science, and affords, in the present paper, fresh proof of that liberal difpofition. On the declivity of a hill, about a quarter of a mile to the west of the fulphur wells at Harrogate, there is a bog which has been formed by the rotting of wood; and in this bog are four fulphur wells, exclufive of the others in the neighbourhood. In order to discover whether the water in this part was of an uniform nature, the bishop ordered a well to be dug in the bog to the fame depth with the fulphur well which is near the rails. The water with which it was presently filled was chalybeate, but in no degree fulphureous. He had another well dug at about thirty yards diftance from the three fulphur wells which are fituated at the lower extremity of the bog. This well, by the declivity of the ground, was ten or twelve feet below their level, but its water was not fulphureous. Such diverfities of water ifluing from nearly the fame fpot of ground, are by no means uncommon; and the difcovery of new waters, when medicinal in a different manner from others, muft always be regarded an incident of public utility.

Art. IX. Obfervations and Remarks on thofe Stars which the Aftronomers of the last Century fufpected to be changeable. By Edward Pigott, Efq. Communicated by Sir Henry C. Engle field, Bart. F.R. S. and A. S. About a century ago Hevelius, Montonari, Flamfteed, Maraldi, and Caffini, noticed a certain number of stars which they fuppofed had either disappeared, changed in brightnefs, or were new ones; and yet to this day. we have acquired no farther knowledge of them. This may be attributed to the difficulty of finding out what ftar is meant,

and

and the not having exact obfervations of their relative brightnefs. Mr. Pigott, therefore, has drawn up a catalogue, and made the necessary observations; fo that in future aftronomers can examine them without much trouble, and be certain of any change that may take place.

Art. X. An Account of the Subfidence of the Ground near Folkftone, on the Coaft of Kent. By the Rev. John Lyon, M. A. In September 1785 one hundred and thirty feet of the clift funk forty feet from the level of the adjoining clift, and, by its preffure, is faid to have raised some little iflands near the fhore, The foundation of the hills is marle, which has been wathed away by fubterraneous water. Similar finkings of the ground are not uncommon; feveral inftances of the kind are mentioned in the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences for 1769; and a very remarkable one in the laft Supplement to Buffon's Natural History.

Art. XI. Particulars relative to the Nature and Customs of the Indians of North-America. By Mr. Richard M'Caufland, Surgeon to the King's, or Eighth Regiment of Foot. The par ticular first mentioned relates to the beards of the NorthAmerican Indians, and communicates no new information. We had before learned that they did not differ, in this refpect, from Europeans; but that the appearance depended on their diligently plucking out the hair by the roots, or by fhaving very closely. Some other particulars mentioned likewife in this paper had formerly been made known to the public.

Art. XII. Abftract of a Register of the Barometer, Thermometer, and Rain, at Lyndon in Rutland, 1785. By Thomas Barker, Efq, alfo of the Rain at South-Lambeth, in Surrey; and at Selbourn and Fyfield, Hampshire. By Thomas White, Efq. F.R.S. It appears that the quantity of rain which fell at Selbourn, during the year 1785, amounted to more than thirty-one

inches.

Art. XIII. An Account of Experiments made by Mr. John M'Nab, at Henley-Houfe, Hudfon's-Bay, relating to freezing Mixtures. By Henry Cavendish, Efq. F. R.S. Thefe experiments are, in many refpects, curious and important; but at the fame time fo furprifing that they are fometimes inexplicable, and afford fufpicion of their not having been made with perfect accuracy. Among the unaccountable circumftances to which we have alluded are the following: dephlogifticated spirit of nitre, by diluting with fnow, became yellowish, and afterwards of a green or bluith hue; and the addition of fnow produced heat, till it arrived at the freezing point of the diluted acid. This point is much lefs cold than when they are more diluted, and much less so than when they are not diluted; fo that when they

are

are diluted to the standard of eafieft freezing, they are at the heat of eafieft freezing. We fhall present our readers with the following extract in Mr. Cavendish's own words:

From thefe experiments it appears that spirit of nitre is subjec to two kinds of congelation, which we may call the aqueous and fpirituous; as in the first it is chiefly, if not entirely, the watery part which freezes, and in the latter the fpirit itfelf. Accordingly, when the fpirit is cooled to the point of aqueous congelation, it has no tendency to diffolve fnow and produce cold thereby, but on the contrary is difpofed to part with its own water; whereas its tendency to diffolve fnow and produce cold is by no means destroyed by being cooled to the point of fpirituous congelation, or even by being actually congealed. When the acid is exceffively dilute, the point of aqueous congelation must neceffarily be very little below that of freezing water: when the ftrength is,21, it is at -17°, and at the trength of 24, it feems, from Art 16, to be at 44°. Spirit of nitre, of the foregoing degrees of ftrength, is liable only to the aqueous congelation; and it is only in greater ftrengths that the fpirituous congelation can take place. This feems to be performed with the leath degree of cold when the ftrength is ,411, in which cafe the freezing point is at -1°. When the acid is either ftronger or weaker, it requires a greater degree of cold; and in both cafes the frozen part feems to approach nearer to the ftrength of,411 than the unfrozen part; it certainly does fo when the ftrength is greater than ,411, and there is little doubt but what it does fo in the other cafe. At the ftrength of ,54 the point of fpirituous congelation is 31°, and at,33 probably 45° at leaft one kind of congelation takes place at that point, and there is little doubt but that it is of the fpirituous kind. In order to prefent this matter more at one view, have added the following table of the freezing point of common fpirit of nitre answering to different ftrengths:

In trying the first half of the dephlogisticated spirit of nitre, the cold produced was 44°. The acid was fluid before the addition of the fnow, and of the temperature of -30°, but froze on putting in the thermometer, and rofe to 5o. as related in Art. 7.

*The point of eafieft freezing.

In trying the fecond part the acid was about co before the addition of the fnow, and therefore had no difpofition to freeze. The cold produced was 42°.

6

As the quantity of fnow added in thefe experiments was not obferved, they do not determine any points of aqueous or fpirituous congelation in this acid; but there is reafon to think that these points are nearly the fame as thofe of common fpirit of nitre of the fame strength, as the cold produced in thefe experiments was nearly the fame as that obtained by the common fpirit of nitre.'

This article concludes the firft part of the prefent volume, which we have found one of the moft interefting for the philofophical difquifitions it contains. The next part likewife promifes to afford us an agreeable research.

ART. XV. Cary's new and correct English Atlas; being a new Set of County Maps, from actual Surveys; exhibiting all the Direct and Cross-Roads, Cities, Towns, and most confiderable Villages, Parks, Rivers, Navigable Canals, &c. Preceded by a General Map of South-Britain, fhewing the Connexion of one Map with another. Alfo a general Defcription of each County, and Directions for the function of the Roads from one County to another. 4to. Il. 11s. 6d. boards. Cary. London, 1787.

THOUGH this ample title-page promifes a great deal, yet the purchaser of Cary's Atlas will find that the work itself contains much more useful matter than is announced in the title-page; for, added to the defcriptions of the counties, with directions for the junction of the roads (which was all that was at first intended to accompany the maps) a complete alphabetical lift of the market-towns is given, with the days on which their markets are held, and their distance from the metropolis; to which is fubjoined a correct lift of all the C pott and fub-poft towns, with the receiving houses under each, throughout England and Wales; fhewing the rates of postage, the time of arrival of the poft in the country, and its difpatch for London. For which information, as well as other material affiftance in the completion of this work, the proprietor is indebted to the liberal permiffion he was honoured with by the comptroller-general of the poft-office to refort to fuch official documents as enables him to vouch for the correctnefs and accuracy of thefe important articles.'

Works of this kind derive their great value from the accuracy of their execution. Without a firict attention to this, they are worse than nothing; they pretend to inftruct, they infpire confidence, and they deceive. We have examined this publi

7

cation

cation with fome attention, have compared it with many of the beft county maps on a larger icale, and do not find that it fuffers by the comparison. The author appears to have exerted himfelf to merit that approbation, which every one who ventures before the public tribunal fhould endeavour to deferve; and it gives us pleasure to fee, by the long lift of fubfcribers that precedes the work, that he has not laboured in vain.

The neatnefs of the engraving is highly to be commended, as, befides its general pleafing effect, it renders these maps lefs fatiguing to the eye than thofe on a much larger fcale, which are executed, as maps too commonly are, in a flovenly manner.

We cannot, without paffing the bounds prescribed us, enter into a more minute examination of the English Atlas; nor indeed is it neceffary, as, having made our readers acquainted with the mature and contents of the work, and having faid that the maps are correctly delineated, and engraven in a mafterly ftyle, we conceive ourselves to have done all that is requifite. But we cannot finish this article without calling the attention of every thinking perfon to the quantity of common, heath, marsh, foreft, and * waste land of every kind, which meets the eye, in every county, and which furrounds the very capital of this pretended well-cultivated kingdom. Surely we fhall one day be wife enough to pay fome attention to this permanent fource of riches and profperity.

FOREIGN

LITERATURE.

ART. XV. L'Année Françoife, ou Vie des hommes qui ont honoré la France ou par leurs Talens ou par leurs Services, et furtout par leurs Vertus, pour tour les fours de PAn. Par M. Manuel.

ART. XV. The French Year; or, Lives of the Men who have done Honour to France by their Talents, their Services, and more especially by their Virtues. For every Day in the Year. Manuel. 12mo. 4 vols. Paris, 1789.

By M.

THE object of this work is avowedly to hand down to future generations the precepts and examples which the remarkable apothegms and great actions of their ancestors afford; and the author's intention in thus difpofing the lives of his great men in

* All these are well difcriminated in the maps, by being coloured of a fainter green than the parks of the nobility, &c. and catch the eye at the first glance.

the