these periods, 1028; then, 40x8 =320 inches, or twenty-six feet eight inches; so that this rock must then have been below highwater mark, according to this supposition. It is not likely that, in such a state, it would have been chosen as the site of a building." Unknown Sounds. -"In the autumn of 1828, when on a tour through Les Hautes Pyrenées," says a recent traveller, "I quitted Bagneses de Luchon at midnight, with an intention of reaching the heights of the Porte de Venasque, one of the wildest and most romantic boundaries between the French and Spanish frontier, from the summit of which the spectator looks at once upon the inaccessible ridges of the Maladetta, the most lofty point of the Pyrenean range. After winding our way through the deep woods and ravines, constantly ascending above the valley of Luchon, we gained the hospice about two in the morning, and, after remaining there a short time, proceeded with the first blush of dawn to encounter the very steep gorge terminating in the pass itself, a narrow vertical fissure through a massive wall of perpendicular rock. It is not my intention to detail the features of the magnificent scene which burst upon our view as we emerged from this splendid portal, and stood upon Spanish groundneither to describe the feelings of awe which rivetted us to the spot, as we gazed, in speechless admiration, on the lone, desolate, and (if the term may be applied to a mountain) the ghastly form of the appropriately-named Maladetta. I allude to it solely for the purpose of observing, that we were most forcibly struck with a dull, low, moaning, Eolian sound, which alone broke upon the deathly

silence, evidently proceeding from the body of this mighty mass, though we in vain attempted to connect it with any particular spot, or assign an adequate cause for these solemn strains. The air was perfectly calm; the sky was cloudless; and the atmosphere clear to that extraordinary degree conceivable only by those who are familiar with the elevated regions of southern climates: so clear and pure indeed, that, at noon, abright star which had attracted our notice throughout the grey of the morning, still remained visible in the zenith. By the naked eye, therefore, and still more with the assistance of a telescope, any waterfalls of sufficient magnitude would have been distinguishable on a front base, and exposed before us; but not a stream was to be detected, and the bed of what gave evident tokensof being occasionally astrong torrent, intersecting the valley at its foot, was then nearly dry. I will not presume to assert, that the sun's rays, though at that moment impinging in all their glory on every point and peak of the snowy heights, had any share in vibrating these mountain chords, but on a subsequent visit, a few days afterwards, when I went alone to explore this wild scenery, and at the same hour stood on the same spot, I listened in vain for the moaning sounds: the air was equally calm, but the sun was hidden by clouds, and a cap of dense mist hung over the greater portion of the mountain."

On Sounds on the Peak of Teneriffe." There is an observation," says Mr. Allison, in his Narrative of an Expedition to the Summit of the Peak of Teneriffe, on the 23rd and 24th of Feb. 1829, “which I made, that may be worth mention

ing. Soon after the sun went down, the wind became much louder, and had an acuter sound, although the force was very considerably less than in the day. It has been observed from the earliest antiquity, that the air becomes more sonorous at night than in the day; but I am not aware that the cause of it is well ascertained. The general opinion, I believe, is, that the air becoming colder, is therefore denser and more susceptible of conveying the sonorous waves. This, to a certain extent, may be correct, as it has been well ascertained by Dr. Priestley, that the force of the pulsations of sound depends considerably upon the degree of density or rarefaction of the air; and I think captain, now sir Edward Parry, mentions the surprising distance he was enabled to hear sound during the winter at the North Pole. From frequent observations which I have made in Teneriffe, I am inclined to attribute the intensity of sound at night to a certain increase of moisture, and to an equability of temperature in the different strata of the atmosphere; because, instead of becoming colder, it was four or five degrees warmer when the sound of the wind became more sonorous. Humboldt has made a similar remark; and, as many observations fully coincide with his opinion, I beg to quote it. He ascribes the diminution of sound during the day, to the presence of the sun, which influences the propagation and intensity of sound, by opposing to them currents of air of different density, and partial undulations of the atmosphere, produced by unequal heating of different parts of the ground. In these cases a wave of sound, when it meets two portions of air of dif

ferent density, is divided into two or more waves, a part of the primitive wave being propagated with more rapidity through the denser portions than the parts that pass through air of less density. In this way the wave is broken down into different parts, which arrive at the ear at different times. These different portions of the wave passing again through succeeding portions of the atmosphere of different density, may be so wasted and frittered down, as to be incapable of affecting the tympanum. My observation respecting the intensity of sound is not confined to the Peak. At the town of Orotava, situated about two miles from the sea, the noise of the waves in the morning occasionally had a grave low sound at the same time the air appeared to be particularly dry, and distant objects were very indistinct. Towards the middle of the day, or the beginning of the afternoon, the island of Palma, nearly sixty miles distant, could be seen distinctly; and the ridge of mountains that surround the valley of Orotava were apparently brought so close, that the vegetation upon them could be observed: at the same time the sound of the sea invariably passed from a grave to an acute sound. The natives prognosticate rain when this particular clearness of the atmosphere takes place, and I have generally found them correct."

Australasia. Captain Sturt, with his party, crossed the country in twenty-one days from Sydney, and embarked on the river, down which they proceeded seven days, when they entered a new river, running from east to west, which they named the Murray, and into which the Murrumbidgee flows. In a few days more they reached

another river, forming a junction with the Murray, and examined its banks about five miles up. The next stream that fell into the Murray flowed from the southeast, and was denominated the Lindsay. Lower down still, the expedition having been a month afloat, the Murray was found to enter and form a lake of from fifty to sixty miles in length, and from thirty to forty in breadth. This lake, called Alexandrina, lies immediately to the eastward of Gulf St. Vincent, and extends southward to the shore of Encounter Bay. There has thus been ascertained to exist considerable facilities for interior communications by water from the north of Harris to the southern coast in this country. The river, so surveyed, is reported, however, to be very shallow where it enters the sea, and only fit for boat navigation.

The following official narrative of the expedition is copied from the Sydney Monitor :

"His Excellency the Governor has much satisfaction in publishing the following report of the proceedings of an expedition undertaken for the purpose of tracing the course of the river Murrumbidgee, and of ascertaining whether it communicated with the coast forming the southern boundary of the colony.

"The expedition, which was placed under the direction of captain Sturt, of his majesty's 39th regiment, commenced its progress down the Murrumbidgee on the 7th day of January last, having been occupied twenty-one days in performing the journey from Sydney.

"On the 14th of January they entered a new river running from east to west, now called the Mur

ray, into which the Murrumbidgee flows.

"After pursuing the course of the Murray for several days, the expedition observed another river (supposed to be that which captain Sturt discovered on his former expedition), uniting with the Murray, which they examined about five miles above the junction.

"The expedition again proceeded down the Murray, and fell in with another of its tributaries flowing from the south-east, which captain Sturt has designated the Lindesay; and on the 8th of February the Murray was found to enter and form a lake, of from fifty to sixty miles in length, and from thirty to forty in breadth, lying immediately to the eastward of Gulf St. Vincent, and extending to the southward to the shore of Encounter Bay.

"Thus has captain Sturt added largely, and in a highly important degree, to the knowledge previously possessed of the interior.

"His former expedition ascertained the fate of the rivers Macquarie and Castlereagh, on which occasion he also discovered a river which there is every reason to believe is, in ordinary seasons, of considerable magnitude.

"Should this, as captain Sturt supposes, prove to be the same river as that above mentioned as uniting with the Murray, the existence of an interior water communication for several hundreds of miles, extending from the northward of Mount Harris down to the southern coast of the colony, will have been established.

"It is to be regretted, that circumstances did not permit of a more perfect examination of the lake (which has been called Alexandrina) as the immediate

vicinage of Gulf St. Vincent furnishes a just ground of hope, that a more practicable and useful communication may be discovered in that direction than the channel which leads into Encounter Bay.

"The opportunity of recording a second time the services rendered to the colony by captain Sturt is as gratifying to the Government which directed the undertaking, as it is creditable to the individual who so successfully conducted it to its termination. It is an additional cause of satisfaction to find, that every one, according to his sphere of action, has a claim to a proportionate degree of applause. All were exposed alike to the same privations and fatigue, and every one submitted with patience, manifesting the most anxious desire for the success of the expedition. The zeal of Mr. George M'Leay, the companion of captain Sturt, when example was so important, could not fail to have the most salutary effect; and the obedience, steadiness, and good conduct of the men employed, merit the highest praise."

New Guinea.-The Dutch have made a permanent settlement in New Guinea, in 3 deg. 42 min. S. latitude, and 133 deg. 57 min. E. longitude from Greenwich. A small fort has been built, to which the name of Fort du Bus was given; and on the 24th August, 1828, the flag of the Netherlands was hoisted with the solemn publication of the following

"Proclamation.

"His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange Nassau, Grand Duke of Luxemburg, &c. &c. having ordered possession to be taken of the coast of New Guinea, from the 141st degree of east longitude from

Greenwich, on the south coast, and thence westwards and northwards to the Cape of Good Hope on the north coast,--Notice is hereby given that I, Arnoldus Johannes Van Delden, thereto authorized by the Governor of the Molucca Islands, by virtue of a resolution of his Excellency the Lieut. Governor General of India in Council, dated 31st December, 1827, do hereby publicly, and in presence of the commander of his majesty's corvette Triton, of the brig Sirra, and the schooner Iris, and the officers of the said vessels, of the commanders and officers of the military detachment, of the gentlemen of the committee of natural history, and of the crews of his majesty's ships, and of the above detachment, declare, that I do solemnly take possession in the name of his Majesty the King of the Netherlands, &c. of that part of New Guinea and the countries in the interior which begin at 141° longitude from Greenwich, on the south coast, and thence W.N.W. and northwards to the Cape of Good Hope, situated on the north coast, reserving the rights which the Sultan of Tidore may have to the districts of Masary, Karondefer, Ambarisuro and Amperpon; and to certify to all future ages thus taking possession, a procès verbal shall be drawn up by me, to serve where it may be needful.

"Done this 24th August, 1828. The commissioner for taking possession of the West Coast of New Guinea. (Signed)

"VAN DELDEN." During this short voyage some observations were made interesting to geography, natural history, and navigation. The permanent establishment made in the island

will doubtless lead to more important discoveries, and to a more accurate survey of the Doorga river, which may, perhaps, prove to be a strait, making the south part of New Guinea a separate island.

Agriculture. At the sitting of the Academy of Sciences in Paris, M. Dupin, in reference to a work on the comparative agricultural resources of Great Britain and France, stated, that he had made several calculations respecting the crops of corn in France during the last twenty-four years: from which he found, that there had been fourteen years of abundance, and ten of scarcity; and that the medium price of grain during the whole period had been in favour of the cultivator: a result which he attributes to the prohibition of the entry of foreign corn, and the exportation of French corn, except under certain restrictions.

Management of Wall Trees. A correspondent of" The Spectator," in the Netherlands, gives the following account of the management of wall trees in Holland. "You in England," said the Dutch gardener, "nail your fruittrees to a brick-wall by means of selvages of cloth; and you invent patent composition nails as the acmé of perfection. Now, mark the consequence; your fruit must swell all round alike, but its fruitspur is kept close to the wall; the fruit pressed against the wall acquires a hard scurfy scab, that never softens, or acquires any eatable quality. This you call wall-burnt, or some such term. Again, in two or three years your nicely-jointed brick-wall becomes a riddle of nail-holes, most admirably adapted to be the nest of eggs of every insect that by in

stinct places them near the food fit for the young progeny. Then again, the driving the nails and replacing the cloth bands in a long wall, occupies the assistant for two months in the spring. Mark our simple method. I plant into the ground, within a few inches of the foot of the wall, willow, or hazlerods, peeled, at the distance of eight inches from one another, and each reaching to the top of the wall. Thin long laths of deal are laid across, and the rods are nailed to them, the lath being between the rods and the wall. A similar line of laths is placed along the foot of the willow rods. A few loops of iron are nailed into the wall, to prevent the frame-work, if it may be so termed, from shifting. Then the branches of the fruit-trees are bound to each upright rod, simply by a string of Russia bass matting. Now this is done more rapidly than can be performed by your man of nails, and cloth, and hammer. The fruit has room to swell all round; no vermin harbours in the wall; and the gardener can preserve his trees more effectually, and keep the main stock in a more healthy state, than when compressed with its boughs against the wall. The rods need not be thicker than a man's thumb."

To preserve Butter.-M. Thénard recommends the method used by the Tartars: it consists in melting the butter in balneo mariæ, or in a heat which does not exceed 82 degrees, and keeping it in that state until the cheesy matter is deposited, and the liquid is transparent. It is then decanted, or strained through a piece of linen, and frozen in a mixture of pounded ice and salt, or by means of cold well-water. Without this pre