Litelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 153 



ved, and by a strong heat it is reduced to protoxide. Sulphuric acid 

 evolves no nitric acid, nor does nitric acid produce nitric oxide when 

 mixed with it. The protoxide of barium evidently becomes peroxide 

 by combining with the nascent oxygen of the decomposed nitric acid. 



.Ibid xxxvi. p. 108. 



ON CERTAIN HABITUDES OF SEPIiE. 



Portsmouth, Aug. 15, 1827. 

 Gentlemen, — A fisherman this morning brought me a large bunch 

 of the eggs of the Sepia, or common cuttle-fish, fastened to a sea weed. 

 The young were alive in the fluid contained in the membranaceous 

 coverings, and their motions could be readily seen by removing the 

 outer or dark membrane. As I wished to preserve them for a specimen 

 to be added to a long series of bottles containing the natural history, 

 anatomy, &c. of this fish, which I have presented to the museum of 

 the Portsmouth Institution (the eggs being larger than any 1 had be- 

 fore obtained), I laid the specimen on a mahogany table while I 

 prepared some spirit. On returning in a few minutes, I found the 

 young Sepiae had (with one exception) burst the membranes near the 

 stem-like process, and were swimming about in the fluid which escaped 

 during the time of my removing them by means of a broad spatula 

 into a glass of salt water. I was surprised by the amazing strength 

 with which these minute fish (not bigger than a large pea) ejected a 

 current of water, followed by the dark-coloured fluid peculiar to 

 them, through an extent of at least half a yard, and with such force 

 as to be quite unpleasant to the face. I have deemed it worth while 

 to notice these facts, as it is uncommon to obtain the eggs at the state 

 of perfection, even here on the sea coast. The little creatures lived 

 in my window for several hours, exhibiting all the voracious propen- 

 sities of the full-grown ones. I am, &c, 



Henry Slight, Surgeon, 

 Librarian to the Portsmouth Institution. 



NOTICE OF AN ERROR IN GALBRAITH'S MATHEMATICAL 

 TABLES AND FORMULAE. 



In the practical problems, at page 1 67, for computing the deflection 

 of beams, fixed at one end and loaded at the other with any given 

 weigtu, an erroneous rule is copied from Mr. Barlow's Treatise on 

 the Strength of Timber. When errors of this nature are circulated 

 in books of such general practical utility, it becomes an important 

 although an ungracious duty, to point them out. 



The rule should be — 



Multiply the tabular value of E by the breadth, and cube of the 

 depth, both in inches. 



Multiply also the cube of the length in inches, by the given weight, 

 and that product again by 16. 



Divide the latter product by the former for the deflection sought. 



N.B. The tabular value of E is four times the weight in pounds of 

 the modulus of elasticity. B. Bevan. 



New Series. Vol. 2. No. 14. Feb. 1828. X errors 



