1827.] 



Varieties. 



429 



year 1825 the increase of the population was 

 75,085 souls. 



Effect of Lightning. During a thunder 

 storm which took place in Holland at the 

 close of last year, out of a flock of 155 sheep 

 ia an open field, a single flash of lightning 

 killed sixty-five, of which the wool was 

 widely scattered in every direction. 



Rare Insect. A very rare insect, of which 

 the existence has been long doubted, and 

 which is found only in the most northern 

 countries, is met with in Livonia : it is the 

 furia infernalis described by Linnaeus, in the 

 hew memoirs of the academy of Upsal. This 

 insect is so small that it is difficult to dis- 

 tinguish it with the naked eye. In warm 

 weather it falls from the air upon the inha- 

 bitants, and the inflammation resulting from 

 its bite or sting will occasion death if imme- 

 diate remedies be not applied . During the hay 

 harvest, other insects, called meggar, cause 

 equal mischief to men and cattle. They are 

 of the size of a grain of sand, at sunset ap- 

 pearing in great quantities ; they descend in 

 a perpendicular line, pierce the strongest 

 cloth, and occasion an itching, accompanied 

 with pimples, which become dangerous if 

 scratched. They cause swelling in the throats 

 of the cattle which inhale them, and without 

 prompt assistance death ensues. They are 

 cured by a fumigation with linseed, which 

 brings on a violent cough. 



Circulation of the Sap in Plants. A 

 communication was made some- time since by 

 Professor Amici, of Modena, to the Italian 

 Society of Arts established in that city, that 

 in an aquatic plant (the chara) he had dis- 

 covered, by microscopic examination, a cir- 

 culation of the sap between the joints, which 

 apparently ascended in the exterior portion 

 of the stem of the plant, and descended in the 

 centre. The reality of this phenomenon 

 was placed beyond doubt by the very evident 

 passage of certain particles of one of the 

 currents, which, drawn by that which moved 

 in an opposite direction, were from time to 

 time carried along by it. In the month of 

 May last, this was demonstrated by the 

 learned professor himself to the Parisian 

 naturalists ; and during his visit to this 

 country, we, among many others, have wit- 

 nessed this phenomenon, as displayed by one 

 of his very perfect microscopes the circu- 

 lation of the sap, which by analogy, is ex- 

 tended to every plant, is ascribed to the 

 effect of galvanic action. 



Astronomy. We suggested to our readers 

 some time since, a method of illuminating 

 the field of view of a reflecting telescope ; 

 the process was new, and but a small loss of 

 light ensued from it. The following is supe- 



rior : Within the tube of the telescope, and 

 close to the large mirror, place a small plane 

 mirror at an angle of forty-five, in a line 

 with that by which the pencil of rays is 

 transmitted to the eye-piece, and inclined 

 in an opposite direction no loss of light 

 will ensue beyond that which necessarily 

 takes place in the Newtonian construction, 

 and the rays will be transmitted in the axis 

 of the telescope through a perforation in 

 the side of the tube, opposite this second 

 plane mirror, to a tube inserted into which 

 perforation, a lantern is attached upon gim- 

 bals. 



. Man- Eat ing- Society. In the Fifty- 

 seventh number of the Quarterly Review, 

 appeared a false defamatory article concern- 

 ing America. The effects of this intem- 

 perate article have been rather deplorable 

 it has drawn down in the last number of the 

 North American Review, a most severe and 

 annihilating reply, if we look to the appalling 

 facts which the ill-judged critique obliged 

 the American Journal to disclose, but as pre- 

 eminent for the conciliating truly Christian 

 spirit with which it is conceived, as for the 

 chaste eloquence and felicity with which it is 

 composed. This valuable paper we recom- 

 mend to the perusal of all honest Englishmen, 

 and from it make the following interesting 

 extract : " There is a horrible institution 

 among some of the Indian tribes, which fur- 

 nishes a powerful illustration of their never- 

 tiring love of vengeance. It is called the 

 Man-Eating Society, and it is the duty of its 

 associates to devour such prisoners as are 

 preserved and delivered to them for that pur- 

 pose. The members of this society belong 

 to a particular family, and the dreadful inhe- 

 ritance descends to all the children, male and 

 female. Its duties cannot be dispensed with, 

 and the sanctions of religion are added to 

 the obligations of immemorial usage. The 

 feast is considered a solemn ceremony, at 

 which the whole tribe is collected as actors 

 or spectators. The miserable victim is fast- 

 ened to a stake, and burned at a slow fire, 

 with all the refinements of cruelty which 

 savage ingenuity can invent. There is a 

 traditionary ritual, which regulates, with re- 

 volting precision, the whole course of pro- 

 cedure at these ceremonies. The institution 

 has latterly declined, but we know those 

 who have seen and related to us the incidents 

 which occurred on these occasions, when 

 white men were sacrificed and consumed. 

 The chief of the family and principal mem- 

 bers of the society among the Miames; 

 whose name was White Skin, we have seen, 

 and with feelings of loathing, excited by a 

 narrative of his atrocities, amid the scenes 

 when they occurred. '> 



