1827.] 



Varieties. 



549 



and the movements of the free escapement 

 are performed by means of palettes of pre- 

 cious stones. Some artists having observed 

 to M. Houriet that the escapement and the 

 spiral spring not being of steel, the incon- 

 venience of a less degree of elasticity would 

 be the result ; numerous and successful expe- 

 riments supplied a decisive answer to the 

 objection ; and it appears evident that gold, 

 when hardened, is more elastic than hardened 

 steel when untempered. During six days, 

 this machine was exposed to an artificial 

 magnet, of the strength of from twenty-five 

 to thirty pounds, without its performance be- 

 ing in the least deranged. This new method 

 of constructing chronometers, may be of the 

 highest importance to those intrepid navi- 

 gators who may explore the northern regions, 

 in which the magnetic influence frequently 

 produces a very sensible effect upon the 

 chronometers constructed in the usual way. 



Antient Manufactory of Arms. The fol- 

 lowing very interesting account is extracted 

 from one of the best foreign journals, the 

 Revue Encyclopedique. The CountD'Abzac, 

 a magistrate in the canton of Tervasson 

 (Dordogne), has discovered by the side of the 

 new road from Lyons to Bourdeaux, between 

 Ternasson and Arrac, opposite the village of 

 Boissier, the remains of one of the ar- 

 mouries, if such they may be called, where 

 the ancients constructed their arms and in- 

 struments of flint. M, Jouannet, of Bour- 

 deaux, who has so ably illustrated this branch 

 of industry of the ancient inhabitants of Peri- 

 gord, had already discovered in the Sacladais 

 two of their ancient work-shops; and this 

 last, like the two others, is characterized by 

 a great quantity of fragments of flint, by a 

 multitude of roughly-hewn darts, by the 

 neighbourhood of a natural grotto, which 

 probably served as a retreat for the work- 

 men, and above, by a considerable heap of 

 bones of domestic animals, which still retain 

 the marks of the fire that had charred them. 

 It may be remarked, that silex is not found 

 nearer to Boissier than two leagues, and 

 that it was necessary to hew many roughly 



before they could obtain perfect arms or 

 utensils, as may be seen by the numbers 

 which are imperfect nnd have been left. 

 But whence the heap of bones ? This is a 

 question which, in all probability, will never 

 be resolved. 



Compression of Water. The following 

 are the results obtained by Mr. Parkins, from 

 experiments on the progressive compression 

 of water, with high degrees of force, arid 

 communicated to the Royal Society. The 

 column of water is 190 inches in height, and 

 the pressure of one atmosphere is, of course, 

 estimated at fourteen pounds. 

 Atmospheres. Compression in Inches. 



10 189 



20 0-372 



30 0-543 



40 0-691 



50 0-812 



60o 0-956 



TO 1-056 



80 1-087 



90 1-288 



100 1-422 



150 1-914 



200 2-440 



300 3'339 



400 4-193 



500 5-987 



600 5-907 



700 6-715 



800 7-402 



900 8-243 



1000 9-002 



2000 15-833 



We may add, that the cause of the colour 

 of the Red Sea, which has given rise to va- 

 rious conjectures, has been decided by the 

 Prussian travellers, M. M. Hemprich and Eh- 

 renburg ; the account of whose researches in 

 Egypt, Syria, and Arabia, will speedily ap- 

 pear. M. E. remarked the first, that the 

 colour above alluded to, arose from a species 

 of oscillatoria, small vegetables, or animal- 

 culte connected both with the animal and 

 vegetable kingdom. 



WORKS IN THE PRESS, AND NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



WORKS IN PREPARATION, 



Capt. Andrews' Journal of his Travels 

 from Buenos Ayres through the United 

 Provinces to Coquimbo is expected to con- 

 tain much new and interesting information. 

 Also his explanation of his proceedings in 

 behalf of the Chilian and Peruvian Mining 

 Company, which he promises in an appen- 

 dix, is much looked for by those lately con- 

 cerned in the South American Mining specu- 

 lations. 



Mr. Horace Smith lias a new novel in the 

 press, to be entitled " Reuben Apsley." The 

 scene is laid in England during^the short 

 reign of James the 2nd, some of tnV 



remarkable events of which are, we under- 

 stand, embodied in the story ; such, for 

 example, as the disastrous rebellion of the 

 Duke of Monmoutb, the sanguinary Western 

 assizes under Judge Jeffreys, and the tri- 

 umphant landing of the Prince of Orange. 

 The most prominent of the historical cha- 

 racters is Judge Jeffreys. 



The Second Part of Mr. Crofton Croker's 

 Fairy Legends will certainly appear next 

 June. 



We learn that a more extensive work on 

 a similar subject, entitled the Fairy Mytho- 

 logy, may be expected early next season. 



jfhe Book Collector's Manual, or a Guide 

 ""to the Knowledge of upwards of 20,000 rare, 



