184« Scientific Intelligence. — Natural Philosophy. 



did not miss a word, although the distance must be something 

 about two miles. It was the late Dr Black of Dunfermline who 

 preached, and who perhaps has seldom been surpassed for distinct 

 speaking and a clear voice. The sound was sucli as I should 

 have expected, in favourable circumstances, at a quarter of a 

 mile. The wind, which was steady, but moderate, came in the 

 direction of the sound. There are some miraculous stories of 

 sermons being heard at many miles distance ; but I did not view 

 it in that light. I was riding westward, and at length saw the 

 Doctor finishing his sermon, otherwise I should have doubted 

 whether he had been at such a distance. Whether the sound 

 had run along the road, as in a tube, I cannot say. I recollect 

 little of what sort of road it is ; part, I think, has pretty good 

 dikes, which might guide and confine the sound, aided by the 

 wind. Some gaping ploughmen may surely be heard calling to 

 their horses more than two miles ; and, were fishwives in the 

 open country, their eloquence would probably extend still far- 

 ther. Unfortunately, most people, when they call loud, are not 

 intelligible. In Scripture, there seem to be instances of persons 

 being heard far speaking from mountain tops, but perhaps they 

 used a trumpet. — H. M. 



6. Capillary Action. — From a series of interesting experi- 

 Bients performed by Magnus, and recorded in Poggendorfs 

 Journal, St. 5. 1827, it follows, that the rising of fluids through 

 a bladder, as detailed in some well known experiments, is an ef- 

 fect of capillary action, and that it can be explained, if we ad- 

 mit that different fluids force their way through capillary open- 

 ings more or less easily, according to their degree of tenuity. 



7. Farther Observations made on the Solar Compass. — 1. 

 That the effect produced by the hairs or piles of velvet is much 

 greater when the velvet is placed over the points of the needle, 

 than when it is made to surround the circle of cork into which 

 the needles are fixed. 2. That it seems a farther improvement 

 to place south and north poles alternately outwards. 3. I have 

 twice observed it move about 10° to the influence of the full 

 moon, when the atmosphere was very clear. 4. That its sensi- 

 bility seems greatly diminished by cold, and that when the ther- 

 mometer stood at 30° in the shade, it did not move to the influ- 

 ence of the sun at this season, above tlirce hours, from 11 a. m. 



