General Science. 



371 



55. Professor Gmelin's Analysis of the Water of the Dead Sea. — Pro- 

 fessor C. G. Gmelin of Tubingen has just communicated to us the follow- 

 ing analysis of the water of the Dead Sea, the specific gravity of which, at 

 a temperature of 6lJ° Fahrenheit, he had found to be = 1.21223. He 

 obtained the following result : — 



Chloride of Calcium, 

 Chloride of Magnium, 

 Bromide of Magnium, 

 Chloride of Sodium, 

 Chloride of Potassium, 

 Chloride of Aluminium, 

 Chloride of Manganese, 

 Muriate of Ammonia, 

 Sulphate of Lime, 



Water, 



3.2141 



11.7734 



0.4393 



7.0777 

 1.6738 

 0.0896 

 0.2117 

 0.0075 

 0.0527 



24.5398 

 75.4602 



100.0000 



56. Eruption of one of the large Craters of Mount Huararai in 1803.— 

 This eruption inundated several villages, destroyed a number of planta- 

 tions and extensive fish-ponds, filled up a deep bay about twenty miles in 

 length, and formed the present coast. An Englishman who resided thirty 

 years here, told us he was astonished at the irresistible impetuosity of the 

 torrent. Stone walls, trees, and houses, all gave way before it; even 

 large masses of rocks of hard ancient lava, when surrounded by the fiery 

 stream, soon split into small fragments, and falling into the burning mass, 

 appeared to melt again as borne by it down the mountain's side. The 

 lava continued to flow for two or three days. In several places on the 

 coast, the sea rushes with violence twenty or thirty yards along the cavities 

 beneath the lava, and then forcing its waters through the aperture on the 

 surface, forms a number of beautiful jet d'eaux, which, falling again on 

 the rocks, roll rapidly back to the ocean. — Ellis's Missionary Tour through 

 Hawaii. 



57. Celebrated Lava Cavern ofRaniakea. — This cavern is near Kairua, on 

 the west coast of Hawaii. After entering it by a small aperture, the mission- 

 aries passed on in a direction nearly parallel to the surface, sometimes along 

 a spacious archway, not less than 25 feet high and 20 wide, at other times 

 by a passage so narrow that they could with difficulty press through, till 

 they had proceeded about 1200 feet, where their progress was arrested by 

 a pool of water, wide, deep, and as salt as that in the bottom of the lava, 

 a few yards from the sea. More than thirty natives, most of them carry- 

 ing torches, accompanied us in the descent, and on coming to the water, 

 simultaneously plunged in, extending the torches with the one hand, and 

 swimming about with the other. The partially illuminated heads of the 



