1805.] 



Literary and Philofophkat Intelligence. 



353 



The third and fourth volumes of the 

 Works of the late KiNn of Sweuen 

 have juft appeared at Stockholm. This 

 colle6iion, publiftied by his fon, will be 

 the rno;t durable tnonument that can be 

 erefted to his memory. 



At Teflis, a ptiblic academy has been 

 lately opened under the dircftion of 

 Alexei PETRitF, who is cotiverfant 

 in the Ruffian language, and who has 

 made confiderable piogrefs in the fine 

 arts. Every means are employed bv the 

 Rufllan government to render the Geor- 

 gians acquainted with the languaae, and 

 familiar with the manners of the RufTians. 

 A number of Ruffian books have already 

 been tranllated n to the Georgian lan- 

 guage ; and, in return, the romances of 

 Sergei Finogwell, and the works of 

 other Georgians, have been tranflated in- 

 to Rudian. 



The new Calendar of France is abo- 

 lifhed by a decree of the Senate, and the 

 Gregorian Calendar reftored, according to 

 which all dates will be exprefied after the 

 firft of January, 1806. 



M. Ventenat, (barged by Madame 

 Bonaparte with making known to the 

 public all the new Ipecics ot the garden 

 of Malmaifon, has conlt;crated to hrr the 

 Jofephina, originally from New Holland, 

 and near akin to th« Jigitalia, and the 

 pedalia. 



M. uE Beauv'Ois (another French 

 bot^niift) has dedicated to the Emperor 

 Napoleon, a tree of the country ot O^vare, 

 in Africa, diftmgu idled by its I'plcndour, 

 and the fize and fingularity of its flower. 



M. Peron has commimicated to the 

 National Inftiiute two obCtrvations in re- 

 gard 10 ti'ic natuial hiflory of man. The 

 firft relates to the celebrated apron of the 

 Hottentot women ; denicii by fome, and 

 differently delcrdjed by others. M. Pe- 

 ron pioves that it is an ixcrclccnce, which 

 form< one of the c'larnfleis of a particular 

 race, kno*n under the name of the Bofch- 

 iefmen. The other obli;rvation relates to 

 the ftrength of favag;es. A number of ex- 

 periments made by Kegnirr's Dynamome- 

 ter, hasfliown that ihey are weaker,, fWif- 

 ris paribus, than people of civilized na- 

 tions. 



A ficiety in France has propofed as a 

 prize pucm, a quellion on the influence of 

 ^■oinen on pul)lic opinion, and on the 

 meant of direiHiig that infJueuce to gene- 

 ral utility. 



A new atjuatic infcLl has been lately 

 difcovered, whole principal food is tad- 

 |>oles. 



Mo.N'TiiLY Mac. No, 135. 



A thick rampart has been difcovered in 

 the territory called the Margraviate of An- 

 fpach, which extends from the foo' of the 

 higheff hills in the country to the Rhine ; 

 and is fuppofed to have been erefted by 

 the Romans, to ftop or prevent the incur- 

 fions of the Germans. 



M. Rose has difcovered a new vegeta- 

 ble fubftance in the root of elecampane, a 

 concentiated decoflion of which, after 

 Ifanding fome hours, depofns a white 

 powder, appearing, at firft fight, like 

 ffarch, but differing from it in its princi- 

 ples. This fubftance is infoluhle in cold 

 water, but dilTidves in boiling water. On 

 mixing the folution of the white powder 

 with an equal quantity of slkohol, the 

 mixture is at firlt cl'ear, but in a little 

 time the powder feparates in the form of 

 a tumid white fediment, leaving the fluid 

 above it tranfparent. When thrown on 

 burning coals, the white powder melts 

 like fugar and evaporae', diffufing a 

 white, thick, pungent fmoke, with a 

 fmell of burnt fug.ir. By dry diftillatiou 

 a brown empyreutnaiic acid is obtained 

 from this powder. The nitric acid trans- 

 forms the p'lwder into malic and oxalic 

 acid, ai;d when ufed in great excefs into 

 acetic acid. From thefe phenomena it is 

 inferred that this farinaceous powder, ex- 

 tracted from elecampane root, is neither 

 ftarch, nor gum, but a peculiar vegetable 

 fubftance holding a middle rank between 

 the t«o. It may exift in mnny other ve- 

 getables, and perhaps fever.il piodufls 

 hitherto conlidered as ftarch are of the 

 fame nature as this farina. 



Lalande's medal for the bed aftrono- 

 mical work, has been adjudged by the 

 National Inltitu'e to M. Harding, for 

 his difcovery of the lalf new planet. 

 That able aftronomer has been apjiointed 

 to the direilion of the Obl'ervatory at 

 Gottlngen. 



Maslousky, a Polifh clock-maker, 

 has exhibited at Berlin a new mufical in- 

 (frument, called a Koelifon. It confifts 

 of a found board, on which the ufual fyf- 

 tem of wires of the piano aie fixed. Be- 

 tween thefe wires are finall wooden cylin- 

 ders, which being put into motion., com- 

 munica:e their vibrations to the wiie*. 

 The tones arc laid to be fo foft and enchant- 

 ing that the harmonica does rot equal 

 them ; the forte and piano are ^iven in 

 every imaginable gra<datio.i, and tlie whole 

 effeft is fuiprizing. 



Count MoussiN PouscHKiN has diC 



folved both the red lead f;)dr and chr-mate 



of filver in nitric acid, by adding a little 



Y y fugar 



