162 



Literary and Philosophieul Intelligente. 



[March J, 



eoasts and piwure whatever iiifornia- quotation from a very recont pTiblica- 



tion may be attainable. tion on the subject hy Mr. Cross, an 



It has lonij; been l<nown, that some eminent siirc;ei)n of Norwich, M'here, 



remains of roots and tiiinks of trees throiigli (he folly and absurdity of the 



could be traced, at ebb-tide, in a bay at people, the small-pox lately committed 



Ottcrswick, in ISanday,and in a similar great havoc. He tells us" that 10,000 



bay at Deerness, in the south-east of this po])ula(ion who had been vacci- 



quarter of Pomona, or Mainland. In a nated, lived in the midst of a contami- 



former number, we were enabled to nated atmosphere, and the exceptions 



describe a similar occurrence at Skeill, io complete protection, after perfect 



on the north-west of Pomtma, and to vaccination, were so few as not to be 



add that the trees evidently bclonsied to worth detailing; on the other hand, 



the pine tribe. There can be no doubt, out of 3000 who had neglected to be 



therefore, that in former ages (he islands 

 of the Deucaledonian Sea were clothed 

 with wood ; and that the trees consiste.l 

 chiefly of some species of fir, the hazel 

 and the bird). 



A corrcspoadeiit in The Former\i 

 Journal communicates tlie following 

 useful information respecting the plant- 



vacciuiited, ."i^iO individuals died, and 

 some who had been inoculated with 

 irregular small-])0x caught the disease 

 a se;-(inil time! ^Vhat you have heard 

 respecting my ojiinitn) of re- vaccinating 

 in seven years, has no foundation in 

 ti'ulli. Perfect vaccinafi(m is perma- 

 nent in its influence. It is quite terri- 



ing of potuto<'s: "■ I last year (says he) b!e to see the obstinacy of tbe people, 

 plantetl a rov,- of sets, cut out into single but th- basis of it rests with the sujie- 

 eyes, from large jiotatoes chosen out of rior orders ; coercion however lias never 



a hea]) ; tlie row v,a.-. 23 yards in length 

 and next to it 1 planted another row of 

 equal length, from the smallest jiota- 

 toes, picked from the same heap; some 

 of these latter were set wliole, and some 

 cut in half. W\m\ I took tiiem up, the 

 former row produced /o!«- bitshels rrnrl 

 a half of fine large potatoes, with 

 scarcely any small ones. The other 

 row gave so few in measure tJiat they 

 all went into a half-busliel scuttle, and 



a good effect, but quite the contrary. 

 It is shocking to c.inlrast the conduct 

 of people at home with that of those 

 abroad. Let the country be ever so 

 extensive, evtr so populous, where 

 vaccination has been solely and univer- 

 sally propagated, small-pox has been 

 wholly got rid of, and never brought 

 back again, even after periods of years 

 have elapsed in most instances. I am 

 sorry to find the pool- people around 

 you are so infatuated, but does the fault 



were miserably small." 



The following letter on i\\c^ subject lie with them ?" 



of vaccination, has been addressed by „„ .vrni? 

 tne lUnstrious Dr. Jenuer. to a lady 



resident near Devizes : The French naturalist, Bonjuand, had 



'• You ask me if I* have any reason s^i'^'fl "" ^^ expedition to explm-e the 



to doubt the efficacy of vaccination as '"""^^ »'"' ^^^^ islands of Parana and 



a certain preventive of the infection of P-'naguay, and to penetrate mto the 



small-pox. Various, you tell me, are interior. 



the opinions on this subject; I beg 

 ])ardon for opposing your declaration ; 

 be assured there is but one opinion 

 among, medical men who have con- 

 ducted the practice with that attention 

 which it requires, according to the rules 

 I have preciesly laid down. This island 

 might have been entirely freed from the 

 pestilence man}'' years ago, if its wisdom 

 in this respect had kept pace with jnany 

 of the continental kingdoms, where 

 small-pox has been entirely unknown 

 for many years ; and where for ages pre- 

 viously to the introduction of the new 

 practice, it had frequently raged with 

 uncontroulable fury. I <lo not know 

 how its merits can be set in a more in- 

 telligible or convincing point of view, 

 tlian by giving you the substance of a 



At a late sitting of the French Aca- 

 demy of Sciences, the following papers 

 excited considerable interest: — 1st. A 

 letter from M. Pexans, an ofiiicer of ar- 

 tillery, renewing his plan of destroying 

 a ship of the line, of the first rank, by 

 a small boat, conducted by a few men ; 

 2d. A memoir, by M. Biot, on electro- 

 magnetic phenomena; 3d. An Histori- 

 cal Sketch, read by Captain Freycinet, 

 of t!ie voyage he performed round the 

 woild, and which, notwithstanding the 

 accident that occurred to his ship, is 

 expected to furnish acqui.sitious to the 

 sciences. 



The Frencrh literati are occupied in 

 a work of some importance ; preparing 

 translations of Plutarch, Sallust, Taci- 

 tus. Aristotle, Jlippoc lafe*^^. he. from 



the 



