1823.] 
the roughest weather : hence it results, 
that, in the loading of vessels, six tons 
of water may be obtained. by one ton 
of coal, and fiye-sixths of the space 
usually occupied by water-casks may 
be sayed, by the substitution of a sub- 
stance which does not spoil like water, 
and which is not lialle to be Jost by 
leaking. Persons who have tasted 
this wa ter affirm, that, though it retains 
somewhat of anempyreumatic flavour, 
wen. is always contracted by the 
purest river-water in the still, yet they 
had never drank better, after having 
been a fortnight at sea. 
A. geological phenomenon of some in- 
terest has lately been noticed by Mr. 
GRANGER, and described in Silliman’s 
Journal, occurring near the town of 
Sandusky, in a bay of the same name, 
on the Ohio river, in North America. 
A gritty limestone rock, abounding in 
shells, has its upper surface, under the 
alluyium, fluted and scratched by nu- 
merous straight and parallel lines, 
accompanied by other marks of wear 
and polish on the general surface of 
the stone. Mr. G. seems to believe, 
that similar appearances have been 
observed only on one spot in Europe, 
the locality of which he does not men- 
tion: this however is a mistake; the 
phenomenon in question is of frequent 
occurrence, and will often be noticed 
by those who atiend to the removal of 
clayey allayia from oif the surface of 
compact quarry paabs in a few in- 
stances, tle marks of wear_and polish, 
accompanied byparallel deep scratches, 
remain visible on durable rocks, which 
have been long exposed to the action 
of the elements. A naked white grit- 
stone rock, situated’ on Hare-hill, 
south of the church of Clyne, in Suther- 
PROCEEDINGS OF PUBLIC SOCIETIES.: 
Institute of France. 
441 
land, Scotland, may be quoted as an 
instance of this kind; and the recently 
uncovered slate-rock,,on the south of 
the famous Penrhyn Quarry, south-east 
of Bangor, in Carnarvonshire, North 
Wales, presents exactly similar marks 
of wear and scratching upon a rock, 
which is of too perishable a nature to 
retain, through many ages of open 
exposure, the marks, which evidently, 
as the writer thinks, have been occa. 
sioned by the corners of masses of 
rock, dragged over these rocky sur- 
faces by an enormous over-riding 
tide, or current of water, Occurriay 
before the lodgment of the last alluyia, 
and prior to the ereation of the living 
beings contemporary with man: the 
animals, whose shells are imbedded 
in the rocks, having all of them perish- 
ed, and left none of their species 
remaining, before the period. when 
these surfaces were seratehed. 
Thermometers, —'The_ necessity. is 
now established, of mistrusting. the 
accuracy of thermometers which haye 
been long made, and eyen those of 
recent construction which have since 
been subjected to extremes of tempe- 
rature; owing to the permanent alte- 
ration of bulk which the bulb suffers, 
by the pressure of the atmosphere, or 
the expansive force of the fluid within 
them, when suddenly or considerably 
heated orcooled. The freezing points 
of thermometers ought to be actually 
tried, before and after any nice,expe- 
riments, in which they may be used; 
otherwise, considerable errors may be, 
occasioned : and thus, doubiless,, the 
anomalies, in many courses of delicate 
thermometric experiments on record, 
may, in part at least, have been o¢ca- 
sioned. - sa] 
; 
— 
INSTITUTE of FRANCE. 
Report on the Progress of Experimental 
hilosophy, by M. Fourier, read in 
the Public Sitting of the Four Acaide- 
mies of the Institute of France, April 
24, 1823. 
WHE Academy of Sciences intends, 
-@ in its general sitting, every year, to 
receive a summary, reporting the pro- 
gress Of science, in general, and the par- 
ticular acquisitions made in the branches 
that have ocetpied the labours of its 
classes. “The following exhibits one 
part of this Report. ‘Whatconcerns the 
Montruty Mac, No. 389. ' 
physical scicnces will be given at the 
next gencral sitting. | This ‘plan ‘is 
meant to be prosecuted, alternately, for 
the sciences, mathematical and physi- 
cal, the account of cach to appear every 
two years. Hereby, no discovery of any 
importance, no useful “application ,of 
science to the arts, will fail of its public 
announcement in the serics of these 
annual reports. “They will include, not 
only such as have been made in France, 
but those communicated to the Fnstitute 
by its foreign correspondents, members 
of otheracademies. {ft will form a sort 
é‘ 3L of 
