1825.] Foreign 
ber were satisfied with a single touch, and 
consequently a single shock: but one of 
them, urged by a greater zeal for science, 
or amore insatiable curiosity, resolved to 
try the utmost extent of the animal’s 
powers, and seized it with both his hands : 
but had quickly reason to repent of his 
temerity, for he immediately felt a rapidly 
repeated series of the most violent and 
successively increasing shocks, which forced 
him to leap about in a most extraordinary 
manner, and to utter the most piercing 
screams; he then fell into convulsions, and 
either from the violent contraction of the 
muscles, or from some strange property in 
the fish, it became impossible to detach it 
from his grasp, till some person present 
suggested the plunging his hands in cold 
water, when the eelimmediately dropped 
off. 
Pectic or Coagulating Acitd—This new 
acid has been discovered by M. H. Bra- 
connot, and receives its name from its 
resembling a jelly or gum. It is found in 
all vegetables, is sensibly acid, and reddens 
turnsole paper. It is scarcely scluble in 
cold water, but more so in hot. It is coa- 
gulated into a transparent and colourless 
jelly by alcohol, by all the metallic solutions, 
by lime water, water of barytes, the acids, 
muriate and sulphate of soda, nitre, &c. 
It forms, with potash, a very soluble salt, 
consisting of 85 parts of lead, and 15 of 
potash. The salt has the remarkable effect 
of gelatinizing large masses of sugar and 
water, which renders it of great use to the 
confectioner. M. Braconnot, in this way, 
prepared aromatized jellies, perfectly trans- 
parent and colourless, and very agreeable to 
the taste and the eye. He also made with 
rose-water, coloured with a little cochineal, 
rose jelly of exquisite taste. — Ann. de Chim. 
pi ITALY. 
- Aletter from Turin contains an account 
of an astonishing mechanical genius of that 
place. His name is Guiseppe Masera ; he 
was a simple peasant, and born in the vil- 
lage of Monte-falcone, near Chieri. He 
spent his youth in feeding sheep, or driving 
-the plough; and the first discovery of his 
genius was on his beholding an ancient 
watch and an old pendule with wooden 
wheels ; in a short time after which he be- 
came the village clock-maker, and subse- 
quently succeeded in making pendules with 
music, figures, &c.: but one of his most 
remarkable productions of this nature, was 
a small throne of polished brass, upon which — 
was seated King David with his harp, the 
whole Contained in the head of acane. ‘This 
achine was wound up as a watch, and 
produced the sound of an organ with such 
exactness, and the figure followed the sounds 
with such accuracy, that it would really be 
imagined the sounds proceeded from the 
motion of the fingers. He, however, never 
hn a lesson in drawing or music. In the 
‘composition of this and various other instru- 
ments, Masera Jamented the want of an 
Varieties. 67 
instrument that could render an indefinite 
number of airs: to remedy this defect, after 
a variety of experiments and the most 
persevering industry, he succeeded in per- 
fecting an instrument which hus received 
the name of Musico-Grafo, which has the 
look of a piano, and which by its internal 
construction receives whatever air is played 
upon the keys with a most surprising ex- 
actness. To this is added another called 
the Pantasono, which will repeat the notes 
communicated to it by the Musico- Grafo, 
and which may with facility be adapted to 
an organ, or piano. But thisis not his only 
effort; being very desirous of engraving 
some musical designs, upon an ivory tablet, 
he found his hand unable to perform the 
operation, and applied himself to the inven- 
tion of an instrument which will highly 
benefit the art of engraving. By its use 
the graver directs his tool with so much 
precision, that he can describe two lines very 
near approaching yet without the fear of 
uniting, and with greater nicety than the 
finest miniature painter can describe the 
lines in the skin. In addition to these 
useful inventions, connected with the fine 
arts, he has communicated to the Royal 
Arsenal a method of turning and polish- 
ing gun barrels, ten or twelve at a time, 
and of polishing all kinds of metals. His 
majesty has given him an employ in the 
Royal Arsenal, and an exclusive privilege 
for twenty years, for the manufacture and 
sale of his different inventions. 
GERMANY. 
The academy at Munich is at variance 
with the royal schools respecting the pub- 
lication of the principal Greek and Latin 
authors; hitherto this privilege has been 
attached to the schools, which now declare 
that any monopoly will essentially destroy 
the interests of commerce. 
PRUSSIA. 
Prussian Statistics—The following rather 
curious details are found in the Annals of 
M. Campy, for 1817. Pomerania ranks 
first as to morality, and there, out of 4,760 
persons, there is only one criminal. In the 
towns of Dusseldorf, Cologne, Aix-la- 
Chapelle, and the country round Munster, 
there was, on the contrary, one criminal in 
400. For 6,432 persons in Pomerania, 
there was only one thief, and only one for , 
3,000 persons in Eastern. Prussia and 
Silesia; while in Treves and Coblentz, there 
was one for 800. Where there are most 
holidays, there are most robberies; but 
other crimes are not so frequent. 
DENMARK. , 
Copenhagen.—A steam vessel, the. ma- 
chinery of which was entirely formed in 
this town, on the model of Mr. Perkins, 
has been built. Though iron is brought 
from, foreign countries, yet a foundry is 
established in Copenhagen, which bids fair 
to rival Mr. Owen’s at Stockholm. - ~ 
_ The ladies of this town have, for some 
months past, formed a society, the object 
2 of 
