166 Domestic 
the Ethiopic and Tartarian, each two hun- 
dred and two; the Indians of Bengal, 
twenty-one ; the Baramese, nineteen; the 
Chinese haye,, properly speaking, no al- 
phabet, except we call their whole language 
by that name; their letters are words, or 
rather hieroglyphies, amounting to eighty 
thousand. 
Improvements. Tnaddition to those already 
announced as intended at Charing Cross, 
we understand it is determined that the 
equestrian statue of Charles shall be re- 
placed by one of the most magnificent 
monuments of antiquity, Cleopatra’s Needle. 
Government have been for some time past 
in treaty with various individuals. for the 
transport of this stupendous column- from 
its present situation to London, and the 
proposal of Mr. Maberly has been adopted : 
that gentleman contracts to perform the 
Herculean task for £9,000, being £5,000 
less than was demanded by any of his com- 
petitors. The undertaking is to be com- 
menced forthwith. 
Bibliomania seems to be coming once 
more into fashion. ‘The rare library be- 
longing to Messrs. Nicoll, printers, has 
been lately sold by Evans. Among the 
most curious articles were the original 
Scottish League and Covenant, a MS. on 
parchment, and a very ancient Hebrew 
MS. of the Pentateuch, on vellum; for 
which, it is said, a learned Jew offered 
£1,200. Neither of these articles were 
sold.—A curious French MS. Poem of the 
fourteenth century, illuminated and written 
on yellum, by Gillion Le Musit, was bought 
by Thorpe, the bookseller, for £43. ‘The 
celebrated Mentz or Mazarin Bible, printed 
on vellum by Guttemberg and Faust, was 
bought by Mr. Perkins, the brewer, for 480 
guineas. The Duke of Sussex bought the 
Latin Bible, without date, place, or name 
of the printer, but undoubtedly from the 
press of Ulric Zell, for forty-four guineas ; 
and the Latin Bible, printed. at Nuremburg 
1475, for £48. Mr. Thorpe bought seve- 
ral others at high prices. 
A most extraordinary instance of preser- 
vation was discovered a few days since, on 
repairing some of the vaults of St. Martin’s 
church, Plymouth. On opening a lead coffin, 
wherein. were deposited, eight-five years 
ago, the remains of Mr. Heron, rector, the 
body was found perfect as when deposited 
in the tomb, the flesh yielding to the touch, 
and recovering its smoothness when the 
finger was removed. A napkin wrapped 
round the head, and the shroud covering 
the corpse, were as white and uninjured 
as if they had just come from the draper’s 
shop. 
Treatment of Persons siruck by Lightning. 
Inflate the lungs as early as possible ; apply 
stimulants, more particularly gentle elec- 
trical shocks, passed through the chest and 
along the spine ; keep up the temperature 
by external © heat, and get warm cordials 
Varieties. [Sept. 1, 
into the stomach by means of the flexible 
tube and syringe. 
There is now in the London docks, on 
board the Jones Richardson, from New 
Orleans, an alligator nearly four feet, long, 
and which it is supposed will arzive atithrice 
its present dimensions. , It is aboutjseven ~ 
months old, and, was, caught on the banks 
of the Mississippi: All attempts, a 
or render it docile haye proved.in, 
on its being disturbed, by approae opr the 
cage in which it is. confined, it makes a 
noise, and appears eager to commence an 
attack. 
Steam Coach. — A new invention of a 
steam carriage, upon principles which sci- 
entific. men consider as calculated to operate 
successfully, is in a state of great forward- 
ness in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. 
It is expected to perform about twelve 
miles an hour, under ordinary, cireumstan- 
ces, at a moderate expence of fuel. 
Property Insured in England,—By. an 
official report of the business of the various 
- offices for fire insurances in England, it ap- 
pears that there are forty-six offices or com- 
panies, and that the amount of duty they 
have paid to government for insurances 
effected by them, for the last year, amounts 
to £659,377. The duty being three ‘shil- 
lings for every £100 insured, it follows that 
the total amount of property insured is, in 
round numbers, about £439,585,000. 
Mixing Salt with Hay.—Mr< Woods, of 
Ingatestone, Essex, observes, on this prae- 
tice, ‘‘ I haye used salt to hay in unfayour- 
able seasons upwards of thirty years, which 
hay has been regularly consumed by all my 
stage, post, and farm horses, and likewise 
by my cows, bullocks and sheep ; and every 
description of stock has done well with it. 
— Mr. Wood adds, that last year he spread 
ten bushels of salt per acre on some land 
sown with barley, and that the part \salted 
was two shades lighter colour than, the-un- 
salted, and produced an: increase of four 
bushels per acre; and it should be remem- 
bered, that the beneficial .effeets,from. salt 
do not cease with the firsterops « by 
The following is a remarkable instance 
of the fecundity of bees, when judiciously 
managed :—A breeder of.these yaluable in- 
sects (observing the desirable situation of 
the place, came to the farm-house of High 
Armaside in Lorton, and liberally offered to 
bring a hive of bees on trial, and: the profits 
should be equally divided. It was accord- 
ingly put up last spring, under—his.own 
management, and five distinct) casts, had 
been taken from the. old)jandonew <hives 
before the end. of July. «mihi vos oe 
The celebrated optician) Strayel;,of Bale, 
has. just finished an improved) telescope, 
sixty-four feet long. . It is said,that-with 
the aid of this enormous instrument several 
learned. persons have. been enabled to; dis- 
cover animated beings, roads; monuments, 
and temples in the moon. AM SY 
FOREIGN. 
