1825.] 
[ 435 ) 
SPIRIT OF PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOVERY, AND OF THE 
VARIOUS SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. 
—[=— 
AN THROPOLOGY. — Oil, in the 
serum of human blood, has again 
been detected by Dr. Traill. In_ this 
case, too, as in those in which the Doc- 
tor had previously made this remark, the 
patient..was habitually addicted to an 
excessive and incautious use of spiri- 
tuous Jiquors.. This fact suggests curious 
speculations on the connexion between in- 
temperance and the remarkable spontaneous 
combustion of the human body.—Jam. Ed. 
Ph. Jour: : 
Temperature of Man.—Dr. J. Davy has 
detailed his very curious and interesting 
experiments in the 26th number of Jame- 
son’s Ed..Phil. Journal. We wish that 
our space would allow us to give even 
a brief outline of his researches herein; it 
could not fail of being highly interesting, 
but we must confine ourselves to the re- 
sults, which will be given in a future num- 
ber, and, at present, only direct the atten- 
tion of our curious and scientific readers to 
pp- 300, vol. xiii. &c. of that valuable work. 
Phosphor in Potatoes. —Lichtenberg tells 
us, that an officer on guard, at Strasburg, on 
7th January, 1825, passing the barrack-room, 
was alarmed at seeing a light there, which, 
being strictly forbidden, occasioned a suspi- 
cion of fire. On entering the apartment, he 
found the soldiers sitting up in bed, ad- 
miring and reading by a beautiful light, 
which proceeded from potatoes in a state of 
incipient putrefaction.—Jam. Ed. Ph. Jour. 
Paper for Draughtsmen.— Mr. Couder 
has invented a new method of adapting 
paper, and some sorts of stuffs, to the 
limner’s use, whether he (the artist) em- 
ploy oil or water colours—which is thus 
described :— 
Some gum adragant, being reduced to a 
powder, must be dissolved quickly in a 
glazed earthen vessel, containing a sufh- 
ciency of cold water to give it the consisten- 
cy of a jelly, while it is well worked with a 
wooden spatula to free it from lumps. Pa- 
per, &c. upon which this composition is 
. gentlyand smoothly spread with a pencil or 
brush, and dried before the fire, will re- 
ceive colours, mixed in either manner ; but 
water colours should likewise be mixed 
with a solution of the above gum. This. 
preparation will take any colour, except ink. 
If it. be wished:to retouch any part of the 
drawing, it should be washed with a sponge, 
piece of clean linen rag, or a pencil, con- 
taining. some of this mixture; and the part, 
if small, will quickly rise and appear as if 
fresh.painted...__, 
Propertics of Lithia.—This substance 
forms) x salt; with muriatic acid, which is 
easy of fusion—deliquesces with surprising 
rapidity, and dissolyes in alcohol. It forms, 
RAMSAY 
with sulphurie acid, a neutral sulphate, 
which readily fuses, and, in water, dissolves 
completely. Acetic acid combines with it, 
and the resulting acetate is deliquescent. 
While the solution evaporates, it becomes 
tenacious, and, when quite dry, very brittle. 
When the acetate is ignited, a carbonate is 
left, which has decided alkaline properties, — 
dissolves with difficulty in water, fuses with 
great readiness, and, on cooling, shoots into 
a crystalline mass ; when fused on platinum, - 
it stains its surface. 
Fire-proof Wood.—Much alarm has been 
excited by the frequency and destructive- 
ness of fires, of late, not only in the metro- 
polis, but round about the realm, in town 
and country, in hamlet and in village, and 
on continent as in island. We believe that 
the introduction of cast-iron into use in, 
what may be called, domestic architecture, 
in England at least, will have a beneficial 
effect in quelling this evil, partially at any 
rate; but still we would offer to the con- 
sideration of our readers a composition, 
said to have been discovered by Dr. 
Fucus, Member of the Academy of Science 
at Munich, whereby wood is rendered in- 
combustible; the composition is made of 
granulated earth, which has been previously 
well-washed in a solution of caustic alkali, 
and cleared from every heterogeneous mat- 
ter; this mixture, which is not decomposed 
by either fire or water, being spread on the 
wood, forms a kind of vitreous coat, which 
is also proof against each of these oppos- 
ing elements. The building committee 
of the royal theatre, in that city, has 
made two public experiments on small 
buildings, six or eight feet long, and 
of a proportionate height: one covered 
with the composition, the other left as 
usual,—the fire was kindled in each equally : 
that not covered with the composition was 
quickly consumed, the other remained per- 
fect and entire. The cost of this process 
is trifling—only about 20d. per 100 square 
feet. The theatre has been submitted to 
the process, containing nearly 400,000 
square feet. The late Earl Stanhope 
made some very successful experiments of 
the kind—he coated a building with a 
mixture of sand and glue, which proved 
completely fire-proof. 
Tenacity of Chain Bridges.—Several 
curious speculations; and arguments and 
experiments, ‘as to the adaptation of iron, 
in this particular, have been maintained, 
—the following details have appeared in 
the Annales des Mines; the. apparatus, 
contrived for the purpose, being acted upon 
by a hydraulic press. The best iron tried, 
supported, without breaking, 26 tons per 
square inch; but the bars began to elon- 
3K2 gate 
