1825.] 
upon the blood ; Geoffry, on.the nerves, in 
conformity with the opinion of the cele- 
_ brated Baglivi. In the last century, how- 
ever, some incredulity manifested itself on 
the subject, and Dr. Sanguietti, having had 
the courage in the hottest season, to expose 
himself to the bite of tarantulas, experienced 
no inconvenience. A recent occurrence, 
however, narrated in the Observatore Me- 
dico of Naples, proves that the bite of the 
tarantula does, in certain cases, produce the 
most serious derangements of the animal 
economy. A young peasant, about fifteen 
years of age, having been bit by a taran- 
tula, and conveyed to Naples, presented 
the following symptoms to Dr. Mazzolani, 
by whom the case is described :—shivering 
in all his limbs, constriction and excessive 
rigidity of the abdominal muscles, cold 
sweat over the whole body, damp tongue, 
pale and affrighted countenance, total pros- 
tration of strength, feeling of heat in the 
inside, insatiable thirst, &c. The tzeat- 
ment of the doctor consisted in administer- 
ing quinguina and laudanum; and, in five 
days, the patient gradually recovered. Dr. 
Sanguietti’s hazardous experiments, there- 
fore, only prove, not that the venom does 
not exist, but that a particular habit, or 
condition of the body, is necessary for its 
active operation. Dr. Mazzolani’s patient, 
however, did not exhibit any of the extra- 
ordinary symptoms before described, which 
were probably the offspring of a heated 
imagination. 
—<—— 
FOREIGN. 
AMERICA. 
American population is thus distributed, 
according to the different forms of worship : 
—22,486,000 Roman Catholics ; 11,636,000 
Protestants; and 820,000 Indians, not 
Christians. 
United States.—Among the many gigan- 
tic projects which now occupy the Ameri- 
cans, the grand national road or highway, 
which is to extend 3,300 miles, connecting 
the further points of the United States 
with the Mexican Republic, necessarily 
holds distinguished rank. 
Philadelphia. — Monument of National 
Gratitude.—Upon the spot which bears 
the name of the illustrious Washington, a 
Magnificent monument to his memory is 
to be erected. It is to be entirely con- 
structed of marble, in imitation of that of 
Thrasybulus, a famous Athenian general, 
who, assisted by only thirty friends, at- 
tempted the expulsion of the thirty tyrants 
from his country; in which he finally suc- 
ceeded, and received—his only reward, a 
crown of two twigs of olive. It is to be 
130 feet high, and will cost 67,000 dollars, 
which are to be raised by subscription ; and 
a t ay is already realized. 
ew Hebrew Nation—Under the protec- 
tion of the government of the United States, 
the nation of the Jews has been re-esta- 
Foreign Varieties. 
‘ 
463 
blished in America. A beautiful and valu- 
able tract, called the. Grand Island, a few 
miles below Port Buffalo, in the Niagara 
River, has been purchased in part by the 
friends of Major Noah, of New York, as 
an asylum for his brethern of the Jewish 
persuasion. It is intended to erect a city 
of refuge, to be called Ararat; and, in 
all practicable respects, to revive the 
Jewish government. Major Noah is to be 
named Governor and Judge of Israel. A 
pompous proclamation has been issued by 
him on the occasion. 
FRANCE. 
Newly-invented Silk Loom.—A \oom has 
recently been made, at Lyons, for silk- 
weaving, which has many advantages. It 
is composed of five stages ; and the me- 
chanism, which is simple, allows one man 
to weave five pieces at the same time. It 
has been examined by the Commissioners 
from the Academy of Lyons. The inven- 
tor is M. Lebrun, and the Academy intend 
to confer a gold medal on him. By this 
loom a saving will be made of four-fifths in 
the expense of labour. 
Claret.—In a work published at Bor- 
deaux, by M. W. Frank, the following no- 
tice of the mean annual yield of the French 
vineyards ‘is given :—Blaye wines, 40,000 
tuns; Libourne, 60,000; ZLareole, 35,000 ; 
Bazas, 10,000; Bordeaux, 85,000; Les- 
pane, 20,000 ; in the whole 250,000 tuns. 
AFRICA. 
An earthquake was felt at Algiers on the 
2d July last. Repeated shocks were felt 
for several days, but occasioned no damage 
there, though the inhabitants were so 
alarmed, that many families fled to the 
flelds, and took refuge under tents. The 
town of Belida, however, ten leagues dis- 
tant from Algiers, was destroyed, and 
out of ten thousand inhabitants, six thou- 
sand have been swallowed up in the ruins. 
This is the third town so destroyed in the 
space of twenty years; Colea and Mascara 
perished in the same way. 
The Niger.—¥rom the information ob- 
tained by Major Clapperton in Africa, and 
the discoveries which he has there made, 
he considers it certain that the mighty Ni- 
ger terminates in the Atlantic Ocean, in 
the Bights of Benin and Biafra. 
NEW ZEALAND. 
Cowrie and Kakaterre.—The forests of 
this region are known to produce some of 
the finest timber-trees in the world; two 
are pre-eminently distinguished for size 
and quality: they are—the Cowrie, grow- 
ing to 140, 180, and even 200 feet high, 
without branches for 80 or 100 feet from 
the ground, straight, and from five to nine 
feet in diameter: it is apparently related to 
the Amboyna pitch-tree; but has more 
justly been constructed into a new genus, 
the Darian ; it yields a pure and limpid 
resin, which quickly hardens on exposure 
to the air, and is fully equal to the best 
copal varnish: it delights in dry, elevated 
, situations, 
