Domestic and Foreign. 



1831.] 



Brewster had presumed on his readers, 

 but very slight acquaintance with 



feometry and proportions, he might 

 ave readily suppKed this serious de- 

 ficiency ; and really nobody, who is 

 entirely ignorant of these matters, is 

 likely even to look at the book. The 

 rest of the volume is taken up with 

 physical optics — optical phenomena — • 

 and optical instruments. The portion 

 relative to physical optics is of the 

 largest extent, and is that in which the 

 author has given proof of his well known 

 industry, and extensive acquaintance 

 with the results of science in every part 

 of Europe. But the work has obviously 

 been got up in haste, and every thing 

 that could be laid hold of, sound and 

 unsound, has been piled together to fill 

 it. 



For many years in the history of mo- 

 dern science, the heating power of the 

 -spectrum was supposed to be in propor- 

 tion to the quantity of light, and yellow 

 was declared to carry most heat. Dr. 

 Herschel, however, proved, that heat 

 gradually increased from the violet to 

 the red, and moreover, that beyond the 

 red — beyond the limits of the spectrum, 

 to the extent of an inch and a half, the 

 heat continued to increase, though no 

 light was perceptible. Hence he drew 

 the important conclusion, " that there 

 were invisible rays in the light of the 

 sun, which had the power of producing 

 heat, and which had a less degree of re- 

 frangibility than red light" — or, in other 

 words, that there were such things as 

 calorific rays, distinct from those of co- 

 lour. Then came M. Berard, ofMont- 

 pelier, who also proved, that the maxi- 

 mum heat was at the extremity of the 

 red ; and though he did not quite deny 

 the presence of heat be^'ond the spec- 

 trum, he affirmed it was not more than 

 one-fifth above that of the ambient air. 

 Next we had Sir Humphrey, who con- 

 trived to confirm Dr. HerschePs ac- 

 count, announcing, at the same time, 

 that the cause of M. Berard's confiicting 

 conclusion, was assignable to his using 

 thermometers with circular bulbs, and 

 of a larger size ; — but did that settle the 

 question or ])rove any thing, but that 

 these experinientaiists found diilerent 

 results under different circumstances ? 

 But finally comes I\I. Serbcck, who 

 proves — they all prove — that after all, 

 the point of maximum heat depends on 

 the material of the prism— one of water 

 gives, yellow — one of a solution of sal- 

 ammoniac, orange— one of crown or 

 plate glass, red— while Hint glass alone 

 carries it beyond the red. And this is 

 icience. 



The maj^netizing power of the violet 

 rays han often b;.en alluded to within 

 the la.st twenty years. Dr. Marichini first 

 announced the /ac/, and exhibited the ef- 



95 



feet before Sir Humphry, Professor Play- 

 fair, and other English philosophers, to 

 their entire satisfaction we believe. Other 

 philosophers, not English, and among 

 them M. Berard, with all his efforts, 

 could make nothing of the violet rays 

 and the needles, and the fact, in con- 

 sequence, fell into discredit. Not long 

 ago Mrs. Somerville revived the preten- 

 sions and the credit of the violet rays, 

 and even associated to the same honours, 

 the indigo, blue and green ; — and sub- 

 sequently Baumgartner, of Vienna, and 

 Christie, of Woolwich, found out that 

 the whole assemblage of the rays, or the 

 combined power of the whole spectrum, 

 performed wonders in the same way, far 

 surpassing those of the violet, green, 

 indigo, or blue. A loadstone, which car- 

 ried a pound and a half when exposed to 

 the full light of the sun, was speedilv 

 made to carry double. But after all, 

 notwithstanding these experiments and 

 proofs, Messrs Keiss and jMoser, after 

 a series of what Dr. Brewster charac- 

 terizes as well-conducted experiments, 

 can make the rays of light, neither sepa- 

 rate nor combined, magnetize at all ; and 

 they consider themselves fully warrant- 

 ed in " rejecting totally a discovery 

 which, for seventeen years has, at dif- 

 ferent times, disturbed science." And 

 all is, notwithstanding, still to be called 

 science, and pre-eminently Science. 



Botanical Miscellany, by William Jack- 

 son Hooker. L.L.D , Regius Professor of 

 Botany in the University of Glasgow. Part 

 V. — This is a quarterly publication, 

 which has not fallen into our hands be- 

 fore. It takes a handsome and imposing 

 shape, and appears to be respectably got 

 up in every branch of its execution. 

 The conductor seems to be in corre- 

 s])ondence with men of science — medical 

 men — in India, and in every other quar- 

 ter of the world. The contents of the 

 fasciculus before us, consist of biogra- 

 phical sketches of deceased botanists — 

 communications from different quarters 

 at home and abroad — with botanical ex- 

 cur.-iions by residents in both Indies, ac- 

 companied by twenty figures of plants, 

 in outlines slightly shaded, and ten 

 others, of a <juarto size, of Indian plants, 

 well coloured. Among the biographical 

 notices, is one of a Captain Dugald Car- 

 michael, who seems to have spent the 

 prime of his life at the Cape, and on his 

 return home to have settled on tlie Ar- 

 gyle coast. '• He complained," says the 

 writer, "of the difficulty of getting ac- 

 cess to books in his retired place of abode ; 

 but when I urged him to come and live 

 in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, his 

 answer invariably was — ' how should I 

 live without the woods and mountains 

 and ileep dells which afford me fungi ; 

 on the rocky beach, that yields me such 



