600 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 18l6. 



able in other respects, so fleeting, 

 aiul so independent on each other, 

 evidently shows that they must 

 be attached to one and the same 

 round body which makes them re- 

 volve altogether with a common 

 motion. Hence it has been con- 

 cluded that the Sun revolves upon 

 itself with the general motion of 

 these spots, that is, in 25 days 

 and a half, in like manner as 

 our earth revolves in 24 hours. 

 The same calculation, applied to 

 the spots which have been dis- 

 covered on the other planets, has 

 in like manner made us acquaint- 

 ed with their rotation. 



As to the nature of these solar 

 spots, it is absolutely unknown. 

 HersoheU is of opinion that lumi- 

 nous clouds float in the inflamed 

 atmosphere of this star, as clouds 

 of vapour float in ours. He sup- 

 poses that the body of the Sun is 

 opaque and dark ; and that the 

 black spots observed there at in- 

 tervals are merely the summits of 

 very elevated mountains, whicli 

 the solar clouds permit us to see 

 between their openings. Other 

 astronomers think that the globe 

 of the Sun is on fire, and that the 

 spots are merely immense scoriae, 

 launched on the surface of that 

 mass by the terrible explosions of 

 which our terrestrial volcanoes 

 afford but a feeble picture. But 

 whatever may be thought of these 

 conjectures, it seems suflficient 

 for us to know, that the solar 

 spots are trifling compared with 

 the immense mass of that star ; 

 and that the eruptions of which 

 they are perhaps the effect take 

 place at too great a distance from 

 our earth to produje the least ef- 

 fect upon it. Generally speak- 



ing, the physical state of our lit- 

 tle world is incomparably more 

 stable and steady than its moral 

 state. 



ACCOUNT OF A SODA LAKE IN 

 SOUTH AMERICA. 



By M, Pulacio Faxar. 

 (From Journal of Science and the Arts.) 



In Maracaybo, one of the pro- 

 vinces of Venezuela (48 miles east 

 of Merida, about S degrees of 

 N. L. and 70 degrees some mi- 

 nutes of W. Lon.), is a valley, 

 called Lalagunilla, the small 

 lake. On the south of this val- 

 ley, which contains an extent 

 of country seven miles in length 

 and five in breadth, runs that 

 branch of the Andes which ex- 

 tends along the coast of Vene- 

 zuela, and rising on this spot to 

 the line of perpetual snow, forms 

 La Sierra Nevada of Merida. 



The waters that descend north- 

 wards from La Sierra unite to 

 form the river Chania, which tra- 

 verses the neighbouring coun- 

 tries, Mucuchies, Merida, Exido, 

 Lalagunilla, and Estanques, and 

 loses itself in the woods which 

 surround the lake of Maracaybo. 

 Those, on the contrary, which 

 descend southwards from the 

 Cordilliera are received by several 

 rivers communicating with the 

 Apure, which falls into the Oro- 

 noco. At a considerable height 

 northwards, on La Sieira, is 

 found the species of Cinchona, 

 known in commerce by the ap- 

 pellation of Cinchona of Cartha- 

 gena. 



The north side of Lalagunilla 



is 



