396 Scientific Intelligence, &c. 



rely,) seeing the sudden rise of the water, went to look after the 

 nest, expecting to find it covered, and the eggs destroyed, or at least 

 forsaken by the hen, he observed, while at a distance, both birds 

 busily engaged about the brink where the nest was placed, and, when 

 near' enough, he clearly perceived that they were adding, with all 

 possible dispatch, fresh materials, to raise the fabric beyond the level 

 of the increased contents of the pond, and that the eggs had, by some 

 means, been removed from the nest by the birds, and were then 

 deposited upon the grass, about a foot or more from the margin of the 

 water. He watched them for some time, and saw the nest rapidly 

 increase in height, but, I regret to add, that he did not remain long 

 enough (fearing he might create alarm) to witness the interesting act 

 of the re-placing of the eggs, which must have been effected shortly 

 afterwards ; for, upon his return, in less than an hour, he found the 

 hen quietly sitting upon them in the newly-raised nest. In a few 

 days afterwards, the young were hatched, and, as usual, soon 

 quitted the nest, and took to the water with their parents. The nest 

 was shewn to me VH situ very soon afterwards, and I could then 

 plainly discern the formation of the new with the older part of the 

 fabric. 



VIII. — Corrections of the Paper on. Spirits published in 

 Records, vol. i. pp. 122 and 125. 



To the .Editor of the Records of General Science. 



S 1Rj The science and precision of the theory in the paper on Spirits 



in your Oth Article for March 1835, induced me to investigate it with 

 more than common attention, and it was with regret that I discovered 

 in the numerical details some inaccuracies, which, to a certain degree 

 disfigure the beauty of the other parts of the article. I allude to the 

 table in page 228, in which, in four instances, the condensation 

 added to the mean specific gravity does not agree (as it does in the 

 rest of the table) with the specific gravity of the mixture. In the 

 seond line, the specific gravity of the mixture, (as there stated) is 

 0-00231 greater than the condensation added to the specific gravity 

 of the mixture. 



In the 8th line, it is, 0-00009 greater, &c. 



In the 9th ditto, it is, 0-00001 less, &c. 



In the 11th ditto, it is, 0-00020 less, &c. 



(W + jo) P» 

 In calculating by the well-known formula^p — „/ = M the 



mean specific gravity of the alcohol and the water, I have gone to the 

 (5th decimal, which is one more than in the table, and, by a compari- 

 son, you will perceive, that, even supposing one-third to be added to 

 the 5th (the last decimal in this table) whenever the 6th is greater 

 than 5j there are many quantities, which differ, and one or two 

 considerably. 



