200 Miscellanies. 
by credible witnesses that it can scarcely be doubted. As for myself, 
my credulity is compelled to yield to the discovery I made one day 
of a small fish, in my pluviometer, which was situated on an isolated 
pile of stones about five feet high, in my garden at Benares. A note 
from M. Cameron informs me that a rain of fishes occurred on the 
19th of February, 1830, near Feridpoor. This fact was asserted 
before a magistrate, by many ocular witnesses, and it was their con- 
curring testimony that towards noon of the above mentioned day, the 
sky was obscured, the rain commenced to fall, and shortly after, 
fishes of various sizes fell from the atmosphere. A large number 
were collected by several witnesses; some were found destitute of a 
head, and had commenced to putrefy ; others were entire and fresh, 
but no one dared to eat them.— Bib. Universelle, No. 3, Mars, 1836. 
15. Nature of different Cements. (Berzelius’s Jahresbericht, ete. 
xivth year, 1st number.) 
Fuchs has studied the nature of different species of mortars, and 
demonstrated that their solidification depends on the formation of 
of lime, and sometimes also of silicate of alumine. These 
retain some water and assume the firmness of stone, whilst 
the hydrate of lime in excess unites by degrees with carbonic acid; 
and consequently solidified mortar may be considered a compound 
of carbonate of lime and of a zeolite. Opal, pumice stone, obsidi- 
an and pitch stone pulverized, form with hydrate of lime a good ce- 
ment. But only the surface of each grain of quartz or sand, is 
transformed into a hydrated silicate, and though this is sufficient to 
unite the mass, solidification does not take place so promptly. The 
mass becomes the more solid, the more finely the quartz is pulveri- 
zed. If the pulverized quartz be mingled with one fourth part.of 
lime, and after thoroughly calcining the mixture, it be pulverized and 
mixed with one fifth part of lime, it forms a hydraulic cement which 
becomes so hard as to be susceptible of a polish. Feldspar bardens 
slowly, and with lime only after five months; but if calcined witha 
little lime it is much improved. Common potter’s clay, which is 
absolutely worthless in its natural state, affords with lime, when cal- 
cined, provided it contains but little iron, a cement which readily 
hardens. 
Fuchs having discovered that steatite, which had been subjected 
toared heat, could not be made to unite with lime, and thence cop- 
cluding that magnesia has a strong affinity for silicic acid, attempted 
