Trench National Injl'itide. 91 



cupied a good deal with galvanic experiments. Mr. Her- 

 hard has found that nickel in contact with zinc produces the 

 fame effetl as iilver and copper. Klaproth read ionie account 

 of the galvanic experiments, made on a large fcale, hy Van 

 Marum, of Haarlem, and of his counter- trials with Tyler's 

 large machine. Thefe trials confirm Volta's theory refpeft- 

 ing the identity of galvanifm and the elcAric fluid. ' 



FREKCH NATIONAL INSTITUTK. 



[Cdi.t'tiued frum p. 3^:1, vol. xi.] 



C. Meflier having in vain fpent the night of the 3d of Oc- 

 tober in fearching for the new ftar ; to confole himlelf for his 

 want of fucccfs, he began to confider the very uncomm#n 

 fpeclacle exhibited by the conftellation of the Lion, in wliidi 

 Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon were colleftcd around 

 the beautiful ftar called Rcgulus or the Lion's heart. 



This was not a real conjunftion, fince there was between 

 all thcfc (iirs tlie diftance of feveral degrees. Thefe aflem- 

 blages, refpeiifing which aftrologers formerly made fo much 

 noile, and which, according to then), were to be followed by 

 dreadful cataltrophc?, have always paffi-d over in a verv tran- 

 quil manner, and have produced no other efieft than that of 

 covering with confufion thefe fillv prophets. They are alio 

 attended with- no other benefit than that of affordino- to the 

 aftronomer an opportunity of obferving feveral of the planets 

 at the fame time. C. Meflier took advantage of this cir- 

 cumflance to fix the refpective fituations of thTjfe which were 

 then in the neighbourhood of Rcgulus. The conjunction of 

 feveral planets being a circufnftance very uncommon mav 

 ferve alio to fix the epoch of any event, and in fuch an inva- 

 riable mamicr that no change of ccra or in the calendar can 

 render it doubtful. 



C. Prony read to the clafs a notice of fome experiments 

 made with an Englidi rule, conllrutled according to the 

 Ilandard of thofe employed in the grand trigonometrical ope- 

 ration of general Kov, and brought to Paris i)y profeflbr Pic- 

 tet of Geneva, and which was compared with the metre of 

 the Inftitutc, and the toifj called the Peruvian. 



C. Flagucrgucs fcnt fome obfervations of the planets, and 

 of different eclipfes. 



Chemifls were acquainted with two metallic combinations^ 

 which have the remarkable property of producing a violent 

 detonation, when fubjc6ted fo a iligl'it comprellion, or when 

 cxpofed to a (light degree of heat. 'Phcfe combinations are 

 fulminating gold and lilvcr. Mr. Howard has lately made 

 i'.nown a third, which poOcflcs' the fame properly, and tf> 



u^jicU 



