92 Royal Academij of Madrid. 



as may be observed in the examination of some fragments 

 of it. 



There is found in the retort, after the elastic fluids are 

 extracted, a thick Hqiiid inclining to yellow : when brought 

 to a soft consistence the matter swells up a little, and when 

 evaporated to dryness in a porcelain capsule there remained 

 a dry brittle matter of a golden-yellow colour, brilliant and 

 transparent, which exhibited characters analogous to resins. 



[ To be continued. ] 



XI. Proceedirgs of Learned and (Economical Societies. 



EOYAL ACADEMY OF MADRID. 



JL HIS learned body, in its silting of August igth, admitted 



among the number of its correspondmg members John 

 Baptiste I^eonard Durand, author of a voyage to bencgal, 

 and sent him a diploma. It transmitted to him also at the 

 same time the following observations on the solar eclipse, 

 made at Tangicrs by Ali Belk Abdallah, a young JMoor, 

 educated in Europe, who has already distinguished himself 

 by his talents, his love for science, and the service he en- 

 tlcavoure to render to it. 



Olscrvafions^ 



Tlie sun appeared eclipsed above a hill which intersected 

 the horizon at 17'' 24'" 13'. A large sput which was situ- 

 ated near the sun's centre emerged irom the shadow at IS*^ 

 2S™ 25'. End of the eclipse, exterior contact ig'' II"' 15'. 



The observer employed a small telescope, by Dollond, 

 which he calls a nnlitarv one, of a foot focus, the eye-glass 

 of which he suiokcd ; the time was given bv his chrono- 

 aieter, which he cf>mpared with the heavens, bs' the niean 

 of -10 altitudes of the sun taken on the l6lh and 1 7th with 

 his pocket sextant and a glass horizon. 



The part eclipsed seemed to be about eight digits, which 

 shows the gveat mfluence of parallax. 



He proposes to determine the long'tudc and latitude, of 

 which, as yet, he has had only an approximation. 



M. i);-^lala.ide, who observed this eclipse at Paris, has 

 deduced from it, that the (liftc;rence of meridians between 

 Tangicrs and Paris is 33'" IS'* in time, which is only 32 se- 

 conds more th.tu it was supposed to be before, but which 

 &£ood in need ci' this coufiriualion. 



SOCIETV 



