Travels. — Coiv-pod. — Mineralogy. 93 



TRAVELS, &C. 



A letter from Pctersburgh, dated October 27th J 807, 

 states that Mr. Benjamin Bergman, after a residence of 

 three years among the Cahnuc Tartars, has returned to Riga, 

 where he means to arrange and prepare for the press the ob- 

 servations he collected during his interesting travels. They 

 will soon be published, and will form five volumes. A 

 curious extract from them, on the Calmuc bards, has al- 

 ready appeared in the Northern Archives ; and we learn by 

 another letter, that the draftsman Carrafle, well known by 

 his beautiful views in Egypt and Syria, and his large collec- 

 tion of drawings which relate to the manners and customs- 

 of these countries, has lately arrived at Pctersburgh from 

 Paris, in company with two young Frenchmcnj for the pur- 

 pose of making a tour through the Russian empire, where 

 he will, no doubt, find abundance of valuable materials to 

 form a voyage pUtorc-iqiie. 



We are likewise informed that his imperial majesty the 

 emperor of Russia has caused ten thousand copies of a po- 

 pvdar treatise on the cow pock, written in tiie Russian lan- 

 guage by the medico-philantliropic society, to be printed at 

 his expense, and to be sent to all the governments for the 

 purpose of being distributed gratis among the people, and 

 particularly in the country. 



MINERALOGY. 



A very remarkable piece of amber was found lately in a 

 field in the Lithuanian circle of East Prussia, about twelve 

 miles from the shore of the Baltic. It is 13? inches in length, 

 and Scinches in breadth. It contains 318 cubic rhinlandic 

 inches, and weighs above eighteen pounds. No person 

 ever remembers to have heard of so large a piece of this sub- 

 stance being either found on the coast, or dug up in the 

 country. The largest piece known, which is in the cabinet 

 at Madrid, weighs only eight pounds. A dealer in amber 

 oftered three thousand dollars for it. The king, however, 

 has ordered it to be deposited in the cabinet of minerals at 

 Berlin, belonging to the department of mines, and one 

 thousand dollars to be paid to the proprietor of the estate 

 where it was found ; part of which is to be given to the per- 

 son who found it. Amber is the property of the crown, and 

 is generally sojrd ^ auction to the highest bidder. 



SINGULAR PETRIFACTION. 



A quarrlcr, in a village near Paris, having detached by 



means 



