New Books. — Transaction of the Hoy al Society. 373 



towards the Pole, which no cionI)t gradually increases. The very 

 learned and sagacious Dr. Hooke asserted in one of his lectures" 

 and brought very strong reasons to show, that there is nothing 

 but sea at the Poles. These points then, being maturely con- 

 sidereal, will be found to militate in favour of a tree passage this 

 way, and at the same time give much light into other things that 

 have been advanced in the course of this inquiry, by showing the 

 true causes of those facts that, at first sight, have appeared to 

 many very strange and unaccountable. For exampK^, if there be 

 no land near the Pole, then there can be no bays in which ice 

 can he formed to interrupt the navigation. Again, the rays of 

 the sun, falling on so flat a surface, and being continually reflected 

 from the water, must afford a great degree of heat to the air. 

 At the same time this will account for the sun's being seen by the 

 Dutch in Nova Zembla a fortnight earlier than he should have 

 appeared according to astronomical calculations. Many other 

 circumstances might be mentioned, but these will doubtless occur 

 to the intelligent, and therefore it is unnecessary to dwell longer 

 upon them. 



LXI. Notices respecting New Books, 



J. H E Philosophical Transactions, Parts I. and II., for lS20,have 

 made their appearance, and the following are their contents: 



I. The Croonian Lecture. A further Investigation of the 

 component Parts of the Blood. By Sir Everard Home, Bart. 

 V.P.R.S. — II. The Bakerian Lecture. On the Composition and 

 Analysis of the inflammable gaseous Compounds resulting from 

 the destructive Distillation of Coal and Oil, with some Remarks 

 on their relative heating and illuminating Powers. By Williiim 

 Thomas Brande, Esq. Sec. R.S. Prof. Chem. R.I.—IH. On the 

 Elasticity of the Lungs. By James Carson, M.D. Communi- 

 cated by Thomas Young, M.D. For. Sec. R.S.— IV. On the 

 Action of crystallized Bodies on homogeneous Light, and on the 

 Causes of the Deviation from Newton's Scale in the Tints which 

 many of them develop on Exposure to a polarised Ray. By 

 J. F. W. Herschel, Esq. F.R.S. Lond. and Edin.— V. A Case of, 

 the human Foetus found in the Ovarium, of the Size it usually 

 acquires at the End of the fourth Month. By A. B. Granville, 

 M.D. F.R.S. In a Letter addressed to Sir Everard Home, Bart., 

 V.P. R.S. — VI. On some Combinations of Platinum. By Ed- 

 mund Davy, Esq, Professor of Chemistry, and Secretary to the 

 Cork Institution. Communicated by F. Babington, M.D. F.R.S. 

 — VII. On the Methods of cutting Rock Crystal for Microme- 

 ters. By William Hyde Wolla:>ton, M.D. F.R.S.— VIII. On a 



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