150 Scientific Intelligence. [August, 



them from infancy. Their only domestic animals are dogs, 

 which serve as beasts of burden, and are employed by them in 

 place of horses. 



The sea-coast is almost covered with rocks and shoals, and is 

 without any appearance of vegetation ; the part which is not 

 composed of rock being either bog or marsh. The rocks are, 

 however, covered with very beautiful lichens and mosses of the 

 most brilliant colours ; and the cascades which fall from the 

 glaciers between the rocks occasionally form very grand scenes 



M. Gieske has paid the most minute attention to the minera- 

 logy and natural history of Greenland ; he has particularly 

 noticed many remarkable geognostic facts, and has also disco- 

 vered several new mineral substances. He is at present prepar- 

 ing to publish an account of his travels both in English and 

 German ; the work it is said will extend to three large volumes, 

 and will contain many engravings consisting of views of the 

 country, and representations of the inhabitants, their utensils, 

 costume, &c. 



XIV. Experiments to determine the Action of Alcohol of different 

 Degrees of Strength on the Oil of Bergamot. By M. 

 Vauquelin.* 



It is a common practice with the dealers in perfumes to adul- 

 terate the oil of bergamot with alcohol ; and M. Vauquelin was 

 induced to make a series of experiments in order to discover the 

 effects that were produced by the mixture of these two substances, 

 and thus be enabled to detect the fraud. He found that 100 

 measures of alcohol dissolved 50 measures of oil, but that there 

 were several anomalies in the proportions in which smaller 

 quantities of alcohol dissolved the oil. The general results of 

 the experiments are ; 1 . That the oil of bergamot may contain 

 eight per cent, of alcohol, of the specific gravity of *817, without 

 its being perceptible when mixed with water. 2. That when it 

 contains a greater quantity of it, the surplus separates, dissolving 

 about ± of its volume of oil. 3. That a small quantity of water 

 mixed with the alcohol diminishes remarkably its action upon 

 the oil ; since alcohol of specific gravity -880 dissolves only ^ 

 of its volume, while pure alcohol dissolves almost \ its volume. 

 4. That when we mix alcohol with a volatile oil, a mutual ex- 

 change takes place between the two fluids, the relation of which 

 must vary with the purity of the alcohol ; this last dissolves the 

 oil, whilst the oil absorbs the alcohol. 5. That when we mix 

 alcohol of specific gravity "847, for example, with oil of berga- 

 mot, which is "856, the alcohol sinks to the bottom, and the oil 

 swims upon it ; this depends upon the oil absorbing a part of 

 the pure alcohol, and thus rendering the remainder more dense, 

 while it becomes itself more light. 6. That there takes place a 



* Abridged from Journ. Fharm. iii. 241, (June, 1817.) 



