68 Scientific Notices-^ChemistrT/. [Jan. 



every part of the developments and calculations ; and on reduc- 

 ing his forniulee to numbers, obtains (not, as he says, without 

 surprise) a final result, of a contrary sign to that of Laplace, and 

 only one-third of its amount, the coefficients of the terras cf the 

 great inequahty arising from the square of the disturbing force 

 being, according to M. Plana, 



- l"-9200and+ 5"-5775 for Jupiter 

 + 25''- 1036 and - 12"-8932 for Saturn. 



The fifth chapter contains reflections on the Supplement to 

 the theory of Jupiter and Saturn in the fourth volume of the 

 Mecanifjve Celeste (p. 327—344'); in vvhich M. Laplace consi- 

 ders several terms of the order of the square of the disturbing 

 force arising from the variation of the excentricities and peri- 

 helia of the two planets, affected by the argument of the great 

 inequality. M. Laplace has made use of an indirect but more 

 expeditious method ; and the object of the author in this 

 chapter (admitting, however, that the indirect method cannot 

 fail to give results very near the truth) is to estimate their 

 degree of accoi'dance with those afforded by the direct method. 

 His conclusions in a numerical pomt of view agree with those of 

 Laplace, but he conceives that his analysis is more rigorous, and 

 his formulae better adapted to further developments. 



Article XII. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTICES. 



Chemistry. 



1. Notice of Dr. Thomson's New Work. 



After the severe animadversions on Dr. Thomson's First 

 Principles of Chemistry, which appeared lately in a cotem- 

 porary journal, it is but fair that our readers should know 

 in what estimation that work is held by our philosophical 

 brethren of the New World. We, therefore, extract the fol- 

 lowing from the first number of the 10th volume of the " Ameri- 

 can Journal of Science and Arts," which has this moment 

 reached us: — 



" It is not within our purpose, or present limits, to do any 

 thing more than briefly mention the admirable work of Dr. 

 Thomson. For more than twenty years, we have diligently 

 followed this distinguished author through all the numerous 

 editions of his Systematic Chemistry, in vvhich he has shown 

 himself the vigilant and faithful historian of the science; through 

 his Annals of Pliilosophy, one of the best of the numerous 



