1816.] in some of the Newcastle Coal-Mines. 378 
Dr. Clanny and John Birkbeck, a man employed in the mine, 
stood at the top. Mr. Wm. Patterson, a very able and intelligent 
man, descended half down the staple, and Mr. Holmes stood upon 
the scaffolding. ‘The lamp with the lighted candle was handed by 
Dr. Clanny to Mr. Patterson, who descended with it to Mr, 
Holmes; and after the bellows of the lamp were urged a few 
seconds, a slight flash occurred within the body of the lamp, and 
the candle was immediately afterwards extinguished. No particular 
caution was observed with the lamp, as a confidence in its security 
resulted from the experiments of Oct. 16; and if a further proof 
of this was necessary, it was afforded by the presence of Mr. Pat- 
terson and Birkbeck, both of whom declared ‘ that if the candle 
had communicated with the circumambient air on the spot where 
the experiment took place, the mine would have been blown to 
pieces.” 
(Signed) J. H. H. Hotmes, 
Wo. PatTEerson. 
Jno. BIRKBECK. 
ARTICLE IX. 
ANALYSES or Books. 
Nova Genera et Species Plantarum quas in Peregrinatione ad 
Plagam A&quinoctialem Orlis Novi collegerunt, descripserunt 
partim adumbraverunt Amat. Bonpland et Alex. de Humboldt. Ex 
Schedis autographis Amati Bonplandi m Ordinem digessit Carol. 
Sigismund. Kunth. Accedunt Talule A&ri incise, et Alexandri de 
Humboldt Notationes ad Geographiam Plantarum  spectantes. 
Tomus Primus. Paris, 1815. super-royal 4to. 
(With a Plate.) 
Humsovpr, in a long introduction to this volume, gives an 
account of the different publications in which he has consigned the 
immense number of facts which he collected during his residence in 
South America, and informs the reader that the object of the 
present work is to put botanists, at a small expense, in possession of 
the descriptions of the American plants which he and his fellow 
traveller collected. We doubt, however, whether a book printed 
like this, on the largest sized quarto paper, and with a wide margin, 
can be afforded at a small expense. Nor can there be any doubt 
that Humboldt would have been much more useful to science if he 
had published all his works in a less expensive form, and had been 
somewhat more concise in his style. Fortunately the desire for 
magnificent beoks is losing ground in this country, and we wish to 
