PHONY PRUSSIA. 



volution, had been driven to great distress from the 

 total destruction of their trade. In less than two 

 years M. de Prony had finished tables containing 

 10,000 sines in natural numbers to 25 places of 

 decimals, with 7 or 8 columns of differences ; 2,000 

 logarithms of sines and tangents calculated to 14 

 places of decimals, with 4 columns of differences ; 

 10,000 logarithms relative to the proportion of 

 sines and tangents to arcs, with 3 columns of dif- 

 ferences, for facilitating interpolation in calculations 

 relating to small angles; the logarithms of the first 

 10,000 numbers calculated to 19 places of decimals, 

 and the logarithms of numbers from 10,000 to 

 200,000 calculated to 14 places of decimals, with 5 

 columns of differences. This immense collection, 

 forming seventeen volumes folio in MS., was to 

 have been printed by Didot, according to a con- 

 tract passed between that eminent typographer and 

 the government ; but the fall in value of the as- 

 signats, and other independent causes, hindered 

 the projected impression from being completed. 

 This great monument of the industry and talent of 

 M. de Prony has ever since remained in the library 

 of the observatory at Paris ; and it is high time 

 that the French government should give it to the 

 world, since the Chambers voted a bill for the le- 

 gal re-establishment of the metrical and decimal 

 system in all its purity from January 1, 1840. 



In 1798 M. de Prony was named director-gene- 

 ral of the Fonts et Chaussees, having already, in 

 1794, been appointed professor of Mechanics at the 

 Ecole Polytechnique, on the first establishment of 

 that celebrated institution. He bad also been 

 elected a member of the academy of sciences of 

 the institute. Napoleon, on his return from Italy, 

 ook notice of M. de Prony, and made him some 

 advantageous offers at the time of the expedition 

 to Egypt, to accompany the French army to that 

 country. M. de Prony refused, and Napoleon never 

 forgave him. Once, when emperor, one of the 

 ministers recommended him as a suitable person for 

 one of the new dignities then about to be bestow- 

 ed; but the emperor's reply was "II ne faut pas 

 mettre son rabot en dentelles, on ne pourrait plus 

 s'en servir pour raboter." (You must not wrap 

 your plane up in lace, or you'll not be able to plane 

 with it.) Notwithstanding the apparent coolness 

 of the emperor he had the highest opinion of M. 

 de Prony's talents, and employed him from 1805 

 to 1812 on i.nportant missions in several parts of 

 France. It was in Italy, however, that his official 

 occupations principally lay, where he executed se- 

 veral large works connected with the Po, and the 

 ports of Genoa, Ancona, Venice, Pola, and the 

 Gulf of Spezzia. The improvement of the Pon- 

 tine marshes also fell to his lot ; and gave rise to a 

 very valuable geographical and hydrographical 

 account of them, which he took the pains to draw 

 up. 



At the restoration M. de Prony ceased to be a 

 professor of the Ecole Polytechnique, but continued 

 attached to that establishment as permanent ex- 

 aminer. In 1827 he executed several missions in 

 the departments, and especially in that of the 

 Rhone, where he was consulted on the formation 

 of some extensive embankments. He was named 

 a supernumerary member of the Bureau de Longi- 

 tudes in 1805, and was elected full member in 1817. 

 He was also a member of the royal society of Lon- 

 don (elected in 1818), and of almost all the scien- 

 tific societies of Europe. M. de Proriy had been 

 one of the earliest chevaliers of the legion of hon- 



our, and was made an officer of it in 1814 : in 181l 

 In- was named Chevalier de St Michael, and, in 

 1828, was created a Baron by Charles X. He 

 was made a Peer of France by Louis Philippe in 



1835. His death took place on the 29th July, 

 1839. Besides the works mentioned above, M. 

 de Prony's other contributions to science fill six- 

 teen volumes, 4to. He had a brother, better 

 known liy tie family name of Richie than that of 

 Prony, who was a distinguished naturalist, and 

 formed part of the expedition sent out to search 

 for the unfortunate La Peyronse, dying in 1797 

 from the fatigue he experienced on his long cruise. 



PRUSSIA, (a.) Statistics In the twenty- 

 five government districts of the Prussian States, 

 the amount of births and deaths, during the year 



1836, was births, 550,622; deaths, 375,588: the 

 increase, therefore, through the surplus of births, 

 was 175,034. In the year 1835 this surplus 

 amounted to 152,272 : the increase in the two 

 years was, therefore, 327,306. The total number 

 of inhabitants at the end of the year 1834, was 

 13,509,927; accordingly, the number of inhabi- 

 tants in the Prussian dominions, exclusive of the 

 principality of Neuchatel, at the end of the year 

 1836, was 13,837,233. In this number is not in- 

 cluded the surplus of immigrations over emigra- 

 tions, which, however, must be in every case con- 

 siderably less than the increase of population by 

 the surplus of births. 



The following was the number of inhabitants of 

 every age and rank in the Prussian dominions at 

 the end of 1836, taking into the account the 

 increase of births since the last census : 



In the government districts of Konigsberg, 

 740,829; Gumbinnen, 549,410 ; Dantzig, 340,970; 

 Marienwerder, 487,443 ; total in the province oi 

 Prussia Proper, 2,118,652. In Posen, 778,216; 

 Bromberg, 374,082 ; total in the province of Posen, 

 1,152,298. In Potsdam, 962,850; Frankfort, 

 728,914 ; total in the province of Brandenburg, 

 1,691,764. In Stettin, 457,536; Coslin, 355,611 ; 

 Stralsund, 157,865; total in the province of Pom- 

 erania, 971,012. In Breslaw, 1,011,735; Oppeln, 

 773,542; Lignitz, 809,585 ; total in the province 

 of Silesia, 2,594,862. In Magdeburg, 590,440; 

 Mersburg, 638,442 ; Erfort, 300,725 ; total in the 

 province of Saxony, 1,529,607. In Munster, 

 405,661; Minden, 419,144; Arnsberg, 499,142; 

 total in the province of Westphalia, 1,323,947. 

 In Cologne, 420,391 ; Dusseldorf, 749,952 ; Cob- 

 lentz, 464,91 1 ; Treves, 450,343; Aix-la-Cbapelle, 

 369,494 ; total in the provinces of the Rhine, 

 2,455,091. 



Total number of inhabitants in the whole Prus- 

 sian dominions, as before stated, 13,837,233. 



The relative numbers of the births, deaths, and 

 the proportionate surplus of the former, as shown 

 by the census made at the end of 1834, varied con- 

 siderably in particular government districts in the 

 course of 1836, as the following estimate, taken on 

 an average population of 100,000 souls, shows: 



Births. Du.ihs. Surplus. 

 In the Government districts of 



Coslin, .... 41oo 2048 2088 



Stettin, .... 4146 2277 18fi9 



Marienwerder, . . 4681 2865 1816 



Hroinberg, . . . 4574 2785 1789 



Frankfort, . . . 3877 2315 1562 



Dantzitf 4255 2702 1553 



Stralsund, . . . 3877 2340 1537 



Posen, .... 4117 2679 1438 



Potsdam, . . . 3963 2542 



Mersbnrg, . . . 4018 2634 



Dusseldorf, 403i 2IJS5 1381 



Mindeu. .... 4398 3025 1373 





