194 — Miscellanies. 
cases this dose must be repeated. If any sediment remain in the 
wine, a much larger dose of tannin becomes necessary. 
Mr. F. affirms that this malady in wine, when once destroyed, 
never returns. ; 
As the tannin of chemists is an expensive article, obtained from 
the gall nut by sulphuric acid, or by potash, it is probable that a substi- 
tute may be found, in some of the astringent barks or even in - 
seeds of the grape. 
2. Obesityn—The celebrated fat liver pies of Strasbiirgh, are 
made of the livers of geese fattened with great attention. ‘The ani- 
mal is shut up in a cage, but little larger than its body, and is taken 
out but twice a day, and then to be fed with about a quart of erude 
peas. They are introduced with a finger into the pharynx of the an- 
imal, which is thus made to swallow this enormous quantity of nour- 
ishment, and is then immediately shut up in its cage. — 
The immediate result of this kind of life isa remarkable obesity, 
and an enormous developement of the liver, which without any no- 
table change of structure acquired a triple or quadruple enlarge- 
ment of volume. ' 
Bibulous paper brought into close contact with this fat liver im- 
mediately absorbs an oily matter much like melted fat. These liv- 
ers sometimes weigh eight or ten ounces, and sell from three to five 
francs. ‘The fattening of geese in this manner is a good speculation, 
for every part of the animal possesses an intrinsic value ;—the fat on 
many occasions is a substitute for butter, and the flesh is served at 
table, and although somewhat tough is not the less nutritious; the 
feathers are much sought after, the quills serve for writing, and even 
the excrements sell at a high price, as one of the richest of ma- 
nures. 
3. Premiums for chemical and medical discoveries—The French 
Academy of Sciences on the 13th of June last, decided that the 
medical and surgical prizes founded by M. de Montyon, should, for the 
present term, be thus distributed; six thousand francs to M. Courtois 
for the discovery of iodine; four thousand francs to M. Coindet, 
for having applied this substance to the cure of goitre and indicated 
its use in scrofula; six thousand francs to M. Lugol for having dem- 
onstrated the proper methods to be pursued in the employment of it, 
and for having obtained the most happy results; two thousand francs 
