374 Miscellanies. 
of heat or of dampness from the water, which was at first an object 
of apprehension. 
In oil mills this procedure is particularly advantageous, not only 
in keeping the wheels clear of ice, but in securing the requisite damp- 
ness of the ‘grain, without the danger of freezing, which in extreme- 
ly cold weather, demands much troublesome precaution. 
The process now described has the further advantage. Ist, that 
the same water which in winter warms the apartment, in summer 
communicates a most agreeable and refreshing coolness, the heat 
never exceeding fifty five degrees, though it may outside be as high 
as seventy six degrees.* 2nd. That the circulation of water in manu- 
factories purifies the air and promotes the health of the workmen, so 
that in rooms full of people, the atmosphere is found to be perfectly 
free although the windows may be kept shut. 3d. That in case of 
fire, ascurrent of water within a building must be of the greatest con- 
sequence. 
So successful have been these inventions of M. de Bruckmann, 
that the King of Wirtemberg has appointed him to the station of 
Royal Architect, and Knight of the order of shy and decreed to 
him a large gold medal. 
The water of bored wells has been applied in France to the warm- 
ing of conservatories of plants, and a large fish pond at Montmoren- 
cy has been supplied in the same manner with cool water, which in 
the summer season, prevents the loss formerly sustained by the per- 
ishing of the fish from excessof heat. In consequence of these val- 
uable applications, the committee of the ‘‘Societé d’encouragement,” 
propose the decree of their gold medal to M. de Bruckmann.— Bull. 
de la soc. d’encour. Aout, 1831. 
30. Limits of the Audibility of Sound.—M. Savart read a me- 
moir on the inferior limit of the number of vibrations per second 
which compose a sound just perceptible to the human ear. He 
had before proved by experiments communicated to the Academy, 
that the superior limit was much, farther extended than had gener- 
ally been imagined: for example, that sounds are very distinctly 
heard, which result from more than forty thousand simple oscillations 
ina second. By means of a new apparatus, which he describes, 
he now shews that sounds are distinctly perceptible, and even strong, 
when composed of no more than eight vibrations in a second.— 
Rev. Encyc. Juillet, 1831. 
