sd 
~ Bubbles blown in Melted Rosin. . 179 
The second mate Mr. Stevens, an intelligent young man, 
told me the face was nearly white, and exactly like that of 
a human person ; that its arms were about half as long as 
his, with hands resembling his own; that it steod ereci out 
of the water about two feet, looking at the ship and sails 
with great earnestness. It woald remain in this attitude, 
close along side, ten or fifteen minutes at a time, and then 
dive and appear on the other side. It remained around 
them about six hours. Mr. Stevens also stated that its hair 
was black on the head and exactly resembled a man’s; that 
below the arms, it was a perfect fish in form, and that the 
whole length from the head to the tail about five feet. 
Communicated by Mr. Elisha Lewis of New-Haven, a 
respectable merchant. 
22. Bubbles blown in melted Rosin. 
The following curious fact is mentioned in a letter to the 
Editor, from Mr. Samuel Morey, of Orford, N. H. :— 
If the end of a copper tube (a pipe stem ‘will answer ,) be 
dipped m melted rosin, at a temperature a little above that 
of boiling water, taken out and held nearly in a verticular 
position, and blown through, bubbles will be formed of all 
possible sizes, irom that of a hen’s egg to those which can 
hardly be discerned by the naked eye ; and from their sil- 
very lustre, and reflection of the different rays of light, 
they have a pleasing appearance. Some that have been 
formed these eight months, are as perfect and entire as when 
first made. They ¢ generally assume the form of a string of 
beads, many of them perfectly regular, and connected by a 
very fine fibre—but the production is never twice alike. [Hf 
filled with hydrogen gas, they would probably occupy the 
upper part of the room. 
In a letter to Mr. Morey, the Editor attributed the jor- 
mation of these bubbles to the common cause, viz. the ae 
tension of a viscous fluid by one that is aeriform : ; and then 
permanency to the sudden congelation of the rosin, thus im- 
prisoning the air by a thin film of solid matter, and prevent- 
ing its escape. 
The temperature at which the bubbles are formed, being 
very low, even this very thin rosinous globe, might be strong 
enough to resist the smal! atmospheric pressure arising from 
the condensation of the included air by cooling. 
