Foreign Literature and Science. 861 
by four plates, engraved in a superior manner by Mr. and 
Miss Lowry: the third plate is remarkably well executed, 
and isa flattering specimen of that young lady’s abilities. 
Upon the whole, the work will be found of great service to 
prepare the mind for the study of crystallography, and at the 
_ same time highly interesting to the mathematician. In- 
deed, it is the only work in the English language in which 
the various properties of the geometrical solids are particu- 
larly described ; on which account it cannot fail to be ac- 
ceptable.” 
[A copy of this work has been ieesenied to us by Profes- 
, sor Coxe, of Philadelphia; it is beautifully executed, and 
we were intending to publish an original notice of it till we 
met with the above in Tilloch’s Philadelphia Magazine for 
January, 1820, to which we are happy in the opportunity 
of giving additional circulation.—Ep. | 
Latent heat of Vapours. 
According to the experiments of Dr. Ure, of Glasgow, 
the latent heat of . 
Steam, is - “ - 967.000 
Alcohol, - - - 442.000 
Sulphuric ether, - - 302.379 
Naptha, - - - 177.870 
Oil of turpentine, ~ - 177.870 
Nitric acid, sp. gr. 1.494, 531.999 
Ammonia, sp. gr. 0.978, - 837.280 
Vinegar, sp. gr. 1.007, - 875.000 
Boiling point of Liquids. 
Water does not boil equally ina glass vessel; the tern- 
perature rises a degree or two above the regular boiling 
point, when a torrent of steam rushes up through it and 
the temperature sinks a little: this continues through the 
whole ebullition, and the temperature vibrates between two 
points, distant, two or three degrees from one another. This 
variation is more remarkable, and may be even dangerous, 
when sulphuric acid is distilled. Ifa few slips of platmmum 
or of any other wire be put into the fluid, the water boils 
regularly as it does ina metallic vessel. —Annales de Chi- 
mie, &c. Vol. 8. p. 406. 
