AND OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 



23 



than that of the turkey-cock, when it raises its head. The eye is black and lively, 

 and the head destitute of crest or tuft. They do not fly, their wings being too sliort 

 to sustain the weight of their bodies ; they are only used in beating their sides, and in 

 whirling round. When they wish to call one another, they make, with rapidity, 

 twenty or thirty rounds in the same direction, during the space of four or five minutes ; 

 in which action the noise made by their wings resembles that made by the Kestrel, 

 and can be distinctly heard at 200 paces distant. The bone of the spurious wing 

 enlarged at its point, forms, under the feathers, a little round mass like a musket bul- 

 let ; and this and their bill are the principal weapons possessed by these birds. It is 

 excessively difficult to catch them in the woods ; but as a man runs swifter than they 

 do in open places, it is not difficult to catch them ; sometimes, indeed, they may be 

 very easily approached. From the month of March until September, they are exceed- 

 ingly fat, and their flesh of a very agreeable flavour, especially when young. The 

 average weight of the males is about 45 lbs., and Herbert says he has known them of 

 50 lbs. 



" The female is of admirable beauty. Some are of a blond, ethers of a brown colour. 

 I mean by blond, the hue of flaxen hair. They have a band, not unlike the bandeau of 

 a widow, above the beak, which is of a tan colour. One feather does not pass another 

 over all the body, because they adjust and polish them with their bill; the feathers of 

 the thighs are rounded and of a shell shape, and being very thickly clothed in these 

 situations, produce an agreeable effect. Over the crop, they have two elevations, of 

 whiter plumage than the rest of their bodies, which greatly resemble the female bosom. 

 They walk with a gi'aceful and stately air, which excites admiration, and even a love 

 of the bird, which has frequently saved their lives." 



Leguat says that they are incapable of being tamed, and, if taken, refuse all food, 

 and die of hunger. This may account for their extirpation, for had they been sus- 

 ceptible of domestication, a bird so fitted for human food raiifht have been widely 

 spread over Europe at the present day. A remarkable peculiarity is stated by Leguat, 

 that " there is always found in their gizzard a brown stone, the size of a hen's egg, 

 slightly tuberculated, flat on one side, and rounded on the other, very heavy and hard. 

 We supposed this stone to exist in the bird when hatched, because, however young 

 they might be, they always had it, and never more than one ; and besides this circum- 

 stance, the canal which passes from the crop to the gizzard is too small by one half 

 to permit the passage of such a mass. We used them, in preference to all other stones, 

 for sharping our knives." 



It seems to be certain that this bird became extinct towards the end of the seven- 

 teenth or beginning of the eighteenth century. Sir John V. Thompson of Cork, a 

 zealous naturalist, was unable to discover any traces of it during a recent residence in 

 the East. He says, *' Having resided some years amongst these islands, inclusive of 

 Jfadagascar, and being curious to find whether any testimony could be obtained on 

 the spot, as to the existence of the Dodo, in any of the islands of this or the neigh- 

 bouring Archipelagos, I may venture to say, that no traces of any kind could be 

 found, no more than of the truth of the beautiful tale of Pmil and Virginia, although 

 a very general belief prevailed as to both the one and the other." 



At a late meeting of the Pai'is Academy of Sciences, the celebrated comparative 

 anatomist, i\I. De BlainviUe, gave it as his opinion, that the extinct bird, the Dodo, 

 wr.s a large species of Vulture. He stated that he came to this conclusion, after a 

 careful examination of a plaster cast, taken from the head of the Dodo, which is pre- 

 served in the Ashmolcan IVIuscum at Oxford. Cuvier seems not decided as to the 

 place it should occupy in his system, but has placed it after the Cassowary of New 

 Holland, and before the Bustards. The mutilated state of the bill prevented him from 

 ascertaining with certainty its true character. 



We cannot agree with Do Blainville in the opinion which he entertains, as we think 

 the extreme shortness of its wings, and consequent incapabiUty of flight, must remove 

 it from the Predatory order ; and we are inclined to the opinion, that it must bo nearly 

 allied to the Gallinaceous order, from the construction of the feet, one of which we 

 carefully examined in the British Museum. 



M I N K R A L G Y. 



Gold Veins in North Carolina. — At a meeting of the ShelHeld Literary and 

 Philosophical Society, Dr LongstafT, who has been out, during the last twelve months, 

 as the agent of a Company of British ]\Iine Adventurers, to investigate the gold 

 veins of North Carolina, stated that the gold region stretches from the shores of 

 the Atlantic, in the direction of Carolina, through the country towai-ds the 

 Pacific Ocean ; and that, judging from appearances, this immense tract promises to 

 yield supplies such as have not been equalled by the most famous gold countries of 

 antiquity. The precious metal is generally found in a matrix of quartz, and in veins, 

 often running in the direction of N.E. and S.W., there being generally one leading 

 vein, and on each side a parallel satellite. In some cases, rich branches pass ofT at 

 right angles ; or, in others, the ore is ramified in every way. It is sometimes enveloped 

 in a rake of talcose slate, passing through the auriferous quartz ; in other instances, 

 disseminated in minute particles through oxide of iron ; and contrary to what might 

 have been supposed, judging from the effect of other metals, the sulphuret of iron, or 

 martial pyi'ites, usually indicates a rich locality. The proportions of the precious 

 metal to the quartzoze, or other matrix, are amazingly great, the minimmn yield of 

 the ore afiFording a large profit upon the capital invested, while some of the richer sorts 

 (of which Dr LongstafF laid specimens on the table) gave almost incredible results. 



Many of the inhabitants of Concord have pieces of pure gold of various weights, one 

 cf which weighs 28 lbs. The beds where the gold is discovered, in that locality, are 

 of gravel, and very extensive, covered with water in the winter months, but dry in 

 summer. The manner of searching for gold is, to take shovels and turn over the 

 gravel, always advancing as it is turned back, and picking up what is discoverable to 

 the eye, by which thousands of small grains are lost, as the fingers cannot separate 

 them from the sand. By working this over again with quicksilver, large quantities 

 may be obtained. No machinery is required, or smelting process. The first mine was 

 found by a son of Sir Reed, who, in watering his horse at the creek, discovered a piece 

 of gold quite pui-c. Two years after, Mr Reed, with two partners, pursued the search 



for gold, with six black boys, during the short period of only six weeks. In each of 

 the two first years they obtained the value of 17,000 dollars, besides what was stolen 

 from the streams, supposed to be half as much more. No attempt has been made to 

 open the hills, as the persons there are totally unacquainted with the subject of raining. 

 Messrs Morton and Bedford, of Baltimore, purchased a small tract of about 300 acres, 

 joining the lower end of Reed's purchase and mine, for which they paid seven dollars an 

 acre. Governor fiercer stated, that they had analyzed the sand and gravel, and found 

 it worth a guinea a bushel, after the lump gold was picked out. The gold, as found, is 

 worth 19 dollars an ounce, while the best East India and African gold dust is not 

 worth more than from 12 to 16 dollars. Mr Thomas Moore got some hlccory nuts, 

 and in looking for a stone to break the shell, he went to a tree that had been blown 

 down, and picking up the first stone he met wuth in the fresh turned-up earth, per- 

 ceiving it heavy, he washed it, and it turned out to be a piece of solid gold, wdiich he 

 sold for 450 dollars ! He then set some men to work, and they made from two to 

 five dollars a-day each. Some of it has been sent to the mint of the United States, 

 where they exchange it for eagles ready coined, weight for weight ; but the gold-beaters 

 give a still better price, namely, four per cent., it is so pure and malleable. 



Discovery of Coal on Mount Lebanon. — A bed of coal has been recently 

 discovered at Carnayl, on jMount Lebanon, and the agents of JIahomet Ali, under 

 the guidance of an English gentleman, are exploring it with all the energy which the 

 nature of the country admits. It is about three miles north of the great road leading 

 from Beirout to Damascus, and about 18 miles from the former city. It is the black 

 bituminous coal, and burns readily, with a cleai* yellow flame. 



GEOLOGY AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 

 Temperature of the Earth. — For the purpose of ascertaining whether a 

 constant stream of water could be obtained by means of an Artesian well, sunk 

 on the south side of the Jura mountains, at the distance of about a league from 

 Geneva, and at an elevation of about 297 feet above the level of the lake, I\L 

 Girond, at his country residence at Pregny, bored to the depth of 647 feet without 

 any result. Despairing of success, he offered great facilities to any persons who 

 might wish to prosecute the enterprise, for the purpose of scientific inquiry. On 

 this occasion, IM^I. Aug. de la Rive and F. Marcet made a successful application to 

 the friends of science, and also to the Government, and funds were obtained suf- 

 ficient to enable them to continue the operation during eight months, and to extend 

 the boring to the depth of 682 feet. The hole bored was about four and a half inches 

 in diameter. "Water began to appear in it at the depth of twenty feet; and, it is 

 worthy of remark, that the height at which the water stood in the opening, as mea- 

 sured from the surface, was lower when tho gi-eatest depth was obtained than it was 

 at half the depth. At 275 feet of depth, the water stood at 14 feet from the surface; 

 at 500 feet, it sunk to 22 feet; at 550 feet, to 35 feet. It then rose — at 595 feet it 

 stood at 24 feet 6 inches, but at 675 it again sunk to 33 feet 8 inches. Having at- 

 tained the extraordinary depth above mentioned, the experimenters devised the means 

 of ascertaining the temperature of this opening at cUfl'erent depths. As the common 

 thermometer would not answer the purpose, they contrived a self-registering thermo- 

 meter, constructed on a large scale, and whose accuracy was subjected to the most 

 satisfactory tests. The following table exhibits the tempcratui*e of the bore hole at 

 the depths specified : — ■ 

 Depths htlow the surface Corresponding Temperature. 



ill feet. KEAUMUR. I'AHRENHEIT. 



30 8.4 ... . 50.9 



60 8.5 ... . 51.1 



100 8.8 ... . 5L8 



1.^0 9.2 ... . 52.7 



200 9.5 ... . 53.4 



250 10.0 .... 54.6 



300 10.5 ... . 55. G 



350 10.9 .... 56.5 



400 n.37 .... 57.58 



450 11.73 .... 58.39 



500 12.20 .... 59.45 



550 12.63 .... 60.42 



600 13.05 .... 61.36 



650 13.50 .... 62.37 



680 13.80 .... 63.05 



It thus appears that the increase of temperature below the depth of 100 feet from 

 the surface, as far down as 680 feet, is precisely 0,875 of Reaumur (= 1.968 or 2 

 Fahrenheit very nearly) for every hundred feet. It will be observed that the increase, 

 instead of moving per sallumy as in some other cases, moves with remarkable unifor- 

 mity. This, the experimenters think, may be owing to the care which was taken in 

 this case to remove and avoid every source of error. 



Fossil Ferns are rarely found, but numerous impressions of them are met with 

 in various countries. From the fact of the plants themselves not being met with 

 in a mineralized state, there has been much difficulty in ascertainmg their analogy 

 with those now existing on the earth's surface. M. Gojpper has lately succeeded in 

 ascertaining upwards of thirty species, which are analogous to those of the present 

 day. His mode of investigation is, by taking impressions from recent ferns, which 

 affords him a ready and easy mode of comparison. 



Change of Currents. — The following singular fact was elicited during the 

 examination of Captain Fitzroy, of the Beagle sui-veying ship, upon the recent naval 

 court-martial, held at Portsmouth : — He stated that the late earthquakes in the western 

 coast of South America have had the extraordinary effect of transforming what was 

 once a current of two miles an hour to the northward, into a current of five miles 

 an hour to the southward, and that the soundings along the whole coast have been 

 materially changed. Since the middle of February la^t, not a day has intervened 

 without a motion of the earth having been experienced in one quarter or another. It 

 appears that the loss of the Challenger was occasioned by the ship being thus set, by 

 a universal and unexpected current, 34 miles of latitude to the southward, between 

 noon of the 17th of Blay last, to the time of the wreck, on the 19th of the samo 



