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THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



i. Olivine^ containing magnesia and oxide of iron, and white or greyish, but seldom 

 yellow or green. It is separated by being heated with acids, and dissolving the silica 

 in boiling carbonate of soda. There then remain — 2. Silicates of magnesia, lime, 

 oxide of iron, oxide of manganese, alumina, potash, and soda. 3. Chromate of 

 iron, which is always present in both kinds, and is the cause of their greyish-black 

 colour. 4. Oxide of tin, containing traces of copper. 5. Magnetic iroji, probably 

 not contained in all. 6. Sulphuret of iron, which exists in all. 7. Native iron, not 

 pure, although very ductile, but containing carbon, sulphur, phosphorus, magnesium, 

 manganese, nickel, cobalt, tin, and copper. 



Transparency of the Sea on the Coast of Norway. — Nothing, says Sir 

 A. de Capell Brooke, in his Travels in Norway, can be more surprising and beautiful 

 than the singular clearness of the water of the Northern seas. As we passed slowly 

 over the surface, the bottom, which here was in general a white sand, was clearly 

 visible, with its minutest objects, where the depth was from twenty to twenty-five 

 fathoms. During the whole course of the tour I made, nothing appeared to me so 

 extraordinary as the utmost recesses of the deep thus unveiled to the eye. The sur- 

 face of the ocean was unruffled by the shghtest breeze, and the gentle splashing of the 

 oars scarcely disturbed it. Hanging over the gunwale of the boat, with wonder and 

 delight I gazed on the slowly moving scene below. "Where the bottom was sandy, the 

 different kinds of asteria;, echini, and even the smallest shells, appeared at that great 

 depth conspicuous to the eye; and the water seemed, in some measure, to have the 

 effect of a magnifier, by enlarging the objects like a telescope, and bringing them 

 seemingly nearer. Now creeping along, we saw, far beneath, the rugged sides of a 

 mountain rising towards our boat, the base of which was hidden some miles in the 

 great deep below. Though moving on a level surface, it seemed almost as if it were 

 ascending the height under us ; and when we passed over its summit, which rose in 

 appearance to within a few feet of our boat, and came again to the descent, which 

 on this side was suddenly perpendicular, and overlooking a watery gulf; as we pushed 

 gently over the last point of it, it seemed almost as if we had thrown ourselves down 

 this precipice, the illusion, from the crystal clearness of the deep, actually producing 

 a sudden start. Now we came again to a plain, and passed slowly over the submarine 

 forests and meadows, which appeared in the expanse below, inhabited, doubtless, by 

 thousands of animals, to which they afford both food and shelter, — animals unknown 

 to j\Ian ; and I could sometimes observe large fishes, ofjsingular shape, gliding sofLly 

 through the watery thickets, unconscious of what was moving above them. As we 

 proceeded, the bottom became no longer visible, its fairy scenes gradually faded to 

 the view, and were lost in the dark green depths of the ocean. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Manufacture of Gun-Flints. — In the last number of the Edinburgh New 

 Philosophical Journal, is a paper on this subject, communicated by Dr James 

 iVIitchell, of which the following is a condensed account: — Brandon, in Suffolk, is the 

 only place in England iu whicb gun-flints are made to any considerable extent, and 

 it is said that none are now manufactured in France, or, in fact, in any part of 

 Europe; yet the seventy or eighty men employed could barely make aliving by their 

 trade, so much had it been impaired by the cessation of war, and the invention of 

 percussion caps. The masses of flint employed are obtained from a common about 

 a mile south-east of the town, by sinking a shaft about six feet, then proceeding 

 three feet horizontally, and thus alternately until they come to a floor of flint, some- 

 times going to the depth of about thirty feet. The blocks are handed up from stage 

 to stage, a man being placed about half-way between each to receive them. It is 

 not more than forty years since the present mode of making flints was introduced 

 from France. The workman, called a cracker, w^ho is seated on a chair, has a thick 

 piece of leather strapped to his left thigh, and over it he straps a piece of iron. He 

 takes a large piece of flint-stone, and breaks it into fragments of about two pound 

 weight. Then taking a fragment in his left hand, and applying it to the iron plate 

 on his thigh, he strikes out pieces at short distances from each other. He then 

 strikes with his hammer on the parts of the edge of the flint, which are now separ- 

 ated from the rest, and the effect of the blow, together with the reaction on the 

 plate of iron on his thigh, causes a flake of about three or four inches in length to 

 come off, there being on each side a conchoidal fracture. Of the flakes thus obtained 

 from the mass of flint, some are large and others small. The workman has before 

 him three small casks with the upper end open; into one of them he drops the large 

 flakes, into the second the flakes of a less size, and into the third the flakes of the small- 

 est size. The refuse is thrown into a fourth cask, and is from time to time carried 

 out of doors, and throvvn into a heap of rubbish. The three casks with the flakes 

 are intended each of them for a separate workman, who lias to finish them into flints, 

 single-barrel flints, double-barrel flints, and pistol flints. The workmen who divide 

 the flakes into flints are called nappers, aud one cracker suflSces to keep three of 

 tbem employed. A napper has before hira a block, not unlike a butcher's block, 

 upon which a piece of iron is nailed, from which rises a thin piece of iron three inches 

 ■ in length, and only a sixth of an incli in thickness, and brought to a coarse edge. 

 He uses a hammer, which is merely a plate of steel, extending two inchcb on each 

 side of the handle, and an inch in breadth, and not above a sixth of an inch in thick- 

 ness. He takes into his left hand one of the flakes, lays it over the little anvil on 

 the block, and with his hammer breaks it into three or four flints. All that he has 

 to do after that, is to see which edge will be best for the flint, and from the other 

 he breaks a little off, and the whole is complete. At Brandon, in the present de- 

 pressed state of the trade, the best musket-flints, which at one time were sold for 

 two guineas a thousand, now bring no more than from seven to eight shillings. 



LuauNous Appearance at Sea off the Shetland Islands. — A cui-ious 

 luminous appearance at sea is mentioned in the following extract from a letter to 

 Mr Stevenson, engineer, by the keeper of the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse : — 

 *' Monday, September 19, 1S36. — The herring-boats went out through the night. 

 There came, on a severe gale of wind from the north-east, which drove them from 

 their nets, and scarcely any one of them got into their own harbours. Mr Kay's 



fishermen lost 180 nets, Mr Bruce of Whalsey lost 114, and a great many of the 

 poor men lost the whole of their nets. The fishermen also informed me, that upon 

 the same night, there appeared to them a light, which greatly annoyed thera. It 

 appeared to them like a furnace standing in the water, and the beams of the light 

 stood to a great height. It became fainter on the approach of day, and at length 

 vanished away by day-light, l^ continued for two nights. It stood so near some of 

 the boats that the men thought of cutting from their lines to get out of its way." 

 Edin. New Philos. Journal, January 1837. 



New Method or Disengaging Heat. — By projecting upon a fire a mixtiire of 

 water and oily matters in a certain proportion a flame is produced, whose heat is ex- 

 tremely intense. If the water be in excess, the flame languishes; or, if in too small 

 quantity, a smoke is produced. For I measure of tar it is necessary to employ 1^ 

 of water. 15 lbs. of oil of turpentine mixed with 15 lbs. of water, and projected 

 upon 25 lbs. of Newcastle coal, produce as much heat as 120 lbs. of this coal. 



Poisoning by Arsenic Cured by Hydrated Tritoxide of Iron. — A re- 

 markable case of this description is recorded in the Gaz. IMed. de Paris (22d August 

 1835), by Monod. The subject of it was a hair-dresser, thirty-five years of age, 

 who, in a paroxysm of delirium tremens, swallowed a drachm and a half of white 

 oxide of arsenic. Half an hour afterwards the antidote was given to him, suspended 

 in water, and he drank in twelve hours all the Tritoxide produced by the decomposi- 

 tion of five drachms of the Tritosulphate of Iron. He had no mlent colic, and 

 twenty hours afterwards experienced scarcely any uneasiness. 



REVIEWS. 



British Song Birds; being Fopular Descriptions and Anecdotes of the Choristers o 

 the Groves. By Neville Wood, Esq., author of the Ornithologist's Text-Book. 

 London: John W. Parker, IV est Strand. 1S36. 



This work contains, as its title announces, popular descriptions of the habits of 

 seventy-three of our smaller birds, all of which, however, cannot with propriety be con- 

 sidered as choristers of the groves. The information afforded appears to be for the most 

 part derived from the author's personal observation, and, although not in general new, 

 is yet communicated in a pleasing style, and in a manner not calculated to mislead thi; 

 student. In fact, we give full credit to the author when he asserts, that " no one fact is 

 stated, which has not been observed with my own eyes, excepting where other authorities 

 are referred to, which is, in every case, done openly and fully ;" and we commend him 

 for his candour, which is favorably contrasted with the disingenuousness of some cele- 

 brated ornithologists, who profess to give nothing but their own, while almost every 

 page is full of unacknowledged borrowings. A remarkable difference, too, between the 

 present generation and the last, is the decided preference now given to actual rational 

 information respecting habits and structure, whereas formerly histories of animals were 

 confined to mere technical characters, so brief and unsatisfactory, that in cases of doubt 

 we seldom find them affording any assistance. We believe that our distinguished 

 countryman, Sandy Wilson, the quondam Paisley weaver and packman, was the founder 

 of this modern school of ornithologists, who combine glowing descriptions with accu- 

 rate details. ]\Ir Wood's " Song Birds," we are happy in being enabled, from having 

 paid considerable attention to the subject, to recommend to all who are interested in 

 this most interesting department of zoology, and more especially to young persons, for 

 the *' old chroniclers" are generally too wise to learn, and too knowing to allow merit 

 to any not disposed to flatter themselves. The nomenclature, although strange to those 

 who commenced their studies twenty years ago, is as good as the old; and, in truth, 

 seeing that both are defective, the more innovations that authors make the better, 

 for it will ultimately render it necessary to select unobjectionable names. 



Loudon s Magazine of Natural History. New Series. Conducted by Edward 

 Charlcsworth, F.G.S. Monthly, 2s. London: Longman, Sj'c. 



This popular periodical, which has greatly contributed to the extension of the study 

 of natural history, is particularly valuable as a depository of facts and observations. 

 It is not our intention to offer a formal review of its contents, which are of a very 

 diversified nature; but we take this opportunity of recommendmg it to those who are 

 devoted to the study of natural history, or who find pleasure in occasionally perusing 

 the remarks and observations made by the students of that science. The new series 

 commences with considerable spirit, and its first number contains several interesting 

 articles. Among others, there is one by Dr Edward Moore, l*lymouth, describing 

 a new British fish, the Peristedion Malarmat of Lacepede and Cuvier, the Trigla 

 Cataphracta of LinnEeus. The learned editor gives a description and figure of Vo- 

 luta Lamberti, a fossil shell of the ** crag." Mr Bowman endeavours to ascertain 

 the age of the Yew by referring to actual sections of its trunk ; Mr Bree offers ob- 

 servations on Trochilium Crahroniforme, the Lunar Hornet Sphinx; and Mr Blyth 

 makes some interesting remarks on the Psychological Distinctions between Man and 

 all other animals. The most amusing paper, however, is a review of " The Natu- 

 ralist," in which that rival periodical is represented to be entirely destitute of all 

 merit, the articles in the first number being, generally speaking, " extremely lame, and 

 written in a style which unavoidably forces upon the reader's recollection the idea of 

 their being got up for the occasion, instead of being the spontaneous productions of 

 those who are engaged hand and heart in the advancement of that science of which 

 they profess to treat." Our opinion of " The NaturaUst" is somewhat different; and 

 although we cannot bestow upon it all the praise that we could wish, we must yet do 

 it the justice to recommend it as a performance creditable to its conductors and useful 

 to the public. We shall, however, take another opportunity of discussing the merits 

 of this periodical. 



Edinburgh: Published for the Proprietor, at the Office, 16, Hanover Street. 

 London: Smith, Elder, and Co., i^b, Cornhill. Glasgow and the West of 

 Scotland: John Smith and Son; and John Macleod. Dublin: W. F. 

 Wakeman, Paris: J. B. Balliere, Ruedcl'Ecole de Medccine, No. 13 bis. 



THE EDINBURGH PRINTi:-iG COMPANY. 



