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THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



mountain mosses, that form the northern barrier of the vale of the Devon, 

 seem to be light as a feather compared to the immense subterranean lever 

 that makes them simultaneously quiver throughout all their exent. The 

 most violent shocks we have here experienced took place on Wednesday 

 the 16th, at half-past 2 in the morning, and last night, (that of Wednesday 

 23d,) at about a quarter past 10 o'clock. This last shock was the se- 

 verest and most alarming of all. Families were put into confusion by it. 

 and some left their houses iu alarm. Sleep was banished for the night. To 

 the writer of this account the sensation seemed as if two strong impulses 



upward the second close upon but stronger than the first — were given to 



the ground, causing it to bound upward. The house seemed to reel, like 

 a vessel mounting a lofty surge coming suddenly upon it. Half an hour 



afterwards a slighter shock was experienced We shall next quote from 



the Perth Advertiser. 



Perth On Wednesday, between 10 and 1 1 p.m., one of those convul- 

 sive movements of the earth, which have occurred at Crieff and elsewhere, 

 during the past fortnight, was distinctly experienced here, and continued 

 Cor nearly a minute. Our sanctum shook as if it were about to tumble 

 about our ears. Again, from 



Monzie On Wednesday 23d, we had another Earthquake, more vio- 

 lent and alarming than any of the preceding. At 13 minutes past 10 p.m., 

 we heard a sound like that of a numerous body of cavalry approaching at 

 full gallop along the grassy sward. When this had continued a few seconds 

 we felt two or more abrupt concussions, as if a solid mass of earth had struck 

 against a body more ponderous than itself, and rebounded. The rattling of 

 furniture, together with the subterranean thunder, and the reeling of what 

 we had hitherto deemed terra firma, communicated at this moment a feel- 

 ing of the terrific that must have made the stoutest heart quail. The 

 sound passed off, as before, far to the East, carrying fear into other dis- 

 tricts. In a number of houses the bells rang; one house of three stories, 

 situated in Crieff, has been rent from the chimney-top half-way down the 

 gable ; we have heard that a number of corn-stacks have been thrown 

 down. At Comrie, the consternation was such, that the people ran out 

 of their houses, and many went to the meeting-house, where they con- 

 tinued till three in the morning, engaged in religious exercises. There was 

 a second shock at 20 minutes to 1 1 o'clock, and a third somewhat later, 

 but both inferior to the first. We read in the Herald of 



Abekdeen About half-past 10 on Wednesday night, a shock of an 



Earthquake was felt in this city. The motion was not of that energetic 

 and irregular character which usually distinguishes volcanic action, hut 

 of a gentle kind, producing a horizontal movement, not unlike the rolling 

 of a vessel in an easy sea-way. It continued for about four seconds, 

 and was attended with a low rumbling noise. From 



Inverness.. — On Wednesday night, about half-past 10 o'clock, there 

 was the slight shock of an Earthquake here. It lasted only a few seconds 

 and produced no serious effect. 



Glasgow. — At the same hour, a slight shock was also felt in Glasgow, 

 particularly towards the west end of the town. In Elm-bank Place the 

 furniture in some of the houses was slightly shaken ; and at the Broomie- 

 law the vibration was in several places considerable. At Luss the shock 

 was also felt accompanied by a noise resembling thunder. In no place 

 did the shocks last more than a few seconds. Similar observations were 

 made at Appin, Montrose, Dundee, Huntly, Turriff, Forres, &c, 

 &c. 



The weather, during the period embraced by these Earthquakes, was 

 peculiarly wet, dull, and oppressive, and many entertain the idea that the 

 former phenomenon was somewhat connected with the latter. A still 

 stranger notion has gained ground in the localities principally involved, 

 namely, that, previous to the occurrence of the shock, an effect is produced 

 in the surrounding elements which tells upon the human frame so strongly 

 as to prove a warning of the coming event. There appears, however, to 

 be a total want of any legitimate ground for the entertainment of either of 

 these opinions. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 

 Introduction of the Alpaca Llama into Britain — Samples and 

 manufactured specimens of Alpaca wool, in imitation of silk, and without 

 dye, as black as jet, were exhibited to the Zoological Section ; and Mr 

 Danson stated, that the animal producing it ought to be propagated in 

 Great Britain and Ireland, especially in Scotland and Wales, being an 

 inhabitant of the Cordilleras, a mountainous district of Peru. Importa- 

 tions have already taken place, to the extent of one million of pounds, 

 and are likely to increase. There are five species of Llamas, of which 

 the Alpaca has fine wool, six to twelve inches long, as shown by the spe- 

 cimens exhibited. The Earl of Derby has propagated the Alpaca in his 

 private Managerie at Knowsley, and Mr Danson understood that Mr Ste- 

 phenson, at Oban, in Scotland, has a few of these animals. Their wool 

 would not enter into competition with the wool of the Sheep, but rather 

 with silk. It is capable of the finest manufacture, and is especially suited 

 to the fine shawl trade of Paisley, Glasgow, &c. The yarns spun from 



MISCELLANIES. 



Liquid Leather A Dr Bernland of Larria, in Germany, is said to 



have discovered a method of making leather out of certain refuse and 

 waste animal substances. A manufactory of this nature has been estab- 

 lished near Vienna. No part of the process is explained, only it is said 

 that the substance is at one time in a complete state of fluidity, and may 

 then be cast into shoes, boots, &c — Bristol Mirror. 



Boa Constrictor The large Boa Constrictor at the Surrey Zoolo- 

 gical Gardens lately cast his skin for the first time since his arrival in 

 this country. It measured 22 feet in length, and 27 inches in circum- 

 ference, and was thrown off almost entire in one piece. He fed imme- 

 diately afterwards, and swallowed four Rabbits and a small Pig for his 

 meal ! He had not previously eaten any thing for five months. 



Dr Johnstone is preparing for the press a " History of the British Sponges 

 and Corallines," to be printed and illustrated in the same style as his His- 

 tory of the British Zoophytes, to which this new work may be considered 

 as a supplement, and as completing his original design. It will contain a 

 very full account of all that has hitherto been written on the subject; and 

 an original figure of every species and remarkable variety will be given. 

 Dr Johnstone intends, at the same time, to avail himself of this oppor- 

 tunity of adding many new figures of Zoophytes, contributed by his friends, 

 and acquired by himself, since the volume on British Zoophytes was pub- 

 lished. 



it are already sent to France in large quantities, at from 6s. to 12s. 6d. 

 per pound, the price of the raw Alpaca wool being now 2s. and 2s. 6d. 

 per pound. 



The Salmonid^: — their Varieties, and Different Stages of 

 Growth — Mr Relph, who has been more than fifty years engaged in the 

 Salmon-fishery, stated in a letter to the Section : " That in May 1819, 

 there were 1/00 fry marked at Kingsgate fishery, near Carlisle, and in 

 July and August following, a quantity of Whitings or Herling were ta- 

 ken, coming from the salt water, bearing the same marks. These marks 

 were made by cutting away the fin called the dead fin, just above the tail. 

 In September 1821, a Grilse was caught bearing the maik, and weighing 

 7 pounds 6 ounces ; so that, from the time it was marked, its average 

 growth had been one ounce per week. There were also several Salmon 

 taken bearing the mark, and weighing from 10 to 16 pounds. 



Growth of Silk at Nottingham, made in 1839. — Samples of yellow 

 and pure white cocoons, forming a portion of the result of this attempt 

 at raising silk in England, were placed before the Zoological Section. 

 They were exhibited in an undisturbed state, (though the Chrysalises had 

 been killed,) upon the twigs where they had been spun by the Silk-worms. 

 The food supplied to the worms spinning the white silk, owing to the late- 

 ness of the mulberry tree, was lettuce-leaves, for the first three weeks after 

 hatching, and then they were fed entirely upon the mulberry leaf. Those 

 producing the yellow silk were hatched 14 days later, and were fed on this 

 latter food, which proved by much the most suitable, from the beginning. 

 The hatching was of eggs procured from Italy ; and this, and the subsequent 

 processes of feeding and spinning, were conducted in a warehouse in the 

 centre of the town of Nottingham, amidst the usual noise, bustle, and 

 activity of a wholesale business of cotton goods, where the air would be 

 in some degree tainted by the oily matter used in their fabrication ; the 

 temperature was kept at from 70° to 55°. The number was 10,000 ; and, 

 owing to the very cold, late, and damp season, the circumstances were 

 very unpropitious. Upon the whole, however, Mr Felkin, who conducted 

 the experiment, considered it as perfectly successful ; the cocoons placed 

 in contact with those of this year's growth, received from the Milanese, 

 being but slightly inferior in size, weight, or compact formation. The ex- 

 periment shows, that the best silk may be procured wherever the worm 

 is of the suitable variety, and fed on its congenial food, combined with 

 ordinary skill and care in management- Whether this production can be 

 carried on to profit in England, or even in Ireland, is doubtful, labour and 

 land being probably too high, to compete with the present prices of silk; 

 but that it could be so in the West Indies, and our new colonies in the 

 Pacific, is unquestionable. Still more is the fact established, that the 

 produce of this article might be greatly improved in quality, and indefin- 

 itely in quantity, in Hindoostan. Theie labour is cheaper than anywhere 

 besides, and land unoccupied and waste, but perfectly suitable, for the 

 mulberry is plentiful ; so that, introducing it into the more elevated parts 

 of the country, the whole world might be supplied from India, with raw 

 silk, at half its present cost. 



Edinburgh: Published for the Proprietor, at the Office, No. 13, Hill Street. 

 London : Smith, Elder, and Co., 65, Corhhill. Glasgow, and the West of 

 Scotland: John Smith and Sox; and John Macleod. Dublin: George 

 Young. Paris: J. B. Bai.liere, Rue de l'Eeole de Medecine, No. 13, bis. 



THE EDINBURGH PRINTING COMPANY. 



