Foreign Literature and Science. 189 



51. Compression of Water by High Degrees of force , 

 and Liquefaction of Atmospheric Air. — Mr. Perkins states 

 that a column of water eight inches long, subjected to a 

 pressure of 2000 atmospheres, suffers a compression equal 

 to one-twelfth of its length and that, atmospheric air, under 

 a pressure of 1200 atmospheres, was seen upon the surface 

 of the quicksilver of " a beautiful transparent liquid, in 

 quantity about one-two-thousandth part of the column of 

 air." — Idem. 



52. Cultivation of Plants in Moss. — Mr. Street has ascer- 

 tained, that many plants thrive better if planted in common 

 moss than in garden mould. The mosses used are various 

 species of Hypnum, collected with the decaying stalks and 

 leaves which are found amongst them. They are pressed 

 closely into the pot, and the plants are put into them as if 

 into mould. — Idem. 



53. Strength of Bone. — Mr. Bevan finds that bone of 

 horses, oxen, and sheep, has a cohesive strength per square 

 inch, varying from 33,000 pounds to 42,500. One specimen 

 of fresh mutton bone supported a load in proportion to 40,- 

 000 lbs. per square inch, for a considerable length of time, 

 without any visible injury to the bone. — Idem. 



54. Olbers on the Comet of short period. — Dr. Olbers has 

 calculated the approximation of the orbit of this comet, to 

 that of our globe, near the ascending node of the former. 



The heliocentric elongation of that point in the orbit of 

 the comet, which most nearly approaches the terrestrial or- 

 bit, calculated from the ascending node is 1° 3' 32"; the 

 heliocentric longitude of this point in the orbit is 7231.2; 

 the heliocentric longitude of the point in the terrestrial orbit 

 nearest to that of the comet is 7229.26 ; the distance which 

 separates these two points is 0.00.55604 of the mean radius 

 of the terrestrial orbit, or 133| radii of the earth. 



The last time of the appearance of this comet therefore, 

 (which was the 27th of February, 1826,) it passed by the 

 earth's orbit, at only a little more than twice the great- 

 est distance of the earth from the moon. The perturba- 

 tions occasioned in the orbits of comets by the action of 

 the planets, and especially by the powerful attraction of Ju- 

 piter, should make this distance vary at each revolution of 



