Dr Pyfe on the Waters of the No?ih Polar Seas. 16$ 
The above experiments also shew, that the specific gravity of 
sea-water is a sufiiciently accurate indication of the quantity 
of saline matter which it contains. The water of lowest specific 
gravity is that of 10256; this, from experiment, contains 3.2? 
per cent, of saline ingredients : that of the highest specific gra^ 
vity is 10276, which has from 3.76 to 3.91 per cent. The wa* 
ters of specific gravity between these contain intermediate quanti- 
ties of saline matter, though they do not follow exactly the or- 
der of the specific gravity. This may perhaps be owing to 
some foreign matter floating in the water. The difierence, 
however, is so trifling, that I think we may employ this as an 
easy method of ascertaining the quantity of saline matter which 
sea-water contains. 
Edinbuiigh, April 1819- 
Art. XXXI. — Observations on the Information collected 
the Ashantee Mission^ respecting the Course (f the Niger ^ 
and the Interior of Africa. By Hugh Murray, Esq. 
F. R. S. E. Communicated by the Author. 
I T has been justly observed, that in the most important hu- 
man concerns, more is occasionally eflected by chance, than by 
the best laid plans. After the failure of successive efibrts to ex- 
plore Africa, the present mission, prompted by a mere local and 
accidental cause, has disclosed information respecting the most 
interesting regions of the interior, much greater than had been ob- 
tained by any of those undertaken since the first journey of Park. 
Its intelligence has also tended to dispel the damp which our 
expectations^ had begun to receive, respecting the unknown por- 
tions of Africa. In population, culture, and the arts, Ashantee 
decidedly surpasses any of the yet explored native states; and Mr 
Bowdich received information, oF a long succession of kingdoms* 
stretching far to the north and east, several of which appear to be 
superior, and the whole, on an average, equal in these respects to 
Ashantee. This space, reckoned from that country northwards 
to Houssa, and from Bambarra eastwards to the frontier of Bor- 
‘ nou, may be calculated at a million of square piiles. Supposing 
the whole as populous as Ashantee, which is reckoned to con- 
tain a million of inhabitants in 14,000 square miles, or 70 to th© 
L 2 
