554 
MERCURY. 
Siberia, he saw it several times in a solid state, par- 
ticularly in the years 1782 and 1783, which he 
passed at Tomsk. 
As this circumstance is exceedingly interesting, 
and intimately connected with the natural history 
of the metal, we shall relate some of the most striking 
particulars respecting its congelation. 
In the winter of 1733, M. Gmelin, with two 
other gentlemen of the Russian Academy, were 
sent by the empress Anne Ivanouana, to explore 
and describe the different parts of her Asiatic do- 
minions. In the winter of 1734-5. M. Gmelin 
being at Yeneseisk, in 58° 30 ' north latitude and 
92 ° longitude east from Greenwich, observed an 
amazing descent of the mercury in his thermometer, 
which must have been attended with congelation, 
as it greatly exceeded the point at which quick- 
silver becomes solid *. The following remarks by 
M. Gmelin will give us some idea of the extreme 
severity of a Siberian winter : <£ Here we first ex- 
perienced the truth of what travellers have related 
with respect to the extreme cold of Siberia ; for 
about the middle of December such severe weather 
set in, as we were sure had never been known in 
our time at Petersburg. The air seemed as if it 
were frozen, with the appearance of a fog, which 
did not suffer the smoke to ascend as it issued from 
the chimneys. Birds fell down out of the air as 
dead, and froze immediately, unless they were 
*—40, i. e. 40 degrees below zero of Fahrenheit’s thermometer. 
