44 
naturalists’ calendar. 
II.—NATURALIST’S CALENDAR, 
OR 
OBSERVATIONS ON NATURE FOR JANUARY. 
Growth of Stones. —Tourneforte, the celebrated French Naturalist, infer¬ 
red that rocks grow. Linnaeus also laid it down as a first principle that “ stones 
grow;” while “ vegetables grow and live; and animals grow, live and feel.’ 
But except in the case of depositions of stony matter from an aqueous solution, 
such as occasion the relieving of names cut in the rock at Antiparos, and the 
incrustation of wigs, bird’s nests, birch brooms, and other things exposed to its 
influence, at Matlock, in Derbyshire, stones and rocks may more correctly be 
affirmed to decrease than increase, subjected, as all those which are uncovered 
must be, to the repeated action of rains and frosts. In the beds of rivers, and 
the basin of the sea, the incessant motion of the water must, in the same way, 
produce a constant wearing down into sand of the hardest rocks and stones 
which are there deposited.— Field Nat. Max/. 
Thaw. —The Honourable and Reverend W. Herbert, says that in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Spoftorth, when a very sudden and mild thaw takes place, with per¬ 
fect calm, after a severe frost of some duration, it is always followed by a violent 
gale of wind, within twenty-four hours. This he. supposes is occasioned by the 
volumes of cold air from Craven and the Moors, which rush down upon the lower 
regions when the temperature is suddenly released, and becomes unusually warm. 
—Field Nat. May. 
Calcium. —One of the most useful, and generally known earths and alkalis is 
lime. By means of galvanism, Davy succeeded in separating from it a metal 
possessed of moderate lustre; but in so small a quantity, that it was not possible 
to make sufficient experiments of it. To this he gave the name of Calcium. 
When heated in contact with oxygen, it takes fire, and forms an oxide, which is 
lime. Pure lime is tasteless, and insoluble in water; it readily absorbs water 
poured on it, swells, heats, bursts, and is converted into hydrate of lime, com¬ 
monly called slaked lime. It has now acquired a taste; it is soluble in water, 
and the more so if the water he cold. The solution is called lime-water; its 
taste is styptic, followed by sweetness. The alkaline properties of lime-water are 
powerful, and it renders vegetable yellows brown.— Lardner’s Cab. Cyclop. 
Tartaric Acid. —Every one knows, that when a large quantity of the juice 
of grapes is left to spontaneous fermentation the result is wine. When wine 
has been kept some time to purify in wooden vessels, it deposits on the sides of 
the vessels a hard crust of dark coloured matter, the taste of which is sour. This 
matter is impure; but, when purified by various crystallizations, it becomes per 
fectly white and crystalline : and then it is known by the name of cream of tartar. 
Tartaric acid may be obtained from cream of tartar by a peculiar process. It 
has an exceedingly acid taste; it dissolves readily in water, and is soluble in 
alcohol. This acid exists abundantly in other fruits, but especially in the 
tamarind. It exists in the grape along with citric, malic, and an acid called 
vinic. These four constitute the agreeable tartness of the juice of that fruit.— 
LardncCs Cab, Cyclop. 
