378 Literary and Fhilosophicat Intelligence, [Nov. 
body, and 43 millions of leagues from 
the earth. 
The last French edition of M. M. 
Klaproth and Wolp’s Dictionnaire de 
Chiaiie, contains the following remarks 
on English chemistry : ‘‘ Besides Van 
lielmont, we ouglit to notice iSIayhew, 
Boyle, Hales, and Black, who had the 
merit of enquiring after tlie gases, till 
the epoch when Dr. Priestley published 
his researches. — Viie first of ^lugusf, 
1774:, ought to be regarded as the birth, 
day of Fneumatic Chenjislry, that, being 
the day zcheti PriCstley discove?'ed Dephlo, 
gisticated Gas. He likewise became ac¬ 
quainted with all the other gases, and 
in his immense works, ad ways just, and 
never systematic or exclusive, too rich 
in his own genius to be induceil to bor¬ 
row from others, lie has publisiied a mul¬ 
titude of new facts, which have thrown 
great light upon this interesting sub¬ 
ject.’' . 
The following circumstantial account 
of three Meteoric Stones, which fell near 
Orleans, is translated from M'. de Ja 
IMetherie’s Journal:—“ On the 25tli of 
Nov. 1810, at half past one in the after¬ 
noon, three atmospheric stones fell per¬ 
pendicularly at Charsonville, in the de¬ 
partment of Loiret. Their fall was accom¬ 
panied with a succession of thunder-claps 
which preceded them and lasted some mi- 
ivutes. The noise of tliese explosions, in 
number three or four, folio%ved by the roll 
produced by tlie echo, was heard as dis¬ 
tinctly at Orleans as at the place where 
the stones fell. It is even said the noise 
was as loud at Montargis, Salbri, Vier- 
zon, and Blois, as in each of these places 
it was the cause of some alarm, and was 
attributed to the explosion of a powder- 
mil!. It is concluded, that, in conse¬ 
quence of the great distances in tlie 
circle in which the noise was heard, 
the explosion took place at a height in 
tlie atmosphere almost incalculable? The 
stones were found within an extent of 
half a league of each other; and their 
fall, in a perpendicular direction, was 
without any apparent light or glebe of 
fire attending them. One of the stones, 
which fell at Mortelle, it seems had not 
been found. Another fell at Villeroi, 
and the third at Moulinbriile. One of 
them weighed twenty pounds, and made 
a hole in the ground, in a vertical direc¬ 
tion, just big enough to bury itself, at 
the same time that it threw op the earth 
eight or ten feet high. This stone was 
taken out about half an hour afterwards. 
being still hot enough to be held in tii6 
hand with some diiticulty. It diuused 
a strong scent like that of gunpowder, 
which it retained till it was perfectly 
cold. The second stone made a hole 
siuriiar to the other in a vertical direc¬ 
tion, and, being found eigliteen hours af¬ 
ter Its fall, was quite cold. These stones 
were irregular in tlieir slrape, and their 
angles in general obtuse; they contained 
rather more globules of iron than those 
tiiat fell at TAigle, in Normandy; 'tljese 
globules, are also rather larger, and tha 
colour of the stone when first broken is 
somewhat clearer: it may be speedily 
cxyd^d, and is sufficiently dense and 
lieavy to write upon glass. It is broken 
with difficulty, and comes to pieces very 
irregularly, and is very fine in the grain. 
Its exterior is about a quarter of a line 
in thickness, and its colour of a darkisli 
grey. These stones are also traversed by 
some irregular black lines, strongly mark* 
ed, from a half line to two lines thick, 
and which traverse them in a manner 
similar to the veins of certain rocks. 
Does not this fact seem to indicate that 
rliey existed prior to their fall, that they 
have been produced in the same marmer 
as rocks, and were not furiued in the 
atmosphere ?” 
GERMANY. 
The trade in wooden clocks, wliicb 
had long been considerable among the 
Germans, is now at a stand. The prin¬ 
cipal manufactories were in the Black 
Forest, and were supposed to produce 
70,000 clocks per annum. Some were 
sent to America. Two brothers only, 
after an ambulatory journey in Europe, 
w'ere known to return with a fortune of 
42,000 florins. One of them afterwards 
went to Constantinople, where the Grand 
Signior granted him a firman, permitting 
him to send his clocks throughout the 
Turkish empire free of importation du¬ 
ties. . 
RUSSIA. 
Of the late discoveries of Russian tra¬ 
vellers, that of an island in the Icy 
Ocean, by Syrawatskoi, a merchant, de¬ 
serves particular notice. Hedemstrom, 
the Russian naturalist, who has recently 
examined the Island, which has received 
the appellation of New Siberia, found 
three birds claws a yard in length; and 
the roving Jakute related, that they had 
sometimes found feathers, the barrels of 
which were capable of admitting a man’s 
clenched fist. 
2 AFRICA* 
