] 821.] Report of Chemistry and 
sortments. One was placed in the bo¬ 
tanic garden there, and the other sent 
to the Jardin da Roi , at Paris. The 
latter arrived on the 1st of August last, 
and includes 158 species, divided into 
534 individuals, from six to eight feet 
in height. None of them have hitherto 
appealed in Europe. 
GERMANY. + 
Colonel Gustavson, the ex-king of 
Sweden, who has for some time past 
applied himself to philosophical studies, 
has just printed a work at Francfort, 
hut not for sale ; which he distributes 
gratis to amateurs of arts and sciences. 
It is written in the Freuch language, 
and is dedicated to the Royal Academy 
of Arts at Norway. It is entitled Re¬ 
flection upon the Pluenomenon the 
Aurora Borealis, and its relation with 
the Diurnal Motion. The journals of 
Hamburgh announce the arrival of se¬ 
veral copies of the work at Stockholm ; 
it is now translating into the Swedish 
language. 
AFRICA. 
Mr. O’Byrne, sent from Sierra Leone, 
to establish commercial intercourse 
with certain African chiefs of the in¬ 
terior, has entered the country of Lim- 
ba, by Laiah, a city distant about seven 
leagues from the river which forms the 
boundary of the country of Timmani. 
His reception was very favourable with 
all the chiefs, one of whom, of Port 
Logo, accompanied him to Woulla, and 
sent his brother with him to Koukouna. 
From this last place, he advanced to 
the frontiers of Foulah, the chiefs of 
which agreed in a palaver, to open a 
commercial correspondence with Sierra 
Leone. It appears that Dacho, King of 
Experimented Philosophy. 445 
Sego, was sending a party to the gover- 
nor of Sierra Leone, to invite the whites 
to visit and trade in his kingdom, and 
had recommended to the King of Tim- 
bo to provide for the security of such 
strangers as should proceed to Bambar- 
ra through the country of Foulah Yal- 
lon. This rendered unnecessary the 
further advance of Mr. O 1 Byrne. 
EGYPT. 
The canal of Alexandria has received, 
in honour of the Sultan, the name of 
Mahmudie. It commences near the 
Nile, a little below Saene, is 41.70G 
toises in length, 15 in breadth and 3 in 
depth. A hundred thousand men were 
set to work on it in January, 1819; tills 
number reached afterward to 290,000. 
Each workman received a piastre a 
day. European engineers conducted 
the labours, which were finished Sep¬ 
tember 13. 
Letters from the River Gambia, re¬ 
port that Omar, Sheick of the Arabs of 
Tarassa, who occupy the desart between 
Portendicand Timbuctoo, had arrived 
at Bathurst, chief place of the Eng¬ 
lish colony recently formed on the east¬ 
ern coast of South Africa, and where a 
year or two ago, the whole country was 
inhabited by wild beasts. Omar’s ob¬ 
ject is to commence traffic with the 
merchants on a secure footing. The 
route through the country of Tarassa is 
not so good as that which Mr. Jackson 
pointed out in his narrative annexed to 
the account of Shabeeny; but the op¬ 
portunity appears favourable for the 
gum arabic trade at Portendic,and may 
lead to forming connections with Tim¬ 
buctoo. 
■MWaiM P J il I ■! mu —BSCT 
REPORT OF CHEMISTRY AND EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 
M R. DANIELL, one of our most ac¬ 
curate observers, and an able philoso¬ 
pher, has published Meteorological Observa¬ 
tions on the two last years in Mr. Brand's 
Journal.—The year 1819-1820 was drier 
than the year 1820-1821, and a greater depth 
of rain fell in the latter than in the former. 
The first was also distinguished very much 
more by extremes than the second, all the 
instruments except the barometer denoting 
a very much wider range. 
The autumns differed very essentially in 
their characters. The first half-quarter of 
the year 1819 was lfo drier, and 2^° warmer 
than 1820. The depth of rain was, however, 
greater; for the barometer was not so high, 
and the vapour w'as more dense. As this is 
the season of the year when the most impor¬ 
tant fruits of the earth come to maturity, and 
the securing of them in good order is the 
most anxious care of the human race in these 
latitudes, the state of the weather at this 
time acquires a proportionate interest. In 
1819 it was remarkable for being dry, clear, 
and warm. The finest harvest that had been 
for years was housed in the most satisfactory 
manner. Not only in this country, but 
throughout Europe, it formed almost an 
epoch, and corn-fields, orchards, and vine¬ 
yards, shared in the general benefit. The 
mean results of this period may therefore be 
considered as the standard of a fine season. 
The turnip-fields, indeed, so important a part 
of English agriculture, suffered from great 
drought, and never recovered, but the grasses, 
and pasture in general, though burnt in the 
beginning of the autumn, revived with the 
rains in the last half-quarter. 
