372 Geographical Collections. 
Geographical Intelligence. —The commanders Bishop of the brig Manly, and 
Rose of the cutter Inspector, have exerted themselves in ascertaining the true po- 
sition of some dangerous rocks off Newfoundland. They are situated in lat. 46° 
26’ 33” N. and long. 50° 56’ 35” west of Greenwich, and form an irregular chain 
of 4000 fathoms in length, from S.W. by W. to N.E. by E. and from 100 to 
150 in breadth. 
Mr. Aschmun, agent of the Washington company for colonization in Africa, 
states himself to have met, at 140 miles in the interior of that country, with a 
numerous nation, very civilized, given to manufacture and agriculture, and — 
ing use of the horse in their domestic employments. 
In the Memorias Economicas da Academia real das Sciencias de Lisboa, Mr. 
Souriero recommends the transplantation of the clove tree, the nutmeg tree, and 
white sandal tree into the Portuguese possessions in Africa.—Petitions proving 
the indolence of the Portuguese were read on remedying the overfiows of the 
Mondego in the country of Coimbra.—In 1788, 55,723 thousands of sardines 
(the representative of the herring on these shores) were fished off the coast of 
Monte Gordo, and latterly only 34,825 thousands.—Besides sea salt, the Cape 
de Verd islands are said to furnish much rock salt. Mines are worked in the 
island of Sal or Sel, in those of St. Vincent and of Maco, in Brava, and lastly in 
the island of Bonavista.—The plants which furnish barilla in Portugal, are the 
Salsola Soda, S. Tragus, S. prostrata, S. sativa, S. villosa, and Chenopodium ma- 
ritimum.—The commerce on the colouring material produced from the Lichen 
rocalla, is almost entirely fallen off. 
We learn from Toulon that the sloop Favourite, and not as formerly stated 
Caroline, commanded by Mr. La Place, captain of frigate, having received her 
orders from the Academy of Sciences, sails immediately on her voyage of circum- 
navigation.—The sloop Dordogne is also about to depart immediately for a voy- 
age of circumnavigation. The Academy of Sciences has been desired to give its 
instructions to Captain Mathieu, who has been appointed commander. 
Principle in Statistics. —A commission of the Academy of Sciences, composed 
of MM. Silvestre and Coquebert-Montbret, have examined a very interesting 
work of M. Auguste Duvau, on the statistics of ancient Touraine. The author 
wrote this essay to show, under a more favourable point of view, aud as he thinks 
more conformable to truth, a portion of the French territory which is well known 
to him, and which he has with concern seen classed amongst those whose civili- 
zation has made but moderate progress. MM. Duvau disputes many of the asser- 
tions of which he speaks, and insists principally on the necessity of distinguish- 
ing the natural qualities peculiar to different parts of the territory. It is under 
this point of view that the commissioners have considered the work of which they 
report, and the excellent reflexions which they make on this subject, merit the 
attention of all writers and all statesmen who occupy themselves with statistical 
researches. 
Indeed, it is necessary to subject to administrative divisions in the enumera-. 
tion of facts, when our object is to collect the statistical documents which interest 
the government of a state: but when we have in view the applications to the 
different branches of human knowledge, such as meteorology, agriculture, hygiene, 
and even civil economy, the administrative divisions are indifferent, or may induce 
error. Other considerations require a different manner of treating and dividing 
the subject. It is preferable to examine especially the natural properties, and 
their infiuence on the products of the territory, and on the condition of the inha- 
bitants. According to this method, similar objects will be associated under the 
same point of view, thereby imitating the method of naturalists. The commis- 
sioners develope this principle, which they apply to the work of M. Duvau. 
