798.] Proceedings of the National Infiitute, 15 Nivofe, 1498. 20r 
as an important difcovery, and known 
there by the name of hedge-wheat, the 
firft Walks having been found in a hedge, 
This wheat lias exifted in France for at 
leaft fixteen years paft; it is known there 
by the name of pullet wheat, (blé poulet) 
and particiilarly at Calais, Lifle, and 
Dunkirk, by that of qwhite wheat, (blanc 
biz), or wheat of the firft quality, with 
which very good bread is made. 
_ The fame author has communicated 
fome obfervations on the ffate of agricul- 
ture in the country about Athens, according 
to the documents which have been for- 
warded to him by Citizen GasPaRl, 
vice-conful of France in the Morea. 
The fame writer has communicated 
fome obfervations on the /ea rufh, ajonc, 
or jonc-marin; cultivated for the purpofe 
of fire-wood. ‘This ever-green fhrub is 
known by the names of winter fantoin, 
Spanifh fanfoin, and thorny broom (genet 
epineux.) It is the Ulex Europeus of 
Linnzus. Ina country wherein wood is 
{carce, it would be of ule to form plan- 
tations of this fhrub in the interftices of 
the woods, ih order to turn to profit the 
{paces which produce nothing. 
Citizen Guyton Morveau propofed 
a new method of providing fire and water 
for chemical experiments uth little or no 
expence. ‘Lhis method confifts in an ap- 
paratus on the argand lamp, or lamp 
with a current of interior air. By means 
of this apparatus, moft of the operations 
of chemiliry may be performed, even the, 
diitillations of acids, faline fufions, and 
analyfes by deficcation (/avoie feche. ) 
Citizen VaAUQUELIN, member of the 
Inftitute, explained the mature of the red 
lead of Siberia. This mineral contains a 
new metalli¢ acid, which makes about 
thirty-fix hundredths. It is diffoluble in 
water, cryftallizes in prifms of a red 
ruby colour, affumes a green emerald co- 
lour in the light, produces oxyfenous 
gas by heat, and pafles to the ftate of 
green oxyde; it unites to alkaline fub- 
ftances, and with them forms cryttal- 
lizable combinations of a yellow gold 
colour, With filver, it gives rife to a 
falt of a red carmine colour; with mer- 
cury it forms a body of red cinnabar co- 
lour; with lead, a yellow orange colour, 
melted with glafs or any other melting 
fubftance, it communicates to it a green 
emerald colour, Thus this metal, whe, 
ther in the ftate of oxyde or acid, com- 
bined with any metallic fubftances, may 
furnifh beautiful folid colours to paint- 
img and the artof enamelling. The fame 
chemift, by making an analyfis of the 
emerald of Peru, has difcovered that the 
beautiful green colour of that precious 
{tone is owing to the oxyde of this metal, 
The mineralogifts had, confidered the 
chryfolite as a precious ftone of the ie 
cond order. Citizen VAUQUELIN, by 
fubmitting it toanalyfis, has found it to 
be a combination of phofphoric acid with 
lime fimilar to the bait of our bones, cry{- 
tallized by nature. sae 
Citizen PIcoT-LA-PEYROUSE, in- 
fpetor of mines to the Republic, and 
aflociate member: of the Inftitute, has 
communicated the refult of his journey to 
Mont Perdu, with obfervations on the 
nature of the rhoft elevated ridges of the 
Pyrenees; The heighth of Mont Per- 
du, one of the higheft fummits of the 
Pyrenecs, is 3435 metres, or 1763 toifes. 
The bafes of this mountain, and the 
mafles which are mortifed in the mioun- 
tains, of which it is the center, contain 
a quantity of exuvie of organized bodies, 
even to an elevation of more than jo00 
metres. The author concludes from 
hence, that Mont Perdu, which inclofes 
fuch a profufe abundance of marine pe- 
trified bodies, even in large clafles, has 
been formed under the waters of the fea: 
When the fea accumulated the large cal- 
careous mafles at the center of the Pyre- 
nees, there exifted continents filled with 
quadrupeds. The mixture of mariné 
bodies with the bones of quadrupeds, 
demonftrates that they have been depo- 
fited hete Ly the fea, The primordial 
tops of the Pyrenecs were not placed at 
the point in which at this day the greateft 
elevations of the chain exift. Moft of 
the. fummits of thefe regions being 
crowned, or bearing a calcareous girdle 
en their flanks, it is probable that the 
waters which elevated the higheft crefts 
in the center, depofed the fame fecondary 
rock on its fummits, which they covered 
again in toto. 
Citizen FourCcROY, in his own name 
and that of Citizens DARCET and Guy- 
TON-MoRVEAUX, read a report on the 
colours for porcelain, of Citizen DiuL- 
Citizen DOLOMIEU afterwards read a 
detail of the mineralogical and geological 
obfervations which he made laft fummer 
in the departments of Puydedome, and 
of Cantal. 
[ The proceedings of the tzvo other claffes, that of 
the moral und political feiences, and that of 
hiterature and the fiw aris, will be given in \ 
GUI RENE NEM vey 
Sitiing 
