1800. ] 
eil; when the materials are thoroughly: 
mixed, remove the veffel from the fire and 
keep conftantly ftirring it till moft of the 
heat is gone off ; then add a pound of oil 
of turpentine. Strain the varnifh through 
a piece of clofe linen, and keep it for ufe: 
the older, it is the more drying does it be- 
eome. RN TGES 
4. Gold-coloured oil varnifh. 
Take eight ounces of amber, and two 
ounces of gum-jac, melt them in feparate 
veflels and mix them well together when 
fluid ; then add half a pound of drying lin- 
feed oil. Into a pint vial put half a pint 
of oil of turpentine, and digett in it a little 
faffron; when the colour is extracted, ftrain 
the liquor, and add dragon’s-blood. 
and arnotta, finely powdered, and fmall 
‘quantities at a time, till the required tone 
of colour is produced: then mix this co- 
louring matter with the above ingredients 
and fhake them well together till a perfect 
union takes place. If this varnifh be laid 
over filver leaf or tin-foil, it will be diff- 
cult to diftinguifh it by the eye from gold. 
Preparation of SuGaR from the BEET- 
ROOT. By M. AcHARD. 
Annales de Chimies 
OF all the kinds of beet. the common 
one (Beta vulg. Linn.) is the  beft 
fitted for the manufacture of fugar, ef- 
pecially that variety, the root of which is 
of a long fpindle fhape, with white flefh 
and a pale red fkin. The procefs of ex- 
tracting the fugar is as follows: The freth 
roots are to be topped and wafhed, and 
then thrown into a cauldron of water: 
when the water has boiled about a minute, 
the roots are to be taken out, and will be 
found moderately foft ; they are then cut 
‘into flices by a machine, and fubjected to 
the aétion of a ftrong prefs; when all the 
liguor has been by this means extracted, 
the marcis to be mixed with water, and 
after twelve hours to bejagain prefled, and, 
even after this fecond prefiing, there will be 
found remaining in the pulp a fufficiency 
ef faccharine matter to allow of its being 
fermented for vinegar. 
The juice of both the preffings is to be 
mixed ; and after ftraining through a flan- 
nel, is to be reduced by boiling to two- 
_ thirds ofits bulk. It is now to bea fe- 
cond time ftrained through a thick blanket, 
and boiled down in a {maller copper to haif 
its bulk; after which, being laded intoa 
third ftill fmaller copper, it is reduced to 
the confiftence of a thick fyrup. 
_ This fyrup, poured into fhallow pans, 
is fet in a ftove of from 100° to 120° Fahr. 
in order to cryftallize: a cruft forms by 
MontTuiy Mac, No. 57. 
Hiftsry of Afironomy, for 1799, by Lalande. 
s 
249 
degrees on the furface, which muft be oc- 
cafionally broken. As foonas the cryftals 
ceafe to depofit, which is known by the 
appearance of a gummy pellicle inftead of 
the cryftailine cruft, the evaporation is to 
be ftopped, and the whole mafs is to be 
poured into a canvas bag previoufly moift- 
ened. The bag is put into a prefs and 
{queezed very gradually as long as any 
kiguid continues to flow; by this fimple 
and expeditious procefs, the fugar is fepa- 
rated from the extractive matter, and when 
dried refembles a cryftalline Mufcavado : 
the appearance of this fugar is ftill farther 
improved by pounding ;, it becomes white, 
is well talted, and is applicable to all the 
purpofes of common loaf-fugar. From 
the treacle, or extractive matter, may be 
prepared a very pure ardent fpirit analo- 
gous to rum. 
beet fugar, in the ftate of Mufcavado, is 
about twopence half-penny per pound. 
—se Ss 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY FOR THE 
YEAR 1799. By JEROME LALANDE*. 
HIS year will be ever remarkable by 
| the total completion of that im- 
menfe operation refpeéting the fize of the 
earth, which continued feven years. ‘The 
able aftronomers, Delambre and Mechain, 
who finifhed it, arrived in the month of 
November, 1798, and by the month of 
January were able to give us the value of 
the degrees between Dunkirk and Barce- 
lona. .But, as thefe degrees did not fol- 
low an uniform progrefs, it was foon 
found, that, to deduce from them the 
value of the metre, or the new French 
meafure, a difcuffion was neceflary, on the 
oblate ferm of the earth, to be adopted. 
Had they adhered to the arc meafured be- 
tween Dunkirk and Barcelona, they would 
have had ~+—, or nineteen leagues, for 
the flatnefs at [the poles; but, by com- 
paring it with the degree meafured under 
the equator, they found only nine leagues 
and a half. 
On the 8th of April, after a long dif- 
cuffion, they adopted the latter quantity, 
and the new metre was determined to be 
36 inches 11-296 lines, and the flatnefs of 
the earth sooo | HURON 
On the 25th of May, Van Swinden, 
a celebrated Dutch philofopher, made a 
definitive report on the grand labour of 

* Thefe interefting Hiftories for feverai 
former years will be found in the Monthly 
Magazine, 
) Kk the 
The prefent coft of the - 

