1800. } 
to the arts.—Profeffor ¥. Barth Trommf, 
dorf had undertaken a chemical analyte 
of thefteatite, from which it appeared, that 
filiceous and talcous earth are the princi- 
pal component parts of this foffil. He 
found, indeed, likewife a {mall quan‘ity of 
argillaceous earth, which, however, Klap- 
roth did not difcover in his analyfis of 1: 3 
‘and Mr. T. himfelf fulpeéts that it is 
merely accidental. 
At the fame meeting of the Erfurt Aca- 
demy, ‘* An effay on the effects of various 
kinds of air on the germination of vege- 
tables,”’ tranfmitted by Prince Dimitri vom 
Gallitzin, was read. He had fown gar- 
den-crefles in thirteen different kinds of ' 
air, and kept them in an equal degree of 
temperature. The following are fome of 
the refults: r. In dephlogiftic —air 
(oxygene), and in air fpoiled by refpira- 
tion or combuftion, the germination pro- 
ceeded equally weli as in atmolpheric air. 
2. In inflammable air (hydrogéne), and in 
fixed air (acide carbonique), which was 
extracted from various bodies and by 
fundry -proceffes, no germination took 
place. The crets-feeds {welled, indeed, 
a little, but during eight days no germ 
New Patents lately enrolled. 
\ 
575 
‘was developed; although in the atmo- 
fpheric, dephlogittic, and by refpiratiom 
fpoiled air, they had in the fame fpace of 
time produced four leaflets. Into the glaffes 
containing the fixed and the inflammable 
air he now admitted atmofpheric air, and 
in forty-eight hours the feeds protruded 
two leaflets. From this we may draw the 
conclufion, that fixed and-inflammable air, 
indeed, hinder the developement of the 
germ, but donot deftroy it. 3. Nitrous 
air deftroyed the feed, rendering it black, 
and incapable of afterwards germinating 
in atmofpheric air. This effect, he thinks, 
is produced by the concentrated nitrous 
acid contained in the nitrous air.—An- 
other obfervation was communicated by the 
Prince von G. He was trying, with the 
decealed Camper, to difcover the means of 
preventing potatoes from fhooting, fo that 
they might be ufed for food throughout 
the year. With this view, fixty potatoes 
were put into a glafs bell with fixed air, 
and the opening clofed with mercury. ‘The 
potatoes did net fhoot; bat in fix months 
time became rotten, emitted a brown li. 
quor, like pus, and ftunk intolerably. 

THE NEW PATENTS 
LATELY ENROLLED. 

MR, THO. FODEN for @ CRYSTALLINE 
SIZE. 
PATENT has been granted to Mr. 
TuHOMas FoveN, of Coventry, for 
an invention of a cryttalline fize or mixture 
for the purpofe of fizing and dreffing 
cotton, worfted, and linen yarn. 
The preparation of this fize confifts in 
taking a quantity of calcined gypfum 
(what is more commonly known by the 
name Plafter of Paris), reducing it toa 
very fine powder, and then mixing it with 
alum, fugar, and the farina or ftarch of 
potatoes, or any other vegetable farina. 
This powder, when mixed well with cold 
water, forms a foft pafte, to which the in- 
ventor adds boiling water, ftirring the 
mixture thoroughly till it is ‘fufficiently 
gelatinous; he then, by the addition of 
the vegetable or mineral alkali, treacle, 
or glue, tempers it toa proper confiftence. 
Obfervations. This fingular mixture 
has lately engaged confiderable attention, 
and has been confidered of fufficient im- 
portance to: claiin the further encourage- 
ment of the legiflature: The immediate 
cbject of this invention’ is to fave to the 
public a Jarge quantity of wheaten flour, 
which is now confumed in the very exten- 
five bufinefs of calico-printing in all its 
branches, and in a number of other ma- 
nufactures that require the ufe of a tena- 
cious pafte: and we may add, that the 
trials that have been already made of this 
fubftitute at Manchefter, and in other 
places, appear to be highly creditable to 
its reputation. The idea of uniting the 
vegetable and mineral cements is ingenious: 
although the ufe of each feparately has 
long been known, the patentee appears to 
be original in his application of them when 
mixed. We may, however, obferve, on 
the compofition of the pafte, as given in 
the fpecification, that it appears rather 
complex, and includes fome articles which 
(if employed) would feem to be very he- 
terogeneous if not inconvenient. The 
ufe of alum, for inftance, in the fize 
that is employed for fixing every kind of 
colours upon cloth, muft prove often to 
be improper, fince this fubftance is itfelf a 
powerful mordant, and has its peculiar 
operation upon colouring matter. If an 
alkali is afterwards added, the alum will 
certainly be decompofed; but it would 
appear by the fpecification, that treacle or 
glue may be fubftituted for the alkali in- 
difcriminately. We cannot but think, 
RH 2 therefo.e. 
