. | Retro/pec of Domeftic Literature...Phy/fer 
feience for their perfeétion, that a man of 
Mr. Nicholfon’s {cience and experience 
fhould not only communicate to the pub- 
lic the extenfive improvements in che- 
miftry which are fo rapidly made on the 
continent, but fhould befides be always 
réady to receive inquiries from manufac- 
turers, in various branches cf the arts, 
and reply to them with the fullnefs, pre- 
cifion, and caution, which we have no- 
ticed in the original obfervations of the 
editor of this journal: The fcientitic che- 
mift alfo will not {corn to perufe this 
work, and the mere dabbler in philofo- 
phical experiments will meet with many 
things to gratify his curiofity. Mr. Ni- 
chol{on. muft have been gratitied by the 
honourable notice taken of his work in 
the Annales de Chymue, tom. XXII. 
Mr. W oop has publithed “ The Prin- 
ciples of Mechanics”’ and the ‘* Elements 
ot Optics,” and the Rev. Mr. Vince has 
publifhed ** The Principles of Hydrofta- 
ticse’” Both thefe gentlemen are mem- 
bers of the univerfity of Cambridge, and 
thefe are intended as elementary works 
on their refpeétive fubjeéts. We are for- 
ry to obferve, that in the moft effential 
requifites of elementary works, namely, 
clearnefs and demonftration, mutua! con- 
nexion of parts (the lxcidus ordo), and 
precifenefs of definition, thefe two gen- 
tlemen are deficient. _ 
* A Treatife on Spherical Geometry,” 
by JouN HowarpD, is an important and 
uteful work, and will be found part:cu- 
larly ferviceable by the tutors of the uni-" 
verfity of Cambridge. 
The Dublin univerfity having purchaf- 
ed the colle€@tion of minerals contained in 
the Lefkean mufeum, Mr. MrrcH ey 
has publifhed a tranflation of Karfton’s 
defcription of them. Too give our read- 
ers an idza of the importance of this col- 
leétion, it will be fuficient to inform them, 
that the number of {pecimens amounts to 
5341. 
“The Abridgement of Dr. Hun. 
TER’s Tranilation of St. Pierre’s Eudes 
le la Nature” will be very agreeable to 
thofe who cannot afford to purchafe the 
whole work. Two abridgments have been 
publithed. Mr. Repe’s has the advart- 
tage of a copious index. 
Dr. Beppoes has publifhed “ Con- 
tributions to Phyfical and Medical Know- 
ledge, principally from the Weft of Eng- 
land,”’ in'one volume, oétavo. The ob- 
Je of this work is to combine and pre- 
ferve many valuable facts, which might be 
Toft to the public if the means of intro- 
ducing them to notice were not faciii- 
tated. The moft confiderable and ftrik- 
‘Montucy Mas, LIV. 
1041 
‘ ‘ 
ing articles of this volume are, 1. Expe= 
riméntal Effays on Heat, Light, and the 
Combinations of Light; with a new The- 
ory of Refpiration, and Obfervations on the 
Chemifiry of Life. 2. experimental Ej- 
Jays on the Generation of Phos-oxygen 
“(Oxygen gas}, and on the cautes of the 
Colours of organic Bodies: both by Mr. 
HuMPHREY' Davy, who, we under- 
fiand, is a young man to whom the care 
of the pneumatic inflitution at Briftol is 
entrufted. ‘Thefe effays do the higheft 
credit to the ingenuity and induftry of 
Mr. Davy, and will excite great attention 
among the chemical philofophers on the 
continent as well as in thiscountry. The 
author is a man of genius, and has all the 
ardour and boldnefs whichufually accom- 
pany genius: whether the ftriking no- 
velties which he has advanced will really 
operate a change in the theory of che- 
miftry remains to be feen. We, however, 
cannot hefitate, even now, to exprefs our. 
utter difapprobation of any fudden change 
in chemical nomenclature. If names 
fan€tioned by the immorial LayoIsrer 
are to be changed whenever any chemift 
thinks he has made a difcovery requiring 
the alteration, we fhallfoon have the con- 
fufion of Babel in the language of che- 
mifiry. Nota fingle name ought, in our 
opinion, to be changed till after the moft 
patient invefligation, the concurrent tef- 
timony of numerous experiments ; and, 
efpecially, till the*‘loud cry of chemical 
philofophers fhall have proved the necef- 
fity of the «Iteration. We cannot con- 
clude our notice ¢f this article without 
obferving, that Mr. Davy fometimes 
makes more extenfive inferences from the 
refult of his experiments than they ftri@- 
ly warrant; that he nowand then waftes 
experiments to prove what nobody doubts. 
Nec Deus interfit, Sc. 1s a recommenda-~ 
tion that applies to other things befides 
poetry. He fays, (page 8), ‘* Since 
light and heat are ufually concomitant, 
fince there is rarely a confiderable degree 
of one without the other, &c.” Weap- 
prehend, there are as many inftances of 
heat exifting without light as with it ; for 
ioftance, the heat prodticed by the mix- 
ture of fulphuric acid and water, and of 
alcohol and water ; by friftion and per. 
cullion, during the vinous fermentation ; 
and during many metailic folutions. In 
all thefe inftances aconfiderable degree of 
heat exifts without any light. Wedo not 
underftand what Mr. Davy means, by 
faying, ‘ that in the exnaufted receiver a 
greater quantity of ether is prefent,” 
(page 8). The ‘whole force of experi- 
ment I. refts on this point, whether the 
6§ particles 
