» 590. 
to the labours of agriculture, are exceed- 
ingly’ ufeful in dettroying the grubs of 
brown beetles, their favourite food: in- 
ftead, therefore, of injuring, he protects 
the race of moles. He fays, they never 
penetrate deeply into the ground unlefs it 
be in fcarch of worms, or to avecid the 
froft; that when the grafs is high enough 
to cover them, they live upon its furface, 
where they find food in the numerous ca- 
terpillars and infeéts which, in the early 
part of the fummer, crawl out of the earth, 
and they continue above ground till the 
harveft. ‘* My hay and pafture-grounds, 
({ays he) are every {pring thickly ftudded 
with mole hillocks, but when the grafles 
are up, the moles ceafe to work, and 
fcarcely a hillock appears till after har- 
velt.”” 
In the firft week of July will be pub- 
lified the third and fourth volumes of the 
ScIENTIFIC D1aLoGueS, containing 
complete introduétions to hydroftatics and 
pneumatics, with defcriptions of various 
machines, illuftrated with engravings by 
Lowry. . 
Carey againf? Kearfley, relative to a 
JSubpofed piracy of literary property. The 
decifion of this caufe is of the utmof 
importance to the literary world. An ac- 
tion was brought by the plaintiff againft 
the defendant, for pirating a work called 
«< Carey’s New Itinerary,” &c. in the 
publication of a valuable performance 
on the fame fubjeét, called “* Kearf- 
Yey’s Traveller’s Entertaining Guide 
through Great Britain,” &c. Lord El- 
lenborough, in the courfe of the evidence, 
made many remarks in favour of the de- 
fendant ; and, at length, finding that every 
freth inftance produced, only ftrengthened 
his opinion, he preffed the plaintiff’s 
-counfel to bring forward fome more fatis-» 
fa&tory proofs of piracy than they had 
yet done, or a page or part of one literal- 
ty copied, which they attempted, but with 
Gtill lefs effect, and they reluctantly agreed 
to abandon their charge, and fubmit to a 
nonfuit. His Lordfhip faid, in fubftance, 
that, though piracy ought to be difcoura- 
‘ged, and copy-right protected, he fhould, 
he trufted, never confent to the placing 
‘of any unneceflary or unreafonable mana- 
‘eles on literature. That, to conftitute a 
piracy, the work fhould be, in fubftance, 
the fame. ‘That, in this cafe, though the 
defendant had copied Carey’s errors in 
fome inftances, yet he had not flavifhiy 
‘done fo, as he had, in other refpeéts, cor- 
feted them; and, that in all the {peci- 
mens produced, and throuyhout the work, 
wend in every page, there appeared to be 
Literary and Philofophical Intelligence. 
[July 25 
many and material alterations and-addi-« 
tions, and a melioration in the defendant’s 
book ; and that unlefs ftronger proofs 
could be adduced of piracy, fuch would be _ 
his opinion in addreffing the jury. That 
the defendant had certainly taken from 
Carey, but that he might have done fo, 
and quoted his authority; and that it 
would operate to the difcouragement of all 
improvement in literature and {cience, ifa 
man were to be denied accefs to the recorded 
judgments and labours of others. That, 
with refpect to the authority from the 
poft. mafter-general, every one had a right 
to meafure the roads of the kingdom, and 
‘mutt neceffarily infert in a read-book the 
fame names of places and other particu- 
Jars without incurring the charge of pi- 
racy, which might as well be inferred 
from the ufe of the fame letters of the 
alphabet. ‘That the expence or labour of 
the plaintiff was not the confideration ; 
but the jury would have to fay, whether, 
from the feveral alterations and the addi- 
tions engrafted on the work, it was or 
was not entitled to the appellation of aa 
origina} one, which it was, in his opi- 
nion. ‘That, as to the neceffity of calling 
tipon the defendant to produce his editor, 
and fhew an actual furvey, or other means 
whereby the matter complained of might 
be obtained; if the plaintiff could fhew, 
that, though a whole page or pages were’ 
not literally copied, yet, that from the ag- 
gregate of fo many as 130 routes, from the 
plaintiff’s own furvey, and to be procured 
thro” him only, notwithftanding the feem- 
ing differences, they muft have heen copied; 
he was of opinion, that fuch proof could 
not be infifted on; but it muft be left. 
with the jury to confider, whether the in- 
tention of the defendant was to commit a 
piracy or not, and to injure the plaintiff 
mn his publication; or, m other words, 
whether it was done animo furandi: but 
that, however, after a labour of ‘three 
hours, the plaintiff’s counfel had only 
produced an aggregate of noughts. ‘That 
the right of the plaintiff (to guard which, 
Mr. Erfkine fubfequently ftated to be his 
chief anxiety, and not a defire of da- 
mages), was not attacked by the defen- ~ 
dant; and that, upon the whole, he muf 
confider it a captious charge againft him. 
Mr. Haireér, Librarian to the Prince 
of Wales, is employed at Palermo in un- 
folding the papyrus volumes found in Here 
culanum, and has been fo fortunate as te 
difcover the Treatife of Epicurus on the 
Nature of Things, which has hitherto been 
known only by name, and is confidered as 
the*bafis of the Poem of Lucretius. This 
: undertaking, 
