1803.] 
fame detergent properties, is found, it ap- 
pears, in many parts of the Yorkhhire 
Wolds ; it is compofed of clay, fand, and 
the oxyd of iron, and it is ufed for wath- 
balls. The only difference between them 
appears to be, that in Warwickfhire the 
eaith is of a green, grey, lilac, or white 
calour, whilit that of Yorkfhire is gene- 
rally of a yellowith white. The former 
is held together by a ftrong fize; the lat- 
ter has hitherto beer feldom‘ufed in wahh- 
ing linen, as it rapicly diffolves in wa- 
ter, but that defect has been correéted by 
a mixture of glue, 
In our laft vol. p. 567 is an account of 
Mr. Day’s patent for the ‘* Watchman’s 
Noétuary”? we have fince learnt that the 
Marquis of Exeter has. had two machines 
of fimilar conitruéction above four years, 
made by Meffis. Boulton and Watt. 
Thele machines goeight days, and have 
a face like a clock, but do not ftrike. 
The dial goes round, and the hour-finger 
is fixed ; on the edge of the dial are move- 
able iron pins, correfponding with the 
quarters in each hour. A {mall hammer 
placed behind the hour-finger, when mov- 
ed downwards, pufhes into the dial one 
of the pins which happen to be under it 
at the time, which remains fo abafed un- 
til the dial nearly returns to the fame place, 
when by an enclofed plane the pin is raifed 
up into its fir pofition. This gives time 
to have the machine examined in the morn- 
ing, to fee how many pins have been 
firuck, and at what time they were puth- 
ed downwards. The hammer is moved 
’ by pulling a chain with a handle, like 
houfe-door bells, which by cranks and 
w resis attached to it. His Lordfhip em- 
ploys two watchmen every night, and they 
go round every half hour. 
Tt has been afferted both in this country 
and France, that the {tones found in many 
paits of the world, fuppofed to have drop- 
ped from the clouds, are, in fact, the 
effeét. of eruptions from lunar volcanoes. 
To prove that thefe eruptions may reach 
the earth, it has been calculated that if 
the lanar volcanoes in any part of the he- 
roifphere of that planet which is vifible 
to us, fhould projeét bodies with a force 
{ufficient to carry them with a velocity of 
7oco feet ina fecond, they mult neceflarily 
throw them within the fphere of the 
»earth’s attraction. And even fuppofing, 
that a body projected from a lunar volca- 
no, meets with a refiftance equivalent to 
that of two miles of an atmofphere of 
equal denfity with ours, and fuppofing the 
velocity of projection to be 12,000 feet per 
Literary and Philofophical Intelligence. 
33 
feeond, and the body to be a {phere whofe 
diameter is 12 inches, and fpecifi. gravity 
10,000 times greater than that of the at- 
mofphere, it would lofe inits paffige lefs 
than one-third of its firk velocity, and 
would: ftill retain more than fufficient force 
to carry it within the {phere of the earth’s 
attraction. In anfwer to the objection 
that arifes from the bodies being in a fate 
of ignition when they fall to the earth, 
it is replied, that the fpace between the 
earth and the moon muft be either nearly, 
or altogether a vacuum; it muft be almolt, 
if. not quite, a non-conduétor of heit; fo 
that it willeafily be conceived, that abocy 
patiing through it may retain during ws 
paflage of about four or five days nearly 
the fame degree of heat with which it 
fet out, efpecially as no change of texture 
takes place, by which its heat can become 
latent. 
A degree of latitude has been meafured 
by M. SwansBerG, and three other altro- 
nomers, in lat. 66° 20’, by whom it is 
found to be 196 toiles Jef than by the mea- 
furement of Maupertuisand his colleagues, 
which gives for the flattening of the earth 
a 313th part only. 
A Board of Agriculture upon a broad 
bafis has been initituted at Philadelphia, 
the prefident of which is Mr. JamEs Ma- 
DISON, Secretary of State, the Vice Pre- 
hdents Dr. MirTcHELL and Mr. G. Lo- 
GAN, and the Secretary Mr. Isaac 
Briccs: two gentlemen of influence and 
known intelligence in each flate, have 
been appointed a Committee-of Corre- 
{pondence. ! 
A very remarkable circumftance is faid 
to have happened lait year during the 
fefion of Congrefs at Wafhington, tu 
Mr: Jonathan Dayton, one of the Senators 
from New Jeriey. On undrefling himfelf, 
his itockings, which confifted of a pair of 
woollen and an outer pair of filk, exhibit- 
ed an unufual {napping and {parkling of 
electric matter. As, however, he had been 
long acquainted with the appearance, it at- 
tracted no particular notice. He fell afleep, 
but, to his great furprife, in the morning, 
one of the flippers on which a ftocking 
lay was much burnt, the flockings them- 
felves were changed to a brown colour, 
and although to the eye the ftitches of 
the legs, and even the threads of their 
clocks, appeared firm and entue; yet, as 
foon as an attempt was made to remove 
them, they fell to atoms, and nothing re- 
mained but carbonic matter, excepting a 
part of the heel of one tocking which 
was not decompofed. 
The 
