694 
ligation. The Le&tures of Dr. Black, 
jt feems, were left, with few exceptions, 
in’ a very difordered and imperfeét 
ftate, generally written indiftingly upon 
{craps of paper; often in the form’ of 
notes or memorandums from which he 
had fpoken extempore; and frequently | 
confifting of references to the experi- 
ments that went on during the leifon. 
Mr. Robifon, however, enjoyed feve- 
ral facilities and qualifications to coun- 
terbalance thefe difadvantages, and he 
has been enabled to prefent us with a 
very full, and probably a- very accu- 
rate, calleétion of the moit valuable 
parts of the Lectures, as nearly as pol- 
fible in the very words of the teacher. 
As a fyftem of chemical inftruétion, 
the Le¢tures of Dr. Black poffefs very 
peculiar merits : although they are in 
imany important re{pects, of necefity, 
far behind the more recent fyftematica] 
works upon this fubjeét, they may fairly 
be admitted to contain the moft acceffi- 
ble ftores of information,which perfons 
ignorant of the fcience can at prefent 
command ; they are delivered as much 
as poffible in the analytical mode; they 
take for granted no previous acqyaint- 
ance with {cience in the learner, and 
they require lefs, perhaps, than any 
ether rank, the affiftance of apparatus. 
The two grand difcoverics of Dr. 
Black are thofe of latent heat, and of 
the nature of alkaline earths, and fixed 
air; the prefent publication contains 
the only hiftory we have of the former, 
and a more copious account of the dif- 
covery of the latter than that which 
the author publifhed during his life. 
. Refpecting the fermer of thefe difco- 
veries, the united indolence and mo- 
defty of Dr. Black prevented him from 
making his claim, and the honour of 
the difcovery was arrogated by cthers. 
Sic vos nox vobis! MS. copies of Dr. 
lack’s Lectures were fo freely circulat- 
ed among his fiudents, that they were 
even fuld at a moderate price; and in 
the year 1790 a furreptitious publica- 
tion of them appeared in London. In 
the year 1772, M. De Luc publithed his 
«© Recherches jur les Modifications de 
PAtmofphere,”? in which Dr. Black’s 
dofirine of latent heat 1s employed to 
explain fome meteorological faéts. 
Avout ten years afterwards Dr. Black 
was informed,-that M. De Luc wifhed 
to become the editor of his Obterva- 
tions en LatentHeat. in order to fecure 
Dr. Biack’s claim to the difecvery trom 
the attempts of others to appropriate 
Retrofpect of Domeftic Literature.—Medicine, ec. 
it. At length Dr. Black confented; 
and gave’ his friend, M. Watt, permif- 
fion to communicate the leading points 
“of his theory, and inftruétion to per- 
form the experiments before M. DeLue. 
The publication of the Genevefe Phi- 
lofopher at laft made its appearance ; 
but what was the’ furprife of Dr. Black 
and his friends, when they found that 
he had,indeed,refuted the claims which 
ethers had urged to the difcovery—and 
appropriated it to himfelf! Mr. Watt 
then wrote a letter to M. De Lue, con- 
taining a full exptanation of Dr. Black’s 
difcovery, and imfifted that this fhould- 
he publifhed in the next volume of the 
work. It appeared accordingly, but it 
was only accompanied by an acknow- 
Jedgement of the fatisfa€tion which M. 
De Luc received from learning that his 
- own jyftem had fo able a defender as 
Dr. Black ; a circumftance, he adds, 
which will give him new confidence-in 
the dogtrine!$! > Lae. 
Mr. Robilon’s notes confer great 
additional value on this publication : 
they illuftrate the hiftory of Dr. Black’s 
difcoveriés, and contain difeuffions 
upon various points of modern chemif- 
try of the greateft importance. | _ 
‘The Linnean Society proceeds in the 
periodical publication of its “ Tran 
actions ;" and the firft part is publithed 
of “* The Philofophical Tcanfadiions of the 
Royal Society of London, for 1803.” 
MEDICINE, SURGERY, &c. 
A new edition is juft publithed of 
the “ Edinburgh Pradiice of Phyfic, Gc.” 
This is fo much enlarged as to embrace 
five volumes : the two firlt treat on Me- 
dicine, the third and fourth on Surgery, 
and the fitth on Midwifery. * 
Dr. Gispes has publithed & 4 Se- 
cond Treatife on the Bath Waters, com- - 
prebending their Medicinal Powers in gene- 
ral, and particularly as they relate to the 
Cure of Dy/pepfia, Gout, Rheumatifin, 
Faundice, and Liver Complaints, Chloro- 
jis, Cutaneous Eruptions, Palfy, Ge.” 
It will be remembered that Dr. 
Gibbes’s firft treatife exhibited a very 
carefui and fatisfaétory analyfis of this 
celebrated fpring: in the prefent he 
proceeds to its application in thofe 
difeafes for the cure of whichit has been 
recommended. The efficacy of the. 
Bath waters has been a fubje€t of con- 
fiderable-controverfy; the prefent pub- 
lication contains an able defence of 
them againtt the attack of Drs. Heber- 
den and Saunders,the former of whom, 
particularly, confidered them as Bee 
e 
