234 Fints relative to anew edition of Morell’s The Juurus. [April tf, 
fhip’s boiler; that a French philofopher , 
diiputed the invention with hin, having 
publithéd an account of this invention 
before; and that Dr. Watfon adds, that 
Im Queen Elizabeth’s rewr an Englith 
admiral, whom he names, “had done the 
hike. 
Now hear what the Neapolitan vie 
fician and experimental philctopher faid 
on the fubject before the year 1650. 
Chap.) 4. 
** Tow fea water may be made pot- 
able. 
“Tt is no finall comodity to mankind, 
if fea-vater may be nade potable. In 
jong voyages, as to the Indies, it 1s of 
great concernment ; far while feamen, 
by reafon of tempetts, are forced to tay 
longer at fea than they would, for want 
of water they fall into great danger of 
their lixes. Galleys are forced almoft 
every ten days to put in for frefh water, 
and the ‘refore they cannot long wander 
in encies’ countries, Xe. &e.” Here 
he goes into an enquiry as to the caute 
af the faltnefs of the fea, which T have 
mot time to copy, and then preceeds to 
deferibe his invention. 
“We firft fill a hollow veffel like a 
great ball with fea-water ; it muft have a 
Jong neck, and a cap upon it, that live 
coals being put under, the water may 
refolve into thin vapours, and fill all va- 
eultres, being carried aloft. This ill- 
fcented eroffuefs, when it comes to touch 
the coldnefs of the head’ or cap, and 
meets with the ylafs, gathers like dew 
zbout the fhirts ‘of it, and fo runing 
down the arches of the cap, it turns to 
water; and a a pipe being opened that 
pertains to it, it runs forth largely, and 
the receiver flands to receive it as it 
droos. So will fweet weter come from 
falt, and the falt tarryeth at the bettom 
of th .e veffel, and three pounds of falt 
water will give two pounds ef treth wa- 
ter; but if the cap ot the Jimbee be of 
lead, it will afford more water, but not 
fo sood.” 
Afterwards he gives five other experi- 
ments, and concludes by fhewing how 
freth water may even be at ey from 
the air, by filling « a veel with fnow ‘and 
powdered” faltpetre, fo as to condenfe 
the air on its furface: a method alfo by 
which he fays he froze his wine, plung- 
ing the bottle that contained it into a 
bowl of fnow and faltpetre finely pow 
dered. The fame prattice, by means ae 
which fome modern experimental philo- 
fophers have, am cold climates, even 
froze mercury. ve 
We have heard lately of thread made 
from aloes alfo as a new invention ; but 
‘T can affure you the proces is defcribed 
by this author, and referred by hua to 
America. 
Lhe work was originally written in 
Latin, but afterwards tranflated into 
Italian, French, Finglith, Spanith, and 
Arabic. The tables he copied he did 
not, always believe, but, like other wri- 
ters of his times, be gave credit to .a 
faflicient number to !ctien the reputation 
of his writings, ata period when a_bet- 
ter phi ilofophy took place. 
Tam, your's, &c. 
G. CumBERLAanp. 
— ER 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
HAVE Jong had it m intention to 
trouble you with fome mquiry con- 
cerning that valuable and much-wanted 
book, Morell’s Uhejaurus, the republi- 
cation of which was -promufed in your 
Magazine a confiderable tune ago. Your 
lait number removes the necellity of the 
principal part of auy intended inquiry, 
by repeating that promife, with the ad- 
ditional grafifying intelligence that the= 
fup erimtendance of it is to be entrufted 
to Dr. Maltby. A man fo eminently 
qualified for the work, will, I hope, not 
auly edite, but correct oe enlarge it, 
T beg leave now to oficr a fuegeltion, 
whieh has frequently occurred to me, 
that the whole of this valuable and ex- 
penfive book might, at a much lefs ex- 
pence than by a feparate publication, 
be incorporated into tome Greek a 
con, Hederic's for inftance, Nothing 
more is requilite than an accurate mark- 
ing of the quantity ef the fyllables. of 
each word, and a profodical example ; 
or, perhaps, 2S mn the work at prefent, 
only the latter, Hf it fhould be objected, 
that the bulk of the beok would be toa 
much increafed, 1t may be anfwered that 
fome parts of Heilene muight be omitted, 
or at leaf abridged, But 1 do not tink 
that, af the whole were retained, the 
fize would be fo great as that of Aini- 
worth’s Dic tionary, At gume when the 
expence of paper a and of publifhing i 1s fo 
great, if the proprietors of the ‘two 
werks would agree, they (I am perfuad- 
ed) would find their account in this 
method, and the clafical fludent cer- 
tainly much convenience. . 
Now I have the pen in my hand, I 
beg ieave to trelpafs on you for a few 
ether obfervations concerning books of 
4 “education. 
, 
