162 
been added one part of wheaten flour; the 
mixture is to be well agitated, and then 
to be heated until all the water has been 
evaporaied, or till the oil has ceafed to 
have any union with the iubttances which 
it held in fufpenfion."? M. Curaudeau 
was led to this experiment from what is 
obfervable in the fauce called melted but- 
ter, which when too much boiled is fepa- 
rated into the thick part that occupies the 
bottom of the veflel, while the other part 
is clear, and floats above. The lower fub- 
ftance is the caftous part of the butter 
united with the flour that has been added, 
and which the action of the fire has fepa- 
rated from the oil. The upper fubftance 
is the butter deprived of all foreign mat- 
ter, and is in faé&t purifed butter. 
The following ¥efulis have been given 
from experiments made on the torpedo by 
Mefirs. HumBoxprt and Gay Lussac: 
Literary and Philofephieai Intelligence. 
1 
1. Though the ftrength of the torpedo 
is far inferior to that of the gymnotus, it 
as equally capable of cavfing painful fen- 
fations. 2. The gymnotus gives the 
mott violent fhocks, without any exterior 
movement of the eves, the head, or the 
fins; but the torpedo fuffered a convul- 
five movement of the pectoral fins each 
time it gave a fhock. 43. The powers 
of thefe fith cannot be excited at pleafure ; 
they muft be irritated before they will give 
a fheck ; af courfe the a€tion depends on 
the will-of the animal. 4. The fthock 
is felt as well on touching with one 
finger a fingle furface of the eleétric or- 
gans, as on applying the two hands to the 
two furfaces at once. 5. When an in- 
fulated perfon touches the torpedo with a 
fingle finger, the contact mult be imme- 
diaie, as no fhoek will be felt if a con- 
ducting body, of metal for example, be 
interpofed between the finger and the or- 
gan. of the fith; but if both hands are 
ufed, one touching the hth, and the other 
the metal, a fevere fheck will be felr. 
6. The moft fenfible electrometer mani- 
felts no eleétrical tenfion in the organs of 
the torpedo, in whatever way it is applied. 
The leaft injury on the brain of the tor- 
pedo deftroys its electric powers. 
The Norwegian Society of Sciences at 
Copenhagen, as the univerfal legatee of 
the late counfeilor Hammer, innerits a 
valuable colleStion of books, manufcripts, 
fubjeé&ts in natural hiftory, and a fum of 
about 20,000 crowns. One third of the 
intereft of this capital is to be employed 
in augmenting the colleétion, and the 
other two thirds are to be expended in the 
encouragement of natural hiftery in Nor- 
Way. 
{March 1, 
The inhabitants of Afti have raifd a 
fub{cription for defraying the eupence of a 
monument to the memory of Alfieri, fur- 
named the Itelian Sophocles. Its exe- 
cution is committed to Comolli the {culp- 
tor, profeflor at the univerfity of Turin, 
who is daily giving frefh proofs of his 
talents in an art which he cultivates with 
equal order and fuccels. 
The learned Abbé Marini is engaged 
in the publication of a work on all the 
manufcripts written on papyrus. Of 
thefe there are a great number at Rome 
and Bologna, and he introduces all that 
are known to exift. Moft of them have 
never been publifhed awd though the arti- 
cles themfelves are principally contraéts, 
public documents, &c. and of the latter 
ages, this collection will neverthelefs 
prove interefting to the fludy of anti- 
quities, of hiftory, of the knowledge of 
manners in general, of language, and of 
diplomacy in particular. 
An Inftitution for the Deaf and Dumb, 
which has becn eftab‘ifhed within thefe 
few years, and deferves the particular at- 
tention of enlightened men, exilts at Kiel 
in Holftein. It is under the direction of 
M. Pfingften, a man of the mott fimple 
character, who was originally a drummer 
toaregiment. All his attainments are 
confequently owing to his own exertions. 
He invented without any aid, his fyftem 
of inftruétion for the deaf and dumb, 
which differs effentially from thofe of M. 
de PEpée and M. Sicard, of which he had 
never heard. The Prince royal of Den- 
mark, during his late vifit at Kiel, paids 
vifit with a numerous retinue, to the In- 
fitution of M, Pfingten. The German 
journals ftate that his pupils underftand 
from the mere motion of the lips all that 
is faid to them, and reply i writing er 
verbally. They add, that M. Phogiten 
has likewife invented a telegraph, at which 
they may be employed with advantage to 
the ftate. 
A work of uncommon Jabourand mag- 
niude has been for fome years in the 
courfe of publication, by feveral profeffors 
and literati of the univerfity of Gottin- 
gen. It is entitled A General Hiftory 
of the Arts and Sciences from their Revi- 
val to the Conclufion of the Eighteenth 
Century. According to the plan, the 
whole work is to be divided into eleven 
fections. The firft contains, General 
Hittory of Science and Literature, by way 
of introduction to the fucceeding fe&ions, 
and was publifhed by M, Eichhorn in 
two volumes. The latter part of the 
fecond volume has not yet appeared. 
Sciex 
