According to Aristotle (Hist. Anim. v. and ix.), the anday disappears during the winter; but in the spring, when the trees begin to be covered with leaves, it sings for a fortnight without intermission; as the year advances, it still continues to sing, but not so incessantly. In the heighth of summer it loses the rapid and various modulation of its song, utters only a simple note, and, at the same time, undergoes a change of plumage; on which account in Italy it passes by two different names, according to the season. Homer, in his fine simile (Odyss. xix. 518), in which he compares Penelope to this bird, calls it xwgnis andwy the green, or more properly yellowish green nightingale; and the Scholiast in a note on this passage, quotes from Simonides the expression xx@gauxeves andoves, green-necked nightingales. Finally, Euripides, (Ελένη, 1117) after calling it αοιδότατον ορνιθα μελωδον Αηδονα δακρυοεσσαν "the mournful nightingale, the most musical and melodious of birds," mentions its yellow, or orange cheeks av yevuwv. But the modern nightingale, as described by the naturalists of England and of France, is of a tawny colour, verging more or less to rusty on the upper parts of the body, and on the belly and breast is of a pale ash colour, nor does it appear to undergo any change of plumage at different seasons of the year; for this circumstance, in itself so remarkable, is not mentioned by any naturalist who has observed the bird in Europe, nor by Sonnini, who saw multitudes of nightingales in the Egyptian Delta, whither they retire from the severity of the European winter. I have been informed that the nightingales of Moscow, and of the southern provinces of Russia, are larger than the English nightingale, and of a somewhat different appearance. Perhaps Dr. Clarke, who is an occasional contributor to your journal, and who has communicated to the public so much curious and interesting information concerning Russia, Greece, and Egypt, may be able to favour, by a solution of this difficulty, your readers in general, as well as Your humble servant, R. N. VIII. Original Recipe of the Black Drop. The following account of the origin and composition of this well known remedy, is extracted from a valuable work on Typhus Fever, lately published by Dr. Armstrong, of BishopWearmouth, in the county of Durham : "The black drop was originally prepared, upwards of 100 years ago, by Edward Tonstall, a medical practitioner of Bishop's Aukland, in the county of Durham, and one of the Society of Friends. The recipe, passing into the possession of a near relative, John Walton of Shildon, who also prepared that medicine, was found amongst the papers of his brother, the late Edward Walton, of Sunderland; and by the permission of my much respected friend Thomas Richardson, senior, of Bishop'sWearmouth, one of his executors, it is here inserted. "Take half a pound of opium sliced, three parts of good verjuice, one and a half ounce of nutmeg, and half an ounce of saffron. Boil them to a proper thickness; then add a quarter of a pound of sugar, and two spoonfuls of yeast. Set the whole in a warm place near the fire for six or eight weeks, then place it in the open air, until it become a syrup; lastly, decant, filter, bottle it up, adding a little sugar to each bottle, "The above ingredients, agreeably to the experiments of a scientific friend, ought to yield, when properly made, about two pints of the strained liquor; one drop of which he calculated to be equal to three drops of the tincture of opium, prepared according to the London Pharmacopoeia; and the effects of its exhibition also tended to show that this was, perhaps, as accurate an estimate as could be made. Probably this compound might be equally well prepared by a simpler process; and, perhaps, some other vegetable acid and aromatic might answer as good a purpose as the verjuice and nutmeg. The black drop is a most excellent preparation of opium, and highly deserving a place in our pharmacopoeias. From the quantity of acid in its composition, it will often stay upon the stomach when other preparations will not; and in the hands of a judicious physician, may, therefore, be usefully applied." IX. Meteorological Table. Extracted from the Register kept at Kinfauns Castle, N. Britain. Lat. 56° 23′ 30′′. Above the level of the Sea 129 feet. No. 1. On a conical detached hill above the level of the sea 600 feet.... 44-40 Mean of the three gauges.. X. Instrument for distinguishing the precious Stones. 31.01 23.56 32.99 Dr. Brewster has lately constructed an instrument for distinguishing the precious stones from each other, and from artificial imitations of them, even when they are set in such a manner that no light can be transmitted through any of their surfaces. The same instrument may be employed to distinguish all minerals that have a small portion of their surface polished, either naturally or artificially. The application of the instrument is so simple, that any person, however ignorant, is capable of using it. We expect soon to be able to give an account of it in this journal. XI. Mr. Stephenson's Lamps. Some experiments were lately performed at the Royal Institution with Mr. Stephenson's lamps, of which we believe the following to be a correct outline. There were four lamps employed of different forms; those that are designated in the report of Mr. Stephenson's Committee, by the titles of first, second, and third, respectively; and a fourth, which seems to have been considered by them as not materially differing from the third. The first, which is styled the tube and slider lamp, consists, essentially, in a tube, which rises up within a circular wick, to the lower orifice of which is adapted a moveable valve, by which the aperture can be increased or diminished at pleasure, and the rate of combustion of course proportionably reduced. It was found, in several successive experiments, that whenever the orifice of the tube was so far closed as to be barely large enough to support the flame, yet it still always produced explosion when exposed to the mixture of atmospherical air, and hydro-carbonous gas. The instrument employed in these experiments was made by Mr. Hogg, of Newcastle. The second, or "tube lamp" of Mr. Stephenson, instead of the valve, or slider, and the central passage for the air, has three open tubes on the outside of the flame; their length is stated to be "34 inches, and their diameter between and of an inch :" as no lamp on this construction could be procured, Mr. Newman was directed to make one on the model of that described by the Committee; but as it was concluded that the three tubes would be insufficient to maintain the combustion, three additional ones were inserted. Notwithstanding which it was found that the lamp was completely incapable of burning, unless it had a chimney so far approaching to the cylindrical form, that the air could pass down it to feed the flame; a circumstance which, it is obvious, would render it useless as a safety lamp. The third lamp, instead of the valve, or the tubes, had metallic plates, both at its lower part, and at the upper end of the chimney, in which were apertures of about of an inch in diameter. The identical lamp upon which these experiments were performed, was one that had been made under Mr. Stephenson's inspection, and had been furnished by him to one of the collieries for their use; in every trial to which it was subjected it was insufficient to prevent explosion. The fourth lamp seems to have been regarded by the Committee as not essentially differing from the third; and it so far resembled it, that it consists of a system of perforated metallic plates. In this, however, the apertures are reduced in size to from to of an inch in diameter; and, by this change, it is rendered incapable of communicating explosion; so that it may be entitled to the appellation of a safety lamp, so far as this part of its construction is concerned. It has, however, one very serious defect, which must, we conceive, in a great measure, render it inapplicable to the purposes of the miner. It has a cylindrical chimney of thick glass, which is nearly in contact, at its lower part, with the small apertures that surround the wick. When the lamp is exposed to an explosive compound, the small jets of flame that rise up through these apertures produce a degree of heat which must almost unavoidably break the glass; and this accordingly occurred with the lamp in question. Mr. Stephenson's friends seem to admit that this fourth lamp was not constructed until after Sir H. Davy's most important experiments were made public, and known at Newcastle. The results of these experiments must be considered as pecuHarly important, because they would appear to be very different from those that were obtained by Mr. Stephenson's committee, of which an account is given in their report. XII. Prizes proposed by the Royal Academy of Sciences for the Years 1818 and 1819. The Academy published in 1815, on the subject of a prize in natural philosophy, the following preamble : Fruits acquire new properties as they advance to maturity, even where they are removed from the influence of vegetation; they afterwards pass readily to another state, and we do not yet know the changes which take place in their composition, and the causes which produce them. The subject of the prize was, therefore, To determine the chemical changes which take place in fruits during their maturation, and beyond this term. In order to determine this question, it will be necessary to examine, with care, the influence of the atmosphere which surrounds the fruit, and the alterations which the air experiences. The observations may be limited to any kinds of fruit, provided they enable us to draw sufficiently general conclusions from them. The memoirs which were sent not having fulfilled the conditions of the preamble, the Academy again proposes the same subject for the year 1819. The prize will be a medal of gold, of the value of 3000 fr. The period for the reception of memoirs is limited to Jan. 1, 1819. The Royal Academy of Sciences proposes, as the subject of another prize in natural philosophy, the following preamble: 1. To determine, by accurate experiments, all the effects of the diffraction of the rays of light, direct or reflected, when they pass separately, or simultaneously, near the extremities of one or more bodies, of an extent either limited or indefinite, taking account of the intervals between these bodies, as well as the distance of the luminous focus whence the rays proceed. 2. To conclude from these experiments, by mathematical inductions, the motion of the rays in their passage near the bodies. The prize will be determined in the public sitting of 1819; but the memoirs will not be received after Aug. 1, 1818, in order that sufficient time may be allowed for verifying the experiments which they contain. The prize will be a gold medal of the value of 3000 fr. Errata in the Account of Alex. Scott. Our correspondent, who favoured us with this communication, has pointed out the two following errors. The Captain's name, with whom Scott sailed from Liverpool, is Knubley, not Kimbley; and the tribe of Arabs, mentioned in p. 123, line 13, is Orgaebet not Orgaeleet. |