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per, Fontana, Michaelis, White, Blumenbach, are of opinion that there is a regeneration of parts the fame as thofe removed.

In Ornithology, Mr Latham, M. Moerhem, Mr Pennant, M. Martinet and Sparrman are mentioned as improvers of this branch of natural history..

M. Hermann has cultivated the hiftory of amphibious animals, and M. Bloch continues that of fishes.

Natural Hiftory has been fo much enriched fince the death of Linnæus, that his fyftem of nature has become quite imperfect. Dr Smith, fays M. de la Metherie, could not employ himfelf more ufefully than by giving the public, a new edition of that work.'

It would be neceffary to begin with the animal kingdom, and if one perfon could not execute the whole, as it would be a difficult task, the fubject might be divided; for example, the fix grand divifions of the animal kingdom might be affigned to as many different perians, Others might take charge of the vegetable kingdom, which alfo might be divided among feveral learned perfons, Mineralogy comes laft, because the genera there are lefs numerous, and befides, we have feveral compleat works on that fubject.'

In Entomology advances have been made by Gigot d'Orcy, Garangeot, Abbé Poiret, de la Martiniere, Bruiere, Thunberg, Fabricius, Vahl, and Cavolini.

Botany has been enriched by the collections of a great many learned travellers. M. de la Peyroufe, of the Academy of Thouloufe, has propofed to publish a Flora Pirenaica, or a mag, nificent description of the plants found on the Pyrenean mountains. M. de la Metherie next mentions the experiments of Spallanzani, which feem to contradict the fexual fyftem of Linnæus, but in which he apprehends there is fome mistake.

Mineralogy has shared in the gene,

ral advancement of natural feience. The adamantine fpar has been disco vered; M. Pictet has found out a new cryftallized stone; M, le Lievre has developed the nature of the chryfolite of volcanoes, which appears to be a fpecies of ferpentine ftone, that has been acted upon by volcanic fires; Delarbe and Quinquet have defcribed a new fpecies of bitumen; de la Me. therie's defcription of Derbyshire e laftic bitumen, analogous to the caout chouc, or elaftic gun, is quite new.

Phyfique, or Natural Hiftory. M. de la Place is the only perfon who has last year, done any thing confiderable in this part of natural fcience, excep ting Van Marom's electrical experiments, and those of M. Charles.

In Meteorology, Mr. Agnos's obfer. vation of a new and curious variation of the barometer is noticed; alfo M. de Luc's new hygrometer; M. de Sauffure's interefting obfervations on the fummit of Mont Blanc; and M. Sennebier's memoir.

Agriculture feems to languish in the greateft part of Europe, and neither the publications on this fubje&t, not the rewards offered by focieties, ap pear to have brought it into a flourish ing ftate. In England, the author obferves, that among the causes of advancement in agriculture, have been, first, the great numbers of owners who cultivate their own lands; fecond, the long leafes granted, of forty, fifty, or fixty years, fa that the farmer confi ders the land as his own property, and is induced to spend money in cultivating it; thirdly, the estimation and credit of people who cultivate land in that country. But in no country has agriculture been fo much improved as in China, becaufe the Emperor himfelf tills the ground, which is to be his fupport. It was alfo in great perfec tion in ancient Egypt, and the highe marks of honourable distinction were bestowed upon it.

Chemistry. The zeal for this fcience had been uniformly maintained, als Chough

tho' the great queftions which have been fome years agitated are not yet decided; the number of facts, however, have been greatly augmented. M. de Ja Metherie bestows more than twelve pages on this branch of knowledge, which finishes his retrospective furvey of the last year's ftate of science.

The adverfaries of Stahl, now commonly called Antiphlogiftians, are of opinion that,

1. Water is compofed of inflammable air and pure air, and that it is decompofed whenever fubftances are applied to it, which have a greater af finity to the pure air than the pure air has to the inflammable air; in fhort, that all inflammable air is produced by the decompofition of water.

2. They confider fulphur, phof phorus," the metals, the muriatic principle, charcoal, and the bafis of all the acids, as fimple fubftances, and not decompofed bodies; which, by combining with pure air, form the vitriolic and phofphoric acids, the calces of metals, the muriatic acid, the aerial acid, and all the animal vegetable a cids.

3. Some of thefe fimple bodies, fuch as the fulphur, the phofporus, the metals, &c. in burning produce a flame, which proceeds from the matter of heat difengaged from the pure air. In fhort, the inflammable air obtained from these fubftances does not proceed from the fubftances themselves, but from the water decompofed; the pure air of which decompofed water combines on this occafion with the fimple bodies, while the inflammable air, the other component of water, escapes.

4. The antiphlogiftians maintain, that pure air, inflammable air, impure or phlogifticated air, the alkalies and earths, are fimple and not decompofed bodies.

components, viz. the inflammable air, is combined with pure air, and forms water, while the charcoal, the other component of oil, combines with the pure air alfo, and forms the aerial a cid. Sugar and mucous fubstances are compofed of nearly the fame compenent parts as oils.

In this compendious, and, at the fame time to our apprehenfion, clear manner, M. de la Metherie explains the prefent antiphlogistic fyftem, which is embraced, either wholly or in part, by the most celebrated chymifts in Europe, though there ftill remain adhe rents to the doctrine of Stahl: Kir wan, who is himself a host, and many others of respectable rank in this fcie ence. De la Metherie, who is warmly engaged in defence of the fyftem of Stahl, takes this opportunity to repel the attacks of those who have attemp ted to deftroy it.

His refutation of each of the above five principles, or general heads of facts, fills nine quarto pages, in which he relates a number of his own experiments, made to af certain the quellions and facts on this fubject.

After this conflict with the Antiphlogiftians, the able champion of phlogifton proceeds in his narrative of the other improvements in chemistry.

The following very interesting facts must be new to many of our readers :

M. Berthollet combined the dephlogifticated marine acid with the fixed alkalies, by expofing linen cloth, wetted by alkaline lixivium, to the vapour of this acid burning diftillation. The muriated alkali detonated on red-hot charcoal almost like nitre.

M. Lavoifiet fermented a mixture of one part fugar, and five parts water, with a little yeaft. He calculated the quantity of aerial acid extricated, alfo the alcohol diftilled from the fermented liquor; and he found one tenth of the water employed loft in the experi-. ment. The rationale in this experiment by M. Lavoisier is, that the water deficient was decompofed; its pure 3 L

5. They confider the oils to be compofed of charcoal and inflammable air, which air proceeds from the water decompofed by vegetation. When oils are burnt in pure air, one of their + Vol. VII. No 42.

air

air uniting to part of the charcoal of the fugar, aerial acid was formed; while the other component of the water, viz. the inflammable air, combining with the other part of the char coal of the fugar, and with the inflam mable air of the fugar, formed the alcohol.

If this explanation be admitted to be fatisfactory, the vinous fermenta tion is no longer inexplicable.

The author next takes notice of the difcoveries of M. Weftrumb and Hermftadt, that the tartareous, the faccharine, the forrel, and the acetous acids, are not different fpecies, but only vaiations or modifications of the fame fpecies, viz. the acetous. M. HermAtadt is likewife of opinion, that the apple-acid (acide malummien) is the acid of forrel in an intermediate state, in its paffage or change to the acetous acid.

Mr Goethling's acid obtained from the birch tree, M. de la Metherie conders to be only a mixture of feveral vegetable acids already known, and confequently it is not to be confidered as a new fpecies.

Our author is of opinión, that the colouring principle, called by Bergman the acid of Prufhan blue, is only the inflammable air, combined with a small quantity of the aerial acid, and there fore it is not a peculiar acid. And Pruffian blue he confiders to be only what may be called the blue calx of iron.

The acid of galls, M. de la Metherie thinks, apparently on good grounds, is only a variety of the colouring principle.

M. Brugnatelli's acid of cork appears to be a variety of the acid of faccharine and mucous bodies.

The diftilled, 'or empyreumatic or vegetable acids, our author thinks, fhould not be reckoned peculiar fpecies, they being only the other vegetable acids, partly decompofed and partly combined with oils. M. de la Metherie, however, acknowledges,

that thefe modifications or varieties of the acids, are real differences; the acid of goofeberries, of apples, of ver juice, of pomegranates, &c. are differ ent from each other, juft as the phiogifticated vitriolic acid is different from the common acid of vitriol.

On the fubject of acids we fhall obferve, that it is in vain to contend what are to be confidered as species, and what as varieties or modifications; because this distinction can only be de termined by the knowledge of a greater number of the properties of each than has hitherto been obtained. And although acids from different fubftances may agree in the few properties yet known, it will not be fafe to conclude that they are of the fame spe cies, for they may effentially differ in properties not hitherto discovered. The acids of ants agrees with the acetous acid in almost all its known properties; but the compound, formed by its union with magrefia alba, is fo different from that produced by the a cetous acid with this earth, that we confider the two acids to be of differ ent fpecies. It will alfo be equaily rash to determine acids from different fubftances to be of different fpecies, on account of a difference is a very few properties barely known, before the investigation of them has been carried on to a fufficient extent.

Laftly, fays M. de la Metherie, cer tain celebrated chymifts have propofed a reform in the nomenclature chimiquë. This nomenclature, he obferves, is hitherto adopted by very few chymifts, either in France or other countries. As a proof how exceptionable this new fyftem of denominations is, our author obferves, that M. Berthollet has just read in the Academy a me moir, in which he maintains, that the colouring principle of Pruffian blue is compofed of charcoal, inflammable air, and phlogifticated air; therefore, fays he, it can be no longer an acid. Yet the celebrated author of the nomen clature confides the colouring prine

ciple as an acid compofed of a fimple fubftance, or fubitance not decompofed, and pure air, and they call its combinations Prufiates. Now, fays he, M. Berthollet here abandons his opinion. First, The colouring principle, according to him, is not acid. Secondly, Its bafe is not a fimple fubftance. Thirdly, Its combinations can be no longer Prufiates, because all terminations in ates, denote the combination with an acid.

This inftance,' adds our author, confirms what I have faid, that all nomenclature founded on fyftem, is pernicious, because at every step we advance to science, you must change the nomenclature, whereas the names being made to exprefs determinate ideas, ought not to be varied.'

In this very useful and comprehen. five statement, in the order of a critical and historical narrative of the last year's discoveries in chemistry, M. de la Metherie has not mentioned the difcoveries and improvements of any perfon in this island, although it is well known that feveral here have contributed their fhare of fuccefsful labour in this field of feience. And as we cannot reasonably fuppofe the French chemist to be ignorant of our improvements, it becomes difficult, among li beral-minded men, to find a reafon for fuch an omiffion.

It is the more extraordinary that M. de la Metherie fhould not take notice of the English obfervations, be

caufe he would have found in the admi rable work of MrKirwan on phlogifton, the most able defence of this doctrine that has been yet published, befides a bundance of the moft ingenious argu ments and many new experiments We fhould have thought the experi ments of Mr Walker of Oxford, fhew ing how to apply frigorific mixtures, fo as to congeal quickfilver at any feas fon of the year in this country, wor thy of this hiftorian's notice, among the new facts difcovered in the year 1787. Sir Benjamin Thomson's ex periments on the production of de phlogifticated air from water, by means of various bodies immersed in it, and light, ought to have been mentioned in his narrative, as well as Dr Blag den's applications of the properties dife covered of the colouring principle of Prufhian blue, to reftore the legibility of ancient manuscripts; the formation of a neutral falt in rhomboidal chryftals, by uniting the phofphoric acid to the fofil alkali which did not fuck ceed in Mr Lavoifier's trial, but has been produced the last year, and ap plied to a very useful purpose in phyfic; being found to operate with all the mildnefs of the Glauber falt or vitriolated foffil alkali, and being at the fame time neither bitter nor fcarce. ly falt to the taste. We only enumerate thefe facts to fhew, that our countrymen have neither been indolent, nor unsuccessful in their inquiries.

A fhort Account of the Manners of the Inhabitants of Moldavia and Walachia By M. Carra.

WALACHIA and Moldavia to as many high, fcattered here and there

gether, occupy a fpace of a bout 560 leagues in circumference, and contain about 500,000 inhabitants. The greatest towns are not walled, and are no better than wretched villages. The villages are collections of a few huts, from fix to seven feet wide, and

over a valley or in a wood, and generally without garden, well, or court. The houfes in the towns are built of wooden piles, with a compofition of clay and cow-dung for mortar, and they are plaistered within and without with a kind of greyish carth. Those 342

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of the principal Boyards, efpecially at Jaffy, (the capital of Moldavia) and at Bucharest, (the capital of Walachia) are built of stone, generally in the form of a crofs, and have only one ftory a bove the ground, through which runs a gallery, having at each angle a wretched apartment, the abode of the chief and his family. The ordinary furniture confifts of benches that occupy two-thirds of the chamber in length and breadth; they are from a foot to a foot and an half high, and are covered with woollen carpets or ftraw mats, according to the wealth of the poffeffor, which are lined with woollen or linen cloth, painted and furrounded with cushions of the fame uff. Chairs and tables of wood are allo found with fome; but these are articles of European luxury referved for ftrangers; for the Moldavians, Walachians, and Greeks, fit all day long cross-legged on their fophas, and eat at a round table, with backs bent like fo many apes. Their meat is generally very ill dreffed, fwiming in but ter or the fat of mutton, often mixed with fugar, and always highly seasoned. They feldom eat any thing roafted, except game, which is fo much over-done, that it is impoffible to eat it with any fatisfaction. After meat they smoke a pipe, and then go to fleep. If it is a marriage feaft, or a public or private feafon of rejoicing, they get drunk, they dance, they embrace, and come to blows. Their dances are very amufing; but they are fo grotefque, and performed with fuch ftupid gravity, that the first time I faw them I could not forbear imagining that I beheld a scene in Ovid's Metamorphofes realifed. The mufic is wretched and monotonous, like the dance. The drefs of the peafant is a large grey jacket, with long fleeves, The common people, merchants, and Greek lords, wear furs, and a fort of Jarge caftans with wide breeches, and short, yellow, or red boots. Their bonnets are made with a high cylindrical

crown, terminating at top in four plain corners, and adorned with the fmallikins of young lambs of Astracan. All these accoutrements are in bad taste, and contribute much to the natural indo lence of the people. A Greek on horfeback, with high ftirrups, his knees making an acute angle, and his head dangling like that of a Chinese mandarine in plaifter of Paris, thinks himself the most elegant and refpectable figure in the world. It is forbidden, at the court of the princes of Moldavia and Walachia, to wear a cape of the fame colour with that of the prince or of his fon, which is white.

The government is defpotic in the extreme.. There are no printed or written laws; all causes are determined according to the interest or caprice of the prince, or by the intrigues of his minifters; and he who gives the largest bribe to the favourite of his highness, is fure to gain his caufe.

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The princes of these countries have the title of Moft Serene Highness, which was firft conferred on them by the Republic of Venice. The palace in which the prince of Moldavia refides, is an old caftle that was made ufe of by the Ruffians, during the war, as a ftable and hofpital. The prince has only made the walls be whitened again, and the broken windows mended with white paper. The apartments are very large, but there is no furniture except in his highness's bed-chamber. Domestic œconomy is carried fo far in the palace of the fovereign, that at his own table he has clean linen only once in fifteen days, and the glasses he drinks out of, often want the feet. But when the prince wifhes to difplay his riches and magnificence, (which happens only on holidays) the tables are then decked with porcelaine and plate. It is fingular, among the defpots of Mol davia and Walachia, that all their wealth, money, jewels, and moveables, are always in packing boxes, as if ready to be removed at a moment's warning; and in truth they are in the

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