peculiar hypothesis has not led him to propose any new mode of prévention draining and cultivation, which he recommends, are old and well known means of redress.

A Letter from Colonel Winthrop Sargent, to Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton, accompanying Drawings and some Account of certain Articles, which were taken out of an ancient Tumulus, or Grave, in the Western Country.

Explanations of the Engravings of these Antiquities.

Observations and Conjectures concerning certain Articles which were taken out of an ancient Tumulus, or Grave, in the County of Hamilton, and Territory of the United States, N. W. of the River Ohio; in a Letter from Dr. Barton to the Rev. Dr. Priestley.—

In this latter paper, Dr. Barton endeavours to establish two points; 1. the early population of America; and 2. the superior civilization of the aboriginal inhabitants over the present Indians. His account of the field-fortifications, barrows, and hieroglyphics, discovered in difierent parts of the western territory, will remind the reader strongly of similar antiquities in the north of Europe.

In a second part of this paper, Dr. Barton offers conjectures respecting the articles found in this place of interment, some of which he supposes to have been personal ornaments, and others to have served for superstitious purposes. He concludes with proposing to extend the researches on this subject, by opening the tumuli existing in the northern parts of

America.

Miscellaneous Observations relative to the Western Parts of Pennsylvania, particularly those in the Neighbourhood of Lake Erie. By Andrew Ellicott.-The author of this paper thinks that the ebbings and flowings of lake Erie, which have been supposed to be tides, are occasioned by the prevalence of strong easterly or westerly winds, which drive a portion of the water towards the upper or lower end of the lake. Some other circumstances, of less importance, are mentioned; and Mr. E. concludes with an account of the falls of Niagara. The general view of the cause of this cataract is curious:

Lake Erie is situated upon one of those horizontal strata in a region elevated about three hundred feet above the country which contains Lake Ontario. The descent which separates the two countries, is in some places almost perpendicular, and the immense declivity formed by these strata occasions both the cataract of Niagara and the great falls of Cheneseco. This remarkable precipice generally runs in a south-western direction from a place near the Bay of Toronto on the northern side of Ontario, round the western angle of the lake; from thence it continues its course generally in an east

ern

ern direction, crossing the strait of Niagara and the Cheneseco river, till it is lost in the country towards the Seneca Lake.'

Hints relative to the Stimulant Effects of Camphor upon Vegetables. By Benjamin Smith Barton, M. D.-The following curious experiment forms the basis of this short paper:

On the 25th of last May, I put a piece of the woody stem of the Tulip-tree (Liriodendron Tulipifera), with one flower and two leaves, into eight ounces of water, with which I had triturated, for some time, one scruple of good camphor. The branch, which I speak of, was taken out of a pot of water, which contained several other flowers of the same plant, all, to appearance, in the same state. In a short time, I was struck with an unusually lively appearance of the flower in the camphor, whilst the others, although they had the benefit of a larger quantity of water, were sensibly drooping. The appearances exhibited by my invigorated plant were the following: viz the two leaves became considerably elevated upon their footstalks; the flower expanded more than I had ever seen it in any instance; the stamina, or chives, receded from the pistillum; the three leaves of the calyx, or flower-cup, were remarkably reflected back, and became extremely rigid, and elastic. The internal surface of the petals of the flower perspired considerably; though I could not discover a similar perspiration from any of the flowers of the same plant in the same room and temperature. I did not perceive any perspiration from the leaves of my camphorated plant.'

On the Mode most easily and effectually practicable of drying up the Marshes of the Maritime Parts of North America. By Thomas Wright, Licentiate of the College of Surgeons in Ireland, and Teacher of Anatomy.-Mr. Wright proposes to dry the marshy lands of America by evaporation; and to effect this purpose, he thinks it would only be necessary to open some tracts through the woods, in the direction of the N. W. and S. E. winds, so as to subject the wet lands to their periodical action.

A Memoir on the Discovery of certain Bones of a Quadruped of the clawed Kind, in the Western Parts of Virginia. By Thomas Jefferson, Esq.-This interesting paper contains the most satisfactory view, which we have yet seen, of a subject that has long tantalized the expectations of naturalists. From the discovery of some bones in the county of Greenbriar, Mr. Jefferson infers the existence of an animal similar to the lion, which he denominates Megalonyx, or the Great Claw. The bones were ;

1st. A small fragment of the femur or thigh bone; being in fact only its lower extremity, separated from the main bone at its epiphysis, so as to give us only the two condyles; but these are nearly entire.

2d. A radius, perfect.

3d. An ulna, or fore-arm, perfect, except that it is broken in two.

REV. MAY, 1802.

с

• 4th.

4th. Three claws, and half a dozen other bones of the foot; but whether of a fore or hinder foot, is not evident."

By comparing the measures of these bones with those of the lion, as given by M. Daubenton, the author is led to suppose that the American animal was more than three times as large as the lion.

Different authorities are quoted for the existence of animals. resembling the lion in North America: we extract the fol lowing:

The terror excited by these animals is not confined to brutes alone. A person of the name of Draper had gone in the year 1770, to hunt on the Kanhawa. He had turned his horse loose with a bell on, and had not yet got out of hearing when his attention was recalled by the rapid ringing of the bell. Suspecting that Indians might be attempting to take off his horse, he immediately returned to him, but before he arrived he was half eaten up. His dog scenting the trace of a wild beast, he followed him on it, and soon came in sight of an animal of such enormous size, that, though one of our most daring hunters and best marksmen, he withdrew instantly, and as silently as possible, checking and bringing off his dog. He could recollect no more of the animal than his terrific bulk, and that his general outlines were those of the cat kind. He was familiar with our animal miscalled the panther, with our wolves and wild beasts generally, and would not have mistaken nor shrunk from them.'

Mr. Jefferson takes this occasion to refute, with great solidity, Buffon's visions respecting the supposed degeneracy of animals in America.

A Letter from Mr. John Heckewelder to Dr. Barton, containing an Account of an Animal called the Big Naked Bear.The Indian traditions respecting this animal are,

• That among all animals that had been formerly in this country, this was the most ferocious. That it was much larger, than the largest of the common bears, and remarkably long-bodied; all over, (except a spot of hair on its back of a white colour,) naked. That it attacked and devoured man and beast, and that a man, or a common bear, only served for one meal to one of these animals. That with its teeth it could crack the strongest bones. That it could not see very well; but in discovering its prey by scent, it exceeded all other animals. That it pursued its prey with unremitting ravenousness, and that there was no other way of escaping, but by taking to a river, and either swimming down the same, or saving one's self by means of a canoe. That, its heart being remarkably small, it could seldom be killed with the arrow. The surest way of destroying him was to break his back-bone. That when a party went out to destroy this animal, they first took leave of their friends and relations at home, considering themselves as going on an expedition, perhaps never to return again."

Such

Such vague testimony can lead to nothing conclusive in natural history.

Experiments and Observations on Land and Sea Air. By Adam Seybert, M. D.-The result of Dr. Seybert's experiments is, that the atmosphere at sea is considerably purer than it is on land.

The most probable conjecture which Dr. S. advances, to account for this phænomena, is that some foreign substances may be suspended in the atmosphere of the land, which are liable to be absorbed by water. A copious table of the experiments is subjoined.

Translation of a Memoir on a new Species of Siren. By M. de Beauvois.-The existence of this animal, denominated by M. de Beauvois the Siren operculata, from two opercula united under the head, proves in his opinion that Linné was correct in classing the Inguana among amphibious animals. He proposes accordingly to revive the class of Meantes established by that author, but suppressed by some later naturalists.

Observations intended to favour a Supposition that the Black Colour (as it is called) of the Negroes is derived from the Leprosy. By Dr. Benjamin Rush.-We have seldom met with a more unsatisfactory attempt at conjecture than the present paper exhibits. The most vague and loose analogies are here produced to substantiate an hypothesis, monstrous in its terms, and incredible in its consequences. Dr. Rush not only considers the black colour of the negroes as a disease, but he thinks that it is curable by art!

Is the color of the negroes a disease? Then let science and humanity combine their efforts, and endeavour to discover a remedy for it. Nature has lately unfurled a banner upon this subject. She has begun spontaneous cures of this disease in several black people in this country. In a certain Henry Moss, who lately travelled through this city, and was exhibited as a show for money, the cure was nearly complete. The change from black to a natural white flesh color began about five years ago at the ends of his fingers, and has extended gradually over the greatest part of his body. The wool which formerly perforated the cuticle has been changed into hair. No change in the diet, drinks, dress, employments, or situation of this man had taken place previously to this change in his fkin. But this fact does not militate against artificial attempts to dislodge the color in negroes, any more than the spontaneous cures of many other diseases militate against the use of medicine in the practice of phy sic.'

The Doctor has added, to this case, several notable observaions on the propriety of whitening the skins of negroes. Dr. Beddoes,

C 2

Beddoes, he says, lessened the blackness in the hand of a negro, by immersing it in the oxygenated muriatic acid. Why did not Dr. Rush speak out, and propose at once to send a colony of bleachers to the coast of Africa, properly instructed in the new chemical process, for the purpose of giving the European tint to the sooty complexion of the inhabitants? Really, we never expected that the old fable of washing the blackamoor white would have been thus realized.

Perhaps, however, the ingenious Doctor may recollect that, as the membrane, which is the seat of the dark colour in negroes, is not external, its hue cannot be materially affected by external applications. In proportion as the cuticle is deprived of colour, therefore, the blackness of the rete mucosum must become more conspicuous.

Experiments upon Magnetism. Communicated in a Letter to Thomas Jefferson, President of the Philosophical Society, by the Rev. James Madison, President of William and Mary College. -These experiments were instituted to explain the peculiar arrangement of iron filings, which takes place when they are scattered round a magnet, on a piece of paper: which arrangement has been supposed to indicate the passage of a magnetic fluid, or of effluvia, in curved lines, from one pole to its opposite. Mr. Madison concludes, from his experiments, that this phænomenon is produced by the attraction of each pole, and by the magnetic power acquired by each particle of the filings, when it arrives within a short distance of its attracting pole.

Memoir on Amphibia. By M. de Beauvois.-In this paper, M. de Beauvois has collected many curious and important observations respecting serpents. He denies the power of fascination, ascribed to the Boiquira, or rattle-snake; and he even produces experiments to prove that this snake will not attempt to seize a live bird confined in the same cage with him, though he will eat a dead one when it is presented to him. The birds shut up with the snake shewed no signs of terror, nor of uneasiness, and one of them even rested on the back of the reptile without disturbing it.

The Boiquira, on which these experiments were made, never would eat frogs, whether they were presented dead or alive to him. M. de Beauvois observes that, besides the two species of Crotalus marked by Linné, there is a third, called the water-rattle-snake :

This new species, which is spoken of neither by Catesby nor Linnæus, nor by any author with whom I am acquainted, appears to have been confounded with the crotalus horridus. It differs from it