light was still strong, and its larger diameter appeared greater, and its smaller less, than the semidiameter of the moon. Its direction was from east to west, its track nearly horizontal, and the altitude about thirty degrees. Colonel Blacker regrets not having heard of any other observation of this phenomenon at a greater distance, whereby he might have estimated its absolute height. As, however, it did not apparently move with the velocity of ordinary meteors, it was probably at a great distance, and consequently of great size. So long as Colonel Blacker beheld it, which was for five or six seconds, its motion was steady, its light equable, and its size and figure permanent. It latterly, however, left a train of sparks, soon after which it disappeared suddenly, without the attendant circumstance of any report audible in Colonel Blacker's situation. Colonel Blacker concludes his paper with some interesting observations on luminous meteors: and considers them of perpetual recurrence, although day-light, clouds, and misty weather, so often exclude them from our view. Of their number no conception can be formed by the unassisted eye; but some conjecture may be formed of their extent from the fact mentioned by our author, that, in using his astronomical telescope, he has often seen what are called falling stars, shooting through the field of view, when they were not visible to the naked eye; and when it is considered that the glass only embraced one twenty-five thousandth part of the celestial hemisphere, it will be apparent that these phenomena must be infinitely numerous, in order to occur so frequently in so small a space

*.

2. Water-spouts in the Irish Channel.-Mr James Mackintosh, an accurate and intelligent observer, keeper of the Lower Lighthouse on the Calf of Man, in his monthly report to Robert Stevenson, Esq. engineer to the Northern Lighthouses, mentions, that "on the morning of Tuesday the 14th November (1826), at a quarter to ten o'clock, he witnessed a remarkable phenomenon. The morning was clear, the wind from the east, inclining a little to the north, when he observed a column of water rising from the sea, off Kegger Point: this column was about the

* On the subject of falling stars seen during the day, see previous Numbers of this Journal. The work of Brandes affords much information as to the vast number of luminous meteors always moving through the atmosphere.EDIT.

height and diameter of the lower lighthouse tower (which is 50 feet high, and 18 in diameter), and there was the appearance of a smoke or fine spray on the top. It seemed be in rapid revolution, and likewise made great progress out to sea, maintaining the same figure till lost in the distance. This first column was immediately followed by a similar appearance from the same point, and which took the same direction. Fahrenheit's thermometer was at 46°; and the barometer fell to 28.52 on the evening of Monday the 13th, but had risen to 29.46 when the water-spouts were observed on the morning of the 14th.

3. Winds in the Polar Regions.—A decrease of wind invariably takes place in passing under the lee, not merely of a close and extensive body of high and heavy ice, but even of a stream of small pieces, and so immediate is this effect, that the moment a ship comes under the lee of such a stream, if under a press of sail, she rights considerably. Another remarkable feature observable in the Polar Regions, at least in those parts encumbered with ice, is the total absence of heavy or dangerous squalls of wind. I cannot call to my recollection, says Captain Parry, in the Polar Regions, of such squalls as, in other climates, oblige the seaman to lower his topsails during their continuance.-Parry's third Voyage.

We verily believe, that, at the Pole itself, neither wind nor tide, rain nor snow, thunder nor lightning, will be found to exist, or, if any of them exist at all, it will be in the smallest possible degree.-Barrow.

CHEMISTRY

4. The presence of animal and vegetable matter, or emanations from them, not necessary for the formation of Nitre. M. Longchamp, in a memoir read before the French Academy of Sciences, endeavours to shew, in opposition to experiments considered as correct, 1, That nitrates are formed in places that contain neither animal nor vegetable matter, and which have never been exposed to emanations from animals: 2. That the nitric acid is formed in the open air, in materials which contain not a trace of animal or vegetable matters: 3, That the nitric acid is formed entirely from the elements of the atmosphere.

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1826.

N.

5. Phosphorus in Kelp.-Repeated trials, we are told, by Von Mons, have proved, that the roundish and longish veins found in the varec-soda or kelp, after the removal of the matter soluble in water has been removed, are principally composed of phosphorus.

GEOLOGY.

6. Geognostical Structure of the Country around Darwar."The following geological fact is curious, whether new or not. The eastern part of this country, which we call the Dooab, is composed of granite, which is succeeded to the westward by an immense series of schists, extending the whole way to the sea. But, between the granite and the schists, is a considerable tract of country, consisting of what I would call pseudo-granite, which is the debris of the original granite, again consolidated. It is composed of felspar, quartz, and mica; the grains of which are not angular, like fresh crystals, but are rounded by attrition; and I have a specimen with an imbedded mass of felspar about the size of a pigeon's egg, completely worn into a round ball. From this description, you cannot doubt that this is not original granite. And now for my curious fact: This consolidated debris is almost every where intersected by small veins of quartz, or of quartz and felspar mixed. Nor have these veins originated from subsequent eruption; for they intersect one another in all directions, and often terminate in two ends, in a small portion of rock. Moreover, this rock often displays, in a slight degree, a schistose structure, especially when acted on by the weather. There are a number of masses of original granite imbedded in this consolidated debris; and, in those places where the latter displays the schistose structure, the imbedded masses have the schistose consolidated debris; or, if you please, the pseudo-granite, surrounding it like concentric lamellæ. These facts appear to prove, that a new arrangement of particles may take place in solid bodies, giving rise to crystallization, and to different kinds of structure in rocks. There is a curious fact mentioned by Dr Clarke, in his Travels in Greece, which strongly confirms this opinion, viz. that the enormous stalactites in the Grotto of Antiparos, which have been formed by the gradual deposition of lime-water, offer concentric layers only towards their superficies, their interior structure exhibiting a complicated

crystallization. You will at once see that this fact, being established, will prove of importance in enabling us to explain many appearances which have hitherto puzzled geologists in their attempts to account for the origin and formation of rocks."-Letter from Alexander Turnbull, Esq. Civil Surgeon, Darwar, East Indies.

7. Account of a Libellulite found at Solenhoffen.-Last spring there was found in the famous quarries of lithographic limestone at Solenhoffen, near Pappenheim, in Bavaria, a beautiful petrifaction of an insect of the genus Libellula, represented at Fig. 4. Pl. 3. These quarries are already well known, from the numerous fossil species of marine and fresh water animals they contain. The body of the fossil libellula is disposed in the direction of the slaty structure of the limestone, and is distinguished from the stone in which it is contained, not by any particular colour, but its greater smoothness. The head is roundish, and not very broad. The neck and the first pair of legs are distinctly visible, but the other feet were not seen. The thorax is the most prominent part of the animal, but becomes gradually flatter towards its extremity. The four wings are spread out, and very well preserved, and single veins are observable in some of them. The abdomen is cylindrical, is thinner towards the middle, expands again, and terminates in a notch. The globular head, the horizontally expanded wings, the cylindrical abdomen, and the total habitat, shew that it belongs to the genus Aeschna of Fabricius, and is distinguished from the Aeschna grandis only by its greater size. The insect just mentioned, measuring from tip of one wing to tip of the other, three inches; whereas in the fossil species, the length is three and a half inches, and all the other parts are in proportion larger. In the same block of stone with the fossil libellula, was a small asterias, or sea-star,—a fact which confirms the mutual occurrence, in this rock, of land and marine animals.—Vide Leonhardt's Zeitschrift.

8. Beds of Sea-shells, nearly in a fresh state, 200 feet above the level of the Sea.-The following observations, (says Berzelius), which I had an opportunity of making on the west side of the Scandinavian peninsula, will serve as an additional proof of the gradual rise of the Scandinavian land above the level of the sea. It is known that, on the sea-coast, and in

the islands at Uddevalla, and also on the whole sea-coast of Southern Norway, there are here and there banks of seashells, sometimes 200 feet above the present level of the sea. The shells are, in general, well preserved, none are calcined or weathered, and all of them are of species that still live in the neighbouring sea. The horizontal beds in which they lie, shew that they have been quietly formed here, and that they were formerly the bottom of the sea. One of them, the Lepas balanus, is always attached to the rocks of the coast; so that, during the motions of the surface of the sea, it is momentarily above its surface. Brongniart, with whom I visited these banks at Uddevalla, remarked, that if the sea, at any time, covered these places, that we would probably find lepades or barnacles adhering, if any of the rocks could be exposed. We searched for exposed portions of rock, and soon found them, with barnacles adhering, which had remained attached from the period when Uddevalla was 200 feet under the surface of the sea. I consider this as the oldest and most certain of all those marine testimonies which go to prove that the Scandinavian land has risen above the sea; for a fall or sinking of the sea 200 feet around the whole coast is not to be thought of. What raises the land, and how and when will its elevation be finished? who would venture to answer these questions?

But

9. Greensand formation in Sweden.-Nilson has announced, in the Stockholm Transactions, the discovery of the greensand in Schonen. It contains, besides univalve and bivalve marine shells, different fossil land plants. The green sand of Schonen may be considered as the termination of the great tertiary series of rocks which extends from Germany, under the waters of the Baltic, until it terminates in the higher lying parts of Schonen.

10. Coal of Höganäs.-This interesting deposite appears to occupy, in the geognostical series, a place between the old coal formation and that of the brown coal.

11. Hill of Magnetic Iron-ore.-Menge describes a hill of magnetic iron-ore he met with at Kuschwa, in Siberia, 400 feet high, which rises through primitive greenstone. The iron-ore is associated with sodalite and augite. On the west side of the mountain, he observed a remarkable amygdaloid rock, in which the basis is of garnet. The amygdaloidal masses are calc-spar, and the vesicular cavities are lined with crystals of scapolite.