caufe long after the earth had been peopled by one common progeni

fuvius.

VII. An account of the fpecies of plant from which the agaric, ufed as a typtic, is prepared. By Mr. William Watson, F. R. S.

VIII. An account of a mountain of iron ore, at Taberg in Sweden, in a letter to Mr. Peter Collinfon, F. R. S. By Peter Afcanius, M. D.

This mountain is above 400 feet in perpendicular height, and its circumference three English miles; it is one mafs of rich iron ore, and in fome parts mixt with particles of native iron. No ore is found beyond the foot of the mountain, nor on the neighbouring plain; nor does its orey fubftance at all penetrate the ground, fo that it appears as if it had been artificially laid on the fand. The bones of ani mals found in its interior fiffures feem to demonftrate it to have been formed from fome ruinous caufe, as an inundation, earthquake, &c.

IX. An account of an extraordinary cafe of a child, by Mr. Richard Grey, furgeon.

This child was fuppofed to have died of a dropfy, but upon opening the body there was found a large round folid body of the fhape of an egg, weighing above 14 pounds, containing cifts filled with a meliceratous fluid. This body adhered to the peritoneum, back bone, and almoft all the internal cavity of the abdo

men.

been fuccefsfully ufed in feveral capital amputations, by M. Audouillet, an eminent furgeon of France, who applied pieces of it to the mouths of the veffels, and upon them doffils of lint. The fecond relates, that the lycoperdon applied to the extremety of the largest arteries of a horse, which were divided for that purpose, stopped the bleeding in a few minutes, and that the mouths of thefe veffels healed up without any farther difcharge; that in 24 hours after the application of this powder, a thin pellicle or fkin is formed on the mouth of the divided vessel, and that within the veffel is found a fmall plug of congealed blood, of a conical figure, having its bafe at the mouth of the veffel.

Thefe experiments are attefted by commiffaries of the French acade my.

XI. A letter from Dr. Parfons concerning the ufe of the lycoperdon as a йyptic.

This contains only a more particular account of the experiments mentioned to be made, by Le Folle in the preceding article, extracted from a treatife which he has published concerning the difeafes of horses.

The lycoperdon, or puff-ball, is to be found almoft in every field during the autumn. M. Ray, in his natu ral hiftory, has afcribed this ftyptic virtue to it, and adds, that it powerfully dries up foul ichorous ulcers. As this is the feafon in which it is to be found in great plenty, it is hoped no family will be without a remedy fo useful on the most fudden and most dangerous emergencies.

XII. An account of the ftate of the thermometor on the 8th and 9th of Feb. 1755. On the 8th at 7 in the morning the thermoter that hung out of doors, was down at 17. On the 9th at 8 in the evening it had rilen to 38 But another thermometor, hung within the window near that without, continued falling till this

'day.

day, when at fix in the morning it Hood at 25 and a half, and at 8 in the evening was at 28. So that here was great increase of cold within (ie. till fix in the morning) whilft there was a very confiderable abatement of it abroad.

fined to her bed. She anointed with the fame fuccefs; refumed her bufinefs, and was as the faid as lank as a maiden, and as well as ever fhe had been in 'her life. (To be continued.)

houfes on Sundays.

XIII An account of fome cafes of dropfies cured by fweet oil, communicated by Dr. Oliver of Bath. Thefe cafes are in fubftance as follow :

ft. A lady who had been tapped of eleven pints of water, but had fill a fullness on each fide the groin towards the back, and whofe belly began foon after to fill again, had common fallad oil rubbed into the whole abdomen an hour at a time with a warm hand every day. On the third day the quantity of urine fenfibly increafed, and the fullness gradually abated, and in a fortnight's time was quite gone, her appetite, digeftion, and fleep grew natural; and the recovered flesh, ftrength, and fpirits.

zd. A man aged 55, who by hard drinking and ill medical treatment had been cachectic 15 years, with frequent fymptoms of the jaundice and dropfy, half a year ago grew much worfe, his belly, legs, and thighs fwelled to an enormous fize; he was with difficulty removed from his bed to his chair, and was given over as a perfon in an incurable dropfy. This man, encouraged by the foregoing cafe, began to try the fame method of cure; in 4 days his urine increased, in a fortnight his body and limbs were wonderfully decreafed, and in lefs than three weeks he was feen walking about the town, tho' before he could not move a joint,

3d. A woman 70 years of age, of a thin habit, who fold cakes about the town, became dropfical, and her belly fo diftended that he was con

I

GENTLEMEN,

Think it is an observation of dean Swift's, that if there were not a clergyman in every parish, the num ber of conftables must be encreased ; from whence one would naturally conclude, that he derived fome part of the good order among the common people from the influence of religion. But, I believe, what he particularly meant by this obfervation was to fhew that if the leisure of Sunday was not apply'd by the common people to devotion, it would certainly be totally dedicated by them to diverfions, and to thofe perhaps not always of the most innocent kind. Indeed it must be acknowledged that much more regard is paid to the Lord's day by the populace in the country, than by the mob in town: and it is as customary for the former to go to church, as it is for the latter to fpend their time. at an alehouse.

Great pains has been taken by the legiflature to preferve decency in the streets of London on Sundays by prohibiting, by several good laws, the exerciling trades offenfive to decency; which at least has this good. effect as it keeps thofe fhops thut, and fhews the appearance of fome regard to the fabbath: But, ftep into an alehoufe during diviae fervice, and there it is full change; and the reafon is plain; confider what numbers of journeymen, labourers, &c. have no more lodging than what is fufficient to contain their beds; when they are up, therefore, what they to do where are they to go? Their fit yifit is to the friendly

are

publican,

the militi bill, as it feems to portend much greater evil to our religion and country, for its being a conftitutional act?

In this claufe vindicated, by recurring to the opininion and practice of fome foreign proteftants? It fhould alfo be remembered, that if fuch proteftants return to fecular affairs on the Sunday evening, they have previously laid afide their fecular affairs at the fame hour on the Saturday evening.

It is pleaded, that the claufe in queftion is friendly to trade and induftry, and that we cannot take the husbandman, or manufacterer, from his work, on the other days of the week, without deftroying both agriculture and trade? I would beg leave to reply, that among 60, or 70,000 men, 'tis highly probable there would be a confiderable number, who never had been, or ever would be, important either to agriculture or trade. Even fuppofing all the 60 or 70,000 men to be ufeful in each profeffion, that would make a very inconsiderable part of the whole number of hufbandmen and manufacturers in the nation. And the loft Jabour of fo inconfiderable a part must be fixed at a diminutive eftimation, when it is computed, that two hours in an evening, for 35 days, or at moft 35 quarters of days, is all the time that is required from work, as a compenfation for the facred time mentioned in the exceptionable claufe. A little diligence might easily prevent any lofs to trade, and even agriculture too, except in harvest time. There are few, if any, manufacturers, that could not eafily fpare a quarter of 35 working days in the year, as a much greater proportion of their time for labour is generally devoted to much worfe purposes than learning the ute of arms. What if all the weekdays, that are in every part of the kingdom called Holidays, except Christmas-day, and and Good Friday,

were devoted to this exercife? Neither trade, nor agriculture, nor religion, would fuftain any lofs, by thus employing ten days at Chriftmas, three at Eafter, three at Whitfuntide, and three more at every parifh wake, feaft, or revel, though in many places the whole week is confumed in idlenefs and intemperance. This would alfo obviate the difficulty, if any fuch remains, of paying men for their time, as their demands could not reasonably be more for holidays, than for Sundays. If every county allowed their men fix-pence a day, the expence would be comparatively fmall. And who can think it a juftifiable, frugality, to rob God of the honour of his day, their country of divine protection, and their fouls and the fouls of their pofterity after them, of all ferious religion?

taverns

It is farther pleaded, that 'tis better on a Sunday to learn the use of arms to defend our country, than fpend the facred time in taverns and alehoufes ? But who does not fee that the too common prophanation of the Lord's day in and alehoufes, is not only contrary to divine and human laws, but very much owing to the want of duly executing the wholefome law of our country? Therefore, to eftablish this exceptionable claufe, is in effect, to repeal a law which we acknowledge to be good in itfelf, and agreeable to the divine law, only because we won't be at the trouble to put it in execution, at the fame time that we make ufe of the frequent violation of it, as a reafon for its being repealed. For in fact, if a few men meet together, on a Sunday, to learn the ufe of arms; tis more than probable they will have a multitude of idle fpectators, and the rather for its being Sunday, and that both one fort or the other will retire from the field to taverns and alehouses, and that in doing fo they will think

they

themselves fufficiently juftified by the profeffed defign and authority which called fome of them together.

Undoubtedly the legislature is defroms to bave men of virtue and piety compose a militia. But can any abing be contrived, that will bave a more natural tendency to prevent fuch perfons from engging themselves, than this Sunday clauic?.

Ma we painfully fuppofe, that the temptations of high lite have, pro duced in great men too little zeal for the fanctification of the Lord's day Even in that cafe, melancholy it is, fhould not mere human policy, abtracted from virtue and rchion, be a fufficient motive to legiatures to continue in full force abole laws, which times of reformation have always thought neceftery, for the honour of God, and for the piety of prefent and future generations?

In the prefent conjuncture, could any thing wear a more promifing aped, than to fee a national fait observed with fuch univerfal decency and ferioufnefs? But whatever our prayers have been, of continue to be. in order to avert national canities, or fecure the continuance sational bleffings, how we reaSomably hope that the Lord will hear our prayers, if we regard iniquity Ca national conftitutions, yea eah iniquity by a law.

Sace thefe remarks were thrown Together, I am favoured with a leta mom a dignified clergyman, in which the good old gentleman fays, ** we are not preferved from the Sunday claufe in the militia bill, "tball look upon it as an unhap27 шеп. It will, in my judgwant, not only be excluding tre almighty from our politicks, But be bidding defiance to him, hy a folemn repeal of one of his laws, and figning and fealing to are downfall of our country.