1815.] New Works published and preparing in the East Indies.

6. A Translation of the story of Soohrab into English verse, by James Atkinsen, esq. This is considered as one of the most beautiful and interesting episodes in the Shahnamu of Firduosee. The original Persian will be annexed, taken from a manuscript copy collated under the superintendance of Dr. Lumsden, Professor of Arabic and Persian in the College. Notes are added to illustrate peculiar beauties and allusions.

7. Qamoos, a well-known Arabic LexiCon, to be edited by Shuckh Uhmed, a learned native of Arabia, at present attached to the Arabic department of the College.

8. A Grammar of the Telinga language; by the Rev. Wm. Carey, Professor of the Sunskrit, Bengalee, and Murhutta languages in the College of Fort William. This work has been pub

lished.

9. A Chinese Grammar; by the Rev. Mr. Morrison, Chinese Secretary to the Company's Supercargoes at Canton. This work is likely to prove one of the most valuable results of European application and ability towards opening a path to the acquirement of the difficult and almost unknown language of which

it treats.

10. Nulodyn, a celebrated romance, to be edited by Babooram Pundit, formerly translated by Fuzee into Persian verse, under the title of Nuldúmun.

The following are now in the press, or preparing for publication:

1. A Translation of the New Testament into Arabic; by the united labours of the Rev. Thomas Thomason and Nathaniel Sabat. It is printing with a beautiful new type, and is advanced as far as the fourth Gospel. This version was originally commenced by the late learned and indefatigable Rev. H. Martyn, who, being obliged to quit the country for the benefit of his health, resigned the superintendence of the work to Mr. Thompson. No pains are spared to ren der it as faithful to the original, and as idiomatical as possible.

2. Khirud-fros, or the Enlightener

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of the Understanding; formerly translated by Muolovee Hufeez-ood-den, Moonshee to the Resident at Dihlee, from the Persian Iyari-Dunish, or Touchstone of Knowledge, written by the famous Ubool Fuzl, by order of the Emperor Ukbur. It consists of 16 chapters, which contain many beautiful tales expressed in the finest dialect of the Hindoostanee language; and most of the terms of thought and speech employed by the superior class of natives are here to be found reduced to the standard of common life, and adapted to its most familiar incidents.

3. Ridya Durpun, or The Mirror of Science; from the Uwudlr Bilas, ori ginally written in the Poorbee Bhasha by Sree La Kuvi, about 170 years ago, and now for the first time translated into that peculiar dialect of the Hindee usually spoken by the Sipahees. This work contains, besides the History of Ramu, an abstract of almost all the arts and sciences known to the Hindoos, and is generally considered as one of the most valuable and curious works in the language. The translation is executed by Mirzaee Beg, a native of Uwudh, under the superintendence of Capt. Roebuck.

4. A Punjabee Dictionary, explained in Persian and Hisdoostanee; by Moonshee Kasheeraj, a native of the Punjab.

A translation of the New Testament into the Hindoostanee Language, has just been published.

Rewards have been granted by the College Council for the following manuscript works by learned natives, deposited in the College Library.

1. Deewani Juan; by Bunèe Nurayun, undertaken at the suggestion of Capt. Roebuck; containing an alphabetical list of most of the Hindoostanee poets, with specimens of their various styles, giving at the same time a short account of their lives.

2. Wuseetoon Nuho, a valuable Treatise upon Arabic Syntax; by Muoluree Toolab Ulce, Oriental Librarian to the College.

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portion of lime in powder, viz. about one third, or one-half, about 14 days before I use it. This soil is to be spread about three inches thick at the bottom of any old wooden box, or on a very dry brick cellar floor. The cellar ought not to be exposed to the frost, nor yet too much confined from the air. I then procure a measure or two of large potatoes of a prior year's growth; the sorts I prefer are the red apple potatoe, the pink eyes, or Mr. Curwen's purple potatoes. I set these on the soil whole, about three inches apart, with the crown or the principal eye to the soil in preference, but I put no soil over them. The potatoes which I sent you were produced from potatoes thus placed about the 20th of September, which allows from ten to twelve weeks for their growth; they grew at the bottom of the old potatoes, and were attached to them. The old potatoes also threw out numerous sprouts or stalks, with many potatoes growing on them, but these sprouts were killed by the very intense frost of the present winter (Jan. 1814) and as I found them to damage both the new potatoes and the old sets, I removed them. I have no doubt that these sprouts would have produced a crop of potatoes, if the frost had not damaged them.

"The original potatoes for planting whole, for sets in September, should be such as were of perfect growth in the October of the preceding year, and well preserved during the winter: the sprouts which shoot from them should be removed by the end of April, and these sprouts, which will be from 6 to 20 inches long, may be planted with all their fibres in a garden for a first crop. About June 15th the potatoe sets must be sprit again, and the sprouts planted for a second crop; and in September the potatoe sets must be sprit a third time, and the sprouts of this last produce thrown away as useless. At the end of September the original or seed potatoe is to be gently placed on the soils as beforementioned for a Christinas crop. At the end of three months at farthest the old potatoes should be care fully twisted from the new ones, and the sprouts taken off the old potatoe; and the old potatoe is then to be placed on its bottom or side, on a fresh bed of soil prepared as before, and left to produce another crop from fresh eyes placed next the soil; as you are to observe that the old potatoe should not be set or placed twice on the saine side, and you must take care at that time to remove the

[June 1,

sprouts, to prevent the moisture rotting the old potatoe. By the above method. I have had four crops of new potatoes, from one potatoe, exclusive of those pro duced from the 'sprouts planted in the garden in April and June, from which I obtained two crops of well-grown potatoes in September and October, weigh ing from 8 to 12 ounces each: the crops were very plentiful in proportion to the quantity planted."

The committee observe that they be lieve no method of raising early potstoes will be found more cheap and easy in management than this; the potatoes are remarkably well flavoured, and may be kept longer without prejudice after gathering, before dressed, than potatoes grown in the natural ground.

Mr. WM. HOOKEY, master boat-bullder at Woolwich dock-yard, who received a gold medal for his improved method of bending timber employed in ship-building, states that by this method a saving of 15001. will be made in building a 74-gun ship, and a general saving to the country of 50,000l. per annum, besides giving a constant supply of tim ́ber which cannot be otherwise obtained. His machine has been repeatedly tried at Woolwich, and found to answer every intended purpose. On the 2d of May, 1813, he bent the largest piece of timber that ever was bent in England to a 4 ft. 8 inch curve, 30 ft. long and 16 inches square, for a floor-timber for the Black Prince of 74 guns, in eight minutes, which was a saving of 121. in one floortimber. He declares from experience, that Sussex oak is the best in the world for elasticity and durability, and that the produce of the south-west parts of Kent, and north-east of Hampshire, is next in quality:

Mr.WOODALL received the society's sil ver medal for a wind-up bedstead for sick or lame persons, by which their position can be easily altered without occasioning pain or fatigue. It works smoothly without any jerks, and by oue rack only, which enables one attendant to raise or depress the bed at pleasure. Mr. Woodall can furnish bedsteads on this construction at the rate of 36s. each, and an old bed may be easily altered to this plan. He can also, if necessary, lower the foot part of the bed by the same movement, so as to make the bed air swer the purposes of a chair.

Mr. F. FOLSCH, of Oxford-street, received a gold medal for his method of teaching young persons to read and write; and five guineas were voted is

Transactions of the Society of Arts."

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Transactions of the Society of Arts.

direction. The method pursued is as follows:--As soon as the fish are taken, they are gutted, and afterwards sprinkled with sal in their own blood, in large square, round, or oval tubs, about a foot and a half deep, where the fish are well stirred together, that the salt may take equal effect. The barrels must be ready to use instantaneously for packing with salt, four barrels of which are used to 14 barrels (a last) of fish. They are then headed up, and placed in the ship's hold: in about four or five days they are opened for filling up, and care must be taken to keep them in this state, other wise they will become rancid or rusty, On being brought into port, they are repacked as occasion may require, in packages suitable to the market for which they are destined. For home consumption and the Baltic trade, they merely require to be filled; but for the West Indies they must be repacked in small kegs, of about one gallon each, with the addition of two pounds of salt to each keg.

On a minute examination of the herrings produced to the committee, it appeared, that those caught in the deep sea off Shetland, were fatter and fuller of milts and roes than those caught on the coast of Yarmouth. Mr. Sievers stated, that herrings are generally known under the denominations of the St. Michael's, the Highland, and the long shotten herring; and that the deep-sea fishing is carried on in sloops, each carrying ten or twelve hands. These are obliged to go to Shetland to clear out according to act of parliament, about the 16th of June, and have then to return to commence the fishery at Buchan Ness off Peterhead, on the 24th of June, and thus suffer great disadvantages, by delays from wind and weather, in an unnecessary voyage of 300 miles. The herrings caught in the deep sea off Buchan Ness are large, fat, and full-belled; they are also richer in flavour, and more esteemed for home consumption and for the Continent, but do not keep so well as the lanker fish caught near Yarmouth, which last are better calculated for the West India markets. The fishery there is carried on in September and October, as the herrings come down the German Ocean.

Mr. PHILLIPS LONDON has communicated a process for curing herrings, pil chards, mackarel, sprats, &c. which may

[June 1,

become of extensive utility, by preserv ing large quantities of these various kinds of fish for food, which might otherwise be wasted in very abundant seasons. This is sufficiently evident from the fact, that in January, 1814, sprats pickled by this method were selling to the poor of Spitalfields at the rate of one penny per pound. In the same year upwards of 25,000 mackarel, 300 barrels of herrings, and 50 of sprats, were cured at Rans gate by this process, which is as fol lows:

Reservoirs of any size, vats, or casks, perfectly water tight, should be about half filled with brine, made by dissolving about 28 parts of solid salt in 72 of fresa water. The fish, as fresh as possible, gutted or not, must be plunged into this fully saturated brine in such quantity as nearly to fill the reservoir, and after re maining quite immersed five or six days, they will be fit to be packed as usual with large grained solid salt, and exported to the hottest climates. As brine is always weakest at the upper part, in order to keep it of a uniform saturation a wooden lattice-work frame, of such size as to be easily let into the inside of the reservoir, is sunk an inch or two under the surface of the brine, for the purpose of suspending upon it lumps of one or two pounds, or larger, of solid salt, which effectually saturate whatever moisture may exude from the fish, and thus the brine will be continued of the utmost strength so long as any part of the lumps remains undissolved. The solidity of the lumps admits of their being applied several times, or whenever the reservoirs are replenished with fish; and the brine, although repeatedly used, does not putrefy; nor do the fish, if kept under the surface, ever become rancid.

Mr. London adds, that all provi sions are best preserved by this method, especially bacon, which, when thus cured, is not so liable to become rusty, as when done by the usual method of rubbing with salt, and is nevertheless effectually cured.

In this volume a deserved tribute of respect is paid to the late Sir WILLIAM DOLBEN, who was a member of the society from the year 1759, and a zenkous promoter of the arts, manufactures, and commerce, of his country. Prefixed to it is a portrait of him, engraved by War ren, from a picture by Brown in the Hall of Christchurch, Oxford.

NEW PUBLICATIONS IN APRIL AND MAY,

WITH CRITICAL REMARKS.