to be inaccessible on account of the numerous banks of moving sand, were approached within three or four miles, and, with the exception of a single bank, which does extend above seven or eight leagues from land, surveyed with the greatest accuracy; so that this part of South America may now be visited with perfect security, according to the new charts constructed on the spot.

Odessa.-The works now carrying on for the improvement of Odessa have afforded an additional evidence that, as had been presumed, from the measures of distances given by Arrian, and the anonymous author of a voyage in the Euxine, a settlement formerly existed there, under the name of Iorplavov Auy, or harbour of the city of 1strios. Previous discoveries made in enlarging the harbour, when many beautiful antique vases of Greek workmanship were found, resembling in form those usually called Etruscan, have supported this theory; and M. Van der Vlies, a skilful engineer, who has the charge of the works in that part of the harbour, has lately presented to the museum of antiquities at Odessa an amphora in excellent preservation, and a fragment of another vase of the same kind, of a coarse earth. These vases, it is well known, were used for

domestic purposes, and the ancients kept wine and oil in them. The name of the manufacturer, which it was customary to engrave within the neck of the amphora, is too much effaced to be legible.

American Seamen. The fourth annual report of the Board of Directors of the Boston Seaman's Friend Society states, that the number of seamen belonging to the United States, estimated with as much accuracy as possible, is 102,000, of whom there are in trade, in vessels of nearly or over 100 tons the foreign-trade 50,000; in the coastingburthen, 25,000; in coasting-vessels of less

than fifty tons burthen, 5000; in the cod fishery, 5000; in the steam-vessels, 1000; and in the United States' navy, 6000.

The King of Denmark has offered a gold medal, of the value of twenty ducats, to be given to the person, whether native or foreigner, who shall first discover a telescopic comet (that is, not visible to the naked eye), and not of known revolution. Each claimant must send notice of his discovery to Professor Schumacher, of Copenhagen, by the first post afterwards, and fix the time of the discovery as well as he can, in order to enable the Professor to decide between different observers.

Inverting Trees.-In the course of ascertaining how far a circulation of sap is carried on in trees, some interesting facts have been determined by Mr. Knight and others with regard to the effect of inverting stems, or, in other words, of planting the superior part of the stem, and thus converting it into a root. If the stem of a plum or cherry-tree, which is not too thick, be bent, and the top be put under-ground, while the roots are gradually detached, in proportion as the former top of the stem becomes firmly fixed in the soil, the branches of the root will shoot forth leaves and flowers, and in due time will produce fruit.

Germination of Seeds by Oxalic Acid.Oxalic-acid has been of late successfully used to make old seeds germinate. They are put into a bottle of the acid until germination commences, which is generally in from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, when they are taken out and sown in the usual Seeds from twenty to forty years' old have been successfully treated in this

manner.

way.

Dew. The following is Dr. Wells's ingenious theory of dew: "The most copious deposition of dew takes place when the weather is clear and serene; and the substances that are covered with it are always colder June.-VOL. XXXVI. NO. CXXXVIII.

than the contiguous strata of air, or than those bodies on which dew is not deposited. In fact, dew is a deposition of water previously existing in the air as vapour, and which loses its gaseous form only in consequence of being chilled by contact with colder bodies. In speculating, therefore, about the cause of this interesting and im portant phenomenon, the chief object is to discover the principle by which the reduction of temperature is effected. The explanation proposed by Dr. Wells, and now almost universally adopted, is founded on the theory of M. Prevost. If it be admitted that bodies radiate at all times, their temperature can remain stationary only by their receiving from surrounding objects as many rays as they emit; and should a substance be so situated that its own radiation may continue uninterruptedly without an equivalent being returned to it, its temperature must necessarily fall. Such is believed to be the condition of the ground in a calm, starlight evening. The calorific rays which are then emitted by substances on the surface of the earth, are dispersed through free space and lost; nothing is present in the atmosphere to exchange rays with them, and their temperature consequently diminishes. If, on the contrary, the weather is cloudy, the radiant caloric proceeding from

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the earth is intercepted by the clouds, an interchange is established, and the ground retains nearly, if not quite, the same temperature as the adjacent portions of air. All the facts hitherto observed concerning the formation of dew tend to confirm this explanation. It is found that dew is deposited sparingly, or not at all, in cloudy weather; that all circumstances which promote free radiation are favourable to the formation of dew; that good radiators of caloric, such as

It will be recollected that we, some time since, gave publicity to a statement respecting a process by which, as it was stated, a considerable quantity of spirit could be obtained from bread whilst it was undergoing the operation of baking. The "Journal des Connaissances Usuelles et Pratiques" has a letter upon this subject, signed M. Lejeune and R. Moreuse, in which it is denied, upon the authority of experiments made, that the results alleged to have been obtained in England are at all attainable; first, because the materials of ovens are too permeable to prevent the alcohol from escaping out of them; and secondly, that at a temperature of 300 degrees, the alcohol, if it exists, is immediately transformed into acetous air by the air contained in the oven, or that which penetrates by imperceptible fissures (the mouth being well-luted), in spite of every imaginable precaution. Neither, it is added, can ovens be at all adapted for distillation, without materially impeding the baking of the bread. It appears,

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Thomas Gaunt, of Chapman-street, Islington, in the county of Middlesex, Gentleman, for his invention of a certain improvement or improvements in gaiters or spatterdashes.

Joshua Taylor Beale, of Church-street, Whitechapel, in the county of Middlesex, Engineer, for certain improvements in steam engines.

John Howard Kyan, of South-row, Eustonsquare, in the county of Middlesex, Esq. for a new mode of preserving certain vegetable substances from decay.

John Bate, of the Poultry, in the City of London, Optician, for an improvement or improvements on machinery applicable to the imitation of medals, sculpture, and other works of art executed in relief.

Alexander Beattie Shankland, of Liverpoolstreet, in the City of London, for a new method of spinning flax and hemp by means of machinery. Communicated by a foreigner.

George Edwards, of St. Mary's-square, Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, Gentleman, for a philosophic alphabet or arrangement of letters, forms, or figures, by which the articulate sounds of languages may be scientifically denoted. Benjamin Cook, of Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, Brass Founder, for an improved

method of manufacturing various useful articles from a metal not hitherto used for that purpose.

John Demeur, of Water-lane, Tower-street, in the City of London, Gentleman, for the extraction of oleaginous matter from a certain foreign vegetable kernel, and the application of the said oleaginous matter to the making of oil, candles, soap, and other articles of commerce, a part of which invention has been communicated to him by a foreigner residing abroad.

John James Clark, of Market Raven, in the County of Lincoln, Gentleman, John Nash, of the same place, Tile and Brick Manufacturer, and John Longbottom, of Leeds, in the county of York, Machine Maker, for certain improvements in the machinery and process used in the manufacture of tiles, bricks, bread, biscuits, and other articles formed of plastic materials, a part of which improvements is applicable to other purposes.

Richard Roberts, of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, Civil Engineer, for a certain improvement or certain improvements in steam engines, and also in the mechanism through which the elastic force of steam is made to give impulse to and regulate the speed of locomotive carriages.

The Third Volume of "The Memoirs of Madame Junot," including a period pregnant with great events, may be expected shortly.

A work of a singular nature is in a state of forwardness at press, entitled "Private Correspondence of a Woman of Fashion."

"Lights and Shadows of American Life, illus. trative of the Manners, &c. of our Transatlantic Brethren," and written by a Coterie of Authors in the United States, is on the eve of appearance. "Henry Masterton; or the Adventures of a Young Cavalier." By the Author of "Richelieu," "Darnley," &c. is nearly ready for delivery.

The number of "The Standard Novels for July will consist of Mr. Cooper's celebrated Tale entitled "The Prairie."

A work of Popular Zoology, containing the Natural History of the Quadrupeds and Birds in the Zoological Gardens, &c.

"An Account of Anne Jackson, with Particulars concerning the Plague and Fire in London, written by Herself."

The Rev. Richard Cattermole has in the press, "Becket; an Historical Tragedy; The Men of England; an Ode; and other Poems."

"An Historical and Topographical Guide to the Isle of Wight."

Mr. Britton's "Topographical Sketches of Tunbridge Wells," with Maps and Views, is nearly ready.

"Statistics of France; the Government, Fi. nances, Taxation, Commerce, Agriculture, Royal Navy, State of Crimes and Punishment, Prisons and Galleys, Public Press, National Guard," &c. By Lewis Goldsmith, Author of "The Secret History of the Cabinet of Buonaparte," &c.

The numerous readers of Sir Jonah Barrington's two volumes of "Personal Sketches," will duly appreciate the announcement that his third volume, which has been only delayed for the ad

mission of some extra stores of genuine Hibernian Anecdote, will be published in the course of a very few days.

Mrs. S. C. Hall is, we understand, preparing for publication a three-volume tale, under the title of "The Buccaneer," the scene of which is laid along the coast of Kent and in the vicinity of London, during the latter years of the Pro

tectorate.

"A Manual of Grecian Antiquities, being a Compendions Account of the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Greeks, for the use of Schools," &c. By George H. Smith.

"La Coquetterie : a Tale-Sketches of Society in France and Belgium."

A new edition of the first volume of Colonel Napier's "History of the War in the Peninsula," with a Reply to various Opponents, &c.

"A History of the King's German Legion, from its Organization in 1803." By Major Ludlow Beamish.

The Fourth Volume of "The Cornwall Geological Transactions."

Mr. Thackrah, of Leeds, is, we hear, preparing an enlarged edition of his work "On Employments as affecting Health and Longevity in General."

"Introduction to Botany." By John Lindley,

Esq.

"Cavendish and his Critics, or Whig versus Tory."

A new fashionable Monthly Magazine is announced by Mr. Harral, under the title of "La Cour des Dames; or Gazette of Fashion, Literature, and the Fine Arts," with a series of Portraits, &c.

The translator of the "Tour of a German Prince" is, we hear, now translating the Correspondence of Schiller and Goethe, which forms six volumes in the German.

CUVIER.

George Cuvier, son of an officer in the Swiss regiment of Waldner, was born at Montbeliard, in August 1769. This town, although now appertaining to France, was then capital of a county annexed to the Duchy of Wurtemberg. To this circum stance Cuvier owed the felicity of being half French, half German, an immense advantage to the man of letters and science, since it at once gives him the key of two contrasted realms of study and of thought, of which not only the united stores, but the continual comparison, are of unspeakable benefit. He was educated at the college of Montbeliard, and in the Lutheran religion, which was that of his parents. They destined him to the army; but the youth himself decided for a more studious profession, and directed his views towards the church. I was chiefly incited to this, by knowing

a candidate for orders he should be

sent gratuitously to the University of Tubingen, that is, if his proficiency entitled him to the first places at examinations. For this he laboured with all his might, and it is said, deserved it. But the caprice of examiners deprived him of the advantage, and Cuvier was disappointed. Many of his fellow-townsmen, however, aware of the boy's exertion and talent, and suspecting unfairness, applied to Prince Frederick of Wurtemberg, who then governed the county; and he hearkening to their recommendation, appointed Cuvier to the military school at Stuttgard. Here again the boy' fate had distracted him from the church, which certainly would not have proved favourable to his scientific studies, and sent him, contrary to his expectation, to an establishment famed for scientific education.

At Stuttgard, Cuvier met the celebrated Schiller. Botany is the favourite pastime of all German students, and Cuvier amidst

his mathematical lessons found time to give himself with ardour to it. He remained four years at Stuttgard, the period allowed, and then returned to his parents. Home, however, he soon quitted on the invitation of a schoolfellow, who offered to cede to Cuvier a tuition, that he could no longer keep. The subject of our sketch accordingly removed to Normandy, and assumed the office of instructor to the children of the Comte D'Héricy. Here he found ample leisure and fit scene for the study of nature; but the neighbour hood of the sea, more favourable to animal than to vegetable life, turned his attention from botany to zoology, in which department of science there was a much wider field. In this new branch of pursuit Cuvier made such discoveries as at once introduced him to the consideration and friendship of the naturalists of Paris; and Mr. Geoffroy St. Hilaire offered to undertake a work in conjunction with him. This connexion soon called Cuvier to Paris, where he established his reputation by an introductory Essay on Zoology. He was soon after appointed, in consequence, to the Professorship of Comparative Anatomy; and his lectures in this capacity, rising far above the common standard of excellence and instruction, and as remarkable for eloquence as depth, at once placed him upon the summit of scientific eminence.

Here the discerning eye of Napoleon perceived his talents, and envying Cuvier to science, he raised the Professor into the Minister. Under successive grades and titles, during the Imperial reign, he performed the principal functions of Minister of Public Instruction, and in that office became as famed for his Reports as in the philosophic chair for his lectures. Despite his political avocation, Cuvier found time for his scientific discoveries and classification. The Restoration of the Bourbons in 1814 made little change in Cuvier's position. He was too useful to be set aside. His enemies accuse him of a laxity of principle in continuing in place. But his nature was incapable of high party feeling, or of the punctilio that accompanies it. He was an administrator, not a politician-his aim to be useful, and to be employed. And Cuvier accordingly continued sedulously to divide his time betwixt his scientific study and the Council of State. Even when Louis Philippe came to the throne, the circumstance that overthrew all other men in place, made no difference with Cuvier. wrong-it made him a Peer, his previous title of Baron being merely nominal. His first essay in the Upper House was, we remember, not successful. The Proteus tribe, the genus Talleyrand, however delightful in private society, are not respected in public assemblies. But Cuvier had other and

We are

more solid claims to respectability and renown in the grandeur of his zoologic discoveries, and of his geologic speculations. The latter, indeed, are the poetry of such philosophy, and the best and only specimen we possess of imagination in these matters wisely tempered by the judgment. Cuvier expired on the 15th of May, 1832, and is said to have died of a paralytic affection of the oesophagus. His body was examined by several of the most eminent pathologists of the present day; and his brain is said to have presented a mass of extraordinary volume, weighing pounds 13 ounces. Phrenologists will treasure up the evidences of his great intellectual capabilities, and an admiring posterity must ever appreciate the splendid achievements which he has effected in science, and the means of improvement which he has thus left to future generations."

MARTIGNAC.

It is singular enough that at least threefourths of the oratoric talent of France is always to be found in, or derived from, the Department of the Gironde, of which Bourdeaux is the capital. It is remembered that the brilliant knot of orators sent by this region to the National Convention in 1792 procured to the moderate party the name of the Gironde. And it is remarkable that those men who rise from the Bourdeaux bar to the Chamber of Deputies are, in general, distinguished at once for the liberality and the moderation of their political opinions.

The

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In 1815, however, Bourdeaux was carried away by an excess of royalty; all its writers and its talent at that period took the monarchic side of the question. Royal favour was directed as due to that spot which had first raised the white flag in France, in gratitude for which the heir to the crown was made to wear the name. And M. Gaye de Martignac was of those writers and barristers whom it promoted and attached. He was conspicuous in the Royalist reaction and in the Hundred Days. He was, in consequence, appointed Procureur-General at Limoges, and became a Deputy to the Chamber in 1822. He was soon after one of the Royal Commissaries that accompanied the Duc d'Angoulême on the Spanish expedition; and his advice partly contributed to those liberal proclamations of the Duke which the Spanish Government scouted and evaded. He became Councillor of State on his return.

The speeches of Martignac in the Chamber soon caused him to be looked to as a candidate Minister. Their softness, their plausibility, their unction, and classic elegance pointed him out as a man who might have saved the latterly drooping cause of