however, derived from the use of charcoal, are in the manufacture of gunpowder, and in the chemical employment of it for the purpose of discharging from preparations their odour, colours, or flavour. This last result is obtained either by simple admixture, or by boiling, macerating, subliming, or filtering sub. stances, in contact with charcoal powder. In the manufacture of gunpowder, charcoal of the lightest, most compact, and equable substance has the preference. The wood of the alder, willow, dogwood, or buckthorn, is principally employed. A considerable improvement in the preparation of charcoal for this purpose has been effected of late, by means of charring wood enclosed in iron cylinders. Such is the increase of strength in gunpowder manufactured of charcoal obtained by this method, that the charge of ship-guns supplied with the powder has admitted of a reduction of one-third in quantity, as compared with the previous charge of powder made from ordinary charcoal. We may as well mention that the proportions of the ingredients which enter into the composition of the best gunpowder are as follows:-Nitre, 75; Charcoal, 15; Sulphur, 10. In the assay of metals and alloys, the charcoal of the oak or beech is preferred. For the use of draughtsmen, the small branches of the vine or willow, when charred, are found to be best adapted. The more ordinary uses of charcoal consist in its being employed as fuel whenever a strong and uniform heat is required without smoke. Such fuel, however, when resorted to for domestic purposes, in close rooms, is attended by the inconvenience, and occasionally by the danger, of rendering the air unfit for the support of animal life. Carbonic acid, the product of charcoal burnt in atmospheric air, is known too well amongst miners and well-diggers by the name of choke-damp; and the destruction of human life occasioned by this invisible enemy, is too familiar in the experience of most men engaged in subterranean labours. Being heavier than common air, carbonic acid occupies the lower parts of pits and rooms; and by gradually filling up the apartments, in which persons have slept exposed to the fumes of a charcoal fire, has, insensibly to their torpidized bodies, deprived them of life, and rendered the slumber of the night to them the sleep of death. This substance is also largely employed in the manufacture of steel, steel, and pencil-lead, and the rough black-lead of the shops, being combinations of carbon and iron in various proportions. It also enters into the composition of some black paints, of Indian and printer's ink: and it naturally constitutes, in admixture with flint and clay, the substance known by the name of black chalk. In a more pure state, it is found stratified with various kinds of pit-coal: but its most interesting mineral form is the diamond, of which it appears, by modern experiment, to constitute the greater part. Charred turf is to this day largely employed in such parts of Europe as are sparingly supplied with other fuel, especially in operations connected with smelting metallic ores. The process of charring turf is conducted in kilns; and it appears to have been an improvement, certainly a most important one, effected about the year 1669, upon the previous employment of raw turf for the same purpose. Some interesting particulars on this subject will be found in Beckman's History of Inventions, under the head of 'Charred Turf.' The imperishable nature of charcoal has long since suggested the employment of externally charred wood, wherever great danger of rot exists through the exposure of timber to alternations of damp and dryness. The wheat and pulse, together with fruits, &c., which had been provided for their sustenance by the unfortunate inhabitants of Herculaneum and Pompeii, are discovered at this day entire in form, and not seldom accompanied by vessels of wood and various instruments of the same material. This substance has been adopted as an enduring landmark, although a truly inconspicuous one, the custom being to bury it beneath the soil on the boundary. But the incorruptibility and the permanency of carbonized vegetable matter, afford a far more widely spread and momentous evidence of the ancient boundaries of the realms of primæval nature. The discovery of an infinite series of palms, ferns, and grasses, imbedded within the sands and slates of the coal measures, and other carboniferous deposits, attests beyond all contradiction the fact of a tropical climate extending east and west over the now temperate regions of the Old and the New World, and from the frozen shores of the North Polar islands to the more genial recesses of the distant south. S. AN AUSTRALIAN GRAMMAR. I. WE have met with a very curious volume, printed at Sydney, in the course of last year, and recently transmitted to London, which sets forth "the principles and rules of the language spoken by the Aborigines in the vicinity of Hunter's River, Lake Macquarie, &c., New South Wales." This Grammar of the aboriginal tongue of Australia, has been compiled by Mr. L. E. Threlkeld, during a residence of many years among the natives, and affords a second proof of his industry and ingenuity in their behalf. He had previously furnished an Australian translation of St. Luke's Gospel; a work which many of these, perhaps the most abject of human creatures, listened to with pleasure and interest when read to them. It appears, however, that none of them were in a sufficient state of preparation and intelligence to read it, if put into their hands. Accordingly, a grammar has been executed, the expense of carrying which through the press has been assisted by a small part of a fund placed, by the SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, in the hands of the Rev. W. G. Broughton, Archdeacon of New South Wales, towards advancing the Society's designs in that colony. This is one of the instances in which the venerable Society steps forward in its Missionary character to afford aid: for although it has not now any missionaries employed, (that branch having been transferred to the SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL,) it still shows its concern for the spiritual welfare of thousands born in heathenism; contributes largely to the erection of churches, chapels, and school-houses in distant spots, some of which had seldom, if ever before, been visited by a Minister of Christ; and diffuses the Word of Life and the practical knowledge of Divine truth by gratuitous supplies of Bibles, Prayer-books, and Tracts*. The work before us, may, in this view, be deemed interesting and important; indeed, the Archdeacon considers it as likely to forward any attempt that may be made to extend among the savage tribes the blessings of Religion and civilization; independently of which, it may afford means of tracing a resemblance between the language of New South Wales and some other of the known dialects of the world, and may thus lend some aid to the solution of that hitherto baffling problem, of what has been the origin of this very peculiar race of people. The author begins by noticing the similarity of the several languages used in the Islands of the South Seas, which, he says, are but different dialects, whilst the natives themselves could not, at a first interview, understand the people of neighbouring Islands, who spoke essentially the same tongue! The names of the Islands correspond with the difference of dialect; as for instance, Tahiti (Otaheite), the name of the island, in whose language the aspirate h abounds. At Ru-ru-tu, about four hundred miles distant, where the aspirate h is not used, the natives speak more in the throat, in consequence of the omission. At Ai-tu-tak-i, the The SOCIETY, on the Archdeacon's stating the circumstances of the colony, and the spiritual wants of the European population, granted, at the Monthly Meeting in February last, THREE THOUSAND POUNDS for the promotion of Christian Knowledge in New South Wales. The circumstances are shortly these:-In the whole colony of New South Wales there are only eight churches. In seventeen of the counties, equal in extent to the same number of counties in England, only five chaplains are stationed; and there are scarcely any schools. The foundations of a large church, laid by Governor Macquarie, in the town of Sydney, remain as they were left at his departure, though the number of inhabitants in that place has increased to above 16,000, of whom more than 12,000 are Protestants. Of the population of the Australian colonies, about 40,000 are felons and prisoners of the Crown, who have been convicted and transported from the mother country. language has the addition of the k; and at Ro-ro- Bun, to sound as the English word, Bun, a cake. The following extract from a letter, sent by Ka-raimo-ku, from the Sandwich Islands, to the Rev. W. Ellis, will show the affinity between the Sandwich here it will be observed that each word ends with a Island tongue and the language of the Tahitians : vowel. Sandwich Island, Tahitian, Sandwich Island, Sandwich Island, Eia kau wahi orero ia oe, ahea oe e This is my communication to you, When will you Hoi mai io nei e noho mai ai io matou nei? Ke ao nei no makou i ka orero a ki Akua; Ke malama nei no makou i ka olelo ake Akua. Owing to a peculiar custom at Tahiti, that when any word had a sound similar to that which was contained in the King's name, such word was changed, many words now obselete are found in the Sandwich Islands: for instance, Orero, is the word in Tahiti for speech, and was used formerly as such; but now, by custom, Purau is used for speech, and Orero is in this sense obsolete! There is a much nearer affinity in the languages of the Islands in the Pacific Ocean than can be described within our limits, so many references to custom being necessary to explain the subject fully. We propose, however, to return to it at a future opportunity. For a description of Polynesia, in three papers, see Saturday Magazine, Vol. III., pp. 105, 145, 179. WHAT though the polite man count thy fashion a little odd, and too precise; it is because he knows nothing above that model of goodness which he hath set himself, and therefore approves of nothing beyond it; he knows not God, and therefore doth not discern and esteem what is most like him. When courtiers come down into the country, the common home-bred people possibly think their habit strange; but they care not for that-it is the fashion at court. What need, then, that Christians should be so tender-foreheaded as to be put out of countenance because the world looks upor holiness as a singularity. It is the only fashion in th highest court, yea, of the King of kings himself.-COLE. RIDGE. THE ATMOSPHERE. If it were possible, with the bodily, as with the mental eye, to behold the constitution of the Atmosphere which surrounds our earth, we should view a compound probably the most complex in nature; for into this circumambient ocean of air are carried up whatever exhalations arise, not only from the earth itself, but from every organized form of matter, whether living or in a state of decomposition, that is found upon the earth's surface; the dews of morning, the balms of evening; the fragrance of every plant and flower; the breath and characteristic odour of every animal; the vapour invisibly arising from the surface of the whole ocean and its tributary streams; and, lastly, those circumscribed and baneful effluvia, however generated, which, when confined to definite portions of the atmosphere, produce those various forms of fever which infest particular districts; or those more awful and mysterious miasmata, which, arising in some distant region, and advancing by a slow but certain march, carry dismay and death to the inhabitants of another hemisphere. Such is the complex character of the atmosphere; and, indeed, from this assemblage of vapours contained in it, it has received its peculiar appellation, being the receptacle, or magazine, as it were, of terrestrial exhalations. All these various exhalations, however, may be considered as foreign to the constitution of the air, being neither constantly nor necessarily present anywhere; all, with the exception of that aqueous vapour which is continually rising from the surface of the earth, as well as of the ocean, and every lake and river. But, in addition to this aqueous vapour, the air is also charged, to a variable extent, with light and heat, and electricity; of which the two first are so obviously adapted to the wants of man, as to demand immediate attention. Electricity is, probably, of equal importance, in its relation to man; but the true character of that relation has not yet been sufficiently developed to call for a distinct consideration on the present occasion. [KIDD's Bridgewater Treatise.] THE SEVEN-EARED WHEAT. WHEAT is raised in most parts of the world; but the species represented in the engraving does not thrive in cold climates. It is the kind formerly raised in Egypt and Syria, and is often mentioned in the Bible under the name of corn, which meant then any sort of grain of which bread was made. What the Americans call corn, that is, Indian corn, was not known except to American Indians, till about two hundred years ago. Pharaoh dreamed about the seven-eared corn, and we do not know that the one-eared corn was raised in Egypt. The wisdom of God is strikingly shown in the stalk of Egyptian wheat: if it was hollow and weak like common corn, it would break with the weight; but it is solidly filled with a sort of pith, and thus rendered sufficiently firm. THE fruits of the earth do not more obviously require labour and cultivation to prepare them for our use and subsistence, than our faculties demand instruction and regulation, in order to qualify us to become upright and valuable members of society, useful to others, or happy in ourselves.W. BARROW. JANUARY. 'TIS PLEASANT to the mind, the thought Not that 'tis well to wish away Is there a heart that beats and lives, To which no joy the Spring-time gives? Alas! in that unfeeling heart Nor love nor kindliness has part; Or chilling want, or pining care Must brood, or comfortless despair. Blest, who without profane alloy Can revel in that blameless joy! More blest, in every welcome hour, If Spring-time smile, or Winter lower, Who round him scatter'd hears or sees What still the excursive sense may please; Who round him finds, perchance unsought, Fresh matter for improving thought; And more, the more he looks abroad, Marks, owns, and loves the present God! [BISHOP MANT's British Months.] To exchange the bustle of business, and the gay amusements of society, for fields and woods, silence and solitude, is so far from being alone sufficient to ensure a life of true contentment, that, to most men, after the novelty was past, it would produce such a sense of want and deprivation, as if their former existence had suffered a diminution; or as if, from a region of light and plenitude, they had fallen into a dreary state of darkness and vacuity. This should be a lesson to all who meditate a retreat from the world, and induce them to cultivate before-hand those qualities and habits which may add life and interest to the calm prospects and silent exhibitions of rural nature. And if there be any who have sequestered themselves without this due preparation, they ought to suffer patiently the effects of their rashness. At the same time, there is no reason why they should sit down in despondence, since by a proper attention to themselves, and a steady and gentle perseverance, those more delicate powers of perception which are adapted to still life, and which, amidst the tumult of the world, have lain neglected and depressed, may yet gradually be recovered, and called forth into happy activity. Still we must remember, that as age advances, and the senses and imagination grow languid, the most beautiful scenes of nature will lose their natural attractions; and that it is only the relation in which they stand to their Almighty Creator, and his glory thence reflected, that can render them lasting objects of our delightful contemplation. -BATES. THE YOUNG CHEMIST. I. IT is a stormy day, and I come in with hands and feet covered with snow, and go to the fire. In a minute the snow disappears, and my clothes are wet. What has done this?-the snow is melted; but how melted? Does the same heat which warms my hands go into the snow and change it to water? try an experiment: put a tea-cup full of snow before the fire; it is melted; the heat that comes from the fire goes into the snow and melts it. The Chemist would say dissolved; he would call the process dissolution of snow by heat. Let us I melt a piece of sealing-wax in the candle, and drop it on my paper. I melt, also, a small piece of sheet-lead, and put it in the crucible on the coals, and presently it flows, so that I get a clearer idea of the power of heat to change bodies, and of the nature of those changes. Let us try another experiment: I will take a half pint tumbler of water, and put into it a piece of sugar as large as a robin's egg. What has become of the sugar? It is gone; it is dissolved, you will say, and so it is. But did heat dissolve it? Was the water warmer than the sugar? If not, could the water impart heat to the sugar? If heat did not make the sugar dissolve, what did? Water will dissolve as well as heat. Put salt and alum, and pearlash and gum-arabic, into tumblers of water, and in time they will dissolve. When snow, or sealing-wax, or lead, have been melted, and are again exposed to cold, they become as hard as before, though not quite of the same shape. But if you put a lump of sugar and salt into water, is there any way of getting the salt and sugar into hard lumps again? Let it stand for ten minutes, shall we see either the salt or the sugar? No. There is a chemical way of getting the salt and sugar again. The heat of no common fire would melt either sugar or salt: on the other hand, no water, however hot or cold, would dissolve lead or sealing-wax. In one case the substance is changed from a harder state to a softer, without being separated or mixed with anything else. In the other case, the sugar and salt are mixed with the water, and go through every part of it, so that if you taste any part of the water in which they are dissolved, you taste the salt or the sugar. This mixing of one thing with another is something more than melting, and the chemists call it solution. We melt a thing without adding anything but heat; but solution is the dissolving of one thing in another. The tumbler of water with the lump of salt dissolved in it, is a solution of salt and water; and the water which solves or dissolves the salt or sugar is called its solvent. Water, we have seen, dissolves many things; but there are some things water will not dissolve, whether cold or heated. Chalk is one of these; clay, sand, sawdust, pebbles, &c., are others. Put a piece of chalk into a tumbler of water, the chalk remains as it was; taste the water, it has no chalky taste. If you pulverise the chalk and shake the water, it looks whitish or turbid, while the water that has the sugar in it is clear. The sugar melts at once before it has time to become thick; and when you let it stand, the chalk soon settles to the bottom in a fine white powder. Sugar is a solution, and chalk a mixture. Besides water, oil, alcohol, and acids will dissolve. Water will not hold salt, sugar, &c., as long as we choose to keep putting them into it; but after it has dissolved as much as it will hold, the rest remains as we put it in, whether it is powdered or in a lump; and when water, or any other liquid, will hold no more of a thing, we say it is saturated; that is, it is full. Again, the salt and sugar which we dissolve does not fill up the tumbler at all; but the chalk and sand, &c., that will not dissolve, do. This leads the chemist to think there are little spaces and interstices between the particles, like those between apples in a measure, only a thousand times smaller. You might put a great deal of sand, or even of shot, into a bushel of apples, without filling up the measure. In like manner, it is thought that the sugar in the solution gets in between the particles of water. If it were not so, why should not sugar, as well as chalk, make the tumbler more full than it was before? THE SOLAR SYSTEM. POISED in the centre hangs the glorious SUN, Pause o'er the mighty scheme, O man! and raise LONDON Published by JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND; and sold by all Fooksellers. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. NORWAY, during a considerable part of the year, is covered, with snow; and her winters, which in other countries are of short duration, extend to five or six months, and in the most northern parts to a much longer period. During this time it is impossible to leave the beaten roads, for the purpose at least of travelling; and when fresh snow happens to fall, even the communication by means of them is stopped, till the sledging is able to be continued by means of a machine, which, being dragged by horses along the road, restores the former track, by clearing away the snow in part, and flattening and levelling the remainder. The thinness, however, of the population, widely scattered over such an immense extent of country, renders it in many places impossible to keep the roads open by these means. It was natural, then, that the Norwegian should devise some mode by which to leave his hut, generally far removed from roads, and traverse the forests in various directions, with sufficient celerity to follow the chase, his favourite occupation. For this purpose he devised the skies, or snow-skates, which consist of two thin narrow pieces of fir, of unequal lengths, the foremost part being pointed and turned upwards. The longest, which measures about seven feet, is used on the left foot; and the other, which is about two feet shorter, on the right. The latter is called aander, from the right foot being used more than the left, particularly in turning. Both skates are about three inches in width, and an inch in thickness, in the centre, where the foot is placed; which is firmly bound to the skie VOL. VIII. by loops at the side, made of willow, or fibres of firroots, to which are fastened leathern thongs. The skies are smeared with tar and pitch, and the underside is hollowed in the centre into a groove, to prevent their slipping laterally, and to enable the skielöber, or skater, to keep a straight course. Notwithstanding the obstacles which the nature of the country, particularly during Winter, would seem to throw in the way of an invading enemy, Norway has often been attacked during this season; and as the use of the skie has been known to the natives from the earliest times, it was natural to think of forming a military corps of skaters, and furnishing riflemen with the skie, in the use of which the mountaineers display such astonishing case and celerity. During the former wars with Sweden, all the Norwegian light troops have occasionally made use of skies; a certain portion, however, of them have been more particularly trained to the use of these kind of skates, under the denomination of the skielöbere, signifying literally skate runners. Previous to the union between Norway and Sweden, there existed in Norway two regiments of skaters,-one in the district of Drontheim, and the other in that of Aggerhuus. The above event, however, having caused a considerable reduction of the Norwegian army, the number of the Skating-Soldiers has also been reduced. The uniform of the regiment is green, like that of the other rifle corps: though the men, upon ordinary occasions, also wear an undress jacket of a coarser kind of cloth, the colour of which is gray; and they 226 |