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tors. M. Schwein, less vehement and adroit than Mirabeau, but often as irresistible as the English Brougham. A priest, Stenhammer, whose fiery eloquence produces as strong an effect from the Tribune as in the pulpit. Danielson, less erudite, less correct perhaps, but more vigorous and naif than his colleague Berg. In poetry, the influence of the German school has produced of late several works remarkable for good sense and good taste. M. Tegner has in this art surpassed his contemporaries, and given a national colour to the Swedish poetry. M. Atterborn has published some meritorious works; but it must be admitted that these are but few. The fine arts are in a deplorable state; the time of their prosperity is gone by. In architecture the capital cannot shew a single building in good taste, that does not belong to the last century, and the paintings in the old buildings shew that pure taste no longer rules. In sculpture, M. Dystrom is a name still remaining, but the short stay he lately made in his native country, and the few works he was employed upon there, shew that a good sculptor is held in little estimation. The last exhibition of the academy of painting spoke the decline of the art, though there were numerous portraits that shewed real talent. The dramatic art, music, and national taste, were naturally exhibited in all their éclat at the entertainments given on the marriage of Prince Oscar. Instead of a native piece they gave "La Clemence de Titus," which had no relation to the solemnity, with a wretched prologue, perhaps owing to the want of good actors. In literature, properly so called, the names of Tegner, Lagerbielke, and Geyer, are worthy to rank in any modern nation as ornaments.

PRUSSIA.

In the Museum of Natural History at Berlin is a rock specimen (porphyry, containing small particles of hornblend,) taken from the highest point which Humboldt was able to reach on Chimboraço. This celebrated traveller had, with his characteristic spirit, refused his valuable collection of mineralogy to the repeated solicitations of Bonaparte, who wished him to give it to the Museum at Paris; and though the restoration of his estates, which he had lost in the Prussian war, was proffered as a compensation, Humboldt presented the whole to the Berlin Museum.

Bavaria.-Professer Buchner, of Ratisbon, has within the last three years published two volumes respecting the History of Bavaria, derived from various sources. This author has devoted the greater part

of his private fortune to the accumulation of the numerous works on the subject published by his predecessors, as well as of all sorts of documents, especially objects of antiquity, necessary for its illustration. He has even visited the places he describes; and, in short, has neglected no useful research. The King of Bavaria, and the Academy of Munich, have hastened to encourage M. Buchner; the one by his munificence, the other by its approbation and advice. He, however, seems less happy in tracing the history of the people and their princes, than in describing the country and the antiquities, the manners, the customs, the laws, and the religious ceremonies of its ancient inhabitants.

IONIAN ISLANDS.

Temple at Corfu.-The remains of a Temple have lately been discovered in Corfu by Mr. W. Worsley; respecting which the following are some of the particulars- - "This ruin is situate about half a league from the city of Cortu, beyond the Fontana di Cardachio, and near the country-house of General Adam. The Temple is a small hexastyle of the Doric order, the proportions of which, however, do not indicate any very high antiquity, the columns being much slenderer than those of any of the more celebrated Doric temples; those, for instance, of Ægina, Athens, &c. or the more massive columns of the still more ancient Doric temples of Corinth, Pæstum, &c.

The pillars are fluted, something above seven feet high, and hewn out of one piece, except the capital and the small part of the top of the shaft united with it. The material is a free-stone found in Corfu. Of the peristyle three are still standing, the six columns of the back (the western) façade, three on the north, and five on the south, not including the corner pillars. As this stone is rather soft, the surface of the columns is much damaged. This little Temple has not been buried at once, but at different periods. The several accumulations may be perceived, and we even distinguish a gradual increase in the corrosion of the surface of the pillar3. On both sides of the Temple, at the distance of about twenty feet, two cisterns were discovered in a line with an internal building, which has been called an altar; they are square, forty feet deep, and end below in small square chambers, from which there are subterraneous channels hewn in the rock. No fragments of sculpture or inscriptions have been dug up; some coins were found, but no rare ones. There is one of silver, with a Corcyrian bow, (of the time of the Archons, if not earlier,) and some of bronze, perhaps of

the same period; one of Leucas, some of the Corinthian colonies, with the usual type, the Pegasus, and several of the time of the Roman Emperors. Mr. Mustoxidi, in the third book of his work upon Corcyra, observes that Strabo (in the 2d Book) speaks of a temple on this spot. He also quotes an inscription explained by Maffei, in which it is said that this Temple was repaired, and the wall which supports the eminence was erected; that a serpent made of metal was given as a present, and an altar, marked with the initial letter A: that the two cisterns were made, as well as several subterraneous channels, to unite the waters and lead them to the arsenal. The inscription concludes with the remark that much saltpetre (?) was used in building the altars, and with a catalogue of the expenses. We see from it that the Temple was dedicated to Asclepios, and that the arsenal must have been near it. The site of the Temple is picturesque. At the bottom of a pleasant hill, planted with olive-trees, are its ruins hanging over a precipice, into which the whole of the east front and part of the two sides have fallen. Directly under the ruins, on the precipice, is the fountain of Cardachio. Formerly there was a modern church on this spot, but not a trace of it now remains. This church was dedicated to St. Nicholas, for which reason it is pretty generally affirmed in Corfu that the Temple must have been consecrated to Neptune, for, as you well know, St. Nicholas, among us Greeks, has in some measure succeeded to the office of the God of the Sea. Opposite the ruins we see the rock of St. Michael, called the Fortezza Vecchia, the Island of Illyria, and, in the background, the majestic mountains of Epirus."

AMERICA.

New York is now amply provided with water from the river Schuylkill; an expensive establishment having been just finished for that purpose at Mount Fair above the city at the falls of the Schuylkill; the expense of which is 426,330 pounds sterling. At these falls the river is 900 feet broad, and its greatest depth is thirty feet. By means of eight wheels and the same number of pumps, ten millions of gallons of water can be thrown into the reservoir every day. There are two reservoirs, one of which is 139 feet wide, 362 long, and 12 deep, and contains about 3,000,000 of gallons, communicating with the second holding 4,000,000. The water is raised 56 feet above the highest ground of the city, and is distributed in cast-iron pipes a length of 35,200 feet. These pipes were all cast in America.

In all great cities in America, the females are more numerous than the males. The average of the six largest cities, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, and New Orleans, gives 109 females to every 100 males, while the average of the whole United States gives but 97 females to every 100 males, making the females in the cities about twelve per cent. more numerous than in the country at large. This great excess of female population in the large cities, is to be attributed in part to the fact that many of the males are engaged in occupations in which there is unusual risk of life. The seamen, for example, are taken principally from the towns on the coast. This, however, does not account for the whole difference; for it is a singular fact that in every one of the above mentioned cities, among the children under sixteen years of age, where of course the cause referred to does not ope rate, the females are more numerous than the males; while in every state in the Union, the fact is the reverse; and in the new States especially, the excess of males among the children is very great. In the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, for example, all of which have been recently settled, there are among the children under ten years of age, 76,067 boys, and 70,038 girls; that is, for every 100 boys there are only 92 girls; in the old States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the district of Colombia, there are 158,113 boys, and 153,384 girls; that is, for every 100 boys there are 97 girls; whilst in the six largest cities, there are, under ten years of age, 38,319 boys, and 38,223 girls; that is, for every 100 boys there are nearly 100 girls.

American Tea.-A letter from W. Y. Lewis, of New Orleans, states, that Mr. Mallet, of Louisiana, had succeeded in raising Green Tea from the seed. His plantation is near the river Amite. The bed of shrubs is of considerable extent. The climate appears to favour its growth. Mr. M. thinks the shrub might be cultivated with perfect success if proper attention was paid to it. A specimen of the Hyson Tea thus raised in the South, accompanied Mr. Lewis's letter, and on repeated trial has been found to be palatable and refreshing. The rolling and twisting operation upon the leaves, and the scenting and flavouring by other sweet scented substances, seem to be all that was wanting to render it equal to the article we import from Canton. In short there is every reason to believe that the United States is as favourable as China for the cultivation of the Tea Plant.

RURAL ECONOMY.

Account of a new Esculent Vegetable called Tetragonia, or New Zealand Spinach. -Though known to botanists, says Mr. Anderson, for many years, and notwithstanding its value as an esculent had been ascertained by the first discoverers of the plant, the tetragonia expansa has been only cultivated as a matter of curiosity till within these few years. The Count D'Ourches, who had obtained seeds of it from the Jardin du Roi, at Paris, first published an account of it as an esculent, and a notice respecting it, which had not been given before, is inserted among the esculent vegetables in the Bon Jardinier of the present year. In the spring of 1820, M. Vilmorin sent a small packet of the seeds to the Horticultural Society as a novelty; these were sown in the garden of the Society at Kensington, and the excellence of the plant was admitted by several persons who tasted it. Last winter, Lord Essex brought some of the seeds from Paris, which I raised, and their produce has been continually used at Cassiobury through the summer, and up to the present time.

Our first knowledge of this plant was derived from Sir Joseph Banks, who discovered it in the beginning of the year 1770, at Queen Charlotte's Sound, in New Zealand, when with Captain Cook in his first voyage round the world. In the account of that voyage, edited by Dr. Hawkesworth, it is mentioned amongst the plants of New Zealand as having been met with once or twice," and resembling the plant called by country people lamb'squarters or fat-hen; it was boiled and eaten instead of greens." Specimens and seeds were brought to England, and its introduction by Sir Joseph Banks to Kewgardens is recorded to have taken place in 1772. The value of the plant became more known in Captain Cook's second voyage. Forster, who went with that expedition, found it also at Queen Charlotte's Sound in great abundance in 1773; and during the stay of the ships at that place, the sailors were daily supplied with it at their meals. Thunberg found it growing wild in Japan, where it is called tsura na, or creeping cabbage. Besides the works above-mentioned, it has also been described and figured by Scopoli, by Roth, and by M. de Candolle. Several of the writers which I have referred to note the plant as biennial, but in our climate it certainly is only an annual. From the experience which I have had in the cultivation of the tetragonia, in the present year, I can venture to recommend

the following treatment: the seed should be sown in the latter end of March in a pot, which must be placed in a melon frame; the seedling plants, while small, should be set out singly in small pots, and kept under the shelter of a cold frame, until about the twentieth of May, when the mildness of the season will probably allow of their being planted out, without risk of being killed by frost. At that time a bed must be prepared for the reception of the plants, by forming a trench two feet wide, and one foot deep, which must be filled level to the surface with rotten dung from an old cucumber bed; the dung must be covered with six inches of garden mould, thus creating an elevated ridge in the middle of the bed, the sides of which must extend three feet from the centre. The plants must be put out three feet apart; 1 planted mine at only two feet distance from each other, but they were too near, In five or six weeks from the planting, their branches will have grown sufficiently to allow the gathering of the leaves for use. In dry seasons, the plants will probably require a good supply of water. They put forth their branches vigorously as soon as they have taken to the ground, and extend before the end of the season three feet on each side from the centre of the bed. The branches are round, numerous, succulent, pale-green, thick, and strong, somewhat procumbent, but elevating their terminations. The leaves are fleshy, growing alternately at small distances from each other, on shortish petioles; they are of a daltoid shape, but rather elongated, being from two to three inches broad at the top, and from three to four inches long; the apex is almost sharp-pointed, and the two extremities of the base are bluntly rounded; the whole leaf is smooth, with entire edges dark green above, below paler, and thickly studded with aqueous tubercles; the mid-rib and veins project conspicuously on the under surface. The flowers are sessile in the alæ of the leaves, small and green, and, except that they shew their yellow antheræ when they expand, they are very inconspicuous. The fruit when ripe has a dry pericarp of a rude shape, with four or five horn-like processes inclosing the seed, which is to be seen in its covering. In gathering for use, the young leaves must be pinched off the branches, taking care to leave the leading shoot uninjured; this, with the smaller branches which subsequently arise from the alæ of the leaves which have been gathered, will produce a supply until a

late period in the year, for the plants are sufficiently hardy to withstand the frosts which kill nasturtiums, potatoes, and such tender vegetables. The tetragonia is, I understand, dressed exactly in the same manner as spinach, and whether boiled plain or stewed, is considered by many superior to it; there is a softness and mildness in its taste, added to its flavour, which resembles that of spinach, in which it has an advantage over that herb. My whole crop in the present year consisted solely of nine plants, and from these I have been enabled to send in a gathering for the kitchen every other day since the middle of June, so that I consider a bed with about twenty plants quite sufficient to give a daily supply if required, for a large table. The great advantage of this vegetable is as a substitute for summer spinach. Every gardener knows the plague that attends the

frequent sowing of spinach through the warm season of the year; without that trouble it is impossible to have it good, and with the utmost care it cannot always be even so obtained exactly as it ought to be (particularly when the weather is hot and dry), from the rapidity with which the young plants run to seed. There seems considerable difficulty in obtaining the seeds of the tetragonia; the rapid growth and succulence of the shoots, in consequence of the bed being so highly manured, prevent their ripening, and I am disposed to think it will be desirable to make a separate plantation on a poorer soil for the especial purpose of getting seed, or perhaps to retain some plants in garden pots, to be kept stunted and dry, and to be treated as ice-plants usually are, when seed is designed to be obtained from them.-Trans. Hort. Society.

USEFUL ARTS.

Mr. T. GAUNTLETT'S Patent for Improvements on Vapour Baths.-This invention consists in a portable apparatus, which Mr. G. calls a portable vapour-bath, and by means of which apparatus he conveys steam, for the purposes of a vapourbath, in two or more directions at the same time, and by the same movement; one of the two directions being under or immediately about the feet, and the other or others upwards generally, into a casing or dress, suspended by a portable frame over the patient. And the invention also consists in such an arrangement of the said apparatus, that the said two or more different directions may be given to the steam, and the steam regulated either by the patient or an assistant by means of a handle and universal joint, which handle may be brought by means of the universal joint to any situation most convenient to meet the hand of the operator. This vapour-bath is simple in its construction, and effectual in its application; it is well adapted for the use of hospitals and dispensaries; and is calculated, from its simplicity and efficacy, to bring into gencral use an agreeable and salutary practice, as well as a powerful remedy, in many obstinate diseases. In this apparatus the stimulant power of heat is modified and tempered by the moisture diffused through the air; and, as the elastic vapour, like air, is a less powerful conductor of heat than a watery fluid, the effect of vapour in raising the temperature of the body is much less than that of the hot-bath. Its heating effect is also farther diminished by the copious per

spiration which ensues; so that, on all accounts, the vapour-bath is safer, as it is in most cases more effectual, than the hot-water bath, and may be employed with success where the hot-bath would be attended with danger. The vapourbath may be applied to the whole body, or to any part of it: its immediate effects are, to excite or increase the action of the superficial arteries, by which the determination of blood to the deeper-seated parts is diminished: this increase of circulation at the surface of the body produces a copious perspiration, which may be continued, as it is excited, at pleasure. It should, however, always cease before debility begins. The utility of this application is obvious in all cases of internal inflammation; it draws a great quantity of blood to the surface, and relieves the internal parts by the secretion of the skin, which is the mode nature takes to resolve inflammations and fevers. Besides an increased perspiration, other effects are produced on the system; equal and due action is restored to the surface, and a highly-agreeable sensation is produced, which renders the influence of cool air safe and desirable. The boiler should receive about three quarts of water, which is sufficient for the production of steam, at the requisite temperature, for one hour's use. It should be a clear fire; and, if of coal, a little small wood is found useful in regulating the heat. Any volatile substance may be introduced into the receiver, as camphor, &c. for the purpose of medicating the vapour, which is found highly beneficial in many cuta

neous affections and rheumatic complaints. The apparatus, when used near the bedside, is not attended with any inconvenience as to the production of dampness, all the condensed vapour being completely absorbed by the calico covering or hood.

Tanning.-Mr. G. Spilsbury of Walsal has succeeded in reducing the hitherto tedious process of tanning to a very short period. Skins are prepared by his process in nine days, requiring by the old six weeks or two months. Moderately thick hides th inch thick in six weeks: these take commonly from nine to twelve months. The leather is in every respect equal in strength and toughness, and will be superior to any hitherto produced. There is no difference in the substances employed, but only in the method of applying them. The principle is pressure. This important invention has been secured by patents for the three kingdoms.

Brick-making-A patent has been granted at St. Petersburgh for a press for making bricks, which is not only to diminish the labour, but perfect the form of the brick. By means of this machine, not only bricks, both solid and hollow, can be made, but tubes, straight or crooked, cornices, flutes for columns, and other architectural ornaments. The patentee is a Mr. Thomas, who proposes to esta

blish a model brick-yard with improved ovens for baking the bricks. Three or four men can produce, it is said, with this machine from 10 to 12,000 bricks daily, of different forms.

Hatching Fish.-The Chinese have a method of hatching the spawn of fish, and thus protecting it from those accidents which ordinarily destroy so large a portion of it. The fishermen collect with care on the margin and surface of waters all those gelatinous masses which contain the spawn of fish. After they have found a sufficient quantity, they fill with it the shell of a fresh hen egg, which they have previously emptied, stop up the hole, and put it under a sitting fowl. At the expiration of a certain number of days, they break the shell in water warmed by the sun. The young fry are presently hatched, and are kept in pure fresh water till they are large enough to be thrown into the pond with the old fish. The sale of spawn for this purpose forms an important branch of trade in China. In this, as in some other matters, we may perhaps take some useful lessons from the Chinese. The destruction of the spawn of fish by troll-nets, threatens the existence of the fishery in many parts. While so much care is taken for the preservation of game, some care ought to be bestowed on the preservation of fish.

PATENTS LATELY GRANTED.

J. Ranking, of New Bond-street, for the means of securing valuable property in mail and other stage coaches, travelling carriages, waggons, caravans, and other similar public and private vehicles, from robbery. November 1, 1823.

G. Hawkes, of Lucas-place, Commercial-road, Stepney Old Town, for an improvement in the construction of ships' anchors. November 1, 1823.

G. Hawkes, of Lucas-place, Commercial-road, for certain improvements on capstans. November 1, 1823.

W. Bundy, of Fulham, for an anti-evaporating cooler, to facilitate and regulate the refrigerating of worts or wash in all seasons of the year, from any degree of heat between boiling and the temperature required for fermenting. November 1, 1823.

T. F. Gimson, of Tiverton, for improvements in, and additions to, machinery now in use for doubling and twisting cotton, silk, and other fibrous substances. Partly communicated to him by a certain person residing abroad. November 6, 1823.

T. Gawan, of Fleet-street, for improvements on trusses. November 11, 1823.

J. Day, of Barnstaple, for improvements on percussion gun-locks, applicable to various descriptions of fire-arms. November 13, 1823.

J. Ward, of Grove-road, Mile End-road, for improvements in the construction of locks and other fastenings. November 13, 1823.

S. Servill, of Brown's-hill, Gloucestershire, for a mode or improvement for dressing of woollen or other cloths. November 13, 1823.

R. Green, of Lisle-street, for improvements in constructing gambadoes, or mud boots, and attaching spurs thereto; and part of which said improve. ments are applicable to other boots. November 13, 1823.

R. Stain, of the Tower Brewery, London, for an improved construction of a blast-furnace, and apparatus to be connected therewith, which is adapted to burn or consume fuel in a more economical and useful manner than has been hitherto practised. November 13, 1823.

J. Gillman, of Newgate-street, London, and J. H. Wilson, of Manchester, for improvements in the manufacture of hats and bonnets. November 18, 1823.

J. Heathcoat, of Tiverton, for a machine for the manufacture of a platted substance, composed either of silk, cotton, or other thread or yarn. November 20, 1823.

T. Hopper, of Reading, for improvements in the manufacture of silk-hats. November 20, 1823.

A. Deane, of Deptford, for an apparatus or machine to be worn by persons entering rooms or other places filled with smoke or other vapour, for the purpose of extinguishing fire, or extricating persous or property therefrom. November 20, 1823J. Perkins, of Hill-street, London, and J. Martineau the younger, of the City-road, Middlesex, for an improvement in the construction of the furnace of steam-boilers and other vessels, by which fuel is economised and the smoke consumed. November 20, 1823.

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