  1. “Cosmos,” by Alexander Von Humboldt, translated under the superintendence of Colonel E. Sabine, F.R.S. Second Edition. London, 1848. 2. Alexander Keith Johnston’s “Physical Atlas,” 4to., in Monthly Numbers. Edinburgh, 1849. [Published by Lea & Blanchard, Philadelphia, 1850.] 3. The Solar System:—
4. The compression of the earth is the flattening at the poles. Its numerical value is equal to the difference between the equatorial and polar diameters, expressed in feet or miles. [The amount of compression, oblateness at the poles, is measured by the ratio of the difference of the equatorial and polar diameters to the equatorial diameter, which is technically termed the oblateness. The following are the dimensions of the earth in miles:
5. The theoretical investigation of the figure of the earth, the method employed for measuring arcs of the meridian, and that of finding the form of the earth from the oscillations of the pendulum, are given in the “Connection of the Physical Sciences,” by Mary Somerville, 7th Section, 7th edition. 6. A pendulum which oscillates 86,400 times in a mean day at the equator, will do the same at every point of the earth’s surface if its length be increased progressively to the pole as the square of the sine of the latitude. The sine of the latitude is a perpendicular line drawn from any point of a terrestrial meridian to the equatorial radius of the earth. That line expressed in feet or miles, and multiplied by itself, is the square of the sine of the latitude. Gravitation increases from the equator to the poles according to that law, and the length of the degrees augments very nearly in the same ratio. 7. The compression deduced by M. Bessel from arcs of the meridian is 1/299; that deduced by Colonel Sabine from his experiment with the pendulum is 1/288·7. Other pendulum experiments have given a compression of 1/298·2 and 1/266·4. The protuberant matter at the earth’s equator produces inequalities in the moon’s motions, from whence the compression of the earth is found to be 1/305·05; and although the reciprocal action of the moon on the protuberant matter at the earth’s equator does not actually give the compression, it proves that it must be between 1/279 and 1/573. Coincidences so near and so remarkable, arising from such different methods, show how nearly the irregular figure of the earth has been determined. The inequalities in the motions of the moon and earth alluded to are explained in Sections 5 and 11 “Connection of the Physical Sciences.” 8. It is clear that the mean density of the earth may be found from the attraction of the plumb-line by mountains, or by the irregularity in the oscillations of the pendulum, but the torsion balance is a much more sensible instrument than either. The density determined by M. Reich differs from that found by Mr. Baily by only one twenty-eighth part. 9. If a line be drawn from the north-eastern coast of North America within the limit of floating ice, and if it be continued across the southern half of Ireland and England, and prolonged eastward so as to strike against the Ural mountains, it will mark the boundary of the European portion of the Glacial Sea. It submerged part of Russia to the depth of 1000 feet.—Essay on the British Fauna and Flora, by Professor E. Forbes, in the “Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain,” vol. i. 10. Sir James Ross and Captain Wilkes met with icebergs covered with mud and stones in the antarctic seas, and even in 66° 5' lat. One block seen by Sir James Ross was estimated to weigh many tons.—Antarctic Voyages.—[Narrative of United States Exploring Expedition. By Charles Wilkes, U. S. N.]. 11. Account of the Ganges and Brahmapootra, by Major Rennell.—“Phil. Trans.,” 1781. Sir George Staunton’s Embassy to China. Elie de Beaumont, LeÇons de GÉologie, 1 vol., 8vo. The latter work contains a very elaborate essay on alluvial deposits by rivers, &c. 12. Lieut. Anjou’s Polar Voyage. 13. [See Statistics of Coal. By Richard Cowling Taylor. Philadelphia, 1848.] 14. The author’s geological information rests on the authority of those distinguished authors whose works are in the hands of every one, namely, Baron Cuvier, Sir Charles Lyell, Sir Roderick Murchison, Sir Henry de la Beche, Professor Owen, and the Memoirs of the Geological Society. 15. The proportions of land to water referred to in the text were estimated by Mr. Gardner. According to his computation, the extent of land is about 37,673,000 square British miles, independently of Victoria Continent [discovered by Charles Wilkes, U. S. N.]; and the sea occupies 110,849,000. Hence, the land is to the sea as 1 to 4 nearly. The unexplored region within the Arctic Circle is about 7,620,000 square miles. 16. This very general view of the structure of the globe originated chiefly with the celebrated German geologist Von Buch, and has been much extended and developed by M. Elie de Beaumont, one of the most philosophical of modern geologists. 17. M. BouÉ. 18. The author avails herself with much pleasure of an opportunity of expressing her admiration of the accuracy, extent, and execution of Mr. Keith Johnston’s Physical Atlas, and of the valuable information contained in the letterpress which accompanies it, which has afforded her the greatest assistance. As Mr. Johnston is publishing a small and cheap edition of his Atlas, well fitted to illustrate these volumes, the necessity of inserting in them any similar maps, which was at one time contemplated, is obviated. 19. “On the Parallel Lines of Simultaneous Elevation in the Weald of Kent and Sussex,” by —— Hopkins, Esq. 20. M. BouÉ. 21. By the soundings of Captain Smyth, R. N., the Strait is 960 fathoms deep between Gibraltar and Ceuta, and varying from 160 to 500 in the narrowest part. 22. A crater of elevation is a mountain, generally dome-shaped, whose top has sunk into a crater or hollow, after the internal force which raised it was withdrawn, but from which no lava has issued. Dome-shaped mountains owe their form to internal pressure, probably from lava, but which have not sunk into a crater. 23. Professor Forbes on Glaciers. 24. Dr. BouÉ. 25. Sir Charles Lyell. 26. Johnston’s Physical Atlas. 27. Sir John Malcolm on Persia, and Mr. Morier’s Travels. 28. Johnston’s Physical Atlas. 29. Ibid. 30. Johnston’s Physical Atlas. 31. Sir Roderick I. Murchison. 32. From the observations of Sir Roderick Murchison, M. Middendorf, M. de Verneuil, and Count Keyserling, it appears also that the low land of Siberia has been extended since the existing species of shell-fish inhabited the northern seas; a circumstance that must have rendered the Siberian climate still more severe, and materially affected that of the northern parts of Europe and Asia. 33. In 1820, Admiral (then Lieutenant) Wrangel travelled from the mouth of the Kolyma to Behring’s Straits on sledges drawn by dogs, and made a bold but vain attempt to reach the North pole. Lieutenant Anjou, at the same time, sailed from the mouth of the Jana river, reached 761/2 degrees of north latitude, and passed round the group of the New Siberian Islands. 34. Johnston’s Physical Atlas. 35. From Miss Martineau’s spirited and picturesque account of her journey to Egypt and Syria. 36. By the trigonometrical measurement of Major Anthony Symonds, confirmed by French authorities, and adopted by Baron Humboldt, the depression of the Dead Sea is, as stated in the text, 1300 feet; but MM. Bertou and Russiger made it out to be 1388 by the barometer. See Lieut. Molyneux’s paper in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 1848. 37. [For a very interesting and reliable account of the river Jordan and its valley, the reader is directed to a “Narrative of the United States’ Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, by W. F. Lynch, U. S. N., Commander of the Expedition.” Philadelphia, 1849.] 38. Estimated from N.E. to S.W., the proportion of the two slopes of the Abyssinian table-land is as 12·6 to 1. 39. Johnston’s Physical Atlas. 40. The Voyage of Captain King, R. N., Mr. Darwin’s “Journal of a Naturalist,” Dr. Poeppig’s “Travels in South America,” are the authorities for the account of Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia, and Chile; Baron Humboldt, Mr. Pentland, Drs. Poeppig and Meyer of Berlin, for Peru and the Andean Chain to the Isthmus of PanamÁ. 41. This great height has been deduced, adopting the position of the Peak as fixed by Captain Fitz Roy, and employing the angles of elevation observed by Captain Beechey near Valparaiso. 42. Dr. Poeppig’s Travels. 43. The celebrated silver mines of Potosi were formerly worked to the very summit of that metalliferous mountain, 16,150 feet above the sea level. 44. Baron Humboldt and Mr. Pentland. 45. The breadth of the table-land, and the two Cordilleras of the Bolivian Andes given in the text, was measured by Mr. Pentland; he also determined the heights of Illimani to be 21,150 feet; of SupÄÍwasi or Huayna Potosi, 20,260 feet; and of Ancohuma or the Nevado of Sorata, 21,290 feet. 46. Baron Humboldt. 47. Baron Humboldt. 48. It appears by the measurements of Mr. Pentland in the Peru-Bolivian Andes, that many of their passes are higher than in the equatorial portion of the chain. The passes of Rumihuasi, on the high road from Cusco to Arequipa, of Toledo (between Arequipa and Puno), of Gualillas and Chullunquiani (between Arica and La Paz), all in the Western Cordillera, attain the respective elevations of 16,160, 15,790, 14,750, and 15,160 feet;—whilst in the Eastern or Bolivian Cordillera the passes of Challa (between Oruro and Cochabamba), of Pacuani (between La Paz and CorÖico), of Pumapacheta (between the lake of Titicaca and the affluents to the Amazon), of VilcaÑoto (between the valley of the Collao and that of the river Yucay), rise to heights of 13,600, 15,350, 13,600, and 14,520 English feet. 49. Dr. Poeppig. 50. Baron Humboldt. 51. Baron Humboldt’s Personal Narrative. 52. Captain King, R. N., and Mr. Darwin. 53. Sir Woodbine Parish on Buenos Ayres, and Sir Francis Head’s Journey over the Pampas. 54. Mr. Pentland found a very perfect volcanic crater, with well-marked currents of lava issuing from it—a rare occurrence in the higher craters of the Andes—near to San Pedro de Cacha, in the valley of the Yucay (lat. 14° 12', long. 71° 15' W., and at an elevation of 12,000 feet), near to the ruins of the Temple of the Inga Viracocha, a monument and a locality celebrated in Peruvian legend, the nearest point of the sea-coast being 175 miles distant. It is probable that many of the most celebrated mining districts of Alto Peru—Potosi, for instance, situated in a porphyry—have been upheaved at a very recent period. Modern volcanic rocks are not wanting in the valley of the Desaguadero; volcanic conglomerates exist in the deep ravines round the city of La Paz. lat. 16° 30'; and the mountain of Litanias, which furnishes the building-stone for that Bolivian city (lat. 16° 42', long. 68° 191/2'), is composed of a most perfect trachyte, and rises to a height of 14,500 feet above, and at a distance of 160 miles from the Pacific. 55. Dr. Poeppig. 56. Mr. Pentland found fossil shells of the Silurian period at a height of 17,500 feet, on the Bolivian Nevado of AntakÄua, lat. 16° 21', and those of the carboniferous limestone as high as 14,200 in several parts of Upper Peru. 57. Mr. Darwin’s Journal of Travels in South America. 58. Mr. Darwin’s Journal of Travels in South America. 59. Johnston’s Physical Atlas. 60. Baron Humboldt. 61. [Notes on the North-west, or Valley of the Upper Mississippi. By Wm. J. A. Bradford. New York, 1846.] 62. Mr. Taylor. 63. Sir Charles Lyell’s Travels in North America. 64. A chain of mountains is assumed to be a three-sided horizontal prism, whose height is the mean elevation of the chain, and the base the mean length and breadth of the same, or the area on which the chain stands, and thus its mass may be computed approximately. It is evident that a table-land must have a greater effect on the mean height of a continent than a chain of mountains, for, supposing both to be of the same base and altitude, one would be exactly double the other; and even if the mountains be the higher of the two, their upper parts contain much less solid matter than their lower on account of the intervals and deep valleys between the peaks. 65. The author is indebted to the “Physical Geography of North America” by H. D. Rogers, Esq., of the United States, for much valuable information. 66. Dr. Richardson on the Fauna of the High Latitudes of North America. 67. Sir Charles Lyell. 68. This remarkable analogy between the fossil remains of the Silurian systems in the Old and New World has been more particularly shown by the researches of Messrs. de Verneuil and Sharpe. 69. According to M. Charpentier, the area of the base of the Pyrenees is 1720 square English miles. As the mean elevation of the passes gives the mean height of the mountains, Baron Humboldt estimated from the height of 23 passes over the Pyrenees that the mean crest of that chain is 7990 feet high, which is 300 feet higher than the mean height of the Alps, though the peaks in the Alps have a greater elevation than those of the Pyrenees in the ratio 14/10 to 1. 70. The Russian Academicians MM. Fuss and Bunge, found by barometrical measurement the mean height of that part of the Eastern Asiatic table-land lying between Lake Baikal and the Great Wall of China to be only about 6960 feet. The smallness of this mean is owing to hollows in the table-land, especially in the desert of the Great Gobi. 71. By the mensuration and computation of Baron Humboldt and Mr. Pentland, the elevation of the highest peaks, and the mean heights of the Himalaya, of the equatorial and Bolivian Andes and the Alps, are as follows:—
However, the Peak of Dhawalaghini is certainly 28,000 feet high. Captain Gerard gives 18,000 or 19,000 feet as the height of the snow-line on the mountains in the middle of the Asiatic table-land, and 30,000 feet as the absolute elevation of the Kuen-lun, but Colonel Sabine observes that these measures want confirmation. 72. Memoirs of Count Strzelecki. 73. Count Strzelecki. 74. M. Von Buch. 75. —— Mansel, Esq. 76. Mr. Darwin on Coral Reefs. 77. Supplement to the Observations on the Temple of Serapis, by Charles Babbage, Esq. 78. By Mr. Jukes, Naturalist to the Surveying Voyage of Captain Blackwood, R. N., in Torres Straits. 79. Another theory relative to the formation of the lagoon islands is, that the coral circuit is but the edge of a submarine elevation crater, on which the coral animals have raised their edifice. This view, which has been adopted by Von Buch and Captain Beechy, to whom we are indebted more than to any other navigator for positive information and admirable surveys of the coral islands of the Pacific, receives corroboration from the perfect conformity in shape between many of the lagoon islands of the Gambier group and the known elevation craters, and from the circumstance of a lagoon island having been seen to rise in 1825, in lat. 30° 14', accompanied with smoke, and communicating so high a temperature to the surrounding sea as rendered it impossible to land.—See Beechy’s Voyages, and Poeppig’s Reise. 80. Few books have more interest than Mr. Darwin’s on Coral Reefs and Volcanic Islands, to which the author is much indebted. Consult also Captain Beechy’s Voyages, and his beautiful charts of the Coral Islands in the Pacific. 81. By the Nautical Survey in 1848. 82. Sir Stamford Raffles on Java. 83. Mr. Darwin on Volcanic Islands. 84. Mr. Douglas’s Voyage to the Sandwich Islands in 1833-4.—Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. 85. Letter from Alex. Loudon, Esq., in the Journal of the Geographical Society of London. 86. Mitchell on the Causes of Earthquakes, in Philosophical Transactions for 1760. 87. Captain Graah’s Survey in 1823-4, and Dr. Pingel, 1830-2. 88. Lyell’s Principles of Geology, in 8vo. See also Mr. Darwin’s observations on the same subject, in the voyage of the Adventure and Beagle. 89. Remarks on the Antarctic Continent and Southern Islands, by Robert MacCormick, Esq., Surgeon of H.M.S. Erebus. 90. Captain Cook discovered Sandwich Land in 1772-5.—Captain Smith, of the brig William, discovered New South Shetland in 1819.—Captain Billingshausen discovered Peter’s Island, and the coast of Alexander the First.—Captain Weddel discovered the Southern Orcades.—Captain Bisco discovered Enderby’s Land and Graham’s Land in 1832, Admiral d’Urville La Terre d’Adelie in 1841; and Sir James Ross Victoria Land in the same year. 91. The author owes much information on British mines to two publications on the Mining District of the North of England, by J. Sopwith, Esq., Civil Engineer, and Mr. Leithart, Mine Agent. On the Cornish mines she has derived much information from the writings of John Taylor, Esq., and Sir Charles Lemon, Bart.; from a store of valuable materials contained in the “Progress of the Nation,” by G. R. Porter, Esq.; from the Statistical Journal; and on the general distribution of minerals over the globe, from the “Penny CyclopÆdia,” and various other sources. 92. The metals are gold, silver, platinum, copper, lead, tin, iron, zinc, arsenic, bismuth, antimony, nickel, quicksilver, manganese, cadmium, cerium, cobalt, iridium, uranium, chrome, lantanium, molybdenum, columbium, osmium, palladium, pelapium, tantalum, tellurium, rhodium, titanium, vanadium, tungsten, dydynium, ferbium, erbium. The three last are little known. Sir Humphry Davy discovered that lime, magnesia, alumine, and other similar substances, are metals combined with oxygen. There are thirteen of these 93. This subject is ably discussed by Mr. Leithart in his work, already mentioned, on the formation and filling of metallic veins. Mr. Leithart is an instance of the intelligence that prevails among miners, notwithstanding the scanty opportunities of acquiring that knowledge which they are generally so eager to obtain. He was a working miner, whose only education was at a Sunday-school. 94. Mineral veins are generally richer near the surface than at great depths: this is particularly the case in the mines of the precious metals in America, where the greatest quantities of ore have been found near the surface—a fact that may be explained by supposing the mineral substances brought by sublimation from the interior of the earth, and deposited where the temperature was lowest at or near the surface in the rocks among which they are situated. 95. Rotation alone produces electrical currents in the earth.—“Connection of the Physical Sciences,” page 364, 7th edition. 96. J. Taylor, Esq., on Cornish mines. 97. The total amount of steam-power in Great Britain in 1833 was equal to that of 2,000,000 of men.—J. Taylor, Esq., on Cornish Mines. 98. The splendid discovery of Sir Humphry Davy, that flame does not pass through fine wire-gauze, prevents the fatal explosion of inflammable air in the mines, by which thousands of lives have been lost. By means of a light enclosed in a wire-gauze lantern, a miner now works with safety surrounded by fire-damp. To the honour of the illustrious author of this discovery, be it observed that it was not, like that of gunpowder and others, the unforeseen result of chance by new combinations of matter, but the solution of a question based on scientific experiment and induction, which it required the genius of a philosophic mind like his to arrive at. 99. Supposing the barometer to be 30 inches on the level of the sea. 100. Note to the English translation of Kosmos, by Colonel Sabine, on the depths below the surface of the earth attained by man. 101. Dr. Poeppig’s “Travels in Chile and Peru.” 102. Dr. Poeppig. 103. Constructed under the direction of Thomas Sopwith, Esq. 104. Sir Charles Lemon, Bart. 105. M. Erman’s “Travels in Siberia.” 106. In 1841 there were 196,921 persons employed in the mines of Great Britain and Ireland. 107. In the year 1829 the value of the mineral produce of Europe, including Asiatic Russia, but exclusive of manganese, amounted to—
England contributed more than half this amount, namely,—
—nearly £29,000,000 sterling.—John Taylor, Esq., on the Cornish Mines. At present there are 34,000,000 of tons of coals consumed in Great Britain annually, besides the quantity exported to our colonies and to foreign countries, amounting to nearly 2,000,000 of tons. 8,000,000 of tons are consumed in our iron-foundries alone. Between 500,000 and 600,000 tons are used in making gas. The iron made in Britain in 1844 amounted to 1,400,000 tons. Iron is now applied to many uses instead of timber, especially in ship-building: between the years 1830 and 1847, 150 iron vessels were launched in Britain. 25 of the steamships of the East India Company are of iron. The produce of our copper-mines has increased threefold within the last 60 years. The quantity of tin has also increased from our own mines, and also from the extensive importation of that metal from Banca, where the country yielding stream-tin extends from 7° N. lat. to 3° S. lat. The yearly produce amounts to 300 tons of pure metal.—“Progress of the Nation, in its Social and Commercial Relations, since the beginning of the Nineteenth Century,” by G. R. Porter, Esq., 2d edition. In France there are 62 coal-mines, which yielded 3,410,200 tons in 1841, and in 1838 the 12 iron districts in that country yielded to the value of 4,975,424l. The British coal and metal imported into France amounted to 1,222,228l.—Progress of the Nation. Belgium is next to Britain as a European coal country. In Britain the coalfields occupy one-twentieth part of the area of the country—in Belgium one twenty-second part—in France one two hundred and tenth part of its area. The quantity of coal raised in one year is, according to “The Statistics of Germany,” by R. Valpy, Esq.—
[The following table exhibits the quantity and value of coal produced, in the six principal coal countries in the world, in the year 1845:—
The coal trade appears to be increasing in all parts of the world. There are no authentic data from which the increasing production of bituminous coal in the United States can be exactly deduced, but what we have show that it is very rapid. The production of anthracite may be said to be entirely confined to the State of Pennsylvania, which possesses a numerous and interesting group of coal basins, of various sizes and characters. In the year 1820, the anthracite coal trade commenced with 365 tons; in 1827 it reached 48,047 tons; in 1837, 881,026 tons, and advanced to 3,000,000 tons in 1847. The following table exhibits the production of smelted or manufactured iron in different countries in the year 1845:—
The rapid increase in the number of railroads and locomotive engines, and the number of steam vessels employed in commerce, augments the demand, proportionally, for iron and fuel. At the commencement of 1847, the length of railroad completed and partly finished in the principal countries of Europe and America was 20,000 miles, only a few thousand miles less than the entire circumference of the globe.] 108. “Statistics of Coal.” By Richard Cowling Taylor, Philadelphia, 1848. 109. Sir Charles Lyell’s “Travels in the United States of North America.” 110. For the reason of this secular variation in the Moon’s distance, see page 42 of “The Connection of the Physical Sciences.” 111. Every undulating motion consists of two distinct things—an advancing form and a molecular movement. The motion of each particle is in an ellipse lying wholly in a vertical plane, so that, after the momentary disturbance during the passage of the wave, they return to their places again.—“Theory of Waves,” by J. Scott Russell, Esq. 112. J. Scott Russell, Esq., on Waves. 113. Beechy’s Voyage to the Pacific. 114. By Captain Albrecht’s soundings. 115. By the measurement of M. LepÈre in the French expedition to Egypt.—“Annales du Bureau de Longitude,” 1836. 116. Proceedings of the Royal Geological Society, vol. ii., p. 210. 117. Baron Humboldt’s Personal Narrative. 118. Leonardo da Vinci was appointed Director of Hydraulic Operations in Lombardy by the Duke of Milan, and during the time he was painting the “Last Supper” he completed the Canal of Martesana, extending from the Adda to Milan, and improved the course of the latter river from where it emerges from the Lake of Como to the Po. By means of the Naviglio Grande, the Martesana canal establishes a water communication between the Adda and the Ticino, the Lakes of Como and Maggiore. 119. Dr. Beke on the Nile and its affluents. 120. Captain W. Allen, R. N. 121. It is in the space comprised between two of the eastern tributaries of the Tigris, the Khaus and the Great Zab, or Abou Selman of the Arabs, that the extensive ruins of Koyunjik, Khorsabad, and especially of Nimroud, are situated, the last of which have been so satisfactorily identified with the capital of Assyria—the ancient Nineveh—by our enterprising and talented countryman Mr. Layard, to whose exertions, under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, surrounded by every privation, our national Museum is indebted for that magnificent collection of Assyrian monuments which at this moment forms the admiration of the British public. It is to be hoped that our Government will follow up the researches commenced by Mr. Layard, and that several of the gigantic sculptures removed by him, with such perseverance and labour, to Bussorah, will ere long be added to the riches of the British Museum. See Mr. Layard’s work on “Nineveh and its Remains,” 2 vols. 8vo., and his illustrated work in folio—the former one of the most interesting narratives ever published on the antiquities of Central Asia. 122. M. Erman. 123. [Lieutenant W. F. Lynch, of the United States Navy, has recently published an interesting and valuable narrative of an expedition to the Dead Sea and River Jordan. According to his measurements and surveys, the level of the Dead Sea is 1,316·7 feet below that of the Mediterranean. The city of Jerusalem is 2,610·5 feet above the latter, and 3,927·24 feet above the former sea. The greatest depth of the Dead Sea is 1308 feet. Lieutenant Lynch states the density of the water of the Dead Sea to be 1·13, that of distilled water being 1.] 124. The water of Lake Eltonsk contains chloride of calcium. 125. The water of the Dead Sea, according to Lieutenant Lynch, contains 26·42 per cent. of saline ingredients, one of which is chloride of magnesium. 126. Professor Schoenbein of Basle attributes the peculiar smell, when bodies are struck by lightning, to a principle existing in the atmosphere, which he calls ozone, liberated by the decomposing action of electricity, and possessing the same electrical characters as bromine, chlorine, and iodine. He ascribes the luminous appearance of the ocean to the action of that principle on the animal matter it contains. 127. Annales des Sciences GÉologiques, par M. RiviÈre, 1842. 128. The mean of any number of unequal quantities is equal to their sum divided by their number: thus the mean temperature of the air at any place during a year is equal to the sum of the mean temperature of each month divided by 12. This method, however, will only give an approximate value; therefore, to ascertain the mean annual temperature at any place accurately, the mean of a number of years must be taken. 129. Lines drawn on a map or globe through all places where the mean annual temperature is the same are isothermal lines. 130. For example, Professor Dove has found that the mean temperature of December, January, and February, at Toronto in Canada, added to the mean temperature of the same months at Hobart Town in Van Diemen’s Land, exceeds the sum of the mean temperature of June, July, and August, at the same places, added together, by 22°·7 of Fahrenheit. Similar results, though varying in amount, were obtained for many corresponding places in the two hemispheres, which establishes the law given in the text. 131. In the same manner as isothermal lines are supposed to pass through all parts of the globe where the mean temperature of the air is the same, so the isogeothermal lines are supposed to pass through all places where the mean heat of the ground is the same: the isotherial lines are supposed to be drawn through all places having the same mean summer temperature; and the isochimenal lines pass through all places where the mean winter temperature is the same. The practice of representing to the eye these lines on a map or terrestrial globe is of the greatest use in following and understanding the complicated phenomena of temperature and magnetism. 132. If the heights above the earth increase by equal quantities, as a foot or a mile, the densities of the strata of air, or the heights of the barometer which are proportional to them, will decrease in geometrical progression: for example, if the height of the barometer at the level of the sea be 29·922 inches, it will be 14·961 inches at the height of 18,000 feet, or one-half as great; it will be one-fourth as great at the height of 36,000 feet, one-eighth at the height of 54,000 feet, and so on. 133. A very ingenious little instrument, called the Aneroid Barometer, has been lately invented in France; which, at the same time that it forms an exact and very portable weather-glass, in the common acceptation of that term, may be employed with considerable accuracy in ascertaining differences of level. Although not to be compared, as an instrument of precision, with the ordinary mercurial barometer, it is infinitely more portable, and gives with promptitude and accuracy small differences of level. A friend of the author’s has recently tested it in the latter respect on some of our railways, and found that observations made with it carefully will give, on a line of 200 miles in extent, the relative levels of the different stations within a few feet. The observations can be made in a couple of minutes. The gentleman in question writes to us, that he considers the Aneroid Barometer will prove a very useful instrument to the geological and the botanical traveller. See, for a description of this instrument, a pamphlet recently published at 84, Strand, by Mr. E. J. Dent, on the Construction and Uses of the Aneroid Barometer. London, 1849. 134. The moon’s orbit is very much elongated, so that her distance from the earth varies considerably, and consequently her attractive force. Moreover, her attraction varies with the rotation of the earth, which brings her twice in 24 hours in the meridian of any place, once in the superior and once in the inferior meridian; but her action on the atmosphere is much inferior to that of the heat of the sun. 135. Mr. Pentland has, however, found in the Peru-Bolivian Andes, at elevations between 11,000 and 14,000 feet, the horary oscillations of the barometer as regular, and nearly as extensive, as on the level of the sea in the same latitude. 136. Lieutenant Maury, of the United States Navy, is led to believe that there is a region within the limit of the N.E. trade-winds, in the Atlantic, in which the prevailing winds are from the south and west: this region is somewhat in the shape of a wedge, with its base towards the coast of Africa, between the equator and 10° N. lat., and between the meridians of 10° and 25° W. long. In this space, in which the law of the trade-winds is reversed, there are great atmospheric disturbances, violent squalls, sudden gusts of wind, thunder, storms, heavy rains, baffling airs, and calms. 137. In the northern hemisphere, a north wind sets out with a less rotatory motion than the places have at which it successively arrives, consequently it veers through all the points of the compass from N. to N.E. and E. If a south wind should now spring up, it would gradually veer from S. to S.W. and W., because its rotatory velocity would be greater than that of the places it successively comes to. The combination of the two would cause a vane to veer from E. to S.E. and S.; but the rotation of the earth would now cause the south wind to veer round from S. to S.W. and W.; and should a north wind now arise, its combination with the west wind would bring the vane round from W. to N.W. and N. again. At the Greenwich Observatory the wind makes five gyrations in that direction in the course of a year. In Europe it is the contention of the N.E. and S.W. winds which causes the rotation of the wind, and the principal changes of weather, the S.W. being warm and moist, the N.E. cold and dry, except where it comes over the German Ocean. 138. In all hurricanes hitherto observed, the sinking of the mercury, and the increase of the wind, have been more or less regularly progressive till within three or four hours’ sail of the centre of the storm; and in one class they have continued so even to the centre; while in another class, and by far the most terrible, the depression of the mercury has been sudden and excessive when within that distance of the centre, and the violence of the tempest far beyond the average. When a ship is within 50 or 60 miles of the centre, the storm has the mastery, and seamanship is of little avail. Rules for avoiding this calamity, and for managing a ship when involved in a hurricane, are fully explained in the “Sailor’s Horn-Book for the Laws of Storms,” by H. Piddington, Esq., President of the Marine Courts of Inquiry at Calcutta. The following approximate table is given by him, to serve as a guide till better data shall be obtained:—
The rate of fall per hour doubles after the storm has lasted six hours, and within three hours of the centre of the hurricane the mercury will fall four times as fast, if it be of the violent class. Colonel James Capper discovered the rotatory motions of storms, and W. C. Redfield, Esq., of New York, was the first who determined their laws. Colonel Reid, Governor of Barbadoes, and Dr. Thom, of the 86th regiment, have also written on the subject. 139. The four subordinate forms of clouds are the cirro-stratus, composed of little bands of filaments, more compact than the cirrus, forming horizontal strata, which seem to be numerous thin clouds when in the zenith, and at the horizon a long narrow band. The cumulo-stratus consists of the summer-cloud, like snowy mountains heaped on one another, which at sunrise have a black or bluish tint at the horizon, and pass into the nimbus, or rain-cloud, which has a uniform grey tint, fringed at the edges; and the fourth is the cirro-cumulus, a combination of filaments and heaped-up cumuli or summer-clouds. 140. The reader is referred to the chart of the distribution of rain in the Physical Atlas of Alexander Keith Johnston, Esq., where the value of the practice referred to in note p. 27 is shown. 141. The reader is referred to the “Connection of the Physical Sciences” for an account of Dr. Dalton’s theory of definite proportions, and the relative weight of atoms. 142. The reader is referred to the 18th section of the “Physical Sciences” for reflection, refraction, and absorption of light, and to the 19th section for the constitution of the solar light and colours. 143. For the cause of mirage, see the “Connection of the Physical Sciences.” 144. For phenomena and theory of polarized light, see section 21, “Connection of the Physical Sciences.” 145. Every substance, whether solid or fluid, has its own polarizing angle. 146. The reader is referred to a plate in “Johnston’s Physical Atlas” showing the phenomena of the polarization of the atmosphere. 147. See sections 28 and 29 of the “Connection of the Physical Sciences:” on Electricity. 148. Sound travels at the rate of 1120 feet in a second in air at the temperature of 62° of Fahrenheit; so if that number be multiplied by the seconds elapsed between the flash of lightning and the thunder, the result will be the distance in feet at which the stroke took place. 149. Colonel Sabine’s Notes to “Kosmos.” 150. The foci are all of different intensities; that in the South Atlantic, discovered by M. Erman, has the least intensity of the four, and the other in the southern hemisphere, discovered by Sir James Ross, has the greatest; taking 1 as the unit at the magnetic equator in Peru, their intensities are as 2·071 and 0·706. In the northern hemisphere the American focus is more intense than that in Siberia, which is moving from west to east, while the minor focus in the southern hemisphere is moving from east to west. 151. The author is indebted to the admirable and profound investigations of Colonel Sabine for almost all she knows on the subject of terrestrial magnetism. In these, and in his notes on the English translation of “Kosmos,” the reader will find all that is most interesting on the subject. In his own works there are plates of the course of the different magnetic lines mentioned in the text. 152. At St. Helena, the north end of the needle reaches its eastern extreme in May, June, July, and August, and nearly at the same hours it reaches its western extreme in November, December, January, and February. The passage from one to the other takes place at, or soon after, the equinoxes in March and April, September and October.—Colonel Sabine’s Notes to “Kosmos.” 153. The sporules or seeds of the fungi are so minute that M. Freis counted above ten millions in a single plant of the recticularia maxima: they were so subtile that they were like smoke. 154. The solar spectrum, or coloured image of the sun, formed by passing a sunbeam through a prism, is composed of a variety of invisible as well as visible rays. The chemical rays are most abundant beyond the violet end of the spectrum, and decrease through the violet, blue, and green, to the yellow, where they cease. The rays of heat are in excess a little beyond the red end, and gradually decrease towards the violet end. Besides these there are two insulated spots at a considerable distance from the red, where the heat is a maximum. Were the rays of heat visible, they would exhibit differences as distinct as the coloured rays, so varied are their properties according to their position in the spectrum. There are also peculiar rays which produce phosphorescence, others whose properties are not quite made out, and probably many undiscovered influences; for time has not yet fully revealed the sublimity of that creation, when God said, “Let there be light—and there was light.” 155. Professor Quetelet is desirous that the periodical phenomena of vegetation should be observed at a number of places, in order to establish a comparison between the periods at which they take place; and for that purpose he gives a list of the commonest plants, as lilac, laburnum, elder, birch, oak, horse-chestnut, peach, pear, crocus, daisy, &c., which he himself observes annually at Brussels. 156. Dandelion opens at five or six in the morning, and shuts at nine in the evening; the goat’s-beard wakes at three in the morning, and shuts at five or six in the afternoon. The orange-coloured Escholtzia is so sensitive that it closes during the passage of a cloud. “The marigold that goes to bed wi’ the sun, and with him rises weeping,” with many more, are instances of the sleep of plants. 157. M. de Candolle established 20 botanical regions, and Professor Schow the same number; but Professor Martius, of Munich, has divided the vegetation of the globe into 51 provinces, namely, 5 in Europe, 11 in Africa, 13 in Asia, 3 in New Holland, 4 in North and 8 in South America, besides Central America, the Antillas, the Antarctic Lands, New Zealand, Van Diemen’s Land, New Guinea, and Polynesia. To these, other divisions might be added, as the Galapagos, which is so strongly defined. Baron Humboldt gives the following concise view of the distribution of plants, both as to height and latitude:— The equatorial zone is the region of palms and bananas. The tropical zone is the region of tree-ferns and figs. The subtropical zone, that of myrtles and laurels. The warm temperate zone, that of evergreen trees. The cold temperate zone, that of European or deciduous trees. The subarctic zone, that of pines. The arctic zone, that of rhododendrons. The polar zone, that of alpine plants. Upper Limit of Trees on Mountains.—The upper limit of trees is distinguished by the EscalloniÆ, on the Andes of Quito, at the height of 11,500 feet above the level of the sea. In tropical Mexico, the upper limit of trees, at the height of 12,789 feet, is distinguished by the Pinus occidentalis. In the temperate zone the limit of trees is marked by the Quercus Semicarpifolia, at 11,500 feet, on the south side of the Himalaya, and by the Betula Alba, on the north side, at the height of 14,000 feet: the same birch forms the limit on the Caucasus, at the elevation of 6394 feet. On the Pyrenees and Alps the limit is marked by the ConiferÆ or pine tribe: on the Pyrenees by the Pinus uncinata, at the height of 10,870 feet; on the south side of the Alps by the larch, at the elevation of 6700 feet; and by the Pinus abies, at 5883 feet, on the north. In Lapland, the Betula Alba forms the upper limit of trees, at the height of only 1918 feet. The upper Limit of Shrubs.—In the Andes of Quito the Bejarias are the shrubs that attain the greatest height, and terminate at 13,420 feet above the sea-level. The juniper, Salix, and Ribes, or currant tribe, form the upper limit of Shrubs on the south side of the Himalaya, at the height of 11,500 feet. The tama, or Genista versicolor, a species of broom, flourishes at the height of 17,000 feet on the north side, and vegetation is prolonged to nearly 18,000 feet. The Rhododendron forms the upper limit of shrubs on the Caucasus, at 8825 feet; in the Pyrenees it grows to 8312 feet; in the Alps to 7480 feet; and in Lapland it forms the upper limit of shrubs at an elevation of 3000 above the Arctic Ocean. 158. The British flora contains at least 3000 species. 159. The plants with which the Chinese give flavour to tea are the Olea fragrans, Chloranthus inconspicuus, Gardenia florida, Aglaia odorata, Mogorium sambac, Vitex spicata, Camellia sasanqua, Camellia odorifera, Illicium anisatum, Magnolia yulan, Rosa indica odoratissima, The principles of caffeine and theine are, in all respects, identical. 160. Davis on China. 161. Dr. Mantel. 162. Dr. J. D. Hooker. 163. The Euphorbia and Borreria are the distinguishing features of the low grounds in the Galapagos islands; while the Scleria, croton, and Cordia mark the high grounds. CompositÆ and CampanulaceÆ distinguish St. Helena and Juan Fernandez. The prevailing plants in the Sandwich group are the GoodeniaceÆ and LobeliaceÆ; and in New Zealand ferns and club-mosses prevail, almost to the exclusion of the grasses.—Dr. J. D. Hooker. 164. Of 2891 species of flower-bearing plants in the United States of North America, there are 385 found also in northern and temperate Europe. 165. In the basin of Titicaca in Peru-Bolivia, Mr. Pentland has seen a variety of maize ripen as high as 12,800 feet. 166. Dr. Weddell, a very distinguished botanist, who has recently returned from an exploration of the districts of the Andes which furnish the Peruvian bark of commerce, has discovered several new species of Cinchona, the total number of which, according to his beautiful monography, now amounts to 21. 167. Professor Martius, of Munich, in his great work on Palms, has described 500, accompanied with excellent coloured plates. It is supposed that the number of species throughout the world amounts to 1000. 168. There are innumerable points of analogy between the vegetation of the Brazils, equinoctial Africa, and India: but the number of species common to these three continents is very small. 169. Dr. J. D. Hooker. 170. The cosmopolite ulvÆ are the Enteromorpha, Codium, &c. 171. Dr. J. D. Hooker has divided the marine vegetation into ten provinces:—the Northern Ocean, from the pole to the 60th parallel of north latitude;—the North Atlantic, between the 60th and 40th parallels, which is the province of the delessariÆ and fucus proper;—the Mediterranean, which is a sub-region of the warmer temperate zone of the Atlantic, lying between the 40th and 23d northern parallels;—the tropical Atlantic, in which sargassum, rhodomelia, corallinia, and siphinea abound;—the antarctic American region, from Chile to Cape Horn, the Falkland Islands, and the whole circumpolar ocean south of the 50th southern parallel;—the Australian and New Zealand province, which is very peculiar, being characterized, among other generic forms, by cystoseiriÆ and fuceÆ;—the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea;—and the last, which comprises the Japan and China Seas. There are several undetermined botanical marine provinces in the Pacific and elsewhere. 172. The British flowering sea-weeds are the Zostera and Zanichellia. 173. The vegetation at different depths in the Egean Sea is as distinctly marked as that at different heights on the declivity of a mountain. The coast plants are the Padina pavonia and Dictyota dichotoma. A greater depth is characterized by the vividly green and elegant fronds of the Caulerpa prolifera, probably the prasium of the ancients; associated with it are the curious sponge-like Codium Bursa, and four or five others. The Codium flabelliforme, and the rare and curious vegetable net called Microdictyon umbilicatum, characterize depths of 30 fathoms. The Dictyomenia, with stiff purple corkscrew-like fronds, and some others, go as low as 50 fathoms, beyond which no flexible sea-weeds have been found. The coral-like Millepora polymorpha take their place, and range to the depth of 100 fathoms, beyond which there is no trace of vegetable life, unless some of the minute and microscopic infusorial bodies living there be regarded as plants.—“Travels in Lycia,” by Lieutenant Spratt, R. N., and Professor E. Forbes. 174. The notocanthus and macrourus are the deep-water fish in the arctic regions; they also inhabit the seas of New Zealand. The Pacific fish that enter the Atlantic are some of the 175. The Chinese fresh-water fish are cyprinidÆ, ophicephali, and siluridÆ—genera which agree closely with those in India, though the species are different. 176. The carnivorous Cetacea, with two remarkable exceptions, inhabit the ocean—the Delphinus Inca, of the Amazons and its affluents; and the D. Gangeticus, of the Ganges. 177. Captain Scoresby’s “Arctic Voyages.” 178. One of the most celebrated species of this division is the crocodile of the Nile, which probably is to be met with in the western branch of that river, the Bahr-el-Abiad, as high as 4000 feet. Immense numbers of this species, of every size and age, are found embalmed in the catacombs of the ancient Egyptians, which are perfectly identical with the existing species, and offering another proof of the important fact first announced by Cuvier, from his examination of the mummies of the ibis, that no animal, in its wild state, had presented the least change, within the longest historical periods. 179. Mr. Pentland informs me that crocodiles are found in some of the rivers of Bolivia at a much greater elevation. 180. Animals of a gigantic size, and allied to the lizard family, formerly inhabited the latitudes of Britain. A monster (the Mosasaurus) much surpassing the largest living crocodile is found in our Sussex chalk-beds; and an animal allied to the Iguana, the iguanodon of Mantell, is of frequent occurrence in the strata upon which the chalk reposes in the weald of Sussex, the Isle of Wight, &c. Some bones of the iguanodon would indicate an animal more than 50 feet long. 181. Petrel, from St. Peter. 182. In some parts of the earth the same conditions which regulated the distribution of the ancient fauna and flora still prevail. The flora of the carbonaceous epoch is perfectly similar to that of New Zealand, where ferns and club-mosses are so abundant; and the fauna of that ancient period had been representative of that which recently prevailed in these islands, since foot-prints of colossal birds have been discovered in the red sandstone of Connecticut. The age of reptiles of the Wealden and other secondary periods is representative of the fauna of the Galapagos islands, which chiefly consists of tortoises and creatures of the lizard or crocodile family; and the cycadaceous plants and marsupial animals of the oolite are representative of the flora and fauna of Australia. The colossal birds which prevailed in New Zealand, almost to the entire exclusion of reptiles and quadrupeds, lasted to a very late period; they differed in the structure of the beak and skull from every class of birds, recent or fossil. 183. Perhaps no quadruped in the wild state will be found to have so wide a vertical range of habitat as this animal. It is found in the plains of Tartary, in the valley of the Tigris, at a very few feet above the sea-level, and in the most elevated plains of the Himalaya, at elevations exceeding 15,300 feet. 184. It is by no means certain that the wild Ass of the three countries mentioned in the text belongs to the same species. The Kiang of Tibet appears to be the same as the Dziggetai (Equus Hemonus) of Pallas, which is met with throughout central Asia; but the species found in the Run of Cutch is of a different colour and form: whilst the one neighs like a horse, the other brays like an ass; in one the striped colour of the zebra family exists in the young, and not in the second. 185. The attention of the scientific world in France has been recently directed to the advantages that might arise from the naturalization of the Llama tribe in Europe, and especially of its two most useful species, the Llama and the Alpaca. M. J. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, a zoologist of some note, but rather carried away by theoretical views in a branch of science where observation, and observation alone, ought to be our guide, and ignorant perhaps of what had been done in England on the same subject, where the experiment had long since been tried, and with very inadequate success, has presented lately some papers to the Academy of Sciences on this subject. We cannot imagine, even if the naturalization of the Llama on a large scale was possible, what benefit could arise from it to our agriculturists. The wool of the llama is coarse, and so infinitely inferior to the commonest qualities of sheep’s wool, that in its native country it is seldom used for any other purpose than the manufacture of ropes, of a rough carpeting and packing-cloth, and for the coarsest apparel of the poor Indian. As to its use as a beast of burden, whilst the llama eats as much as the ass, it does not carry more than one half what he can, and can scarcely travel one half of the same daily distance; besides, the female llama is useless in this respect. The flesh of the llama, as above stated, is greatly below that of all our domestic animals, even of the Italian buffalo. As to the Alpaca, it is very doubtful if, living as it does in an extremely dry, elevated, equable, and clear atmosphere, it would ever become accustomed to the damp and variable climate of our northern latitudes, or to that of the great European chains of mountains, the Alps and the Pyrenees, and if it did, that its wool would not be greatly deteriorated. As to the vicuÑa, it is purely a wild species, and has hitherto resisted all the efforts of the aborigines, the most patient and docile of the human race, to render it prolific in its own climate and in domesticity. It appears, therefore, that the domestication of the several species of Auchenia in Europe would be a costly and useless experiment, on the large scale on which it is proposed to try it; indeed, this will appear evident when it is known that in the Peru-Bolivian Andes the llama and alpaca are daily disappearing to make room for the more useful and profitable breed of the common European sheep, whilst, as a beast of burden, the ass is everywhere taking its place. Connected with this subject, a very singular fact, and, if well established, a very curious one, has been announced by M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, on the authority of one of our countrymen, Dr. Weddel, recently returned from South America, that a cross-breed between the Alpaca and the VicuÑa had been obtained, and that the mules from this cross-breed were capable of reproducing this newly-created species, the wool of which is represented to be of a valuable quality. Now, if there exists in zoological science a fact clearly established, it is this: that within historical periods no new species of vertebrate animal has been created—in fact, the great law of the immutability of species. The remains of the several wild animals which have been buried for more than 30 centuries in the catacombs of Egypt, and in the ruins of Nineveh, are perfectly identical with those now existing in the most minute details of their anatomical structure. We have examined, in the case referred to, the evidence adduced by M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire in support of his favourite doctrine, and we do not by any means consider it sufficient to shake the conclusions arrived at by all the great zoologists of past and present times—by the Cuviers, the Humboldts, and the Owens of our own period—on the impossibility of the production of a new species of animals, or the immutability of species in the animal creation. Contradictions to this law we know have been brought forward by writers of the theoretical school of naturalists, to support favourite theories of their authors; but we believe such dangerous doctrines are founded on the vagaries of a school which have ever placed in natural history observation in the back, and the dreams of imagination in the foreground. 186. There are 8 families, 14 genera, and 123 species of marsupial animals, amounting to about one-twelfth of all the mammalia. The opossum is American; the seven other families are inhabitants of Australia and the Indian Archipelago. Of the DidelphidÆ or opossum family there are 21 species, all inhabitants of America; the Virginian opossum is about the size of a cat, the other species are not larger than rats or mice. A pretty kind in Surinam, the D. dorsigera, is so named because it carries its young on its back, which hold on by their prehensile tails twisted round that of the mother: another species is aquatic, and in its habits resembles the otter. The DasyuridÆ and Phalangers are nocturnal: the DasyuridÆ and wombats burrow. 187. Sir Charles Lyell estimates the number of existing species of animals and vegetables, independent of the infusoria, to be between one and two millions, which must surely be under the mark, considering the enormous quantity of animal life in the ocean, to the amount of which we have not even an approximation. If the microscopic and infusorial existence be taken into the account, the surface of the globe may be viewed as one mass of animal life—perpetually dying—perpetually renewed. A drop of stagnant water is a world within itself, an epitome of the earth and its successive geological races. A variety of microscopic creatures appear, and die; in a few days a new set succeeds; these vanish and give place to a third set, of different kinds from the preceding; and the dÉbris of all remain at the bottom of the glass. The extinction of these creatures takes place without any apparent cause, unless a greater degree of putrescence of the water be to them what the mighty geological catastrophes were to beings of higher organization—the introduction of the new is not more mysterious in one case than in the other. 188. Valmiki, the Hindu poet, is supposed to have been contemporary with Homer, if not his predecessor: his great work is the “Ramayana,” an heroic poem of the highest order, four cantos of which have been translated by Gaspare Gorresco, an Italian. According to Dr. Pritchard, the four great dynasties of languages in the old continent are—the Indo-European or Indo-Germanic, now called the Arian or Iranian languages; the Turanian or Ugro-Tartarian, the language of high Asia; the Chinese and Indo-Chinese, or Monosyllabic; and the Syro-Arabian or Semitic languages. The three first are common to Europe and Asia; the fourth, common to Africa and some parts of Asia near Africa. The Arians are the ancient Medes and Persian; the Ugrians are the Fins, Laplanders, Hungarians, and many Siberian nations. 189. European Population. Pure blood.
Mixed blood in Europe.
The total population of Europe, pure and mixed, amounts to about 232 millions, including 600,000 Gipsies. The Teutonic population in the United States of North America and in the British colonies amounts to 20 millions; so that the total number of people of Teutonic blood is rather more than 100 millions.—Notes accompanying the Ethnographic Map of Europe, by Dr. Gustaf Kombst: “Phys. Atlas.” 190. Population or Great Britain and Ireland. On an average the pure-blooded population amounts to
Mixed blood.
In all 26,000,000 of inhabitants. Notes accompanying the Ethnographic Map of Great Britain and Ireland, by Gustaf Kombst: “Phys. Atlas.” The fear that Britain may be ruined by over population may be allayed by considering that we are ignorant of the immense treasures and inexhaustible resources of the natural world—that the ingenuity of man is infinite, and will continually discover new powers and innumerable combinations that will furnish sources of wealth and happiness to millions. 191. From the discrepancies in the chronological systems it is evident that the actual period of man’s creation is not accurately known. The Chevalier Bunsen has ascertained, from monumental inscriptions, that the successive Egyptian dynasties may be traced back to Meres, 3640 years before the Christian era, and from the high state of civilization during the reign of that prince, proved by the magnificence of the works thus executed, he infers that the Egyptians must have existed 500 years previous to their consolidation into one empire by him, which goes back to the renewed period of man’s creation. Compared with geological periods, man is of very recent creation, as appears from the vast extent of uninhabited land, but which would require ages and ages to people, even if the increase of population were as rapid as in the United States of North America. 192. Dark-coloured substances absorb more of the sun’s heat than light-coloured ones; therefore, the black skins of the natives of tropical climates absorb more heat than fair skins, but, from some unknown cause, the black skin is protected from a degree of heat that would blister a fair one. 193. The countenances of the Fuegians brought to England in 1830 by Captain Fitzroy improved greatly in expression by their intercourse with civilized men, but they had not returned to their savage brethren more than a year before their whole appearance was completely changed; the look of intelligence they had acquired was gone; and when compared with likenesses that had been taken of them when in England, they were not to be recognized as the same persons. 194. Johnston’s “Physical Atlas.” The average age of a nation, or the mean duration of life, has a considerable influence on the character of a people. The average age of the population of England and Wales is 26 years 7 months. By the census, the average age of the population of the United States of North America is 22 years 2 months. In England there are 1365 persons in every 10,000, who have attained 50 years of age, and consequently of experience; while, in the United States, only 830 in each 10,000 have arrived at that age: hence, in the United States, the moral predominance of the young and passionate is greatest. In Ireland there are 1050 persons in every 10,000 of the population, above 50 years of age, to exercise the influence of their age and experience upon the community—an influence that will diminish with the progress of emancipation. 195. It is singular that the British should, for years, have possessed such extensive territories in Asia without having explored their mineral wealth. Perhaps the quantity of gold recently discovered in California and Africa may call the attention of the East India Company to the subject. Some of the richest mining districts are in countries where primary formations have been crossed or disturbed by volcanic action; and as that is eminently the case along the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, from Aracan to the peninsula of Malacca, mines of the precious metals will most likely be found on that frontier, possibly in Siam and the Birman empire. The interior of the Deccan has also been greatly disturbed by ancient volcanos; and as that country is said to bear a strong analogy in structure to South Africa, it may also resemble it in the production of gold. The auriferous territory in California appears to be at least 400 miles long and 100 broad. 196. In bringing to a close a work which may in some measure be considered a kind of RÉsumÉ of Natural knowledge, it may not be either out of place or irrelevant to our subject to allude more particularly to the encouragement of late years granted to scientific investigation by our own Government. It must be confessed that Great Britain for a long time remained behind the nations of the continent in fostering scientific enterprise and research; and if England has rivalled in most branches of natural knowledge, and surpassed in some, every other people, it has arisen more from individual exertion, and that spirit of association which forms so happy a characteristic of our race, and which has in our political institutions so mainly contributed to our national greatness and prosperity, than from any direct encouragement from our rulers. Whilst France and other continental nations were endowing the votaries of science, were lavishing money on scientific expeditions, and founding institutions which will hand down the names of their sovereigns to posterity as the benefactors of mankind, England had done little in the same track beyond fitting out those memorable expeditions of Cook, and, subsequently, those of Vancouver and Flinders, and the support granted to our great national Observatory, which, under the direction of Bradley, Maskelyne, Pond, and Airy, has attained a degree of celebrity and utility unequalled by any astronomical foundation in ancient or modern times. The conclusion of a long war, in opening the scientific repositories of the continent to our countrymen, showed us how much our great institutions, with the above solitary exception, were behindhand, not only in extent and utility, but in the liberality with which they were conducted. Possessing as we did the most ample means, from our immense colonial possessions and our widely-extended commerce, to add to the stock of our knowledge in natural history, our collections were infinitely behind those of the great states of the continent, and scarcely on a par with those of the sovereigns of a second and even third rate importance. A better system was loudly called for, and a better system has been adopted. Our great national collection of the British Museum—and I here refer more particularly to its scientific and antiquarian department, for there is still much room for improvement in the literary—has in a few years, thanks to the liberality of Parliament and the exertions of its trustees and officers, become equal in every respect, and superior in many, to any similar institution on the continent. Two establishments have been created within the last dozen of years which reflect the greatest honour on the statesmen, Sir F. Baring, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the late Earl of Besborough, as chief Commissioner of the Woods and Forests, who fostered them in their infancy, and on the talented individuals who had been selected to carry out the enlightened views of the Government—the Museum of Practical Geology, a designation that conveys a very inadequate idea of the extent of its attributes or of its utility, and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. To the first the public is already indebted for such a geological survey and map of the empire as never had been planned or executed in any other country—only a small instalment, however, of great services which the nation and geological science are likely to derive from the labours of Sir H. Delabeche and his collaborators. The Royal Gardens at Kew, under the direction of Sir W. J. Hooker, lose nothing when compared with the most celebrated establishments of the kind, ancient or modern: never was public money better bestowed, or in a way to convey more useful instruction and gratification to the great mass of the community. Whilst every German university had its Museum of Comparative Anatomy, when the government of revolutionary France had placed at the disposal of Cuvier ample means to lay the basis of that science of which he was to be considered the founder, an eminent surgeon, John Hunter, animated by the love of science alone, and unaided by his Government, was rendering a similar service to Great Britain, in laying the foundation of that Museum which so justly bears his honoured name. Thanks to the liberality of the Government, and to the well-judged appreciation of the Royal College of Surgeons, the Hunterian Collection has become the property of the nation, and has received such additions and ameliorations as not to be behind any of those of the continent; whilst in point of arrangement, facilities granted for study, and real practical utility, it infinitely surpasses them all. To it we principally are indebted for the introduction of the study of comparative anatomy into this country, and for the possession of one of its greatest modern expositors, Professor Owen. It may appear invidious, at a time when every department of our Government is showing itself so desirous of promoting the cause of science, to point to any in particular: still we cannot refrain from making special mention of one to which science in general, and more particularly that branch of it which forms the principal object of this work, and our best national interests, owe a deep and lasting debt of gratitude—the Hydrographic department of the Admiralty; which, under its present able chief, Sir Francis Beaufort, has attained a degree of eminence unequalled by that of any other maritime country. The Admiralty has profited of a long peace to extend our knowledge over almost every region of the globe, conferring thereby an immense service on geographical science, and placing in the hands of our national and commercial marine a collection of charts and nautical instructions unparalleled in the history of navigation for their extent and exactitude. Another branch of inquiry, closely connected with Hydrography and Navigation, which it required the encouragement of a government to institute, the investigation of the laws of terrestrial magnetism and meteorology, has been very liberally provided for by Parliament, and most ably carried out, under the direction of Colonel Sabine, by the establishment of special observatories in our widely extended colonies, and by the publication and distribution of their results. The several maritime expeditions undertaken since the peace in a purely scientific view reflect the highest credit on the departments of the Government with which they have originated, as they do on the eminent individuals, many of whom still live to enjoy their well-merited fame, who have carried out their country’s wishes. The names of Parry, Franklin, Back, James C. Ross, and Richardson, will be preserved in the memory of posterity long after the ephemeral glory of their professional career will have been forgotten. Although it is to the projectors of such an altered state of things, and to the statesmen who encouraged and brought it about, that our first acknowledgement is due, our thanks must be also expressed to that branch of the legislature which, holding, as it rightly does, the public purse, has so liberally come forward upon every occasion, when solicited, in granting the means to promote scientific enterprise. The votary of science therefore owes to the House of Commons the expression of his unmingled gratitude. But, in paying that just tribute to the ministers of the Crown and to Parliament, we must not pass over in silence the encouragement which science has in every department met with from the East India Company. Lords of an immense territory, the Court of Directors, and its representatives in India, have always shown themselves ready to contribute in a most liberal spirit to the extension of our knowledge of their widely extended empire. The trigonometrical surveys of India, the establishment of observatories, the endowment of colleges and of scientific societies, the formation of collections of natural history at great expense, and which it distributes to all those who are likely to make good use of them, the publication of works on physical researches, on natural history, of astronomical observations, bestowed with so liberal a hand to men of science, the formation of such a map of its extended dominions and of charts of its coasts as would do honour to any government, must place the East India Company in the first rank of those mighty potentates of the earth to whom science will both now and in after ages feel placed under the most lasting obligations. Connected with our Oriental empire, it is due to some of the native sovereigns of India to state that they have not been behindhand in imitating the liberal example of their powerful protectors. Two native princes, the Rajah of Travancore and the King of Oude, have at very great expense established astronomical observatories in their territories, furnished with European instruments of the most delicate construction, and placed under the direction of European officers amply endowed and provided for. The peninsula of India at the present moment possesses four astronomical observatories little behind those of Europe as regards the means of observation; until very lately there did not exist one public observatory in the whole extent of the United States of America. [A national observatory was established at Washington in the year 1843.] 197. Sir John Rennie. 198. Charles Babbage, Esq. 199. We learn, on closing the present volume, that this distinguished traveller, through the liberality of Her Majesty’s Government, is again about to proceed to the former field of his exertions. 200. The works of Cornelius and Kaulbach bear testimony to the justice of the observations in the text. In drawing, nothing can be more beautiful—in composition, nothing can be more varied or sublime. The “Destruction of Jerusalem,” by Kaulbach, in which a powerful genius has combined the truth of the historian with the imagination of the poet, and executed with the hand of a master, might bear comparison even with the Italian school for colouring. 201. Twenty of these counties were in England and 11 in Wales, and so few crimes took place among educated women in the other counties during the 11 years mentioned, that the annual proportion of accusations against educated females was only 1 in 1,349,059. During the year 1846 only 48 educated persons were convicted of crimes out of the whole population of England and Wales, and none were sentenced to death. And during the years 1845 and 1846 there were 15 counties in England and 11 in Wales in which no well-educated person was convicted of any crime. The number of accusations among educated persons in Scotland is greater, because education is more general, and because the quantity of ardent spirits used in Scotland is five times greater than in England. Crime is very much below the average in the mining districts, and it is still less frequent in Wales and in the mountainous country in the North of England. The accomplishments of a well-educated person in these statistical records consist merely in being able to read and write fluently.—“London Statistical Journal.” 202. Every factory-child is limited to 48 hours of labour in the week, and the children must by law attend school at least two hours a-day for six days out of the seven, besides a Sunday-school—one penny being deducted out of each shilling of wages for education. The inspectors have the power of establishing schools where wanted, and of dismissing incompetent teachers. The engagement of factory-children in Britain lasts till they are 13, in the United States it ends at 15 years of age.—“Statistical Journal.” 203. The average duration of the life of sovereigns is greater in modern than in ancient times, but it is still lower than any other class of mankind. The most favourable average for them is 70·05 years; for the English aristocracy it is 71·69; for the English gentry, 74·00; for the learned professions, 73·62; for English literary and scientific men it is 72·10; for the army and navy, 71·99; and for the professions of the fine arts, 71·15.—“London Statistical Journal.” 204. There are 62 Ragged Schools in London, and Government undertakes to send annually to the colonies 150 of such of the scholars as choose to go.—“London Statistical Journal.” 205. The letters affixed indicate the parts of the Alps to which each locality belongs—M., Maritime; C., Cottian; G., Grecian; P., Pennine; L., Lepontine; B., Bernese, or Helvetian; R., Rhetian; J., Julian; Car., Carniac. 206. The authorities on which these heights are given are—the Piedmontese Surveys (P. S.), as published in 1845, in the Work entitled “Le Alpi che cingono l’Italia,” 1 vol. 8vo.; the Austrian Survey (A. S.), as given in the splendid Maps, published by the Austrian Government, of the Regno Lombardo-Veneto, in 84 sheets; and the Swiss Trigonometrical Survey, by Eichman, 1 vol. 4to., 1846. 207. The first eight passes are only fit for foot-passengers, and in certain seasons for mules; the remaining eleven offer carriage-roads, and are generally open at all seasons of the year, with the exception of the Stelvio. 208. Heights taken from the list published in the French “Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes,” converted from metres into English feet. 209. Heights determined by the French expedition under Captains Peytier and Boblaye, and published in the “Connaissance des Temps” for 1839. 210. The heights in the Sikim Himalaya are the results of the observations of Colonel Waugh, Director of the Trigonometrical Survey of India. See “Journal of As. Soc. of Bengal,” Nov. 1848. 211. For Lieut. Strachey’s observations during his very interesting journey to the Sacred Lakes of Manasarowar, &c., see “Journal of As. Soc. of Bengal,” Aug. 1848. 212. See Hooker’s “Journal of Botany,” May, 1849. 213. The heights followed by the letters A. C. have been taken from Humboldt’s “Asie Centrale.” 214. The heights given on Captain Vidal’s authority are taken from the elaborate Admiralty Surveys of Madeira, the Canaries, and Azores, partly executed under his direction; the latter not yet published. 215. The heights given in this table on Mr. Pentland’s authority have been taken from his Map of “The Laguna of Titicaca, and of the Valleys of Yucay, Collao, and Desaguadero,” published in 1848. 216. As stated in the text, vol. i., p. 155. The height here assigned to the Peak of Aconcagua differs 700 feet from that given by Captain Fitzroy. A re-calculation, however, of his elements has led us to adopt a much greater elevation for the giant of the Chilian Andes than given by that talented officer. Captain Fitzroy’s observations place the summit of the Peak of Aconcagua, which on his chart is incorrectly designated as a volcano, in lat. 32° 38' 30, long. 70° 00' 30 W., or 23' 23 N., and 100' 45 E. of Valparaiso, or its nearest distance about 88 9-10 geographical miles. From a station near Captain Fitzroy’s, at Valparaiso, Captain Beechy found the angle of elevation of Aconcagua, by several very careful observations, to be 1° 55' 45, the distance from this station to the Peak being 88·74 geographical miles. From a discussion of all these data, the compiler of this table has deduced for the height of Aconcagua 23,910 feet above the sea. Transcriber’s Note This book uses inconsistent spelling and hyphenation, which were retained in the ebook version. Some corrections have been made to the text, including normalizing punctuation and capitilization, replacing ditto marks with the text they represent, and correcting the spelling of Index entries to match the spelling in the main text. Where incorrect page number references were found in the Index, these were corrected. Several instances of Antartic or antartic were changed to Antarctic or antarctic. Further corrections are noted below: p. 8: Maratime Chain -> Maritime Chain p. 15: William Herschell -> William Herschel Footnote 7: earth’s equaor -> earth’s equator Footnote 7: The inequalties -> The inequalities Footnote 7: Connection of Physical Sciences -> Connection of the Physical Sciences p. 23: from the strata were they abound -> from the strata where they abound p. 26: mosily of extinct genera -> mostly of extinct genera p. 29: horizonial position -> horizontal position Footnote 9: mark the boundery -> mark the boundary p. 32: specificially the same -> specifically the same p. 38: perpetural fire -> perpetual fire p. 45: Immediately counected -> Immediately connected p. 47: mountains of this foam -> mountains of this form p. 51: The chains terminates -> The chains terminates p. 52: have been permament -> have been permanent p. 52: tranverse valleys -> transverse valleys p. 53: in the giaciers of the Andes -> in the glaciers of the Andes p. 62: Hindo Coosh -> Hindoo Coosh p. 66: that rocks and pillars rises -> that rocks and pillars rise p. 69: wondering Kirghi -> wandering Kirghi p. 73: greographical miles -> geographical miles p. 77: remains of animals that no longer exists -> remains of animals that no longer exist p. 80: most nothern part -> most northern part p. 88: sinks abrubtly -> sinks abruptly p. 89: tops of the monntains -> tops of the mountains p. 92: suceptible of cultivation -> susceptible of cultivation p. 93: are connnected by -> are connected by p. 99: once equal to Chimboroza in height -> once equal to Chimborazo in height p. 104: which is situate -> which is situated p. 120: thoughout its length -> throughout its length p. 121: Mexico and it lake -> Mexico and its lake p. 123: Culf of California -> Gulf of California p. 127: the forests consists of -> the forests consist of p. 131: a considerable intervals -> a considerable interval p. 132: over wide area -> over wide areas p. 132: they cccupy a tract -> they occupy a tract p. 136: idea can be formad -> idea can be formed p. 136: Tropic of Capricon -> Tropic of Capricorn p. 136: frem New Holland -> from New Holland p. 140: along the the whole coast -> along the whole coast p. 142: nothern shores -> northern shores p. 143: it seldem rises -> it seldom rises p. 147: of the the crust -> of the crust p. 153: Hot spings -> Hot springs p. 154: fall of the barometer, frogs, and unusual sultriness -> all of the barometer, fogs, and unusual sultriness p. 156: are continned after -> are continued after p. 158: on which they moor their boots -> on which they moor their boats p. 168: of these mettalloids -> of these metalloids Footnote 98: the unforseen result -> the unforeseen result Footnote 99: Suppposing -> Supposing p. 175: Rio de Janeira -> Rio de Janeiro Footnote 112: J. Scott Russel -> J. Scott Russell p. 195: the waves becomes higher -> the waves become higher p. 197: where it not so -> were it not so p. 199: closing quote position assumed ... to summer heat;” p. 206: the Alantic virtually enters -> the Atlantic virtually enters p. 219: the Nile recieves -> the Nile receives p. 226: a greater volumne of water -> a greater volume of water p. 228: covored with snow -> covered with snow p. 234: insersected with rivers -> intersected with rivers p. 242: branches as its mouth -> branches at its mouth p. 251: cannot br crossed -> cannot be crossed p. 267: Carribean islands -> Caribbean islands p. 273: whereas the the cold -> whereas the cold p. 281: only resolve bodies -> only resolves bodies p. 285: polarization of the atmosphese -> polarization of the atmosphere p. 286: positive elctricty increases -> positive electricity increases p. 296: two upheavels makes -> two upheavals makes p. 298: combination witht he oxygen -> combination with the oxygen p. 315: North Amerian -> North American p. 315: which are Amercian -> which are American p. 316: The themometer sometimes rises -> The thermometer sometimes rises p. 322: Rosa indica odoratissima, tumeric, oil of Bixa orellana -> Rosa indica odoratissima, turmeric, oil of Bixa orellana p. 337: crimson blosssom -> crimson blossom p. 344: in the Guatimala forest -> in the Guatemala forest p. 344: logwood, mohogony, and many other -> logwood, mahogony, and many other p. 349: which cones the -> with cones the p. 352: of the cyptogamous kinds -> of the cryptogamous kinds p. 352: aborescent vegetation -> arborescent vegetation p. 358: tranverse incision -> transverse incision p. 362: and alse in vast fields -> and also in vast fields p. 371: their are eight distinct regions -> there are eight distinct regions p. 374: of the mackarel tribe -> of the mackerel tribe p. 383: Emydians or tortoises, and turtle -> Emydians or tortoises, and turtles p. 384: and and form a link -> and form a link p. 386: from Bazil to Carolina -> from Brazil to Carolina p. 390: at an elevavation of -> at an elevation of p. 391: Testuno GrÆca -> Testudo GrÆca p. 392: the Indian Arcipelago -> the Indian Archipelago p. 395: More than three-fourth of the species -> More than three fourths of the species p. 395: Aquilla albicilla -> Aquila albicilla p. 396: catching moluscas and small fish -> catching mollusca and small fish p. 399: allied to to the grouse family -> allied to the grouse family p. 401: Oriols of vivid colours -> Orioles of vivid colours p. 407: Straits of Magellen -> Straits of Magellan p. 410: unexplored regions of the inferior -> unexplored regions of the interior p. 413: the restlessness of carniverous animal -> the restlessness of carniverous animals p. 420: also of the Crimera -> also of the Crimea p. 422: which serves as a parchute -> which serves as a parachute p. 425: a new speeies of -> a new species of p. 427: known as the prarie-dog -> known as the prairie dog p. 434: a characteristeric of many -> a characteristic of many Footnote 186: wombats bnrrow -> wombats burrow p. 452: are absoutely without grass -> are absolutely without grass p. 457: knowlege is power -> knowledge is power p. 457: ides are disseminated -> ideas are disseminated p. 458: stationary or retrogade -> stationary or retrograde p. 466: ancient Ninevah -> ancient Nineveh p. 472: years that preceeded -> years taht preceded p. 473: particlar and extraordinary -> particular and extraordinary Footnote 208: Annuaire du Bureau des Laugitutdes -> Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes p. 500: opposums and other marsupial -> opossums and other marsupial p. 506: soluble in alchol -> soluble in alcohol p. 507: The anniseed tree -> The aniseed tree p. 508: Synonyne of Pandanus -> Synonym of Pandanus p. 518: Erom the Gr. -> From the Gr. p. 519: Fram the Gr. -> From the Gr. p. 520: a genu of mollusks -> a genus of mollusks p. 520: Smybne´nsis -> Smyrne´nsis p. 524: Grom the Gr. -> From the Gr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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