The quantity of light a little of this phofphorus gives, when firft brought into a dark room, after it has been expofed for a few seconds, on the outfide of a window, to the common light of the day, is fufficient to discover the time by a watch, if the eyes have been fhut, or in the dark, for two or three minutes before.

By this phofphorus celeftial objects may be very well reprefented; as Saturn and his ring, the phases of the moon, &c. if the figures of them, made of wood, be wetted with the white of an egg, and then covered with the phofphorus. And these figures appear to be as ftrongly illuminated in the night, by the flash from a near dif charge of an electrified bottle, as by the light of the day.

A method of preferving the bodies of birds from putrefaction, by filling the cavity of the thorax and abdomen with a mixture of falt and allum, after the intestines, &c. had been first extracted, and alfo by making incifions in different parts of its body, and filling them with the fame mixture, was fome time fince published in one of the monthly magazines; and the author, if I mistake not, thought it an important difcovery, which, it feems, he obtained in Paris, tho❜ not without great difficulty.

The method of doing this in Guiana, is to put the bird, which is to be preferved, in a proper veffel, and cover him with high wines, or the first running of the diftillation of rum. In this fpirit he is fuffered to remain for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, or longer, according to his fize, till it has penetrated through every part of his body. When this is done, the bird is taken out, and his feathers, which are no ways changed by this immerfion, are placed fmooth and regular. He is then put into a machine, made for the purpose, among a number of others, and its head, feet, wings, tail, &c. are placed exactly agreeable to life. In this pofition they are all placed in an oven, very moderately heated, where they are flowly dried, and will ever after retain their natural pofition, without danger of putrefaction. This method might perhaps in England be deemed expenfive, as the great duty on fpirits has raised their price to an enormous height; but in a country where rum is fold for ten-pence fterling per gallon, the cafe is far different.

Method

the fame.

HEN the fnake is killed,

vermin, to be the true caufe of fmut, and withal how they propagate their species from one ge

and freed from all filth and naftinefs; then it is to be put into a glafs of a proper fize, the tail firft, and afterwards the reft of the body, winding it in fpiral afcending circles, and difpofing the back, which is always the most beautiful, outwardly. A thread, connected to a small glafs bead, is, by the help of a needle, to be paffed thro' the upper jaw from within outwardly, and then thro' the cork of the bottle, where it must be faftened: by this means the head will be drawn into a natural pofture, and the mouth kept open by the bead, whereby the teeth, &c. will be difcovered the glafs is then to be filled with rum, and the cork fealed down, to prevent its exhalation. A label, containing the name and properties of the fnake, is then to be affixed to the wax over the cork; and in this manner the fnake will make a beautiful appearance, and

may

be thus preferved a great number of years; nor will the fpirits impair or change the luftre of its colours.

corn frequently becomes infected with blacknefs, and the crops are often much reduced, according as they happen to be more or lefs afflicted with this fatal disease; I made the following pickle, in order to deftroy their brood; which has, for near thirty years paft, very effectually answered this purpose, and rendered the wheat much better, either for fowing or drilling, than the common methods of brineing and limeing can do, and much more efficacious too. - Therefore the following pickle is recommended to the public, for the cure of fmut in corn, as a fure remedy for this disease.

Put into a tub, with a hole at bottom, wherein a staff and taphofe is to be placed (as in the manner of brewing) feventy gallons of water; to this we put half a hundred weight of stone-lime, which in measure is found to be a corn bufhel heap-full; ftir it well for about half an hour, then let it ftand for about thirty hours :-run it off into another tub, wherein the grain is to be fteeped; which generally produces about a hogfhead of good lime-water; to this we add three pecks of falt (forty two pounds) which, when diffolved, is fit for use, and this I call a pickle.

tained, much lefs falt will fuffice: the rule is, to have the specific gravity fufficient to float an egg, by adding falt fufficient for this purpose: herein, with a basket made on purpose (which for a large farm ought to be two feet diameter at

I 2

bottom,

:

ing in twenty-four hours; but for drilling, forty-eight are better. Should the driller meet with any difficulty herein, more lime muit be added to make the pickle more aftringent; for lime differs much in quality here the mafter must ufe his own difcretion. In cafe the feed is made ready for fowing or drilling five, fix, feven, eight or ten days before-hand, I know no difference at all: I have had it lay much longer without the leaft injury, or inconveniency.

And now, upon the whole, I think, Sir, we may without vanity pronounce this a great point gained to the land-holder; if the faving of a confiderable part of our corn from deftruction be things of any value. Thefe are my fentiments, and I truft they will merit your approbation. I am glad to hear my last met with such a kind reception from the Society,

I am,

A Letter to the Editors of the Res pofitory, on the Uses of the HorfeChefnut.

T

Gentlemen,

HE Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. in London, having in their advertisement concerning hemp, required an account of the farther process it went through to procure that degree of whitenefs, which may fhorten the time, and leffen the expence of bleaching the yarn, I think it will be very proper again to put my countrymen in mind, that one of the chief articles, viz. the Horfe-chefnut, employed for this purpofe in France and Swifferland, abounds plentifully in many parts of this kingdom, though it has never yet been ufed here for this end;

at leaft no fuch account of its use has hitherto been published. I therefore beg leave now to give you, from the Memoirs of the most laudable Society of Berne, tom. II. part 2, another article on this fubject, as the nut may be used to advantage for whitening of hemp and during the enfuing autumn. flax, in the preparation of each

The Horfe-chefnut tree was formerly much used in forming of avenues, and alleys, on account of the ftraightness of its ftem, its thick fhade, and the beauty of its pyramidal flowers; but it is now fallen into neglect. I will, however, dare to pronounce, that if its beauty ftruck our forefathers, its intrinfic value well deferves our attention. As it is found to thrive well in this country, it gives me pleasure to recommend to a more general culture, a tree which promises to be of

fo extenfive a use in whitening not only flax and hemp, but alfo filk and wool.

M. Marcandier found that the Horfe-chefnut contains an aftringent faponaceous juice, of very great fervice in manufactures, not only in bleaching, but also in washing of linnens and ftuffs. In order to obtain this juice, he peeled the nuts, and then ground them in a fteel malt-mill; or they may be rafped. Rain or running water is the best to mix them with, and when impregnated with their juice, is fit for the purpofe of whitening or washing. Twenty nuts are fufficient for ten or twelve quarts of water. To give this infufion the greater efficacy, M. Marcandier heated it to fuch a degree as that the hand could not be held in it. If, by this means, we may not entirely difpenfe with the ufe of foap, we fhall at least make a great faving in it.

M. Marcandier milled wove caps and ftockings in this Horfe-chefnut water: they took the dye perfectly well; and trials which he and others made of it in fulling of ftuffs and cloths, proved equally fuccefsful.

Linnen washed in this water takes a very pleafing light fky-blue colour, efpecially after it has been wafhed again in a clear running water. Repeated experiments confirm thefe effects.

If hemp is steeped in this infufion for fome days, its filaments feparate cafily; the juice of the chefnut having the power of diffolving that gummy fubftance by which they are made to adhere fo strongly together.

The author of this Memoir relates the following experiments,

"After having peeled forty fresh

chefnuts which had fallen from the tree of themselves, I ground them. I then took two earthen pans, and put in each the meal of twenty chefnuts. I poured on the one cold and on the other warm water. The cold water, after having raised a froth, like the best foap, gradually ended in a white liquor, refembling milk. The effect of the warm water was very different: it raised no froth, and after having perfectly foaked the meal, it took a fea-green colour. I let thefe infufions ftand twelve hours, and at the end of that time the water in both the pans was of the fame colour; that is to fay, a pale yellow, like the meal of the chefnuts. The warm water had therefore loft its colour in cooling.

"I afterwards divided the infufion made with cold water into two parts. I poured into the one cold water, and into the other warm

water.

water

The effect was the fame as before. That into which the cold water was put, after having frothed a good deal, became white; and that into which the warm was put did not froth, but became of a fea-green, and as it cooled took the pale yellow as before. I made the fame experiments on the infufion in the other pan, and with the fame effects. The cold infufion, and even that which had cooled, felt foft and oily; but when it was warm, it felt harth: and I obferved that the infufion which had been warm, did not froth eafily after it became cold.

"I now proceed to wathing. I caufed first linnen cloth, and then woollen ftuffs, to be washed in my prefence in each of these infufions, Spots of all kinds were taken out of them, and after having rinfed

I 3

them

them in fpring water, they re-affumed their former appearance as to colour and neatnefs. I concluded from these experiments, that if the meal of the chefnuts could be made into either cakes or balls, it might in general fupply the place of foap in washing and in fulling. The only question then is, how to give it a certain confiftence, to render the ufe of it eafy and more convenient; and that does not feem to me to be difficult.

"It may be faid, that the preparation of this liquor is tedious and expenfive; the nuts must be gathered, be kept in ftore, be peeled, be reduced to meal, and then be infufed; while this labour is faved in the ufe of foap. The expence of the whole is but trifling, for most part of the work may be done by children; and if the nuts are dried, they may be ground in a common mill and as the infufion in cold water is as good, if not better, than that in warm water, it is done in a few minutes. Indeed my infufion was stronger than M. Marcandier's; for instead of tén or twelve quarts of water to twenty nuts, I ufed only four. It may also be objected, that the cloth fteeped in it may be damaged by the acrid juice with which the infufion is loaded, Experience fhews that it is not; and reafon declares, that the juice of nuts cannot be fo acrid as pot-afh or lime, both of which enter into the compofition of foap.

M. Marcandier fays, that the pafte which remains at the bottom of the infufion, having loft its bitter tafle, becomes good food for fowls when mixed with bran. In order to be convinced of this, I tried the following experiment,

"After having peeled the nuts and chopped them in pieces, I gave them to hogs; but they would not touch them. I fteeped them in water for fome days, but ftill they would fcarcely taste them, I afterwards took fome meal of the nuts prepared in hot water, and offered it to my poultry for their breakfast ; but they would not touch it, except the ducks, which eat of it. Next morning, I prefented them fome of it mixed with pollard; they carefully picked out the pollard, and if by chance they tafted a bit of the nut, they rejected it immediately. The next and following days, I increafed the quantity of pollard, till at laft they were in equal parts; and then both hogs and poultry eat it. Hence it appears, that in order to render the nuts agreeable food, they must be reduced to meal, and then steeped in hot water.

"As to the reft, the tree itself is not of fo little ufe as it has commonly been deemed, provided it be found. Its wood is good for all carved works; and its leaves are ferviceable for covering beds in gardens which are to be kept warm, their weight and fize guarding them from being eafily blown away by the wind."

I ought not to conclude this article without adding a farther quotation, tending to fhew from indifputable authority, yet other virtues in the Horfe-chefnut, and thofe of fo important a nature, as highly to merit the serious attention of every well-wisher to his country.

We are informed in the Memoirs of the Royal Society of Agriculture at Tours (tom. I. p. 121), that the fruit of this tree, which has been generally looked upon as ufelefs, is fo excellent a food for horses,

efpecially