the good fortune to meet Captain Beaufort,* whom he accompanied along the remaining coast of Asia Minor, making drawings of the remains of those unexplored and important antiquities. He then returned with Captain Beaufort to Malta, whence he visited Sicily. At Agrigentum, he made a particular examination of the Temple of Jupiter Olympius, or the Temple of the Giants, which was the most considerable of all Grecian antiquity. He succeeded in making a restoration of the original architecture, which is highly curious for the immensity of its size, its singularity, and the extraordinary mechanical powers which he appears to have traced in its construction. He made other remarks on the carpentry of the roofs of the Greek temples, with various details of the remains in Sicily, and plans of the fortifications of the ancient Syracuse, which, as it is probable that they might in part have been directed by Archimedes, or on principles established by him, are highly interesting.

In a second tour, he visited Epirus, Thessaly, and other provinces of continental Greece, and the Ionian Islands. In February of 1816, he passed into Apulea and Naples, where he had the advantage of six weeks' study of the antiquities of Pompeia; and remained nearly a year at Rome:-at Florence, he formed a groupe of the family of Niobe, in a very plausible manner; his little work on that subject, is well known to our late travellers, and has been highly approved by all the foreign journals of the day. He completed his tour of the Upper Italy, and is just returned to England by Germany and Paris. He has brought with him the labours of nearly seven years and a half, which, as may be supposed, are very considerable.

No. VI. Description of a Lactometer.

THE value of milk, as an article of lucrative produce on a farm, is determined by the quantity of cream which it is capable of producing; and as this is known to be affected by the age, health, and provision upon which the animal is nourished,

*This gentleman has, under the directious of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, made an invaluable chart of that unknown coast; and has, besides, published a concise tract, descriptive, in general, of the ruins and country. VOL. III.

D d

a simple instrument, by which the relative proportion of cream produced by different amimals, or by the same animal, with different food, is shown, cannot but be acceptable to the experimental agriculturist, and such an instrument has lately been constructed by Mr. Thomas Jones, mathematical instrumentmaker, Charing-Cross, which promises to answer the purpose perfectly well.*

It consists of any number of glass tubes, of the same internal diameter, (about of an inch) and each 11 inches long; these are closed at one end, and open, and a little flanched at the other, precisely like the test tubes used in experimental chymistry, and they are mounted in stands in the same manner; at 10 inches from the bottom of each tube, a mark is made upon the glass, having a (0 zero) placed against it, and from this point, the tube is graduated into tenths of inches, and numbered downwards for 3 inches, so that each division is th of the tube. Now if several of these are filled with new milk at the same time, and placed in the same temperature, the cake of cream will form at the top, and its thickness or quantity, will be indicated by the divisions; and thus experiments may be made upon the quantities of cream produced by different systems of feeding, or by different animals, under all circumstances, with great accuracy; and by the continual division, the per centage of cream will be evident upon inspection.

VII. On Cleansing Chimneys.

As the subject of employing climbing boys for sweeping chimneys, has lately been before the public, and the cruelties which are too often practised upon them, are by this means exposed, it is presumed, any attempt to alleviate the situations of this class of persons must be acceptable, and will be a sufficient apology for introducing the description of a very simple contrivance of a Mr. Le Gros, for this purpose, into this Journal, as it appears to the editors to be as cheap and effectual as any thing else which has been suggested for this purpose.

It merely consists of a small cast-iron pulley, to be fixed in a wrought iron frame, which, by means of a clip screw,

*This instrument was made at the desire of Sir Joseph Banks, who has already described it in the Farmer's Journal.

may be tightly drawn round any sized chimney-pot, upon the top of which it is to remain a fixture; over this pulley a light wire chain is to extend, and hang constantly down the chimney, but not so low as to be visible in the fire-place, and as this chain is a long loop, or what is generally called a perpetual chain, a brush of any size or kind may be fixed into any one of the links, and by the chimney-sweeper who stands below, drawing alternately at one side and the other of the chain, the brush will be carried up and down the chimney, notwithstanding any bends which may be in it, provided they are not very sharp at the angles. Such an apparatus as this may be placed in a chimney of average height for about thirty shillings. The following figure will give a more correct idea of the application of this apparatus.

A. the iron pulley.

BB. the chain extending down to the fire-place C.

DD. the wrought-iron frame fixed upon the top of the chimney-pot by the screw at E.

P.J. LEGROS, 13, King-street, Soho-square.

ART. XIV. Analytical Review of the Scientific Journals published on the Continent.

Journals published in Italy.

Giornale di Fisica, Chimica, Storia Naturale, Medicina ed Arti. a Pavia. 1mo. Bimestre. January and February, 1817. By Messrs. Brugnatelli, Brunacci, e Configliacchi,

The present Number of this valuable and well-conducted miscellany opens with a preliminary discourse, giving a summary account of the progress of science during the preceding year, throughout Europe, and more especially in Italy.

Art. I. Lettera la del Sig. Conte Volta, &c. or, Observations on the periodical Returns of Thunder Storms, and the very cold and dry wind generally prevailing after them, when there has been a considerable fall of hail: in a Letter from Volta to Confiliacchi, Professor of experimental philosophy at the university of Pavia.

The present letter seems intended as a continuation to the meteorological researches formerly published by this author, where he more particularly discussed the mode in which hail is formed. Volta now undertakes to explain a phenomenon in itself highly curious, relative to thunder-storms; namely, their tendency to reappear for several consecutive days, at the same hour, and over the same tract of country, a phenomenon which the inhabitants of the mountainous districts in Italy never fail to observe in the course of the spring and summer. This is particularly the case in the neighbourhood of the Italian lakes and throughout Lombardy. We remark during those seasons, that if a thunder-storm makes its appearance over a certain valley, or some profound opening in the ridge of mountains surrounding the lake, at the hour of twelve; and if the atmosphere clears towards evening after a shower of hail, another thunder-storm will again occur the next day, and for several succeeding days, at the same hour, and over the same place, without any deviation. Nor can this be ascribed to any local disposition, for the same series of phenomena will take place in the same order, over a very different

valley or mountain in the neighbourhood. Volta had occasion to observe this peculiar fact, for several years, though undescribed by authors who have written on meteorology, and tried in vain, for a long while, to explain it. Having, however, paid more attention of late to, atmospheric electricity, he thinks he has ascertained the cause of the phenomena. He first supposes, that where a thunder-storm arises in serene weather succeeding a thunder-storm of the preceding day, such a repetition must be owing to some particular modification imparted to the column of air in which the phenomenon takes place, by the first thunder-storm. But what can this be? Either a peculiar or permanent electric state communicated to the said columns of air, or a considerable and equally permanent change in its temperature. Volta believes that both these causes contribute to the effect in question.

For a developement of these two points we must refer our readers to the original memoir. Suffice it to say, that the subject is handled in that masterly manner which is so peculiar to the illustrious discoverer of the Pile.

The latter part of the letter is necessarily deduced from the explanation of the phenomenon mentioned in the beginning of his paper.

Professor Configliacchi has added a note, containing some practical observations in confirmation of what has been advanced by his correspondent. In the year 1814, being at Tuvano, a plain formed by the valleys of Lemna and Molina, not far distant from Pliny's Villa, Sig. Configliacchi witnessed, for fourteen days, a thunder-storm occurring at the same. hour, over the same place, and lasting the same length of time.

Art. II. Tavola circolare, &c. or, A circular Table of chymical Equivalents.

This is Wollaston's table disposed round a moveable circle, within which is one considerably augmented, and somewhat modified. Being carried on to 1000, which corresponds to the 10 of Wollaston in the circle, the inventor takes advantage of this to measure quantities smaller than the latter number,