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The advantages of gypping the herrings are, that the blood, which issues in consequence of the operation from the fish, yields a natural pickle, and improves the flavour; whereas, if left in the fish, it becomes coagulated at the backbone, and forms the first cause of decay. The mixture of blood and salt operated upon by the extreme heat of the weather during the summer fisheries produces a fermentation which nearly parboils the herrings, and removes the coarse and raw flavour so often complained of. The gypping is likewise often performed on shore, observing the same precautions; the only difference is, that they are seldom in that case of so good a colour. Gypped herrings are never of so fine a quality as when kept in their own original pickle; their value consists in their softness and flavour; it is this mode of 'curing herrings that used to be the pride of the Dutch, and this is the kind which supplied their home, consumption, and were so much

esteemed by all classes of people in Holland.

In order, as far as it is possible, to give a proof of the correctness of the above assertion, I shall state a fact for the information of the Society. During the last year I employed a number of Dutch fishermen, prisoners, and others, with Englishmen, in gypping and curing herrings; and at one time my agent at Yarmouth was offered 41. per barrel, for all the herrings he had cured there, by a Dutch captain, in order to their being taken to Holland, while ungypped herrings were worth only 36s. per barrel. The herrings now under the consideration of your Society are part of the quantity for which this offer was made.

Should the Society, after due consideration, think proper to adjudge me their gold medal, it will afford me much satisfaction, and convince me, that my exertions have, in some degree, been beneficial to the community.

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MISCELLANIES.

Some Particulars respecting the arith-
metical Powers of Zerah Colburn,
a Child under Eight Years of
Age.

London, Aug. 20, 1812.
HE attention of the philoso-

attracted by the most singular phanomenon in the history of the human mind that perhaps ever existed. It is the case of a child, under eight years of age, who, without any previous knowledge of the common rules of arithmetic, or even of the use and power of the Arabic numerals, and without having given any particular attention to the subject, possesses (as if by intuition) the singular faculty of solving a great variety of arithmetical questions by the mere operation of the mind, and without the usual assistance of any visible symbol or contrivance.

ed the attention and excited the astonishment of every person who has witnessed his extraordinary abilities. The discovery was made by accident. His father, who had not given him any other instruction than such as was to be obtain

that unfrequented and remote part of the country, (and which did not include either writing or cyphering,) was much surprised one day to hear him repeating the products of several numbers Struck with amazeinent at the circumstance, he proposed a variety of arithmetical questions to him, all of which the child solved with remarkable facility and correctness. The news of this infant prodigy soon circulated through the neighbourhood; and many persons came from distant parts to witness so singular a circumstance. The father, encou 1aged by the unanimous opinion of The name of the child is Zerah all who came to see him, was inColburn, who was born at Cabut duced to undertake, with this (a town lying at the head of Onion child, the tour of the United river, in Vermont, in the United States. They were every where States of America), on the 1st of received with the most flattering September, 1804. About two expressions; and in the several years ago (August, 1810), al- towns which they visited, various though at that time not six years plans were suggested to educate of age, he first began to show those and bring up the child, free from wonderful powers of calculation all expense to his family. Yieldwhich have since so much attracting, however, to the pressing soli

citations

citations of his friends, and urged by the most respectable and powerful recommendations, as well as by a view to his son's more complete education, the father has brought the child to this country, where they arrived on the 12th of May last and the inhabitants of this metropolis have for these last three months had an opportunity of seeing and examining this wonderful phænomenon, and of verifying the reports that have been circulated respecting him.

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Many persons of the first eminence for their knowledge in mathematics, and well known for their philosophical inquiries, have made a point of seeing and conversing with him; and they have all been struck with astonishment at his extraordinary powers. It is correctly true, as stated of him, that He will not only determine, with the greatest facility and dispatch, the exact number of minutes or seconds in any given period of time; but will also solve any other question of a similar kind. He will tell the exact product arising from the multiplication of any number, consisting of two, three, or four figures, by any other number consisting of the like number of figures. Or, any number, consisting of six or seven places of figures, being proposed, he will determine, with equal expedition and ease, all the factors of which it is composed. This singular faculty consequently extends not only to the raising of powers, but also to the extraction of the square and cube roots of the number proposed; and likewise to the means of determining whether it be a prime number (or a number incapable of division by any other

number); for which case there does not exist, at present, any ge neral rule amongst mathemati cians." All these, and a variety of other questions connected there with, are answered by this child with such promptness and accu. racy (and in the midst of his ju venile pursuits) as to astonish every person who has visited him.

At a meeting of his friends which was held for the purpose of concerting the best methods of promoting the views of the father, this child undertook, and completely succeeded in, raising the number 8 progressively up to the sixteenth power!!! and in naming the last result, viz. 281,474,976,710,656, he was right in every figure. He was then tried as to others num bers, consisting of one figure; all of which he raised (by actual multiplication and not by memory) as high as the tenth power, with so much facility and dispatch that the person appointed to take down the results, was obliged to enjoin him not to be so rapid! With respect to numbers consisting of two figures, he would raise some of them to the sixth, seventh, and eighth power; but not always with equal facility: for the larger the products became, the more difficult he found it to proceed. He was asked the square root of 106929, and before the number could be written down, he immediately answered 327. He was then required to name the cube root of 208,336,125, and with equal facility and promptness he replied, 645. Various other questions of a simi lar nature, respecting the roots and powers of very high numbers, were proposed by several of the gentle men present, to all of which ba

answered

answered in a similar manner.
One of the party requested him
to name the factors which pro
duced the number 247483, which
he immediately did by mention-
ing the two numbers 941 and 263;
which indeed are the only two
numbers that will produce it. An-
other of them proposed 171395,
and he named the following fac-
tors as the only ones that would pro-
duce it, viz. 5 x34279, 7×24485,
59 x 2905, 83 x 2065, 35 x4897,
295 x581, and 413x415. He
was then asked to give the factors
of 36083; but he immediately re-
plied that it had none; which, in
fact, was the case, as 36083 is a
prime number. Other numbers
were indiscriminately proposed to
him, and he always succeeded in
giving the correct factors, except
in the case of prime numbers,
which he discovered almost as soon
as proposed. One of the gentle-
men asked him how many minutes
there were in forty eight years;
and before the question could
be written down, he replied,
25,228,800; and instantly added,
that the number of seconds in the
same period was 1,513,728,000.
Various questions of the like kind
were put to him; and to all of
them he answered with nearly
equal facility and promptitude, so
as to astonish every one present,
and to excite a desire that so ex-
traordinary a faculty should (if
possible) be rendered more exten-
sive and useful.

It was the wish of the gentlemen present to obtain a knowledge of the method by which the child was enabled to answer, with so much facility and correctness, the questions thus put to him: but to all their inquiries upon this sub

ject (and he was closely examined upon this point) he was unable to give them any information. He positively declared (and every observation that was made seemed to justify the assertion) that he did not know how the answers came into his mind. In the act of multiplying two numbers together, and in the raising of powers, it was evident (not only from the motion of his lips, but also from some singular facts which will be hereafter mentioned), that some operation was going forward in his mind; yet that operation could not (from the readiness with which the answers were furnished) be at all allied to the usual mode of proceeding with such subjects: and, moreover, he is entirely ignorant of the common rules of arithmetic, and cannot perform, upon paper, a simple sum in multiplication or division. But in the extraction of roots, and in mentioning the face tors of high numbers, it does not appear that any operation can take place, since he will give the answer immediately, or in a very few seconds, where it would require, ac cording to the ordinary method of solution, a very difficult and laborious calculation; and moreover, the knowledge of a prime number cannot be obtained by any known rule.

It has been already observed, that it was evident, from some sin gular facts, that the child operated by certain rules known only to himself. This discovery was made in one or two instances, when he had been closely pressed upon that point. In one case he was asked to tell the square of 4395; he at first hesitated, fearful that he should not be able to answer it correctly:

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correctly but when he applied himself to it, he said it was 19,316.025. On being questioned as to the cause of bis hesitation, he replied that he did not like to mul tiply four figures by four figures: but, said he, "I found out another way; I multiplied 293 by 293, and then multiplied this product twice by the number 15, which produced the same result." On another occasion, his highness the Duke of Gloucester asked him the product of 21,734 multiplied by 543; he immediately replied, 11,801,562: but, upon some remark being made on the subject, the child said that he had, in his own mind, multiplied 65202 by 181. Now, although, in the first instance it must be evident to every mathematician that 4395 is equal to 293 x 15, and consequently that (4395)2 = (293)2 × (15); and, further, that in the second case, 543 is equal to 181 X 3, and consequently that 21734 x (181 × 3) = (21734 x 3) × 181; yet, it is not the less remarkable, that this combination should be immediately perceived by the child, and we cannot the less admire his ingenuity in thus seizing instantly the easiest method of solving the question proposed to him.

It must be evident, from what has here been stated, that the singular faculty which this child possesses is not altogether dependant upon his memory. In the multiplication of numbers, and in the raising of powers, he is doubtless considerably assisted by that remarkable quality of the mind: and in this respect he might be considered as bearing some resemblance (if the difference of age

did not prevent the justness of the comparison) to 'the celebrated Jedediah Buxton, and other person of similar note. But, in the extraction of the roots of numbers, and in defermining their factors ( any), it is clear, to all those who have witnessed the astonishing quickness and accuracy of this child, that the memory has little or nothing to do with the process. And in this particular point consists the remarkable difference be tween the present and all former instances of an apparently similar

kind.

It has been recorded as an astonishing effort of memory, that the celebrated Euler (who, in the science of analysis, might vie even with Newton himself,) could remember the first six powers of every number under 100. This, probably, must be taken with some restrictions: but, if true to the fullest extent, it is not more astonishing than the efforts of this child; with this additional circumstance in favour of the latter, that he is capable of verifying, in a very few seconds, every figure which he may have occasion for. It has been further remarked by the biographer of that eminent mathematician, that," he perceived, almost at a simple glance, the factors of which his formula were composed; the particular system of factors belonging to the question under consideration; the various artifices by which that system may be simplified and reduced; and the relation of the several factors to the conditions of the hypothesis. His ex-` pertness in this particular probably resulted, in a great measure, from the ease with which he performed mathematical investigations by head.

He

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