tenfe and rigid, being particularly painful on our preffure thereon, or endeavour to open her mouth; the genio-hyoidei maleles appeared alike circumftanced, and the platyfma myoides on the right fide very often greatly convulfed. Matters thus circumftanced, after every ufual method judiciously administered by Mr. Guddridge of Brent, her fargeon, to little avail, I had but small hopes from medicine, therefore recommended electricity on which account, the having no opportunity of its being done in the country, came to her lodgings, taken in town for that purpofe, on January 15 when the being fomewhat inclined to be plethoric, and her menfes not hitherto interrupted, I ordered fourteen -ounces of blood to be taken off, and the next day gave her a few flight (the feathered gnomon rifing not above the horizontal) electrical fhocks on the leg of the difeafed fide: the immediately felt an agree able fenfation therein. This procefs was daily repeated, with a gradual increafe of the vis electrica, fometimes plus, fometimes minus, electrifying her for fix or feven days, by which time the became much stronger, and capable of walking alone tolerably well. I now (the being, as to her jaw and fpeech, as at firft) feveral times full charged her with the electric matter, difcharging it alternately from the maffeters, her temples, and under the chin; immediately on her parting with which, fhe involuntarily fhook her head, making her ufual noife, in endeavouring to fpeak. The next day, I fixed the conductor round her temples and throat, and gave flight shocks, by touching fometimes her chin, other times her teeth or cheeks, with the communi cant wire. This the difagreeably, though advantageously, felt; her jaws thereby admitting their being opened a little. The next day (the gnomon being near erect) I increafed the fhocks confiderably, by which, tho' the very difcontentedly bore them, he became capable of opening her mouth to the width of an inch, and of articulating an imperfect, though with difficulty,an intelligible found. The next day (the index quite perpendicular) the very reluctantly received feveral fmart fhocks, and at laft unexpectedly (the air being very electric) to fuch a degree, as to deprive her of her fenfes; fhe becoming thereon, and remaining for half an hour, ftrongly convulfed. The next day, after the first fhock, the fpoke, fo as to be tolerably well understood, telling us that the fhocks were frequently vaftly fevere for her to bear; but that, as fhe was fully fenfible of the advantage fhe had already received thereby, he would gladly fubmit to my will, in hopes of a further advantage, She was even now incapable of bringing her tongue without her teeth, and of moving it without great difficulty, complaining it feemed very large and heavy. On infpecting her mouth, which he was able to open to almoft its ufual width, I difcovered nothing particular, but an extraordinary turgefcence, without induration; of the fublingual glands. After this he received about twenty fhocks daily on her tongue, and other parts, for a fortnight, by which time all her complaints were removed, F4 removed, and the returned home quite well, and has remained fo ever fince. N. B. In the first week's experiments, the shocks were confined between her hip and foot of the right fide; after that, on various parts, as judged requifite: her tongue, at its tip, became very red and tender after the first electrization, its papilla appearing very prominent; and its fubjacent glands foon leffened their bulk, her mouth running greatly with faliva: her pulfe, with a fhock or two, generally quickened twelve or fourteen times per minute. She, after grown tolerably well, immediately, on having a fmart electrical ftroke, frequently became, for fome fmall time, as paralytic as ever on her right fide; and fometimes thereon had a return of her fits, the going off of which were attended with profufe fweats. Her blood appeared of a good texture, otherwife than giving off a little more than its due proportion of latex. fea within it; generally, perhaps always, with fome channel of ingrefs at least to the tide; commonly with an opening capable of receiving a canoe, and frequently fufficient to admit even larger veffels. The origin of these islands will explain their nature. What led me firft to this deduction was an obfervation of Abdul Roobin, a Sooloo pilot, that all the islands lying off the north-eaft coaft of Borneo, had fhoals to the eastward of them. Thefe islands being covered to the weftward of Borneo, the winds from that quarter do not attack them with violence. But the northeaft winds, tumbling in the billows from a wide ocean, heap up the coral with which those feas are filled. This, obvious after storms, is perhaps at all other times imperceptibly effected. The coral banks, raifed in the fame manner, become dry. Thefe banks are found of all depths, at all diftances from fhore, entirely unconnected with the land, and detached from each other, although it often happens they are divided by a narrow gut without bottom. Coral banks alfo grow, by a quick progreffion, towards the furface; but the winds, heaping up the coral from deeper water, chiefly accelerate the formation of these into fhoals and islands. They become gradually fhallower; and, when once the fea meets with refiftance, the coral is quickly thrown up by the force of the waves breaking against the bank; and hence it is that, in the open fea, there is scarce. an inftance of a coral bank having fo little water that a large fhip cannot pass over, but it is alfo fo fhallow that a boat would ground on it. I have seen these coral banks in all the stages; fome in deep water, others with few rocks appearing above the surface, fome juft formed into islands, without the least appearance of vegetation, and others, from fuch as have a few weeds on the highest part, to those which are covered with large timber, with a bottomless sea at a piftol-shot dif tance. The loose coral, rolled inward by the billows in large pieces, will ground, and the reflux being un-able to carry them away, they become a bar to coagulate the fand, always found intermixed with coral; which fand, being eafieft saifed, will be lodged at top. When the fand-bank is raifed by violent storms beyond the reach of common waves, it becomes a refting place to vagrant birds, whom the fearch of prey draws thither. The dung, feathers, &c. increase the foil, and prepare it for the reception of accidental roots, branches, and feed, caft up by the waves, or brought thither by birds. Thus iflands are formed: the leaves and rotten branches, intermixing with the fand, form in time a light black mould, of which in general thefe islands confift, more fandy, as lefs woody; and, when full of large trees, with a greater proportion of mould. Cocoa nuts, continuing long in the sea, without losing their vegetative powers, are commonly to be found in fuch iflands; particularly as they are adapted to all foils, whether fandy, rich, or rocky. The violence of the waves, within the tropicks, muft generally be directed to two points, according to the monfoons. Hence the islands formed from Where the coral banks are not expofed to the common monfoon, they will alter their direction; and be either round, extend in the parallel, or be of irregular forms, according to accidental circumftances. The interior parts of these islands, being fea, fometimes form harbours capable of receiving veffels of fome burthen, and I believe always abound greatly with fish, and fuch as I have feen with turtle-grafs and other fea-plants; particularly one fpecies called by the Sooloos Gammye, which grows in little globules, and is fomewhat pungent, as well as acid, to the taste. It need not be repeated, that the ends of thofe iflands only are the places to expect foundings; and they commonly have a fhallow fpit running out from each point. Abdul Roobin's obfervation points out another circumftance, which may be useful to navigators; by confideration of the winds to which any islands are m'oft expofed, to form a probable conjecture which fide has deepest water; and, from a view which fide has the fhoals, an idea may be formed which winds rage with most violence. An An Account of fome very large Foffil Teeth, found in North America, and defcribed by Peter Collinfon, F. R. S. Read Nov. 26, George Crogan, Efquire, who is a deputy of Sir William Johnfon, the king's fuperintendant of Indian affairs in America, in the courfe of his navigation down the great river Ohio, after paffing the Miame river, in the evening came near the place where the elephants bones are found, about four miles fouth-east of the Ohio, and about afix hundred miles diftant from and below Pitfburgh, from the nearest fea-coaft at leaft feven hundred miles. Next morning he met with a large road, which the buffaloes had beaten, wide enough for two waggons to go a-breaft, leading traight into the great licking place, to which the buffaloes and all the fpecies of deer refort, at a certain feafon of the year, to lick the earth and water from falt fprings, that are impregnated with nitrous particles; whether to cleanfe their ftomachs, or for what other purpose, is fubmitted to the fentiments of the Society. Efquire Croghan had been here fome years before, and gave fome account of the monstrous bones, and teeth found at this place, called by the Indians The Great Buffaloes Lick; but being now more at leifure, he carefully examined all its furrounds, and difcovered under a great bank, on the firts of the Lick, five or fix feet below the furface, open to view, a prodigious number of bones and teeth, fpecimens of which now lie before the Society, belonging to fome of the largeft fized animals; by the quantity, he computes there could, not be lefs than thirty of their skeletons. By their great teeth, or tasks, of fine ivory, fome near feven feet long, every one that views them, I believe, will not hefiate to conclude they belong to elephants. It is very remarkable, and worthy obfervation, none of the mo lares, or grinding teeth, of elephants are difcovered with thefe tufks; but great numbers of very large pronged teeth of fome vaft animals are only found with them, which have no resemblance to the molares, or grinding teeth, of any great animal yet known. As no living elephants have ever been feen or heard of in all Ame rica, fince the Europeans have known that country, nor any creature like them ; and there being no probability of their having been brought from Africa, or Afia; and as it is impoffible that elephants could inhabit the country where these bones and teeth are now found, by reafon of the feverity of the winters, it feems incomprehenfible how they came there. I conclude, many of this learned Society are not unacquainted with the foffil elephants teeth annually found in Siberia, lodged in the banks of the great river Oby, and other rivers of that country: On the fyftem of the deluge, it has been conjectured, that, as the extenfive kingdom of Siberia lies behind the native country of the elephants in Afia, from welt to 5 eaft, eaft, and to the north, by the violent action of the winds and waves, at the time of the deluge, thefe great floating bodies, the carcaffes of drowned elephants, were driven to the northward, and, at the fubfide ing of the waters, depofited where they are now found. But what fyftem, or hypothefis, can with any degree of probability account for thefe remains of elephants being found in America, where thofe creatures are not known ever to have existed, is fubmitted to this learned Society. Read Dec. 10, he long teeth 'N my observations 1767. and grinders, at the laft meeting of this Society, I forbore giving my fentiments on these remains of great animals found at the Great Lick, near the river Ohio, being willing the Society, fhould determine for themselves. As I perceived one of the long teeth, or tufks, was channelled or ribbed near the larger end, I was in fome doubt if peculiar to the elephant. To fatisfy myself, I went to a warehoufe where there were teeth of all forts and fizes for fale: on examining them, I found as many ribbed, or channelled, as plain and fmooth; fo that now I have no difficulty to pronounce them agreeing in all refpects with the elephants teeth from Africa and Asia. But as the biting or grinding teeth, found with the others, have no affinity with the molares of the elephant, |