of clear corn; the weight of which fpring. The fuccefs of this experiment they propofe to tranfmit to me, when it is completed; and of this, in due time, I fhall not fail to inform you. was forty-feven pounds, feven ounces; and, from a calculation made by counting the number of grains in one ounce, the whole number of grains might be about five hundred and feventy-fix thoufand eight hundred and forty. By this account we find, that there was only one general divifion of the plants made in the ipring. Had a fecond been made, the number of plants, Mr. Miller thinks, would have amounted, at leaft, to two thousand, instead of five hundred; and the produce have been much enlarged. For he found by the experiment made the preceding year, in which the plants were divided twice in the fpring, that they were not weakened by the fecond divifion. mentions this to fhew, that the experiment was not pushed to the utmost. riment was He The ground, in which this expemade, is a light blackifh foil, upon a gravelly bottom, and confequently a bad foil for wheat. One half of the ground was very much dunged; the other half was not prepared with dung, or any no difference was, however, discoverable in the vigour or growth of the plants, nor was there any in their produce. other manure : Mr. Miller adds, that he omits making any conjectures of the probability of turning this experiment to public utility in agriculture; as that, he hopes, may be better afcertained by a more extenfive one, which he hopes to make next year. A gentleman, who affifted him in making the experiment laft year, has fown half an acre of land with wheat, from which they expect to have fufficient to plant four acres next VOL. XII. I am, Gentlemen, Your moft obedient W. WATSON. [Received Nov. 21, 1768.] An eafy Method of making a Phofphorus, that will imbibe and emit Light, like the Bolognian Stone; with Experiments and Obfervations; by John Canton, M. A. and F. R.S. To make the PHOSPHORUS. CAL [Read Dec. 22, 17€8.] ALCINE fome common oyfter fhells, by keeping them in a good coal fire for half an hour; let the pureft part of the calx be pulverized, and fifted; mix with three parts of this pow der one part of the flowers of fulphur: let this mixture be rammed into a crucible of about an inch and a half in depth, till it be almoft full; and let it be placed in the middle of the fire, where it must be kept red hot for one hour at leaf, and then fet by to cool: when cold, turn it out of the crucible, and cutting, or breaking it to pieces, fcrape off, upon trial, the brighteft parts; which, if good phosphorus, will be a white powder; and may be preferved by keeping it in a dry phial- with a ground ftopple. Ι The 1 The quantity of light a little of this phofphorous gives, when firft brought into a dark room, after it has been expofed for a few feconds, on the outfide of a window, to the common light of the day, is futlicient to discover the time by a watch, if the eyes have been shut, 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 phafes 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 hofpho rus. And thefe figures appear to be as ftrongly illuminated in the night, by the flash from a near difcharge of an electrified bottle, as by the light of the day. UR author, after treating of 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 alium, after the inteftines, &c. had been firft 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 miftake not, thought it an important difcovery, which, it feems, he obtained in Paris, tho' not without great difficulty. 翼 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 rerain their natural pofition, without danger of putrefaction. This method might perhaps in England be deemed expenfive, great variety of beautiful birds which that country produces, obferves, that the number and variety of this clafs of animals is here fo great, that feveral perfons in this colony advantageoufly employ themfelves, with their flaves and dependants, in killing and prethe great duty on fpirits has ferving birds for the cabinets of na- raifed their price to an enormous turalifts in different parts of Eu-height; but in a country where rum is fold for ten-pence fterling per gallon, the cafe is far different. rope. The manner of doing this is not unworthy of a communication, as it is unknown in Europe. as Method of preferving Snakes; from the fame. years ago difcovered infects, or vermin, to be the true caufe of finut, and withal how they pro WHEN the fnake is killed, pagate their fpecies from one ge it must first be washed clean, and freed from all filth and naftinefs; then it is to be put into a glafs of a pro er 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 fastened: by this means the head will be drawn into a natural posture, 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 : neration to another, whereby our corn frequently becomes infected with blacknefs, and the crops are often much reduced, according as they happen to be more or les aflicted with this fatal disease; I made the following pickle, in order to destroy their brood; which has, for near thirty years paft, very effectually anfwered this purpofe, 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 difeafe. Put into a tub, with a hole at bottom, wherein a ftaff 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 ftone-lime, which in meafure 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 :it off into another tub, wherein the grain is to be fteeped; which generally produces about a hogfhead of good line-water; to this we add three pecks of falt (forty two pound) which, when difflved, is fit for ufe, and this I call a pickle. To I- A-, Efq; at Mitcham, But in cafe fea water can be ob colours. A Pickle recommended by Mr. John I Corn. SIR, in Surry. PRESUME nothing more' need be faid here relating to the caufe of fmut; and therefore I pafs on to the cure. Having about thirty tained, much lefs falt will fuffice: the rule is, to have the fpecific gravity fufficient to float an egg, by adding falt fufficient for this pur. pofe: herein, with a basket made on purple (which for a large farm ought to be two feet diameter at I 2 bottom, bottom, and twenty inches deep) placed in the pickle, we run in the A Letter to the Editors of the Re grain gradually in fmall quantities, from one bufhel to two; ftirring and fkimming off the light grains, which ought not to be fown, becaufe many of them are infectious; this done, draw up the basket to drain over the pickle for a few minutes, and fo proceed in like manner. This feed will be fit for fowing in twenty-four hours; but for drilling, forty-eight are better. Should the driller meet with any difficulty herein, more lime muft be added to make the pickle more aftringent; for lime differs much in quality here the mafter muft ufe his own difcretion. In cafe the feed is made ready for fowing or drilling five, fix, feten, 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 trust they will merit your approbation.-I am glad to hear my laft met with fuch a kind reception from the Society. I am, Worthy Sir, pofitory, on the Uses of the Horfe. Chefnut. Gentlemen, T HE Society for the Encou ragement of Arts, &c. in London, having in their advertisement concerning hemp, required an account of the farther procefs 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 used here for this end; at least no fuch account of its ufe 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 ad. vantage for whitening of hemp and flax, in the preparation of each during the enfuing autumn. The Horfe-chefnut tree was formerly much used in forming of ave nues, 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. JOHN REYNOLDS. 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 Your moft obedient fervant, Adisham, October, 1768. fo fo extenfive a ufe in whitening not only flax and hemp, but also filk and wool. M. Mercandier found that the Horfe-chefnut contains an aftringent faponaceous juice, of very great fervice in manufactures, not only in bleaching, but alfo in washing of linens 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. Mercandier 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 stockings in this Horfe-chefnut water: they took the dye perfectly well; and trials which he and others made of it in fulling of stuffs and cloths, proved equally fuccefsful. Linen washed in this water takes a very pleafing light fky-blue colour, efpecially after it has been washed again in a clear running water. Repeated experiments confirm these effects. If hemp is fteeped in this infufion for fome days, its filaments feparate eafily; the juice of the chefnut having the power of diffolving that gummy fubftance by which they are made to adhere fo ftrongly together. The author of this Memoir relates the following experiments. "After having peeled forty fresh chefnuts which had fallen from the tree of themfelves, 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 raifed a froth like the best foap, gradually ended in a white liquor, refembling milk. The effect of the warm water was very different: it raifed no froth, and after having perfectly soaked 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 warn 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. 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 water 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 infafion, and even that which had cooled, felt foft and oily; but when it was warm it felt harfh: and I obferved that the infufion which had been warm, did not froth easily after it became cold. "I now proceed to washing. I caufed first linen cloth, and then woollen ftuffs, to be washed in my prefence in each of thefe infufions. Spots of all kinds were taken out of them, and after having rinfed I 3 them |