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Nour last we have given some account of the introductory lecture delivered at the Royal Institution by Mr. Davy: we mean in a subsequent number to take up the subject again, and to give a full analysis of the account of his discoveries, as read to the Royal Society, incorporating with it such experiments and observations as may occur to the writer by an attend ance at the interesting and important lectures delivered every Saturday at the Royal Institution in Albermarle Street, We shall now proceed with an account of Mr. Knight's discoveries on the inconvertibility of bark into alburnum. This accurate observer had already found, that the matter, which composes the bark of trees, previously exists in the cells both of their bark and alburnum, in a fluid state; and that this fluid, even when extra vasated, is capable of changing into a pulpous and cellular, and ultimately into a vascular substance; the direction taken by the vessels being apparently depen dent on the course which the descending fluid sap is made to take: his present object is, to prove that the bark, thus formed, always remains in the state of bark, and that no part of it is ever transmuted into alburnum. To ascertain this fact, he grafted several trees of the apple and crab kind, the woods of which were distinguishable from each other by their colours; he then transposed similar portions of bark from one tree to another, and bound them up closely with a covering of cement. The interior surface of the bark of the crab-tree presented numerous sinuosities, which corresponded with similar inequalities on the surface of the alburnum, occasioned by the former existence of many lateral branches. The interior surface of the bark of the apple tree, as well as the external surface of the alburnum, was, on the contrary, perfectly smooth and even. vital union soon took place between the transposed pieces of bark and the albur num and bark of the trees to which they were applied; and in the autumn it appeared evident, that a layer of alburnum had been, in every instance, formed beneath the transposed pieces of bark A which hich were taken off; and it appear ed perfectly similar to that of the other parts of the stock, and the direction of The Bres and vessels did not, in any de gree, correspond with those of the trans posed bark. In another experiment he scraped off the external surface of the alburnum in several sinall spaces, and in these spaces no union took place between the transposed bark and the alburnum of the stock, nor was there any alburnum deposited in the abraded spaces; but the newly generated cortical and alburnous layers took a sort of curved course round those spaces, and appeared to have been generated by a descending fluid, which had divided into two currents when it came into contact with the spaces from which the surface had been scraped off, and to have united immediately beneath them. In each of these experiments, a new cortical and alburnous layer was evidently generated, and the only obvious difference in the result appears to be, that the transposed and newlygenerated barks formed a vital union with each other; and, if bark of any kind were converted into alburnum, it must have been that newly generated; for, adds Mr. Knight, it cannot be supposed, that the bark of a crab-tree was transmuted into the alburnum of an apple tree; or, that the sinuosities of the bark of the crab tree could have been obliterated, had such transmutation taken place. The next experiments were on the shoots of an oak coppice, which had been felled two years; and in these Mr. K. was unable to discover any thing like the transmutation of bark into alburnum, The commencement of the alburnous layers in the oak is distinguished by a circular row of very large tubes. These tubes are of course generated in the spring, and during their formation the substance, through which they pass, is soft and apparently gelatinous, and less tenacious and consistent than the substance of the bark itself; but, if the fibres and vessels of the bark became those of the alburnum, a great degree of similarity ought to be found in the organization of these substances. Mr. K. found no such similarity, and nothing at all, corresponding with the circular row of large tubes in the alburnum of the oak, is discovered in the bark of that tree. These tubes are also generated within the interior surface of the bark, which sels pass from the leaf-stalks into the interior bark, the alburnous matter being apparently deposited by a fluid which descends from the leaves, and subsequently secretes through the bark. Hence it is inferred, that the alburnum is thus deposited; and an enquiry is instituted respecting the origin and office of the alburnous tubes. They have generally been considered as the passages through which the sap ascends, and, at their first formation, they are always filled with the fluid, which has apparently secreted from the bark. They appear to be formed in the soft cellular moss, which becomes the future alburnum, as receptacles of this fluid, to which they may either afford a passage upwards, or simply retain it as reservoirs, till absorbed and carried off by the surrounding cellular substance. From some decisive experiments Mr. K. thinks, that the sap does not rise through the tubes of the alburnum, but through the cellular substance; which, he thinks, may give the impulse with which the sap is known to ascend in the spring; and, if it be thus raised, much of it will probably accumulate in the alburnum in the spring; because the powers of vegetable life are, at that period, more active than at any other season; and the leaves are not then prepared to throw off any part of it by transpiration. And the cellular substance, being then filled, may discharge a part of its contents into the alburnous tubes, which again become reservoirs, and are filled to a greater or less height, in proportion to the vigour of the tree, and the state of the soil and season; and if the tubes, which are thus filled, be divided, the sap will flow out of them, and the tree will be said to bleed. But, as soon as the leaves are unfolded, and begin to execute their office, the sap will be drawn from its reservoirs, and the tree will cease to bleed, if wounded. is well defined; and,, during their forma tion, the vessels of the bark are distinctly visible, as different orgaus; and had the one been transmuted into the other, their progressive changes could not have escaped Mr. Knight's observation. This gentleman asserts, that the organization of the bark in other instances does not, in any degree, indicate the character of the wood that is generated beneath it: thus, the bark of the wych elm is extremely tough and fibrous; that of the ash, at the same age, breaks almost as readily in any one direction as in another, and presents very little of a fibrous texture; yet the alburnum of these trees is not very dissimilar, and the one is often substituted for the other in the construction of agricultural instruments. Mr. Knight examines and controverts the theories of Mirbel and Duhamel. The htter has shewn, that when a bud of a peach tree, with a piece of bark at Lached to it, is inserted in a plum stock, a layer of wood, perfectly similar to that of the peach tree, will be found, in the succeeding winter, beneath the inserted bark, but this experiment does not prove the conversion of bark into wood; for the probable operation," according to Mr. Knight, "of the inserted bud, which is a well organized plant, at the period when it becomes capable of being transposed with success, appears to have been overlooked; for I found that when I destroyed the bark which belonged to them uninjured, this bark no longer possessed any power to generate alburnum. It nevertheless continued to live, though perfectly inactive, till it became covered by the successive alburnous layers of the stock; and it was found, many years afterwards, inclosed in the wood. It was, however, still bark, though dry and lifeless, and did not appear to have made any progress towards conversion into wood." From these, and from various other experiments, made expressly for the purpose, Mr. K. concludes, that bark is never transmuted into alburnum. Mr. K. further observes, that the' alburnous tubes appear to answer another purpose in trees, and to be analogous, in some degree, in their effects, to the caviIn another paper our author maintains, ties in the bones of animals; by which that the bark deposits the alburnous mat- any degree of strength that is necessary ter. In proof of which he says, if the is given with less expenditure of matesucculent shoot of a horse-chesnut, or rials, or the incumbrance of unnecessary other tree, be examined, at successive weight; and the wood of many different periods in the spring, it will be seen, that species of trees is thus made at the time the alburnum is deposited, and its tubes very light, and very strong; the rigid vearranged in ridges beneath the cortical getable fibres being placed at greater disvessels, and the number of these ridges, tances from each other by the intervenat the base of each leaf, will be found tion of alburnous tubes, and consequently to correspond accurately with the num-acting with greater mechanical advantage ber of apertures through which the ves- than they would if placed immediately in contact contact with each other. Mr. K. discovered, some time since, that the specific gravity of the sap increases during its ascent in the spring, and that saccharine matter is generated, which did not previously exist in the alburnum, nor in the sap, as it rose from the root: these effects he now supposes to be produced by the air contained in the alburnous tubes. Mr.William Garrard has laid before the Royal Society the discovery which he has made of a new property of the tangents of three angles of a plane triangle, which may be thus expressed: "In every plane triangle, the sum of the three tangents of the three angles multiplied by the square of radius, is equal to the continued product of the tangents." From this Dr. Maskelyne was led to consider whether a similar property might not belong to the tangents of three arches trisecting the whole circumference of a circle, which he found to be the case; and he proves the truth of the proposition by supposing the circumference of the circle to be any how divided into three arches, A, B, C, and then, he says, 66 the square of radius multiplied into the sum of the tangents of the three arches A, B, C, is equal to the product of the tangents multiplied together." Dr. Reeve, of Norwich, haying, some few years since, in a visit to Switzerland and the neighbouring countries, embraced the opportunity of examining very minutely into the causes of Cretinism, has lately presented the result of his enquiries to the Royal Society. He was led to the investigation, because cretinism is usually connected with goitre or bronchocele; but, upon attending to the facts, he found, that the goitre is not a constant attendant upon cretinism. The Cretin has frequently this disfigurement; his head is also deformed, his stature diminutive, his complexion sickly, his countenance vacant and destitute of meaning, his lips and eye-lids coarse and prominent, his skin wrinkled and pendulous, his muscles loose and flabby. The qualities of his mind correspond with the deranged state of the body which it inhabits, and cretinism prevails. Upon a minute examination of many Cretins, Dr. Reeve found, that there was no necessary connection between guitre and cretinisin; the latter often exists where there is no appearance of goitre; but, according to this gentleman, there is a considerable similarity between cretinism and the malady called rickets, : They both take place in infancy, are both characterized by feebleness of body, and, sooner or later, feebleness of mind; and they both affect males and females equally but there is no connection between persons afflicted with bronchocele in England, and with rickets. To account for cretinism, we are told, that the vallies, where it is most frequent, are surrounded by very high mountains: they are sheltered from currents of air, and exposed to the direct and reflected rays of the sun. The effluvia from the marshes are very strong, and the atmosphere hu mid, close, and oppressive. All the Cretins," says Dr. R, "which I saw, were in adjoining houses, situated in a narrow corner of the valley, the houses being built up under ledges of the rocks, and all of them very filthy, very close, very hot, and miserable habitations." In villages situated higher up the mountains, there are no Cretins to be seen; and even children, having a tendency to this dreadful affliction, may often be cured by being removed from the valley to the mountain. Dr. R. contradicts the notion that has long prevailed, that the goitre and cretinism depend on the drinking snow-water. The production of cretinism may, he thinks, be safely and fairly attributed to the bad quality of the air and the food, the neglect of moral education, and other evils attendant on poverty. The causes of this cruel disorder begin to operate upon the system soon after, perhaps even before, Eirth; the want of energy in the parent is communicated to the offspring; the children become deformed, the growth and developement of the body are impeded, the abdomen becomes enlarged, and the glands swelled in various degrees; and the powers of the mind remain dormant, or become entirely obliterated, partly from want of proper organization, and partly from the total neglect of every thing like education. Dr. Reeve gives some drawings of the heads of Cretins, to shew that they differ from the natural structure; hence, he adds, that there is no fact in the natural history of man, that affords an argument so direct and impressive in proof of the influ ence of physical causes on the mind, as cretinism, It shows, moreover, that the growth of every part is essentially connected with the conditions in which it is fit to exercise its peculiar functions; and, in this respect, it fares with the intellectual, as with the bodily, powers. MONTHLY MONTHLY RETROSPECT OF THE FINE ARTS. The Use of all New Prints, and Communications of Articles of Intelligence, are re quested, under COVER to the Care of the Publisher. Portrait of Robert Waithman, Esq. S.Medley pinxit. E.Scriven sculpt. Published by Clay and Scriven, Ludgate Hill. O the admirers of this gentleman, who are not confined to a small circle, this will prove acceptable, as a faithful representation of the original. of the respective painters, and as if it had been the work of a living artist. 1. The Murder of Abel. Gen.4, v. 8. Painted by Andrea Sacchi. Engraved by J. Tay The Holy Bible, with Notes by the Rev. J. Hewlet, B. D. embellished with Engravings by the first Artists, from the most admired Productions of the great Masters of the various Schools of Painting. There have been many Bibles published with graphical illustrations in the various countries of Europe, and they In our have met with much success. own time and country, that of Macklin has been begun and carried on with considerable splendour, but its high price renders it unlikely to be very much circulated, except among the opulent members of the community. Other objections also have been made to it, in regard to the unequal merit of the designs; but as this is a charge to which every such work must be liable, it need not be here investigated. Mr. Hewlet's Bible, in addition to other advantages not immediately relevant to the subject of the Arts, proposes to give, at the most moderate price, in every monthly part, six engravings by British artists of eminence, from pictures of established reputation, of the ancient school, on biblical subjects. The first part, or number, is highly deserving of consideration, and happy will it be for the credit of English engraving, if it shall be surpassed in merit by the succeeding ones. The cheapness and excellence of French prints was formerly become almost proverbial, but the present work bids fair to rival them in both points. The propriety of giving engravings from old masters, instead of employing our contemporaries, (whether they would or could produce better pictures,) shall not in this place be contended for; suffice it to say, that the work answers its promise, and that the originals, here chosen to be engraved from, are of established reputation. The sound of great names, Lowever, should not preclude examination: it may therefore be fair to consider each picture without relation to the names lor, This picture is one of the most perfect works of art. The subject was never dering Abel, when the passion of exces more effectively told. It is not Cain mursive anger would have predominated, and impressed the spectator with the ordinary feelings of terror, but it is that awful moment after the murder of his brother, when conviction flashes on the mind of looks up to offended Heaven with fear Cain of the enormity of his guilt. He and despair. From the bursting cloud the voice of divine justice dooms him to punishment," to be a fugitive and a vagaboud in the earth;" and the murderer has already begun his flight. Holy History does not say with what weapon he effected his fratricide; and the painter, unwilling to obtrude in any circumstance on the sacred text, has, therefore, concealed the hand which may be supposed to hold the bloody instrument. The dead body of Abel is of a beautiful form, corThe solemn and gloomy back-ground is rectly drawn, and skilfully fore-shortened. admirably brought in aid of the general effect of the subject. Taylor's excellent engraving of this picture, equally studied and faithful to the original in every part, has obtained for him an additional wreath of credit. 2. The Finding of Moses, Exod. 2, v. 5 & 6. Painted by Nicolo Poussin. Engraved by Fittler. The painter has chosen the instant when the child is taken from the water, and laid at the feet of the princess, one of whose female attendants is taking him from the man who is still in the water. The najestic simplicity of the Princess Thermeutis is admirably represented; her height and commanding appearance are well contrasted with that of her attendants. In the eagerness displayed in the attitude of the young woman, who is receiving the child, we recognize the emotions which would naturally agitate the sister of Moses, who appears gladly to accept the care of her infant brother. Thus |