A correspondent has favoured us with the following account of the floating is land which lately appeared in Derwent water:-"It has emerged from the bottom of this lake, three times in the course of about thirty years; or, according to other accounts, it has been in the habit of repeating its visits after an interval of seven or nine years. It began to emerge ou the 20th of July, and, in a very short tine, appeared above the surface. It is situated at the head of Keswick lake, about a stone-cast from the shore. It contains about an acre of ground, and is quite stationary; at first it was of a darkbrown colour, but soon became covered with verdure. By thrusting a pole m several places to the depth of three yards, the water rushed up; consequently it is of that thickness and unconnected with the bottom. That it is also unconnected with the shore is evident, as boats sailed entirely round it, and sounded with long poles without finding a bottom. It is of an oblong shape, and in the middle of it is a large hole about eight yards long and two broad, evidently made by the confiued rarified air. The depth of soil composing it, is in some parts two feet, and in others more: and in forcing a stick through it in different places, air arose in large bubbles; and as this confined air escapes, the island, I conceive, lessens, and at length sinks by its own weight, to become again the bottom of the lake. Its sides adhere to the neigh bouring soil with a steep descent, except at one corner about six yards in length, which appears like a bank. This bank has actually been the remains of the sides of a hole of a former island; for these temporary islands are found to change their positions at every appearance; and the present one is somewhat nearer the shore than the former ones have been. The plants which form the vegetation are the Jobelia dortmanna, the isoetes lacustris, the lettorella lacustris, the arundo fragmites, and the scirpus lacustris. A secondary island made its appearance about the same time, at some distance from the principal one, and nearer the shore, of a circular form, about eight yards in diameter and divided completely in two by a rent of about one yard wide, and three yards deep, reaching to a considerable distance on each side of this island, and evidently being one of those numerous cracks which may always be discovered in the bottom of this part of the lake, which I presume is a communication of the waters beneath with those above. The island gradually sunk during some weeks

Britain has long been considered mistress of the seas, but hitherto no person had thought of valuing that part of her domains. A curious calculation has been made of the value of the British sea per acre; and when it is considered that much more profit might be drawn from the ocean around our coast, than we procure at present, we presume that this estimate is not unworthy of attention. The circumference of Britain is about 1086 miles; allowing a tract of fifteen miles from the coast for the fishery, which is considerablywithin the truth, there will then be near twenty millions of square acres of sea, which, at the rate of one pound ten shillings per acre, would amount to thirty millions per annum. The Irish coast may be calculated in proportion.

Few persons in this country know any other use of the aloe than the medicine which it affords ; but it serves for a num ber of other beneficial purposes in the countries where it grows In the East In dies, aloes are employed as a varnish to preserve wood from worms and other insects; and skins and even living animals are anointed with it for the same reason. The havoc committed by the white ants in India first suggested the trial of aloe juice, to protect wood from them; for which purpose the juice is either used as extracted, or in solution by some solvent. Aloes have also been found effectual in preserving ships from the ravages of the worm, and the adhesion of barnacles. The ship's bottom, for this purpose, is smeared with a composition of hepatic aloes, turpentine, tallow, and white lead. In proof of the efficacy of this method, two planks of equal thickness, and cut from the same tree, were placed under water, one in its natural state and the other smeared with the composition; when, on taking them up after being im mersed eight months, the latter was found to be as perfect as at first, while the for mer was entirely penetrated by insects, and in a state of alsolute rottenness. aquatic solution of hepatic aloes preserves young plants from destruction by insects, and also dead animals and vegetables from putrefaction; which renders it of great use in the cabinets of naturalists. The spirituous extract is best for the pur

An

pose, though in this respect it is inferior to that of cantharides, prepared by infusing two grains in one ounce of spirits, which has been found to be so effectual in the extirpation of bugs. Pærner asserts, that a simple decoction of aloes communicates a fine brown colour to wool. Fabroni, of Florence, has extracted a beautiful violet colour, which resists the acids and alkalis, from the juice of the fresh leaves of the aloe exposed to the air by degrees. The liquid first becomes red, and at the end of a certain period turns to a beautiful purple violet, which adheres to sink by simple immersion, with out the aid of acids.

RICHARD WALKER, esq. of Oxford, has proposed an alteration in the scale of the thermometer, which suggested itself to him during a long course of experiments, and which has been adopted by himself and his friends from the persuasion of its being founded on the truest principles." The two fixed points, the freezing and boiling points of water as they have hitherto been, will (he observes) probably never fail to be continued, as being perfectly sufficient for the accurate adjustment of thermometers. The commencement of the scale, and the number of divisions only appear to claim attention. With respect to the first, since neither the extremes of heat or cold are likely to be ascertained, the hope of fixing O at either of these may be entirely relinquished, and it remains to fix it at the fittest intermediate point. Here I propose the following mode of graduation. Having ascertained that the temperature of 62° of Fahrenheit is the temperature at which the human body in health is conscious of no inconvenience from heat or cold, and that a deviation from that point of only one or two degrees, above or below, actually produces that effect under ordinary circumstances, I fixed my zero or ◊ there. I adopted the divions of Fahrenheit, considering those of Reaumur, the centigrades, &c. as too few, and decimal divisions unnecessary. Hence it will follow that O being placed at 62° of Fahrenheit, 150° will be the boiling, and minus $0, the freezing point of water; and all other points on Fahrenheit's scale may be reduced to this, by subtracting 62 for any degree above 0 of Fahrenheit, and adding, 62 for any degree below 0. For ordinary meteorological purposes, a scale of this kind extending to 65°, above, and as many below 0, will be sufficient."

It has been found that camphor mixed with different fixed oils and sand, in order to divide the particles, may be purified of

its oily particles, and deprived of its em pyreumatic smell, when sublimed with a small quantity of potash. The process by which this effect is produced, is described as follows: two drachms of camphor, with considerable empyreumatic smell, and dirty, were mixed with one of olive oil, and eight of sand; after which twenty grains of pure potash were added and heat applied; but though it was greater than is necessary for its sublimation, the product was perfectly free from empyreumatic smell, and a little whiter that it generally is. The substitution of linseed oil produced no alteration in the product. The subcarbonate does not answer the purpose, because in that state the affinity of potash for oils is less than when entirely deprived of carbonic acid.

FRANCE.

The existence of gold-mines in France, was long questioned, even in that country, but it is now well known, that what was formerly the province of Dauphiné, possesses several of that description. These mines are of two different kinds, some affording native gold, others containing this metal mixed, or so intimately com bined with different metallic substances, that its presence is to be detected only by the assay. The native gold-mines in the above-mentioned province are: that of la Gardette, that of Dormillouse, or la Freissinière; those of Orel, and the auriferous sands of the Rhone. Dormillouse is situated in the present department of the Upper Alps, and Orei in the department of the Drôme. The mountain of Gardette rises above the village of the same name, four miles south of the town of Oisans. Its mine was included in the circle of mines, granted to Stanislaus, Count of Provence, brother of Louis XVI. by a decree of the council of state. This mountain, which is 1410 yards above the sea, has at its foot a perpendicular cliff, above 220 yards in height. Its base is a reddish granite, composed of red feltspar, green steatitic quartz, and grey mica.

Above this is a laminat quartz rock, of a blackish grey. This micaceous rock, in which the gold is found, is covered by a secondary linestone, which forms the whole of the upper part of the mountain. This is of a deep blue grey, and contains belemnites and ammonites. The inclination and direction of its strata, vary greatly; but in general they incline to the north, at a greater or less angle, which appears to be determined by the slope of the primbive

ruck,

change of the time at the words "Then opened wide, the Baron's Hall" is judicious: while it relieves the ear, it heightens the expression, and elucidates the poet's meaning.

A Sonata for the Harp or Piano forte, composed and dedicated to Miss Eliza Maxtom, by Miss Laze'y. 4s.

pen

of a

This sonata, coming from the young lady, brings with it a claim to our indulgence, in which we cannot be so ungallant as not to acquiesce. For science, well-digested ideas, learned transitions, and methodical arrangement we have not looked; but a pleasing ease of conception, and a facile flow of familiar passages we rather expected, and have not been disappointed. In a word, this composition, though it would not pass for the production of a master, is not uncreditable to Miss Lazenby's talents.

A Grand Military Piece for the Piano-forte, composed and dedicated to her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, by F. Lanza. 35. 6d. The boldness and spirit with which the piece before us is conceived, will not fail to attract the attention of those who are partial to this species of composition. The first part of the movement beginning in A flat is truly elegant, and the conclusion is strikingly animated.

"Drown Old Care in Half a Dozen," a muchadmired Glee for Three Voices, composed by the late Thomas Augustine Geary, and inscribed to Mr. John Spray. 1s. 6d.

In perusing "Drown Old Care in Half a Dozen," we find so little of what a real musician would write, in his sober senses, that we are tempted to think that the late Mr. Geary had taken his half dozen before he began the composition, and that he had not only drowned Old Care, but also his professional faculties-it is evident, however, that he did not die drunk, since

The melody of this little song is much above the common cast. The passages are tastefully turned, and the expressionis just and forcible. The accompaniment, though too much in the arpeggio style, is elegant and graceful in its effect,and forms no trivial recommendation to the composition." "John Anderson my Jo," a Glee for Four Voices, with an Accompaniment for the Piano-forte, composed by Dr. Clarke, of Cambridge. 2s. 6d." The melody of this glee is simple, and the parts combine, and sing well. The accompaniment is easy, and though little more than a mere compression of the score, is calculated to considerably heighen the general effect.

The Grand Symphonies, composed by Mrs. Julian Busby, and announced for publication on the 27th of March, will not, we learn, on account of some unforeseen impediments, be ready for delivery till the 24th of the present month. Cousequently, the subscription remains open, and names still continue to be received at all the principal music-shops.