rium. These combinations are frequently formed, even by the analytical processes, and embarrass the operation. I have found, nevertheless, that, by means of the long-continued action of concentrated muriatic acid, it is dissolved. I obtained from the euclase, M. Berzelius afterward, by comparing the quantity of oxygen in the earths, found them to be in the glucine, alumine, and silex, nearly as 1, 2, and 3; and then, according to the laws which he assumes to be established, conceives the correct composition of the euclase to be as follows: 3. Skeleton of a Whale.-On Monday, August 19th, while some workmen were employed in making improvements upon the estate of Airthry, the property of Sir Robert Abercromby, Bart., about 300 yards south from the east porter's lodge, which leads to Airthry-castle, they came upon a hard substance, which proved to be the skeleton of a large-sized whale, dimensions nearly as follows: Head, or crown-bone, in breadth,... length There are nine vertebræ, some of which are in dia meter, independent of the processes breadth, with the processes Two bones of the swimming paws, 1 of them in length 5 4 Ft. In. The other (broken) Circumference of these bones .... Six broken pieces of bone, from 1 to 4 feet in length. in circumference Another in length... Ditto in circumference A very entire, oval, and hollow bone, like a shell, was found, also, 5 inches long, and 3 in diameter; and along with the bones a fragment of the lower part of a stag's horn was found, 14 inches long, and 8 in circumference. All these bones occurred at a depth of from 18 inches to 3 feet from the surface of the ground, in what is termed recent alluvial earth, formed by the river Forth, and composed of a blue coloured sludge or sleek, with a covering of peat earth, a few inches thick. The situation where the bones were dug up naturally refers to a very remote period of time, of which we have no record, when the river Forth was here a great arm of the sea, extending from the Ochill Mountains, on the north, to the rising ground in the Falkirk district, on the south; and when the very interesting and picturesque greenstone rocks of Abbey Craig, Stirling Castle, and Craigforth, formed islands in the midst of the water. According to the situation of the Roman stations and causeways at a small distance from whence the skeleton has been found, it may reasonably be concluded that the whale had been stranded at a period prior to the Christian æra. Tilloch. Magaz. Aug. 157. III. NATURAL HISTORY. § 1. BOTANY, ZOOLOGY, &c. 1. Latitude of Trees in Sweden.-From researches made in Sweden on the different kinds of wood indigenous to the country, it has been ascertained that the birch reaches the farthest north, growing beyond the 70th degree; the pine reaches to the 69th; the fir-tree to the 68th; the osier, willow, aspien, and quince, to the 66th; the cherry and apple-tree to the 63d; the oak to the 60th; and the beach to the 57th; while the lime-tree, ash, elm, poplar, and walnut, are only to be found in Scania. 2. Simultaneous existence of Salt and Fresh Water Mollusca, in the Gulf of Livonia.-The difficulty experienced in Geology, of explaining the simultaneous existence in certain strata of salt and fresh water shells, and also the importance, perhaps exaggerated, which many persons have attached to this discovery, induced M. Beudant, some years since, to undertake experiments, with the view of ascertaining if it were possible to habituate marine shell mollusca to live in fresh water, and, vice versa, fresh water shell mollusca to live in salt water. It appeared from the results obtained, that these changes could really take place, but the mixture of these two sorts of animals in the same water had not been observed in nature. M. de Freminville, lieutenant of a vessel, a zealous cultivator of the sciences of Zoology and Geology, has announced, in a letter to M. Brongniart, dated February 11, 1819, this curious discovery." The lesser degree of saltness of the waters of the Baltic Sea is more sensible in the Gulf of Livonia than any where else. It is such that the fresh water mollusca live there very well; and I have found on the shores of Unios, Cyclades, and Anodontes, living intermingled with carduums, tellenes, and Venus's, shell fish which generally live in the most salt waters."-Journal de Physique, July 17, 1812. 3. Singular Anecdote of the Spider, with Observations on the Utility of Ants in destroying Venomous Insects. By Captain Bagnold. Desirous of ascertaining the natural food of the scorpion, I enclosed one (which measured three quarters of an inch from the head to the insertion of the tail) in a wide-mouthed phial, together with one of those large spiders, so common in the West Indies, and closed it with a cork, perforated by a quill, for the admission ofair; the insects seemed carefully to avoid each other, retiring to opposite ends of the bottle, which was placed horizontally. By giving it a gradual inclination, the scorpion was forced into contact with the spider, when a sharp encounter took place, the latter receiving repeated stings from his venomous adversary, apparently without the least injury, and, with his web, soon lashed the scorpion's tail to his back, subsequently securing his legs and claws with the same materials. In this state I left them some time, in order to observe what effect would be produced on the spider by the wounds he had received. On my return, however, I was disappointed, the ants having entered and destroyed them both. In the West Indies I have daily witnessed crowds of these little insects destroying the spider or cockroach; as soon as he is despatched, they carry him to their nest. I have frequently seen them drag their prey perpendicularly up the wall, and although the weight would overcome their united efforts, and fall to the ground, perhaps twenty times in succession, yet, by unremitting perseverance, and the aid of reinforcement, they always succeeded. A struggle of this description once amused the officers of His Majesty's ship Retribution for nearly half an hour: a large centipede entered the gun-room, surrounded by an immense concourse of ants; the deck for four or five feet around was covered with them, his body and limbs were encrusted with his lilliputian enemies, and although thousands were destroyed by his exertions to escape, they ultimately carried him in triumph to their dwelling. In the woods near Sierra Leone I have several times seen the entire skeletons of the snake beautifully dissected by these minute anatomists. From these circumstances it would appear, that ants are a considerable check to the increase of those venomous reptiles, so troublesome in the torrid zone; their industry, perseverance, courage, and numerical force, seem to strengthen the conjec ture; in that case they amply remunerate us for their own depredations. § 2. METEOROLOGY, ELECTRICITY, &c. 1. Meteorolite.-The following description of a previously unrecorded meteorolite is from the Journal de Physique for April. It is given from M. Cavoleau in a letter to M. Dubuisson. "On the 5th of August, 1812, at two o'clock in the morning, whilst the weather was calm and the sky clear, a meteor, dazzling with light, struck the sight of some travellers and countrymen in the neighbourhood of Chantonnay, in the department of La Vendée, on the road from Nantes to La Rochelle. It was said to have been seen at many leagues' distance. The time of its duration was not observed, but it terminated in a violent explosion, which was compared to the loudest clap of thunder which had been heard in that country. In the middle of the day the master of the farm of la Haute Revétison, 4,000 metres (4374,5 yards) from Chantonnay, perceived, in a field near to his house, a large stone, which he had never before observed. It was buried two feet and a half in the earth, and had a strong smell of sulphur, which it retained during six months, but which at last was lost." At the end of December, 1814, M. Cavoleau became acquainted with this fact, and judging from this relation and the appearances of the stone, that it was an aërolite, he sent an account of it, with some fragments, to M. Dubuisson, who says" 1. The crust, or envelope, appears to me to differ from that of other falling stones of this kind, in passing from a black colour to the yellow of peroxide of iron. 2. It differs also from other pieces of this kind in the internal parts, giving sparks when struck by steel, though not so abundantly as the outside. 3. The internal part, like the crust, scratches glass. 4. The form of the mass appears to have been rounded, and to have had many cells and cavities. The interior is granular, of an earthy appearance, with the exception of some brilliant |