Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Volumen 102

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W. Bowyer and J. Nichols for Lockyer Davis, printer to the Royal Society, 1812

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Página 155 - June i5th, having the Consul and some other friends on board, I weighed, and proceeded with the ship towards the volcano, with the intention of witnessing a night view ; but in this expectation we were greatly disappointed, from the wind freshening and the weather becoming thick and hazy, and also from the volcano itself being clearly more quiescent than it was the preceding day. It seldom emitted any lightning, but occasionally as much flame as may be seen to issue from the top of a glass-house...
Página 156 - NW part of the island, after dark on the 16th, we witnessed one or two eruptions that, had the ship been near enough, would have been awfully grand. It appeared one continued blaze of lightning ; but the distance which it was at from the ship, upwards of twenty miles, prevented our seeing it with effect. Returning again towards St. Michael's on the 4th of July...
Página 152 - January having fotally subsided, and the present one having only burst forth two days prior to our approach, and about three miles distant from the one before alluded to. Desirous of examining as minutely as possible a contention so extraordinary between two such powerful elements, I set off from the city of Ponta del Gada on the morning of the 14th, in company with Mr.
Página 158 - I found the complete skeleton of a guard fish, the bones of which being perfectly burnt, fell to pieces upon attempting to take them up; and by the account of the inhabitants on the coast of St. Michael's, great numbers of fish had been destroyed during the early part of the eruption, as large quantities, probably suffocated or poisoned, were occasionally found drifted into the small inlets or bays. The island, like other volcanic productions, is composed principally of porous substances, and generally...
Página 155 - ... feet. The great eruptions were generally attended with a noise like the continued firing of cannon and musquetry intermixed, as also with slight shocks of earthquakes, several of which having been felt by my companions, but none by myself, I had become half sceptical, and thought their opinion arose merely from the force of imagination: but, while we were sitting within five or six yards of the edge of the cliff, partaking of a slight repast which had been brought with us, and were all busily...
Página 153 - As the impetus with which the columns were severally propelled diminished, and their ascending motion had nearly ceased, they broke into various branches resembling a group of pines ; these again, forming themselves into festoons of white feathery smoke in the most fanciful manner imaginable, intermixed with the finest particles of falling ashes, which at one time assumed the appearance of innumerable plumes of black and white ostrich feathers surmounting each other...
Página 156 - We found a narrow beach of black ashes, from which the side of the island rose in general too steep to admit of our ascending ; and where we could have clambered up, the mass of matter was much too hot to allow our proceeding more than a few yards in the ascent. The declivity below the surface of the sea was equally steep, having seven fathoms water, scarce the boat's length from the shore, and at the distance of twenty or thirty yards we sounded five and twenty fathoms.
Página 157 - ... of the island by a narrow ridge of cinders and lava, as an isthmus of from forty to fifty feet in length, from which the crater rose in the form of an amphitheatre. This cliff, at two or three miles distance from the island, had the appearance of a work of art resembling a small fort or block house. The top of this we were determined, if possible, to attain ; but the difficulty...
Página 210 - ... through the divided veins. From this analogy, and from all the circumstances just mentioned, it may be inferred that arsenic, in whatever way it is administered, does not produce its effects even on the stomach until it is carried into the blood. " But the blood is not necessary to life, except so far as a constant supply of it is necessary for the maintenance of the functions of the vital organs. The next object of inquiry therefore is, when arsenic has entered the circulation, on what organs...
Página 165 - ... middle tendon, so that the lower half of each rib which is beyond the origin of this muscle, and which is only laterally connected to it by loose cellular membrane, is external to the belly of the animal, and is used for the purpose of progressive motion ; while that half of each rib next the spine, as far as the lungs extend, is employed in respiration. At the termination of each rib is a small cartilage in shape corresponding to the rib, only tapering to the point. Those of the opposite ribs...

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