quiry, the real cause of them has not The walls of the magazine are of been difcovered. About twenty years ago, several. fires broke out, within a thort space of time, in a rope-walk, and in fome wooden houses, at St. Petersburgh; and, in all these inftances, not the flightest trace of wilful fring could be found: but there was lying in the rope-walk, where the cables for the navy are made, a great heap of hemp, among which a confiderable quantity of oil had been carelessly spilt, and it was therefore declared fpoilt for which reason it had been bought at a low price, and put up together, and was held to be the caufe of the fire. The inferior inhabitants of that part of the town had likewife bought of this spoilt heimp, at a cheaper rate than usual, for clofing the chinks, and caulking the windows of their houses, which are conftructed of balks laid one upon the other. At this rope-walk, coils of cable have been found hot, and the people have been obliged to feparate them, to prevent farther danget. It was in the spring of the year 1780, that a fire was discovered on board a frigate lying in the road off Cronstadt; which, if it had not been timely extinguished, would. have endangered the whole fleet. After the feverest scrutiny, no cause of the fire was to be found; and the matter was forced to remain without explanation, but with strong furmises of fome wicked incendiary being at the bottom of it. In the month of Auguft, in the fame year, a fire broke out at the hemp-maga zine at St. Petersburgh, by which several hundred thousand poods* of hemp and flax were confumed. brick, the floors of stone, and the In the night, between the 20th and 21st of April, 1781, a fire was seen on board the frigate Maria, which lay at anchor, with feveral other ships, in the road off the ifland of Cronstadt; the fire was however foon extinguithed; and, by the Yeverest examination, little or nothing could be extorted concerning the manner in which it had arifen. The garrifon was threatened with a scrutiny that should cost them dear; and, while they were in this cruel fufpenfe, the wildom of the fovereign gave a turn to the affair, which quieted the minds of all, by pointing out the proper method to be pursued by the commiffioners of inquiry, in the following order to Count Chernichet. "When we perceived, by the report you have delivered in of the examination into the accident that happened on board the frigliter Maria, that, in the cabin where the * A pood confifts of 40 pounds Russ, or 36 pounds English.. mandant of the port. fire broke out, there was found smoke should appear, immediately parcels of matting, tied together to give information to the com with packthread, in which the foot of burnt fir-wood had been mixed with oil, for the purpose of painting the ship's bottom, it came into our mind, that, at the fire which happened last year at the hemp-warehouses, the following cause, among others, was affigned, that the fire might have proceeded from the hemp being bound up in greasy inats, or even from such mats having lain near the hemp: therefore, neglect not to guide de your farther inquiries by this remark." As, upon juridical examination, as well as private inquiry, it was found that, in the ship's cabin, where the fmoke appeared, there lay a bundle of matting, containing Ruffian lamp-black, prepared from fir-foot, moiftened with hemp-oil varnish, which was perceived to have fparks of fire in it at the time of the extinction, the Russian admiralty gave orders to make various experiments, in order to fee whether a mixture of hemp-oil varnish and the forementioned Russian black, folded up in a mat and bound together, would kindle of itself. They thook forty pounds of firwood foot into a tub, and poured about thirty-five pounds of hempoil varnih upon it; this they let stand for an hour, after which they poured off the oil. The remaining mixture they now wrapped up in a mat, and the bundle was laid close to the cabin, where the midhipmen had their birth. To avoid all fufpicion of treachery, two officers fealed both the that and the door with their own feals, and stationed a watch, of four fea-officers, to take notice of all that paffed the whole night through; and, as foon as any The experiment was made the 26th of April, about eleven o'clock A. M. in prefence of all the officers named in the commiffion. Early on the following day, about fix o'clock A. M. a smoke appeared, of which the chief commandant was immediately informed by an officer; he came with all poffible speed, and, through a small hole in the door, faw the mat fmoking. Without opening the door, he dispatched a messenger to the members of the commiffion; but, as the smoke becamestronger, and fire began to appear, the chief commandant found it necessary, without waiting for the members of the commiffion, to break the feals and open the door. No sooner was the air thus admitted, than the mat began to burn with greater force, and presently it burst into a flame. The Ruffian Admiralty, being now fully convinced of the self-enkindling property of this compofition, tranfmitted their experiment to the Imperial Academy of Sciences; who appointed my friend Mr. Georgi, a very learned and able adjunct of the Academy, to make farther experiments on the fubject, and to him I am chiefly indebted for this account; though, being myfelf at the time upon a vifit to fome of my old parishioners at Cronstadt, I made myself acquainted with many of the circumstances on the fpot. The experiments of this ingenious chymist are of great importance, as they form a valuable addition to our knowledge on the fubject; and are very remarkable from the occafion that led to thefe discoveries. Previous to the relation of the experiments, it is necessary to obferve, that the Ruffian fir-black is three or four times more heavy, thick, and unctuous, than that kind of painter's black which the Germans call kien-rahm. The former is gathered at Ochta, near St. Petersburgh, at Mosco, at Archangel, and other places, in little wooden huts, from refinous fir-wood, and the unctuous bark of birch, by means of an apparatus uncommonly fimple, confifting of pots without bottoms set one upon the other; and is fold very cheap. The famous fine German kien-rahm is called in Ruffia Holland's black. In what follows, when I fpeak of raw oil, it is to be understood of linfeedoil or hemp-oil; but most commonly the latter. The varnith is made of five pounds of hemp-oil boiled with two ounces and a half of minium. For wrapping up the compofition, Mr. Georgi made use of coarse hemp-linen, and always fingle, never double. The impregnations and commixtures were made in a large wooden bowl, in which they ftood open till they were wrapt up in linen. That I may not be too prolix, I will felect and communicate only fuch of the experiments as were most remarkable, and succeeded beft. Three pounds of Russian fir-black were flowly impregnated with five pounds of hemp-oil-varnish; and, when the mixture had stood open five hours, it was bound up in linen. By this process it became clotted; but fome of the black remained dry. When the bundle had lain fixteen hours in a cheft, it was observed to emit a very nauseous, and rather putrid fmell, not quite unlike that VOL. XXXVII. of boiling oil. Some parts of it became warm, and steamed much; this steam was watery, and by no means inflammable. Eighteen hours after the mixture was wrapt up, one place became brown, emitted smoke, and directly afterwards glowing fire appeared. The same thing happened in a second and a third place; though other places were scarcely warm. The fire crept flowly around, and gave a thick, grey, stinking smoke. Mr. Georgi took the bundle out of the cheft, and laid it on a stone pavement; when, on being exposed to the free air, there arose a flow burning flame, a span high, with a strong body of smoke. Not long aftere wards there appeared, here and there, several chaps, or clefts, as from a little volcano, the vapour issuing from which burst into flame. On his breaking the lump, it burst into a very violent flame, full three feet high, which foon grew less, and then went out. The smoking glowing fire lasted for the space of fix hours; and afterwards the remainder continued to glow without smoke for two hours longer. The grey earthy ashes, when cold, weighed five ounces and a half. In another experiment, perfectly fimilar to the foregoing, as far as relates to the composition and quantities, the enkindling did not enfue till forty-one hours after the impregnation: the heat kept increasing for three hours, and then the accenfion followed. It is worthy of remark, that these experiments succeeded better on bright days than on such as were rainy: and the accenfion came on more rapidly. In another experiment, three pounds of Russian fir-black were [*F] flowly flowly impregnated with three pounds of raw hemp-oil; and the accenfion enfued after pine hours. Three quarters of a pound of German rahm were slowly impregnated with a pound and a half of hemp-oil varnifh. The mixture re mained feventy hours before it became hot and reeking. It then gradually became hotter, and emitted a strong exhalation; the effluvia were moist, and not inflammable. The re-action lasted thirty-fix hours, during which the heat was one while stronger, and then weaker, and at length quite ceased... Stove or chimney foot, mostly formed from birch-wood smoke, was mingled with the above-mentioned substances and tied up; the compound remained cold and quiet. Ruffian fir-black, mixed with equal parts of oil of turpentine, and bound up, exhibited not the least re, action or warmth. Birch-oil, mixed with equal parts of Ruffian fir-black, and bound up, began to emit a volatile smell; but the warmth foon went off again. From the experiments of the Admiralty, and of Mr. Georgi, we learn, not only the decifive certainty of the self-accenfion of foot and oil, when the two substances are mixed under certain circumflances, butalso the following particulars. Of the various kinds of foot, or lamp-black, the experiments facceeded more frequently and furely with the coarfer, more unctuons, and heavier, like Ruffian painter's black, than with fine light German rahm, or with coarse chimney-foot. In regard to oils, only those experiments succeeded which were made with drying oils, either raw or boiled. The proportions of the foots to the oils were, in the suc cessful experiments, very various; the mixture kindled with a tenth, a fifth, a third, with an equal, and likewise with a double proportion of oil. In general, however, much more depends on the mode of mix ture, and the manipulation; and, as Mr. Georgi often observed, on the weather: for, in moist weather, the bundles, after becoming warm, would frequently grow cold again. It is in all respects remarkable, that it should never till now have been observed, that a mixture which has been made millions of times, in all proportions and quantities, for painting of ships, and the outfide of wooden houses, and sometimes intentionally, fometimes accidentally, left covered or open, a longer or a fhorter time, should be capable of kindling of itself. It is highly probable, that, even on this occafion, it was entirely owing to the attention of the empress that it was made an object of inquiry, or even that it was at all observed. Before I finish this paper, I will just mention a felf-accenfion, not noticed till of late, and that by Mr. Hagemann, an apothecary, at Bremen. He prepared a boiled oil of hyoscyamus, or henbane, in the usual way, with common eil. The humidity of the herb was nearly evaporated, when he was called away by other affairs, and was obliged to leave the oil on the fire. The evaporation of the humidity was hereby carried fo far, that the herb could eafily be rubbed to powder. The oil had lost its green colour, and had become brownith. In this state it was laid on the straining cloth, and placed in the garden, behind the house, in the open air. In the space of half an hour, on coming again to this place, he perceived a strong smoke there, though he thought the oil must long have been cooled: on closer inspection, he found that the smoke did not proceed from the oil, but from the herb on the straining-cloth; at the fame time the smell betrayed a concealed fire. a He ftirred the herb about, and blew into it a bellows, whereupon it broke out into a bright flame. Had this herb been placed in the house, near the fire, it might have eafily have been supposed that spark had flown into it, which had caused the inflammation; but this was not the cafe; the herb had kindled of itself. We fee from this, that those who are entrusted with the preparation of boiled oils should take care they do not give occafion to dangers by fire, which may excite fufpicions of felonious designs, to the ruin of innocent persons in their lives or reputations. I am, &c. W. TOOKE. Account of the Lynx of Abruzzo; from De Salis's Travels through various Provinces in the Kingdom of Naples, in 1789, Buffon and very Schreber have given us good accounts of the lynx, the naturalift will probably not be difpleased at receiving fome information about the species of lynx peculiar to the provinces of Abruzzo. It is frequently met with in the woods of Abruzzo Ultra, where it is called Il Gatto Pardo, and is smaller than a fort that is not intre quent amongst the Grifon moun tains, and which precifely resembles the species given in Buffon's Natural History, part xix. plate 21. French octavo, and, in Schreber's Sucking Animals, part iii. plate 109, page 408. But the lynx of Abruzzo is of a darker colour, is from eighteen to twenty inches high, and from twenty-four to twenty-seven inches in length, to the root of the tail, which is four inches long. The male is larger than the female. The colour is whitish, with spots like stars, of a reddish yellow, inclining to a yellow gold colour. The hair is short and foft, the head large, and like a tyger's, with longish upright ears, terminated by a tuft of coarse, hard, and upright bristles. The eyes are large, and the teeth, claws, and whiskers are long and sharp. Had I been fortunate enough to procure a dead one, I could give a much more complete description; but, I could not fucceed in my endeavours. The actions of this animal exactly resemble those of a cat, like which it fits, runs, fprings, eats, purrs, and fleeps; although all these actions are in proportion to its fuperior fize. It is easily tamed; and the Barons Tomasetti affured me that it ran about the house like a cat, was much attached to them, and was in no wife inconvenient, except from its extraordinary curiofity. Not a corner in the house, nor a moveable therein, remained unvifited; and a female lost its life by jumping down the hole in the privy. I was furprized to find that the domeftic cat had an insuperable averfion to this animal; and I was assured that the moment that a lynx was brought into the house, all the cats disappeared, and were seen no more during that animal's abode there. The lynx bears the priva[*F2] tion |