tion of its freedom only fo long as goes two months, and then brings it is allowed to wander about the forth two young ones, which are houfe; all those which the Baron generally of different fexes. She fent to the royal menagerie having fuckles them during two months; foon died of excefs of fat, which and the young ones require two was the cafe with that I saw there, years to grow and be fit for pairing. and which alfo appeared extremely It has been observed here that the melancholy. The lynx of Abruzzo lynx generally attains the age of is unquestionably the moft fwift, twenty years. Sociability apperfubtle, and audacious beaft of prey taius not to its qualities, and more in Italy. It only wanders about in than one couple are rarely found the night, and never is feen in the in a diftrict. Like all creatures upday, unlels when in heat, or in on earth, this alfo has its enemies, fearch of provifion for its young. It and is purfued by men, dogs, wolves, feeds upon all kinds of mice, moles, and large fnakes. Flight is its first martins, ferrets, rares, badgers, ot- object; but when it is deprived of ters, and even fleep and goats; nei- the means of elcape, and is attacked ther are tame and wild fowl fafe and wounded, it defends itself afrom its attacks. It watches for its gainft every defcription of enemy, prey, either upon the ground, or with fuch fury and dexterity, that it between the branches of a tree, and is feldom overcome but by numbers nfually feizes it at the very first of beafts, or the fuperiority of hufpring, even though it be on full man fagacity. The lynx not only speed; and from its ambufcade feeds occafionally upon the bodies amongst the branches it fuccefsfully of dead men, but even attacks darts upon birds that are upon the children and devours them. This wing. When it has killed fuch a animal is feldom to be taken alive, large animal as a wild boar, or a roe- except whilft very young, when it buck, it firft fucks the blood out of is frequently found playing upon the arteries, which feems to be its the grafs near the trees, or fraying favourite food; after which it de- about the country in queft of its vours the foft parts of the head, mother. It is fometimes taken in neck, fhoulders, and legs, together traps, but is generally fhot. The with the entrails, and leaves the attachment fubfifting between a couremainder. When it fails in pro- ple is remarkable; for, when one curing a live animal, it contents it- lies dead upon the ground, and the felf with vegetables, or gratifies it- hunters have retired to a certain felf with all kinds of fruit. Its fa- diftance, the other approaches its vourite place of abode is amongst comrade, looks at it, goes round it, thick and extenfive forefts, and in lies down by it, goes away, and folitary diftricts, where it makes its returns feveral times, until it apretreat in hollow trees, or in holes pears to have loft all hopes of its and clefts in the rocks. It pairs being only afleep. The lynx furonly once a year, at the beginning nithes man with a very warm and of fpring; and contrary to the cuffeful fkin; and fome profit arifes tom of cats, which celebrate their from its fat and gall. muptials with hideous cries, it re mains perfectly silent. The female USE USEFUL 1 PROJECTS. On the Ufe of Sea Water in Agriculture: from the Earl of Dundonald's Treatife on Agriculture and Chemifiry. BUT UT as it may happen that much time may elapfe before any relief is granted, or any alteration made in the prefent falt laws, it becomes important to confider how a fupply of falt, or what is ftill more valuable, how a fupply of fea or falt water may be obtained for the ufe of cattle, and the purposes of agriculture, without being fubjected to the prefent duties. Previous to this explanation, it is proper to state fome farther circumftances, more fully to imprefs on the mind of the farmer the effect which falt or fea water has in promoting the more full putrefaction of dung and vegetable matters It is well known that fhips built of unfeafoned timber are at firft very unhealthy. The exhalation of the vegetable juices of the fresh wood is not the fole caufe. It is principally to be afcribed to the putrefcent hepatic gas generated by the mixture of the vegetable juices with the vitriolic neutral falts contained in fea water, forming what is called bilge water. The fmell of it is no lefs offenfive, than its effects are prejudicial to the health of the ship's company When a new veifel happens to be tight, and to make little water, it is the practice with all intelligent feamen, to fweeten the veffel's hold and limber's, by daily letting in and pumping out a fufficient quantity of water. Certain gaffes, which are injurious to the health of animals; are favourable to the growth of plants: hepatic air is one of them; and as hepatic air is formed in veffels' hold by the action of fea water on the foluble matter of the wood, the fame effect will be produced by the addition of falt water to dung or to vegetable matters. The generation of the hepar is to be afcribed folely to the vitriolic falts contained in fea water, and there is fome reason to fufpect, that fea falt, or muriat of foda, may fuffer a decompofition in this putrefactive procefs, and that the marine acid thereof may be decompofed. The putrefaction of sea water is not confined to the bilge water in veffels. The water of the fea itself, in certain fouthern latitudes, undergoes a material change, emitting, during long calms, a putrid offenfive fmell; and water intended for the purpose of making falt, kept too long in the refervoirs during fummer, will fuffer fuch an alteration in its nature, as to be rendered incapable of yielding chryftals of fea falt. A month or fix weeks of warm [*F 3 weather weather, is, in this latitude, fufficient to produce the change, which is prevented by letting out of the refervoir, every fourteen days, part of the old brine, and taking in a fresh fupply of fea water, frequently very inferior in concentration or ftrength to that which is obliged thus to be difcharged. If this tendency to putrefaction take place fimply in confequence of the small proportion of animal and vegetable matters contained in fea water, there is till greater reafon (exclufive of actual experiments) to conclude, that it will take place, in a much higher degree, on adding fea water to a larger proportion of fuch substances as of themfelves have a tendency to the putrefactive state As any farther proofs of the effects of the faline matters contained in fea water, in promoting putrefaction, may be deemed uneceflary, a method of procuring a fupply, without incurring the expence of manufacturing them, or being liable to the prefent duties, is an object of the greatest importance to the farmer and the grazier, particularly to thofe who are at a distance from the fea. In its vicinity, farmers and others avail themselves of their fituation, and procure fea water either to mix with dung, or for the other purposes to which the application of it has been recommended. A ton of fea water contains from a bufhel to a bushel and a quarter of fea falt, befide a certain proportion of the vitriolic falts. This quantity could not be purchased in England, including the duty, at an expence lefs than feven fhillings, which farmers, fituated as before defcribed, may procure at the fmall expence of carriage. Sea water may be raised, where coal is cheap, by means of a fire engine, to fuch a height as, corref ponding with the level of the inland country, would allow the water to be conveyed in fmall open canals, in wooden or in earthen pipes, to a confiderable inland diftance; each farmer, or proprietor, receiving as it pafles the neceflary fupply. Account of the Mode of making Par mefan Cheefe, by Mr. Pryce; from Letters and Papers on Agri culture. each ten o'clock in the morning, five brents and a half of milk, brent being about forty-eight quarts, was put into a large copper, which turned on a crane, over a flow wood-fire, made about two feet below the furface of the ground. The milk was ftirred from time to time; and, about eleven o'clock, when juft luke-warm or confiderably under a blood heat, a ball of rennet, as big as a large walnut, was fqueezed through a cloth into the milk,, which was kept ftirring. This rennet was faid to have been purchased of a man at Lodie, famous for the compofition; but that it was principally made of the fame part of the calf as we ufe in England for that purpose, mixed up with falt and vinegar: it appeared to me to be alfo mixed with old cheese. I much doubt whether there was any great fecret in the compofition: but it seems to me that the juft propor tion of rennet is a matter of confequence, which is not in general fufficiently attended to. By the help of the crane, the copper was turned from over the fire, and let stand now stand till a few minutes past twelve; The whey is again turned into Valuable new Difcovery for the Prefervation of Corn; from the Paris Moniteur-by Antoine Gouan, National Profeffor of Botany in the School of Health at Montpelier : Addreffed to the National Conven tio NO perfon is ignorant how much grain, roots, and collections of Natural History, are liable to be devoured by infects, and particularly by weevils, which, by confuming the internal part, and leaving only the hufk, occafion frequently the greatest mischiefs. Thefe are confiderably felt in great magazines, but particularly on fhip board, where numerous crews on long voyages require very ample ftore of corn, and where the diminution and damage produce often the most fatal confequences. These inconveniences, and the difficulty of preferving thefe articles of the firft neceffity, have engaged my attention for many years, and induced me to attempt feveral methods of preferving them from the approach and ravages of these infects. I knew that in certain countries they expofe their grain to fmoke and vapour; in others it was placed for fome time in an oven. I alfo knew that pepper and other aromatics were confidered as good prefervatives. But that which is ealy and unexpenfive on a fmall Icale, becomes dear and impracticable when applied to a larger. My object was to find means, therefore, which fhould be at once eafy, efficient, and economical: I. By banishing the infects which caufe this damage to the grain. II. By avoiding a weighty expence. [ *F 4] III. III. And by exempting the grain from the odour contracted in famigation, particularly from the oils of a low quality which are employed for this purpose. In confequence, in the year 1786 I tried the experiment of placing different roots, &c. ripe and newly gathered in a box, which I had bored for the purpose of giving admiffion to mites and other, infects. At the corners and bottom of the box I placed feveral leaves of hartwort the odour of which I knew was noxious to feveral animals. In another I put leaves of horehound, of rue, and of tanfy.-The boxes thus prepared remained for a full year on the ground, under my fhelves. diftant countries, and after the longeft voyages. I have thus done my duty, as a good citizen, in prefenting to my country the refult of my refearches, in a difcovery valuable in itself and ufeful to humanity. P. S. I did not think it right to try the means which fome perfons ufe to preferve the corn, by burning it with chalk and cinders, as a trifling circumstance may alter these fubftances in fuch a manner as to damage the grain. Discovery in Distillation from Potatoes, which will no doubt increase the Cultivation of that Valuable Article of Life. POTATOES have been found, At the end of that term I found the roots, &c. perfectly found, but the odour of the plants more or lefs by repeated experiments, to remained; and fearing that it might communicate itself to the outward skin, and occafion a difgufting tafte, I proceeded to fubftitute to the former bitter acromotic herbs, fuch as the little centaury, wormwood, thyme, mint, favory, &c. which are every where found in abundance. I thus preferved the grain, &c. for a long time, without renewing the plants. Thofe which I now prefent to the Convention have been thus preferved fince the year 1788. After this experiment, now made feven years hace, there can be no doubt but that the practice would fucceed on a much larger feale; and as the grain and feeds, when gathered ripe and kept from a moift air, preferve for a long time their vegetative faculties, it follows, that they may be thus conveyed in fafety, and planted with fuccefs in the moft yield by diftillation a vinous fpirit of a moft exquifite quality, fuperior to the fineft brandy; and in the quantity of about five quarts, highly rectified, from the quantity of feventy pounds weight. In the procefs the lofs of time and expence infeparable from malt dif tillation are avoided; the potatoes are boiled to a thin pulp, which is diluted with hot water, and strained; the mafs is then fermented with barm for about a fortnight, and then diftilled in the ufual way. The fpirit yielded poffeffes a ftrong flavour and perfume of rafpberries, and is not liable to be foiled by what is called the feints coming over the helm, as the very laft and weakeft part that comes off the fill, is equally fweet with the firft. Thele facts were long fince afcertained to the fatisfaction of the Bath fociety by Dr. Anderson. Obfervations |