tion of its freedom only so long as it is allowed to wander about the house; all those which the Baron fent to the royal menagerie having foon died of excess of fat, which was the cafe with that I faw there, and which also appeared extremely melancholy. The lynx of Abruzzo is unquestionably the most swift, fubtle, and audacious beast of prey in Italy. It only wanders about in the night, and never is seen in the day, unless when in heat, or in fearch of provifion for its young. It feeds upon all kinds of mice, moles, martins, ferrets, hares, badgers, otters, and even theep and goats; neither are tame and wild fowl safe from its attacks. It watches for its prey, either upon the ground, or between the branches of a tree, and usually feizes it at the very first fpring, even though it be on full speed; and from its ambuseade amongst the branches it fuccefsfully darts upon birds that are upon the wing. When it has killed fuch a large animal as a wild boar, or a roebuck, it first fucks the blood out of the arteries, which feems to be its favourite food; after which it devours the fost parts of the head, neck, shoulders, and legs, together with the entrails, and leaves the remainder. Waen it fails in procuring a live animal, it contents itfelt with vegetables, or gratifies itfelf with all kinds of fruit. Its favourite place of abode is amongst thick and extenfive forefts, and in folitary distries, where it makes its retreat in hollow trees, or in holes and clefts in the rocks. It pairs only once a year, at the beginning of fpring; and contrary to the cuftom of cats, which celebrate their nuptials with hideous cries, it remains perfectly silent. The female

goes two months, and then brings forth two young ones, which are generally of different fexes. She fuckles them during two months; and the young ones require two years to grow and be fit for pairing. It has been observed here that the lynx generally attains the age of twenty years. Sociability appertains not to its qualities, and more than one couple are rarely found in a district. Like all creatures upon earth, this also has its enemies, and is pursued by men, dogs, wolves, and large snakes. Flight is its first object; but when it is deprived of the means of elcape, and is attacked and wounded, it defends itself against every description of enemy, with fuch fury and dexterity, that it is feldom overcome but by numbers of beasts, or the fuperiority of human fagacity. The lynx not only feeds occafionally upon the bodies of dead men, but even attacks children and devours them. This animal is feldom to be taken alive, except whilft very young, when it is frequently found playing upon the grafs near the trees, or ftraying about the country in quest of its mother. It is sometimes taken in traps, but is generally shot. The attachment fubfifting between a couple is remarkable; for, when one lies dead upon the ground, and the hunters have retired to a certain distance, the other approaches its comrade, looks at it, goes round it, lies down by it, goes away, and returns feveral times, until it appears to have lost all hopes of its being only asleep. The lynx furnithes man with a very warm and ufeful skin; and fome profit arises from its fat and gall.

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On the Use of Sea Water in Agriculture; from the Earl of Dundonald's Treatise on Agriculture and Chemistry.

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as it may happen that much time may elapfe before any relief is granted, or any alteration made in the present salt laws, it becomes important to confider how a fupply of falt, or what is still more valuable, how a fupply of fea or falt water may be obtained for the use of cattle, and the purposes of agriculture, without being subjected to the present duties. Previous to this explanation, it is proper to state some farther circumstances, more fully to impress 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 ships built of unfeafoned timber are at first very unhealthy. The exhalation of the vegetable juices of the fresh wood is not the fole cause. It is principally to be ascribed to the putrefcent hepatic gas, generated by the mixture of the vegetable fuices with the vitriolic neutral falts contained in sea water, forming what is called bilge water. The smell of it is no less offenfive, than its effects are prejudicial to the health of the hip's company When a new vetfel happens to be tight,

and to make little water, it is the practice with all intelligent seamen, to sweeten the vessel's hold and limber's, by daily letting in and pumping out a fufficient quantity of water.

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Certain gasses, which are jurious 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 vessels' holds by the action of fea water on the foluble matter of the wood, the fante effect will be produced by the addition of falt water to dung or to vegetable matters. The generation. of the hepar is to be ascribed folely to the vitriolic salts contained in fea water, and there is some reason to fufpect, that fea falt, or muriat of foda, may fuffer a decompofition in this putrefactive process, and that the marine acid thereof may be decomposed.

The putrefaction of sea water is not confined to the bilge water in vessels. The water of the fea itself, in certain fouthern latitudes, undergoes a material change, emitting, during long calms, a putrid offenfive smell; 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 chrystals of fea falt. A month or fix weeks of warm

weather, is, in this latitude, sufficient 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 strength to that which is obliged thus to be discharged. 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 still greater reason (exclufive of actual experiments) to conclude, that it will take place, in a much higher degree, on adding sea water to a larger proportion of fuch substances as of themselves have a tendency to the putrefactive state As any farther proofs of the effects of the faline matters contained in sea water, in promoting putrefaction, may be deemed unecessary, a method of procuring a fupply, without incurring the expence of manufacturing them, or being liable to the present duties, is an object of the greatest importance to the farmer and the grazier, particularly to those who are at a distance from the fea.

In its vicinity, farmers and others avail themselves of their situation, and procure sea 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 bushel to a bushel and a quarter of fea falt, beside a certain proportion of the vitriolic falts. This quantity could not be purchased in England, including the duty, at an expence less than seven shillings, which farmers, fituated as before defcribed, may procure at the small expence of carriage.

Sea water may be raised, where coal is cheap, by means of a fire engine, to such a height as, correfponding with the level of the inland country, would allow the water to be conveyed in small open canals, in wooden or in earthen pipes, to a confiderable inland distance; each farmer, or proprietor, receiving as it pafles the necessary supply.

Account of the Mode of making Parmesan Cheese, by Mr. Pryce ; from Letters and Papers on Agriculture.

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T ten o'clock in the morning, five brents and a half of milk, each 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 stirred from time to time; and, about eleven o'clock, when just luke-warm or confiderably under a blood heat, a ball of rennet, as big as a large walnut, was squeezed through a cloth into the milk,, which was kept stirring. This rennet was faid to have been purchased of a man at Lodie, famous for the composition; but that it was principally made of the fame part of the calf as we use in England for that purpose, mixed up with falt and vinegar: it appeared to me to be also mixed with old cheese. 1 much doubt whether there was any great fecret in the compofition: but it seems to me that the just proportion 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

III. And by exempting the grain from the odour contracted in fumigation, 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 admission to mites and other, insects. At the corners and bottom of the box I placed several leaves of hartwort the odour of which I knew was noxious to several 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 shelves.

At the end of that term I found the roots, &c. perfectly found, but the odour of the plants more or less remained; and fearing that it might communicate itself to the outward skin, and occafion a disgufting taste, 1 proceeded to substitute 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 preserved the grain, &c. for a long time, without renewing the plants. Those which I now present to the Convention have been thus preferved fince the year

distant countries, and after the longest voyages.

I have thus done my duty, as a good citizen, in presenting to my country the result of my researches, in a discovery valuable in itself and useful to humanity.

P. S. I did not think it right to try the means which some perfons use to preserve the corn, by burning it with chalk and cinders, as a trifling circumstance may alter these fubstances in such 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, by repeated experiments, to yield by distillation a vinous spirit of a most exquifite quality, fuperior to the finest brandy; and in the quantity of about five quarts, highly rectified, from the quantity of seventy pounds weight.

In the procefs the lofs of time and expence infeparable from malt diftillation are avoided; the potatoes are boiled to a thin pulp, which is diluted with hot water, and ftrained; the mass is then fermented with barm for about a fortnight, and then diftilled in the usual way.

The spirit yielded pofsesses a strong 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 last and weakest part that comes off the full, is equally fweet with the firft. Thele facts were long fince afcertained to the fatisfaction of the Bath fociety by Dr. Anderson.

Obfervations