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It is very curious, that

continue to blow for six or ten weeks. whilst, to the natives, and to the Europeans, who, from long residence, may be said to be acclimated in the settlement, these winds are exceedingly annoying, the Europeans newly arrived consider them as refreshing and salubrious. But during the raging of the harmatans, the furniture of every house is covered with fine sand, and tables and chairs crack under their influence. Mr Boyle concludes this part of his subject by a diary of the weather at Sierra Leone, for the term nearly of a year,—a document that will be read with extreme interest by all the cultivators of meteorological science.

3. On the distance to which Spray of the Sea may be carried. -A few remarks on the distance to which spray from the sea is sometimes carried inland by storms of wind, may not, perhaps, be deemed altogether irrelevant to the subject we are treating upon. Sea-water is brought into the immediate neighbourhood of Manchester, which is at least thirty miles from the nearest coast, by every violent and long continued gale from the west; and the exact proportion in given quantities of rain-water, collected on several occasions of this kind, has been determined chemically. That the sea is the principal source whence the salt is derived, with which the rain that falls in this town and its vicinity is occasionally impregnated, cannot, I think, be doubted; as I have clearly ascertained, by direct experiment, that its excess or deficiency depends entirely on the direction, force, and duration of the wind. Rain collected in clean glassvessels, a few miles to the north of Manchester, when the wind blows moderately from the north or north-east, scarcely ever exhibits the slightest trace of muriatic acid, on the application of the most delicate test (nitrate of silver), even when reduced two-thirds or three-fourths by spontaneous evaporation; though samples collected in the town, precisely at the same time, on being subjected to the test, generally have their transparency more or less impaired. This fact seems to prove, that, notwithstanding muriate of soda is never raised into the atmosphere by evaporation, yet the air over large towns usually contains a very minute portion of muriatic acid, which, as Mr Dalton observes, is probably supplied by the sublimation of muriate of ammonia during the combustion of fuel. A considerable increase of mu

riatic acid takes place in the rain which falls in Manchester, when accompanied with a brisk breeze from the west, of several hours' duration; as is evident from the greater degree of opacity observed in samples caught under such circumstances, when treated with a few drops of the solution of nitrate of silver; and that which falls in the adjacent country, then manifests a sensible trace also. Indeed, the direction of the wind remaining the same, its force and duration seem almost entirely to regulate the quantity of muriatic acid in the atmosphere; which completely establishes the fact that it is brought from the sea by the mechanical action of powerful currents of air. The utmost distance to which sea-water is conveyed by tempestuous winds is not easily determined. Sir H. Davy, in his Elements of Agricultural Chemistry, p. 295, states, that " in great storms the spray of the sea has been carried more than fifty miles from the shore ;" but he does not give his authority. Being at Blackwall, in Derbyshire, the residence of my relative John Blackwall, Esq. on the 23d of November 1814, when a violent hurricane occurred, which did extensive damage on the southern coast, I took several opportunities of examining the rain which fell at intervals on that occasion, and uniformly found that it became extremely turbid on application of the test, evidently containing much more muriatic acid than rain collected in large towns, during calm weather, is ever found to contain. The storm commenced on the night of the 22d of November, and continued, with little abatement, till after noon on the 23d. The wind blew from the south all the time, and the place of observation is 140 or 150 miles from the sea in that direction. is, perhaps, the greatest distance on record to which sea-water has been clearly ascertained to be conveyed by the wind; and that it extended much further is highly probable.Manchester Memoirs, vol. v. New Series.

ZOOLOGY.

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4. Wild Animals in the Illinois Country, in North America. -The buffalo has entirely left us. Before the country was settled, immense prairies afforded pasturage to large herds of this animal, and the traces of them are still remaining in the "buffalo paths," which are to be seen in several parts of the

State. These are well beaten tracts, leading generally from the prairies in the interior of the state, to the margins of the large rivers; shewing the course of their migrations as they changed their pastures periodically, from the low marshy alluvium to the dry upland plains. In the heat of summer they would be driven from the latter by the prairie flies; in the autumn they would be expelled from the former by the mosquitoes; in the spring the grass of the plains would afford abundant pasturage, while the herds could enjoy the warmth of the sun, and snuff the breeze that sweeps so freely over them; in the winter, the rich cane on the river banks, which is an evergreen, would furnish food,-while the low grounds, thickly covered with brush and forest, would afford protection from the bleak winds. I know few subjects more interesting than the migration of wild animals, connecting, as it does, the singular display of brute instinct, with a wonderful exhibition of the various supplies which nature has provided for the support of animal life, under an endless variety of circumstances. These paths are narrow, and remarkably direct, shewing that the animals travelled in single file through the woods, and pursued the most direct course to their places of destination. -Deer are more abundant than at the first settlement of the country. They increase to a certain extent, with the population. The reason of this appears to be, that they find protection in the neighbourhood of man, from the beasts of prey that assail them in the wilderness, and from whose attacks, their young particularly can with difficulty escape. They suffer most from the wolves, who hunt in packs like hounds, and who seldom give up the chase until a deer is taken. We have often sat, on a moonlight summer night, at the door of a log-cabin on one of our prairies, and heard the wolves in full chace of a deer, yelling very nearly in the same manner as a pack of hounds. Sometimes the cry would be heard at a great distance over the plain; then it would die away, and again be distinguished at a nearer point, and in another direction;-now the full cry would burst upon us from a neighbouring thicket, and we would almost hear the sobs of the exhausted deer ;—and again it would be born away, and lost in the distance. We have passed nearly whole nights in listening to such sounds; and once we saw a deer dash through the yard,

and immediately pass the door at which we sat, followed by his audacious pursuers, who were but a few yards in his rear.Immense numbers of deer are killed every year by our hunters, who take them for their hams and skins alone, throwing away the rest of the carcass. Venison hams and hides are important articles of export: the former are purchased from the hunters at 25 cents a pair, the latter at 20 cents a pound. In our villages we purchase for our tables the saddle of venison, with the hams attached, for 37 cents, which would be something like 1 cent a pound.-There are several ways of hunting deer, all of which are equally simple. Most generally the hunter proceeds to the woods on horseback, in the day-time, selecting particularly certain hours, which are thought to be most favourable. It is said, that, during the season when the pastures are green, this animal rises from his lair precisely at the rising of the moon, whether in the day or night; and I suppose the fact to be so, because such is the testimony of experienced hunters. If it be true, it is certainly a curious display of animal instinct. This hour is therefore always kept in view by the hunter, as he rides slowly through the forest, with his rifle on his shoulder, while his keen eye penetrates the surrounding shades. On beholding a deer, the hunter slides from his horse, and, while the deer is observing the latter, creeps upon him, keeping the largest trees between himself and the object of pursuit, until he gets near enough to fire. An expert woodsman seldom fails to hit his game. It is extremely dangerous to approach a wounded deer. Timid and harmless as this animal is, at other times, he no sooner finds himself deprived of the power of flight, than he becomes furious, and rushes upon his enemy, making desperate plunges with his sharp horns, and striking and trampling furiously with his fore-legs, which, being extremely muscular, and armed with sharp hoofs, are capable of inflicting very severe wounds. Aware of this circumstance, the hunter approaches him with caution, and either secures his prey by a second shot, where the first has been but partially successful, or, as is more frequently the case, causes his dog to seize the wounded animal, while he watches his own opportunity to stab him with his hunting-knife. Sometimes where a noble buck is the victim, and the hunter is impatient or inexperienced, terrible conflicts

ensue on such occasions.-Another mode, is to watch at night, in the neighbourhood of the salt-licks. These are spots where the earth is impregnated with saline particles, or where the saltwater oozes through the soil. Deer and other grazing animals frequent such places, and remain for hours licking the earth. The hunter secrets himself here, either in the thick top of a tree, or most generally in a screen erected for the purpose, and artfully concealed, like a mask-battery, with logs or green boughs. This practice is pursued only in the summer, or early in the autumn, in cloudless nights, when the moon shines brilliantly, and objects may be readily discovered. At the rising of the moon, or shortly after, the deer having risen from their beds, approach the lick. Such places are generally denuded of timber, but surrounded by it; and as the animal is about to emerge from the shade into the clear moonlight, he stops, looks cautiously around, and snuffs the air. Then he advances a few steps, and stops again, smells the ground, or raises his expanded nostrils, as if he "snuffed the approach of danger in every tainted breeze." The hunter sits motionless, and most breathless, waiting until the animal shall get within rifle-shot, and until its position, in relation to the hunter and the light, shall be favourable, when he fires with an unerring aim. A few deer only can be thus taken in one night, and after a few nights these timorous animals are driven from the haunts which are thus disturbed. Another practice is called driving, and is only practised in those parts of the country where this kind of game is scarce, and where hunting is pursued as an amusement. A large party is made up, and the hunters ride forth with their dogs. The hunting ground is selected, and, as it is pretty well known what tracts are usually taken by the deer when started, an individual is placed at each of those passages, to intercept the retreating animal. The scene of action being, in some measure, surrounded, small parties advance with the dogs from different directions, and the startled deer, in flying, most generally pass some of the persons who are concealed, and who fire at them as they pass.-The elk has disappeared. A few have been seen of late years, and some taken; but it is not known that any remain at this time, within the limits of the State.The bear is seldom seen. This animal inhabits those parts of

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