of which, in some great convulsion of nature, has been torn asunder from the other, and precipitated into the Mediterranean. The view from the top of the Rock of Gibraltar, the Mount Calpe of old, in a clear day, is most magnificent. To the east, the Mediterranean stretches out before us as far as the eye can reach; and on either side its lofty shores, the mountainous coast of Africa on the one hand, and, on the other, the more beautiful perhaps, but scarcely less hilly coast of Europe, both gradually receding from each other, to form, as it were, a broader basin for the Mediterranean; the village of St. Roche, to the north, beautifully situate on the top of a gently sloping hill; the Bay of Gibraltar, and town of Algeziras to the west, and to the south the sister pillar, the lofty Mount Abyla, and her neighbouring mountains. The Rock of Gibraltar is composed of limestone, of which there are two principal varieties, one, forming the great mass of the hill, hard, fine-grained, with a splintery or conchoidal fracture, possessing consi. derable lustre, and generally of a light-grey colour, sometimes also dark, sometimes nearly white, and in one part of the hill, where it is quarried as a marble, occurring beautifully variegated. This limestone is stratified, and near the top of the hill, as is well seen, the strata run from nearly north-east to south-west, and inclining to the south-west at an angle of 60° or 70°. The other principal variety is a conglomerate or brecciated limestone, formed of the debris of the former, connected by a red calcareous basis, and wrapping round the other central mass. This conglomerate variety appears to be still forming on the hill. Besides these, there occur two beds of a flinty slate rock, both very much decayed, and one of them containing numerous round and angular pieces of limestone. These beds appear to be contained in the older solid limestone, and to run in strata conformable to it. Ample opportunities are afforded to gratify every wish of the geologist, in ascertaining the structure of the bill, by visiting the extensive excavations in various parts of the rock, which have been formed for the purpose of strengthening this great and important fortress. At the foot of the hill, the sole rock visible is the conglomerate limestone, which occurs in great abundance, and forming small hills. The imbedded masses are often of a very large size. The basis is a red, coarse, calcareous cement, or a calcareous tuff, more or less hard, and often intermixed with round concretions of calcareous sinter. At the foot of the hill the rock is often almost entirely composed of this cal-, careous tuff. As we ascend the hill, this conglomerate rock decreases in quantity, the imbedded masses become smaller, and the connecting basis less abundant, more compact, finer, and of a lighter colour. The imbedded masses, which are of every shape, are undoubtedly broken portions of the solid limestone nucleus. When we have ascended above two-thirds of the hill, this conglomerate encrusts the interior mass to the depth only of a few inches, and a little higher up almost entirely disappears, when the solid limestone forms the whole upper part of the hill. Numerous caves occur in the limestone, the sides, roofs, and floors of which are lined with a thick coating of calc-sinter, with numerous stalactites from the roof, and thick, massive pillars, as usual in caves of this kind. Many caves formerly existed, which are now entirely a filled with calc-sinter and calc-tuff . Few of these caves are large. St. Michael's Cave, about 800 feet above the level of the sea, which is the largest and best known, is about 100 feet in length, 40 in breadth, and 40 or 50 in height. The stalactites are short and thick, and generally of a brown calc-sinter, which is heavier and harder than the other varieties. At the farther extremity of this cave are many deep hollows; in some of these I found parts of the skeletons of goats, which had no doubt fallen into these pits, and being unable to escape, had there perished. Bones and skeletons may in this way be often found in these caves, encrusted and petrified by the calcsinter. Below this upper cave occurs another smaller cave, but more beautiful, into which you descend by rope-ladders by one of these deep hollows. Many amusing fables relate to this cave. Hundreds of small caves occur in the rock, generally I think situate in the conglomerate, and filled in part with calc-sinter and calc-tuff. St. Michael's Cave, however, occurs in the solid limestone. Some of these caves present most picturesque and magnificent appearances. The calc-sinter of these caves, and the calc-tuff of the conglomerate limestone appears to have a similar formation ; the tuff is associated with the sinter in the caves, the sinter is associated with the tuff in the rock: if the one, therefore, is gradually forming, so is the other; if the one is formed by percolation of water through the rock, which holds the calcareous matter in solution, so is the other; and thus the formation of the one is connected with, and illustrates the formation of the other. To the north-east of the Rock of Gibraltar, about fifteen miles on the shores of the Mediterranean, rises a very lofty range, called the Apluxara Mountains, steep, massive, and bare. I did not examine these hills, but they are probably a continuation of the limestone of Gibraltar. The Neutral Ground which connects Gibraltar with Spain is two or three miles in length, beyond which the country rises into round, sloping hills. The rocks, to the distance of ten or twelve miles to the north-west of Gibraltar, are various kinds of limestone, coarser than the limestone of the Rock, and resting upon it. a FROM THE SAME. Notice of a Species of Cannibalism, practised in the interior of Su matra, together with some particulars relative to the Customs of the Inhabitants, and the produce of the Country about Tappanooly, including the Camphor Tree. Communicated in a Letter from India.* 1. Cannibalism, and Customs of the Battas. As the Helen is still in company, I sit down to fulfil my promise of an account of Tappanooly, and the Battas who inhabit the interior of that part of Sumatra. They had been stated to be cannibals, and we were curious to ascertain the fact, and learn something of so peculiar a state of society. We therefore assembled some of the most intelligent chiefs, whom we examined at length respecting all their usages Read before the Wernerian Society, 18th May, 1822. and customs, and obtained the most ample and indisputable information on every point. The history of these people is so extraordinary and peculiar, that I should not have credited it on any evidence less than that which we received, and which I should almost fear to communicate, were I less convinced of its absolute correctness. That they are cannibals is placed beyond a doubt; but the circumstances and manner in which it is practised, are, I believe, unexampled in the history of the human race. The eating of men is not merely practised in war, as in some other savage countries, but is the punishment solemnly and deliberately awarded by their laws for certain capital crimes. Five cases are enumerated in which the eating of offenders is ordained, of which the first, and, in their ideas the greatest, is adultery. The sentence is passed in full council by the assem bled chiefs, and is publicly carried into effect three days after, when the whole neighbourhood is assembled. The victim is tied up, with his hands extended, and the injured party is asked what part he chooses; he perhaps desires the ears; they are instantly cut off, and he deliberately eats them, either raw, with limes and pepper, or dressed, as he pleases. Every person present then cuts off and eats what part he likes; and after all are satisfied, the chief enemy cuts off the head, and carries it home, to suspend it in triumph on the top of his house. Thus the culprit is literally eaten alive, and with a coolness and deliberation, that I believe to be absolutely unparalleled. You will have difficulty, I know. in believing this, but I tell it you plainly, according to the information we received from the people themselves, who seemed to think very little of it. Such severities of punishment must of course operate to make a crime of rare occurrence; and another check to its frequency is, that the injured party may, if he pleases, commute the punishment for a pecuniary compensation, which avarice often tempts them to do. In short, it seems to be like Shylock's pound of flesh, an atonement the party aggrieved has a right to, and which he may dispense with if he pleases. The Battas are evidently of Hindoo origin, and these customs afford another example of the mild spirit of that religion, which denounces damnation on the slayer of a cow or an ant, yet makes its sport of human life, and of every affection in our nature. Formerly it was their practice to eat their parents, when they became too old to be useful, but they say that latterly it has been abandoned. Now, you will of course suppose, that these people are in the lowest state of barbarism to which nature can be reduced; but, strange inconsistency! it is quite the reverse, and they have even many noble and estimable qualities. In point of veracity and sense of honour, they are as much superior to the Bengalees, as we are to both. Their deportment and behaviour is manly and independent. In some things their notions are carried to a most extravagant length: a man, for instance, must not marry a woman of his own tribe, but must seek a wife in some other tribe, that acknowledges different ancestors. The breach of this rule is punishable with eating. This is carrying the idea of consanguinity much farther than we do. If two men quarrel, and their difference cannot be accommodated by mediation, they go to war; but before commencing operations, they must publicly proclaim the war in the fairs, that the other may have proper warning. If a man should kill another tion, the head declined on one side, violent spasms supervened, while the eye lost its lustre, and the animal died in dreadful convulsions. On dissection after death, the lobes of the lungs appeared paler than usual, coagulable lymph was found lining the trachea, as in Cynanche Trachealis, and the stomach was found inflamed near the pylorus. The brain was not examined. The muscular fibre was still excitable by voltaic agency, but the excitability soon declined. A drop or two of hydrocyanic acid on the head of a frog soon proved fatal. The colour promptly changed to an unwonted paleness. The sciatic nerves of the prepared limbs were moistened with hydrocyanic acid, but no suspension of the voltaic excitement supervened. It was accompanied by a tremulous movement of the muscular fibre, connected with the lines of the nerves; and this spontaneous irritability seemed increased by the application of alcoholic solution of iodine: It is a singular fact, that not unfrequently an alcoholic solution of iodine, dropped on the muscular fibre of a frog, excited phenomena similar to the action of the voltaic apparatus. It seemed also to renew excitability when the susceptibility had declined or was lost. When the symptoms were verging to a fatal issue in a frog, a drop or two of ammonia on the head effectually restored the animal. A greater quantity of hydrocyanic acid was given to a young rabbit than proved fatal in the case detailed. Ammonia was occasionally applied to the mouth on a sponge. The animal exhibited no unhealthy symptom whatever. A considerable quantity of the hydrocyanate of ammonia with excess of base, was administered to another rabbit, but without any deleterious effect. Half a drachm of hydrocyanic acid was given to a healthy young rabbit. The effects were prompt. Respiration became laborious and difficult, with a grating in the throat,--the eye lost its brilliancy,—the head dropped, -it raised a sharp cry, and was convulsed. Strong ammonia was dropt into the animal's mouth, and it was repeatedly moistened with a sponge dipped into ammonia. It almost instantly revived, and even licked repeatedly the finger which sometimes applied the ammonia, apparently quite sensible of the instant and continued relief it afforded. The animal effectually recovered. Its lips were ex by the ammonia. I took a quantity of hydrocyanic acid, sufficient to pro- forehead. is of much moment to know an effectual barrier to morphia is the active principle in opium. ohol, in which, however, it is sparingly solu China, 3000 dollars a pecul of 133 pounds. It has been supposed that it was mixed with their own camphor, and sold again in that adulterated state; but the difference of price renders this improbable. I rather suspect that the Chinese, whose epicurism is very extraordinary and different from ours, use it in some way or other for culinary purposes. Besides the camphor, the tree yields an oil which is very powerful. It only flowers once in four or five years, and was not in Aower when I was there. I got, however, specimens last year. I scrambled over several of the hills during the two days we remained at Tappanooly, and got some new plants. * * * * Here there is in fact a field new and untrodden by the foot of science, a harvest reserved for me to reap; and it shall not be neglected, for I have every advantage and opportunity. * * * * Indiana, off Natrall, 29th February, 1820. FROM THE SAME.. Researches on Hydrocyanic Acid and Opium, with reference to their Counter-poisons. By John MURRAY, Esq. F.L.S. M.W.S., &c. Communicated by the Author. In June, 1815, a paper of mine was read to the Linnean Society, developing a simple and apparently decisive method of ascertaining the sedative virtues of vegetable juices and their counter-agents. The sciatic nerves of the prepared frog were taken up by a silver probe, and moistened with the tincture, and the result indicated the sedative power or its obverse; the degree was determined by the specific gravity of the solution employed, and the power measured by the duration of the period required to produce its maximum effect. It would be superfluous now to describe what has already been amply detailed. It was clearly proved from the result, that a suspension of the voltaic excitement, more or less decided, was the consequence of certain vegetable juices, and that in such as were operative in this manner, acetic acid was found to be a counter-agent. It may be worthy of remark in this place, that discoveries have since manifested new alkaline bases, characterized by specific characters in such as having produced a sedative effect, were neutralized by acetic acid, as morphia, atropia, &c. The following paper is intended simply to detail the results of some experiments, instituted with reference to the discovery of counter-poisons to their agency on the system. Facts are soon detailed ; and it is not necessary that they be amplified or extended by unnecessary details. The truths gleaned from actual experiment are immutable, while the consequences which may be deduced in support of a theory, may soon be overlooked in the progression of intelligence. I had always found, that the violent headach which sometimes occurred in preparing hydrocyanic or prussic acid, was relieved and moved by ammonia, which induced me to think that the antidote а |