MUSEUM. FROM THE BRITISH CRITIC. The Works of John Playfair, Esq. late Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh, &c. &c. With a Memoir of the Author. Constable & Co. Edinburgh, 1822. With the usual aversion entertained and professed by critics for the vile art of book-making, we are, notwithstanding, disposed to allow that this is one of the books which deserved to be made. The most valuable of Mr. Playfair's treatises, the "Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory," had been many years out of print; and his other essays, biographical and scientific, were only to be found in very expensive collections, such as the Transactions of Philosophical Societies, or the equally inaccessible pages of modern Encyclopædias. Mr. Playfair was the son of a Scotch minister, and was born in 1748. He received his education at St. Andrew's, where, at the age of sixteen or seventeen, he was selected by Professor Wilkie, who happened to be confined by illness, to read his lectures on natural philosophy. When only in his eighteenth year he stood candidate for the mathematical professorship in the Marischal College of Aberdeen; on which occasion he sustained, with great credit, a comparative trial, which continued eleven days, yielding only to the superior attainments of Dr. Trail, the present Chancellor of Down and Conner, in Ireland, and of Dr. Hamilton, the well known author of a very profound work on the national debt, who is at this moment in possession of the chair which called forth so ardent a competition. In The death of his father determined the choice of young Playfair in favour of the ecclesiastical profession: and in due time the charge and emoluments of his native parish were secured to him by the kindness of his patron, Lord Gray. After about ten years' residence in the country, where, we are told, he devoted the chief part of his time to the duties of his cure and the composition of sermons, he found himself induced, by very advantageous offers, to resign his living, for the purpose of superintending the education of two young men, the sons of a Fifeshire 'squire of considerable fortune. company with his pupils, who, we find, were Mr. Ferguson, of Raith, and his brother, Sir Ronald Ferguson, the existing M. P. for Kirkcaldy, the rector of Benvie repaired to Edinburgh, to attend the lectures which are annually delivered there, on every subject of human interest or curiosity; and where he soon made himself so well known, by his great abilities and learning, that, in 1785, he was nominated, by the patrons of the college, joint-professor of mathematics, a situation in which he remained about twenty years. In 1805, the death of Professor Robinson led to his preferment, if such it can be called, to the chair of natural philosophy, a position which he held and adorned, with much talent and a large share of popular approbation, till the period of his demise in the year 1819. There is, appended to the memoir, a sketch of Mr. Playfair's cha- 2 B “We may then conclude, from our researches, that the essential oil of the prunus lauracerasus is to be preferred in medicinal practice to all other preparations which contain the hydrocyanic acid : for, unlike the distilled water of the plant and pure prussic acid, it contains the same proportion of the acid, and is of the same power, whether recently prepared or old, when made in one place or another, after exposure to the air, to light, or to heat. We think also that the oil of olives, or of almonds, is the most proper vehicle in the proportion of an ounce to 12 drops of the essence, or in a smaller dose when employed by friction externally." Switzerland.--A machine has lately been introduced at Lausanne, in Switzerland, for making bread, that is, for preparing the fermentation of the dough, which seems to deserve imitation in other countries. It is simply a deal box, a foot in breadth and height, and two feet in length, placed on supports, by which it is turned by a handle like the cylinder used for roasting coffee. One side of the box opens with a hinge, to admit the dough, and the box is turned round. The time requisite to produce fermentation depends on the temperature of the air, the quickness of the turning, and other circumstances. But, when the operation is performed, it is known by the shrill hissing of the air making its escape, which generally happens in half an hour. The leaven is always extremely well raised; perhaps too much, sometimes. The labour is nothing, for the machine, such as this here described, may be turned by a child. No hooks, points, cross-bars, or any other contrivance, can be wanted within the box, to break or separate the mass of dough; for these operations are sufficiently effected by the adhesion of the dough to the sides of the box. If the machine be made of greater length, and divided by cross partitions at right angles to the sides, different kinds of dough may be prepared at the same time. One evident advantage of such a contrivance is, that, bread, manufactured in this way, must be perfectly clean and free from any accidental soiling. The Odyssey of Homer, translated into English prose, as literally as the idioms of the Greek and the English languages allow, with explanatory notes, by a Member of the University of Oxford, will soon appear, in two volumes octavo. Capt. Manby, author of " the Means of saving Persons from Shipwreck,” has nearly ready for publication, a Journal of a Voyage to Greenland in the Year 1821, with graphic illustrations, in one volume, quarto. A very interesting experiment has been made of steam vessels on canals, in the Union Canal at Edinburgh, with a large boat, twentyeight feet long, constructed with an internal movement. The boat had twenty-six persons on board ; and, although drawing fifteen inches of water, she was propelled by only four men at the rate of between four and five miles an hour, while the agitation of the water was confined entirely to the centre of the canal. The Life and Times of Daniel de Foe, with a copious account of his writings, and anecdotes of several of his contemporaries, are preparing by WALTER WILSON, esq. The following Scientific Works were published in July. A Practical Treatise on the Strength of Cast Iron; intended for the Assistance of Engineers, Iron Masters, Architects, &c. Also an Account of some Experiments, with an extensive Table of the Properties of Materials. By Thomas Treadgold, Civil Engineer. 8vo. Four Plates. 12s. A Letter to Sir Humphrey Davy, Bart. on the Application of Machinery to the Purpose of calculating and printing Mathematical Tables. By Charles Babbage, Esq. MA. Member of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, and Secretary to the Astronomical Society of London. 4to. 1s. 6d. Lectures on the Elements of Botany: containing the Descriptive Anatomy of those Organs on which the Growth and Preservation of Vegetables depend. By Anthony Todd Thomson, FLS. MRCS. With Plates and Numerous Wood-Cuts. 8vo. Vol. I. 11. 8s. The Study of Medicine: comprising its Physiology, Pathology, and Practice. By John Mason Good, MD. FRS. Member of the Royal College of Physicians, London, &c. 8vo. 4 large Vols. On the Use and Abuse of Friction, with some Remarks on Motion and Rest, as applicable to the Cure of various Surgical Diseases, and particularly Gout and Rheumatism. By John Bacott, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, London. 8vo. 2s. sewed. Observations on the Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology of the Nervous System. By J. Swan, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. 8vo. With Nine Plates. 10s. 6d. The Seats and Causes of Diseases investigated by Anatomy; containing a great Variety of Dissections, and accompanied with Remarks. By John Baptist Magagni, Chief Professor of Anatomy, and President of the University at Padua. Abridged, and elucidated with copious Notes. By W. Cooke, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, London. 2 Vols. Thick 8vo. 1l. 11s. 6d. THE MARINER's song. BY ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. A wet sheet and a flowing sea, A wind that follows fast, And fills the white and rustling sail, And bends the gallant mast, my boys, Away the good ship flies, and leaves a O for a soft and gentle wind! I heard a fair one cry; And white waves heaving high ; The good ship tight and free- And merry men are we. And lightning in yon cloud; The wind is piping loud; The lightning flashes free- Our heritage the sea. My Mary! when each summer flow'r Is blooming in its pride again, Shall pay me for an age of pain. One look or smile will then suffice My heart its sorrow smothers; Than joy in smiles with others. A cheerless waste, all gloom and night, Thine eye upon its darkness beam'd, And sunn'd it into life and light. And, as a lone but lovely flow'r, Which, when all other flow'rs depart, Still blooms within its ruin'd bow'r, Thou bloomest in my lonely heart. And shall I, then, the Rose forget, Which seem'd in Hope's wreath braided; And, like a Spirit lingers yet, Now all the rest have faded. Oh, no! the heart, which is the seat Of love like mine, can never rove; Its faithful pulse may cease to beat, But never-never cease to love : And soaring as the Ocean wave : A never-ending token, When all save that are broken. MUSEUM. FROM THE BRITISH CRITIC. The Works of John Playfair, Esq. late Professor of Natural Philo. sophy in the University of Edinburgh, c. g'c. With a Memoir of the Author. Constable & Co. Edinburgh, 1822. With the usual aversion entertained and professed by critics for the vile art of book-making, we are, notwithstanding, disposed to al. low that this is one of the books which deserved to be made. The most valuable of Mr. Playfair's treatises, the “Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory," had been many years out of print; and his other essays, biographical and scientific, were only to be found in very expensive collections, such as the Transactions of Philosophical societies, or the equally inaccessible pages of modern Encyclopædias. Mr. Playfair was the son of a Scotch minister, and was born in 1748. He received his education at St. Andrew's, where, at the age of sixteen or seventeen, he was selected by Professor Wilkie, who happened to be confined by illness, to read his lectures on natural philosophy. When only in his eighteenth year he stood candidate for the mathematical professorship in the Marischal College of Aberdeen; on which occasion he sustained, with great credit, a compara. tive trial, which continued eleven days, yielding only to the superior attainments of Dr. Trail, the present Chancellor of Down and Conner, in Ireland, and of Dr. Hamilton, the well known author of a very profound work on the national debt, who is at this moment in possession of the chair which called forth so ardent a competition. The death of his father determined the choice of young Playfair in favour of the ecclesiastical profession: and in due time the charge and emoluments of his native parish were secured to him by the kindness of his patron, Lord Gray. After about ten years' residence in the country, where, we are told, he devoted the chief part of his time to the duties of his cure and the composition of sermons, he found himself induced, by very advantageous offers, to resign his living, for the purpose of superintending the education of two young men, the sons of a Fifeshire 'squire of considerable fortune. In company with his pupils, who, we find, were Mr. Ferguson, of Raith, and his brother, Sir Ronald Ferguson, the existing M. P. for Kirkcaldy, the rector of Benvie repaired to Edinburgh, to attend the lectures which are annually delivered there, on every subject of human interest or curiosity; and where he soon made himself so well known, by his great abilities and learning, that, in 1785, he was nominated, by the patrons of the college, joint-professor of mathematics, a situation in which he remained about twenty years. In 1805, the death of Professor Robinson led to his preferment, if such it can be called, to the chair of natural philosophy, a position which he held and adorned, with much talent and a large share of popular approbation, till the period of his demise in the year 1819. There is, appended to the memoir, a sketch of Mr. Playfair's chaVol. I. No. 3.-Museum. 2 B |
