A Library Of Wonders And Curiosities Found In Nature And Art, Science And Literature | I. Platt

List Of Illustrations

Face Page Muscles of the Human Body, Profile View, 18 Muscles of the Human Body, Back View, . 19 Daniel Lambert and George Morland, . 42 Indian Chief, Black Buffalo, . . .43 Fear.......82 Dan...

Introduction

It was well observed by Lord Bacon, that It would much conduce to the magnanimity and honour of man, if a collection were made of the extraordinaries of human nature, principally out of the reports o...

Curiosities Respecting Man

The Human Body - the Countenance - the Eye - the Ear - the Hear - the Circulation of the Blood - Respiration - the Hair of the Head - the Beard - Women with Beards - Sneezing. Come, gentle reader,...

One Superiority In The Natural Machine Is Peculiarly Striking

In machines of human contrivance or art, there is no internal power, no principle in the machine itself, by which it can alter and accommodate itself to injury which it may suffer, or make up any inju...

The Curiosities Of The Human Countenance

On this subject we shall derive considerable assistance from the same German philosopher that was quoted in the last section. Indeed, we shall make a liberal use of Sturm's Reflections in our delineat...

The Eye

The next subject is, The Curious Formation of the Eye. - The Eye infinitely surpasses all the works of man's industry. Its structure is one of the most wonderful things the human understanding can bec...

The Ear

The next subject is, The Curious Structure of the Ear. The channel'd ear, with many a winding maze, How artfully perplex'd, to catch the sound. And from her repercussive caves augment! Bally....

The Blood

We now proceed to a more particular description of The Curiosities of the Human Heart; and the Circulation of the Blood. ---------Though no shining sun, nor twinkling star Bedeck'd the crimson c...

Respiration. The Act of Breathing

We now proceed to some Curious and Interesting Facts concerning Respiration, or the Act of Breathing. Anatomists have, not unaptly, compared the lungs to a sponge; containing, like it, a great numb...

The Hair

The next Subject of Curiosity we shall consider, is, The Hair of the Head. If we consider the curious structure, and different uses of the hair of our heads, we shall find them very well worth our ...

The Beard

We shall, in the next place, call the reader's attention to some Curious Remarks concerning the Beard. A beard gives to the countenance a rough and fierce air suited to the manners of a rough and f...

Sneezing

We shall close this chapter with some curious observations ON Sneezing. The practice of saluting the person who sneezed existed in Africa, among nations unknown to the Greeks and Romans. Strada, in...

Chap. II

Difference between the Sexes - Comparative Number of the sexes at a Birth - Extraordinary Instances of Rapid Growth - Daniel Lambert - Giants-Dwarfs-Kimos- Curious Account of the Abderites - Account o...

Difference between the Sexes

O woman, lovely woman! Nature made you To temper man!-----------------Angels are painted fair to look like you. There's in you all that we believe of heav'n, Amazing brightness, purity, and t...

The Comparative Number of the Sexes at a Birth

The following is a very curious calculation of The Comparative Number of the Sexes at a Birth. The celebrated M. Hufeland, of Berlin, has inserted in his Journal of Practical Medicine, some interes...

Extraordinary Instances of Rapid Growth

We now proceed to narrate some Extraordinary Instances of Rapid Growth. A remarkable instance of rapid growth in the human species was noticed in France, in 1729, by the Academy of Sciences. It was...

Daniel Lambert, the Fat Man

Daniel Lambert, the Fat Man. - This prodigy of corpulence, or obesity, was born at Leicester, March 13, 1770. He became keeper of the prison in his native town. He first went to London for exhibition,...

Dwarfs

No less true than remarkable is the following; Curious Account of Dwarfs. Jeffery Hudson, the famous English dwarf, was born at Oakham in Rutlandshire, in 1619; and about the age of seven or eight,...

Dwarfs. Continued

The following account of & singular nation of dwarfs, is taken from the Monthly Review for 1792, being Vol. 7, of the new series. The subject is a review of A Voyage to Ma-dagascar; by the Abbe Rocho...

The Abderites or Inhabitants of Abdera

Respectable historians have presented us with the following curious account of the Abderites or Inhabitants of Abdera. It is reported, that in the reign of Cassander, king of Ma-cedon, they were so...

Habitants Of Which Reside In Trees

A most respectable writer (Madame De Genlis) has given us the following curious account of a Country, the In Habitants Of Which Reside In Trees. A young Spanish adventurer, of the name of Vasco Nug...

Chap. III

Astonishing Acquisitions made by Blind Persons - Wonderful Performances of a Female, blind almost from infancy - Wonderful Instances of Adroitness of Persons born defective in their Limbs - Curious Ac...

Astonishing Acquisitions Made By Blind Persons

We find various recompenses for blindness, or substitutes for the use of the eyes, in the wonderful sagacity of many blind persons, recited by Zahnius, in his Oculus Artificialis,' and others. In some...

Astonishing Acquisitions Made By Blind Persons. Part 2

Sculpture and painting are arts which, one would imagine, are of very difficult and almost impracticable attainment to blind persons ; and yet instances occur, which show, that they are not excluded f...

Astonishing Acquisitions Made By Blind Persons. Part 3

In the same period flourished Caspar Crumbhom, blind from the third year of his age; yet he composed several pieces in many parts with so much success, and performed both upon the flute and violin so ...

Wonderful Performances of a Female, Blind Almost From Infancy

Diderot gives a very curious account of a blind lady, It is so remarkable, that we shall distinguish it by the separate title of Wonderful Performances of a Female, Blind Almost From Infancy. The n...

Wonderful Instances of Adroitness of Persons Born Defective In Their Limbs

We now proceed to detail the following Wonderful Instances of Adroitness of Persons born defective in their Limbs. Several instances of such births have occurred, and the wonderful acquirements of ...

Curious Account Of Incapacity Of Distinguishing Colours

While some persons are noted for their extraordinary and wonderful faculties, others are remarkable for defects in natural capacities. The reader will feel interested in the following Curious Account ...

Ventriloquism

We now proceed to the consideration of a very remarkable acquirement of man, called Ventriloquism. This is an art of speaking, by means of which the human voice and other sounds are rendered audibl...

Sword-swallowing

Another very extraordinary acquirement, and which the pre sent writer has been witness to, is, Sword-swallowing. This surprising act is performed by the Indian Jugglers; the following account of wh...

Indian Jugglers

Indian Jugglers; (see pages 62 and 63.) - The Indian jugglers, who exhibited in London from 1810 to 1815, performed such astonishing feats, that it would appear to require a long life, spent in incess...

Chap. IV

Extraordinary Fasting - Wonders of Abstinence - Sleep-walking-Sleeping Woman of Dunninald - Instances of Extraordmary Dreams - Poetical, Grammatical, and Scientific Deaths - Anthropophagi, or Men-Eate...

Extraordinary Instances of Fasting

A full account of a very uncommon case is given in the Phil. Trans, vol. Ixvii. part I. Janet M'Leod, an inhabitant in the parish of Kincardine, in Ross-shire, continued healthy till she was fifteen y...

The Wonders of Abstinence

At the same time that we should guard against superstitious fasting, we should be cautious not to transgress the bounds of temperance. Occasional abstinence is useful and praiseworthy, and we shall no...

Sleep Walking

We shall next offer the reader a few remarks on Sleep Walking. Many instances are related of persons who were addicted to this practice. A very remarkable one has been published from a report made ...

A Curious Account of the Sleeping Woman of Dunninald

Our next article is, A Curious Account of the Sleeping Woman of Dunninald, near Montrose. The following narrative was communicated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, by Dr. Brewster. Margaret Ly...

Instances Of Extraordinary Dreams

We shall proceed to some Instances of Extraordinary Dreams. The following account is by no means intended either to restore the reign of superstition, or to induce the reader to put faith in the nu...

Poetical, Grammatical, and Scientific Deaths

The Emperor Adrian, dying, made that celebrated address to his soul, which is so happily translated by Pope, in the following words: Vital spark of heav'nly flame, Quit, oh quit this mortal frame. ...

Anthropophagi, or Men-eaters

The following article is not of a pleasing description, but nevertheless proper to be inserted in The Book of Curiosities. It is Anthropophagi, or Men-eaters : The Cyclops, the Lestrygons, and Sc...

a Wild Man

We shall conclude this chapter with An Account of a Wild Man, given by M. LeRoy. In 1774, a wild man was discovered in the neighbourhood of Yuary. This man, who inhabited the rocks near a forest, w...

Chap. V

Striking Instances of Integrity - Shocking Instances of Ingratitude - Extraordinary Instances of Honour - Surprising Effect, of Anger - Remarkable Effects of Fright, or Terror - Notable Instance of th...

Striking Instances of Integrity

A man of integrity will never listen to any reason, or give way to any measure, or be misled by any inducement, against conscience. The inhabitants of a great town offered Mar-shal de Turenne 100,000...

Shocking Instances Of Ingratitude

Herodotus informs us, that when Xerxes, king of Persia, was at Celene, a city of Phrygia, Pythius, a Lydian, who resided there, and, next to Xerxes, was the most opulent prince of those times, enterta...

Extraordinary Instances of Honour

Our following article consists of some Extraordinary Instances of Honour. The Spanish historians relate a memorable instance of inviolable regard to the principles of honour and truth. A Spanish ca...

Surprising Effects of Anger

As it is our intention to record whatever we meet with, that is curious or wonderful, we hesitate not in inserting the following Surprising Effects of Anger Physicians and naturalists afford instan...

Remarkable Effects of Fright, or Terror

Now follows an account of some. Remarkable Effects of Fright, or Terror. Out of many instances of the fatal effects of fear, the following is selected as one of the most singular: - George Gro-chan...

The Power of Conscience

The following is a notable instance of The Power of Conscience. It is a saying, that no man ever offended his own conscience, but first or last it was revenged upon him. The power of conscience ind...

Chap VI

Remarkable Instance of Memory - Surprising Instance of Skill in Numbers - Extraordinary Arithmetical Powers of a Child - Curious Instance of Mathematical Talent-Stone Eater - Poison Eater-Bletonism-Lo...

Remarkable Instance of Memory

Whence came the active and sagacious mind, Self-conscious, and with faculties endued Of understanding, will, and memory, And reason, to distinguish true from false? ------------------Whence, but th...

Surprising Instance of Skill in Numbers

The following is a very Surprising Instance of Skill in Numbers. Jedidiah Buxton, was a prodigy, with respect to skill in numbers. His father, William Buxton, was schoolmaster of the parish where h...

Extraordinary Arithmetical Powers of a Child

The following account of the Extraordinary Arithmetical Powers of a Child, is extracted from the Annual Register of 1812. It is entitled, Some Particulars respecting the Arithmetical Powers of Zerah C...

Extraordinary Arithmetical Powers of a Child. Continued

It was the wish of the gentlemen present, to obtain a knowledge of the method by which the child was enabled to answer, with so much facility and correctness, the questions thus put to him; but to al...

Curious Instance of Mathematical Talent

A singular instance of early mathematical talent has been made known by Mr. Gough, in the Philosophical Magazine.- Thomas Gasking, the son of a journeyman shoemaker of Penrith, was but nine years of a...

a Stone Eater

The following remarkable account of a Stone Eater, 10 given as a fact in several respectable works. In 1760, was brought to Avignon, a true lithophagus, or stone-eater. He not only swallowed flints...

a Poison Eater

The following account of a Poison Eater is said to be an undoubted fact. A man, about 106 years of age, formerly living in Constantinople, was known all over that city by the name of So-lyman, the ...

Bletonism

We now proceed to give an account of a very extraordinary faculty, entitled Bletonism. This is a faculty of perceiving and indicating subterraneous springs and currents by sensation. The term is mo...

Extraordinary Instances of Longevity

We shall conclude this chapter with some Extraordinary Instances of Longevity. In October, 1712, a prodigy is said to have appeared in France, in the person of one Nicholas Petours, who one day ent...

Combustion of the Human Body

Combustion of the Human Body, produced by the long immoderate Use of Spirituous Liquors. From the Journal de Physique, Pluviose, Year 8 : written by Pierre Aime Lair. In natural as well as civil hi...

Combustion of the Human Body. Part 2

This instance has great similarity to that related by Vicq. d'Azyr, in the bouyclopedie Methodique, under the head of Pathologic Anatomy of Man. A woman, about 50 years of age, who indulged to excess ...

Combustion of the Human Body. Part 3

To these instances, which I have multiplied to strengthen the evidence, I shall add two other facts of the same kind, published in the Journal de Medicine. The first took place at Aix, in Provence, an...

Biographical

John Elwes - Daniel Dancer -Henry Wolby - John Henley-Simon Brown, and his Curious Dedication to Queen Caroline - Edward Wortley Montague - Blaise Pascal - Old Parr - George Psalmanazar - John Case - ...

John Elwes

The family name of this extraordinary miser was Meggot, which he altered in pursuance of the will of Sir Harvey Elwes, his uncle, who left him at least £250,000, and he was possessed of nearly as much...

Daniel Dancer

Another extraordinary miser was Daniel Dancer. He was born in 1716, near Harrow, in Middlesex. In 1736 he succeeded to his family estate, which was considerable; but his fathers before him were too gr...

Henry Wolby

Another extraordinary character was Henry Wolby, Esq.- He was a native of Lincolnshire, and inherited a clear estate of more than 10001. a year. He was regularly bred at the university, studied for so...

Orator Henley

A very singular character was John Henley, M A. com monly called Orator Henley. He was born at Melton-Mow-bray,Leicestershire, in 1691. His father, the Rev. Simon Henley, and his maternal grandfather...

Simon Browne

The next character we introduce is Simon Browne, with his Curious Dedication to Queen Caroline, Simon Browne was a most extraordinary dissenting minister, and began to preach before he was twenty, ...

Edward Wortley Montague

The next curious character we shall exhibit is Edward Wortley Montague. He was son of the celebrated Lady Mary Wortley Montague. He passed through such various scenes, that he is well entitled to a...

Blaise Pascal

The next character that comes before us is Blaise Pascal. He was one of the sublimest geniuses the world ever produced; was born at Clermont, in Auvergne, in 1623. He never had any preceptor but his f...

Thomas, or Old Parr

The Next Is A Character Famous For Longevity - Thomas, or Old Parr, a remarkable Englishman, who lived in the reign of ten kings and queens. He was the son of John Parr, a husbandman, of Winnington, i...

George Psalmanazar

The next character is a noted impostor, under the assumed name of George Psalmanazar. He was a very extraordinary genius, born in France, and educated in a Jesuit's college; upon leaving which, he fel...

John Case, a Quack Doctor

The next subject is a celebrated Quack Doctor, named John Case. He was a native of Lyme Regis, in Dorsetshire, was a noted empyric and astrologer, and looked upon as the successor of the famous Lilly,...

John Lewis Candiac

Our next character is famous for prematurity of genius, and named John Lewis Candiac. He was born at Candiac, in the diocese of Nismes, in France, in 1719. In the cradle he distinguished his letters ;...

John Smeaton

The next character deserves to be recorded as one that was eminently useful in his day and generation. John Smeaton, born near Leeds, in 1724, was an eminent civil engineer. The strength of his unders...

George Morland

While we admire the ingenuity of the next character, we must lament that his conduct was licentious. It is the well-known George Morland, an ingenious, dissipated, and unfortunate painter. As he had n...

Christian Henry Heinecken

The next character was indeed a prodigy, that shone like a meteor, and soon vanished away. We shall introduce him under the name of Christian Henry Heinecken. He was born at Lubeck, February 6, 172...

Thomas Topham

The next character is of a different description, being famous for strength of body; he is named Thomas Topham. This person was remarkable for muscular strength. He kept a public-house at Islington...

Painter of Antiquity, Zeuxis

We shall conclude this chapter with a celebrated Painter of Antiquity, named Zeuxis. This celebrated painter flourished about 400 years B. C. He was born at Heraclea; but as there have been many ci...

Chap. IX

Nicholas Pesce Paul Scarron - Maria Gaetana Agnesi-Anna Maria Schurman - Samuel Bisset, the noted Animal Instructor - John Philip Baratier - Buonaparte. ...

Nicholas Pesce

Nicholas Pesce, the first extraordinary character we shall introduce, was a famous diver, of whom F. Kircher gives the following account. In the time of Frederick king of Sicily, (says Kircher,) live...

Paul Scarron

This famous French burlesque writer, was the son of a counsellor in parliament, and was born at Paris, about the end of 1610, or beginning of 1611. His father marrying a second wife, he was compelled ...

Maria Gaetana Agnesi

We shall now introduce two female characters of note. The first is Maria Gaetana Agnesi, a lady of extraordinary genius, and most extensive acquirements, who was born at Milan, on the 16th of May, 171...

Anna Maria Schurman

Anna Maria Schurman, the other distinguished female character, was born at Cologne, 1607, of parents sprung from noble Protestant families. From her infancy she discovered an uncommon dexterity of han...

Samuel Bisset

Samuel Bisset, the noted animal instructor, next follows.- A most singular character, famous for teaching quadrupeds to perform very remarkable actions. He was born at Perth, in 1721. He first tried h...

John Philip Baratier

The following is a surprising instance of premature genius, in the person of John Philip Baratier. A most extraordinary person, born 1721, in the margravate of Anspach, of such extraordinary powers of...

Napoleon Buonaparte

We Shall Conclude This Chapter With An Account Of The Principal Events In The Life Of Buonaparte Napoleon. Napoleon. 1769, Born at Ajaccio, Corsica, Aug. 15.- 1779, Placed at the ...

Richard Savage

Richard Savage, one of the most extraordinary characters that is to be met with in all the records of biography, was the son of Anne, countess of Macclesfield, by the earl of Rivers, according to her ...

Richard Savage. Continued

This poem had an extraordinary sale; and its appearance happening at the time when his mother was at Bath, many persons there repeated passages from it in her hearing. This was perhaps the first time ...

William Huntingdon

William Huntingdon, a very eccentric personage, who was originally a coal-heaver, and afterwards became a popular preacher of the Calvinistic persuasion. The following account, formed principally from...

William Huntingdon. Continued

I will now inform my reader of the kind providence of my God at the time of building the chapel, which I named Providence Chapel (1788); and also mention a few free-will-offerings which the people br...

Curiosities Respecting Animals

Animal Generation - Formation of Animals - Preservation of Animals - Destruction of Animals - Animal Reproductions. See, thro' this air, this ocean, and this earth, All matter quick, and burstin...

Curiosities Respecting Animals. Continued

When the tree-bug has deposited its eggs in the boughs of the fir-tree, excrescences arise, shaped like pearls. When another insect of the same species has deposited its eggs in the mouse-ear, chick-w...

On The Preservation Of Animals

With respect to the preservation of animals, it may be observed, that in tender age, while the young are unable to provide for themselves, the parent possesses the most anxious care for them. The lion...

On The Preservation Of Animals. Continued

Swine chiefly get provision by turning up the earth; for which purpose their snouts are peculiarly formed. In this employment they find succulent roots, insects, and reptiles. So various is the app...

On The Destruction Of Animals

In considering the destruction of animals, we may observe that Nature is continually operating : she produces, preserves for a time, and then destroys all her productions. Man himself is subject to th...

On The Destruction Of Animals. Continued

When the body is come to its full height, and is extend I into its just dimensions, it then also begins to receive an adui-tional bulk, which rather loads than assists it. This is formed of fat, which...

An Account Of Animal Reproductions

We shall close this chapter with an account of Animal Reproductions. Here we discover a new field of wonders, that seems entirely to contradict the principles that we had adopted concerning the for...

Chap. XIII

The Beaver, and its Habitations - The Mole - The Frog - The Toad - The Rhinoceros - Crocodiles and Alligators - Fossil Crocodile - The Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus - The Marmot, or Mountain Rat, of Switz...

The Beaver

This animal was known to the ancients for its possession of that sebaceous matter called castor, secreted by two large glands near its genitals and anus, and of which each animal has about two ounces;...

The Mole

Another subject of animal curiosity is, The Mole. - This animal is about six inches in length, without the tail Its body is large and cylindrical, and its snout strong and cartilaginous. Its skin is o...

The Frog

This is an animal so well known, that it needs no description : but some of its properties are very singular. Its spring, or power of taking large leaps, is remarkably great, and it is the best swimme...

The Toad

Not Less Remarkable Is The Common Toad This is the most deformed and hideous of all animals. The body is broad, the back flat, and covered with a pimply dusky hide; the belly large, swagging, and s...

The Rhinoceros

Our next subject is an animal of great bulk, The Rhinoceros.-This quadruped is exceeded in size only by the elephant. Its usual length, not including the tail, is twelve feet, and the circumference of...

The Crocodile

This animal is a native both of Africa and Asia, but is most frequently found in the former, inhabiting its vast rivers, arid particularly the Niger and the Nile. It has occasionally been seen of the ...

The Alligator

The Alligator, or American Crocodile, has a vast mouth, furnished with sharp teeth ; from the back to the end of the tail, it is serrated ; its skin is tough and brown, and covered on the sides with t...

Fossil Crocodile

It may not be improper in this place to introduce to the reader's notice, one of the greatest curiosities of its kind, which late ages have produced; that is, a Fossil Crocodile. This is the skelet...

The Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus

Our next subject is named The Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus, and is a very singular quadruped, remarkable for its structure. The head is similar to that of a duck, which would lead to the supposition that...

The Marmot, or Mountain-Rat of Switzerland

We shall close this chapter with an account of The Marmot, or Mountain-Rat of Switzerland. - This rat is almost the size of a leveret, and resembles a common rat very much in appearance. These little ...

Chap. XIV

The Elephant - Fossil Elephant - The Chameleon - The Common Tortoise - Orang-Outang - The Unicorn - The Common Seal - The Ursine Seal - American Natural History. Let no presuming impious railer tax...

The Elephant

This is a very wonderful animal; and has, both in ancient and modern times, been duly estimated in the Eastern world. His virtues are thus enumerated by Buffon: - To form a just estimation of the elep...

The Mammoth, or a Fossil Elephant

The Mammoth is a fossil Elephant; a most remarkable one of which was found in the ice, at the mouth of the river Lena, in Siberia. The following account is extracted from an abridgment of for paper...

The Mammoth, or a Fossil Elephant. Continued

In the month of March, 1804, Schumachof came to his mammoth, and having cut off his horns (or tusks) he ex-changed them with the merchant Bultunof, for goods of the value of fifty rubles. Two yea...

The Chameleon

From Forbes's work we extract the following particulars respecting The Chameleon. The greatest curiosity in the East, says Forbes, is the Chameleon. found in every thicket. I kept one for several w...

The Common Tortoise

The weight of this animal is three pounds, and the length of its shell about seven inches. It abounds in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean, and particularly in Greece, where the inhabitants ...

The Orang-Outang

The next curious animal which we shall consider, is, The Orang-Outang. - This animal is sometimes called the satyr, great ape, or man of the woods. It is a native of the warmer parts of Africa and Ind...

The Unicorn

The next is, The Unicorn. - The following account is extracted from the St. James's Chronicle of Dec. 19 to 21, 1820. We have no doubt that a little time will bring to light many objects of natura...

Common Seal

These animals are found on the coasts of the polar regions, both to the north and south, often in extreme abundance, and are generally about five feet in length, closely covered with short hair. They ...

The Ursine Seal

This animal grows to the length of eight feet, and to the weight of an hundred pounds. These are found in vast abundance in the islands between America and Kamschatka, from June till September, when t...

American Natural History

We shall close this chapter with an extract from the Public Journals of 1821, on American Natural History The Ten-petalled Bartonia On the unfrequented, solitary, remote banks of the Missouri, g...

Chap. XV

Remarkable Strength of Affection in Animals - Surprising Instances of their Sociality - Unaccountable Faculties possessed by some Animals - Remarkable Instances of Fasting in Animals - Extraordinary A...

Remarkable Strength Of Affection In Animals

Mr. White, in his Natural History, etc. of Selborne, speaking of the natural affection of brutes, says, The more I reflect on it, the more I am astonished at its effects. Nor is the violence of this ...

The Account Of Surprising Instances Of Sociality In Animals

A wonderful spirit of sociality in the brute creation, independent of sexral attachment, has been frequently remarked. Many horses, though quiet with company, will not stay one minute in a field by th...

The History Of The Unaccountable Faculties Possessed By Some Animals

Besides reflection and sagacity, often in an astonishing degree, and besides the sentiments and actions prompted by social or natural attachments, brutes seem on many occasions inspired with a superio...

Remarkable Instances Of Fasting In Animals

The following remarkable instances of brutes being able to live long without food, are related by Sir William Hamilton, in his account of the earthquakes in Italy, (Phil. Trans, vol. 73.) At Soriano,...

Extraordinary Adventures of a Sheep

The following authentic history of the Extraordinary Adventures of a Sheep, which was transmitted to a respectable periodical journal, from Salisbury, where the animal died, will, we doubt not, prove ...

A Notable Instance Of The Sagacity Of A Monkey

Some strolling showmen, being at Stonin, a town of Lithuania, belonging to Count Ogienski, grand general of that province, diverted the inhabitants by exhibiting the tricks and gambols of half a dozen...

Astonishing Instance of Sagacity in a Horse

We shall in the next place give an astonishing instance of Sagacity in a Horse. At Chepstow, in Monmouthshire there is a bridge, the construction of which is extremely curious, as the planks that f...

Sagacity of Dogs

It is from a respectable source that we insert the following narrative of the Sagacity of Dogs. M. La Valee, in his Journey through the Departments of France, published in 1792, gives the following...

Chap. XVI. Curiosities Respecting Fishes

The Frog fish - Bird-catching Fish - The Nautilus - The Air-bladder in Fishes - Respiration in Fishes - Shower of Fishes. ---------------------The scaly brood In countless myriads cleave the cr...

The Frog-Fish

There is a very singular animal of Surinam, bearing this name, of which a figure is given by Mr. Edwards, in his History of Birds, vol. I. but of which no specimen is to be found either in the British...

The Bird-catching Fish

Another curiosity is, The Bird-catching Fish. - This fish is called by the natives of Canada, Chaousaron; its body is nearly the shape of a jack or pike, but is covered with scales that are proof agai...

The Nautilus

Another curious object is, The Nautilus. Learn of the little Nautilus to sail, Spread the thin oar, and catch the driving gale. Pope. The shell of this animal consists of one spiral valve, di...

The Torpedo

The torpedo inhabits the Mediterranean and the North Seas, and grows to the weight of twenty pounds This fish possesses a strong electrical power, and is capable of giving a very considerable shock th...

The Air-Bladder in Fishes

A very curious object is, The Air-Bladder in Fishes.- There is no doubt that fishes extract air from water by means of their gills, since it is through them that they renew the air of their air-bladde...

The Respiration in Fishes

Another subject of curiosity is, The Respiration in Fishes. - Fish derive air from the water which they are inac-cessantly swallowing through the mouth, and throwing out by the gills. The gills are fo...

A Shower Of Fishes

In the Philosophical Transactions for 1698, Mr. Robert Conny gives the following account of a phenomenon of this kind. On Wednesday before Easter, anno 1666, a pasture field at Cranstead, near Wrot...

The Whales

The Whale - Whale Fishery - The Kraken. ------------------------------------The whales Toss in foam their lashing tails. Wallowing unwieldly, enormous in their gait, hey seem a moving land, ...

The Whale Fishery

The reader will be interested in the following account of The Whale Fishery. As when enclosing harpooners assail, In hyperborean seas, the slumbering whale; Soon as their javelins pierce the ...

The Kraken

We shall conclude this short sketch of some of the curiosities respecting fishes, with an account of The Kraken. - This is a most amazingly large sea animal, said to be seemingly of a crab-like form; ...

Curiosities Respecting Serpents And Worms

The Scorpion - The Boa Constrictor - The American Sea Serpent-Fascinating Serpents- The Caterpillar - Caterpillar-Eaters-The Silk-Worm - The Tape-Worm - The Ship-Worm - The Lizard imbedded in Coal. ...

The Scorpion

Their flaming crests above the waves they show, Their bellies seem to burn the seas below; Their speckled tails advance to steer their course, And on the sounding shore the flying billows for...

The Boa Constrictor

Another subject of curiosity belonging to this class, is, The Boa Constrictor. - A serpent very remarkable for its vast size ; some of the principal species of which are met with in India, Africa, and...

The American Sea Serpent

The following account of The American Sea Serpent, is given in the words of an eye-witness : - 1, the undersigned Joseph Woodward, captain of the Adamant schooner, of Hing-ham, being on my rout from ...

On The Fascinating Power Of Serpents

Major Alexander Garden, of South Carolina, has, in a paper read to the New York Historical Society, attributed the supposed power of fascination possessed by serpents, to a vapour which they can sprea...

The Caterpillar

We shall now give some curiosities respecting Worms ; and first, of The Caterpillar. - The larvae of butterflies are universally known by the name of caterpillars, and are extremely carious in their f...

The Silk-worm

In the next place we shall introduce a subject of great curio-sity, well known by the name of The Silk-worm. - The silk-worm is a species of caterpillar, and, like it, is formed of several moveable ri...

The Tape-worm

Our next subject is, The Tape-worm. - This genus of worms is destined to feed on the juices of various animals, and they inhabit the internal parts of almost every species of living beings. The struct...

The Ship-worm

An article of great curiosity is, The Ship-worm. - This worm has a very slender, smooth, cylindrical shell ; it inhabits the Indian seas, whence it was imported into Europe. It penetrates easily into ...

A Living Lizard, Imbedded in Coal

We shall conclude this chapter with an account of a singular curiosity that was found in a colliery. It is A living Lizard, imbedded in Coal. - This animal, preserved in spirits, is now in the possess...

Chap. XIX. Curiosities Respecting Birds

The Common Peacock - The Egyptian Vulture - The Secretary Vulture - The Stork - The Great Pelican - The Bird of Paradise-The Ostrich - The Mocking-Bird of America - The Social Grosbeak - The Bengal Gr...

The Peacock

How rich the peacock ! what bright glories run From plume to plume, and vary in the sun! He proudly spreads them to the golden ray, And gives his colours to adorn the day ; With conscious ...

The Egyptian Vulture

The appearance of this bird is as horrid as can well be imagined. The face is naked and wrinkled ; the eyes are large and black ; the beak black and hooked; the talons large, and extended, ready for p...

The Secretary Vulture

This is a most singular species, being particularly remarkable from the great length of its legs, which at first sight would induce us to think it belonged to waders : but the characters of the vultur...

The Stork

The Curious Reader Will Be Interested By The Following Singular Particulars Respecting The Stork The veneration shown by the Germans for storks, is a very remarkable superstition. The houses which ...

The Great Pelican

This bird is sometimes of the weight of twenty-five pounds, and of the width, between the extreme points of the wings, of fifteen feet; the skin, between the sides of the upper mandible, is extremely ...

The Bird of Paradise

Another curiosity is, The Bird of Paradise. - In natural history, a genus of birds of the order Picae. Generic character: bill covered at the base with downy feathers; nostrils covered by the feathers...

The Ostrich

The following account of the curiosities of The Ostrich, is taken from Lichtenstein's Travels in South Africa, vol. II. - The habits of the ostrich are so remarkable, and have been so imperfectly des...

The Mockingbird Of America

Those who have not heard the mocking-bird, can have no conception of his great superiority of song: he seems the merryandrew among: birds, and the most serious and laboured efforts of the best perform...

The Social Grosbeak

This bird inhabits the interior country of the Cape of Good Hope, where it was discovered by Mr. Paterson. These birds live together in large societies, and their mode of nidification is extremely unc...

The Bengal Grosbeak

This is an Indian bird, and is thus described by Mr. Latham. This little bird (called baya, in Hindu; berbera, in Sanscrit; babui, in the dialect of Bengal; cibu, in Persian; and tenauwit, in Arabic,...

The Humming Bird

Another subject of acknowledged curiosity is, The Humming Bird. - There are sixty species enumerated by Latham, and Gmelin has sixty-five. The birds of this genus are the smallest of all birds. These ...

The Golden Eagle

This bird weighs above twelve pounds, and is about three feet long, the wings, when extended, measuring seven feet four inches. The sight and sense of smelling are very acute; the head and neck are cl...

Chap. XX

The Cuckoo - The Cormorant - The Great Bustard - The Alarm Bird - The Carrier, or Courier, Pigeon - The Wild Pigeon, its multiplying Power - Singular Bird, inhabiting a Volcano in Guadaloupe - Curious...

The Cuckoo

We shall introduce this curious bird, with the following well-known beautiful piece of poetry :Hail, beauteous stranger of the wood, Attendant on the spring ! Now heav'n repairs thy rural seat, ...

The Cormorant

This bird, which is nearly as large as a goose, is found in many places both of the old and the new world; it is to be met with in the northern parts of this island, and one of diem, not very long sin...

The Great Bustard

The next curiosity among birds which we shall introduce, is, The Great Bustard. - This bird is found in the plains of Europe, Asia, and Africa, but it has never been observed in the New Continent. In ...

The Alarm-Bird

The following deserves to be ranked among the curiosities of the feathered tribe; The Alarm-Bird. - Near the Coppermine River, which falls into Hudson's Bay, live a tribe of Indians, who traverse the ...

The Carrier, or Courier Pigeon

A subject of great curiosity, and pleasing admiration, is, The Carrier, or, Courier Pigeon. - These birds, though carried, hoodwinked, twenty, thirty, or even a hundred miles, will find their way in a...

The Wild Pigeon

It Is Presumed It Will Not Be Out Of Place To Insert The Following Curious Particulars Respecting The Multiplying Power Of The Wild Pigeon The following account is extracted from Janson's Stranger ...

A Singular Bird Inhabiting A Volcano In Guadaloupe

The following account of a singular Bird inhabiting a Volcano in Guadaloupe, is taken from a respectable source. Father Dutertre, in his Description of Guadaloupe, the best and most beautiful, in h...

A Curious Adventure Of An Owl

The following story is recorded in history as a fact, under the title of A curious Adventure of an Owl. In a council held at Rome by Pope John XXIII. at the first session, happened the Adventure of...

Some Curious Facts In Natural History

We often meet in our aviaries with what are called mule canary birds, that is, the offspring of the gray linnet and the canary. In the country, where the domestic fowls are accustomed to wander to a ...

Formation Of The Chick In The Egg

Scarcely has the hen sat upon the eggs twelve hours, before some lineaments of the head and body of the chick are discernible in the embryo; at the end of the second day, the heart begins to beat, but...

Chap. XXI

Birds' Nests - Migration of Birds - Curious Method of Bird-Catching in the Faro Isles - Song of Birds. ...

Birds' Nests

----------It wins my admiration, To view the structure of that little work, A bird's nest: mark it well within, without; No tool had he that wrought, no knife to cut, No nail to fix, no bo...

Migration Of Birds

The migration of birds has been justly considered as one of the most wonderful exhibitions of nature. This migration, which is common to the quail, the stork, the crane, the fieldfare, the woodcock, t...

Migration Of Birds. Part 2

Swallows are often observed, in innumerable flocks, on churches, rocks, and trees, previous to their departure hence ; and Mr. Collinson proves their return here, perhaps in equal numbers, by two curi...

Migration Of Birds. Part 3

Mr. Heerkens, after reciting many instances, and producing in his notes many authorities, of swallows having been found in a torpid state, proceeds, in his poem, to describe, very minutely, their asce...

The Curious Method Of Bird-Catching In The Faro Isles

We Shall Now Give An Account Of The Curious Method Of Bird-Catching In The Faro Isles The manner of bird-catching in the Faro Islands, is exceedingly strange and hazardous. Necessity compels man to...

The Song Of Birds

We Shall Close This Division Of Our Work With A Curious Account Of The Song Of Birds We introduce the subject by the following poetical quotations; which, we have no doubt, will interest every admi...

The Honey Bee

10 their delicious task the fervent bees, In swarming millions, tend; around, athwart, Through the soft air the busy nations fly, Cling to the bud, and with inserted tube Suck its pure ess...

The Honey Bee. Part 2

I made several experiments, to see if there was such a quantity of oil in it, as would account for the quantity of wax to be formed, and to learn if it was composed of oil. I held it near the candle;...

The Honey Bee. Part 3

What follows is principally abridged from Huber, who in many instances is more correct than Hunter. - A hive contains three kind of bees. 1. A single queen bee, distinguishable by the great length of ...

The Honey Bee. Part 4

M. Huber relates some experiments which confirm the singular discovery of M. Riems, concerning common working bees that are capable of laying eggs, - which, we may remark, is certainly a most convinci...

The Honey Bee. Part 5

It is well known, that after the season of swarming, a general massacre of the drones is commenced. Several authors assert, in their writings, that the workers do not sting the drones to death, but me...

Wild Bees

The Carpenter Bee. - The Mason Bee. - The Upholsterer Bee. - The Leaf-cutter Bee. - Curious Account of an Idiot Boy and Bees. - Mr. Wildman's Curious Exhibitions of Bees explained. ...

The Clothier Bee

Learn each small people's genius, policies, The ants' republic, and the realm of bees; How those in common all their wealth bestow And anarchy without confusion know; And these for ever, t...

The Carpenter Bee

A numerous family of wild bees may properly be compared to carpenters, boring with incredible labour, out of the solid wood, long cylindrical tubes, and dividing them into various cells. Amongst these...

The Mason-Bee

There is a family of wild bees which carry on the trade of masons, building their solid houses solely of artificial stone. The first step of the mother bee, Apis mururia, Oliv. (Anthophara, F. Me-gach...

The Upholsterer-Bee

Such may those be denominated which line the holes excavated in the earth for the reception of their young, with an elegant coating or flowers or of leaves. Amongst the most interesting of these is Ap...

The Leaf-Cutter Bee

There is a species of wild bee, that cover the walls of their cells with coatings of sober-coloured materials, generally selecting for their hangings the leaves of trees, especially of the rose, whenc...

Account Of An Idiot Boy, and Bees

A curious Account of an Idiot Boy, and Bees. - Mr White has given the following curious account of an idiot boy. From a child He showed a strong propensity to bees. They were his food, his amusement, ...

Mr. Wildman's curious Exhibitions of Bees

Mr. Wildman, by his dexterity in the management of bees, some years ago, surprised the whole kingdom, He caused swarms to light where he pleased, almost instantaneously; he ordered them to settle on h...

The Wasp

The laws of life, why need I call to mind, Obey'd by insects, too, of ev'ry kind ! Of these, none uncontroll'd and lawless rove, But to some destin'd end spontaneous move: Led by that inst...

The Wasp. Continued

Wasps, though ferocious and cruel towards their fellow-insects, are civilized and polished in their intercourse with each other, and form a community whose architectural labours will not suffer on com...

Chap. XXV

Ants - White Ants - Green Ants - Visiting Ants - The Ant-Lion These emmets, how little they are in our eyes! We tread them to dust, and a troop of them dies Without our regard or concern: Yet, a...

Ants

The societies of Ants, as also of other Hymenoptera, differ from those of the Termites, in having inactive larvae and pupae, the neuter, or workers, combining in themselves both the military and civil...

Ants. Part 2

When the female is acknowledged as a mother, the workers begin to pay her a homage very similar to that which the bees render to their queen. All press round her, offer her food, conduct her by her ma...

Ants. Part 3

It is well known also, that ants give each other information when they have discovered any store of provision. Bradley relates a striking instance of this. A nest of ants in a nobleman's garden discov...

Ants. Part 4

Next to their language, and scarcely different from it, are the modes by which they express their affections and aversions. Whether ants, with man and some of the larger animals, experience any thing ...

Ants. Part 5

The wars of the red ant (M. rubra) are usually between a small number of the citizens; and the object, according to Gould, is to get rid of a useless member of the community, (it does not argue much i...

The White Ants, or Termites

The majority of these animals are natives of tropical countries, though two species are indigenous to Europe; one of which, thought to have been imported, is come so near to us as Bourdeaux. Their soc...

The White Ants, or Termites. Part 2

These magazines and nurseries, separated by small empty chambers and galleries, which run round them, or communicate from one to the other, are continued on all sides to the Duter wall of the building...

The White Ants, or Termites. Part 3

The first establishment of a colony of termites takes place in the following manner. In the evening, soon after the first tornado, which at the latter end of the dry season proclaims the approach of t...

The White Ants, or Termites. Part 4

Besides building and repairing, a great deal of their time is occupied in making necessary alterations in their mansion and its approaches. The royal presence chamber, as the female increases in size,...

The Green Ants

Captain Cook gives the following account of a very peculiar kind of ants, which he met with at Botany Bay. - They are as green as a leaf. They live upon trees, where they build their nests. The nests...

The Visiting Ants

At Paramaribo, a Dutch colony in the province of Surinam, there is a species of ants, which the Portuguese call visiting ants: they march in troops, and as soon as they appear, all the coffers and che...

The Ant-Lion

There is no insect more remarkable for its dexterity than the ant-lion, though its figure announces nothing extraordinary. It nearly resembles the woodlouse; its body being provided with six feet, com...

The Spider

The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine! Feels at each thread, and lives along the lino. Pope. Ingenuity Of The Spider. One of the largest of the European spiders is the Aranca diade...

The Spider. Continued

These insects are but ill calculated to live in society Whenever thus stationed, they never fail to wage war with each other. The females, in particular, are of a disposition peculiarly capricious and...

Luminous Insects

Many insects are possessed of a luminous preparation or secretion, which has all the advantages of our lamps and candles, without their inconveniences; which gives light sufficient to direct our motio...

Luminous Insects. Continued

Besides Elater noctilucus, Elignitus, and several others of the same genus, are luminous: not fewer than twelve species of this family are described by Illiger in the Berlin Naturalist Society's Magaz...

The Flea

The Flea - On the Duration of the Life of a Flea - The Louse. The Flea, - has two eyes and six feet, fitted for leaping; the feelers are like threads; the rostrum is inflected, setaceous, and armed...

The Louse

This insect has six feet, two eyes, and a sort of sting in the mouth; the feelers are as long as the thorax; and the belly is depressed and sublobated. It is an oviparous animal. They are not peculiar...

The Aphides

In the vast, and the minute, we see The unambiguous footsteps of a God, Who gives its lustre to an insect's wing, And wheels his throne upon the rolling worlds. Cowper. This is an insect ...

The Aphides. Continued

Not withstanding these insects have a numerous tribe of enemies, they are not without their friends, if those may be considered as such, who are officious in their attendance, for the good things they...

Chap. XXX

The Common House Fly - The Hessian Fly - The May Fly - The Vegetable Fly - The Boat Fly - The Ephemeral Flies - Butterflies - Metamorphoses of Insects - The Death-Watch. What atom-forms of insect l...

The Common House Fly

Gordart has reckoned up forty-eight varieties of the fly, without including them all in this enumeration. The multitude of these lively insects, which the first genial sunshine calls forth into life, ...

The Hessian Fly

Another curious insect is, The Hessian Fly. - This is a very mischievous insect, which a few years ago appeared in North America, and whose depredations threatened then to destroy the crops of wheat i...

The May Fly

This insect is called the May fly, from its annual appearance in that month. It lies all the year, except a few days, at the bottom or sides of rivers, nearly resembling the nymph of the small libella...

The Vegetable Fly

This is a very curious natural production, chiefly found in the West Indies. It resembles the drone, both in size and colour, more than any other British insect, excepting that it has no wings. In th...

The Boat Fly

This insect, called Notonecta glauca, is thus described by Barbut. It has a head somewhat round, of which the eyes seem to take up the greatest part. These eyes are brown, and very large, the rest of...

Ephemeral Flies

This species of insect is named ephemeral, because of its very short existence in the fly state. It is one of the most beautiful species of flies, and undergoes five changes. At first, the egg contain...

The Butterfly

Behold, ye pilgrims of this earth, behold! See all but man with unearn'd pleasure gay See her bright robes the butterfly unfold, Broke from her wintry tomb in prime of May. What youthful b...

Metamorphoses of Insects

We shall now briefly describe The Metamorphoses of Insects. And first, The Butterfly: From form to form they pass in wondrous change. Virgil. At the first exclusion from the egg, and for some mo...

The Common Fly

This winged insect, whose delicate palate selects out the choicest viands, one while extending is proboscis to the margin of a drop of wine, and then gaily flying to take a more solid repast from a pe...

The Greycoated Gnat

This creature, whose humming salutation, while she makes her airy circles about our bed, gives terrific warning of the sanguinary operation in which she is ready to engage, was a few hours ago the inh...

The Shardhorn Beetle

This species of beetle, whose sullen hum, as he directs his droning flight close past our ears in our evening walk, was not in his infancy an inhabitant of air, the first period of his life being spen...

The Death-Watch

This appalling name is applied to a harmless, diminutive insect, because it emits a sound resembling the ticking of a watch, and is supposed to predict the death of some one of the family, in the hous...

Chap. XXXI

Locusts and Mosquitoes, and their Uses in the Creation; - from Kirby, Spence, and Fothergill ...

Locusts

If we could discover the use of every animal in the creation, we should gain a very clear insight into the grand designs of the Almighty, respecting creatures inferior to ourselves, and perceive the i...

Locusts. Continued

Even this happy island, so remarkably distinguished by its exemption from most of those scourges to which other nations are exposed, was once alarmed by the appearance of locusts. In 1748 they were ob...

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes, and their Uses. - The mosquito is accounted one of the most noxious and the most numerous of insects; at least of such as are esteemed noxious by the vulgar and the ignorant. In some count...

Chap. XXXII

Animalcules - The Cheese Mite - The Hydra, or Polypes. The smallest creature in existence Has limbs and sinews, blood, and heart, and brain, Life and her proper functions to sustain, Throu...

Animalcules

The microscope discovers legions of animalcules in mos liquors, as water, vinegar, beer, dew, etc. They are also found in rain, and several chalybeate waters, and in infusions of both animal and veget...

The Cheese-Mite

This minute creature is a favourite subject for microscopic observations. It is covered with hairs or bristles, which resemble in their structure the awns of barley, being barbed on each side with num...

The Hydra, or Polypes

We shall close the account of the curiosities of insects with a description of The Hydra, or Polypes. - In natural history, this is a genus of the Vermes Zoophyta class and order; an animal fixing its...

Curiosities Respecting Vegetables

Curiosities in the Vegetable Kingdom - Germination of Seeds - Dissemination of Plants-Number of Plants upon the Earth - Sensibility of Plants - The Sensitive Plant. Your contemplation further yet p...

Curiosities In The Vegetable Kingdom

The difference between animals and vegetables is so great, that at first we do not perceive any resemblance between them. Some animals only live in water; others on the earth, or in the air ; and some...

The Germination Of Seeds

Seeds are composed of different parts, according to the variety of species, the principal of which parts is the germ. Each germ has two parts: the one simple, which becomes the root; and the other lam...

Dissemination Of Plants

When seeds are come to maturity, their dissemination is absolutely necessary, since without it no future crop would follow. The great Author of nature has wisely provided for this in various ways. The...

Prodigious Number Of Plants Upon The Earth

It is said, that there are about 44,000 different plants already discovered, to which new ones are daily added. By means of the microscope, some have been found where they were least expected. The dif...

Sensibility Of Plants

There are certain motions Od-servable in plants, that make it doubtful whether they are not possessed of sensibility. Some plants shrink and contract their leaves upon being touched; others open and s...

The Sensitive Plant

This singular plant rises from a slender woody stalk seven or eight feet in height, armed with short recurved thorns; the leaves grow upon long footstalks, which are prickly, each sustaining two pair ...

Chap. XXXIV

The Cocoa-Nut Tree - The Bread-Fruit Tree - The Bannian Tree - Fountain Trees - The Tallow Tree - The Paper Tree - The Calabash Tree - Remarkable Oak - Dimensions, etc. of some of the largest Trees no...

The Cocoa-Nut Tree

Of all the gifts which Providence has bestowed on the Oriental world, the cocoa-nut tree most deserves our notice: in this single production of nature, what blessings are conveyed to man! It grows a s...

The Bread-Fruit Tree

The systematic name of this plant is Artocarpus, which is merely the English name translated into Greek. There are several species; particularly A. incisa, and A. integrifolia. The genuine bread-fr...

The Bannian Tree

The bannian, or Indian fig-tree, is a native of several parts of the East Indies, and has a woody stem, branching to a great height and vast extent. It is universally considered as one of the most bea...

Fountain Trees

These are very extraordinary vegetables, growing in one of the Canary Islands, and likewise said to exist in some other places, which distil water from their leaves in such plenty, as to answer all th...

The Tallow Tree

This is a remarkable tree, growing in great plenty in China; so called from its producing a sub stance like tallow, and which serves for the same purpose : it is about the height of a cherry-tree, its...

The Paper Tree

The name of this tree is Aouta. It is a mulberry-tree, found at Otaheite, in the South Sea, from which a cloth is manufactured, that is worn by the principal inhabitants. The bark of the trees is stri...

Adansonia, Ethiopian Sour Gourd, Monkeys' Bread, or African Calabash Tree

Another article worthy of the reader's attention, is the Adansonia, Ethiopian Sour Gourd, Monkeys' Bread, or African Calabash Tree. - There is but one known species belonging to this genus, the baobal...

Oak Tree

The following is an account of a Remarkable Oak Tree : Behold the oak does young and verdant stand Above the grove, all others to command ; His wide-extended limbs the forest crown'd, Shading...

The History Of Some Of The Largest Trees Now Growing In England

This will be a proper place for introducing the history of some of the largest trees now growing in england In Hainault Forest, near Barking in Essex, there is an oak which has attained the enormou...

The Shelton Oak

About a mile and a half from Shrewsbury, where the Pool road diverges from that which leads to Oswestry, there stands an ancient decayed oak. There is a tradition, that Owen Glendwr (Glynder) ascended...

The Upas, or Poison-tree of Java

We conclude this chapter with an essay on the Upas, or Poison-tree of Java ; by Thomas Horsefield, M.D. - From the Seventh Volume of the Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Java....

Chap. XXXV

Curious Plant near the Cape of Good Hope - The Mandrake - Changeable Flower - Chinese Method of Preparing Tea - Antiquity of Sugar - Curious Effects of Cinchona, or Peruvian hark - Curious Particulars...

The Mandrake

This plant possesses a long taper root resembling the parsnip, running three or four feet into the ground ; immediately from the crown of the root arises a circle of leaves, at first standing erect, b...

The Changeable Flower

On the island of Lewchew, (says Mr. M'Leod,) is found a remarkable production, about the size of a cherry-tree, bearing flowers, which, alternately on the same day, assume the tint of the rose or lil...

The Chinese Method of Preparing Tea

As this is a chapter devoted to miscellaneous articles of this class, it-may not be amiss to insert The Chinese Method of preparing Tea. - Tea grows on a small shrub, the leaves of which are collected...

Bohea Tea

The Chinese name of this tea is vou-y-tchat that is to say, tea of the third kind, called vou-y. It takes its name from a mountain in the province of Fokien. There are three kinds of this tea: the fir...

Green Teas

Green teas do not grow in the same place as the Bohea tea. They are brought from the province of Nankin, and are distinguished into three sorts. The first is known under the name of songlo tea, but of...

Antiquity Of Sugar

From the few remains of the Grecian and Roman authors which have survived the ravages of time, we can find no proof that the juice of the sugar-cane was known at a very early period. There can be no d...