Geographical and Statistical Intelli gence. AN account has just been published at Berlin of the Journey of Messrs. Chwostow and Dawydow, two officers of the Russian marine, through Siberia to Ochotzk, on the eastern ocean, and thence to the isle of Kodiak, on the north-west coast of America. As they passed through a part of Siberia which has been little visited, their narrative contains some interesting particulars. The soil of Siberia is almost every where fertile, the pastures excellent; many districts produce corn in abundance; the forests and marshes abound in game; the rivers swarm with fish, and yet this country has very little population. What contributes to render a residence there disagreeable, is the sudden transition from excessive cold, to a heat equally excessive.Scarcely is the snow melted, when a great number of insects make their appearance, so that it is impossible to go out without having the face covered with a net-work of hair, as a defence against their bites. The peasants, in summer, labour only during the night, and are obliged to keep fires constantly lighted in their houses, to drive away the insects by the smoke. Since the establishment of the commercial route which passes by Kächta, Tobolsk has ceased to be the centre of the trade between Russia and China, and its prosperity has suffered; in return Irkoutzk has flourished, and has become the most considerable city of Siberia. It numbers about 5000 houses, and 25,000 inhabitants, in which number are found many rich merchants. Chinese commodities, and the furs which come from eastern Siberia, from Kamtschatka, and from America, as well as the Russian commodities which are sent to Kächta in eastern Siberia, to Kamtschatka, and to America, pass through the city of Irkoutzk, which derives great ad vantages from this transit. The merchants of Irkoutzk are enterprizing, and understand business better than those of Russia; they differ much from them in baving only one price, which they never alter. The inhabitants of Siberia, though chiefly descended from exiles and banished criminals, bear no resemblance to those from whom they derive their origin; the peasants, particularly in the government of Tobolsk, are honest, hospitable, and less ignorant and superstitious than most of the Russian peasants. The peasants of the government of Irkoutzk differ much from those of Tobolsk. The last, whose families have been long established in Siberia, all enjoy a degree of easy circumstances. In the government of Irkoutzk, on the contrary, there are none but banished persons and new colonists, commonly unmarried. Averse to labour, they are a burden to the villages in which they live; in summer, they follow the trade of robbers, and pillage travellers-disorders which the police is unable to prevent. From Irkoutzk, travellers go to the river of Lena, on which they em bark, and go by water to Irkoutzk; they employ seventeen days in making 600 leagues. The country traversed by the river Lena from Alukminck to Jakoutzk, is excessively poor, and its inhabitants are in the most miserable condition. The barrenness of the soil, and the absence of every kind of resource, condemn them to the utmost poverty; accordingly you see only pallid and depressed countenances. Many fa milies have no nourishment but bread made of the bark of the pine tree powdered, and mixed with a little meal and milk. Irkoutzk is situated on the left bank of the Lena, the breadth of which at this place is nearly a league and a half. It contains 300 houses, and about 3000 inhabitants, Beside the he city, is a fort built of wood and lanked with towers. The exterior of the place does not correspond to its commercial importance. The journey from Jakoutzk to Ochotzk, on the eastern ocean, may be performed in ten or twelve days, but it usually occupies twenty. It is over a vast desert which contains nothing but barren trees. Travellers have also to pass a formidable range of mountains, and the river Ald, on which they cross on the ice. The people of Ochotzk wear skins, and drive with dogs like those of Kamtschatka. They are very little skilled in navigation, so that the Russians find it difficult to reach their settlements on the neighbouring islands. the diabolical designs on which she is brooding. The sudden annunciation of Agamemnons's approach, with the striking and sublime silence with which it is followed; and then the exaggerated expressions of joy into which she breaks forth, lead us to dread some terrible mystery. The dark hints of the chorus increase our suspicion; and, finally, the murder of Agamemnon is foretold by Cassandra in the finest strain of prophetic wildness. Lastly, Clytemnestra herself appears in the scene, drunk, as it were, with savage triumph; but the terrible grandeur with which she exults in the success of her guilt, is tempered by an allusion to circumstances which afford some palliation for it, and, finally, by an anticipation of that remorse which is soon to over. Proceedings of the Royal Society of take her. Monday, 2d and 16th June 1817. MR MOREHEAD read an analysis, with translated specimens, of Eschylus's tragedy of Agamemnon. He observed, that, amid the admiration which the works of modern poets had excited, there seemed some forgetfulness of the excellencies which existed in the works of classic genius. To some of these it was now his object to call the attention of the society. The tragedy of Agamemnon appeared to contain beauties which had never been duly appreciated. He would particularly call the attention of the Society to the admirable delineations of character which it contained. This had been made in a manner different from what had been customary with any modern dramatist. Instead of its features being early announced by soliloquy or communication to a confidant, they were allowed silently to unfold themselves in the course of the action. Thus Clytemnestra appeared in the first scene as a virtuous and dignified character, nor does any thing escape which could lead us to suspect Mr Morehead accompanied his observations with the translation of the most striking passages, which appeared to us well executed, and to afford a better transcript of the ideas of Eschylus than any other English version that has yet been made. Dr Brewster read a paper on a new property of double refracting crystals. Monday, 23d June. Mr Mackenzie read a criticism on Lord Byron's drama of Manfred.He observed, that several of his friends. had urged him to write on the drama. His advanced age, and a variety of uncongenial pursuits, had placed this out of his power; but he had thus been led to pay peculiar attention, to, and peruse several works connected with that subject. The present drama had, from its author, attracted his particular attention. Lord Byron had shewn himself one of the most original and powerful poets of the age, and Manfred bore amply the stamp of his genius. There was something gloomy, however, in his views. of man and nature; his poetry shed MONTHLY MEMORANDA IN NATURAL HISTORY, Weather. THE weather during the month of June has been in some respects re lurid glare, rather than a mild and benignant lustre. Mr Mackenzie then gave a short analysis of the drama, and read a number of extracts which appeared to him strikingly to display at once the command of language and force of sentiment possess-markable: atmospheric electricity has been unusually abundant, and the temperature of the air has been uncommonly high. ed by the noble author. Mr Mackenzie then proceeded to remark on the defects of the piece. The plot appeared defective, or rather there could scarcely be said to be any plot at all. Of the little that there was, the nature and scope appeared very obscure. It was not fully explained what the crime was for which Manfred endured such terrible remorse, It appeared to be an incestuous passion; and Mr Mackenzie understood there was a tradition in Switzerland of a brother and sister, who, having yielded to a criminal attachment, had afterwards both committed suicide. This tradition might probably have suggested the idea of Lord Byron's piece. The characters also did not display much that was deserving of praise. The only human one that excited any interest, was that of Manfred; and it was so imperfectly developed, and so far removed from common nature, that it was impossible to take any deep concern in it. The supernatural personages did not seem very skilfully managed. They exhibited a confused mixture of the mythologies of various ages and nations; nor did the sentiments and language put into their mouths seem very well suited to their respective characters. Upon the whole, Mr Mackenzie said, he was an old man, and might be partial to former days; but it appear ed to him, that the style of poetical composition which prevailed in his time was more true to taste and to nature, and more likely to meet the suffrage of posterity, than that violent and exaggerated tone which had become fashionable, and had been introduced, he conceived, by the study of the German school. On the 10th, a little past 11 A. M. a large cloud, threatening thunder, appeared somewhat to the N. W. of Edinburgh, and seemed to advance against a lower current of wind and vapour from the S.E. For above half an hour afterwards, the thunder continued to break almost immediately over the city. In one instance, a house in an exposed situation in the old town became the conductor of the lightning in its discharge towards the earth; but no other damage was done than the hurling of a few stones from the gable. In another, a column of fluid was observed rising or sweeping upwards, in a cylindrical or somewhat pyramidal form from the earth towards the thunder cloud; and this appearance was followed by an instantaneous explosion and loud noise like the firing off of small arms. The usual ac companiment of heavy hail showers was not wanting; and at mid-day Arthur's Seat hills appeared perfectly white. The bail-stones were very irregular in shape, and generally of large size; but they wholly disappeared in the course of less than an hour. In the neighbourhood of Dundee, we are informed, they assumed the shape and size of pieces of ice, two or three inches in circumference, so that at Lundie, and several other gardens in that neighbourhood, the glass of the hot-houses was much shattered. Ten days after this thunder storm, a second occurred (19th June,) but less violent. To this succeeded some very warm weather, especially from the 21st to the 24th of the month On Monday the 22d, in the garden at Dupplin Castle, the seat of the Earl of Kinnoul, the writer of this article had accidentally an opportunity of ascertaining the state of Fahrenbeit's thermometer in three different situations, about one o'clock P. M. In the shade in the open air, the mercury indicated 81° nearly; in the shade in a glazed house, used partly as a peach-house and partly as a vinery, where there was then no fire, and where all the sashes were more or less thrown open, it stood at 87°; and in the fruiting department of the pinestove, where there was bottom heat from old tanners' bark, where the sashes were partially opened, but where the thermometer was not fully screened from the sun's rays, it was no less than 105°. Dupplin garden, it may be remarked, is situated in one of the most sheltered parts of Strathearn, surrounded with high grounds, and further defended by trees. In another garden, not far distant, the greatest observed rise on that day was 770. At Edinburgh on the same day, we learn, it was 76° in the shade; and on the next day (23d June,) almost 77°; both observations having been made about two P. M. The wind was from the east, a cir. cumstance which always reduces the temperature at Edinburgh. Many years have elapsed since such intense heat occurred precisely at the period of the summer solstice, our warmest weather seldom setting in till towards the end of July, or even the beginning of August. Sympiesometer. We feel much pleasure in announcing that an instrument, under this name (which means Measurer of Compression) has lately been invented by our ingenious townsman Mr Adie, optician, answering all the purposes of the common barometer, and possessing the advantages of being much more portable and much less liable to accidents. It may be made of any convenient length; it may be even so short as to be carried in the pocket. At present, it may be proper only to mention, that the moveable column is oil, inclosing in a tube a portion of azote, which changes its bulk according to the density of the atmosphere. In this city, corresponding observations have been made with the sympiesometer, and with a barometer of the best kind for four years past, and their agreement has been perfectly satisfactory. For the purposes of a marine barometer this new instrument has been ascertained to be superior to any other. In the summer of 1816, one of them was taken out to India in the Buckinghamshire, a vessel belonging to Quintin Leitch, Esq. of Greenock, and the first Scottish Indiaman, we believe, which left this country after the trade was thrown open. Mr Christian, the captain of this vessel, paid the most commendable attention to the ascertaining of the value of this discovery; he caused corresponding observations on the sympiesometer and on the common marine barometer to be made and marked, every three hours, during the voyage; and now, upon the return of the Buckinghamshire, he reports most favourably:-he found, that in all climates the new instrument was az much to be depended on as the best marine barometer; while it occupied much less room, being fixed close to the side of the cabin, and was not at all affected by the motion of the ship. This invention of Mr Adie, we may remark, promises also to be of considerable utility to the geologist, and to the travelling philosopher; the lightness and shortness of the instrument rendering it quite easily portable, while it may be carried without any risk of damage. MEMOIRS OF THE PROGRESS OF MA commencement. It may be right, NUFACTURES, CHEMISTRY, SCIENCE, however, to bring to the recollection of our readers the general nature of the undertaking. AND THE FINE ARTS. FROM experiments on the strength of different kinds of wood, made by Col. Beaufoy, it appears that the pitch-pine is the strongest wood; next to that the English oak, with straight and even fibres; then the English oak, irregular and cross grained; fourthly, the Riga fir; and fifthly, the Dantzic oak. If the strength of the pitch pine be called 1000, the strength of the English oak will be, from the mean of two experiments, 923; of the Riga fir, 782; of Dantzic oak, 663. Lithographic printing is practised in great perfection by Mr D. Redman, of Wilsted-street, Somers' Town. The expense of taking impressions is nearly the same per 100 as copper-plates, but the 20,000th impression is as good as the first! It is an art capable of peculiar application, as follows: if a person has written any work which he desires to circulate in a limited number for the may, his friends, he among mere expense of copying it on the stones, have 25 or 100 impressions taken at a trifling expense; and he may even write it himself, on prepared paper, and then all the impressions will be fac-similes of his own manuscript; and, as one stone will serve many times, the expense of 30 or 40 quarto pages would be but £.2 or £.3. Carr Rock Stone Beacon. IN a former Number of this work * we gave some account of the interesting work of the stone beacon upon the Carr Rock, while the artificers were employed in preparing a foundation for the building; and we shall now give an account of the progress of its erection up to the month of June 1817, when the operations for the fifth season were just at their • Scots Magazine for May 1814; art. Monthly Mem. in Natural History. It had become an extremely desir able measure to afford protection to the shipping and trade of the great commercial ports of the Frith of Forth against the frequent accidents which still occurred at its entrance, especial. ly upon the Carr Rock. For although the Lighthouse Board for Scotland had laid out large sums in the erectron of a lighthouse upon the Bell Rock, and also in the purchase of the patrimonial right of the noble family of Portland to the duties of the Light of May, and likewise in the alteration of that light, by its conversion from an open coal-fire to a steady oil light with reflectors, defended from the weather in a glazed light-room; yet still the navigation was not duly divested of danger, while ships were exposed to manifold accidents from the hidden dangers of this sunken reef. The position of the Carr Rock is about a mile and a half off the East-nook, or eastmost point of the county of Fife; and it is separated only by a narrow channel from a reef of detached rocks which ex tends all the way to the shore; so that, since the erection of the Bell. Rock light-house, this is doubtless the most dangerous sunk rock connected with the entrance or navigation of the Frith of Forth. The first measure adopted by the Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses for the safety of the mariner in regard to this rock, was, in 1811, to place one of Waddel's large flosting buoys, which have long been employed with so much advantage for their conspicuous appearance in pointing out the sand - banks and proper channel for the bay and river of Bea gal. In 1812, a building of stone was determined upon by the Board; but such have been the difficulties attending this work, that although the same experienced artificers are em ployed |