about twelve feet in breadth, which serves as a discharge for the waters from the bog and surrounding country, and finally joins the river Brusna, above the bridge of Ballycumber.

The bog of Kilmaleady, like all other deep and wet bogs, is composed, for the first eight or ten feet from the surface downward, of a reddish brown spongy mass, formed of the still undecomposed fibres of the bog moss (sphagnum palustre) which by capillary attraction absorbs water in great quantity. Beneath this fibrous mass, the bog gradually becomes pulpy, till, at length, towards the bottom, it assumes the appearance, and, when examined, the consistence of a black mud, rather heavier than

water.

The surface of the bog of Kilmaleady, was elevated upwards of 20 feet above the level of the valley, from which it rose at a steep angle; and its external face, owing to the uncommon dryness of the season, being much firmer than usual, the inhabitants of the vicinity were enabled to sink their turf holes, and cut turf at a depth of at least ten feet beneath the surface of the valley, and in fact, until they reached the blue clay which forms the substratum of the bog. Thus the faces of many of the turf banks reached the unusual height of 30 feet perpendicular; when at length, on the 19th day of June, the lower pulpy and muddy part of the bog, which possesses little cohesion, being unable to resist the great pressure of water from behind, gave way, and being once set in motion, floated the upper part of the bog,

and continued to move with astonishing velocity along the valley to the southward, foreing before it not only the clumps of turf on the edge of the bog, but even patches of the moory meadows, to the depth of several feet, the grassy surface of which heaved and turned over almost like the waves of the ocean; so that in a very short space of time the whole valley, for the breadth of almost a quarter of a mile between the bog-edge and the base of the hill of Lisanisky, was covered with bog to a depth of from eight to ten feet, and appeared every where studded with green patches of moory meadow.

The hill of Lisanisky retarded the progress of the bog for some time; but at length it began to flow at right angles to its first course along the valley, where it turned to the west, and continued with unabated rapidity until it reached the bog road of Kilbride, (which runs directly across the valley, and is elevated five or six feet above it), and choked up the bridge through which the waters of the stream pass. This barrier retarded the progress of the bog for five days: at the end of that time, the accumulation was such from the still moving bog and the waters of the stream, that it flowed over the road, and covered the valley to the south of it for about half a mile, flowing with varied velocity, till it was again stopped for a few hours (as I understand) by a second road across the valley, leading from Clara to Woodfield: having also overcome this obstacle, it proceeded slowly westward, and if its progress had not been checked by the very judicious means that have been em

ployed, the whole extent of the valuable meadows, which compose the valley where it expands to the westward, must long since have been covered. But when the flowing bog had passed over the road of Kilbride, and the consternation in the country became general, at the desire of the lords justices, Mr. Gregory employed Mr. Killaly, engineer of the directors general of inland navigation, to carry into execution any works that could be devised to arrest the progress of the bog. Mr. Killaly at once perceived that the only feasible remedy was to draw off the water that had accumulated; and to accomplish this end he employed a number of labourers to open the course of the stream where it was choaked up, and also the drains through the valley that could be directed into the stream. By this means the head of the water was soon lowered, and in consequence the bog ceased to flow, and all the loose masses which floated on the river, were broken to pieces by labourers placed at intervals throughout its

course.

prehension of further devastation from the bog, except in the event of a very great fall of rain during the present week. Slight rains would be of service to increase the current of water, and facilitate the removal of a considerable deposit of heavy, black bog mud, which at present fills the bottom of the stream. The general current, has, however, been much increased by the breaking down of the weirs on the river Brusna, below the junction of the bog river.

I shall now describe the present appearance and state of the bog and moory valley.

In the centre of the bog, for the space of about a mile and a half in length, and a quarter of a mile in breadth, a valley has been formed, sloping at the bottom from the original surface of the bog, to the depth of 20 feet, where the eruption first took place. In this valley or gulf there are numberless concentric cuts or fissures, filled with water nearly to the top.

The valley between the edge of the bog and the road of Kilbride, for the length of half a mile, and an extent of between 60 and 80 acres, may be considered as totally destroyed. It is covered by tolerably firm bog, from six to ten feet in depth, consisting at the surface, of numberless green islands, composed of detached parts of the moory meadows, and of small rounded patches of the original heathy surface of the bog, varying from two to ten feet above its former course, so as to flow over the road.

Beyond the road to Kilbride the bog has flowed for one mile westward, and covered from 50

to 70 acres; in this part the heathy patches of bog gradually lessen in quantity; the green islands disappear, and nothing is observed but a thin deposit, consisting of granulated black bogmud, varying from one to three feet in thickness. This, though destructive for the present year, may when dry be burnt, and re

moved for manure to the neighbouring uplands, or left on the spot to fertilize the valley.

Thus the whole distance which the bog has flowed is about three miles in length, namely, one mile and a half in the bog, and the same distance over the moory valley: and the extent covered amounts to about 150 acres.

New Shetland.-IN October, 1819, the brig Williams, of Blythe, in Northumberland, Smith, master, on a voyage from Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso, stretching to the south, from contrary winds, discovered land, on which the captain landed, and performed the usual formalities of taking possession, in the name of his late majesty, George III. On reaching Valparaiso, and reporting his discovery, and the abundance of seals which frequent its shores, a survey was ordered by captain Shirreff, of the Andromache; and the report reaching England, several vessels were fitted out, whose success has given a stimulus to other adventurers.-The extent of country explored from East to West, from Clarence Isle to Smith's Cape, is from 54 to 64 deg. west long., and from 61 to 64 deg. south lat., and the land is seen to the southward, as far as the eye can reach. The country already explored consists of numerous islands, without a vestage of vegetation. A species of moss only is found upon the rocks near the shore; eternal snows covering the more remote

parts, which are mountainous. Although Nature, in those regions, assumes the most sterile and forbidding features, the thermometer was at no time below the freezing point; but the melting snows near the shore so completely saturate the soil as to check all vegetation. A species of coal was found in abundance, which burnt very well, thus affording the means, if wanted, of replenishing the fuel. The rise and fall of the tide is about twelve feet. Shrimps and penguins are beyond all conception numerous. The islands, headlands, &c. have been named, and the observations ascertaining the latitude and longitude, from repeated experi ments, found true; so that we may soon hope to see a correct chart, from the surveys which have been taken, on the arrival of captain Smith, in the Blythe, who is shortly expected.-Part of an anchor-stock, evidently Spanish, being bolted with copper, and bearing certain marks, was found on shore, and is presumed to be the only vestige now remaining of a 74-gun ship of that nation, which sailed from Spain,

Gelatinous Meteor at Amherst in Massachusets.-On the 13th of August, 1819, between eight and nine o'clock in the evening, a fireball, of the size of a large blown bladder, and of a brilliant white light, was seen in the atmosphere. It fell near a house, and was examined by Rufus Graves, esq.formerly lecturer of chemistry at Dartmouth College. It was of a circular form, resembling a solid dish, bottom upwards, about eight inches in diameter, and about one in thickness, of a bright buff colour, with a fine nap upon it, similar to that in milled cloth. On removing this nap, a buff.

coloured pulpy substance, of the consistence of soft soap, 'appeared, having an offensive suffocating smell, producing nausea and giddiness. After a few minutes exposure to the air, the buff-colour was changed into a livid colour, resembling venous blood. It attracted moisture readily from the air. A quantity of it ir a tumbler soon liquified, and formed a mucilaginous substance, of the consistence, colour, and feeling of starch, when prepared for domèstic use. The tumbler was then set in a safe place, where it remained undisturbed for two or three days, and it was found to have all evaporated, except a small dark-coloured residuum adhering to the bottom and sides of the glass, which, when rubbed between the fingers, produced about a thimbleful of a fine ash-coloured powder, without taste or smell. With concentrated and diluted muriatic and nitric acids, no chemical action was observed, and the matter remained unchanged. With the concentrated sulphuric acid, a violent effervescence ensued, a gas was evolved, and the whole substance nearly dissolved.

Volcanic Appearance in the Moon." On Sunday evening, the 4th February," says captain Henry Kater, "I observed a luminous spot in the dark part of the moon, which I was inclined to ascribe to the eruption of a volcano. The telescope used was an excellent Newtonian of 64 inches aperture, with a power of 74. The moon was exactly two days old, and the evening so clear, that I was able to discern the general outlines in the dark part of her disc. Her western azimuth was about 70°, and her altitude about 10 degrees. In this position at

6 hours 30 minutes, the volcano was (estimating by the eye), distant from the northern limb of the moon about one-tenth of her diameter. Its appearance was that of a small nebula subtending an angle of about three or four seconds. Its brightness was very variable; a luminous point, like a small star of the 6th or 7th magnitude, would suddenly appear in its centre, and as suddenly disappear, and these changes would sometimes take place in the course of a few seconds. On the evening of the 5th, having an engagement which prevented my observing it myself, I arranged the telescope for two friends, who remarked the same phænomena as the night before, but in an inferior degree, partly perhaps in consequence of the evening not being so favourable. On the 6th I again observed it; it had certainly become more faint, and the star-like appearance less frequent. I could see it very distinctly with a power of 40. As the moon approached the horizon, it was visible only at intervals when the star-like appearance took place. On the same evening I had the pleasure of showing it to Mr. Henry Browne, F.R.S. I regret that I had no micrometer adapted to my telescope; but I have reason to believe the distance of the volcano from the edge of the moon was about one-tenth of her diameter, and the angle it formed this evening with a line joining the cusps was about 50°. I remarked near the edge of the moon, a well-known dark spot, from which the volcano was distant, as nearly as I could estimate, three times its distance from the edge of the moon. In a

map of the moon published by Dr. Kitchener (and which is the best small map with which I am acquainted), there is a mountain sufficiently near the situation of the volcano, to authorize the supposition that they may be identical. On the 7th I could still see the volcano, and the occasional star-like appearance; but I do not think it was sufficiently perceptible to have been discovered by a person ignorant of its precise situation. I am inclined however to think, that the difficulty of seeing it is rather to be attributed to the increased light of the moon, than to the diminished action of the volcano. The spot in which I observed the volcanic appearance is that named Aristarchus. This spot was particularly examined by Hevelius, who calls it Mons Porphyrites, and who considers it to be volcanic. If his drawings are to be relied upon, it has undergone a considerable change in its appearance since his time. Sir Wm. Herschel has recorded in bis Philosophical Transactions an observation of three volcanoes, which he perceived in the moon, April 19, 1787, at 10h. 36m., sidereal time. One of these, which he says showed "an actual eruption of fire or luminous matter," was distant from the northern limb of the moon 3′ 57′′ 3. the diameter of the burning part being not less than". I find that this observation was made about 9 o'clock in the evening, when the moon was not quite two days old; and from the situation of the spot described by sir Wm. Herschel, I have no doubt of its being the same that I have noticed."

The Compass.-Captain Kater,