harned cattle, and, like the Gonaquas Hottentots, wearing cow hides, which are well rubbed and dreffed with greafe, till they become foft and pliable. Their houfes, or huts, are faid to be fmall and fquare, compofed of rods, and covered with clay and cow-dung, which gives them the appearance of fmall ftohe houfes.

The weapons of the Caffres are merely fhields made of foleleather, and hafiagais, or that kind of javelin consisting ofda flender and light wooden fhaft, headed with a broad and rather heavy iron plate. amo, ni best The nation is governed by many different chiefs, who probably have all the property of their fubjects vested in themselves, and at the fame time have an abfolute, unlimited authority over them. As far as I could understand, their state and power are hereditary. It is faid that they are frequently as war with each other, and that they always kill the prifoners they have taken. But if a chief hould chance to fall into the enemy's hands, he is not put to death, but is fent back again with admonitions to behave himself more peaceably for the future. The occafion of their wars is generally the fame as in other parts of the globe, viz. either a want of the common fentiments of humanity in one of the contending powers, or their arrogant and rapacious difpofition, or else fome bone of contention which they cannot on either fide perfuade themselves to give up, without shedding their own blood and that of their fellow-creatures. It is even faid, that a stolen or fray calf, or one grazing upon territories of a neighbouring country, and other matters equally trifling, will fometimes be fufficient to fet two or more nations together by the cars. Neither of the parties, however, carries their revenge fo far as to extirpate the other, but is fatisfied whem the adverfary yields the day and fues for peace, 12 tøð 9ron*

We fhall conclude our account of the inhabitants by felecting a short extract relating to the cuflems of the Hotten

My hoft and hoftefs, who twenty years before had lived, nearer to the Cape, viz. at Groot Vaders Bofch, told me.they believed the report, that a matter of the ceremonies performed the matrimonial, rites, by the immediate confperfion of the bride and bridegroom with his own water, was not without foundation; but that this was practifed only within their craals, and never in the prefence of any of the colonills. My Hottentots, whom I frequently queftioned upon this fubject, chofe neither to coniefs the fact, nor abfolutely to deny it, fo that probably this ufage is ftill retained in fome craals.

That the funeral ceremonies are alike with every different tribe of Hottentots, we are well affared, as likewife that they care conducted in the following manner. The deceased is thruit either naked or with his cloak on, into fome hole in the earth, er fubterraneous paffage, where they generally became a prey

to fome wild beast. However, they ufually ftuff a large bundle of brush-wood, or bushes, into the aperture of this hole or paffage.

I was very affiduous in my enquiries, in how far it was true, that the Hottentots fecluded from fociety fuch as were old and helplefs. The only perfon that could give me any inftance of this cuftom being practifed, was my holt. In his younger days; being out a hunting in Krakekamma, in company with one Vander Wat, with whom I was likewife acquainted, they obferved in the extenfive defert plains of that district, a little narrow flip enclofed with buthes and brambles. Their curiofity being excited, they rode up to it, and found within it an old blind female Hottentot, whe, at first, as foon as he heard the Chriftians coming, endeavoured to crawl away and hide herfelf; but afterwards made her appearance, though with a very four afpect: the confefled, however, that he had been left to her fate by the inhabitants of her clan. But neither did fhe defire nor receive any affiftance from thefe Chriftians, nor, in` deed, had they made any enquiries whether this was done with or against her confent.

Calling afterwards at the craal fhe belonged to, all the information they got there was, that the old woman had actually been left there in that manner by them. With respect to any conveniencies the might have about her, they could perceive nothing, but a trough which contained a little water.

enfio. Another cultom, no lefs horrid, which has hitherto been remarked by no one, but which I had fully confirmed to me, is, that the Hottentots are accustomed to inter, in cafe of the mo other's death, children at the breaft alive. That very year, and 9 on the very fpot, where I then dwelt, juft before my arrival, there had been an inftance of it.'

On the vegetable kingdom we do not find much informástion befides what we have already mentioned. The Hottentots are acquainted with the nutritious quality of the gum arab, and the plant from which it is produced, the mimofa nilotica, is frequently found in the fouthern parts of Africa. We think it might be made a valuable article of commerce, if the Dutch would enlarge their fyftem, and, by extend. ing the knowlege of this coaft, extend alfo its advantages. So jealous are they of their fituation, that they conceal the numerous harbours in the fouthern extremity of the world, by the most narrow and injudicious policy. Every thing is ordered to be conveyed by land, and the only animals employed in drawing their waggons are oxen. This is not only a confiderable impediment to the increase of their colony, but to the trade of the Cape; the inhabitants are fupplied with neceffaries at a greater price; and the goods bought, to › carry away on their return, are few and trifling. We ought

2

to have mentioned, that there is a kind of aloes prepared in this country lighter, than the fuccotrine, but feemingly not of fuperior value. Dr, Sparrman relates the method of prepar ing it.

We must now leave our instructive author, not without thanks to the able translator, for his valuable addition to the ftock of English literature. We have received much pleafure and information from the perufal, which we could not communicate; and we must neceffarily refer our readers to thes volumes themselves for farther information, which is very is plentifully interfperfed among the incidents recorded fine as lively and spirited journal.

Thoughts on the Properties and Formation of the different Kinds of Air. 8vo. 5s. in Boards. Murray.

TH

HERE is fome novelty and ingenuity in thefe Thoughts; but they are much obfcured by an unphilofophical loosenefs of expreffion, and, in one or two inftances, by inaccuracy of language. Even in the Preface, vegetation is called a body, and compared in this refpect with water: thefe tavo bodies are faid alfo to purify air from attracting its phlogiston. 1 But we fhall give a fummary of the author's fyftem, in his own t words.

My general principles are thefe, that fire is matter; cande that this matter, like every other matter that we know ofjis capable of chemical attraction, or uniting with other bodies in the fame manner as alkalies and acids; that the bodies which it has the greatest attraction for are acids and earths or water; that these bodies by being united together form empyreal air; and that fire when chemically united with other bodies is then to be called phlogifton, as in oils, fpirits, bitumens, &c.

The different acids are capable of concentrating different proportions of fire with the earths; the nitrous and vitriolic concentrate it in that proportion as to form empyreal air, which burns with a crackling noife as if it were full of fome combuf tible matter. But if the phofphoric or marine acids bexem ployed in the procefs they will attract a higher concentration of fire, and form inflammable air. And as bodies by being aerilized .... lofe their power of attraction, fo this empyreal air, when ex poled to differen bodies, will have its concentrated fire or phlogifton attracted, and become an acid, the phlogifton which tralized the acid having left it..

neug

The air is the great menftruum which concentrates the rays of the fun, and conveys it to animal and vegetable life, the former receiving more of the fun's influence by it than by the direct rays falling upon the animal, and being in that manner imbibed.'

In fupport of thefe principles, our author examines actual neutralized, and concentrated fire. Neutralized fire, in his language, is what we have been used to call phlogiston. Our author thinks it is derived from the fun alone, without being aware of the vast quantities of bituminous matters, at a depth where the fun can never reach, unless this earth, as Buffon fuppofes, was once a part of it.

The author next examines the different kinds of air, particularly the inflammable and nitrous airs, the marine and fluorvacid vapours, and that fpecies of nitrous air, in which a candle will burn. In all his investigations, he falls into the common error, that airs are compofed of the bodies employed to procure them. In general, the air is only feparated with different qualities, imbibed from the bodies with which it has been combined, and fometimes in a pure ftate, from those bodies having a fuperior attraction to the ingredients by which it was polluted. The remarks, however, on the nature of the inflammable nitrous air, are fometimes proper.

The Obfervations on Atmospheric Air are connected with the error we have juft mentioned; but our author's method of explaining the appearance of fixed air, after common air has been expofed to phlogistic proceffes, is ingenious and confiftent with his own principles. It arifes, he fays, from the concentrated fire being attracted by phlogistic bodies, which, as it had neutralized the acid ingredient in the air, in its original formation, now fuffers it to appear in its proper ftate. Our chemical readers, though they will own the ingenuity of the remark, will probably hefitate, with us, in pronouncing it to be juft. Many objections occur to it.

'On mercury, our author affords us no very particular fatiffaction. This chapter is chiefly compofed of the opinions and experiments of others, on its calcination in confequence of agitation in water; a phænomenon not yet fatisfactorily explained. He next enquires how different Kinds of Air are affected by, and affect different Proceffes. This chapter is fo mifcellaneous, the reafoning is fo loofe, and fo often erroneous, that it would lead us too far to abridge, or make any obfervations upon it. The foundation, viz. the compofition of airs, we have already explained -The Uncertainty of Nitrous Air, as a Teft of the Salubrity of common Air, is a fubject now fufficiently understood.

The following chapter is on Fixed Air; but our author's! reafoning refts on a foundation which we think unstable, viz. ›› that pure air is only fixed air, with a greater, fhare of phlo gifton neutralizing the acid. Almost every experiment contrazu

difts it.

On

On the fubject of Vegetation, the author is a little inconfiftent. Let us take his own words, where he endeavours to reconcile the oppofite experiments of Priestley and Scheele.is

Upon whatever principle vegetable circulation is conducted, it is certain there is an acefcent juice or fluid which circulates from their roots; this being expofed within the power of the air's attraction it decompounds it, and makes it foul air the fame as animal refpiration. This vegetable juice or fluid has equally the fame effect out of the veffels as in the vegetable, the fame as the animal fluids or blood, which equally decompounds the air when expofed either out or in the veffels. The vegetable fluids being trongly acefcent in their circalation decompound the air (agreeable to the chemical table of attractions) and partly neutralize their acescency!!. Đảm bả

The juices received from the earth then attracts phlogiston from the air, and from the rays of the fun, from light, and from the heat, which in the fummer is generally confiderable; they being all concentrated by thofe acefcent Buids. The heavy gravitating earthy parts being attracted by the vegetable fibres are concreted with them, and theit principal moisture being evaporated; part of the remaining fluids is fometimes dife charged as a high concentrated fluid in an aerial form, the fame We need not be as common air, only of a higher quality. furprised at this, fince they contain the three great conflituents phlogitton, an acid, and water or earth.

The fun and light have a particular influence upon vegetation; for if a vegetable is kept in the dark it will fade, lofing its natural green colour; and its fluids will not have that high impregnation of phlogistor, In fhort it may just be faid barely to vegetate. Dr. Priestley found that light was the great agent which made vegetables form empyreal air, that if they were placed in the dark no air would be generated. Mr. Ingeuhoaz found that vegetables in the day time would yield empyreal air, but in the night time foul air.

Thefe experiments directly fhew us how necefiary the fun is to vegetation, and to the formation of empyreal air. As the juices circulate within the vegetable they receive a higher impregnation of phlogifion or quiefcent fire; lo at laft their impregnation is fo high as to expand the fluids, and give them an aerial form; and agreeable to that abfervation of Mr. Ingen houz, in the day time the impregnation is fo high as to form empyreal air, but at night, being bereft of the fun, it forms only foul air.

If this means any thing, it is, that vegetables are capaMe of producing air, because they contain all the ingredients of the combination, when joined with the heat of the fans Yet the author afterwards tells us, that if he is confirmed in one fact in this work it is, that vegetables make the air fouls He informs us, indeed, that he avoided the aquatic plants in

2