and the diffufed extenfive nebulofity mentioned before, which renders it highly probable that they are of the fame nature. Now, if this be ad mitted, the feparate existence of the luminous matter, or its independance on a central ftar, is fully proved. We may alfo judge, very confidently, that the light of this shining fluid isn no kind of reflection from the flar in the center; for, as we have already obferved, reflected light could never reach us at the great diftance we are from fuch objects. Be fides, how impenetrable would be an atmosphere of a fufficient denfity to reflect fo great a quantity of light; and yet we obferve, that the outward parts of the chevelure are nearly as bright as thofe that are close to the tar; fo that this fuppofed atmosphere ought to give no obftruction to the paffage of the central rays. If, therefore, this matter is felf-luminous, it feems more fit to produce a far by its condensation than to depend on the ftar for its exiftence. Many other diffofed nebulofities, befides that about the confellation of Orion, have been obferved or fufpected; but fome of them are probably very diftant, and run out far into space. For inftance, about 5 minutes intime preceding Cygni, 61 I fufpect as much of it, as covers near four fquare degrees; and much about the fans quantity 14 preceding the 125 Tauri. A fpace of almoft 8 fquare degrees, 6 preceding Trianguli, feems to be tinged with milky nebulofity. Three minutes preceding the 46 Eridani, ftrong, milky nebulofity is expanded over more than two fquare degrees, 54' preceding the 13th Canum venaticorum, and again 48′ preceding the fame ftar, I found the field of view affected with whitifh nebulofity throughout the whole breadth of the fweep, which was 2° 39′ 4′ following the 7 Cygni, a confiderable fpace is filled with faint, milky nebulofity, which is pretty bright in fome places, and contains the 7th, nebula of my Vth clafs, in the brighteft part of it. In the neighbourhood of the 44th Pifcium, very faint nebulofity appears to be diffufed over more than 9 fquare degrees of the heavens. Now, all thefe phenomena, as we have already feen, will admit of a much eafier explanation by a luminous fluid than by ftars at an immense distance. "The nature of planetary nebula, which has hitherto been involved in much darknefs, may now be explained with fome degree of fatisfaction, fince the uniform and very confiderable brightness of their apparent difk accords remarkably well with a much condensed, luminous fluid; whereas to fuppofe the m to confift of clustering stars will not fo completely account for the milkinefs or foft tint of their light, to produce which it would be required that the condenfation of the ftars fhould be carried to an almost inconceivable degree of accumulation. The furmife of the regeneration of ftars, by means of planetary nebule, expreffed in a former paper, will become more probable, as all the luminous matter contained in one of them, when gathered together into a body of the fize of a star, would have nearly fuch a quantity of light as we find the planetary nebule to give. To prove this experimentally, we may view them with a telefcope that does not magnify fufficiently to fhew their extent, by which means we fhall gather all their light together into a point, when they will be found to affume the appearance of fmall ftars; that is. of ftars ftars at the distance of those which we call of the 8th, 9th, or cth magnitude. Indeed this idea is greatly fupported by the difcovery of a well defined, lucid point, refembling a star, in the centre of one of them; for the argument which has been used, in the cafe of nebulous ftars, to fhew the probability of the existence of a luminous matter, which refted upon the disparity between a bright point and its furrounding fhining fluid, may here be alledged with equal juftice. If the point be a generating ftar, the further accumulation of the already much condenfed, luminous matter, may complete it in time. "How far the light that is perpetually emitted from millions of funs may be concerned in this fhining fluid, it might be prefumptuous to attempt to detetermine; but, notwithstanding the unconceivable fubtilty of the particles of light, when the number of the emitting bodies is almoft infinitely great, and the time of the continual emiffion indefinitely long, the quantity of emitted particles may well become adequate to the conftitution of a fhining fluid, or luminous matter, provided a caufe can be found that may retain them from flying off, or reunite them. But fuch a caufe cannot be difficult to guefs at, when we know that light is fo eafily reflected, refracted, inflected, and deflected; and that, in the immenfe range of its courfe, it must pass through innumerable fyftems, where it cannot but frequently meet with many obftacles to its rectilinear progreffion Not to mention the great counteraction of the united attractive force of whole fidereal fyftems, which must be continually exerting their power upon the particles while they are endeavouring to fly off. However, we fhall lay no ftrefs upon a furmife of this kind, as the means of verifying it are wanting: nor is it of any immediate confequence to us to know the origin of the luminous matter. Let it fuffice that its existence is rendered evident, by means of nebulous stars. "I hope it will be found, that in what has been said I have not launched out into hypothetical reafonings; and that facts have all along been kept fufficiently in view. But, in order to give every one a fair opportunity follow me in the reflections I have been led into, the place of every object from which I have argued has been purposely added*, that the validity of what I have advanced might be put to the proof by thofe who are inclined, and furnifhed, with the neceffary inftruments to undertake an attentive and repeated infpection of the fame phæ nomena. W. HERSCHEL" Slough, Jan. 1, 1791. For thefe places we mufc refer our readers to the eighty-first volume of the Phi lofophical Tranfactions. COMMU COMMUNICATION from the COMMITTEE of COUNCIL appointed for the CONSIDERATION of all MATTERS relating to TRADE and FOREIGN PLANTATIONS, to the ROYAL SOCIETY, relative to the NATURAL HISTORY of AMBERGRIS. "SIR, "L [From the fame work.] ORD Hawkesbury, prefident of the committee of privy council appointed for the confideration of all matters relating to trade and foreign plantations, having received a letter from Mr. Champion, a principal merchant concerned in the Southern Whale Fishery, informing him, that a fhip belonging to him had lately arrived from the faid fishery, which had brought home 362 ounces of ambergris, found by Mr. Coffin, captain of the faid fhip, in the body of a female fpermaceti whale, taken on the coaft of Guinea; his lordship thought fit to defire captain Coffin, as well as Mr. Champion, to attend the lords of the committee, that they might be examined concerning all the crcumstances of the fact before mentioned; and I am directed by their lordships to tranfmit to you a copy of the examination of thefe two gentlemen, that you may communicate the fame to the Royal Society, if you should think that any of the circumftances, ftated in this examination, will contribute to remove the doubts hitherto entertained concerning the natural hiftory and production of this valuable drug. I fend you alfo a piece of the ambergris fo taken out of the whale, and fome of the bills of the fifh called Squids (which are fuppofed to be the food of fperinaceti whales), and which were found partly in the ambergris taken from this female whale, and partly on the outside of it, and adhering to it. "I have the honour to be, &c. "W. FAWKENER," "At the council chamber, Whitehall, the 12th January, 1791. "By the right honourable the lords of the committee of council appointed for the confideration of all matters relating to trade and foreign plantations. "READ-Letter from Mr. Alex. ander Champion, a principal merchant concerned in the Southern Whale Fishery, to lord Hawkesbury, dated the 2d inftant, acquainting his lordship, that captain Joshua Coffin, of the fhip the Lord Hawkefbury, is lately arrived from the Southern Whale Fishery; and that the faid ship, be fides a cargo of 76 tons of fpermaceti oil and head-matter, has brought home about 360 ounces of ambergris, which the faid captain took out of the body of a fe male fpermaceti whale on the coast of Guinea. "Mefl. Champion and Coffin at- taken [124] COMMUNICATIONS relative to the HISTORY of AMBERGRIS taken before by the fhips failing from Great-Britain, to your knowledge, contained any ambergris ? A. None, that ever I heard of. The American fhips have, at times, found fome. Q. Was the ambergris, found by in a bull or cow fish? you, A. It was found in a cow fish. Q. Is it ufual to look for amber gris in whales that are killed? A. it has not hitherto been much the practite to do so. Q How happened it that you difcovered this? A. We faw it come out of the fundament of the whale ; as we were cutting the blubber, a piece of it fwam upon the furface of the fea. Q. In what part of the whale did you find the remainder ? A. Some more was in the fame paffage, and the rest was contained in a bag a little below the paffage, and communicating with it. Q. Did the whale appear to be in health? A. No; he did not. She feemed fickly, had no flesh upon her bones, and was very old, as appears by the teeth, two of which I have. Though he was about thirty-five feet long, the did not produce above one ton and a half of oil. A fifh of the fame fize, in good health, would kave produced two tons and a half. Q. Have you obferved the food that whales generally feed upon? A. The ipermaceti whale feeds, as I believe, almoft wholly upon a fifh called Squids. I have often feen a whale, when dying, bring up a quantity of fquid, fometimes whole, and fometimes pieces of it. The bills of the fquid (fome of which Mr. Coffin produced) were found, fome in the infide, and fome on the outfide of the ambergris, fticking to it. Q. Did you ever find any ambergris floating on the fea? A. I never did, but others frequently have. Q. How long have you been engaged in the whale fishery? A. It is about fixteen years fince I firft entered into it. Q. What is the general proportion of bull and cow whales you have met with? A. I believe the proportion to be nearly equal. In my laft voyage, however, I found only four bulls out of thirty-five whales. I fished upon the coaft of Africa between five north and feven fouth degrees of latitude. I am inclined to think, that the cow whale goes to calve in the low latitudes, which accounts for more cows being found in thofe latitudes. Q. Is there any particular feafon when the cow whales calve? A. I do not know that there is. Q. Does the bull or cow whale, in proportion to their fize, produce moft oil? A. The cow whale, when big with calf, produces more oil than a bull whale, of the fame fize; when fuckling, the produces lefs. Q. Are the whales ufually found fingly, or in pairs or in larger numbers? A. Ufually in large numbers, which we call fcools, and particularly in the low latitudes. I have feen from fifteen to perhaps a thoufand together. Q. Have you any further information on this fubject to give the committee? A. We have generally obferved, that the fpermaceti whale, when ftruck, voids her excrement; if fhe does not, we conjecture that he has ambergris in her. I think anbergris moft likely to be found PROCESS of converting the SMOKE of STEAM-ENGINES into TAR. [125] 362 ounces troy. The people who bought it told me, this was a larger quantity than was ever before brought at once to market. It has been generally fold at about 4 or 5 pounds at a time. Q. For the ufe of what country was this ambergris bought? A. I do not exactly know. It was bought by a broker, who told me, that his principal, who purchafed' about one half, bought it for exportation to Turkey, Germany, and France. The other half was purchafed by the druggists in town.” - PROCESS of converting the SMOKE of STEAM-ENGINES, &c. into TAR; defcribed in a Letter from Mr. William Pitt, of Pendeford, near Wolverhampton, to Mr. More. [From the ninth Volume of the Tranfactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce.] H AVING had occafion to fpend a good deal of time upon business, in the coal and iron works of this country; my fituation amidst the smoke of those great works put me upon the idea hinted at in the 153d premium of the eighth volume of the Society's Tranfations; namely, that of deftroying smoke, in order to prevent annoyance to the neighbourhood. "That the object is not only attainable, will be demonftrated in the following narrative; but alfo that valuable articles of commerce may be produced in large quantities, whenever the proprietors of fuch works fhall adopt the mode of conftructing their buildings proper for fuch production. "The articles of commerce I allude to, are mineral tar, pitch, and varnish: there are already three 2 confiderable works erected on the banks of the canal in this county, for the purpofe of converting the fmoke of pitcoal into the above articles; the one at Mr. Wilkinson's great works at Bradley, another at Tipton, and a third at the Level Colliery and iron works upon Dudley-wood. they were erected by lord Dundonald and Co. and the bufinefs is carried on with fuccefs. "Thefe tar-works are erected in the vicinity of large iron and coal works: the iron masters furnish the tar-works with raw coal, gratis, and receive in return the cokes produced by fuch coal, and the proprietors of the tar-works have the finoke only for their labour, and interest of capital. "The procefs is conducted in the following manner: a range of eighteen or twenty ftoves is erected, and fupplied |