have been dragged to the scaffold, without respect for names signalized by virtue and talents. Buffon was dead-they took his son." About the time alluded to by Saint Fobd, I received, also, seeds of this species of hemp, through the medium, I think, of the Society of Arts. Some of these were sown at Grove-Hill, and produced plants upwards of ten feet high; but the seeds did not acquire sufficient maturity to vegetate. A manufacturer of hemp made experiments on these plants, and gave me a written detail of the result, and of the superiority of the staple, which account I have mislaid. 'Dr. Madison, of Williamsburg in Virginia, came to England to be consecrated Bishop of Virginia, about the period the seeds were introduced here; an illness under which he laboured occasioned the renewal of our early acquaintance, and on his return to Williamsburg, I sent him about half an ounce of the hemp seed, the receipt of which he acknowledged in a letter dated December 5th, 1791. "The hemp seed I have distributed among some gentlemen who are distinguished for their skill and attention, reserving a sufficiency for an experiment under my own view. Should it succeed according to your expectations, and I think our climate justifies every hope of success, you will have the happiness of having added a new source of real wealth to this country." • In a subsequent letter, dated June 7th, 1793, he observes: "I have great pleasure in informing you, that the hemp of China, with the seed of which you favoured me, promises to be a valuable acquisition. It grew last year upwards of eleven feet in height; from the seed which was collected, I have now about a quarter of an acre, which is very flourishing, and which will enable me to make a decisive experiment as to its utility or superiority over the native hemp." 'I have been more particular in communicating this narrative, in hopes of its insertion into your Review, which is much read on the Continent of Europe, as well as of the New Hemisphere; and which may hence afford my old acquaintance, Saint Fond, the medium of knowing that this valuable vegetable is still cultivated; and the amiable and truly respectable Prelate, that he may oblige and enrich the community by distributing the seeds, and thereby promoting an important article of manufacture and trade. J. C. LETTSOM.' • Sambrook-House, Basinghall Street, April 4, 1800.' A Young Student's' letter, dated 7 April, is received. Before long, probably, we shall trouble the writer with an answer according to the address with which he has favored us: but we fear that we shall not be able to command time sufficient to resolve the various points of inquiry which he proposes. We should be glad to oblige a Constant Reader, who dates from Worcester: but his requests would impose a duty on us which is entirely out of our province. At present, certainly, we have not time to answer his questions: if we can find leisure, we may perhaps take farther notice of them in our next Number. * P. 309. 1. 9. from bottom, Rev. March, for 'reputable,' r. respectable. * The APPENDIX to this volume of the Monthly Review will be published with the Number for May, as usual. TO THE THIRTY-FIRST VOLUME OF THE MONTHLY REVIEW ENLARGED. FOREIGN LITERATURE. ART. I. Mémoires de l'Institut National, &c. i. e. Memoirs of the National Institute of the Sciences and the Arts, for the IVth Year of the Republic. Divided into three Volumes, treating, I. Of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences; II. Of the Moral and Political Sciences; III. Of Literature and the Fine Arts. 4to. pp.about 700 each. Paris, 1798. London, imported by De Boffe. Price 31. sewed. IT T was to counteract the torpor and blighting influence of some collegiate bodies, that associations of ingenious men were formed throughout Europe, about the middle and near the close of the seventeenth century. Drawn from various ranks and conditions in life, the members were united only by the love of science. The period was indeed most auspicious. The philosophy of the schools had fallen into discredit; and mankind were beginning to perceive, after ages of error, that the only safe road to the study of nature is by experiment and observation. At such a crisis, it was of the highest moment to fix and direct the public mind. The method of induction, however, demanding multiplied and expensive researches, the solitary application of the individual was unavailing; and it was essentially requisite to combine the labours of numerous bodies of men. The valuable discoveries which emanated from those societies engaged attention, and won general respect. Their memoirs became the repositories of physical data, and ex hibited the successive steps in the progress of invention. The speedy exchange of ideas kindled emulation; and, by the APP. REV. VOL.XXXI. liberal Gg liberal discernment of the members, rising genius was fostered and brought forward to early notice. Such was, at their origin, the beneficial influence of those incorporate bodies:-but the state of knowlege is now greatly altered; and the same reasons no longer exist, to recommend the institution of learned associations. A certain degree of information is very widely diffused, the philosophy of induction is fully established, and the literary journals afford easy and expeditious means of circulating discoveries. The world of science is a vast republic, connected among all its parts by sympathetic ties. Partial incorporations disturb the harmony of the whole, and impede the free circulation of benefits. If such associations also degenerate from the object of their institution; if they become actuated by a narrow exclusive spirit; and if, instead of anticipating the public judgment, they offer incense only to established reputation, then their influence must be detrimental to the advancement of genuine science. Other learned bodies, especially on the Continent, were founded on different principles. Deriving their support from the bounty of government, their members were limited in number; a circumstance which rendered the situation more an object of ambition; and as, previously to election, some public testimonies of the abilities of the candidate were required or expected, the honours of admission could never be flagrantly prostituted. The competition of talents excited a beneficial emulation; and, though the pecuniary emoluments were but slender, these establishments presented a most desirable retreat for men of genius, afforded them the means of pursuing their favourite studies, and held forth every encouragement and assistance to the promotion of knowlege. It was with great concern, therefore, that we saw the academies in France suppressed during the phrenzy of sansculottism: -but, fortunately for the interests of humanity and science, that paroxysm was not of long duration. On the return of moderation, the academies were revived with new lustre, and were modelled after a plan more extensive, and better suited to the spirit of the age. They are now comprehended under the title of NATIONAL INSTITUTE; which consists of one hundred and forty-four members resident at Paris, and a like number of associates dispersed in the departments. A certain proportion of learned foreigners are admitted as honorary members; of whom the number is restricted at present to twenty-four. The Institute is distributed into three classes: * See an account of the last volume, and dissolution, of the Royal Academy of Sciences, &c. at Paris, M. Rev. vol. xxviii. N. S. p. 529. Mathematics Mathematics and Natural Philosophy-Morality and PoliticsLiterature and the Fine Arts. Each of these classes is subdivided into several sections, having six members and six associates attached to each. The First Class contains ten sections, viz. Mathematics-Mechanical Arts-Astronomy-Experimental Philosophy-Chemistry-Natural History-Botany Anatomy and Animal History-Medicine and Surgery-Animal Oeconomy, and the Veterinary Science. The Second Glass contains six sections, viz. Analysis of Sensations and Ideas-Morals-Les gislature-Political Oeconomy-History and Geography. The Third Class contains eight sections, viza Universal Grammar Antient Languages-Poetry-Antiquities-Painting-SculptureArchitecture-and Music. The classes have each an apartment assigned to them in the Louvre. They are to hold four public meetings annually; and at the close of each year, they are to make a circumstantial report to the Legislative Body respecting the progress of the arts and sciences. These few particulars may be acceptable to such of our readers as are desirous of being acquainted with the constitution of the National Institute. We have now before us its first year's transactions, in three distinct volumes corresponding to the several classes. Our attention will be first directed to the volume containing the 1 MATHEMATICAL and PHYSICAL PAPERS. This volume commences with proposing two prizes-Ist, for a pocket time-keeper, to point out the decimal division of the day into hours, minutes, and seconds; and, adly, for the comparison of the nature, form, and uses, of the liver, in the different tribes of animals. The inventions approved by the class are a metallic thermometer by Regnier-crayons by Conté, being excellent substitutes for the English black-lead pencils and anatomical preparations in wax by Laumonier.-Next follows a list of printed works which have been presented to the class. The account of deceased members is no longer entitled Eloge, but denominated by the more modest appellation of Notice on the Life and Works. The first of these which occurs here is that of Vandermonde, by M. Lacepède. Vandermonde was born at Paris in 1735. His youth was devoted to study. About the age of thirty, he chanced to meet with the celebrated mathematician Fontaine, who conceived an affection for him, instructed him in his profound but obscure inventions, and encouraged him henceforth to devote himself strenuously to calculation and abstract science. He was ad mitted into the Academy of Sciences in 1771. Shortly afterward, he published a memoir on the resolution of equations, Gg 2 and / and this was followed by a work on the problems of situation, a particular sort of combinations. He afterward treated of a new species of irrational quantities, and on the elimination of unknown quantities in algebraical equations. He was likewise fond of music; and in the vears 1778 and 1780, he explained to the Academy the principles of a new system of harmony. In 1795 he was seized with a disorder in his breast which almost extinguished his voice, and gave other alarming symptoms. He continued, however, to perform his functions till he was carried off by a sudden and fatal attack on the 11 Nivose, fourth year (31 December, 1795). The next article is a Notice of the Life and Works of AlexanderGui Pingré, by M. Prony. - Pingré was born at Paris the 4th September 1711. At an early age, he was sent by his parents to be educated at Senlis, in a college established by the canons regular. He gave such marks of proficiency, and conceived such an attachment to his masters, that at sixteen he was received into the congregation; and, applying with unwearied assiduity to the study of divinity, he was appointed professor in that class at the age of twenty-four. Fourteen years were spent in that employment, till the theologian was involved in the disputes and troubles occasioned by the famous bull issued from the papal court in the middle of the century. Deprived of his chair and reduced to indigence, Pingré found a protector in Le Cat, the celebrated surgeon; a philosopher who was actuated by humanity and the love of science. He had founded an academy at Rouen; and thither he invited the ejected ecclesiastic to teach astronomy. From that date, Pingre's studies took a new direction. In consequence of his observation of the transit of Mercury over the disk of the Sun on the 6th May 1753, he was admitted a correspondent of the Academy of Sciences. His reputation now growing every day, he was at last recalled by his congregation to Paris, and settled at the abbey of St. Genevieve, where he shortly afterward erected an observatory. In every thing that required patience and labour, Pingré was fitted to excel. Under the direction of Lemonnier, he computed the nautical almanacs for several years; and he re-calculated the eclipses given in the celebrated work L'Art de vérifier les dates, and extended the list from the rise of the republic of Athens to the 208th year of the French republic; -in other words, to the year 2000. Pingré was admitted into the academy in 1756. He was sent to the Isle Rodrigue, and to Cape Français, to observe the memorable transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769. He also made three voyages between the years 1767 and 1777, for the purpose of trying the merits of chronometers in finding the longitude at sea. In 1783, he published his most considerable *5 |