-19. The mercury was this morning as low as 22°. Fahrenheit. All the late flowering herbaceous plants appear shrivelled. -26. Since the 20th the weather has again become mild. At Coats, immediately westward from the New Town, the mavis (throstle), perched on a mountain-ash, is still observed daily to express in a song his gratitude for a feast of rowan-berries. FIORIN. When we wrote the notice concerning forin-grass, inserted in last Number, we were not aware that the indefatigable President of the Board of Agriculture (Sir John Sinclair) had already commenced experiments on the subject. About an acre of excellent land in the vicinity of Edinburgh has been planted with strings of native fiorin, collected in the neighbouring banks and ditches. In another place, a considerable bed of fiorin has been laid down, where irrigation can be practised. That nothing but agrostis stolonifera has been employed on these experiments no one can reasonably expect, who has attended to the difficulty of discriminating the stoles of that plant from those of A. alba, or mutabilis. Indeed, from the very general and loose directions which Dr Richardson gives for collecting fiorin strings in Scotland and England, and from his making light of any difficulty in selecting the right plant, it appears not improbable that A. alba may hold a distinguished place, along with A. stolonifera, even in the wonderful fiorin meadows of Clonfecle, in the County of Armagh. ROCK-CRYSTAL. A crystal of quartz of uncommonly large dimensions, is now in the possession of Mr Sanderson, lapidary in this city.It was lately found, partly sunk in the earth, under the debris of a hill (it is believed Benachie) in the range of the Grampian Mountains in Aberdeenshire. The crystal is of the common form of quartz crystals; nearly an equiangular six-sided prism, acuminated at both ends by six unequal planes, set on the lateral planes. At first sight it appears to have been a solitary crystal; but a scar is discernible, from which a smaller one has at some period been detached. Its magnitude is the only remarkable circumstance about it. From the point of adherence to the native rock (which attachment has been small), to the further extremity, it measures 1 foot 1 inch. In circumference, where thickest, it is no less than 1 foot 7 inches. It weighs 308 ounces. A piece has been struck off, to ascertain its value for jewellery; and this has been found to be very considerable. This fracture lessens its importance as a cabinet specimen, but who would give perhaps £120 or £130 for a single crystal? The present proprietor, it is said, gave above a hundred guineas for it: such, however, is the taste for cairngorm ornaments, and such will, no doubt, be the desire to possess a portion of the largest crystal ever discovered in this country, that we doubt not Mr Sanderson will be amply reimbursed. In the meantime, he very liberally gratifies mineralogists and amateurs with inspection of the specimen, athis house in Blair-Street. Edinburgh, 29th Nov. 1809. } * N. * Cai ngorm is a large mountain, composing part of the chain of the Grampians, which skirts Strathspey in Banffshire. Here the yellow and smoke coloured quartz crystals were first attended to, and collected; and from this circumstance, the name of Cairngorm has been transferred to the coloured crystal itself, wherever, found; so that we now have cairngorms not only from Aberdeenshire, but from Goatfield in Arran. Cairngorm is a better popular name than Scots topaz; this last being apt to convey an errone. ous notion of the place which the Scottish stones really hold in mineralogical arrangement. In Britain, topaz is found only in the county of Cornwall. EPITAPHS, EPITAPHS. 52. Virtuti Sacrum. Johanni Rainoldo, S. Theologiae D. Eruditione, Pietate, Integritate, hujus Collegii Pres. qui obiit Maii. 21. A. 1607. Aetatis suae 58. Johannes Spencer, Auditor, Successor, Virtutum & Sanctitatis admirator, h. e. amoris ergo posuit. 53. On a monument erected by two English Ladies (refugees) in the parochial Church de Saint Andre at Anvers in Brabant. Anno 1568. Angl. refugi causa decendens cogna Elisb. Ibergna praevidia senate. Haeret in vidia post xix. captivit, annos relig. Ergo capite optrunc Martyrium consumavit anno Dom. 1587. acta Reg. 45. .OPT. MAX. SACR. Nobilis Duare Britania Matroner monumentum viator spectas quae ad Regis Cathol. tutel. orthod. Religion. causa à Patria profucae hic in spe resurrect quescunt in primus Barbara Moubray, D. Joan Moubray, Baronis quae sereniss, MARIA STUART, Regina Scot. à cubiculis nuptui data Gilberto Curlé, qui ann. amplius xx à secretis Reg. fuerat unaq sine querela ann. XXIV. vixerunt liber.. osq. octo susturler, sex coelo transcriptis Jacobus Socie. Jesu sesse Madriti aggregavit in Hispag. Hipolytus natu Minor in Gallo Belg. Societ. Jesu, Prov. ad scribi Christi militiae voluit hic moestus cum lacrymis optimae parenti P. C. quae prid. Kalend. Augusti anno Domino cɔ. 15. CXVj aetat. Ivij. vitam caducam cum acternum commutavit. Item. Elisab. Curlae amitae ereadem nob. Curleor stirpe Mariae quoq. Reginae a cubiculus octo annis vincurlo fidae Sociae qui moriens ultimum tulit suavium perpetuo caelibi moribusq. cas tiss. ac pientissimae Hypolitus Curle Fa,tris ejus F. hoc monum grati animi pietatisq. ergo lib. mer posuit. Haec ultimum vitae diem clausit anno DomiGo M.DC.XX. aetat LX, die xxix. Mai. Requiescant in pace. Amen. November 1809. 65. In the anti-chamber to the Uni versity College, Oxford. M. S. GULIELMI. JONES. EQVITIS. Avrati Qui. clarum, in. literis. nomen. a patre. acceptum. Magna. cvmvlavit. Gloria. Ingenivm. in. illo. erat. scientiarvm. omnium capax. Disciplinisque. optimis. diligentissime. excvltum. Erat. indoles. ad. virtvtem. eximia. Et, in. ivstitia. libertate, religione. vindicanda. Maxime. probata. Qvicqvid. autem. vtile. vel. honestvm. Consiliis. exemplo. avctoritate, vivvs. promoverat. Id. omne. scriptis. svis. immortalibvs. Etiam, nvnc. tvetvr. atque. ornat. Vt. quibus, in. aedibus. conservaretvr. Honorarivm. hoc. monvmentvm. Anna. Maria. filia, Jonathan. Shipley. Epis. Asaph. Conivgi, suo. B. M. 66. In the collegial church de Notre Dame, Courtray, Austrian Flanders. Monumentum Hujus Ecclesiae Canonici Munificium Domus Domini cultoram Tabulaque huic altari doneta testantur. Obiit XXVII Octobris M.D.C. XXXII. R. J. P. 67. In the cathedral, at I- ColmKill. Hic: jacet: Johannes Macfingone: Abbas de Li: qui obiit, anno M. D. cujus animo propicietur altissimus. A men. 68. In the nunnery of I-Colm-Kill. Sancta Maria, ora prome, Hic jacet Domina Anna Donaldi Ferleti filia, quondam prioressa de Jona, quae obiit, anno modo. ximo. cujus animam (altissimo) commendamus. Auld Rhymer's race 71. In St. Mary Saviour's. Here lies William Emerson. Who lived and died an honest man. 72. Here lie two loving brothers side by 76. In the chapel of St Louis, Genoa. side, In one day buried, and in one died. 73. On Wigandus, by himself. In Christo vixi, morior, vivoque Wigandus, Do sordes morti, caetera, Christe, tibi. 74: In the chancel church of Ingatstone, Essex, Thomas Brand-Hollis, Esq. F. R. S. and S. A. Ingruentes Terra Marique hostes Propugnatori amantissimo An. MDCCXXXXVII. 77. In the church-yard, of St. Dun stan's, Stepney. Here lieth the body of Daniel Saul, Spitalfield's weaver; and that's all. 68. On the Marquis of Granby. Of courage, honour, charity, the boast, Was noble GRANBY-and though early lost, Though early mingled with the honour'd dead, Each muse a tear upon his hearse shall |