The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1805-04-16

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fometrnes extend their refearches Beyond political
dilcuilions, and the incidents of the day
THEORY OF HEAT IND GOLD.
THE mott elaborate and perhaps, or thu
whole, the mott ufefuI paper laid before THE
ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, during
the at year, is &C IN enquiry roace,-p;nc re ma
tire Of beat, ard its mo1e Of communication, ~
Be1iaylin Count Rrmf5rd." The principal oh
jet of this Eiiay is TO obtain more Intimate
knowledge of the nature of heat and of its mode
of action, by which the author thinks that we
may be enabled to excite it with greater econo-
my, conhne it with greater facility, aud direti
ITS operations with more precGon aud efftSt
The Count lstS out with A dcicription OF the
apparatus invented and made ufc of for Der
forming the teveral experiments, an account Of
which was dittinttly laid before the focietv,
but which cannot be fucctlsfllly reTeated here
without 'he aid Of plates. from the frie ferries
az theie experiments he concludes, s..hat I'll
the heat which hot body lofe5, when It is ey-
poed IN the air 30 cool, is not given OF to the
air which comes into contact with it, hat that
aiarse proportion Of it eicapes in rays which do
not heat the tranfpareut air through which thew
pats, but, Ike light, generate heat only when,
and where, they are Popped and abturbed.'
AS the reiults of various other experiments
made with A view to determine the relative
quantities OF rays emitted from the Furnaces of
different fuhfanceS, from living animals dead
animal matter, &c. we are informed that thofe
fubftaaces which part with heat with the great
eft facility, are thote which ALTO acquire it NOT
readily, or with the greatef celebrity: and ALTO
that the greater the power is which an animal
podeties OF throwing of heat from the filrface
of his BODY, independently of that which the
Iurrounding air takes OF. the Left will hi. tenn
perature be affected by the occafionql changes
OF Temperature which take place in .he air; and
The lefs viii he be oppreGed by the intenfe heats
of hot climates.
II is well known, fays this philosopher, that
negroes and people of colour, filpport the heats
of tropical climates much better than white
people. Is IL not probable that their colou~
may enable them to throw off caloriic RAYS
with greater facility, and in greater abundance
and that it is to this circumfance they owe the
advantage they poIefs over white people, in
Importing heat And nould It he true that
bodies are cooled, not in conf Quencc OF the
rays they emit, but by the actions OF he fripo-
rife rays they receive from colder bodies, vet,
as II has been found by experiment, that thofe
bodies witch emit calorifiC rays in the greateh A
bundancc, are alto mo0 Affected by the frigor-
nc rays Of colder bodies, it is evident that in Z
very hot country, where The air and all other
surrounding bodies are hut very little colder
than the furface of the kin, thofe who by their
colour are prepared and dlpoftd to he cooled
with the greatef facility, will be leaf likely 10
be opprelied by the accumulation Of the heat
generated in them ~ fefpirdtoB, OF OF that ex-
cited by the fun's rays.
From various experiments, related by the
Count, we learn that caiorifc rays are thrown
off in greater abundance from kkfrk f,i-f1co
than from one that was not blackened. Hence
he thinks r1eafurcs might he taken for The pre-
fervation of the health of Europeans who aui.
their native climate TO iuhabt hot countries at
Leaf, under fuch circumstances, he flaws. no
thing ihouid prevent him blackening his Kin
or, at le7tt, wearing black nIirt in The nIade.
and ESPECIALLY Il nights in order to find out.
If, by thoie means, he could render himelf
more comfortable.
Several favage tribes which inhabit ve.y cole
countries, befmear their fkins with oil which
gives them a Filming appearance, and reflects
the rays oflisht very copiouny from their fur
face. May not, therefore, the frigorifc rays,
which arrive at the furface of their Kin, be 7lfo
rejected by the hiEhly poli'hed furface of the
oil with which it is covered" 20 In that cafe.
intead of deipiling theft poor creatures for their
attachment TO a uftlefs and loathfome habit
we 'iould be difpofed to admire their ingenni-
ty; or rather the goo,lnefS of their inw6bic
guardian and iniirHaOr, who teaches them TO
like and to pra6tie what he knows to he ufeful
From other experiments Count Rumford is
dilpofcd 10 believe that the Hottcntots derive
advantages from beineIring themftlves, exaeily
1milar to thofe which negroes derive from their
black colour: and ne think, that kncwletoe
of the phyical advantages which thofe f1vages
derive from flIch practices, may enable MS to ac-
qlire the fame advantages by employing more
elegant means. "a knowledge Of the manner
in which heat and cold are excited, would en-
able us to take mcJlures for thefe important
purpofes with perfect certa'rty: in the mean
time, we may derive much ufeful information,
by careful examination Of the phenomena
which occahonaliy fall under our obfervation.
"if it he true that the ha Z colour Of = ne
gro, 10y rendering him NOR frfbe TO the few
frigorific rays which are TO be found in 4 verv
hot country, enables him to fupport The great
heats of tronicaI climates without inconveni
ence, it might be aiked, how'll happens that he