The Litchfield County post., 1826-12-12

ly dry experienced diminution in its
weight 81 per cent, white oak Ill per cent
and soft maple 48 per cent, u cord of the
latter will therefore weigh nearly twice as
much when green as when dry.
five assume the mean quantity of mois-
ture in the woods, when green, as ~ per
cent the great disadvantage of attempting
to burn wood in this state must be obvious.
In every 100 pounds of this compound of
wood and water, AZ pounds Of aqueous mat
ter must be expelled from. the wood, and as
the capacity of water for absorbing heat is
nearly as to compared with air, and still
greater during its conversion into vapour,
which must be effected before it can escape,
the loss ofheat must consequently be very
great. ~ :
MIR. Bull says the average weight of
moisture in different kinds Of wood that
have been weather seasoned from eight to
twelve months, will not be found to vary
materially from rs per cent of their weight.
In wood dried and sheltered from the
weather, it is comparatively trifling-every
economist, therefore, will see the propriety
of keeping his wood under cover in all ca
SEES where it is practicable.
: Proposed Expedition to the Antarctic
See. -The public has heard good deal of
Capt Symmes and Mr.. Reynolds, and the
former, like all projectors, has had his
share ofridicule. There was a time, how
ever, when to imagine the earth round was
thought as wild a ,conceit, as it is now to
think it hollow; and when our ancestors
could no more conceive how their anti
podes could cling to the conver surface of
this sphere, than we believe at this day,
that they are moving, as the worthy Capt.
seems to suppose, on the cOnc0ve. 1t has
been stoutly debated, as all the world
knows, whether the globe was rounded or
iattened at the poles, and, as has happened
before in philosophical disputes, it may
turn out to be neither, and be found to be
concave. Whether Capt. Symmes, like
another Moses on Pisgah, shall ever stand
at the top Of the great polar rim, and look
down upon this new land Of Fancy's
Promise" is more than common thinkers
should venture to decide. But the enter
prise fhis disciples may lead to some less
imaginary results; and if. he never reach
the fame ofanother Columbus, he may gain
the gratitude of all Nantucket, by leading
the way to some new paradise Of whales
and seals.
Franklin and Parry do not despair of
reaching the north pole, and ito be serious
in the matter) we should be glad to see the
enterprise ofour people directed meanwhile
to the opposite quarter. There are many
phenomena of nature. questions of science,
and perhaps unknown islands, of which an
expedition well concerted might bring US
useful information. The plan which has
been adopted for reaching tho North Pole
from Spitzbergen, distance of only 600
miles, might be applied in some degree. to
an antarctic expedition, SO as 70 lessen the
dangers of that icy region. The boats in
tended for the northern sea are to be fur
nished with runners, SO as to answer the
purpose of a sledge when their progress
may be impeded by ice; to be light,
tough, and somewhat flexible ; to be COW
cred with leather, and to have an awning
of oil-skin, convertible into sail. Ninety
two days will, it is thought. be sufficient
to perform the journey to the Pole, and
back again to Spitzbergen. For this ex-
petition the British Board of Admiralty
have directed the Hecla to be prepared,
being impressed with conviction, says
the Quarterly Review, that such an en-
terprise must afford many valuable results.
The South Sea is as interesting field
of discovery as the North, and it may be
mentioned to those to whom the gains of
science may seem valueless return, that
the whale fishery has, in consequence of
Parry's discoveries, been transferred with
great profit from the eastern and west
ern sides Of Davis Straits. In these
" piping times of peace" there must be
many adventurous spirits languishing at
home, whose curiosity and hardihood, di-
rected to this wild portion of our globe,
interesting exactly because it is unknown,
might win them fair name, and, while
they contribute to the cause Of knowledge
might confer some important benefits or
their country.-Bah. Am.
From the Nesc- York Spectator
GoTTENGEN, Sept. 81,
have been fortnight and more in this
place, renowned for its celebrated uniyer-
sity, and where however no university is te
he sean The Germans manage these