Mobile register and journal., 1845-05-14

The following curious facts are stated very for- eibly in bnok which has recently engaged large share of public attention entitled Tesnges of CTea- tiOn :-
 It is stated that MT. Weekes. of Sandwich, insti- tuted certain experiments in imitation of some pre- viOnay performed by a Mir Crosse, which had re. suited in the producfion ot Hrng nsecis. He caused
 powerful voltaic battery 10 opperaie upon saluiat- ed solution of sIcate of potash The fluid first be- came lurbid. and then of milky appearance; round the negative wire of the battery, dipped inlo ihe flu id there gathereda quantity of what seemed 10 be geatnous matter; and from this Mr. Weekes 0b- served of the insects in the very act ot emerging immediately after which il ascended 10 the surface of the fluid, and sought concealment in obscure cOr- ner of the apparatus.
 The previous experiments of Mir. Crosse had been attended with the s"me result. Insects emerged, l, under his powerful voaic battery, not only from the silicae fpotash but also from nitrate of copper. which is deadly poison. He discontinued his ex F.. perments, being discouraged by the ridicnle with which tn ay were assailed but Mr. Weekes resumed them some years later, and repeatedly produced the effects After trying il with the silicaie oi potash, he employed ierro-cyanures Of potassium, on account of ls containing greater prOpo lion nt car bon, the principal element of organic bodies and from this substance the insects were produced in in- creased numbers.
 The insects, in the case of Mir. Crosse, were pro- ,uced by ihe acton of the battery in few weeks The battery of Mr. Weekes much less power fu, and his first attempts required about eleven months. The insects, n both cases, were the same, a species of aca'us, minue and sem transparent, and furnished with long bristles, which could only be seen by ihe aid of microscope. They were some ines observed to go back to the huld feed, and occasionally devOuted each other!
 These experiments were made bl MT. Weekes, in 1S42. The very general opinion of scientific men seemed to be that the insects were pro'uced from eggs deposited A the wood But against this sug- he ltct that he apd had ously been baked in powerful heat ;-thi tie ap- paratus covered thai the air thoroughly excluded that inc water used was distilled and that the substance of the silicae had been subj ected white heat. These precaulo ions seem to ioihid the suspicion of any fillacy in the experiMent hut, be- sIdes them, il is stated by writer in ihe British and Foreign Medical Review, that the insects de- poslted eggs while they remained in the solution, which were so large that they could not have escap ed observation had any previously existed. The alleged results are certainly among the most curious facts of Natural History, and afford, 80 far as we are aware, the first instance in which It has ever been inserted that animal life could be produ ced by any artificial means. The scientific world however. it must be added has generally refused its credence to the facts alleged.
 We may add that this very remarkable bouk con | tains a large amount of facts of Natural Hisior, collected with great industry. and arranged with the utmost skill, 10 prove the authors theory ing the prneressiveness of creation Few, we appre- hend will allow the conclusiyeness of his reasoning or concede that induction, which is the method he adopts, lunish satisfactory evidence in sup. port of his theory. Al all events, the facts upon which it is founded, seem qune inadequate, both in number and character to sustain the superstructure | he has built upon them. This book has excited great attention, and is certainly one of the ables and most interesting essays of inc kind which thi. age has produced. second edition has just been | issued by the American publishers, who have adopt ed course, nearly, we imagine. without precedent in prefxing to it an introduction, condening il ir the most emphatic terms, as presenting the ''com pleest and most perfect piece of materialism. sl,arianisn, scepticism and atheism combined. thai has ever come under our notce." Whether this be just the author of the book not, il certainly dIsinteresed the part of those who have reprint ed It for the American public.