Weekly national intelligencer., 1851-10-25
TO THE EDITORS.

my reply to Lieut. PORTxRs lsS article TO this rainy day
Permit to him that dscCsson has been LEI
pleasant to me than to him, and by loces Of in
merous papers that it has excited an intsret elsewhere
With pleasure abide bis return the subject at hs leisure
asking bis pardon for placing his among hoss of N
literary friends
My flag is not nailed to the mast but loosely unfurIsd d
the breeze that may readily strike my successors o.
supeors when occasion requires Often have supposed
scientific flags been Nailed and often rudey torn down By
succeeding and superior minds Az instances we need only
refer to Gaileo DR.. VIM. Harvey, and to Gall and Spur
helm.
AS the formation Of ice furnishes no direct evidence either
pro CON- in main discussion, willing to leave to
be decided by readers during the coming winter My OBJ
servatons were made streams with stony bottoms and
as, in after le found the assigned by philosophers
why ice should first form the bottom be the condensa-
ton and consequent increase Of specific gravity of by
loss of beat may not perhaps have observed closely
our mutual friend Porter. If Lieut. Ps statement that
cools only 400 the bottom and expands at 400
and 32o and also at 7Oo exactly the same bulk while we
know it must cool to S2o before can freeze should apply to
bottom Of streams lakes and oceans we'll to an ash
bucket, (of which fact ignorant) freely yield the
point having acquired additional knowledge but prefer to
lot nature operae in her buckets especially when her
operations can be SO easily observed.
Lieut.. PoRrERs statement thst is not compress-
though not very wide from the fact does not seem to
tally precisely with observation. Mr.. CAxTos by filling
gass globe hayng very small tube side with water
and placing under exhausted receiver, found that the
water rose little into the tube indicating increase in
volume Of one cubic inch, foot &C. in 81, ,74O proving
that one part Of water in 2l74O parts il forced into the
tersices pores of the other parts by the mple
pressure Of the atmosphere Dr. Aasorr records the follow
ing experiment. vessel containing with tight piston
having closely moveabe ring around the handle outside Of
the cover sunk six thousand feet deep the ocean
when the vessel drawn up it found that the ring on
the handle had been pushed by the ofhe
sci an extent indicating that the volume Of the water in the
vessel had been diminished one-tweneth of It's former bulk
but had recovered that bulk This proves both the
sbiy and perfect elasticity of liquids for CANTON demon
srated that other liquids subject the law as
water.
Lieut. PORTER thinks the fact that we have no mechan-
cal force that will compress cubic foot of in cubic
inch initiates against the conraciIy of the earth other
wise, should the earth, by its radiation continue to contract
the waters would overflow it." answer not if the earth
eguary and deepens the beds of the oceans seas
and lakes, as have all along argued and think proved
does for the perfect uidity of to retire al
ways to the lowest places the solid land will admit Of or in
other words to approach the earths the
laws Of fudy and the permeabiy Of solids will allow. So
far as we know, the conacy and condensation of all solids
and liquids too has limit; and there h therefore, no pos
sby that planet should shrink the size of mustard
seed lift should radiae all its heat but this is joke
Still Lieut. PORTER to think that the expansion Of
water in the formation Of ice nufes my position that the
earth shnks in consequence Of the radiation Of its heat
But in his second article he states tAs expansion of
as the only exception the otherwise general rule that all
bodies shrink by losing y and he should not now wish
to ride two hobbies at once.
Lieut. PORTER tries to fory his theory of the sodfca-
ion Of water by the fact that eighty grains of ground
plaster paris will absorb sxyour grains OF water without
any increase of the bulk Of the plaster any Of the
gegate weight Of the two ingredients of the mixture But it
should be remembered that the plaster must yield this extra
quantity Of water again before become rock ofsuphae
Of lime, (o plaster else the rock contains the same
quantity Of water before grinding does after saturang
the powder for there is chemical union between the
two but merely mixture Of them. This diminudon Of
volume, without any loss Of weight belongs many different
compounds If pint Of alcohol be mixed with pint Of
water the mixture will measure less than quart and il
suphurc acid be substituted for the water the will unite
chemically with considerable development Of heat and the
compound will measure still less But the remarkable
instance Of condemnation by combination is that recorded by
Professor RoBSsoN, who that fory parts of platinum
be aoyed with Eve parts Of iron, the volume of the compound
will be only thirty nine parts that is foyfve cubic inches
will be reduced thnne cubic nches which is cubic
ncn less tndn the platinum alone measured before was al
loyed with the iron.
The fact may be broadly stated that not only but all
other substances combine with Others either by or art
but therefore lost permanently changed in their
naure for there is constant though nsensb combination
smpes and dissolution of compounds going on throughout
nature Progress and change ndeliby stamped upon
oil the Creators works and either by nature the sipes
compound may again be exhibited whatever form they
may have naturally assumed been made to by
But is highly worthy Of note that both the formation Of
compounds and their dissolution take place spontaneously by
natures laws, when the compounds smpes both,
essential to the existence of senent bengs whereas these
only constitute the uxuries of artificial life, supplies
either the mples compounds and in some instances boh
and leaves to the labor and pleasure Of combining
anayzng them circumstances may require. Thus, the
ingredients Of atmospheric air united in different proportion
constitute aquafort in still different they constitute laugh
ing gas but by natures law they only unite that part
cuar proportion which constitutes the air Breathe because
laughing gas and aquafors all essential to the en-
stence Of animated beings. Without ssntient beings
could not exist with their present constitutions and argues
to say the least very limited confidence in the providence
Of omniscen', omnpotent and beneen Creator
suppose that be will torture his dependant offspring by
rendering planet arid and barren, long
of his laws He places them here and when the existing
quantity Of shall be needed longer we shall be
different beings from what we are now.
H. r. SCHETTERLY.
PROPOSAL, To EXPLORE AFRICA