cntomologists should have so long neglected to give a more particular description of this little pest of our gardens; and, although your correspondent has very minutely traced the various transformations of this destructive insect, yet, with your permission, Mr. Editor, I will say a word or two on the subject. From the letter of J. C. it seems he is not aware that there are two kinds of larvæ, which are destructive to the foliage of the gooseberry bush; one of which is the production of the Phalæna wavaria, or gooseberry moth, and is very correctly described in the quotation from Sturt's Natural History; the other is the Tenthredo rose, and which is more particularly the subject of your correspondent's letter. These, it is plain, belong to two very different orders of insects; the former of which is of the order Lepidoptera, and the latter that of Hymenoptera. The character of the order Lepidoptera is, Wings four, imbricated with minute scales. Generic character of the Phalana is,-Antennæ taper from the base; wings in general deflected when at rest: fly by night. The specific character of the Phalana wavaria is, Wings grey four black irregular stripes on the interior part of the upper wings; one resembling the let ter L. The character of the order Hymenoptera is,-Wings four, generally membranous: tails of the females armed with a sting. Generic character of the Tenthredo is,-Abdomen of equal thickness, and closely connected to the thorax: sting serrated between two valves; second wings shortest. The specific character of the Tenthredo rosa is,-Antennæ, head, and thorax black, with a yellow spot on cach side of the latter; abdomen yellow; a black spot on the anterior margin of the wings. Though the larva of the P. wavaria enters the ground in order to change into a pupa, yet, from my own observations of the various metamorphoses of the Tenthredo rose, I may inform J. C. that he is not correct in supposing that is the case with the caterpillar of this very numerous and voracious little creature,-the aurelia of which is generally fixed to the dry stalk of some plant, the leaves, or small branches of shrubs or trees. Correct figures of both these insects are given in Donavan's valuable work on the Natural History of British insects. Besides the above, there is another moth which feeds on the gooseberry and currant bushes, called the magpie moth (Phalana grossulariata), the specific character of which is,-Wings whitish, with round black spots, and a yellow streak on the anterior part. This fly is very common in the months of July and August; and it is not a little singular, that this insect, when alarmed, will fall to the ground as if dead, and remain motionless till the appearance of danger is over. Epping; E. DOUBLEDAY. June 15, 1822. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, with the phenomena of the comNE of your readers is puzzled mon phial barometer. He asks,1st. Why must the rim of the neck of the phial be separated before the water can be suspended? 2d. Why is the surface of the water concave in fine weather, and convex in rainy weather? 3dly. Why does the exposure of the phial to the heat of a fire produce the same effect as rainy weather? In answer to these questions I would say,-1st. That it is not necessary to separate the rim of the neck in order to suspend the water. If the surface of the rim be perfectly even and dry, the water will be suspended just the same as when the rim is removed. The reason why it is necessary in any cases to strike off the rim, is because it is uneven, and will draw off the water, by making the surface heavier on one side than on another. 2d. In fine weather the weight of the atmosphere is greater than in rainy weather, as is seen in the quicksilver barometer; in the former the column is about thirty-one inches, but in the latter about twenty-eight. When, by the collision of clouds of different degrees of humidity, rain is formed, the weight of the atmosphere, and consequently its density and its pressure on the surface of the water is diminished; the water therefore sinks, and a drop is formed. In fine weather the air remains charged with its humidity, and consequently its weight and density, and pressure on the surface of the water in the phial, are greater than in rainy weather; hence T NO. XXIII. The Edinburgh Review, No. 72. HERE is very little matter in the present number of this Review which is calculated for cursory perusal, or to afford light amusement to the reader. It is replete with grave discussions, principally of a political tendency; and a great deal of heavy ordnance is brought to bear, from different positions, upon the ministry, whose exposed and difficult situation certainly presents a strong temptation for such an attack. It is, we presume, with this view that so much more than a due proportion of this number is devoted to subjects of national policy, to the exclusion of articles of mere literary interest. We seem to be labouring through a num ber of the Pamphleteer. But, such is the state of things, that instruction is a point of much greater importance than amusement, and the ability with which it is here administered commands our attention and respect, and must make a deep and lasting impression on the public mind. The first article is an elaborate inquiry into the Nature and Origin of the Courts of the Ancient English Common Law, which are illustrated by much antiquarian research into the laws and legislative assemblies of the northern tribes. The inferences drawn from the history of these courts are, however, directed not to jurisprudence, but to politics. Parliament is supposed by the writer to have been a concentration of the numerous courts leet and county courts, whose juries were delegated, by their respective districts, to represent the grievances of the community, and to require redress from the crown. It was strictly a high court of justice, whose legislative functions rather resulted from than formed a part of its original des tination. This view of the subject, considering Parliament as a common law-court, and not as a body arising out of the feudal system, or growing up under the licence of the prerogative, is ingenious and novel; and, while it is more consistent, in our opinion, with constitutional principles, it is certainly supported, in this treatise, on very plausible authorities and arguments. We are, however, inclined to look upon disquisitions of this nature as being rather interesting to the antiquary than useful in a practical sense. Whatever may have been the origin and progress of our institutions, it is to their spirit and principle that we are to look; and these it is our duty to apply to the present qualifications and circumstances of the people, without referring us back to times whose habits and acquirements were very dissimilar and inferior to our's. The principle (which, in our constitu tion, is that of representation,) will apply in different degrees to different situations; and it is by this alone, and not by any former application of it, that we are or can be bound. A Supplement to a Collection of Tracts, made by the late Mr. QUINTIN CRAWFURD, and published after his death, forms the subject of the next article. It is favourably spoken of by the reviewer, whose task has been easy, consisting for the most part of a detail of anecdotes respecting the sufferings of Louis the Sixteenth and his queen. These are calculated to bring into the light the more favourable points of their characters; to which we may give faith, without any change of opinion on the course of the singular events in which that unfortunate couple were involved, or on the conduct pursued by them. This is a rather entertaining, but not very important, article. With the succeeding article, which relates to Prison Discipline, and which proceeds from the same hand as other papers in this review, conceived in the same spirit, we feel and must express considerable dissatisfaction, as well with regard to its opinions as to its manner. It is written in the well-known witty and sprightly vein of its reputed author, which is, at best, unsuitable to so serious a topic; and which is still more out of its place when exerted to enforce a system of harsh and severe treatment of prisoners, "There must (says the rc viewer, viewer, in conclusion,) be a great deal of solitude; coarse food; a dress of shame; hard, incessant, irksome, eternal labour; a planned and regulated, and unrelenting, exclusion of happiness and comfort." It appears to be the object of the writer merely to impress the mind of the convict with a terror of future imprisonment; and this is an old and a simple expedient, and, Heaven knows, has been, and always will be, very easily accomplished. But what is the effect? By rendering his labour irksome, are you likely to inspire him with a love of industry? By turning him adrift in the world, pennyless and unhappy, are you likely to reclaim him to better feelings, or to rescue him from future temptation? On his discharge, granting that he hates the prison more, are his necessities, which urged him to crime, less, or his habits and feelings altered or improved? Nothing of all this but he is dismissed with the simple injunction, "You have fallen into this trap once: you know the miseries you have suffered; take care how you get into it again." This is an undisguised system of mere terror, and places the human being on the same level as the brute animal. It is the noble endeavour of the present day to act upon a higher and more efficacious principle; to operate on our moral and intellectual, rather than on our corporeal nature; to replace bad habits by good; to reclaim the sinner, and to raise him, if possible, for a short season, above temptation, by enabling him during his confinement to acquire some small means of exercising his industry profitably after his enlargement. Here we have not force, but reason; and reasonable means directed to beneficial ends. The impression of terror wears away, or is overcome by weightier motives of necessity; but teach a man his duty, inure him to labour, make his labour pleasant and profitable, turn him out with a little capital in hand, and an improved character; and who can hesitate in deciding whether that man is most likely to return to his dungeon, who blesses it as the scene of his amendment, or he who curses it as the witness of his anguish and despair. It gives us great concern to see this review, which ought to do better things, setting itself against the reformed system, and contributing to check those plans, which we have no doubt will, when matured, be as useful as they are honourable to society; and we cannot avoid observing, that a Christian divine does not appear to us to be acting exactly in character, by contributing to darken the house of bondage, and to strike the iron deeper into the heart of the unhappy prisoner. A very powerful and impressive exposition of the State of the Nation, as respects its financial concerns, forms the fourth article; and, notwithstanding all our familiarity with the burdens and grievances of the country, such are the ability and perspicuity with which the statements are here made, and such the force of argument and indignation with which the extravagance of the government is laid before us, that we feel it with all the force of a new and recent fact. From the sixth of a series of tables relating to the expenditure and revenue of the kingdom, which are all highly interesting and instructive, it appears, that, calculating the change in the value of the currency, the country, in the words of the reviewer, "has been paying, during the last year, a larger amount of taxes, by half a million, than it did during the most wasteful and oppressive period of the late war; and a larger amount, by nearly three millions, than it did during the period next to that in point of expenditure." Granting, what we believe to be true, that the return to cash payments was a wise, perhaps an inevitable measure, what is the inference? That no public man should be allowed to retain more of his salary than will barely recompence him for his real labour; that no such thing as a sinecure should exist for a moment longer; and, that our civil, naval, and especially our military establishments, should be reduced to the very lowest possible scale. To this conclusion, or to worse, we must come at last. Through all the course of its various reasonings, this paper deserves the most pointed attention; and, we carnestly recommend its perusal and circulation, as an efficacious means of opening the eyes of the country to its true condition. We next meet with the most spirited and agreeable piece of criticism of which this number can boast, bearing within itself the demonstration of its paternity. It is a review of Lord Byron's tragedies, and makes, we think, a very fair and correct estimate of his powers, as displayed in this de partment. partment. Nor does the disposition of the writer, although he comments with much severity on his lordship and his works, seem to be unfriendly to his author. We really think he means to reform the delinquent, if he could; but, in our apprehension, it is of little avail to desire Lord Byron to emulate Shakspeare, and to multiply, like him, the scenic shadows of human nature; or to recommend to him the fertility and good humour of Walter Scott. Who would think of asking Fuseli to paint like Wilkie? or of requesting Lord Byron himself, as some critics have done, to come home and attend to his business in the House of Lords, where perhaps he might, in fime, become permanent chairman of committees. We must accept him according to his nature,-limited in power, but intense in its action,-concentrated, vehement, and eccentric; in some things inimitable, in many excellent, in others reprehensible. The sixth article, Agricultural Distress, is drawn up with perfect independence, and we entirely acquiesce in the soundness of its principles. The interests of all classes,-growers and consumers, are identified with the freedom of the corn-trade; and the only difficulty consists in letting down the country from its artificial state to that firm basis on which alone its prosperity can be permanent. There is one observation of the reviewer we must notice; he seems to undervalue the effect of taxation. Now, though taxes are not the sole, we contend they are the chief cause of the farmer's distress. A delusive mode of estimating the pressure of taxes is frequently resorted to by ministers and their adherents, in taking the amount of direct taxation, for a correct measure of the degree in which the cultivator is affected by the public burthens. Nothing can be more neous; if taxes operated in this way, they would truly form only a drop in the sea of agricultural difficulties: but we will show the contrary. Direct taxes, which enhance the expenses of cultivation, are obviously injurious; but we contend that taxation universally falls more exclusively on agriculture than on other branches of industry. First, manual labour enters more largely into the produce of agriculture than of manufactures. A piece of broad-cloth or cotton is chiefly wrought erro out by the aid of machinery, but a quarter of wheat can only be produced by the labour of man: hence all taxes on consumption, as excises, &c. by augmenting the price of labour, are peculiarly oppressive to agriculture. Secondly, taxes that do not fall on necessaries, indirectly affect agriculture, by rendering an effective reduction in rent and tithe incompatible with the support of public burdens. We conclude, therefore, that there is no tax the repeal of which would not, pro tanto, afford agricultural relief, inasmuch as there is no tax that does not tend either to augment the cost of production, lessen the power of consumption in the people, or oppose the reduction of revenue derived from the soil. We must be rather brief with Demosthenes, which forms the seventh article, and another long and learned dissertation on Greek eloquence. The writer seems literally in love with his subject, though we confess we do not participate in all his enthusiasm for the ancients. We think with the Abbé Auger, they were partly babillards; and certainly the coarseness and personality of some of their famous orators, in which charges of cowardice, bribery, and ruffianism, are directly made, would hardly be tolerated at this day by the pot-wallopers of palace-yard. We may be deficient, it is true, in taste and learning, when we avow our admiration is more for the moderns than the Greeks and Romans. Their institutions were too warlike and ferocious for us; and we cannot help thinking that one of the greatest improvements mankind are destined to attain, is to explode the illusion of military glory, which formed the beau ideal of the ancient commonwealths. The article, notwithstanding, evinces both taste and eloquence, and we have heard it highly extolled by some Oxford scholars. Comparative Productiveness of High and Low Taxes forms the next subject, in which we think, from the example of Ireland, and the progress of various English duties, the main proposition, that an increase of taxation is not always followed by an increase of revenue, nor a diminution of taxation by a diminution of revenue, is fully established. The public is much indebted to the Edinburgh Journal for the attention paid to these subjects; 1 in in the present number we have three articles devoted to important questions of public economy, all of great ability, and not less distinguished for the sound principles they inculcate, than for the valuable statistical information with which they are illustrated, and which can be found in no other publication. The ninth article, Malaria, is medical, relating to the Walcheren fever, miasma, sciatica, tooth-ach, rheumatism, head-ache, and other bodily inflictions. We suspect the alarming intelligence about malaria prevailing in Bridgestreet, St. James's park, Finsburysquare, and Whitechapel, is merely a ruse de guerre of the reviewer, intended to locate his observations nearer home, as his subject is rather remote, being a "Memoir of Signor Brocchi dell'aria di Roma negli antichi tempi." Tonbridge School forms the tenth and last article, and is apparently intended to keep alive public attention on the important subject of charitable abuses, which Mr. Brougham did himself so much honour in dragging to light. In the case of Tonbridge, it is well known that the funds, for a series of years, have been misapplied by the Skinner's Company; and the question now is, the most advantageous mode of employing the revenues of the charity, amounting to four or five thousand pounds a-year, with a certainty of future augmentation; besides arrears of post-rents, amounting at least to twenty thousand pounds. In the application of the funds, we do not concur in the suggestion of Mr. Prinsep, of establishing a great school on the plan of Eton and Westminster; these foundations are themselves the seat of gross abuses, and certainly any extension of their principle would ill accord with the state of knowledge and the wants of the community. The whole question, however, of charitable abuses, like many others, will never receive an adequate corrective, without a previous change in the representation of the people. Having already expressed our approbation of the present number, we have nothing to add in conclusion. It is manifestly superior to some of its late predecessors; and we doubt not, that, if the future numbers be brought out with similar ability, the Edinburgh Review will soon re-gain whatever ground it may have lost in public estimation. For the Monthly Magazine. NO. I. [It formed a part of the original design of Bored Springs or Artificial_Fountains attention of the public to the successful experiments recently made at Tottenham, and in some villages adjacent, in Essex, to obtain constant supplies of water by boring to certain depths in the earth. In our Magazine for May 1805, vol. 19, p. 368, we gave some particulars of a patent obtained by Mr. James Ryan, for boring for water; and at sundry times we have introduced various notions on the subject, conceiving it to be of the greatest consequence to society. It seems, by a late account published by Mr. Robinson, in his "History of Tottenham," that within the memory of several inhabitants of Tottenham High-Cross, Middlesex, it was a universal complaint, that no good water was to be had in the village. The wells were only a few feet deep, the supply of water was uncertain, and it was not pure enough for domestic purposes. The wells reached only to the blue clay, and therefore their depth depended on that of the superstratum, namely, of the gravel or loam lying upon it. But, within the last forty years, the complaint of the badness of the water has been effectually removed in many places in the parish, and might be so in all. The clay, from the surface of which the water was formerly obtained, and to which it is nearly impervious, has been pierced through in many parts, which has afforded a never-failing supply |