[Commonplace book], 1800-1841

Manuscript, in a single hand, of a collection of notes on primarily biological, scientific, mathematical, and historical subjects, as well as recipes and humorous anecdotes and verses. The volume begins with notes on parrots, crocodiles, the oxfly, parallel rulers, the concept of proportion, and Niagara Falls, followed by a collection of tables of coins and their worth in cities and countries around the world, including England, Ireland, Flanders, Hamburg, Russia, Portugal, Persia, Japan, and Morocco. The volume also contains a list of symbols for chemicals; diagrammatic drawings of ovals, elipses, arches, and squares; humorous epigrams, anecdotes, epitaphs, and riddles; and several entries in shorthand; as well as historical notes on Catherine of Russia, Ostend; Brussels; and St. Petersburg. The last section of the volume is composed primarily of household and veterinarian recipes, including one to cure scabs in sheep; blacking for harnesses; to destroy fleas in dogs; and to cure foul water in cows. A recipe for stuffing birds is annotated, "Best. See my scrap book given by Mr Ashew a stuffer of birds."

The volume also contains several pen drawings, including one to illustrate a mite and another to illustrate parallel rulers