\ 74 Royal Society .• — Pa tents. 



{•'oetus, nearly the full size, seven months old, acid without 

 either heart, liver, or gall-bladder, was read. This was con- 

 sidered ihe best formed foetus which has hitherto been known 

 without a heart, although the author cited a considerable 

 number. It appears that all such children have been twins, 

 and that the present was quite as large as the other foetus 

 which had its organs complete, ' 



Capt. Burney furnished two papers, one on the motion of 

 heavy bodies in the Thames, detailing some experiments 

 with loaded sticks, to ascertain why loaded barges sailed 

 taster than the current, or than unloaded barges; but his 

 experiments only tended to confirm the tact that the heaviest 

 end of a pole always went first with the current. The other 

 was a plan for measuring a ship's way at sea, by means of 

 a steel-yard and line,' where a pound weight should indicate 

 a mile, or more or less, according to the power of the in- 

 strument. 



Feb. 23.— -A letter from Mr. Knight to the President was 

 read, containing some further observations on the sap o{ 

 trees, the formation of radicles from the bark, and also that 

 of the buds from the same source, instead of their being 

 produced from the alburnum, -as supposed. 



A paper of Mr. Home's, on a peculiar joint discovered 

 in the squalus maximus (basking shark), lately cast on the 

 sea shore, was laid before the Society, accompanied by a 

 drawing. More interesting particulars respecting the stomaclir 

 of this fish arc to form the subject of another communication. 



XXX. List of Patents for New Inventions. 



J. o Malcolm Mac Gregor, of Bell-yard, Carey Street, mu- 

 sical instrument maker, and William Mac Farland, of the 

 Strand, umbrella manufacturer, for certain improvements in 

 the construction of umbrellas and parasols. Dec. 29. 



To John Bricrley, of River Bank, in the eounty of Flint, 

 for a process of setting blue lead, for corroding the same 

 into white lead. Jan. 17, 1809. 



To James Goddart, of Newman Street, gent., for his ma- 

 chinery for manufacturing a certain description of wooden 



boxes 



