88 



Proceedings of Learned Societies. 



[JOLT, 



for that purpose ; viz., the perching birds, 

 that take their food on trees ; the gallinace- 

 ous birds, that feed exclusively on the ground ; 

 the wading birds, existing partially on Irnd, 

 and partially on water ; the oceanic birds, 

 those exclusively of the water ; and the birds 

 of prey that support themselves alike on 

 trees and in the air. Of these, the gallina- 

 ceous birds formed the subject selected on 

 this occasion for particular illustration ; and 

 Mr. V. clearly traced the leading affinities 

 and analogies that connect the groupesoftbis 

 order. A variety of interesting and beautiful 

 specimens were exhibited, illustrative of the 

 peculiar structure and character of these birds. 



ASTRONOMICAL, GEOLOGICAL, HORTICUL- 

 TURAL, AND LINN^AN, SOCIETIES, &C. 



To none of these societies have any com- 

 munications of peculiar interest, been made 

 since our last, and for the insertion of their 

 routine business, election of members, <fec., 

 we nave not sufficient space ; it affords us 

 pleasure, however, to observe the zeal they 

 manifest in cultivating the sciences they 

 Lave respectively embraced ; and feel confi- 

 dent, that so long as they pursue an honour- 

 able career, neither winking at the appro- 

 priation or employment of their funds for 

 private purposes, nor jobbing as a body for 

 the benefit of individuals, they will be regard- 

 ed by the government as highly beneficial to 

 the country, and be upheld by a generous 

 public, who may be imposed upon for a short 

 time by impudent pretension, when sanc- 

 tioned by an ancient name, but eventually 

 will distinguish between the real and sedulous 

 friends of science, and those who, under pre- 

 tence of upholding its purity, are betraying 

 its interests. 



FOREIGN. 

 INSTITUTE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Paris, March 26. M. M. C. Dupin and 

 Girard delivered respectively some observa- 

 tions on M. Lamblardie's project, for the im- 

 proving the navigation of the Seine. M. 

 Girard opposed it ; M. Dupin did not con- 

 sider that sufficient evidence had been ob- 

 tained to warrant a decisive conclusion on 

 the subject. M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire an- 

 nounced, that the ornithorynchi are ovipa- 

 rous, and lay their eggs in nest.s, into the de- 

 scription of which he entered, but postponed 

 the consideration of the entire subject until 

 he had verified his observations. A favour- 

 able report was delivered by M. Malthieu, 

 and approved by the Academy, on a clock^ 

 of which water was the moving power, and 



which was invented by M. Blanc, of Greno- 

 ble. M. Dupetit Thouars read a memoir 

 connected with the history of conifronstnes. 

 Colonel Bory de St. Vincent, correspondent 

 member of the academy, presented his work 

 on m;m, accompanied by a letter, addressed 

 and which was read by, M. Cuvier. April 2. 

 M. M. Latieille and Dumeril reported on a 

 notice of M. Lepellatier de St. Fargeau, rela- 

 tive to certain hybrid generations (i. e. re- 

 sulting from the union of two different spe- 

 cies), among the genus Volucella ol Geoffroy, 

 A favourable report was delivered by M. M. 

 Cordier and Brudant, on a geological notice, 

 by M. M. Dulcros and Roert, geographical 

 engineers, respecting one portion of the de- 

 partment of the Bouches-du-Rhone. This 

 was adopted by the academy. M. M. de 

 Jonnes read some statistical observations on 

 the civil life and domestic economy of the 

 Romans at the beginning of the fourth cen- 

 tury of the empire. Another notice was 

 read by M. Giroux de Buzareingues, regard- 

 ing some experiments on the re-production 

 of domestic animals. 9. M. Lorane, of the 

 Academy of Turin, communicated some me- 

 teorological observations made at Lombri- 

 asco during the year 1810. The minister of 

 the interior having requested the academy to 

 inquire into the facts connected with the 

 death of Mr. Drake, who was bitten at Rouen 

 by a rattle-snake, a report was made on the 

 subject, and referred to a commission. M. 

 Damoiseau read a memoir on the comet, of 

 which the period is 3-75 years. It was ob- 

 served successively in February and M;irch 

 1826, by M. M. Biela, at Josephstadt (Bo- 

 hemia), Gambart at Marseilles, and Clauzen 

 at Altona ; and according to their respective 

 calculations, this was the comet which ap- 

 peared in 1782 and in 1806: the ellipses cal- 

 culated by M. Gambardt and Clauzen, leave 

 no doubt on this subject. From the re- 

 searches of M. Damoiseau, it appears that 

 this comet will re-pass its perihelion the 27 ih 

 November 1832 (27.4808), in which year 

 also, Enke's comet of 1204 days will re-ap- 

 pear. As a further compliment to the me- 

 mory of M. Laplace, M.Lagendie announced, 

 in the name of the committee of geometry, 

 that they would postpone for six months 

 longer, the election of a successor to that 

 great man. 16. M. Desgenettes proposed 

 himself to the academy as an associate, in 

 place of the late Duke de la Rochefoucault. 

 A memoir was read by M. Cauchy, on the 

 transformation of double integral functions, 

 and on the integration of linear equations 

 of partial differences ; and another by M. 

 Richard, entitled, " Monograph on the Or- 

 chide of the Islands of France and Bour- 

 bon." 



