[JAN. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 

 DOMESTIC. FOREIGN. 



ROYAL SOCIETY. 



The Royal Society re-assembled for their 

 next session on the 16th November. The 

 President, Sir H. Davy, announced that 

 the apartments in Somerset-House, in the 

 occupation of the late Commissioners of the 

 Lottery, had been placed by His Majesty 

 nt the disposal of the society. He also an- 

 nounced the resignation of W. T. Brande, 

 Esq., one of the secretaries. Lieut -col. 

 Denham, Capt. W. H. Smith, R.N., and 

 N. Brown, Esq., were admitted Fellows 

 of the Society. The Croonian Lecture, by 

 Sir E. Home, V.P.R.S., was read. "On 

 the generation of the common oyster and 

 the river muscle, with microscopical illus- 

 trations," by Mr. Bauer. The reading of 

 a paper was commenced, " on a percussion 

 shell, to be fired from a common gun," by 

 Lieut-col. Millar; communicated by R. 

 T. Murchison, Esq., F.R.S. 



Nov. 23d. Charles Bell, Esq., was ad- 

 mitted Fellow of the Society. MM. Bou- 

 vard, Chevreil and Dulong were elected 

 Foreign Members; and the reading of 

 Lieut. -col. Millar's paper concluded. 



LINNJEAN SOCIETY. 



Nov. 7th. A. B. Lambert, Esq., V.P., 

 in the chair. A continuation of Dr. Ha- 

 milton's " commentary ou the Hortus Ma- 

 labaricus" was read. Jos. Woods, Esq. 

 was elected Member of the Council in the 

 place of the late Sir T. S. Raffles. 



Nov. 2 1st. Part of a paper was read, 

 entitled " remarks on the comparative ana- 

 tomy, &c. of certain birds of Cuba/' by W. 

 S. Macleay, F.L.S. 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



A paper was read, entitled " additional 

 remarks on the nature and character of the 

 limestone and slate, composing principally 

 the rocks and hills round Plymouth," by 

 the Rev. R. Hcmiah, F.G.S. The -inference 

 tliat the author deduces is, that the slate 

 beyond the Plymouth limestone, as far- 

 southward as Wlutcsand Bay, is not primi- 

 tive ; and he has found no animal remains 

 in the slate north of that limestone. Ex- 

 tracts were read from letters from Capt. 

 Franklin, R.N., and Dr. Richardson, dated 

 5th Nov. 1825, at Fort Franklin, on the 

 Great Bear Lake. Capt. Franklin states, 

 that he had reached the sea at the mouth 

 of the Mackenzie river, in lat. 69 29', 

 long. 135 40', and gives a general account 

 of the course of that river. Dr. Richard- 

 sou had been employed in examining the 

 northern shore of the Great Bear Lake, 

 #nd ascribes the principal physical and geo- 

 li>g!f] features of that part of the country. 



INSTITUTE ACADKMY OF SCIENCES. 



Paris, September <k M. Ampere read a 

 note on a new electro dynamic experiment, 

 which proves the action of a metallic disc 

 in motion on a portion of the voltaic con- 

 ductor, l)cnt into a spiral form. Messrs. 

 Molard, Dupin and Navier, made a favour- 

 able report on a new method of weaving 

 all sorts of stuffs, invented by M. Augustin 

 Corant, manufacturer at St. Julien. M. 

 Geoffroy St. Hilaire read a memoir, en- 

 titled " an exposition and explication of the 

 facts and phenomena of monstrosity by ex- 

 cess. " The result of this gentleman's own. 

 observations confirms the law of the eccen- 

 tric development of the organs, so ably ex- 

 plained by M. Serres. M. Audoin read an 

 essay on the history of cantharides. M. 

 Louyer Villerme read a memoir on the 

 principal causes of the insalubrity and mor- 

 tality in prisons, and on the intensity of 

 the action of these causes ; referred to 

 Messrs. Sylvestre, Fourier, and Coquebert- 

 Monteret. September 11. A note was read 

 from M. Bouvard, containing the elements 

 of the parabolic orbit, calculated by M. 

 Gambart, of the comet discovered by him 

 in August 1826. M. Segalas announced 

 the results of his researches on a method 

 of simplifying- the operation for the stone, 

 and of curing urinary fistula of the bladder. 

 Au Italian memoir by M. Hildenbrandt 

 was presented, " experiments to discover a 

 more efficacious method of preserving ana- 

 tomical and pathological preparations, and 

 the advantages thence resulting." M. de 

 Candolle was elected' a foreign member, in 

 the place of M. Piazzi. A human monster, 

 received the preceding week from Chaillot, 

 was presented by M. St. Hilaire. M. Am- 

 pere performed the experiments described 

 at the last meeting. Sejitenifcr'18. An ir- 

 delible ink, invented by M. Taraj", was 

 .presented by the minister of justice ; re- 

 ferred to the commission already sitting on 

 the subject. M. Segalas communicated 

 several experiments on the action of nux 

 vomica and other poisonous Fiibstances on 

 the nervous system. Dr. Pastre read a 

 memoir on the cause of the protracted sleep 

 of certain animals in winter. September 2 

 A verbal report was made by M. DumeriJ, 

 on a memoir by M. Frederic Cuvier, en- 

 titled " observations on the structure and 

 development of feathers. A very highly 

 favourable report was made by M. Dupin, 

 on the Marquis de Poterat's " theory of 

 shipping." Dr. Teraube presented the 

 first part of a work on the practices inju- 

 rious to health. Messrs. Henschel, bro- 

 thers, of Berlin, wrote to say that they had 

 discovered a paper from which writing 

 could not be removed, without traces re- 

 maining of what had been effaced. A de- 



