[ 4.30 ] 



[APRIL, 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



D O M E S T I C. 

 HOYAL SOCIETY. 



We are happy to hear an opinion is very 

 prevalent that the Right Honourable Robert 

 Peel will be called to the chair of this So- 

 ciety, which we shall congratulate on the 

 creditable though tardy appointment of a 

 liberal and enlightened President. At the 

 meeting, on January 25, a paper by Duvies 

 Gilbert, Esq., was read " on the expediency 

 of assigning specific names to all such func- 

 tions of simple elements as represent defi- 

 nite physical proportions, with the suggestion 

 of a new term in mechanics : illustrated by 

 an investigation of the machine moved by 

 recoil ; and also by some observations on 

 the steam engine." The new term is " effi- 

 ciency," which it is proposed to substitute for 

 the word " duty," employed by Mr. Watt, 

 which word " duty'' is to be retained for a 

 similar function indicative of the work per- 

 formed. Feb. 1. There was read an account, 

 by Dr. Harwood, of a new genus of serpenti- 

 form sea animals. This animal was taken up 

 at sea, in latitude 62 N., longitude 51 west. 

 From its continued endeavours apparently 

 to gorge a species of perch of greater cir- 

 cumference than itself it was in a very ex- 

 hausted state, and scarcely made any efforts 

 to resist its capture. It is about four feet 

 six inches in length, is very slender, and the 

 tail has a filamentous termination, occupying 

 about two inches of the entire length of 

 the animal; this begins at the termination 

 of the dorsal fin, which, like all the other 

 fins, is small. The colour is a purplish 

 black, the filamentous portion of the tail 

 being lighter than the rest. Dr. Harwood 

 assigns to it the generic appellation of 

 Ophiognathus, with the specific name of 

 ampullaceus, with the following generic 

 character : corpus nudum, lubricum, colu- 

 briforme, compressum, sacco amplo abdo- 

 minali. On the 8th of February, a paper 

 was read, entitled " an examination into the 

 structure of the cells of the human lungs, 

 with a view to ascertain the office they per- 

 form in respiration, by Sir E. Home, il- 

 lustrated by microscopical observations, by 

 F. Buer, Esq." 



MEDICO BOTANICAL SOCIETY OP LONDON. 



The anniversary meeting of this Society 

 was holden on Tuesday the 16th of January, 

 1827. Sir James M'Grigor, M.D., President, 

 in the chair. The President addressed the 

 Society ut considerable length ; and informed 

 tbe meeting that their council had awarded, 

 in which be hjnl no doubt they would con- 

 cur, the gold medal to John Frost, Esq., F.S.A ., 

 F.L.S., for his valuable communication on the 

 Ipecacuanha ; and the silver medal to John 

 Peter Yozy, Esq., for his paper on the Meuy- 

 anthes tritblhita. The ballot for the council 

 and officers having been closed, and the lists 

 examined, the following gentlemen were de- 



clared unanimously elected: President, Sir 

 James M'Grigor, M.D., F.R.S.,K.C.T.S.; Vice- 

 Presidents, Wm. Thos. Brande, Esq., F.R.S., 

 Prof. Chem. R.I. ; Sir Astley Cooper, Bart., 

 F.R.S.; Sir Alexander Crichton, M.D., F.R.S., 

 F.L.S.; Major-General Sir Benj. D'Drban 

 K.C.B., F.n.s.; Edward Thos. Monro, M.D. 

 Treasurer, Henry Drummond, Esq., F.S.A. 

 Director, John Frost, Esq., F.S.A., F.L.S. 

 Auditor of Accompts, Wm. Newman, Esq., 

 Secretary, Rd. Morris, Esq., F.L.S. ; Hon. 

 Libr. Dr. Monro ; Prof, of Bot., John Frost, 

 Esq. ; Prof, of Toxicology, George G. Sig- 

 mond, M.D., F.L.S.; Consent, of the Coll., 

 John Peter Yozy, Esq.; Council with the 

 above, Henry Brandreth, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., 

 Peter Cosgreave, M.D. ; Thos. Gibbs, Esq., 

 F.H.S. ; Thos. Jones, Esq. ; Wm. Yarrell, 

 Esq., F.L.S. 



FOREIGN. 



INSTITUTE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Paris. Meeting of 18th December. M. 

 Aime Lemoine presented a copy of the new 

 edition of the work of Galin, inventor of 

 the Meloplast, requesting, in the name of 

 the editor, that it might be referred to a 

 commission, for which M. Prony was ap- 

 pointed. Dr. Deleau forwarded to the aca- 

 demy a work of his, printed in 1823, being 

 a description of an instrument for re-esta- 

 blishing the hearing in many cases of deaf- 

 ness. The author remarked that this instru- 

 ment is the same tbat was presented at the 

 last meeting by M. Segalas, for the exami- 

 nation of the bladder. M. M. Audoin and 

 Milne Edwards delivered for the archives 

 the physiological part of their work on the 

 circulation of the crustaceous animals. A 

 memoir was sent on a method of throwing 

 the light upon topographical maps. M. Gef- 

 froy St. Hilaire read a note on the identity 

 of two nominal species of ornithorynchus. 

 M. Majendie was elected to the chair of 

 medicine, vacant by the death of M. Laen- 

 nec. A favourable report was made by 

 M. M. Prony and Favier on M. M. Vernet 

 and Gauwin's process for generating steam. 

 M.Gironde Buzareingues was named corres- 

 pondent in the section of moral economy. 

 M. Majendie read the second part of his me- 

 moir on the liquid which is found in the 

 skull and the dorsal spine of man and mam- 

 miferous animals: he also shewed an ana- 

 tomical preparation in wax, by M. Dupout, 

 and which perfectly represents the objects 

 to which his researches extended. On the 

 26th, M. Le Noir presented a memoir on the 

 levelling circles and the ruler for calculating, 

 with specimens of the latter. The minister 

 of the interior forwarded some documents 

 collected by the prefect of the Tarn, on an 

 aerolith, which fell in that department. M. 

 Bunten, who has constructed some barome- 

 ters of a new form, requested the academy 



