Ma. Alston mi Printing /or th4i BUnd. 239 



pliate of limo was introduced by substituting sulphuric acid for muri- 

 atic acid in the precipitation of the sulphur from its base. I may 

 mention that this adulteration is easily detected by the microscope, 

 the crystals of sulphate of lime being very apparent. It is not easy 

 to discover any other method of excluding such adulterated articles 

 from commerce, unless by the acquisition of a scientific knowledge of 

 chemistry by the druggists of this country. — R. D. T. 



\Oth April, 1844. — The President in the Chair. 



It was agreed, on the recommendation of Council, that the office- 

 bearers of sections shall in future be elected at the end instead of the 

 beginning of the session. The Sectional Secretaries were therefore 

 requested to summon their several sections for this purpose. It was 

 also agreed that the next session should be opened with a conversa- 

 tional meeting, and a Committee was appointed to make arrangements 

 for the meeting — Mr. Wm. Murray being Convener. 



The following recommendation of Council was also agreed to : — viz., 

 that a grant of money, not exceeding £5, be made from the funds of 

 the Society, to a Committee for the purpose of investigating the Che- 

 mistry and Physiology of Digestion — the Committee to consist of 

 Dr. Andrew Buchanan, Dr. Andrew Anderson, Mr. Stenhouse, Dr. R. 

 D. Thomson ; and Dr. John Findlay, Convener. The following 

 minute of Council was submitted and approved of: — " That Mr. Liddell, 

 Dr. Watt, and the Assistant Secretary, be appointed a Committee to 

 prepare a Historical Account of the Origin and Progress of the Philo- 

 sophical Society, to be prefixed to the first volume of the Proceedings 

 of this Society." 



The following paper was read at a conversational meeting at the 

 Blind Asylum, on the 9th inst. 



LI I. — On Printing for the Blind, By John Alston, Esq. 



Thb invention of printing in relief characters was among the 

 earliest and most obvious methods employed for the instruction of the 

 blind. By means of the sense of hearing alone, persons born blind, 

 or who have been deprived of their sight, have frequently acquired a 

 high degree of knowledge, and have distinguished themselves in 

 literature and science. But in the education of the blind in early 

 life, it was felt to be of the utmost importance to bring the sense of 

 touch into play as an auxiliary to that of hearing ; for in this way 

 alone could we place the blind in circumstances fitted for carrying on 

 the work of self-education after their leaving our charge. A great 

 deal of ingenuity has been displayed in the formation of characters. 



