474 Royal Society : — 



The stomach being exposed was found distended with food. Gal- 

 yanism of the sound vagus caused evident contractions of this organ, 

 which were strongest at the neck or constriction which it usually 

 presents (in the rabbit), — from whence they radiated in both direc- 

 tions, becoming more and more faint. On stimulating the other 

 vagus, from which the accessory had been virtually eliminated, no 

 perceptible influence was observed. 



Microscopic examination showed that the cervical part of the 

 yagus of the side operated on contained numerous disorganized 

 fibres, almost all collected together in a single fasciculus, which in- 

 cluded only a few normal fibres. In the recurrent branch were dis- 

 organized fibres, corresponding very closely to those found in the 

 vagus, above it. Below the recurrent, the vagus and its cardiac, pul- 

 monary and gastric branches consisted almost entirely of normal 

 fibres, most of which, as is well known, are nucleated fibres. 



From the foregoing observations, the author draws the conclusion, 

 that from the spinal accessory are derived the greater part of the 

 motor fibres contained in the vagus, which govern the movement of 

 the larynx, the heart, and the stomach. He likewise infers from 

 the microscopic examination of the vagus below the recurrent, that 

 the motor fibres distributed to the heart and stomach belong almost 

 exclusively to the nucleated or * Remak ' fibres. 



The author purposes communicating in a future paper his 

 researches on the other organs supplied by the vagus. 



The above experiments were principally carried out in the labora- 

 tory of M. Flourens at the Jardin des Plants, who facilitated in 

 every way the researches, and where the author had the able 

 assistance of Drs. Philipeaux and Vulpian. 



"Extract of a Letter to George Rennie, Esq., F.R.S., from P. A. 

 Secchi, Director of the Astronomical Observatory of the Collegio 

 Romano, containing explanatory remarks on a drawing of the Lunar 

 Spot * Copernicus,' presented by him to the Royal Society." Dated 

 Rome, March 13, 1856. 



" As to the drawing of the spot of the moon, it is a first attempt 

 to obtain an accurate representation of the interesting spot * Coper- 

 nicus.' In such large dimensions, photography directly taken 

 with the telescope has been impossible ; I therefore made first an 

 accurate triangulation of the spot with the micrometer, and the 

 principal points were thus laid down on the chart, after which opera- 

 tion the rest was filled in by the eye alone. The power used has 

 been always either 1000 or 760. As it was impossible to carry 

 through such a work in a single night, on the first night of good 

 opportunity a general outline was taken, and on the other evenings 

 particular drawings were made, and all these parts, taken in different 

 grades of hght and shadow, were afterwards harmonized together and 

 compared with the moon when the point of light was seen to be the 

 same as on the first night. So this work occupied more than six 

 months, that is, all the favourable positions (two at each lunation) 

 which could be obtained. I do not pretend it to be yet accurate 



