Royal Society of Edinburgh. 303 



margin of the shell these were simple [roundish, oval, or oblong] j 

 towards the centre more complex [elongated and variously but 

 slightly branched]. Internally, I found the gills distinctly, and, 

 to all appearance, perfectly formed. The ink bag contained a con- 

 siderable quantity of very deep-coloured ink. The inferior pair of 

 arms were very broad at their base, and furnished with a fin- like 

 expansion. 



«' The foetus which I laid aside (in salt water), covered with the 

 inner coat only (that membrane being entire), I found this morning 

 outside of it and dead. I opened others of the group of eggs, and 

 found every fcetus dead. Some had ejected part of their ink within 

 the eg£. in some the amniotic fluid was, in part, gelatinous. The 

 spots were distinctly visible on the skin of the mantle, head, and 

 arms ; yellowish brown beneath ; darker above." 



Mr. Cox read a Paper " On the Circumstances which modify the 

 Existence of Animals in Northern Regions." He dwelt on the mi- 

 grations of these animals, chiefly in search of food, which in the 

 countries they usually inhabit could scarcely be obtained during the 

 winter months. When the spring returns, and the supply of nutri- 

 ment becomes abundant, plethora and consequent disease would 

 probably result; but this, the author conceives, is provided against 

 partly by the expenditure of the animal forces for the purposes of 

 generation, and, in the Ruminants with deciduous horns at least, by 

 the extra supply of blood required for the renovation of these or- 

 gans. The horns of the several species of Deer, Mr. Cox remarked, 

 appear to be large proportionally with the extent to which the va- 

 riation in the deficiency and abundance of food at different seasons 

 of the year prevails; those of the extreme north being much more 

 heavy and branched than those of the animals of more temperate 

 regions ; and the branching being at its minimum in the Deer of 

 India. In still warmer countries and in tropical regions, Deer al- 

 most cease to exist, their place being occupied by Antelopes, Rumi- 

 nants with persistent horns; a provision quite in accordance with 

 the assumed law that the growth of horn is designed to employ su- 

 perabundant blood produced by excess of nourishment at one period 

 of the year, these animals in which the horns are continually grow- 

 ing having constantly at their disposal food in sufficient and nearly 

 equable quantity. 



ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 



" Experimental Researches regarding certain Vibrations which take 

 place between Metallic Masses having different Temperatures." By 

 James D. Forbes, Esq. Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Uni- 

 versity of Edinburgh.* 



The vibrations here referred to are those which, with their accom- 

 panying sounds, were first observed by Mr. Arthur Trevelyan, and 

 communicated to this Society in a paper published in the 12th volume 

 of their Transactions. The author of the present paper undertook 



* The paper of which the above is an abstract, was read before the Royal 

 Society of Edinburgh on the 1st of April, 1833, — Edit. 



