318 Royal Society, 



matters of the uterus and Fallopian tubes were made up of blood- 

 discs, cylindrical epithelium, granular corpuscles, and a few spindle* 

 shaped bodies. 



The second case was that of a girl who had died at St. Luke's 

 Hospital, where the supervision of the patient was quite as strict as 

 jthat in the last case. In this instance the anatomical features were 

 precisely like the preceding. The right Fallopian tube contained a 

 globular body similar to that found in the left on the former occa- 

 sion. This globular body, on being crushed between two pieces of 

 glass and examined under the microscope, was found to consist ex- 

 ternally of a mass of nucleated cells, the remains of the tunica gra- 

 nvlosa^ and of a transparent ring, enclosing an opake granular 

 mass, and a highly pellucid spot. The author considered that this 

 body was the liberated ovule, and the influence of chemical reagents 

 served to support his opinion. 



An examination of the corpora lutea found in both cases, showed 

 that they consisted of large granular corpuscles and oil-globules. 



The conclusions arrived at by the author were as follows : — 



1. That ovules escape from the ovaries of women during the 

 period of menstruation ; and that their escape is a spontaneous act, 

 taking place quite independently of sexual intercourse. 



2. That immediately before, or else consentaneous with, the 

 escape of an ovule, the whole substance of the Graafian follicle 

 becomes charged with effused blood ; and that a sort of fatty dege- 

 neration of the effused matter soon afterwards takes place. 



3. That the mere presence of a yellow body containing a clot in 

 the ovary, is not by any means a certain sign of recent impregnation. 



4'- That a sanguineous fluid is poured out over the whole mucous 

 tract of the generative system during the catamenial period. 



5. That the results of the observation tend to confirm the opinions 

 entertained by Wagner, Bischoff, Barry, and Wharton Jones, con- 

 cerning the membranous nature of that portion of the ovule known 

 as the zona pellucida, 



6. That the oil-globules of the yelk are either enclosed in a di- 

 stinct membrane, or else that a structureless solid material pervades 

 the entire substance of the vitelline body, and so binds the several 

 component elements of it together, 



7. That the recognition of the germinal vesicle removes some 

 doubts concerning its appearance and position in the germ-mass. 



May 15.— The Earl of Rosse, President, in the Chair. 



" Report of further Observations made upon the Tidal Streams 

 of the English Channel and German Ocean, under the authority 

 of the Admiralty, in 1849 and 1850." By Captain F. W. Beechey, 

 R.N. Communicated by G. B. Airy, Esq., F.R.S. &c.. Astronomer 

 Royal. Received March 27, 1851. 



This is the continuation of a report which the author made upon 

 the tidal phenomena of the Irish Sea and English Channel in 1848. 

 After detailing the manner in which the investigation had been con- 

 ducted, and the great care which had been bestowed upon the ob- 



