t* Royal Society, 



X.- Proceedings of Learned Societies, 



ROYAL SOCIETY. 



January 11, — The prcsiJent in the chair. This society 

 tavinij; asscinhled after the hohdays, a summary of Mr* 

 Homt's observations on dissecting iheman who lately died 

 m the hospiral in consequence of the bite of a rat tie- sua!; e 

 was read. Mr. Hoir.e related all the symptoms from the lime 

 the patient was bitten till his death, which corresponded 

 with those observed by Dr. Russel at Aleppo, and were ; 

 torpor in the part, swelled arm, pain, fever, delirium ; low 

 lapid pulse, generally 100, mortification and death after ]8 

 «hys' suffering. On opening the boily, the blood in the 

 pericardium had a frothy appearance, and the skin of the 

 arm separated entirely from the muscles, as observed by 

 Dr. R. Mr. 11. related two or three other cases of the 

 bites of snakes terminating in the same manner and with 

 similar effects. 



The evenings of the 18th and 25th were occupied iii 

 reading a very long and important })aper on the compara- 

 tive qualities and strength of British and foreign culinary 

 &ah, by Dr. Henry, of Manchester. After stating the 

 popular prejudice in favour of the supposed superior strength 

 of foreign salt, compared with British, Dr. H. proceeded 

 to detail the general process of preparing salt in different 

 parts of England and Scotland, compared with the sea or 

 bay- salt from St. Ubes, which is vulgarly believed to pre- 

 serve meat belter than English bay-salt. To ascertain 

 if there could be any reason for this belief. Dr. H. ana- 

 lysed specimens from ail the mines and maVju factories of 

 the common salt of conmierce, and fouiul their results so 

 analogous, as to render any great difference in their curative 

 powers almost impossible. The results of his experiments 

 he drew up in a tabular form, exhibiting the constituent prin- 

 ciples of the salt of various places ; in JOGO parts he found 

 the quantity of muriate of soda to vary only from 935 to 

 988, the lowest and highest in any culinary salt. In ihcj 

 foreign salt h.e generally found two or three parts more olf 

 muriate of soda than in the British ; but this advantage wa» 

 ii>ore than counterbalanced by the extra quantity of sul- 

 phates of lime and magnesia in foreign salt : the latter sub- 

 stances also exist in British salt, but generally in* much 

 •Jess proportions, particularly the sulphate of lime. Hence 

 Dr. H. concluded that our native salt is in every respect 

 equal to foreign salt for the preservation of provisions^ and 



that 



