46 i French Nationallnstitute, 



illustrator of the corallines. — At the same meeting, Dr» 

 John Barclay read remarks on some parts of the structure 

 of the large marine animal cast ashore in Stronsay last 

 year. 



At a meeting on the 26th May, Dr. John Yule read a 

 summary of experiments and observations on the germina- 

 tion of the GramincaPj in which he stated some new facts 

 respecting the oeconomv of this useFul class of plants, il- 

 lustrated by a series of drawings and specimens of the ger- 

 minated seeds of the Cerealia or cultivated species ; and of 

 the buds of the stem, and panicle of viviparous Grasses. — '<- 

 And the secretary read a communication from William 

 Fitton, esq. on the porcelain-earth of Cornwall. 



FRENCH NATIONAL INSTITUTE, 



[Concluded from p. ^99.] 



Messrs. Majendie and Delisle have communicated to th^ 

 clas^:; their experiments made on animals by means of the 

 matter vvith which the natives of the Isles of Java and of 

 Borneo poison their arrows. [See Royal Society, two 

 pages back.] 



M. Vauquelin has also made some experiments of this 

 f<ind : at the end of his chenjical analysis of the juice of ilie 

 belladonna, he speaks of the effects of this substance on 

 animals. Those which be forced to swallow it, fell down 

 as if intoxicated, in a delirium precisely similar to that pro- 

 dttced liV cipium. 



M. Sage has reported on the same subject some more ex- 

 periments, which chance threw in his way, or which he 

 collected from authrors, and vi'hich cfwifirm the action of 

 this juice on the nervous system, and partictdarly on the^ 

 brain. 



A yoans: practitioner in medichie, whose name has been 

 mentioned in former annual reports, M. Nysten, has at- 

 tempted to ascertain the effects of different gases injected 

 into the blood-vessels of animals : he ui^ed the iijreater part 

 of the gases with which we are acquainted. Atmospheric 

 air, oxyge-n gas, the oxidulated azotic, carbonic acid, car- 

 bonic, phosphurctted and hydrogenated gases, &c. are in no 

 respect deleterious. The oxy-muriatic, nitrous acid, and 

 ammoniacal gases seem to act by very violently irritating 

 the right auricle and the pulmonary ventricle. The sul- 

 phuretted hydrogen, ^rxide of azote, and nzolic jjases in- 

 jure the contractile power of these parts: others also change 

 the nature of the blood so completely, that respiration can 

 no longer convert it from venous blocd into arterial; &c. 



MEDICI NF 



