62 Royal Society. 



Cephalopoda occur in the argillaceous deposits of the oolite in Wilt- 

 shire ; namely, the first or true Calamary, with a horny dorsal gla- 

 dius or pen ; the second, the Belemnoteuthis, or a decapod with unci- 

 nated cephalic arms, ink-hag, pallial fins, and a corneo-calcareous 

 phragmocone ; and the third, the Belemnite, which possessed a phrag- 

 mocone having the apical part implanted in the cavity or- alveolus of 

 a guard or osselet, which in its original state resemhled in substance 

 the sepiostaire of the Cuttle-fish, but is generally found mineralized 

 by calcareous spar ; and the peristome, possessing two or more elon- 

 gated shelly processes ; both the guard and the phragmocone being 

 invested with a corneo-calcareous capsule or receptacle. He observes, 

 lastly, that the body and other soft parts of the cephalopod of the 

 Belemnite are at present unknown. The author's communication 

 was illustrated by drawings, and accompanied by the specimens 

 above described. 



March 30. — " Chemical Researches on the Nature of Wax." By 

 Benjamin Collins Brodie, Esq. Communicated by Sir Benjamin 

 Collins Brodie, Bart., F.R.S. 



It is known that bees'-wax is separable, by means of boiling alcohol, 

 into two portions : to the one, which is more soluble in alcohol than 

 the other portion, the name of Cerine has been given : the residuary 

 portion, which does not dissolve, has been termed Mycicine. In this 

 paper the author gives an account of his investigation of the proper- 

 ties of the former of these substances, namely Cerine. 



This substance has been represented by certain chemists in France, 

 M. Lewy and M. Gerhardt, as being convertible by oxidation into 

 stearic acid, and as being a substance which stands with respect 

 to that acid in the remarkable relation of an aldehyde. These views 

 the author believes are incorrect ; and he states that no pure chemical 

 substance was procured by these chemists from cerine, and that the 

 substance of which the greater part of the cerine consists is no alde- 

 hyde, but a hydrated acid, existing as such in- bees'-wax. 



The acid is best prepared by precipitation from the alcoholic solu- 

 tion of the cerine by an alcoholic solution of acetate of lead, and sub- 

 sequent separation and precipitation of the acid by methods described 

 in the present paper. When purified, the acid is a white brittle 

 body, of a crystalline appearance, melting at from 79° to 80° C. 

 The formula of the acid is C M H 54 4 , a formula which was deter- 

 mined by the analysis of the silver salt having the constitution C 54 

 H 5 j O; -f AgO, and of the compound ether C 68 H 68 4 = C M H 53 3 

 + C 4 Hj O. The acid is volatile : it was analysed after distilla- 

 tion ; and it was also procured from the wax itself in a pure state by 

 simple processes of crystallization. To this acid the author gives 

 the name of Cerotic acid. 



By the action of chlorine, the wax- acid is converted into a sub- 

 stance having all the appearance of a gum-resin ; a change analogous 

 to which may be effected in various other wax substances examined 

 by the author. It has still the characters of an acid, and has the 



p, 4 - 4 , a formula which is confirmed by that of the 



