Passage in the '''■History of the Hoyal Society"* 



applied only for a few minutes, the leaflets in some plants 

 closed as when irritated, and did not expand again for an 

 unusual length of time. In other plants under exposure 

 to the chloroform vapour, no closure of the leaflets took 

 place, and, in a few minutes, the plant became so anaesthe- 

 tized, that the mechanical or other irritation of the leaflets 

 or stalk did not produce any of the common movements, 

 nor did their irritability become restored for a considerable 

 time afterwards." 



On a Passage^ in a Becent History of the Royal Society^ re- 

 lative to the late Sir Humphry Davy. In a Letter Ad- 

 dressed to Professor Jameson, by John Davy, M.D., 

 r.R.S. 



My dear Sir, — In a recently published History of the 

 Royal Society by Charles R. Weld, Esq., assistant-secretary 

 to the Society, in a note to that part of the work in which 

 some account is given of Sir Humphry Davy, is the follow- 

 ing passage, which I am induced to notice, believing equally 

 that the statement in it is founded on some mistake, and that 

 Sir Humphry Davy was incapable of the act implied in it. 

 The passage is the following : — " It may not be generally 

 known that Sir Humphry Davy unsuccessfully petitioned 

 Government for the red ribbon of his predecessor in the 

 Chair of the Royal Society. He felt so certain his request 

 would be granted, that his name was printed with the coveted 

 letters K.B. appended. Captain Smith, to whom I am in- 

 debted for this anecdote, assures me that he saw these let- 

 ters attached to Davy's name in a printed and published do- 

 cument.'^ 



In this statement two things are asserted ; one, that Sir 

 Humphry Davy petitioned Government for the red ribbon 

 of his predecessor, in the Chair of the Royal Society ; the 

 other, that, confident of obtaining it, the letters K.B. were 

 appended prospectively to his name. 



As regards the first, there surely is a mistake. Sir Hum- 

 phry Davy, I know, was peculiarly averse to ask any favour 



