OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 61 



except during the paroxysms ; the special nerves are the seat 

 of the disease, and death ensues from asphyxia. In hydro- 

 phobia, not only the spinal nerves, but the medulla oblongata 

 and the brain are affected. There are many cases of hydro- 

 phobia reported, but genuine cases are quite rare. 



Dr. A. A. Gould mentioned the cases of a family of "bleed- 

 ers," in which this idiosyncrasy of profuse and uncontrollable 

 hemorrhage from trifling wounds was hereditary for four gen- 

 erations. The cases had come under his own observation. 

 Every one of the males was a bleeder, but not one of the fe- 

 males. There was also the usually observed tendency to 

 rheumatic pains in these individuals. 



Dr. Burnett read a paper on the "Intimate Structure of 

 Muscle," in which he combated Martin Barry's idea, that ani- 

 mal fibre is composed of twin spiral filaments. He consid- 

 ered the spiral arrangement as an accident, and not an essential 

 character ;' he exhibited specimens under the microscope in 

 confirmation of his views. 



Professor Wyman observed that the same course of develop- 

 ment mentioned by Dr. Burnett as occurring in the formation 

 of muscular fibre, or cells arranging themselves in linear series, 

 then forming fibrillas and strias, he had noticed in the scale of 

 animal life ; as you ascend from the Polyp, where there is 

 nothing but cells, to the higher forms of life, the linear ar- 

 rangement, the fibrillae, and the strias successively make their 

 appearance in the muscular structure. 



Dr. Storer alluded to the sudden death of J. E. Tesche- 

 macher, Esq., a Fellow of the Academy, and spoke in the 

 highest terms of his attainments in natural science, especially 

 mineralogy, geology, and botany ; and of the qualities which 

 made him in every respect a most estimable man. 



D. A. A. Gould observed, that, in addition to his purely sci- 

 entific attainments, Mr. Teschemacher was an excellent lin- 

 guist, and eminent for his knowledge of horticulture and agri- 

 culture. His latest investigations had been to ascertain from 

 what kind of plants coal has been formed ; his collection of 



