26G TKANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY OF 



substances which meet the conditions required by these researches are 

 few in number. 



M. E. Ador has presented to the society a summary of his researches 

 in regard to the radical of phtalic acid. 



I close the account of our labors in physical science by mentioning 

 the oral summary given by M. Casin of some of his researches, already 

 printed, which he has presented to the society. 



I also recall that Professor Gautier in numerous reports, several of 

 which have been published in the archives, has informed us of various 

 astronomical investigations, and in particular of those of M. Huggins 

 of stellar spectra in regard to the direction of the movement of stars in 

 relation to the earth. 



2. The natural sciences. — Geology and paleontology have so much in 

 common, that it seems to me quite natural to mention in connection what 

 relates to these two sciences. 



I would remind you that M. A. Favre presented an article upon phos. 

 phates, and their beds, and that M. E. Favre made the society acquainted 

 with the recent works upon the structure of ammonites. 



The boring of the Gothard cannot fail to interest geologists. Specimens 

 of the different rocks encountered will be preserved in their order of 

 succession. M. A. Favre, in making a communication to the society 

 upon this subject, suggested the request for a set of these specimens for 

 the Museum of Geneva. 



M. Ed. Sarasin presented an article, prepared with the assistance of 

 M. Fuchs, upon the sources of the petroleum of Campina, in Wallachia. 

 This article assigns to peti^oleum an eruptive origin, and assimilates it to 

 the hydrocarbons disengaged during volcanic phenomena. This hy- 

 pothesis led the authors to expect that they would find in beds of petro- 

 leum a distribution analogous to that of metalliferous strata ; their 

 anticipations were confirmed by the discovery of an orientation^ following 

 two parallel lines, in the petroleum-emanations of the plateau of Cam- 

 pina. 



M. de Saussure, on his return from a visit to Naples, gave us a descrip- 

 tion of the crater of Vesuvius, then in eruption, (see the Journal of 

 Geneva,) and also presented the society with several other communi- 

 cations, upon various subjects, which have already been published. 



M. Dor exhibited to us three skulls of the lacustrian period, recently 

 discovered. Two of these skulls belong to the stone age, and are there- 

 fore very valuable, on account of the rarity of such specimens, a rarity 

 probably due to the custom of burning bodies. They are skulls of the 

 ancient Helvetians, a Celtic race. The large size of one of them shows 

 that the stature of the man of the stone age was greater than has been 

 supposed. The third is the skuli of a child of the bronze age. 



Under the head of " animal physiology " should be recorded the re- 

 searches of M. Prevost upon the section of the cord of the tympanum. 

 Contrary to the opinion first announced by M. Vulpian, and afterward 



