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time when man began to cook his food, thereby giving his teeth less 
work to perform. Had we continued to grind our corn with our 
molars, and to tear the raw meat from the bone with our canines, 
we should still possess the useful but less ornameutal jaws of our 
remote ancestors. Oscar Schmidt tells us that as our mental 
powers improve the work performed by our teeth will diminish, 
probably by the increased use of artifically digested food, and that 
the ‘‘coming man” will only possess a short receding chin with 
hard toothless gums, somewhat like the sharp cutting jaw of the 
turtle. 
Chemists continue as indefatigable as ever, and are constantly 
adding to our medical and dietetic resources. One wishes some- 
times that they were less industrious, at any rate when their 
researches enables tradesmen to supply us with margarine in place 
of butter, with wine-which has never known the grape, and sweets 
and confectionary flavoured with more or less poisonous derivatives 
of fusil oil. We have now a new candidate for commercial favour 
in the form of saccharin, a substitute for sugar, which is called in 
accordance with the simple chemical nomenclature now in 
fashion—Anhydro-ortho-sulphamine-benzoic-acid, a derivative of 
Orthotoluene sulphonamide! This new substance possesses the 
most powerful sweetening properties, one part in 10,000 of water 
being sufficient to render it perceptibly sweet. Professor Stutzer 
has been making a series of experiments on animals by sweetening 
their food with saccharin, and can trace no injurious consequences 
to its use. It would be interesting to know if the same views are 
taken by the dogs and rabbits on which he experimented. 
Saccharin will doubtless be largely used for sweetening confec- 
tionary, syrups, &c., and may perhaps be beneficially employed in 
medicine. It is said too that quinine can now be manufactured 
synthetically at the price of 3d. per ounce. This would render us 
independent of the cinchona tree, and would be an immense boon 
to thousands, as Quinine at present costs about ten shillings an 
ounce, only 5 per cent. being extracted from the bark, the other 
95 parts being wasted. Thus we may fairly say that although 
1886 has witnessed no very brilliant or startling discoveries, Science 
has been by no means at a standstill. Advances have been made 
all along the line, and scientists have been as energetic and 
indefatigable as in bygone years. 
A cordial yote of thanks having been accorded to the President 
for his able and interesting address, the election of officers was 
proceeded with. The president was re-elected, and the Vice- 
presidents, and also the committee, with the addition of the names 
of Mr. Knight, and Mr. A. H. Ullyett. Mr. Hy. Ullyett was re- 
