454 



bigger than the finger, has proved fatal, — that the roots are poison- 

 ous in some countries, from the beginning of January till the 

 middle of October at all events, and probably throughout the whole 

 year ; and that Spain may be added to the countries formerly men- 

 tioned, where fatal effects have been produced by the plant. 



He next added, that he had recently tried on a dog the effects of 

 the juice of a pound of tubers, collected by Dr Pereira on the 16th 

 December from the locality at Woolwich ; and that no effect, or an 

 exceeding slight one only, was produced. 



It was farther observed, that, according to an analysis executed 

 in 1830 by MM. Pihan-Dufeilay and Cormerais, the activity of 

 the roots in French plants depends upon a resin . On proceedino- to try 

 upon a rabbit the effects of the resin, obtained by their process from 

 the Woolwich plants, the author found that, when the resin from eight 

 ounces avoirdupois, amounting to 24 grains, was introduced in the 

 state of emulsion into the cellular tissue, the animal died in 78 

 minutes, after being affected with a i-emarkable combination of tetanic 

 spasm and convulsions : but that no effect whatever was produced 

 by the resinous extract from the same quantity of roots obtained 

 about the same season of the year (midwinter) from the Dalmeny 

 cenanthe, near Edinburgh, 



He concluded this notice with an account of some experiments on 

 the chemical analysis of o?nanthe, observing that he had failed to 

 obtain any principle from the Dalmeny seeds or root, by a process 

 analogous to that by which conia is obtained from hemlock ; and 

 that the alcoholic extract of the Woolwich plants, distilled with solu- 

 tion of potash, yielded, like hemlock, a little oleaginous-like fluid, 

 which was too minute in quantity for him to ascertain its properties 

 accurately, but which on the whole seemed a volatile oil, and not an 

 alkaloid. 



Lieut. -Colonel Lowe was duly elected an Ordinary Fellow. 



Monday, 12th Fehrnary 1844. 

 Dr ABERCROMBIE, V. P., in the Chair. 



The following communications were read : — 



1. On the Cellular Fibre and the Incrusting Matters of Plants. 

 By Mr P. F. H. Fromberg. Communicated by Professor 

 .Johnston. 



The results obtained by the author, on analysing the cellular 



