139 



and albumen in certain proportions. These diminish in organisablo 

 power as the exudation abounds in albumen or becomes tubercular, 

 and assume an excessive growth and power of reproduction, as it 

 abounds in the oily element, as in soft cancer. Tubercle is generally 

 found in organs destitute of fat, such as the lungs and fibrous mem- 

 branes, whilst it is rare in fatty organs, such as the brain and liver. 

 On the other hand, cancer is most common in fatty organs, such as 

 the mamma and liver, and is exceedingly rare in the lungs and fibrous 

 tissues. Again tubercle is common m the young, in whom assimila- 

 tion rarely produces an excess of fat ; whereas cancer is most frequent 

 in advanced life, when obesity and fatty accumulations are especially 

 apt to occur. The importance of these facts in regulating the diet 

 of animals, and in a system of therapeutics, must be evident. 



3. Experiments on the Ordinary Refraction of Light, by Ice- 

 land Spar. By W. Swan, Esq. Communicated by Pro- 

 fessor Kelland. 



The following Gentlemen were duly elected Ordinary Fel- 

 lows : — 



W. Macdonald Macdonald, Esq., of St Martins. 



Robert Handyside, Esq., Advocate. 



Alexander Christie, Esq., Surgeon, H. E. I. C. Service. 



The following Donations to the Library were announced : — 



On the Silurian Rocks of Parts of Sweden. By Sir R. I. Murchi- 

 son, F.R.S. — By the Author. 



A Brief Review of the Classification of the Sedimentary Rocks of 

 Cornwall. By Sir R. I. Murchison. — By the Author. 



Address delivered at the opening of the New Hall of the Royal Col- 

 lege of Physicians, Nov. 27, 1846. By William Beilby, M.D., 

 President. — By the Royal College of Physicians. 



Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. X., Part 2. — By the 

 Society, 



Comptcs Rendus Hebdomadaires des Seances de I'Academie des 

 Sciences. Tome XXII., No. 12, to tome XXIV., No. 10.— 

 By the Academy. 



On the Polarization of the Atmosphere (from Johnston's Physical 

 Atlas). With a Plate, one leaf folio. — By the Author. 



Drawing lUusti-ative of a Geological Section on the Caledonian Rail- 

 way, 2 miles from Edinburgh. By Sir G. S. Mackenzie, Bart. 

 VOL. 11. N 



