345 



Mr. M. Donovan continued the reading of his paper on 

 the Universal Vitality of Matter, &c. 



May 28th, 1849. 



REV. HUMPHREY LLOYD, D. D., President, 

 in the Chair. 



Dr. a. Smith laid before the Academy a manuscript cata- 

 logue of theTradesmens' Tokens currentin Ireland in the seven- 

 teenth century, and made a few observations on their use, as 

 illustrating family history and other matters of local interest. 



He stated that his object at present was, that the list 

 should be printed in the Proceedings, with the view of circu- 

 lating it extensively, and thereby inviting the collectors of 

 coins throughout the country to communicate to him notices 

 of such tokens as have not come under his observation, so as 

 to enable him, at some future time, to publish a historical and 

 descriptive catalogue, accompanied with engravings of such 

 of the coins as are peculiar for their devices, or calculated to 

 assist the local historian in his inquiries. (See Appendix, 

 No. IV.) 



Professor Davy brought under the consideration of the 

 Academy, a new and simple method he had discovered of de- 

 tecting manganese in inorganic and organic bodies, as in 

 rocks, minerals, ores, soils, and in vegetable and animal sub- 

 stances, and also of obtaining the salts of manganese in a 

 pure state. 



The method consists in mixing the substance to be exa- 

 mined with a little flowers of sulphur, and heating the mixture 

 to a temperature at, or even lower than that of redness, when, 

 if manganese be present, a protosulphate will be formed, the 

 sulphur being acidified, partly at the expense of the oxide, and 



