( 247 ) 

 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



Microscopical Society. December 21th, 1854. 

 Dr. Carpenter, President, in the Chair. 

 A paper was read by the President, on the Development of the 

 Embryo o{ Purpura lapillus (Transactions, vol. iii., p. 16). 

 J. Shuter, Esq., was balloted for, and elected a Fellow. 



January 24th, 1855. 

 N. B. Ward, Esq., in the Chair. 

 A paper was read from Mrs. Herbert Thomas, on Cosmarum 

 margriatiferum, and other Desmideae. 



Dr. Herapath, of Bristol, and J. E. Smith, Esq., were balloted 

 for, and duly elected. 



February 28th, 1855. Amiiversary Meeting. 

 Dr. Carpenter in the Chair. 



The Report of the Council was read. The President delivered 

 an address. 



F. C. Hills, Esq., Charles L. Leaf, Esq., Dr. F. Degrave, and 

 R. C. Griffiths, Esq., were balloted for and elected. 



The ballot for officers resulted in the re-election of Dr. Carpenter, 

 President ; N. B. Ward, Esq., Treasurer ; and J. Quekett, Esq., 

 Secretary. 



The following gentlemen were added to the Council : — J. N. 

 Furze, Esq., H. Perigal, Esq., Jun., Rev. J. B. Reade, and J. B. 

 Simonds, Esq. 



Royal Society. 



" Micro-chemical Researches on the Digestion of Starch and Amy- 

 laceous Foods.^' By Philip Burnard Ayres, M.D., Lond. 

 Communicated by John Bishop, Esq., F.R.S. Received Janu- 

 ary 11, 1855. 

 After some general historical remarks on the methods hitherto 

 employed in the investigation of the complicated phenomena of the 

 process of digestion, the comparatively small resulfs obtained by 

 chemical analysis of the contents of the stomach, intestinal canal, and 

 of the evacuations, by Tiedemann and Gmelin, Berzelius, and others, 

 the author proceeded to demonstrate the necessity of a minute ex- 

 amination of the contents of the alimentary canal by the microscope, 

 and such chemical tests as we possess for the determination of the 

 changes of such articles of food as exhibit definite structure. 



In order that we may ultimately arrive at a complete exposition 

 of the phenomena of digestion, he is of opinion that it will be neces- 

 sary to examine, — first, the structure of particular kinds of food, 

 then the changes produced in them l)y cooking, and lastly to trace 

 the changes they undergo at short intervals, through the alimentary 

 canal from the stomach to the rectum. The results of a series of 



