93 



He attributed the freedom from sickness to the perfect arrangements 

 for preserving health — the stowage of the green wood in boats, not in 

 the ship's bunkers ; the purifying of the bilge water by means of the 

 chloride of zinc ; the liberal administration of wine medicated with 

 sulphate of quinine ; and preservation of hilarity on board. 



Mr. Hutchinson exhibited several products of the country passed 

 through, which he described as being luxuriant in the extreme. 



Mr. NiSBET read a paper " On Blasting of Rocks,'' which lias been 

 published. 



ELEVENTH ORDINARY MEETING. 



Royal Institution. — March 19th, 1855. 



JOSEPH BROOKS YATES, Esq., F.S.A., Sen. V.P., in the Chair. 



J. F. Foard, Esq., was balloted for, and duly elected an Ordinary 

 Member. 



Dr. Thomson drew attention to the great mortality of certain shell 

 fish upon the shores of the Forth, attributed to the severe frost, with 

 the view of enquiring if a similar phenomenon had been observed upon 

 the Mersey and the Dee. 



[Mr. Isaac Byerley, F.L.S., at a subsequent meeting, reported that 

 he had been unable to ascertain that the mortality had been areater 

 than usual ; one of the Salens which had perished in such num- 

 bers at Portobello being rave here.] 



Mr. T. C. AfiCHER exhibited a number of curious vegetable products, 

 amongst which were a bottle of shea butter, prepared from the Bassia 

 Latifolia, Nat. Ord. SapotacecB ; a fine specimen of the lace bark and 

 section of the wood ; leaves of the Enjthroxylon coca, the narcotic coca 

 of the Peruvians ; the churrus of the East, procured from Cannabis 

 Saliva ; the fruit of the Argan tree of Northern Africa, valuable for 

 its oil ; and two new fibres, one called tecuvi (from a palm), and the 

 other, from the bark of the Bertholletia excclsa. 



Mr. Yates e-xhibitod autograplis of Clliarles V. of Cierniany, and 

 Francis 1. of Frantic. 



