1826.] 



Proceedings of Learned Societies. 



181 



Heart of Animals belonging to the genus 

 Rana. 



The society then adjourned over the 

 Christmas vacation. 



GEOI-OGICAL SOCIETY. 



Nov. -t. — A ])aper was read, entitled, 

 An Account of some Geological Speci- 

 mens, collected by Ca])!. P. P. King, in 

 his survey of the Coasts of Australia ; and 

 by Robert Brown, Esq., on the shores of 

 the Gulf of Carpentaria, during the voyage 

 of Capt. Flinders ; by W. H. Pittoii, M. d., 

 V. p. G. s., &c. 



LINNiEAN SOCIETY. 



Dec 6. — Read a continuation of a sys- 

 tematic catalogue of the Australian Birds, 

 in the collection of the society ; by N. A. 

 Vigors, Esq., f. l. s., and T. Horsfield, 

 M. D., F. L. s. The portion read at this 

 ^ meeting included a great part of the 

 family Psittacidoe, sub-families, Plyctolo- 

 phina and Palceconiia. 



Dec. 20. — The reading of the above 

 catalogue was continued : read also de- 

 scriptions of some new species of birds, 

 belonging to the genus Phytoloma Gmell, 

 Indicator Vieill ; and Cussorius Latham ; 

 by Mr. B. Leadbetter, r. L. s. 



IIOYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY OF GaEAT BRITAIN 

 AND IHELAND. 



The society resumed its meetings on 

 Nov. 5, H. T. Colebrooke, Esq., Direc- 

 tor, in the chair ; when, after tlie minutes 

 of the last meeting had been read and con- 

 firmed, several donations were presented 

 for the Libraiy and for the Museum. 

 Cesar Moreau, Esq. was admitted a mem- 

 ber ; and a paper, by Mr. Colebrooke, on 

 the Valley of the Settlej River, in the 

 ilimalaya Mountains, from the journal of 

 Capt. A. Gerard, with remarks, was be- 

 gun. The journal is very interesting ; it 

 describes several attempts to penetrate 

 into Chinese Tart;iry, which were unsuc- 

 cessful, as the travellers were not able to 

 prevail upon the Tartars to allow of their 

 further progress in that direction. — On the 

 19th November, H. T. Colebrooke, Esq. 

 in the chair ; Dr. J. Hare, jun., m. d., 

 and W. Holmes, Esq. were elected mem- 

 bers of the society. The reading of Mr. 

 Colebrooke's paper, on the Himalaya 

 Mountains, was continued. 



Dec. 3. — The society met this day, the 

 Rt. Hon. C. W. W. Wynn, president, in 

 the chair. The president communicated 

 a letter by H. R. H. the Duke of Or- 

 leans, expressing satisfaction at having been 

 chosen an honorary member of the society. 

 Several donations were presented ; and Sir 

 W. Betham, R. M. Moore, Esq., G. 

 Parkhouse, Esq., and C. Woodmas, Esq. 

 were elected members. Dr. W. Gesenius, 

 professor of Oriental Literature at Halle, 

 and M. S. Julien, were elected foreign 

 members of the society. Mr. Colebrooke's 



paper, on the Himalaya Mountains, was 

 concluded, and the reading of a paper, by 

 J. F. Davis, Esq., being extracts from the 

 Peking Gazettes, for I8s?4-, \va.s begun. 



On the 17th Dec, H. T. Colebrooke, 

 Esq. in the chair ; several donations were 

 presented ; and the reading of Mr. Davis's 

 translations frotn the Peking Gazettes was 

 continued. 



NORTHERN' INSTITLTTION, INVrRNESS. 



At a meeting held, Sc|)t. IGth, the fol- 

 lowing gentlemen were elected honoraiy 

 members: SirJ. ?.IacGrigor, Knt., f.r.s., 

 &c. ; Dr. Traill, of Liverpool ; Dr. T. 

 Thompson, professor of chemistry, Uni- 

 versity of Glasgow ; Dr. Uro, of the An- 

 dersonian Institiitc of Glasgow ; R. Jame- 

 son, Esq., professor of Natural History, 

 University of Edinburgh ; D. Brewster, 

 Esq., LL.D., &c., and several correspond- 

 ing and ordinary members. 



The papers read were. An Original Let- 

 ter of Simon, Lord Eraser, of Lovat ; com- 

 municated by J. Anderson, Esq., w.s. ; 

 Evidence respecting a sudden Commotion 

 of Loch Ness, about the time of the Lis- 

 bon earthquake in \lito, from Mrs. Grant, 

 of Duthill ; Notice of a Subterranean Pus- 

 sage, lately discovered in Glen Shiel, by 

 Mr. MacTavish ; Remarks, by the secre- 

 tar)', on an Ancient Custom-House Seal, 

 of the conjoined Burghs of Inverness and 

 Cromarty, supposed to be of the age be- 

 tween Alexander II. and Robert III. ; 

 a paper from 3Ir. Eraser, Croyard, on 

 the Sections lately made, by order of Mr. 

 Fraser, of Lovat, of a Vitrified Fort, on his 

 property, was laid on the table ; but the 

 reading was postponed till next meeting. 



ASTRONOMCAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 



Dec 9. The president informed the so- 

 ciety that when he had the honour of an- 

 nouncing, at their last meeting, the extra- 

 ordinar)' occurrence of the appearance of 

 four comets in the short space of as many 

 months, he was little aware that he might 

 at that time have added a fifth to the num- 

 ber. This last comet appeared, from the 

 account stated in the public journals, to 

 have been discovered by M. Pons at the 

 beginning of the last month ; but as it had 

 considerable south declination, and was ad- 

 vancing also to the southward, and at the 

 same time appeared very faint, it probably 

 would not be seen in this countrj'. Al- 

 though the appearance of so many comets 

 in one year had been mentioned as a re- 

 markable phenomenon, he would not \vish 

 to be understood as supposing that such a 

 circumstance had never previously occur- 

 red, nor was likely to occur again. The 

 fact was, that from the great attention which 

 had been paid by astronomers to the dis- 

 covery of these bodies within these few 

 years, and the interest excited by the in- 

 vestigation of the laws by which they were 

 governed, a more than ordinary diligence 



