FHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 
eies of friction to which they may be sub- 
jected, fairly and unavoidably, during ¢ircu- 
Jation, cafinot produce any other wear than 
that which is extremely gradual and slow, 
aad such as will by mo means account for 
the great and rapid diminution which has 
been observed in the gold coin of this coun- 
try.” 
5. Observations on the Chemical Nature of ihe 
Humours of the Eye. By RicHarp CHE- 
neyix, £isg. RS, MRA, 
In-the eye of the sheep the aqueous 
humour is of the specific gravity of 
1.0009; when evaporated to dryness it 
yields a residuum in the proportion of 8 
per cent, of the whole, which consists of 
albumen, gelatin and muriat of soda. 
‘The crystalline humour has a specific 
gravity =1.10, contains no muriat of 
soda, and consists of albumen and gela- 
tin in a much larger proportion to the 
water than is found in the aqueous hu- 
_mour. The vitreous humour agrees in 
every respect with the aqueous. 
In the human eye the diiferent parts 
exhibited the same chemical composition 
as those of the sheep, but the specific 
gravity of the aqueous and vitreous hu- 
mours was =1.0053, while that of the 
crystalline was =1.0790. 
The eyes of oxen contain the same 
substances as the respective humours 
of other eyes. ‘The specific gravity of 
the aqueous and vitreous humours is 
== 1.0088, and of the crystalline = 1.07653 
the density of this humour is not, how- 
ever, uniform, being considerably greater 
in the centre, and diminishing gradually 
to the circumference. 
6. An Account of some Stones said to have 
fallen on the Larth in, #Hrance, and of a 
Lump of native Iron said lo have fallen in 
dada.» By the fight Hon. Cuarres 
GREVILLE, FLRLS. 
In ottr former volume, p. 878, we have 
iven an account of Mr. Howard’s very 
interesting paper on the analysis of stones 
said to have fallen upon the earth. Mr. 
Greville, in the present paper, mentions 
the receipt of three additional specimens 
since the publication of Mr. Howard’s 
memoir. The first of these is a frag- 
ment of a stone in the museum of Bour- 
deaux, which fell near Koquefort, during 
the explosion of a ineteor, on the 20th of 
August, 1789. The second fell, along 
with several others, in Armagnac, in the 
year 1790. The third is part of a stone, 
twenty-two pounds in weight, which fell 
not far from Ville Franche, in Burgundy, 
on the 12th March, 1793, also uccompa- 
893 
nied by a meteor. The lump of native 
iron, mentioned in the title of this paper, 
fell, in the year 1620, in the purgunnah 
of Jalindhar, in the Panjab, durmg the 
explosion of a meteor. It was picked 
up while yet hot by the magistrate of the 
district, and sent in a sealed bag to the 
Emperor Shah Jehangire. Being weigh- 
ed in the Emperor’s presence, it was 
found equal to sixty ounces, anda sabre, 
knife, and dagger, were ordered to be 
made of it. ‘lhe workmen reported that 
it broke to pieces under the hammer, 
upon which it was mixed with other iron, 
in the proportion of three parts iron of 
lightning to one of common. iron; and 
from the mass were fabricated two sa- 
bres, one knife, and one dagger. This 
account was translated by Col. Kirkpa- 
trick from an ancient manuscript that 
has been for many years in his possession. 
7. Olservations on the Structure of the 
‘Tongue; illustrated by Cases in which a 
Portion of that Organ has Leen removed 
by Ligature. By Everarp Home, Esq. 
FR.S. 
Fromthe results of three or four cases, in 
which considerable portions of the tongue 
were removed by ligature without any 
bad consequences, Mr. Home is induced 
to conclude, that the internal structure 
of the tongue is less irritable than almost 
any other organized part of the body; 
that the substance interposed between 
the fasciculi of its muscular fibres is not 
connected with the nerves that pass 
through it; that the nerves of the tongue 
are more readily compressed and de- 
prived of their power of communicating 
sensation than nerves in general, any 
injury done to them not being produc-— 
tive of diseased action fn the trunk of the 
injured nerve; and that the tongue ap- 
pears to have a power of throwing off 
its sloughs in a shorter time than any 
other part. Hence,-the removal of any 
part of the tongue that has a tendency 
to become cancerous may be safely at- 
tempted. 
8. Olservations. of the Transit of Mercury 
over the Disk of the Sun; torghich is added 
an Investigation of the Causes which often 
prevent the proper Action of Mirrors. By 
Wiiitam Herscuer; LL.D: RS. 
The latter part of this paper is parti- 
cularly valuable for the detailed obser- 
vations. of circumstances by which the 
action of telescopes is increased or dimi- 
nished, The particular observations are 
incapable of abridgment; we shall there. 
