Dr. Mitchell on Ihe Physiological Actions of Spartine and Scoparine. 173 



acknowledging receipt of the last part of the Society's published pro- 

 ceedings. 



Mr. James Thomson read a paper on his Patent Turbine Water 

 Wheels. 



5th March, 1851. — The Vice-President in the Chair. 



Mr. Mathieson was admitted a member. 



Dr. Robert D. Thomson produced copies of the documents prepared 

 for the Town Council, with a view to the monthly publication of the bills 

 of mortality and the vital statistics of the city. He stated, that on com- 

 municating with Major Graham, the Registrar General, on the subject, 

 that gentleman had, in the most liberal manner, placed at his disposal, 

 for the use of the medical men of Glasgow, 250 copies of a Statistical 

 Nosology, which would be of great service in making up the returns for 

 the Town Council. Dr. Thomson proposed that the Committee on this 

 subject should be continued, for the purpose of endeavouring to promote 

 an improved registration of births. The Committee was accordingly con- 

 tinued. 



Dr. Allen Thomson read the first part of a paper " On the Structural 

 Relations of the Nervous and Muscular Textures in the Higher and 

 Lower Animals." 



\^th March, 1851. — Tlie Vice-President in the Chair. 



Messrs. Cornelius J. Hughes, J. E. Harvey, and Dr. John Aitken, 

 were admitted members. 



The following papers were read : — 



XXI. — On tlie Physiological Actions of Spartine and Scopa/rine, with 

 a Notice of their Cliemical Constitution. By Arthur Mitchell, M A., 

 M.D., &c. 



Bt subjecting large numbers of plants, under circumstances as nearly 

 similar as possible, first to one powerful chemical reagent, and then to 

 another, we might almost predict results of considerable interest. With 

 the view of elucidating the nature of vegetables by these means, a series 

 of investigations was instituted by Dr. Stenhouse, of St, Bartholomew's, 

 London, and the results, as communicated to the Royal Society, fully 

 realize anticipations. 



During these experiments, it was found that almost all plants, when 

 subjected to the action of strong nitric acid, yielded oxalic and nitropicric 

 acids, showing that many more vegetables are capable of yielding this 



