Royal Society. 4^9 



Of the old CcunciL— The risht lion. Sir Joseph Banks, 

 bait. K. B. Edward Ash, M.^D. Sir Charles Blagden, 

 knt. Sanuiel Goodenouah, lord bishop of Carlisle, Henry 

 Cavendish, esq. Hnniphry Daw, esq. William Marsdcn, 

 esq. Kev. Nevil Maskdvnc, D.D. George carl of Morton, 

 Sir John Thomas Stanley, bart. William Hyde W .lias- 

 ton, M. D. 



Of the new CoiincH .—Umit Brodie. e?q. Robert Lord 

 Carrington, Richard Chenevix, esq., Thomas Lord Dun- 

 das, Rev. Henrv Fly, D. D. Mr. Stephen Lee, Wdliani 

 George Maton,'M. D. George Shaw, M. D. .James Smiih- 

 son, esq., Georiie Holme Sumner, esq. 



And the officers were the right lion. Sir Joseph Bank«, 

 bart. K. B. president; Wdliam Mars-lfMi, esq. treasurer -, 

 William Kyde WoUaston, M. D. Humphry Davy, etq. 

 gecretaries. 



The members of the Society dined together, as usual, 

 after the election, at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, Sirand. 

 Dec. 7, 14, and 21.— In the third section of tiie Bake- 

 rian lecture, Mr. Davy detailed a number of laborious and 

 minute experiments on the circumstances under which ni- 

 trous acid and ammonia are produced. He showed that ni- 

 trogen is not formed by the electrization of pure water, 

 and that in most of those cases in which it appears it pre- 

 exists in some compound employed in the process : — the 

 facts in favour of tiie composition of nitrogen are those 

 derived from the electrical experiments upon the amalga- 

 mation of ammonia, and thfxse derived tunia the action oi 

 pota<«ium upon the same alkali. Mr. Davy brought for- 

 ward various new facts and reasonings in support ot the 

 opinion that ammonia is an oxide. 



Jn the fourth section several experiments upon the earllis 

 are detailed; xMr. Davy has succteded in decomposing si- 

 Icx, alumine, and glucine, by means of potasshim and 

 iron, and has obtained amalgams of the mcials of magne- 

 sia and lime by mere chemical agency. Potassium is sent 

 in va|K)ur through the earths ignited to whiteness, and mer- 

 cury is passed into tiie tnhej which unites to the new metals. 

 In the (ii'tli section Mr. Davy compares the antiphlogi,^. 

 tic hypothesis of ihc nature of metallic bodies, with a 

 modified phloi^iistic hypothesis, that they may be compounds 

 of unknown bases with bydiogen ; and he; states that the 

 deeisif)n upon these important points of doctrine cannot 

 be made, till perfectly eorrect notions upon the nature ot 

 ammonia, nitrogen, and hydrogen are accpnrcd. ^ 



iVmoiifTst other combinations before unknown, v>hich 

 Gil- 3 tVlr. 



