r 80 3 



XV^. Proceedings of Learned Societies. 



ROYAL SOCIETV OF LONDON. 



I 



N the meeting of Jan. 27th was read a paper by Charles 

 Greville, elq. giving an account of three fpecimens, in dif- 

 ferent miifcums in France, of ftones which have fallen to 

 the earth from the clouds, all finiilar in their charafteriftics 

 to thofe defcribed by H. Howard, efq. and alfoofaniafs 

 of native iron which had fallen in Pcrfia in the year of the 

 Hegira 1030, according to the annals of the empire written 

 by the emperor, and of which he is ftatcd to have made fome 

 fabres and dagoers: bat until other iron was mixed with that 

 of the mafs delcribed the iron was not malleable. 



February 3. A paper by Everard Home, cfq. on the na- 

 ture of the tongue, was read. His experiments on different 

 difeafed tongues prove that that member is endowed with 

 lefs irritability than any other organ of the body ; and that a 

 difeafed part may be removed with great fafety by means of 

 ligatures. 



On the loth a letter from profeffor Byg'ge of Copenhagen 

 was read, giving an account of the tranlit of Mercury in 

 November la ft. 



And on the fame night was begun a paper by Dr. 

 Herfchel on the fame fubje(5l, and alio on the vifible ef- 

 fe^TS of fudden changes of temperature on the interior of 

 telefcopes ; giving fome obfervations on the proper iituations 

 to be chofen for obfervatories. 



On the 17th the reading of this paper was concluded. 



ANTiaUARIAN SOCIETV. 



It appears by a memoir prefented to the Antiquarian So- 

 ciety on the 3d of February by Dr. Raine, that the infcrip- 

 tion on the pillar near Alexandria, fo long confidered ille- 

 gible, has been decyphered. The difcovery was made by 

 captain Leake of the artillery, and captain Squire of the 

 engineers. The impreflion was taken in fulphur ; and it 

 feems that it was onlv when the fun flionc on that fide of 

 the pillar where the infcription is, that any traces of it 

 could be diftinguifhed. By the infcription it appears that 

 the pillar was eredled in honour of the emperor Dicciciian. 



VACCINE INSTITUTION. 



Intelligence has been received at the Vaccine Inflitution 

 through one of its members, that cow-pock inoculation 

 has been introduced at Bombay, where it is in great eftip:ia- 

 tion. 



At 



