AntiquiUcs. — Hereditary Difeafes. 285 



ceffary to enhance the value of confonant fimple proportions ; 

 and that variety in the unity, order, and fymmetry of the 

 parts, alternation, and contrafls, and power combined with 

 ibttncfs, form the eternal laws of afthetic beauty. The au- 

 thor at the fame time prefcuted ff^veral illuftrations, and a 

 Few curious unpubliflied fongs of the middle ages, wiih the 

 old mode of notation in the form of cyphers, or the Hebrew 

 accents, part of which he brought with him from Italy. 



The prefident, C. F. Baron von Dacheroden, dire£lor of 

 the Academy, pr.efented an urn, dug up a fliort time before 

 near Strafsfurt, the height of which was fix and a half, and 

 the width at the greatelt diameter nine inches. The prefident 

 obferved, as fomething remarkable, that this Germanic urn 

 was found, with feveral others, in a low diftrid, though the 

 burying-places of the ancient Germans were always on emi- 

 nences. Near this urn were found feveral mafTes of ftone, 

 which feem to indicate a Druidical altar or habitation. 



ProfefiTor H. A. Frank read fome obfervations which con- 

 tained a criticifm on a fuppofed proof of hereditary difeafes. 

 Some perfon having afiTerted in a late publication on heredi- 

 tary difeafes, that the Roman families of Pifo, Cicero, Len- 

 tulus, Fabius, &c. acquired their names from certain fpots, 

 marks, or moles, refembling different kinds of pulfe, which 

 were peculiar to them, and which were tranfmitted through 

 different generations, the author fhows that Plutarch and 

 Pliny, wlio fpeak of the derivation of thefe names, partly do 

 not make the above aflertion, and partly are of another opi- 

 nion. Thus, Pliny deduces the above names from this cir- 

 cumftance, that thofe to whom they were firft given diftin- 

 gui(hed themfelves in a particular manner by the cultivation 

 of pulfe. 



Profeffor Jofeph Hamilton read a paper on the nature c£ 

 the electric matter. He is of opinion that this matter con- 

 lifts of light, fire, and the phofphoric acid. 



Dr. G. Thilow prefented fome obfervations to confirm the 

 tVifcovery of Ingenhouz, that oxygen has a great influciice on 

 vegetation. The author's experiments were the two !t 'low- 

 ing : — ifl;, A weak, fickly dwarf-tree was befprinkled \>ini a 

 mixture of oil of vitriol and water. The tree-lice, whi^ li '. cn- 



dcicd 



