Royal Society. 155 
quence of his having found much secreted fluid in the stomach of 
dogs poisoned with arsenic, he determined to ascertain, if possible, 
whether such secretion was an effect of the poison or of the 
nerves; and after dividing the uerve which communicates with 
that organ, he inserted some arsenic into the thigh of a deg,. 
which shortly after died; but on examining the stomach, al- 
though the usual appear ances of inflammation were present, no 
secreted matter was found. The experiments were repeated and 
varied several times with similar results ; nevertheless, the author 
admits that all such experiments on living bodies are inconclu- 
sive ; that although it is extremely probable the nerves contribute 
to effect secretion, yet it cannot be demonstrated indubitably by 
any direct experiments ; in other words, that all the positive 
knowledge acquired by his experiments.is but a smal] atonement 
for the torture inflicted on so many animals. 
A Letter from Mr. Koenig to the Right Hon. President was 
also read, describing the fossil human skeleton brought from 
Guadaloupe to this country by Admiral Sir A. Cochrane, and de- 
posited in the British Museum. This singular fossil was found 
on the shores of Guadaloupe below high-water mark, among cal- 
careous rocks formed of madrepores, &c., and not very remote 
from the volcano called the Souffriere; the block containing the 
human skeleton is eight feet long, two hroad, and weighs about 
two tons; it is a very hard granular limestone resembling calca- 
reous sand-stone, containing a few venus and other she sls, some 
of which are unknown, The skeleton is tolerably perfect, with 
the exception of the skull and some vertebra of the neck, which 
are wanting. Sir H. Davy found some phosphate of lime in the 
bones, proving the presence of animal matter. Mr. K. does not 
pretend to guess at the age of this fossil skeleton ; but Sir Joseph 
Banks, whose experience and observation are more extensive, 
considers it of very modern formation. Other fossil bones have 
been found in the same vicinity, and calcareous masses or rocks 
continue forming there. ‘This circumstance seems to sanction 
the judicious opinion of the learned President ; and taking into 
consideration the contiguity of a volcano, the probability of the 
temperature of the water being considerably raised at some times, 
and the known fact that. carbonate of lime dissolved in water is 
afterwards deposited in a comparatively short period in masses of 
very hard and solid stone—every person may be convinced of 
the rapidity of the formation and also of the hardness of such 
stone, by inspecting the inside of tea-kettles in which water vul- 
garly called hard is boiled, 
Feb. 17, The doctrine of animal heat, or rather the compa- 
rative heat of arterial and venous blood, has occupied the atten- 
tion of Mr, John Davy, who communicated the result of his la~ 
bours 
