156 Royal Society.—Lectures. 
bours in this department of science to the Scciety. The expe- 
riments of Crawford being performed at a time when the process 
and means of aualysis were much less perfect than at present, it 
is necessary they should be repeated before they can be received 
as correct results in the actual state of our knowledge. Mr. Davy 
operated on the blood of sheep and lambs; and it must be con- 
fessed that the detail of his experiments will be read with more 
pleasure, that no animal experienced any pain from his researches. 
He began by depriving arterial and venous blood of fibrine, ascer- 
taining their specific gravity, the former being 1047 and the lat- 
ter 1050, placing them in glasses of equal dimensions, filling a 
similar glass with water raised to the same temperature, and ob- 
serving their relative rate of cooling. In different experiments he 
found arterial blood 957, and venous 92, a result altogether in- 
compatible with the theory of Crawford, but reconcileable with 
that of Dr. Black or the opinion of Mr. Bredie. The posterior 
portion of the brain he found from 1 to 2 degrees higher than the 
anterior, and both were as much lower than the rectum. The 
heat of the bedy generally diminishes in proportion to the distance 
from the heart. (This fact is not very consistent with the no- 
tion of the nerves occasioning animal heat, as its focus is not very 
replete with nerves.) In general the temperature of arterial blood. 
was from 1 to 14 degree higher than that ef venous; only 
one degree was observed between the heat of the blood in the 
left and right ventricle of the,heart. A newly born child raised 
the thermometer to 96; after three days it rose it to99. Mr. 
Davy also made a variety of experiments on all parts of the body, 
with a view of ascertaining their relative heat ; he avoided all 
theoretical speculations, but seemed somewhat inelined to the 
supposition of Dr. Black respecting the origin of animal heat. 
Part of a paper, by Mr. Ivory, on Comets, was read, in which 
this acute matheniatician expounded the judicious theory of 
Newton, described their parabolic motion, &c. ; but much of his 
communication was of a nature not to be read. 
XXXI. Intelligence and Miscelianeous Articles. 
Dr. Crarkr’s and Mr, J. CLarke’s Lectures on Midwifery and 
the Diseases of Women and Children will commence on Monday, 
March 2Ist, at the house of Mr. Clarke, No. 10, Upper John- 
street, Golden-square, where they are read every Morning from 
a Quarter past Ten to a Quarter:past Eleven, for the convenience 
of Students attending the Hospitals.—For particulars apply to 
Dr. Clarke, New Burlington-street; or to Mr, Clarke, at the 
Leeture-room. 
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