Royal Society. Jgas 



bers. The strata were first gravel, then blue clay in which 

 were numerous nodules, calcareous sand with shells, and 

 clay with marine remains. 



March 11. The Earl of Morton in the chair. A letter 

 from Mr, Austin to Sir Humphry Davy, describing a new 

 instrument made entirely of glass, for condensing gases in 

 water, was read. Without drawings the description would 

 not be intelligible. 



March 18. Sir E. Home, Bart, through the Society for 

 promoting Animal Chemistry, communicated the result of 

 his observations and experiments for ascertaining the origin 

 of animal fat and adipocire. He began by detailing his ex- 

 periments on fowls, and particularly alluded to the casso- 

 wary of Java, which has a colon of only twelve inches, 

 while that of Africa has one 43 feet long. This diversity 

 he attributes to the wise cecnnoniy of nature, the former 

 country being extremely fertile, and the latter as sterile. 

 This circumstance led him to examine the cause and 

 effects of fat in the intestines, and the nourishment it af- 

 fords to the entire animal ; and hence he inferred that it is 

 the intestines in all animals which supply the system with 

 fat. Anibergrease, he observed, is the product of a disease, 

 and is never found in whales above seven feet from the 

 anus; it is usually from 14 lbs. to 100 lbs, and in one in- 

 stance a piece weighing 182 lbs. had been found. Sir E. 

 described the state of a woman buried in Stioreditch church- 

 yard in 1790, ten feet below the surface of the ground, which 

 IS two feet below the level of a server passing through it, and 

 leading to the Thames. In spring tides the sewer over- 

 sows, and the dead bodies are inundated. After eleven 

 years, in laoi, the grave was opened, and the whole body 

 was found to consist of adipocire. According to some ex- 

 periments maiie by Mr. Brande, the animal fibre is con- 

 verted into adipocire by immersion in gall ; hence Sir E. 

 concludes that the gall-bladder assists in accumulating fat, 

 as well as other functions of the animal oeconomy. Fat is 

 rapidly former), and as quickly absorbed ; it soon accumu- 

 lates in dormant animals, and is again absorbed during their 

 sleeping season ; it lies near the skin, and in old people 

 supplies the place of muscle or fibre. The author related 

 ihL- case of a child born without any gall- bladder; it never 

 became fat, iior yet wasted away, but died under a year old. 

 Dr. Habington, in a letter to Sir Everaid, mentioned a case 

 where fat was voided like faeces; the patient had been or- 

 dered to take oil, and in consequence voided globules of 

 fatty matter, which on examination weie found to copsist 



