3 1 2 Royal Inslitule of France. — Coal Gas. 



of his observations to differ considerably from those of Dr, 

 Brinckley. 



A communication from Dr. Granville to Sir Everard Home, 

 of a singular Case of Malformation of the Uterus, was also read. 



Part of a paper from Dr. A. Ure, On tl.e Elastic Force of Va- 

 pour, communicated by Dr. WoUaston, was read, and the conclu- 

 Bion deferred till next meeting. 



April 30. The remainder of Dr. lire's paper was read. 



ROYAI, INSTITUTE OF FRANCE. 



April 24th. The Annual Public Sitting of the Four Academies 

 took place this day. 



M. De Rossel, President of the Academv of Sciences, presided. 



M. Biot, of the Royal Academy of Sciences, read a notice upon 

 the operations undertaken for determining the Figure of the 

 Earth, in the course of which he took marked notice of the emi- 

 nent exertions which Sir Joseph Banks, " the Nestor of the 

 learuoil world," has made for the promotion of this object of 

 philosophical inquiry. 



M Quatremere de Quincy, perpetual Secretary of the Aca- 

 demy of Fine Arts, read a dissertation on the elementary principle 

 of imitation in the fine arts, and the primary cause of the plea- 

 sure which they afford us. The theory he maintained is not newj 

 he wished to demonstrate that the design of the fine arts, like the 

 belles lettres, is not to reproduce the objects of nature, but to re- 

 produce some one of the affinities which exist among these ob- 

 jects. 



M. Abel Remusat, of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles 

 Lettres, read an article on the wandering nations of Upper Asia, 

 extracted from a work entitled Recherchcs sur les Lanoues Tar^ 

 tares. The most original observation for which it was distin- 

 guished is, that the Goths originally issued from Tartary ; in proof 

 of which he affirms, that near Mount Altai inscriptions have been 

 found in Runic characters similar to those of Scandinavia. 



LV. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



IMPROVEMENT IN THE PURIFICATION OF COAI,-GAS. 



At is sufficiently known, that the production of carburetted hy- 

 drogen obtained from coal, and its fitness for the purpose of illu- 

 mination, varies much according to the circumstances undervvhich 

 the gas is obtained, and the means em|)loyed for purifying it. To 

 deprive coal-gas of that, portion of sulphuretted hydrogen, with 

 which it is always more or less Qontamiiiated;, it has hitherto been 



made 



