a8 Royal Society. 
them light. By surrounding the lamp with a fine wire-gaure 
screen, saturating the sereen with fire-damp and inflaming the 
whole ; the wire if fine, and the apertures not exceeding =;th of 
an inch, may be made red hot without exploding the circum= 
ambient fire-damp. With a small povtion of fire-damp in the 
screen the flame of the lamp is visible ; but when a considerable 
portion is thrown into it, the whole becomes one entire flame. 
In this manner the earburetted hydrogen gas may be burned 
under the screen without the least danger of exploding the gae 
around it. 
The conclusion of Dr. Brewster’s curious paper On the Ra- 
diation of Heat in Glass Plates was read ; but from the multi- 
plicity of the experiments, and the necessity of diagrams to il- 
instrate them, it is impossible to convey any adeguate and intel- 
ligible idea of the new and important results. It appears that 
this, ingenious and indefatigable philosopher has succeeded in 
eontriving and arranging glass plates so as to form a new kind 
of thermometer, by making a series of plates (amounting to 20) 
of dimensions varying in a regular gradation. The apparatus is 
simple, and may be adapted to the performance of many pleasing 
experiments, as Well as developing some singular phanemena in 
optics. 
Jan. 25. Another paper by Sir H. Davy was read, contain- 
ing an account of some more successful experiments in the 
eause of humanity and the interests of Coa} Miners. It appears 
that Sir H’s invention has already been adopted in two coal- 
mines with the most complete success ; thus at once falsifying 
all the ignorant and invidious predictions of mluman speculaters 
about its inutiity, and demonstrating, what every reasoning man 
of science before believed, that the invention would be equally 
effectual and practicable. There is now every reason to believe 
that Sir H’s plan will be universally. adopted without the least. 
delay. No man or society of men, indeed, would now risk the 
responsibility consequent, on an explosion, when the means 
of avoiding it are hoth, known and so easily adopted. The pre- 
sent paper contains a_yariety of experiments to ascertain. the 
smallest number of apertures in a square inch which can be used. 
without danger of exploding. Wire-gauze having apertures: 
ysth-of an inch, when the wire became red hot, exploded; buf’ 
gauze with apertures only of ~;th were perfeetly secure even 
with the greatest heat. In some of his experiments, Sir Hums 
phry used gauze having 6000 apertures in a square inch, which 
was found as_pertectly secure as a brick wall could have been 
against explosion.—See pages 54 & 56. 
Part of a long paper, by Dr. Wilson Phillip, was read; de- 
tailing the result of numerzous experiments on the Nerves of 
Rabbits 
