SOS Royal Society. 



through them of any philosophical inquirer who might at present 

 be engaged in the prosecution of experimental research, to the ex- 

 istence of a fund at the disposal of the President and Council of the 

 Society, denominated the Donation Fund, of which the dividends 

 are to be applied, " from time to time, in promoting Experimental 

 Researches, or in rewarding those by whom such researches may 

 have been made, or in such other manner as shall appear to the 

 President and Council for the time being most conducive to the in- 

 terests of the Society in particular, or of science in general ; " their 

 application to extend to individuals of every country " not being at 

 the time Members of the Council ; " and such dividends not to be 

 hoarded parsimoniously, but be " expended liberally, and, as nearly 

 as may be, annually, in furtherance of the declared objects of the 

 Trust." 



The fund was instituted by the late Dr. Wollaston, who contri- 

 buted £2000 three per cent. Consols, and it received the following 

 additions : — from the late Mr. Davies Gilbert, £1000 three per cent. 

 Consols ; from Mr. Warburton, £105 ; from Mr. Charles Hatchett, 

 £105 ; from Mr. Guillemard, £100 ; and from the late Sir Francis 

 Chantrey, £105. 



The Vice-President in the Chair further stated, that the dividends 

 in the present year would amount to £140 16s. 6rf. 



Mr. W. Archibald Armstrong White, F.R.S., present at this meet- 

 ing, gave £10 to the Donation Fund. 



February 10. — The following papers were read, viz. — 



1. "Magnetic-term Observations of the Declination, Inclination, 

 and. total Intensity, made at the Magnetic Observatory at Prague." 

 By C. Kreil, Director of the Prague Observatory. Communicated 

 by S. Hunter Christie, Esq., Sec. R.S. 



2. " On the Chemical Analysis of the contents of the Thoracic 

 Duct in the Human Subject." By George Owen Rees, M.D., Phy- 

 sician to the Northern Dispensary. Communicated by P. M. Roget, 

 M.D., Sec. R.S. 



The author, availing himself of a favourable opportunity which 

 presented itself of examining the contents of the thoracic duct in a 

 human subject, procured an hour and a quarter after death by hang- 

 ing, to the amount of six fluid drachms, obtained by analysis the fol- 

 lowing result : — 



Water, per cent 90"48 



Albumen, with traces of fibrinous matter ... 7"08 



Aqueous extractive, or Zomodine 0'56 



Alcoholic extractive, or Osmazome 0'52 



Alkaline chloride, carbonate and sulphate, 

 with traces of phosphate, and oxide of 



iron 0*44' 



Fatty matters 0*92 



100- 



The fatty matters possessed the same general characters as those 

 of the blood, except that they did not contain phosphorus, as ap- 

 peared from tiieir yielding an alkaline, instead of an acid ash by in- 

 cineration. The aqueous extractive differed from that of the blood 



