382 . Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [May, 



discover the composition of phosphoric acid. The best way of 

 accomplishing this he found is to burn the vapour of phosphorus, 

 as it issues from a small tube, in oxygen gas. By adopting this 

 process he determined its composition to be 100 phosphorus to 

 134-5 oxygen. He then examines the composition of phosphorous 

 acid, which is supposed to contain half as much oxygen as 

 enters into phosphoric acid. Sir H. Davy then enters upon the 

 consideration of the acid which was announced by M. Dulong, 

 under the title of hypophosphoric acid ; he is disposed to admit 

 of its existence as a proper chemical compound ; but he thinks 

 that the analysis of it given by M. Dulong is not correct. With 

 respect to the phosphatic acid of the French chemist, Sir H. Davy 

 does not think that its existence is substantiated as a proper 

 chemical compound. From a comparison of different experi- 

 ments, made on various compounds of oxygen and phosphorus, 

 the author assigns 45 as the equivalent number for phosphorus ; 

 and proceeding upon the principle that the oxygen and hydrogen 

 in water exist in the proportion of 15 to 2, he gives the following 

 proportions : in the hypophosphoric acid, the proportion will be 

 45 of phosphorus to 15 oxygen ; in phosphorous acid, 45 to 30 ; 

 and in phosphoric acid, 45 to 60. On some future occasion we 

 hope to give a more complete account of this very valuable 

 and elaborate paper, which we conceive to be one of the most 

 perfect specimens of analytical research that the author has pro- 

 duced. 



April 16. — A paper, by Dr. Granville, was read, on a particular 

 malconformation of the uterine system in women, and on some 

 physiological conclusions to be deduced from it. 



The case consisted of a female whose uterus was found after 

 death to have been entirely imperfect on one side, and to have 

 had one set only of the lateral appendages ; yet she had been the 

 mother of 1 1 children, some of each sex, and was delivered of a 

 boy and a girl at one birth. This case completely proves the 

 fallacy of a physiological hypothesis, which has been proposed, 

 that the two sexes are formed on separate sides of the uterine 

 system. 



On the same evening a paper was also read, by Mr. Pond, on 

 the parallax of a Aquila?, in which the author relates some late 

 observations which he has made, which cause him to doubt the 

 correctness of Dr. Brinkley's conclusions on this subject. 



ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AT PARIS. 



Jan. 5, 1818. — M. Vauquelin was nominated Vice-President. 



M. Foucier, in the name of a committee, read a report on a 

 prize to be offered on the subject of statistics. 



Dr. Thomas Young, Secretary of the Royal Society of London, 

 was elected a corresponding member in the section of natural 

 philosophy. 



Committees were appointed by ballot to examine the memoirs 



