304 Proceedings of VhiloMphical Societies. [April, 



do away such an objection, ought to have been passed through a red 

 hot tube in the state of vapour. In short, the experiments are far 

 from decisive, and it would be a very dithcult task to execute de^- 

 cisive experiments on such a subject. 



LINN.EAN SOCIETY. 



On Tuesday the 1st of March a biographical account of Mr, James 

 Don, curator of the botanical garden at Cambridge was read. He 

 appears to have been a well informed and industrious man ; though 

 bis literary labours were confined to the drawing up of a catalogue. 



On Tuesday the 15th of March was read a paper liy Dr. Smith, 

 the president, proving the lepidii.ni nudicaulc of Litmneus, to be 

 a species of tlie new genus tesdalca, lately established by Mr. 

 Brown. Mr. Brown had referred to it only one species, the iberis 

 nudicaulis of Linnaeus, whjch is a British plant Dr. Sniitii con- 

 siders the lepidium nudicaule as a distincr plant, though resembling 

 the other very closely. It grows at Montpelier and in the south of 

 France. 



At the same meeting there was read a description of a new 

 species of warbler, by Dr. Trail of Liverpool. He got the skin of 

 the bird from Brazil, and he considers it as a new species, to which 

 he gives the name of raotacilla xanthopa. It is chiefly distinguished 

 by two yellow spots behind the eyes. 



Dr. Trail terminated his paper with some observations on the bill 

 of the toucan, which is'well known to be of a monstrous size when 

 compared with that of the bird. It was considered as hollow ; but 

 Dr. Trail has shown that it contains within it a honey matter with 

 a fine tissue of blood vessels communicating with the nasal organs 

 of the bird. He conceives it intended to give tlie animal a very 

 perfect sense of smell, in order to enable it to pick out its food in 

 the almost impenetrable forests where it is destined to live. 



VVERNERIAN SOCIEXy. 



At the meeting on the 21st of January, Professor Jameson read 

 the first part of a mineralogical description of the county of Fife. 

 In this communication, he confined his observations and remarks 

 to the country around Burntisland. Tlie whole of this small but 

 curious tract of country is composed of floetz and alluvial strata, 

 and affords an admirable study for the mineralogist. Although the 

 strata, upon the whole, are well exposed, yet their structure, ex- 

 tent, magnitude,' position, and alternation, are not to be ascer- 

 tained by a rapid examination or cursory view, but will occupy even 

 the experienced naturalist for weeks. The floetz rocks are sand- 

 stone, lime-stone, slate-clay, bituminous shale, clay-ironstone, 

 basalt, greenstone, wacke, amygdaloid, and trap-tufi\. The lower, 

 and middle parts of the district are composed of an alternation of 

 greenstone, sandstone, limestone, slate-clay, &c. : the upper part 

 is composed of trap-tutf, wacke, amygdaloid, and basalt. The 

 sandstone rocks contain vegetable impressions and coal ; and show 

 a transition from pure quartz to sandstone ; — a fact which, in con- 



