The Absorption of Lithium 1 7 1 



given him a discharge three feet long through a vacuum 

 tube, the longest, he believed, which had yet been obtained. 

 The luminous discharge does not appear till some time after 

 forming connexion, and the luminosity, at short intervals, 

 remits in intensity. 



March 23rd, iG/j-th meeting. Dr. Bence Jones gave further 

 details of experiments made to illustrate the absorption 

 of lithia in the human system. He quoted instances to 

 show that ' cataract ' resisted this process. Of seven 

 patients who suffered from this malady, in one instance only 

 the lens exhibited a trace of lithium, but when that drug 

 had been administered gradually it made its way to the 

 affected organ, being traceable in the lens and present in 

 the cartilages. Lithia made its way into the urine in from 

 5 to 10 minutes, and could be detected there for 7 or 8 days 

 after a dose of 20 grains. 



Professor Huxley gave results of his study of the brain 

 in Dasypus (Armadillo) and Perameles (Bandicoot), indi- 

 cating their special anatomical features and their transitional 

 character between those of the placental and non-placental 

 mammals. 



April 24th, i65th meeting (anniversary). Mr. Gassiot 

 said that in experimenting with his mercury battery of 

 1 200 cells he had received a shock which had left a single 

 mark on the positive finger and two on the negative finger. 

 This was analogous with the effects produced on glass by the 

 discharge of Ruhmkorff's coil. 



May 1 8th, i66th meeting. Professor Tyndall stated 

 that his assistant, in experimenting with the solar luminous 

 beam, cut off by an iodine solution, had obtained results 

 like those from the obscure rays of the electric light and of 

 the limelight. It was also found that platinum foil was 

 entirely dissipated in the luminous focus of a mirror 8 or 

 9 inches in diameter. 



Professor W. H. Miller stated that the spider's thread 

 remained intact in the luminous focus of a lens which 

 could melt a metallic wire. 



June I5th, i67th meeting. Dr. W. A. Miller stated that, 



