458 Mr. V. H. Veley. The Conditions of Chemical [Nov. 27 



Three of the Belgian hare young unfortunately died daring the 

 months of September and October, from some undetermined cause 

 (alimentary ?) ; one of the Belgian hare young a doe and the two 

 Angoras both bucks survive, and appear fairly strong and hearty. 



At the date on which I am writing, 7th November, 1890, the sur- 

 viving young ones are twenty-three weeks old, having been born on 

 the 29th May, 1890. 



All the young at the time of their birth suffered more or less from 

 some skin disease, which, however, disappeared under treatment, and 

 one of the Angora young, who suffered the most from the skin disease, 

 has been remarkably scantily supplied with hair, but this defect is 

 becoming' less and less obvious. 



Both the Angora young when born were bigger and stronger than 

 any of the other young, and they have all along retained their 

 supremacy in this direction. 



I can see no sign in the Angora young of any Belgian hare strain, 

 and the Belgian hare young have not shown any likeness to their 

 foster-brothers. The surviving Belgian hare inherits a white left 

 fore-foot from her father, and one of those which died was similarly 

 marked. 



The peculiarities of the Angora young have been already noted. 



The experiment described above was undertaken to determine in the 

 first place what effect, if any, a uterine foster-mother would have 

 upon her foster-children, and whether or not the presence and develop- 

 ment of foreign ova in the uterus of a mother would affect the offspring 

 of that mother born at the same time. 



So far as this single case goes, the evidence is negative. 



Before long, I propose to continue my experiments and to extend 

 them. 



In concluding this note, I would record my great indebtedness to 

 Mr. Samuel Buckley, M.D. (Lond.), F.B.C.S. (Eng.), of Manchester, 

 who has most kindly given me his valuable assistance in thenecessaiy 

 operative portion of the experiment. 



IV. "The Conditions of Chemical Change between Nitric Acid 

 and certain Metals." By V. H. VELEY, M.A., the Uni- 

 versity Museum, Oxford. Communicated by Professor 

 ODLING, F.K.S. Received October 23, 1890. 



(Abstract.) 



This paper is in continuation of a preliminary communication on 

 the same subject ; the main points contained in it are as follows : 

 I. The metals copper, mercury, and bismuth do not dissolve in 



