229 



To the Cabinets — from W. T. Julio ; Joseph Farnum, jr. ; 

 J. B. Ciirwen ; S. R. Ciirwen ; Rev. Pliny Fisk ; 0. C. 

 Marsh ; Israel P. Williams. 



Several new Resident Members were then duly elected. 

 De. George Osgood, of Danvers, spoke at some length and 

 in an interesting manner of Rev. Dr. Cutler, with whom he 

 had been on terms of friendship and intimate acquaintance. 

 The Secretary, Dr. H. Wheatland, read a letter from 

 Henry B. Osgood, of Whitinsville, Worcester County, de- 

 scribing an improved fruit basket ; a model of which accom- 

 panied the letter and was exhibited and explained to the 

 meeting. It consisted of a box so suspended by elastic 

 strings within a wooden frame that frequent jarring in 

 transportation would not materially aifect the ripe fruit 

 contained in it. The plan seems well designed for the 

 smaller fruits, as berries and raspberries which are some- 

 times sent to great distances, and are liable to be bruised 

 and injured. 



The remainder of the session was mainly occupied by a 

 discussion introduced by some gentlemen present respecting 

 the common notion that snakes swallow their young offspring 

 in case of danger. Many asserted facts were adduced to 

 support the theory, and much theory was brought forward to 

 bear upon or against the notion. Messrs. Peter M. Neal 

 and B. F. Mudge, of Lynn, Jacob Batchelder, Dr. Isaac Col- 

 by, Samuel Preston of Danvers, Allen W. Dodge of Hamil- 

 ton, and John M. Ives, of Salem, spoke on the subject. It 

 created much excitement and many singular relations were 

 made, touching this topic. 



Temple Cutler, of Ohio, presented to the Institute some 

 Mss. of his grandfather the late Rev. Dr. Manasseh Cutler, 

 many of which were copies of rare books, probably too scarce 

 and costly to be otherwise possessed, and among others was 

 a meteorological record for several years of his own obser- 

 vation. 



