1854.] THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



Tenth Ordinary Meeting) February 35th, 1654. 



195 



A donation from Mr. Peter Cameron, of Toronto, of a copy of 

 Euclid's Elements, published in 1651, was announced. 



The following gentlemen were elected members : 



W. B. Heward ....Toronto. 



Benjamin Workman Montreal. 



Professor W. Andrew " 



A. Hal], M.D " 



A paper was read by the Rev. Professor Parry " On the Early 

 History of Ancient Rome." 



Professor Chapman gave a short account of a specimen of 

 Chlorastrolite from Lake Superior, and afterwards made some 

 observations on the minerals presented to the Institute by Dr. 

 Wilson, of Perth. 



Tlie Canadian Institute and the Toronto Atlienteuni. 



Report of the Special Committees of the Canadian Institute 

 and the Toronto Athenceum, appointed to confer on the sub- 

 ject of the union of those Institutions: 



After consultation, it was agreed to recommend — 



" That the Athenaeum be merged in the Canadian Institute, 

 transferring its books, minerals, and other properties (exclusive 

 of such as may be necessary or are now used in the News Room), 

 together with its present funds derived from Parliament, on con- 

 dition, 



"1. That the Library thus formed by the books of the two 

 Institutions, with such additions as may hereafter be made from 

 their common funds, shall constitute a Library to which the pub- 

 lic shall have access for reference, under such regulations as may 

 be adopted in view of the proper care and management of the 

 same. 



" 2. That the members of the Athenaeum shall become mem- 

 bers of the Canadian Institute. 



" 3. That the Governors of the Athenaeum shall be elected 

 life-members of the Canadian Institute, 



" Whereupon it was further agreed that each Special Com- 

 mittee shall report the above as a satisfactory basis for the pro- 

 posed amalgamation, reserving matters of detail for future adjust- 

 ment under renewed authority. 



" That on the arrangements in detail being thus completed, a 

 vote shall be taken by each body in Special General Meeting, 

 which, if affirmative, shall provisionally establish the union, pend- 

 ing the passage of such an Act of Parliament (if any) as may be 

 necessary to legalize the same. 



(Signed) « THOS. D. HARRIS, 



" Chairman, pro tern. 

 "Athenjetjm Rooms, ~\ 

 St. Lawrence Hall, Toronto, V 

 14th February, 1854." J 



At a meeting of the Council of the Canadian Institute, held 

 February 18th, it was 



Resolved: That the Report of the Committee appointed to 

 confer with the Committee of the Toronto Athenaeum be adopted, 

 and that they be authorized to complete the arrangements on 

 the basis mentioned in their Report. 



Chemical Composition of the Shells of certain Brachiopods. 



At the close of the Seventh ordinary meeting of the Canadian 

 Institute, Professor Chapman announced the following important 

 discovery lately made by Messrs. Logan and Hunt, of the 

 Geological Commission at Montreal. It is well known that the 

 shells, claws, spines, and other hard parts of Articulated Mollus- 

 cous and Radiated Animals, have been hitherto universally 

 admitted to consist essentially, so far at least as regards their 

 inorganic constituents, of carbonate of lime ; whilst the bones of 

 the vertebrated classes are mainly composed of the phosphate. 

 In his " Cours de Palaeontologie," Alcide d'Orbigny remarks on 

 this subject, that the mean per-centage composition of the shells 

 of acephalous molluscs may be thus represented : — carbonate of 

 lime 95 to 96, phosphate of lime 1 to 2, water 1 to 1.5, animal 

 matter 1.0. Messrs. Logan and Hunt, however, have now as- 

 certained that the shells of both fossil and recent species of 

 Lingula and Orbicula — two brachiopodous genera met with in 

 rock formations of every geological age from the lower Silurian 

 inclusive, and still existing in the Phillipine, Mediterranean and 

 other seas — consist, not of carbonate of lime according to the 

 usually received opinion, but of phosphate of lime. Shells of the 

 fossil pteropod, Conularia, were also found to have a similar 

 composition ; a discovery tending to break down the presumed 

 distinction between the skeletons of the Vertebrata, and the 

 skeleton-analogies, so to say, of the lower types of organization. 



In calling the attention of the Institute to these important 

 facts, Professor Chapman mentioned that some time previously, 

 he had himself detected phosphate of lime to the amount of 

 11.12 per cent., in the guard of a specimen of Belemnitella 

 mucronata from the English chalk; but that he had attributed 

 the presence of the phosphate in this particular instance, to 

 metamorphic action during the fossilization of the substance. 



In the case, however, of the recent brachiopods examined by 

 Messrs. Logan and Hunt, such an interpretation would be 

 manifestly out of the question. The scientific world will look 

 with much interest for the further developement of this most 

 fruitful discovery. 



Toronto Harbour. 



The following is the Report of the Corporation Committee on 

 Wharves and Harbours. It is not a very encouraging document. 



" Tour Committee invited the Harbour Master, Hugh Richardson, 

 Esq., and the Chief Engineer of the Esplanade, Kivas Tully, Esq., to 

 accompany them, which these gentlemen kindly did, and from both of 

 them your Committee have derived much valuable information, as to 

 the changes which have been noted by them, from time to time in the 

 Peninsula. Your Committee carefully inspected every part of the 



