1832.1 Proceedings of Societies. 119 



of the country where they are stationed. If each Member of the Society would 

 carefully make a series of experiments to ascertain the medicinal properties of 

 the drugs which he collected, when used by natives, as well as by Europeans, 

 and forward to the Society a concise account of the same, much useful informa- 

 tion would soon be obtained, which might be printed in an arranged series in the 

 Society's Transactions. 



Mr. J. C. Boswell's medical report and cases were then read, and discussed by 

 the Meeting. 



3. — Natural History Society of the Mauritius. 

 [Extracts from the Proceedings of the 17th May and 14M June, 1831.] 



M. Lienard, Sen. read a description of two fishes of the island : one, of which 

 a drawing was presented, known by the fishermen as the Battoir, not offering the 

 distinctive characters of any of the known genera of the family of Percoules, to 

 which it apparently belongs, has received provisionally the name of Plate" some. 

 The second, commonly called Lion male, is a Holocentre, but not the Holocentre 

 Samner of Cuv. and Val. neither of these species are described in the tables. 



Mr. J. Lienard presented an account of a crab of the genus Fortune, accom- 

 panied by a drawing. Also a description and drawing of an Acanthure very rare 

 in those seas. 



Mr. Faraguet presented and explained his table representing geometrically the 

 law of the temperature of the seas at different depths ; it is founded on the experi- 

 mentsmade on board the Astrolabe, the only ones of the kind upon which confidence 

 can be placed. It was found that at a depth of 820 brasses (fathoms) to which 

 the lead attained, the temperature was 6.4 Cent. (43° Fahr.) and that the curve 

 representing the results is a parabola of a high order, having for assymptote a 

 vertical corresponding to a temperature of 4 or 5° centigrade, (40 Fahr.) At 

 the depth of 1000 brasses (fathoms) a brass cylinder of 3 lines thick (containing 

 the thermometer ?) was broken, which is not surprising when the pressure is 

 calculated. 



Mr. J. R. Barry communicated a note on the subject of the temperature of 

 mines of different depths. By observations made in Cornwall, in 1815, it was 

 ascertained that at 1400 ft. Eng. below the surface, the temperature of mines 

 exceeds that of the surface of the globe 28° Fahr. and that the heat augments 

 progressively in descending at the rate of l a for 65 feet. 



Mr. J- Desjardins, Sec. read some pages relative to certain races inhabiting 

 the Mauritius and Bourbon. 



Also, conjointly with Mr. L. Bouton, Mr, J. D. read a notice of the Naturalist 

 Commerson, well known as the principal contributor to the knowledge of the 

 natural history of the island. Mr. J. D. treated of his zoological labours, while 

 Mr. L. B. gave details of his life and works in general. 



Commerson came to the island in 1768, and remained with M. de Bougainville 



to study its productions. He enjoyed greater means of research than any since his 



time. After a voyage to Bourbon and Madagascar, he returned to Mauritius, 



where he died on the 3rd March, 1 773, at a place known by the name of la Retraite. 



Mr. Ch. Telfair, president, presented 40 birds from Tasmania. 



Mr. Lislet-Geoffroy offered for the library, the analyses of the Royal Academy's 

 Proceedings from 1812 to 1829. 



Mr. E. Baker, who had sent several manuscripts from Madagascar, on different 

 Subject*, was admitted a corresponding member of the Society. 



