510 



741*2 grains of carbon, being 196*7 grains more than it had re- 

 ceived ; and it had also gained in absolute weight 27 grains. The 

 conclusion which the author deduces from these experiments is, that 

 carbon is actually formed or secreted by animals. 



May 9, 1844. 



JAMES WALKER, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. 



« On the Hyssop of Scripture." By J. F. Royle, M.D., F.R.S., 

 Sic. 



Many attempts have at. different times been made, by various 

 authors, to identify the plant which, in our authorized version of the 

 Scriptures, Is translated Hyssop, The author enters at large into 

 the history of the speculations of former writers on this subject ; 

 and after an elaborate investigation, is led to the conclusion that this 

 plant is the Capparis spinosa of Linnasus, or Caper plant, a shrub 

 abundantly met with in the south of Europe, where it appears to be 

 indigenous, and also generally on the islands and coasts of the 

 Mediterranean, as well as in Eower Egypt and in Syria. 



May 16, 1844. 



The MARQUIS OF NORTHAMPTON, President, in the Chair, 



1 . " On the Measurement of Distances by the Telescope." By 

 Edmund Bowman, Esq., C.E. Communicated bv S. Hunter Christie, 

 Esq., Sec. R.S. 



The method proposed by the author for determining distances by 

 means of a telescope, consists in placing, at the spot of which- the 

 distance is required, a graduated staff, and observing the number of 

 its divisions comj^rehended in the field of the telescope, or included 

 between fixed points in a diaphragm placed in the focus of the eye- 

 glass. He finds that the number of these divisions, apparent in the 

 field of view, are directly as the distance of the stafi", plus a certain 

 constant, which depends on the construction of the instrument. The 

 author investigates the value of this constant, and illustrates the prac- 

 tical applications of his method, which he thinks might be employed 

 with great advantage in surveying, when, from irregularities of 

 ground or difiiculties of access, the direct measurement by the chain 

 would be inconvenient or impossible. 



2. " An Account of some Experiments exhibiting new instances of 

 the Absorbing Power of Streams ; with a few remarks on the Pul- 

 sation of Jets." By Mr. G. Robinson. Communicated by W. 

 Bowman, Esq., F.R.S. 



The experiments of which an account is given in this paper 



