555 



the loss of weight is then about 8 per cent, by a heat of 260°, the 

 amount of |his loss is 10 per cent. When the heat is so great as to 

 occasion decomposition, the saline matter contained in the wheat 

 fuses, and a portion of the carbon becomes so entangled or firmly 

 adherent to it, as to be incapable of separation by burning. Hence 

 he recommends, in order to obtain greater uniformity in the results, 

 that the wheat subjected to these experiments should be dried at a 

 low temperature, such as tliat of a room in summer, and be allowed 

 to remain a few days under its influence. The author tried the 

 eflTect of the addition of nitric acid, with a view to save time by ac- 

 celerating the combustion ; but found that the results could not be 

 relied upon Avhen this plan was adopted, and he was therefore obliged 

 to relinquish it. He next directed his inquiries to the ascertaining 

 whether the quantity of inorganic matter was in proportion to the 

 specific gravity of the grain, that is, to its weight per bushel; and 

 this he found in general to be the case. The conclusion he deduces 

 from this investigation is, that the mean amount of inorganic matter 

 removed from the soil by the grain of a crop of wheat is exactly one 

 pound per acre. 



"On Benzoline, anew organic Salt-base obtained from Oil of 

 Bitter Almonds." By George Fownes, Esq., F.R.S. 



Pure oil of bitter almonds is converted, by the action of a strong 

 solution of ammonia, into a solid white substance having a crj^stalline 

 form, and which was termed by M. Laurent hydrohenzamide. The 

 author found that this substance, by the further action of alkalies, 

 became harder and less fusible than before, and not diff'ering in che- 

 mical composition from the original substance, but exhibiting the 

 properties of an organic salt-base. To this substance the author 

 gives the name of henzoline. He finds that the salts which it forms 

 by combination with acids are, in general, remarkable for their spa- 

 ring solubility ; and that many of them, as the hydrochlorate, the 

 nitrate and the sulphate, are crystallizable. Of the properties of 

 these salts the author gives a detailed account. 



June 5, 1845. 



Very Rev. DEAN OF ELY in the Chair. 



" Electro-Physiological Researches." Memoir First. By Pro- 

 fessor Carlo Matteucci. Communicated by Michael Faraday, Esq., 

 D.C.L., F.R.S. 



The author describes several arrangements by which he was en- 

 abled to make new experiments in confirmation of the laws of mus- 

 cular currents, of which he has given an account in his recent work, 

 entitled "Traite des Phenomenes Electro -Physiologiques des Ani- 

 maux." He finds that, in these experiments, the employment of a gal- 

 vanometer is unnecessary, as the sensibility of the electroscopic frog 



