754 



tions. and to the instances of anencephalous infants, as leading to 



the following deductions : — 

 ■« 1. In man and the higher mammalia, the brain is the sole centre 

 of the nervous system and the source of its power. 



2. The grey matter of the spinal chord and the ganglia of the 

 sympathetic are to be considered as reservoirs of this power, for the 

 immediate action of the parts supplied, which speedily become ex- 

 hausted if comnmnication with the brain be cut off; and also as 

 modifiers of impressions transmitted from the organs of the brain. 



S. The automatic and instinctive actions are not performed in- 

 dependently of the concurrence of the brain, though its influence on 

 these actions is less direct and manifest than in the case of volun- 

 taiy movements. 



4. In several disorders which have been too exclusively referred 

 to the spinal chord, the brain is the organ principally implicated. 



" On the Protection of Iron from Oxidation and from becoming 

 foul when it is exposed to the action of sea and other waters." By 

 Mr. William John Hay. Communicated by Admiral Beaufort, 

 F.R.S. 



For attaining the objects mentioned in the title of this paper, the 

 author was led by a process of experimental research, founded on 

 chemical principle, to the discovery of the superior efficacy of a 

 varnish consisting of one part of pitch and two parts of naphtha, 

 together with ten pounds of the sub- and per-oxides of copper to 

 each quart of the varnish. This varnish is made to adhere by ap- 

 plying it to the iron previously rendered hot by placing underneath 

 it braziers of ignited charcoal. He found that this coating of var- 

 nish not only protected the iron from oxidation, but formed a perfect 

 barrier to electro-chemical action between the copper oxide and the 

 iron. Two or three of these coats are applied in succession, each 

 being laid on after the preceding one has become hardened. The 

 trials made of this method on various ships, the results of which are 

 detailed in an appendix to the paper, have proved perfectly satis- 

 factory. 



May 11, 1848. 



The MAUQUIS OF NORTHAMPTON, President, in the Chair. 



" On the Chemical Nature of a Wax from China." By Benjamin 

 Collins Brodie, Esq. Communicated by Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 

 Bart., F.R.S. 



The wax \vhich is the subject of this investigation, is a substance 

 imported into this country from China. It has the general appear- 

 ance of spermaceti, but is harder than that body. The author gives 

 reasons for believing that this wax, like bees' -wax, is a secretion from 

 an insect. 



