842 



to throw some light upon the origin of the coal-beds, which some 

 geologists believe to have been formed from the submersion of 

 forests and the floating of uprooted timber into estuaries and lakes, 

 while others contend that they have been produced by the submersion 

 of beds of peat. Irrespective therefore of other considerations, the 

 author urges in favour of the latter opinion, that wood is not capable 

 of furnishing the amount of nitrogen we find existing in coal, while 

 peat contains rather more than double the quantity required. The 

 expectation of procuring aniline, picoline, &c., the coal series of bases, 

 from the distillation of peat, was disappointed ; a result only to be 

 accounted for on the hypothesis, that the different genera of plants, 

 when destructively distilled, yield different series of organic bases. 



From the facts which have previously been stated, the author con- 

 siders himself warranted in concluding, that when ammonia is pro- 

 duced by the destructive distillation of either animal or vegetable sub- 

 stances, it is always accompanied with the formation of organic 

 bases. Now as ammonia is known to be procurable from these sub- 

 stances by other methods than destructive distillation, it seemed 

 highly probable that on these occasions organic bases would also be 

 produced. Beans, oil-cake and flesh, were therefore successively 

 boiled in a distilling apparatus with strong alkaline lyes. In every 

 instance, in addition to ammonia, a series of organic bases was also 

 produced. Similar results were also obtained w^hen the above-men- 

 tioned substances were digested in strong sulphuric acid, the acid 

 solution supersaturated with an alkali and subjected to distillation. 

 The ammoniacal liquor which passed into the receiver w^as found 

 invariably to contain organic bases. 



Bases hy putrefaction. — As putrefaction is almost the only other 

 means by which ammonia is readily procurable in quantity from 

 vegetable and animal substances, the effects of this process were also 

 examined in the first instance in the case of guano. An aqueous 

 solution of Peruvian guano was saturated v.ith carbonate of soda 

 and distilled. In addition to much ammonia, a quantity of basic oils 

 was also obtained. Subsequent to this experiment, the eff'ects of putre- 

 faction on a quantity of horse-flesh v/ere also examined, when a con- 

 siderable amount of oily bases was found to have been generated. 



From the facts which have now been enumerated, the author con- 

 cludes '"''that ivhenever ammonia is generated in large quantity from 

 complex animal or vegetable substances^ it is invariably accompanied 

 hy the formation of a larger or a smaller amount of volatile organic 

 bases" If therefore researches similar to the present are actively 

 prosecuted, and if the seeds and leaves of the various genera of plants 

 are subjected to these or analogous processes, it seems not unreason- 

 able to expect that the number of the organic alkaloids will ere long 

 be considerably increased. 



6. " On the Development and Varieties of the great anterior 

 veins in Man and Mammalia." By John Marshall, Esq. Commu- 

 nicated by Professor Sharpey, F.R.S. 



The object of this paper is to state the result of observations on 



