﻿184 
  

  

  Dr. 
  G. 
  Thin 
  on 
  the 
  Anatomy 
  

  

  [Jan. 
  21, 
  

  

  and 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  combined 
  play 
  of 
  these 
  conditions. 
  He 
  then 
  

   proceeds 
  to 
  develop, 
  as 
  a 
  consequence 
  of 
  the 
  general 
  law, 
  the 
  production 
  

   of 
  curved 
  prisms, 
  or 
  those 
  with 
  apparently 
  bent 
  axes, 
  which 
  are 
  observed 
  

   in 
  almost 
  all 
  basaltic 
  countries. 
  If 
  the 
  cooling 
  mass 
  of 
  basalt 
  be 
  in 
  one 
  

   of 
  its 
  vertical 
  sections 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  form 
  that 
  successive 
  isothermal 
  couches, 
  

   taken 
  in 
  descending 
  order, 
  are 
  not 
  parallel 
  to 
  the 
  original 
  cooling 
  surface, 
  

   as 
  they 
  are 
  in 
  all 
  cases 
  of 
  straight 
  and 
  parallel 
  prisms, 
  but 
  divergent 
  

   gradually 
  from 
  the 
  cooling 
  surface 
  and 
  from 
  each 
  other, 
  then 
  the 
  lines 
  of 
  

   splitting 
  of 
  the 
  prisms, 
  always 
  normal 
  to 
  these 
  couches, 
  must 
  be 
  curved 
  in 
  

   one 
  direction. 
  This 
  will 
  be 
  true 
  whether 
  the 
  isothermal 
  couches 
  be 
  plane 
  

   surfaces 
  divergent 
  from 
  a 
  thinner 
  to 
  a 
  thicker 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  mass, 
  or 
  whether 
  

   they 
  be 
  curved 
  surfaces 
  arising 
  from 
  the 
  mass 
  reposing 
  on 
  a 
  curved 
  

   bottom 
  and 
  diverging 
  in 
  like 
  manner. 
  This 
  explanation 
  of 
  the 
  produc- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  curved 
  prisms, 
  without 
  the 
  necessary 
  intervention 
  of 
  external 
  

   mechanical 
  forces 
  having 
  bent 
  into 
  curves 
  prisms 
  originally 
  formed 
  

   straight, 
  is, 
  the 
  author 
  believes, 
  here 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time 
  presented. 
  He 
  

   shows 
  that 
  great 
  difficulties 
  exist 
  to 
  the 
  supposition 
  that 
  curved 
  prisms 
  

   are 
  ever 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  bending 
  of 
  prisms 
  originally 
  straight 
  by 
  

   extraneous 
  mechanical 
  effort. 
  The 
  author 
  having 
  thus 
  shown 
  that 
  all 
  the 
  

   salient 
  phenomena 
  presented 
  in 
  nature 
  by 
  the 
  forms, 
  jointings, 
  positions 
  

   of 
  the 
  prisms, 
  &c. 
  of 
  columnar 
  basalt 
  are 
  accounted 
  for 
  as 
  consequences 
  of 
  

   contraction 
  in 
  cooling, 
  submits 
  that 
  this 
  solution 
  given 
  by 
  him 
  must 
  be 
  

   the 
  true 
  one. 
  He, 
  however, 
  proceeds 
  to 
  examine 
  at 
  some 
  length 
  the 
  

   different 
  views 
  of 
  those 
  who 
  have 
  imagined 
  that 
  prismatic 
  and 
  jointed 
  

   basalt 
  has 
  resulted 
  from 
  the 
  squeezing 
  together, 
  by 
  some 
  wholly 
  imaginary 
  

   external 
  force, 
  of 
  spheroidal 
  masses 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  resembling 
  those 
  known 
  

   as 
  " 
  onion 
  stones," 
  or 
  so-called 
  concretionary 
  spheroids, 
  such 
  as 
  those 
  

   imagined 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Gregory 
  Watt. 
  The 
  author 
  submits 
  all 
  points 
  of 
  the 
  

   subject 
  to 
  a 
  searching 
  examination, 
  and 
  points 
  out 
  that, 
  upon 
  the 
  only 
  

   probable 
  suppositions 
  that 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  prearrangement 
  of 
  

   such 
  spheroids, 
  no 
  extraneous 
  force 
  of 
  compression 
  could 
  produce 
  

   prisms 
  at 
  all, 
  but 
  must 
  squeeze 
  the 
  spheroids 
  instead 
  into 
  rhombic 
  dode- 
  

   cahedrons. 
  

  

  II. 
  a 
  On 
  the 
  Anatomy 
  of 
  the 
  Connective 
  Tissues/'' 
  By 
  G. 
  Thin, 
  

   M.D. 
  Communicated 
  by 
  Prof. 
  Huxley, 
  Sec. 
  U.S. 
  Re- 
  

   ceived 
  December 
  23, 
  1874. 
  

  

  (Abstract.) 
  

  

  Transparent 
  animal 
  tissues, 
  when 
  sealed 
  up 
  fresh 
  in 
  aqueous 
  humour 
  

   or 
  blood-serum, 
  by 
  runniug 
  Brunswick 
  black 
  round 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  cover- 
  

   glass, 
  undergo 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  slow 
  changes, 
  by 
  which, 
  generally 
  within 
  a 
  period 
  

   of 
  2 
  to 
  5 
  days, 
  anatomical 
  elements 
  mostly 
  otherwise 
  invisible 
  become 
  

  

  