30 



October 13. The following donations were received : 

 From M. H. Webster, four silver coins, vegetable impres- 

 sions in slate, from Harrisburgh, Penn. two species of 

 testudo and nine petrifactions ; from T. R. Beck, stalactite 

 (polished) from Mitchill's cave, Montgomery county, nitrate 

 of soda from South America, sundry specimens of salt made 

 by various processes, at Salina; from R. Webster, a Russian 

 coin, (silver) ; from H. W. Snyder, eleven silver coins, one 

 copper do. and an egg shell of the ostrich ; from Barent S. 

 Boyd, coral from W. Indies ; from John Finch, fossil echi- 

 nus in chalk, from England ; from Ebenezer Baldwin, four 

 shells of mother of pearl, Panama, S. A. ; from Peter Seton 

 Henry, organic remains in limestone, Amsterdam, Mont- 

 gomery county ; from Joseph Henry, specimens of litho- 

 graphic printing on satin ; from James Eights, trilobites 

 and other organic remains in limestone, Canajoharie, Mont- 

 gomery county ; from Beck, Eights and Webster, sixteen 

 specimens of organic remains from the Helderbergh ; from 

 Peter Gansevoort, dried plants, from Franklin county; from 

 Lewis C Beck, organic remains, from St. Louis, Missouri, 

 Rome, Oneida county, and Rochester, Monroe county. 



James E. De Kay, of New- York, communicated a notice 

 of the testudo ferox, Pennant. 



T. R. Beck read a notice of the nitrate of soda, recently 

 discovered in South America. 



October 30. Joseph Henry read a communication on 

 the chemical and mechanical effects of steam, with ex- 

 periments designed to illustrate the great reduction of tem- 

 perature in steam of high elasticity when suddenly expand- 



R. V. De Witt read a communication on the history of 

 the steam engine, and exhibited drawings of its various 

 modifications, which he presented to the Institute. 



The working model of a Watt and Bolton's steam engine, 

 loaned by Mr. George Birkbeck of New- York, was exhib- 

 ited, and its different parts explained by Joseph Henry. 



November 10. The following donations were received : 

 From Professor Horace Webster, of West Point, suite of 

 minerals, from that place and its vicinity ; from James'E. 

 De Kay, M. D. of New-York, sixteen copper and three sil- 

 ver coins ; copper coins from John Meads, Hezekiah Skin- 

 ner and M. H. Webster ; from James Eights, Pecten oper- 

 cularis, from England ; from Orlando Meads, copper coins 

 and fluate of lime, England. 



December 15. The following donations were received : 

 from John James, one silver and fifty-two copper coins ; 



