64 



October 10. The curators reported the receipt of the fol- 

 lowing donations : — From Stephen Van Rensselaer, jun. sun- 

 dry articles dug up on the west bank of the Hudson, near the 

 house of Mr. V. R. four feet below the surface, viz. being vari- 

 ous articles of iron, a human bone and a French copper coin of 

 Louis 13th, in perfect preservation; two German silver coins 

 of Ferdinand the 2d, and a quantity of human bones being found 

 at the same time. From Miss Carter, a part of a tree struck by 

 lightning. It is about 18 inches in length, and the fibres through- 

 out its whole extent, are minutely separated from each other, 

 longitudinally, so as to resemble a skein of silk before it is cut ;* 

 from George W. Carpenter, an asterias ; from W. C. Schuyler, 

 T. Romeyn Beck, Peter S. Henry and M. H. Webster, a num- 

 ber of copper coins, principally foreign; from Ebenezer Bald- 

 win, specular iron ore, from Moriah, Essex county ; from 

 James Willard, of Schenectady, a silver coin of Queen Eliza- 

 beth, 1568 ; from Dr. Grant, "of Georgia, crystals of salt and 

 crystallized pan scale, from Salina, also carbonate of lime from 

 Trenton falls; from George B. Webster, a specimen of bread 

 fruit, brought by himself from the Sandwich Islands ; from 

 Jesse Buel, geological specimens, from the Union canal, 

 (Pennsylvania) ; from Guert Gansevoort, U. S. Navy, Turk- 

 ish tobacco, from Smyrna, and stalactite from the Grotto of 

 Antiparos ; from Rev. Judah Ely, a collection of organic re- 

 mains, including univalves, bivalves and fossil bones from 

 Hertford county, (North Carolina) from 100 feet below the 

 surface of the ground, and 100 miles west from the sea shore. 



The curators reported that Mr. John B. Van Schaick, had 

 deposited a collection of gold and silver coins of the present 

 and late monarchs of Europe, collected by him while abroad. 



Mr. George W. Clinton read an essay on the properties of 

 light. 



Mr. William Mayell exhibited a perspective view of the 

 engine of the steam- boat Victory, now building in this city, 

 and also a model of the boilers, accompanied with explana- 

 tions of both. 



Mr. Joseph Henry read a communication " on some modi- 

 fications of the electro magnetic apparatus," accompanied 

 with experiments, (Transactions, vol. 1, art. iv.) 



The Institute then adjourned to its annual meeting in 1828. 



