382 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies, [May, 



made the least claim to the suggestion of tlie trial of magnesia 

 in celctsloos diseases (erroneously ascribed to him in a recent and 

 valuable work of Professor Berzelius on animal chemistry), and 

 that the merit of the hint, which led to the successful experi- 

 meots of Mr. Brande, belongs entirely to Mr. Hatchett. 



VI. Pepper, 



There is a very singular fraud which- has been practised for 

 some time past in some of the retail shops in London. Artificial 

 pepper-corns, both white and black, are mixed with real pepper- 

 corns, and this fraudulent mixture sold as genuine pepper. The 

 mode of detecting the cheat is easy. Throw a handful of the 

 suspected pepper-corns into water: the arnOcial corns fall to 

 powder, or are partially dissolved; while tl:,c true pepper-corns 

 remain whole. 1 am told that these fraudulent pepper-corns are 

 made of peasmeal. The fraud should be publickly known, 

 because such a mixtm*e, if used instead of real pepper, may 

 prove, in many cases of household economy, exceedingly preju- 

 dicial to those who ignorantly make use of it. 



Article X. 

 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies, 



KOYAL SOCIETY. 



On the ist of March some additional observations on the 

 tusks of the narwal, by Sir Everard Home, Bart, were read* 

 He found in the skull of a female narwal two milk tusts, about 

 nine inches long. Hence that animal, when full grown, would 

 have had tusks. On sawing in two the tusk of a narwal it was 

 found mostly hollow. This is the reason why it cannot be used, 

 like ivory, for the purposes of art. 



At the same meeting of the society, a paper by Dr. Wells 

 was read, giving an account of a woman, the offspring of white 

 parents, part of whose skin Was black. The name of the woman 

 is Harriet West, She was born in Suffolk, about eight miles 

 from the sea coast; and she is at present about 23 years of age. 

 Her father was a footman, and died when she was very young. 

 She is the only child of her father; but her mother, who was 

 married a second time, has had 11 children since, all white. 

 Her mother, when pregnant with her, got a fright by trampling 

 on a live lobster; and to this the spots on her skin were ascribed. 

 The whole of her body is very white, except the right shoulder, 

 arm, and hand, which are mostly black, except a white stripe 

 on the fore-arm. The black parts are darker than in a negro, 

 Winslovv has observed, that the cuticle in negroes i« black; and 



