of Edinburgh^ Session 1865-66. 635 
animal or vegetable matter as to prevent ulterior change on the 
removal of the acid by washing with water/"' 
If the subject under consideration, that of the preservation of 
meat, is always, from an economical point of view, deserving of 
attention, is it not especially so at a time such as the present, when, 
owing to the cattle plague, there is a danger of a stinted supply, at 
a greatly enhanced price ? 
5. The Buried Forests and Peat Mosses of Scotland. By 
James Geikie, Esq. Communicated by Archibald Geikie, 
Esq. 
This communication is an attempt to eliminate the geological 
history of our Scottish peat mosses, which appear to contain the 
record of certain changes of climate, that have not hitherto fully 
engaged attention. The phenomena revealed by our peat mosses 
are threefold — First, the buried trees, and the condition of this 
country at the period of their growth ; second, the causes which led 
to the destruction of these trees ; and, third, the present aspect of 
the peat mosses. Under the first head is to be considered the con- 
tinental period of Great Britain, to which the buried trees in the 
older peat bogs of the country belong. Under the second head, the 
causes of the destruction of these trees are chiefly assigned to the 
upward growth of wet mosses, the chilling effects of which caused 
the overthrow of the trees. This points to a change of climate ; 
Since the experiments above referred to were made, others have been 
tried, the results, too, of which I may briefly describe. 
On the 9th of September, a fresh parr, laid open and eviscerated, was sus- 
pended by a thread in a bottle in which was a little vinegar, the parr not in 
contact with the acid. Another parr, similarly prepared, was moistened with 
vinegar and wrapped in blotting-paper, also moistened with the acid. Thus 
enclosed, it was placed in an ale-glass and covered with a tumbler. After 
eight days the suspended parr was found well preserved ; it had not the 
slightest unpleasant smell ; its surface was not distinctly acid to the taste, 
and its teeth retained their sharpness. The other parr was also free from any 
unpleasant smell, but was softening in places ; the bones were quite soft. 
After ten days the body of the first parr was found detached from softening, 
and had fallen into the acid, the head remaining suspended, and it was still 
free from any unpleasant smell, as was also the softened body. The parr in 
paper was little changed; it showed no marks of putridity. 
