84 
of the anatomy of the plant like my coal specimens ; hut 
they show us the characters of the leaves, and the connec- 
tion of the organs of fructification with the stem of the 
plant. 
“On War Rockets,” by James Nasmyth, C.E., Corre- 
sponding Member of the Society. 
Under the impression that the improvement suggested in 
the following remarks on the above-named subject may 
lead to important results when carried into effect, I have 
ventured to solicit the favour of the attention of the mem- 
bers of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society 
to the subject, in the hope that it may interest them, and 
by their kind favour be recorded in their transactions, and 
so place the suggested improvements in question at the ser- 
vice of the public. 
The valuable properties possessed by rockets as imple- 
ments of warfare are so great, that could precision of flight 
be added they would rise to a position of the highest 
importance as destructive agents. 
The comparative lightness and portability of rockets, 
and the fact of their combining gun, charge, shot or shell, 
all in one and the same projectile, together with their 
alarm-producing and highly destructive properties, has (not- 
withstanding their wildness or uncertainty of flight) caused 
them to be employed in warfare, in many instances with 
most effective and important results. 
It is with the object of giving to such rockets all the 
advantages of rifle action, and so securing precision in their 
flight, that I desire to suggest means for effecting that 
