CONVERSAZIONE. 
603 
collection of antiquities from Wycombe, Gloucestershire, from B. Vincent, Esq.; 
bronzes, from Mr. E. Bremridge ; and Majolica ware, from Messrs. Phillips. 
A gorilla (by permission of the Anthropological Society), some elephants’ 
bones, and two elephant’s tusks, one healthy, the other diseased, both from the 
same animal, were contributed by Mr. Leadbeater ; the head of a New Zea¬ 
lander, by Mr. R. Morson ; a case of insects, by Mr. Larkin. A large collection 
of medical and economic plants, from the Royal Botanic Society’s Gardens, 
Regent’s Park ; amongst other plants of interest were the May Apple ( Podo■■ 
pliyllum pelt a turn). Squill ( Urginea Scilla ), Black Pepper ( Piper nigrum ), Cassia 
( Cinnamomum Cassia ), Camphor (Camphora officinarum ), Matico (Artanthe elon - 
gala ), Cassava ( Manihot utilissima ), Papyrus ( Papyrus antiquorum ), Castor Oil 
( Ricinus communis ), Cocoa ( Theohroma Cacao), Rice (Oryza sativa ), Oil Palm 
(Elms Guineensis ), Allspice (Eugenia Pimenta ), Olive (Olea europcea ), Arrow- 
root (Maranta arundinacea ), Indigo ( Indigofer a tinctoria ), Coffee ( Co ffea ara- 
bica), Nutmeg ( Myristica moschata ), Guaiacum ( Guaiacum officinale), etc. etc., 
by Professor Bentley ; some rare dried specimens of Myroxylon peruiferum and 
Myroxylon Pereira?, by Mr. Daniel Hanbury, who also exhibited dried specimens 
of Ceratonia siliqua, Cassia moschata, and Cassia brasiliana, drawings of earthen 
jars in which balsam of Peru was formerly contained, and of the gourds, etc., in 
which it is now put, with other highly interesting specimens connected with the 
extraction, collection, and preservation of balsams of Peru and Tolu ; an interest¬ 
ing collection of Upas poisons, including specimens of the leaves and wood of the 
tree, whence obtained, and poisons from various localities, with poisoned and non- 
envenomed arrows, by M. C. Cooke, Esq. ; podophyllum resin, by Mr. T. N. R. 
Morson ; specimen of ricinine, an alkaloid obtained from castor-oil seeds, by Pro¬ 
fessor Tuson ; a part of the first keg of iodine manufactured by the British Sea¬ 
weed Company under the patented process of Mr. E. C. C. Stanford, late De¬ 
monstrator in the laboratories of the Pharmaceutical Society, by Mr. T. N. R. 
Morson; a fine specimen of crystallized citrate of lithia, by Messrs. Blake, Sand- 
ford, and Blake; a case of thallium and its salts (by permission of W. Crookes, 
Esq.), by Messrs. Hopkin and Williams ; a collection of minerals, by Mr. B. M. 
Wright; and some fossils from the lias near Lyme Regis, and a case of emeralds, 
opals, etc. etc., by Mr. J. R. Gregory. 
Wheatstone’s printing telegraphs, from Professor Wheatstone, was shown 
in. action ; experiments for rendering the vibrations of plates of glass and 
metal visible by means of sand, also experiments for illustrating the production 
of sound, were shown by Mr. Ladd, who also exhibited some optical experiments 
during the evening ; a self-acting washing-cradle for washing photographic 
prints (invented by Cornelius Hanbury, Esq.) was contributed by Mr. Wood, of 
Cheapside: in this apparatus the mechanical force of the water is made to fill the 
vessel, empty it, dram the prints, fill it again, and so on until sufficient washing 
has been effected, the advantages being that it requires no attention on the part 
of the operator, and it economizes both time and water; a working model of 
Joy’s double-acting and self-acting steam-hammer was exhibited by Messrs. 
Tregelles and Taylor; a dry voltaic pile, which has been causing the vibration of 
a disk of paper between its poles for thirty-six years, was shown by Mr. Noakes ; 
a working model of the semaphore of the Patent Electric Signal Company, from 
the Company, was shown in action by Mr. Silver: in this instance, the well- 
known power which heat has in causing the curvature of a compound metallic 
bar is ingeniously made use of in ringing an alarm bell in case the light in the 
lantern is extinguished; Messrs. Rennie contributed a model of a floating-dock 
constructed for the Spanish Government at Carthagena, and some models of 
double-screw gunboats. Mr. How, who also showed an improved photographic 
tent, exhibited an electro-magnetic engine in motion ; Mr. J. Imray exhibited 
his electric safety distance signal in action : by means of this invention, which is 
