Jane 1,1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
977 
moment had kindly consented to take his place. Much 
as ho regretted the absence of Mr. Sutton, he felt sure 
Mr. Mason would not only instruct but amuse them. 
The Lecturer began by describing the process em¬ 
ployed in the manufacture of gas; and after briefly 
noticing the by-products, gave a very explicit account 
of the constituents of good gas, and the more frequent 
impurities. He also explained the causes that led to 
variations in the quality of gas, and showed some ex¬ 
periments illustrating the methods used to obviate these 
variations, and to increase the illuminating power. 
Finally, he demonstrated the methods for estimating 
the impurities and illuminating power. 
The lecture was fully illustrated by experiments, 
which evoked repeated applause. 
The Chairman, in a humorous speech, moved a vote 
of thanks to Mr. Mason, which was seconded by Mr. 
.Martin. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks 
to the Chairman. 
|1 nrmtags jof Sncntife Satieties. 
ROYAL INSTITUTION. 
Friday , February, 9, 1872. 
On Sleep. 
BY PROFESSOR HUMPHRY, F.R.S. 
The Professor first gave a brief account of some of 
the changes that take place in the tissues when their 
function is active, and explained that during this time a 
slight deterioration of structure takes place, which affecting 
the voluntary system—the muscles and the hemispheres 
of the brain—causes the sense of tiring, and necessitates 
a period of rest for the restoration of the tissue to its 
former condition. In the case of the muscles this rest 
is provided for by periods, quickly alternating periods, 
of action and cessation of action. But in the case of the 
brain, the actions upon which consciousness, volition, 
etc., depend, cannot be thus frequently suspended. 
Their continuance is needed for the safety of the body 
during long periods, through the whole day for instance ; 
and longer periods are therefore required for repair. 
These are the periods of sleep. 
He next took a cursory glance at the different parts of 
the nervous system, explaining that the upper regions of 
the brain are those which minister to consciousness and 
volition, the intellectual operations, etc. He showed 
that the functions of these regions not only can long be 
suspended without interfering with the action of the 
lower parts of the brain which are more immediately 
necessary to life, but that they are very easily suspended, 
slight causes, such as a jar or a shock, or an alteration 
in the blood current, being suflicicnt to stop the action 
of these parts, and deprive the person of consciousness. 
The spontaneous stoppage of their action, consequent on 
the slight deterioration of their structure from the con¬ 
tinuance of their functions during the day, is the proxi¬ 
mate cause of sleep during the night; and the periodic 
recurrence of sleep is in accordance with the periodicity 
observed in several of the nutritive functions, and indeed 
witnessed in many of tho other operations of nature. 
After observations upon tho condition of the brain 
during sleep, the circumstances that conduce to sleep, 
the time that should be allotted to it, and other points, 
the Professor entered at some length into the subject of 
dreams. These ho regarded not, as has been supposed 
by some, to be a necessary attendant on, or feature of, 
sleep, but rather to be the result of an abnormal condi¬ 
tion. In the natural state we should pass from wakeful¬ 
ness to complete unconsciousness, and vice versa, quickly, 
almost instantaneously; and many persons habitually 
do so. But the transition period is sometimes prolonged, 
and stages are observable. The first thing that occurs 
is tho lowering or cessation of that control over the 
mental processes which is the highest of our powers, tho 
one requiring the greatest effort and the one most easily 
lost. In this condition the thoughts ramble unchecked, 
chase one another confusedly over the mental field, and. 
give rise to all sorts of incongruities of the imagination. 
At tho same time being unrestrained, they are excited, 
and evince efforts of memory and even of combination 
which in the regulated state of wakefulness they are 
quite incapable of. In this way the images of persons- 
and places, of events and items of knowledge long for¬ 
gotten in the ordinary state, arc recalled with distinct¬ 
ness ; and we fancy that new information has been ac¬ 
quired, when it is only forgotten facts that are recalled. 
He did not agree with the physiologists who conceive 
that dreaming depends upon an inequality in the condi¬ 
tion of different parts of the brain, some being excited 
or -wakeful, while others are quiescent or asleep. He 
rather took the view that all the parts of the cerebral 
hemispheres combine in each of the efforts of control, 
consciousness, memory and other mental acts, that all 
suffer alike from these effects, alike need the restoring- 
changes which take place in sleep, and together pari 
passu, pass through the stages on the way to and from 
sleep in which dreaming, sleep-walking, etc., occur. 
SOCIETY OF ARTS. 
April 24, 1872. 
Nuts, their Produce and Uses. 
BY P. L. SIMMONDS. 
Continued from paye 960. 
Tho nutmeg may, perhaps, be included under tho 
idible nuts, as it is an important article of commerce 
in the four years ending with 1841 the average import 
vas only 121,000 lb. In 1850 it had risen to 312,418- 
b., and now the import and consumption is 538,000 lb.,, 
vorth 1.?. 6i. per pound. 
Formerly the production was a monopoly of the Dutch. 
East India Company ; and although the cultivation has 
Deen attempted in other quarters, it only succeeds in the 
straits Settlements and the Islands of the Eastern Archi¬ 
pelago. In the Banda Islands the produce is about 
330,000 lb. annually (in 1S47 it was as much as 755,000 
Lb.), and all above "that quantity used to be rigorously 
lestroyed. The collected nuts when ripe are dried in 
the sun or by the heat of a moderate fire till the shells 
split. They are then sorted and sometimes dipped in 
Lime-water, to preserve them from the attacks of insects. 
The shape of the nutmeg varies considerably, being 
spherical, oblong, and egg-shaped; but the nearer they 
approach sphericity of figure, the more highly are they 
prized. Those of good quality should be nearly round, 
heavy, weighing on an average ot an ounce. 
The broken nuts are made to yield, by expression or 
boiling, a concrete oil, termed nutmeg-paste or butter, 
which is used for flavouring. Its specific gravity is 
about ’948. What is erroneously termed oil of mace is- 
obtained by distillation from the nutmeg, and should 
bear its name. 
The long (wild or male) nutmegs of commerce are the 
produce of Myristica tomentosa , and are not so much 
esteemed as the round. 
The cashew-nut (Anacardium occidental) is anotnor 
tropical fruit, oceasionallv imported for its sweet kernels, 
and which has this peculiarity, that the nut is attached 
to the fruit, instead of growing within, as is usually the 
case. A thick, black, oily, viscous juice, cadcd caulo o, 
is obtained in the East Indies from the pericarp, which 
is a powerful vesicating agent. The white kernel, v hie 
is oleaginous and of an agreeable flavour, furnishes an 
oil considered superior to olive oil. 
From North America small quantities of two edible 
nuts, the pec-can and the hickory, are occasionally im¬ 
ported. The former is the seed of Cary a ohveeformis , 
the latter of Cary a alba. An excellent oil for burning 
and machinery ha 3 been made from tho hickory-nut, in,. 
