14. An Essay towards the Calculus of Functions. By C. Babbage, Esq.-(See Annals of Philosophy, vol. vii. p. 1.)

15. Some additional Experiments and Observations on the Relation which subsists between the Nervous and Sanguiferous Systems. By A. P. Wilson Philip, Physician in Worcester.-(See Annals of Philosophy, vol. vii. p. 69.)

ARTICLE XIII.

Proceedings of Philosophical Societies.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

ON Thursday, Nov. 30, the day of the anniversary meeting of the Society for the election of office-bearers, the Rumford medal was given to Dr. Brewster, for his papers published in the Transac tions. The following office bearers were elected for the ensuing year :

PRESIDENT-The Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. K. B. SECRETARIES-Wm. Hyde Wollaston, M. D.

Taylor Combe, Esq. M. A.

TREASURER-Samuel Lysons, Esq.

OF THE OLD COUNCIL.

Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart.

Sir Charles Blagden.

Samuel Goodenough, Lord Bishop of Carlisle, V. P.

Taylor Combe, Esq. Sec. M. A.

Davies Giddy, Esq. M. P.

Sir Everard Home, Bart. V. P.

Samuel Lysons, Esq. Treasurer, V. P.

George Earl of Morton, K. T. V. P.
John Pond, Esq. Astronomer Royal.

Wm. Hyde Wollaston, M. D.

Thomas Young, M. D. Sec. For. Corresp.

OF THE NEW COUNCIL.

John Barrow, Esq.

Mark Beaufoy, Esq.
Henry Brown, Esq.

Sir Humphry Davy.

Philip Earl of Hardwicke, K. G.

Edward Howard, Esq.

John Latham, M. D. Pres. Coll. Phys.

Thomas James Mathias, Esq.

Sir John Nicol, M. P.

George Earl of Winchelsea. K. G.

The deaths since last anniversary, including two foreign members, have been 23; the elections about 30. The number of the Society at present is 594, to which must be added 45 foreign members, making a total of 639 members.

On Thursday, Dec. 7, a paper by Dr. Reid Clanny was read, giving a further account of his lamp for the security of colliers against the fire-damp. He has now constructed it of such a size that it may be put into the great coat pocket. It may be made of copper for 14. 14s., and of block tin for 17s. A piece of mechanism at a low price is attached to the bellows, capable of supplying the lamp with air for an hour. Dr. Clanny relates a set of trials made in an apartment filled with carbureted hydrogen gas to the exploding point, and in a coal-mine the air of which was in the same state. In both cases the air within the lamp exploded, and the lamp was extinguished, but the external air was not in the least affected.

He showed by a set of experiments that by attending to the proper mode of supplying the lamp with air, the candle will continue to burn even when the carbureted hydrogen within the lamp explodes. Dr. Clanny states in this paper that the expense for steel mills in many collieries is much greater than would be requisite to light the mine by means of his lamp. In one mine he says it amounts to 30%. a week. Dr. Clanny likewise gave an account of the numerous explosions that have taken place in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, and of the opposition which he has encountered in attempting to introduce his lamp into the coal-mines in the district in which he resides.

On Thursday, Dec. 15, a paper by Mr. Herschel on the functions of exponential quantities was announced; but, from the nature of the subject, could not be read.

At the same meeting part of a paper by Dr. Brewster on the properties of heat as modifying the nature of glass was read. He showed that, by heat, plates of glass acquire the properties of all the different kinds of crystallized bodies. One portion depolarizes the ray of light in the same manner as those crystals which attract the extraordinary ray towards the axis; another part in the same manner as those crystals which repel the extraordinary ray from the axis.)

On Thursday, Dec. 21, Dr. Brewster's paper was continued. A great number of curious facts were detailed; but from the nature of the paper, and the constant reference to figures, it is scarcely possible to form an accurate idea of it merely from hearing it read. He found that by heating glass red hot, and cooling it upon cold iron, it acquired a permanently crystallized texture. Of all the minerals tried, obsidian was the only one whose texture was altered by a moderate heat. This points out a further analogy between obsidian and glass, and renders the opinion of those who consider this mineral as of volcanic origin still more probable.

On Thursday, Jan. 11, Dr. Brewster's paper was concluded. He pointed out the analogy between magnetism and heated glass,

and explained several phenomena which had been described in some of his preceding papers. He showed, likewise, that a thermometer might be constructed by means of the different coloured fringes exhibited by plates of glass of various degrees of heat. This thermometer might be made capable of indicating a change of temperature not exceeding one degree of Fahrenheit's thermometer

J

At the same meeting a paper by Sir Humphry Davy was read, giving an account of a new method of preventing explosions in coal-mines from fire-damp. His method is to surround the flame of the lamp or candle with a wire sieve, the meshes of which amount at least to 250 in an inch. Such a sieve completely prevents the explosion from setting fire to the gas on the outside of it, even though the most inflammable mixtures of gases, as oxygen and hydrogen, be present. This is certainly one of the most extraordinary and unaccountable facts connected with the propagation of heat and combustion. It is possible (supposing the fact to be correct) that so great an attraction may exist between the wires and the air surrounding them, that the internal combustion and expansion is not able to displace it. If we suppose such a fixedness to exist, it would account for the explosion not kindling the surrounding mixture on the outside of the sieve. This contrivance (supposing it effectual) would completely answer the purposes of the miner. Such sieves might be made for a halfpenny apiece, and they would not in the least obstruct the light, or prevent the candle from being used by the miner as it is at present; whereas the bulk, and little light given out by the lamps, constitutes a serious objection to their use.

On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the remainder of Dr. Acharius's paper describing two new genera of lichens was concluded.

A curious paper was likewise read, giving an account of the ancient inhabitants of Guadaloupe near the spot where the fossil human skeleton was found. Two different tribes existed, to whom the writer of the paper gives the names of Caribes and Galipees. About the year 1710 they quarrelled, and a battle was fought between them on the spot where the skeleton was found. The Galipees were routed, and disappeared in consequence, having no doubt emigrated. The author seems to conceive that the skeletons of the warriors slain in that battle were speedily encrusted with the calcareous sand of the place, and that this recently formed stone constitutes the rock in which the fossil skeleton was found. Autzeng

On Tuesday, Dec. 19, a paper was read endeavouring to explain the way in which the rock containing the Guadaloupe skeleton was agglutinated. It contained, likewise, an enumeration of the diffe

rent species of shells and madrepores the fragments of W sibian

in the rock. so

At the same meeting a paper by Dr. Macbride, of South Carolina, was read, giving an account of the fly-catching qualities of the leaves of the Saracenia flava and adunca. These leaves constitute

a kind of tube with an operculum at the top. They contain a saccharine liquid which allures the insect. It lingers some time on the margin of the leaf, but at last ventures in, and is drowned in the liquid, being unable to make its way up the tube, which is beset with hairs pointing downwards, and preventing its escape. The number of flies destroyed by falling into these leaves is very great: They are sometimes placed in rooms for the purpose of getting rid of flies.

On Tuesday, Jan. 16, 1816, a paper by M. Richard, of the French Institute, was read, containing a description of two new species of American plants, the xylopia sericea and oxandra laurifolia.

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

June 16, 1815.-A paper, entitled Description of a New Ore of Tellurium, by Professor Esmark, of Christiana (accompanied by a specimen), was read. This ore occurs in hexagonal plates, of a tinwhite colour. When exposed to the blow-pipe, it exhibits all the characters of tellurium, and there remains behind a globule of silver. It is found in the Oundal copper-mine, accompanied by copper pyrites and by molybdena.

A paper on the analysis of a Swedish mineral, supposed to he felspar, by John F. W. Herschell, Esq. was read. The former part of the paper consists of observations, supported by examples, for the purpose of showing that silica acts as a weak acid in the composition of mineral substances, and that it combines with the other earths, and with metallic oxides, in definite proportions. The mineral itself, a detailed account of the analysis of which is given in the latter part of the paper, approaches nearly in its composition to fibrolite, its ingredients with their proportions being as follows:

A letter from S. Solly, Esq. to the Junior Secretary, dated Christiana, Dec. 6, 1814, was read. In this letter some particulars relative to the junctions of the shell lime-stone and trap in the vicinity of Christiana are related, and their application to a particular theory of Mr. S. on the origin of the compact and porphyritic traps.

A paper, entitled An Account of some Attempts to ascertain the Angles of the Primitive Crystals of Quartz, and of the Sulphate of Barytes, by W. Phillips, Esq. M. G. S. was read. M. Haüy, in his Tableau Comparatif, has stated the angles of the primitive crystals of quartz at 94° 24′ and 85° 36'.

Mr. Phillips, in his trials with the reflecting goniometer on some

137 hundreds of small brilliant crystals from Norway, from Spain, and from Bristol, did not find a single crystal in which the measurement of the angles precisely correspond with those determined by Haüy, nor did he meet with a single example of perfect coincidence among the corresponding angles of any one crystal. The only measure ments in which several specimens agreed were 94° 15′ and 85° 45'; and these, therefore, Mr. P. is inclined to consider as approaching nearer to the true dimensions of the primitive rhomboid than any other. This want of coincidence in the measurements of crystals which were selected on account of their brilliancy and seeming perfection, induced Mr. Phillips to subject to similar examination some remarkably fine crystals of sulphate of barytes, and in these also a similar disagreement in the dimensions of the same angle in different crystals was found to occur, amounting to at least 26'. He then examined some good cleavages in the direction of the primitive planes, and found six of them agree perfectly in giving 101° 42′ for the obtuse angle, and 78° 18′ for the acute angle, of the primitive rhomb; a result differing materially from that of Hauy, who states them to be 101° 32′ 13′′ and 78° 27′ 47′′.

A communication from Dr. Berger, of Geneva, was read. In this paper Dr. B. describes the scapula of some unknown large animal which was recently found in the lake of Geneva.

Nov. 3.-A paper from G. Cumberland, Esq. on certain organic remains found near Weston Super Mare was read. Closely adjacent to Weston Super Mare is a promontory, the summit of which is occupied by a Roman station called Whorlbury Camp; and at the northern extremity of this promontory is a small rocky island, resorted to by fishermen at low water. A narrow horse road leads

from the downs above to this island; on the left hand of which, opposite to the sea, may be observed a bed of soft red sand-stone interstratified with others of hard red marl. The entire thickness of these beds is about six feet, they dip at an angle of about 47°, and rest on a grey lime-stone destitute of shells. In the marly part of these beds occur numerous substances, resembling pieces of bamboo separated at the joints. Their length rarely exceeds five inches, but their thickness varies from a quarter of an inch to five inches. Their substance appears to be red clay, more or less pene trated by quartz. There is no apparent passage from one joint to the next, although the ends are often in contact; from which circumstance Mr. C. concludes them to be real vegetable remains. These same substances also occur at Uphill, on the opposite point of Weston Bay, but are there imbedded in a coarse grey shell lime-stone. Just over the outburst of these beds at Whorlbury Camp is a pale yellow sand-stone, containing long white stalks of Abayonia, which when in fragments might easily, from their cellular structure, be mistaken for fossil bones.

In another letter, addressed to the Secretary, Mr. Cumberland mentions the discovery of a new and very elegant bottle encrinite in the black rock of Bristol.