THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

On Saturday, November 30th, the society held its annual meeting for the election of the office-bearers for the ensuing year. There were elected, PRESIDENT,

Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart.
G. C. B.

SECRETARIES,
William Thomas Brande, Esq. and
Taylor Combe, Esq.

TREASURER,
Samuel Lysons, Esq.
There remained of the old council,
Sir Joseph Banks, Bart.
John Barrow, Esq.
Taylor Combe, Esq.
Sir Humphry Davy,
Sir Everard Home, Bart.
Samuel Lysons, Esq.
The Earl of Morton,
John Pond, Esq.

William Hyde Wollaston, M. D.
Thomas Young, M. D.
There were elected into the council,
William Thomas Brande, Esq.
John George Children, Esq.
John Wilson Croker, Esq.
Charles Konig, Esq.
Alexander Macleay, Esq.
Alexander Marcet, M. D.
Colonel William Mudge,

William Haseldyne Pepys, Esq.
The Earl of Spencer,

Sir John Thomas Stanley, Bart. Twenty members have died since the last anniversary, and thirty-two new members have been admitted into the society. The present list of Fellows contains 649 names. Of these 44 are foreign members.

On Thursday, December 5, a paper by Mr Tod was read, giving an account of some experiments made on torpedos at Rochelle. The object of the experiments was to ascertain, whether the animal possesses a voluntary power over its electrical organs. When the fish is held by the tail, the person holding it does not receive shocks, nor are they communicated when the animal is held by the anterior part of the body. The electric shocks were given without any apparent diminution, when an incision was made round the electric organs, and even when they communicated with the rest of the animal only by the nerves. When a portion of the electric organ was cut off, the strength of the shock was diminished; but Mr Tod was not certain whether this diminution was owing to the diminution of the organ, or to the exhausted state of the fish. The nerves of the electric organs are

supplied from the medulla oblongata. When Mr Tod was cutting the electric organs, he received shocks through the scalpel. The author states a circum. stance respecting the torpedo, which he has been told, he conceives, on good authority, though he never witnessed it himself. Where torpedos abound, boys are in the habit of playing the following trick to those who are not in the secret. They persuade the ignorant boy to make urine upon the torpedo. The consequence is, that an electrical shock is conveyed along the stream of urine.

At the same meeting, a paper, by Mr Hatchett, was read, describing a method of destroying the musty taste in grain. Must, the author conceives, is an alteration which is produced in the amylaceous part of the grain, and in general it is confined to the surface of the corn immediately under the husk. To remove it, the corn must be put into any vessel capable of hold. ing thrice the quantity of corn put into it. The vessel is then to be filled with boiling-hot water, and the liquid allowed to remain till it be cool. Then the light and rotten grains, which swim on the surface, may be skimmed off, and the water allowed to drain. It will be proper afterwards to pour some cold water on the grain, and stir it about in order to wash away completely the water which holds the must in solution. Grain thus treated, will be found quite free from all musty taste. In a year like the present, when so much of the corn has been injured by wet, this information must be of great importance to the country.

On Thursday, December 12, a paper, by Mr Brande, on an astringent substance, from China, was read. It was given to Mr Brande for examination by Sir Joseph Banks. It consisted of vesicular bodies like nutgalls adhering to the smaller branches of a tree. Insects could be perceived in it. There is a

On Thursday, December 19, a paper, by M. Dupin, was read, on the improvements lately introduced into ship-building by Mr Seppings. The author, in order to obtain materials for his projected work on Ship-Building, had been induced to visit Great Britain, and he expressed himself in the highest terms of the reception he met with from those gentlemen to whom he had occasion to apply. He stated a number of historical facts to shew that the principle upon which Mr Seppings's plan is founded had been previously known and employed in France, though afterwards abandoned. But he allows that Mr Seppings. has introduced so many improvements, and has so happily got over difficulties to be overcome, as to have made his method in a great measure his own.

On Thursday, January 9, 1817, part of a paper, by Sir Humphry Davy, on flame was read. The author divided his subject under four heads: 1. On the effect produced by rarefaction by means of the air-pump on the inflammation of gases. A small jet of hydrogen gas from a glass tube was extinguished when the air was rarefied six times. But when the jet was larger, it was not extinguished till the rarefaction amounted to ten times. In the

second case, the point of the tube from which the gas proceeded was whitehot, and the gas continued to burn till the tube ceased to be visibly red. It immediately occurred to the author, that the cause of the extinction was not the deficiency of oxygen, but the want of sufficient heat. Hence it

followed, that those bodies which produce most heat, and which require the least for combustion, would burn the longest; and a set of experiments made on purpose confirmed these ideas. Hydrogen burned till the atmosphere was rarefied ten times; olefiant gas, till the rarefaction was nearly as great; carbonic oxide was extinguished when the rarefaction amounted to five times; and carbureted hydrogen when it was only four times. Sulphur continued to burn till the rarefaction was thirty; phosphorus, till it was sixty; and phosphureted hydrogen gas burned in the best vacuum which he could form by means of his air-pump. 2. On the effect of rarefaction by heat on the combustibility of the gases. Grotthus has stated, that, when gaseous mixtures are rarefied four times by heat, they cease to explode. Our author was able only to produce an expansion of two and a half times. It was produced by a cherry-red heat; which of course indicates a heat of about 1032°. The result of his experiments is precisely the reverse of that of Grotthus. He found that rarefaction by heat increases the explodability of gaseous mixtures. He infers, likewise, from his experiments, that the hypothesis of Dr Higgins, Berthollet, &c., that the reason why gaseous bodies explode by electricity is the compression occasioned by the sudden expansion of the heated portion of gas is erroneous. He considers the heat evolved by the combustion as the sole cause of the explosion.

On Thursday, January 16, Sir Humphry Davy's paper on flame was concluded. In the third part of his paper the author treats of the effect of different mixtures of other gaseous bodies on the combustibility of exploding compounds by the electric spark. He made a mixture of two volumes hydrogen and one volume oxygen gas, and tried the effect pro

duced by adding various mixtures of other gaseous bodies. Olefiant gas was found to have the greatest effect in preventing the explosion of this mixture by electricity. The quantity of each gas necessary to prevent the explosion was different. From his experiments it appears that the effect does not depend upon the specific heat or the specific gravity of the gas added. He is of opinion, that it depends chiefly upon the property of the gas to conduct heat. Gases, he thinks, differ as much in their conducting powers as solid bodies, and those which conduct best will act most powerfully in preventing explosion, by carrying off the heat, and cooling the mixture below the exploding point.

The fourth part of the paper consisted in general remarks, and practical inferences. He finds that neither the rarefaction nor condensation of common air produces much effect upon flame burning in it. The effect of wire-gauze in preventing explosions, he considers as owing entirely to its property of carrying off the heat, and thus reducing the temperature of the gases that pass through it below the exploding point. He gave an account of various improvements introduced of late into the construction of the safelamps for coal-mines; and pointed out advantages arising from the yielding nature of the wire-gauze of which they are constructed.

On Thursday, January 23, a curious paper, by Sir Humphry Davy, was read, constituting an important addition to his preceding memoir. He had concluded from his former investigations, that flame consisted of gaseous bodies heated above whiteness; and he had found that oxygen and hydrogen, as well as oxygen and charcoal, might be made to combine silently at a temperature below redness, and to form respectively, water and carbonic acid. It occurred to him, that during these

combinations heat was given out, and that, though not sufficient to cause the explosion of the gaseous mixture, it might, notwithstanding, be able to heat a metallic body to redness. While thinking of an experiment to determine this point, the phenomenon exhibited itself accidentally while he was making an experiment with a safe-lamp in a mixture of carbureted hydrogen and air. He plunged the lighted safelamp into this mixture, and then caused an additional quantity of carbureted hydrogen to pass into the mixture. The lamp was extinguished, but a platinum wire, that was above the flame, became red-hot, and continued so for several minutes; and, when it ceased to be luminous, the mixture had entirely lost its exploding properties. It was immediately obvious that the heat was evolved by the silent combination of the carbureted hydrogen with the oxygen of the mixture; and that, though not capable of exploding the mixture, it was yet capable of heating the platinum to redness. On making exploding mixtures of oxygen with hydrogen and other inflammable gases, and plunging a hot platinum wire into them, he found that it became redhot, and continued so till the mixture had lost its power of exploding. He terminated his communication with a practical application to coal-mines. If a wire of platinum be suspended over the flame of a safety-lamp properly coiled up, and if the lamp be taken into an exploding mixture, it will be extinguished, but the platinum wire will become red-hot, and will continue to give out light till the mixture loses its exploding qualities. By this light the miner may direct his way out of the exploding mixture.

Dr Thomson considers this as one of the most beautiful discoveries which Sir Humphry Davy has made. The numerous practical applications of it to

gaseous experiments must be obvious to chemists in general.

At the same meeting a paper, by Dr Brewster, on light, was read. This paper consisting of a great number of detached facts, it is difficult to give any account of it. He shewed how the metals, by their polarization of light, form the supplementary colours. He stated also, that common salt and flour spar, when in pieces large enough, act upon light in the same way as double-refracting bodies.

Thursday, February 6, a paper on fulminating platinum, by E. Davy, Esq., was read, and continued on the 13th. The author succeeded in forming a fulminating compound of platinum by the following process: sulphuret of platinum, prepared by passing sulphureted hydrogen through the aqueous solution of muriate of platinum is converted into sulphate of platinum by nitrous acid. To the aqueous solution of this sulphate, ammonia is added in slight excess. The precipitate thus formed is boiled in a solution of caustic potash, washed and dried at 212°. It explodes when heated to about 400°, and consists of Platinum, Oxygene

73.5

8.75

Ammonia and water, 17.50

100.

On Thursday, February 20, a paper, by Mr Pond, the astronomer royal, was read, on the parallax of the fixed stars. It is well known that Dr Brinkley has for several years past been observing certain fixed stars with a circular instrument at the Dublin observatory; that he has observed a sensible parallax in several of them amounting to about 2": that this parallax has constantly appeared in every year's observations, and that it is too great to be ascribed to errors of observation. It was desirable, that these observa

tions should be confirmed by other astronomers. The circular instrument at Greenwich was considered as well adapted for the purpose: accordingly Mr Pond made observations with it in 1812 and 1813; but he soon found that it would not answer the expected object, unless it could be wholly devoted to such observations. In consequence, he proposed at the last visitation, that two ten-feet telescopes, fitted with micrometers, should be fixed to stone pillars, for the purpose of observing the parallax of the fixed stars; which proposal was approved of. Till these can be erected, two temporary telescopes have been fixed for making observations.

The object of the present communication was to state the result of the observations made in 1812 and 1813. The stars observed were a Aquila, a Lyra, and a Cycni. The amount of the parallax did not exceed one-fourth of what Dr Brinkley had observed, but it was constant, like that observed by Dr Brinkley. Mr Pond suspects that the difference is owing to some other cause than parallax ; but he is far from being of opinion that the observations which he has already made are sufficient to decide the point. He hopes soon to be able to offer a new set of observations on this interesting subject.

On Thursday, February 27th, a paper by Sir Everard Home, Bart. was read, giving an account of a number of fossil bones of the Rhinoceros, found in a lime-stone cavern near Plymouth, by Mr Whitby. Sir Joseph Banks had requested Mr Whitby, when he went to superintend the break-water, at present constructing at Plymouth, to inspect all the caverns that should be met with in the lime-stone rocks during the quarrying, and to send him up any fossil bones that might be found. The fossil bones described in this paper occurred in a cavern in a

lime-stone rock on the south side of the Cat Water. This lime-stone is decidedly transition. The cavern was found after they had quarried 160 feet into the solid rock. It was 45 feet long, and filled with clay, and had no communication whatever with the external surface. The bones were remarkably perfect specimens. They were all decidedly bones of the Rhinoceros; but they belonged to three different animals. They consisted of teeth, bones of the spine, of the scapula, of the fore legs, and of the metatarsal bones of the hind legs. They were compared by Sir Everard with the bones of the skeleton of a Rhinoceros in the possession of Mr Brookes, which is considered as belonging to the largest of the species ever seen in England. The fossil bones were mostly of a larger size, though some of them belonged to a smaller animal. Several of them were analysed by Mr Brande. He found one specimen composed as follows:

The teeth, as usual, contained a greater proportion of phosphate of lime than the other bones. These bones were remarkably clean and perfect, and constitute the finest specimens of fossil bones ever found in this country.

At the same meeting, two papers, by Thomas Knight, Esq. were announced, as presented to the society; a paper on the construction of logarithms, and a paper on the functions of differences.

On Thursday, March 6th, a paper, by the Rev. Francis Hyde Wollaston, was read, describing a thermometer constructed by him, for determining the height of mountains, instead of the barometer. It is well known, that the temperature at which water