and his evacuations regular: but his head increased in size beyond the proportion it ought to have borne to the other parts of the body. He was naturally of a lively turn, and reasoned with great acuteness for his years, observing, that it would be very difficult to regain his present time, which was lost, in point of education.

About two years before his death he wore a quicksilver girdle, and took some very stimulating snuff, from which he appeared to be relieved for some time.

About six months preceding death, he fell, and struck the back part of his head; from which he complained of great pain, which brought on violent vomiting, fits, and sometimes a loss of all sensation; as in a kind of lethargy.

About ten weeks before death, a blister was applied between the shoulders, from which he appeared to receive considerable relief; the head was shaved, and some stimulating oils rubbed in, as ol. origan, &c. : after one of these rubbings he lost his speech entirely, and remained insensible till his death.

The child was of a spare habit of body ; but independent of the head, which was greatly enlarged, had a healthy appearance, and was moderately tall.

The bones of the scull were unusually thin, to which the dura mater did not adhere with the common degree of firmness; the vessels were turgid; otherwise the membrane and its sinuses were natural.

On raising the dura mater, the brain presented an uniform smooth surface, without the least convoluted appearance; the tunica arachnoidea and pia mater were healthy, the vessels lying upon the surface of the latter membrane.

The cerebrum was flaccid, and the undulation of the water could be distinctly perceived: on removing the upper part of the right hemisphere, although the incision was made more than two inches above the corpus callosum, it opened the lateral ventricle: the two lamina forming the septum lucidum were separated from each other more than half an inch.

The lateral ventricles were greatly enlarged, and contained thirty-two ounces of a straw-coloured fluid; but there was

not any appearance of inflammation on the membranes lining these cavities.

On exposing the cerebellum, the right lobe appeared somewhat flaccid, in which a cist was placed containing eight ounces of a brown straw-coloured fluid, not having any communication with the fourth ventricle or other outlet.

The optic nerves were small, soft, and of a brown colour. The other parts of the brain and nerves were natural. We perceive that the reasoning faculty was more complete than could have been expected. From such extensive derangement of parts, is it not probable that the early and slow formation of the fluid, and consequent distension of the lateral ventricles before the bones of the scull were completely ossified, or capable of affording that resistance which they are in the adult state, prevented in a great degree the effects of pressure, by allowing the bones to enlarge from the gradual pressure from within during their more membranous state? as we see a comparatively trifling pressure on the brain in the adult, when the bones are incapable of extension, whether it be in consequence of external violence or of inflammation, by which a fluid is effused into the lateral ventricles, productive in a short time of the most serious consequences.

We also perceive that nearly one half of the substance of the cerebellum was destroyed, by its place being occupied by a cist which contained eight ounces of a fluid; and yet the capability of associating ideas remained, which was also observed in the case of miss M. See Phil. Mag. vol. xxix. page 169. Greville street, Hatton Garden, JOHN TAUNTON.

May 24, 1808.

LXVIII. Notices respecting New Books.

MR. PARKES has for some time been engaged in revising and correcting the Chemical Catechism, in order to accommodate every part of that work to the new discoveries of Davy and others. A new edition thus amended, and with other very considerable additions, is in the press, and will be ready for delivery some time in June.

Mr.

Mr. Carmichael proposes to publish in the course of the ensuing summer, the second edition of his Essay upon the Effects of the Salts of Iron upon Cancer, with many additional cases, and several interesting practical observations upon that disease.

Mr. Carmichael has received some communications from practitioners, concerning their experience of those preparations, for which he begs to return his warmest thanks; and he at the same time takes this opportunity of earnestly requesting such of the profession as have deemed the remedy he recommended worthy of a trial, to inform him (addressed to No. 3, Gardener's Place, Dublin,) of their experience of its effects, before the end of June next, in order that he may insert their observations in his Essay, and that thus the merits of the remedy may be justly appreciated.

LXIX. Proceedings of Learned Societies.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

APRIL 28. This society met after the Easter recess, the president in the chair. A mathematical paper, by Doctor Young, was read, on the motion of fluids in flexible tubes, and the resistance of angular tubes to such fluids. A number of hydraulic experiments were performed; but the result was not of a nature to be stated here. This paper was merely designed as prefatory and introductory to this author's next Croonian lecture on muscular motion.

May 5.-A letter from Mr. Cadell, at Paris, to H. Davy, Esq., secretary of the Royal Society, was read. In this letter Mr. Cadell states, that the French chemists have successfully repeated Mr. Davy's experiments upon the decomposition of the fixed alkalies; and that they have found a remarkable confirmation of his discovery in the action of heated iron upon potash and soda.

This chemical result has been obtained by Messrs. Gay Lussac and Thenard. These gentlemen introduced potash into the bottom of a gun-barrel bent in the form of an S : iron filings filled the middle of it, which was strongly heated.

By

By the action of the potash upon the heated iron, it is decomposed, and the metallic base partly distils over, and is partly found in a state of alloy with the iron.-The same letter states, that Mr. Berthollet jun. has read a paper to the Institute, in which he endeavours to confirm his father's analysis of ammonia.

May 12 and 19.-The president in the chair. These two evenings were occupied in reading an interesting and able paper containing the results of an analysis of numerous specimens of different calculi, by Mr. Brandé. The object of the inquiry was to ascertain the relative quantities of uric acid, and phosphats of magnesia and lime; and to determine the effects of the usual solvents, alkali and acids, for calculi in the bladder and kidneys. It appeared that out of 150 stones, 60 were found composed of phosphoric acid and animal matter, and that only 12 were found of pure uric acid; the phosphats of magnesia and of lime, with a slight portion of uric acid and animal matter, were the most common, Some of the stones had pieces of bougies, hazel-nuts, and peas for nuclei. To Mr. Brandé's experiments Mr. Home added some practical observations, tending to prove that, if alkaline solvents were used, they might dissolve the uric acid; but that the phosphoric, which is always the most plentiful, would thereby be increased, and the virulence of the disease, however mitigated for the moment, would eventually become much more dangerous. The same adverse effects were ascribed to the use of acids as solvents: so that we have yet to discover a safe and efficient remedy for calculous diseases.

May 26. The president in the chair. The reading of a paper, by Messrs. Allen and Pepys, on the effects of respira tion on the atmosphere commenced. The authors took a general view of what the principal philosophers have written on this subject, as an introduction to their observations; and expressed a hope of ascertaining with more accuracy than preceding experimenters, by means of their eudiometer, the quantity of oxygen consumed, and carbonic gas emitted, by the lungs in a given period.

UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.

We congratulate the lovers of science, as well as the pub lic in general, on the splendid acquisition which this University has just now thade by the magnificent collection of minerals bequeathed by the late Dr. Thomson of Naples.

This celebrated mineralogist, during a long residence in a country extremely fertile in the most interesting products of the mineral kingdom, has lost no opportunity of forming a most splendid collection, which, having fortunately escaped every danger, has arrived in Edinburgh untouched. Ge vernment not only indulgently remitted the duties, but allowed the whole to pass unsearched.

The liberal endowment (with which Dr. Thomson has accompanied this bequest) of 1500l., the interest of which he has destined for the payment of a lecturer on mineralogy, and the support of the cabinet, we hope, will be the means. of handing it down to posterity in its present high state of preservation. It is contained in forty very large boxes, which are deposited in the museum of the University; and, we understand, proper cases are making for the reception of the specimens.

The interesting and valuable collection of the late ingenious Dr. Hutton, of this place, has also been deposited in

the museum.

WERNERIAN NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

At the last meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society (14th May), Mr. P. Walker read an account of the Birds that frequent the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. He enumerated 178 species; of which 11 belonged to the genus Falco; 4 to the genus Strix; 1 to Lanius; 8 to Corvus; 1 to Oriolus; 1 to Cuculus; 1 Picus; 1 Alcedo; 1 Upupa; 1 Certhia; 2 Sturnus; 6 Turdus; 1 Ampelis; 2 Loxia; 6 Emberhiza; 8 Fringilla; 1 Muscicapa ; 3 Alauda; 15 Motacilla; 4 Parus; 4 Hirundo; 1 Caprimulgus; 2 Columba; 1 Phasianus; 6 Tetrao; 3 Ardea; 6 Scolopax; 7 Tringa; 4 Charadrius; 1 Hæmatopus; 3 Rallus; 3 Fulica; 4 Podiceps; 4 Alca; 6 Colymbus: 2 Sterna; 12 Larus; 1 Pro

3

cellaria;