Mr. Walker read a communication, entitled "Observations on Nebula with a fourteen feet Reflector, by H. L. Smith and E. P. Mason, during the year 1839, by E. P. Mason," which was referred to a Committee.

Dr. Hare made a verbal communication in reference to the extent at which the galvanic influence could be extended through a coil of wire.

Dr. Hare stated, that he had prepared a coil of copper wire, No. 26, nearly a mile in length, by means of which, and a strap of copper, three inches in width, and 196 feet in length, he had been enabled to repeat the experiment of Professor Henry, for exciting a Faradian current. The wire was covered with cotton, and was coiled upon a wooden sieve hoop. Being suspended over a pulley, and counterbalanced by a weight over the strap, when this was placed in the circuit of a calorimotor, so that the circuit might be broken by drawing one of the electrodes over a rasp or ratchet wheel, communicating with the coil, shocks were felt, when the distance of several feet intervened, and they became intolerable when the coil and strap were nearly in contact. Having this coil at command, it occurred to Dr. Hare, to ascertain how far it would be competent to act as a multiplier. It seemed to be a problem which was yet to be solved, how far the extension of the length of the coils employed would affect their efficacy. He had not heard of any one in which resort had been had to an extension so great as a mile. Actuated by these considerations, Dr. Hare supported his coil in a vertical plane, and placed upon the lower and under surface of the hoop, the magnetic needle of an ordinary multiplier. A five cent piece, and a disk of zinc of the same size, being separated by a piece of moistened paper, when one of the ends of the coil was made to touch the silver disk and the other the zinc, the needle moved nearly a quadrant at every contact. When the disk was divided into four parts, every one of them was adequate to produce a movement in the needle, when the coil was made the medium of discharge. That such minute portions of metal should be capable of creating an electrical current in so long a coil, and sufficiently copious to influence a magnetic needle, would have appeared incredible to him, had it not been thus proved experimentally.

Dr. Hare stated the general results of some experiments,

made since the last meeting of the Society, on the rarefaction of moist and dry air.

Prof. Bache presented a chart of the magnetic observations made on the 28th of February last, in which he was assisted by Mr. Walker and Mr. Kendall. He farther called the attention of the Society to the recent publication of Prof. Gauss, in regard to the simultaneous changes of magnetic intensity at places as far apart as Göttingen and Münich.

Dr. Dunglison read a letter from the Rev. James T. Dickinson, of Singapore, to Mr. Du Ponceau, dated Nov. 25, 1839, expressing his satisfaction with the views of Mr. Du Ponceau, as contained in his "Dissertation on the Chinese System of Writing."

When Mr. Dickinson commenced the study of the Chinese language, nearly four years ago, he attempted to learn the written language by the eye merely, without connecting sounds with the characters. To this course he was led by the fact, that the Hokkien dialect, the one he studies, differs very much, as spoken, from the sounds given to the characters as read. His plan was to learn the colloquial language by itself, and to defer the learning of the sounds given to the characters in reading, while, in the meantime, he endeavoured to learn to read the characters independently of all sounds. In this way he would have succeeded in learning to read Chinese books, had the common hypothesis, that the Chinese characters are addressed directly to the mind, and not to the mind through the medium of sounds, been correct. Mr. Dickinson, however, found himself always translating either into English or the colloquial Chinese. All his efforts to transfer the ideas represented in Chinese books to his own mind, without the help of words, either Chinese or English, were fruitless.

Mr. Dickinson considers the work of Mr. Du Ponceau "a most valuable gift to the world, and an honour to American learning."

Dr. Dunglison referred to a curious but not unique case, of a worm in the eye of a horse now in Baltimore.

The particulars were contained in a letter to him, from Dr. Joshua J. Cohen, of Baltimore. This entozoon is a species of filaria, (see Filaria Papillosa, Rudolphi, Synops. p. 213) probably from 3 to 4 inches

in length, and situate in the aqueous humour, in which it moves about with great activity, but its motions are so constant, that it is difficult to appreciate its exact length. The great size of the anterior chamber of the horse's eye, affords it ample space; and through the transparent cornea, it can be observed as well as if it were in a glass vessel. The horse was sent up from Calvert county, Maryland.

Dr. Dunglison made some observations on the difficulty of accounting for its presence in this shut sack, and alluded to the different views of distinguished naturalists as to the generation of many of the lower tribes of the animal kingdom,-some presuming that they may be formed spontaneously, whilst others consider that the germs must always be received from without. The difficulty, he observed, applied to all the entozoa that infest the animal body; and this case was certainly not more difficult of explanation, than that of entozoa found in the intestines of the fœtus in utero.

Dr. Bache referred to a similar case, which was published in an early volume of the Transactions of the Society, (Vol. II. p. 183, by F. Hopkinson, Esq., and Ibid. p. 383, by Dr. Morgan.)

Mr. Walker referred to a letter which he had received from Prof. Loomis, containing two observations of Galle's second comet, and stated, that he (Mr. Walker) had been engaged in deducing the elements of the orbit of the comet, which accorded with results of European observers, but did not perfectly correspond with those of Prof. Loomis.

The following gentlemen were duly elected members of the Society:

PAUL BECK GODDARD, M. D., of Philadelphia.

W. H. C. BARTLETT, Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, West Point.

WM. R. FISHER, M. D., of Philadelphia.

GEORGE M. WHARTON, of Philadelphia.

FRIEDR. WILHELM BESSEL, Director of the Observatory, Königsberg.

Rev. WM. H. FURNESS, of Philadelphia.

Captain FRANCIS BEAUFORT, R. N., Hydrographer to the Admiralty of Great Britain.

HARTMAN KUHN, of Philadelphia.

GEORGE WASHINGTON SMITH, of Philadelphia.

Mr. DU PONCEAU, President, in the Chair.

The following donations were received:

FOR THE LIBRARY.

Archives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, publiées par les Professeurs-Administrateurs de cet Établissement. Tom. I. 4to. Paris, 1839. From the Professors.

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, edited by the Acting Secretaries, and circulated gratis to the Members of the Society. Nos. 88 and 89, for April and May, 1839.-From the Society. Report of the Committee of Physics and Meteorology of the Royal Society, relative to the Observations to be made in the Antarctic Expedition, and in the Magnetic Observatories. 8vo. London, 1840. From the Royal Society.

Fifty-third Annual Report of the Regents of the University of the State of New York, made to the Legislature, March 2, 1840. 8vo. Albany, 1840.-From the Regents.

Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of New York. Vol. IV. In Three Parts. 8vo. Albany, 1838-9-40.—From the Society.

C. Cornelii Taciti quæ extant, Marcus Zuerius Boxhornius recensuit, et Animadversionibus illustravit, &c. &c. 24mo. Amstelodam. 1664.-From Mr. Du Ponceau.

Joannis Seldeni Mare clausum, seu de Dominio Maris, Libri duc. 24mo. Londins. 1636.-From the same.

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