circle, were three mock suns. These were of about one-half the diameter of the true sun, and the inner half of them, nearest the sun, was dim and cloudy looking, but the outer half of each was brighter than the real sun, and from each proceeded outwards a bright pencil of light, converging to a point, at a distance a little less than half the radius of the halo. The effect was very striking and very beautiful, and as the phenomenon is one of great rarity, I have thought it worthy of being brought before the Society." He also exhibited a piece of lead pipe which had been gnawed through by rats, for the apparent purpose of obtaining water.

Mr. J. A. PICTON, F.S.A., read some communications on the alleged showers of sulphur formerly reported to the Society.

Mr. KERR exhibited some rare plants from the Fiji and other Pacific Islands, and a new Orchid from Central America. These and some other rare plants from the Botanic Gardens were described by the Rev. H. H. HIGGINS.

Mr. T. J. MOORE exhibited selections from the following recent additions to the Free Public Museum:

An extensive collection of Marine specimens, consisting of Fish, Mollusca, Crustacea, Echinoderms, Zoophytes, Sponges, &c., collected between Liverpool, Sydney, Tuticorin, and Rangoon, and presented by Captain W. H. Cawne Warren, Ship "Bedfordshire," Associate of the Society.

Mr. F. P. MARRAT exhibited selections from the Mollusca.

A series of Marine and other specimens collected during the voyage of the "Ennerdale " from Liverpool to Australia by Mr. C. E. Patterson, assisted by Dr. McAfee, and presented by Mr. C. E. Patterson.

An important series of Bowers and Bower-Birds, which is believed to be unrivalled. They were purchased from Mr. Waller, of Sydney, by whom they were obtained during

many years' residence in Australia.

Of the bower of the

Regent Bird only one other example is known.

The series is as follows:

The Bower of Ptilonorhynchus holosericeus, or Sutin Bower-Bird, obtained in the Sheebin Scrub, Brisbane River; and four birds, one adult male, one female, and two males in change of plumage.

The Bower of Chlamydodera nuchalis, or Great BowerBird, Port Denison, Northern Queensland, and three birds, two adult with nuchal plumes, and one without, probably female; also bones and shells with bower.

The Bower of Chlamydodera maculata, or Spotted BowerBird; three birds, two adults with plumes and one without, obtained in the Myall Scrubs, near the borders of New South Wales and Queensland, and nearly two hundred miles inland from Brisbane; also bones and shells with bower.

The Bower of Chlamydodera cerviniventris, or Fawnbreasted Bower-Bird. This bower, with pair of birds, was collected at Port Moresby, New Guinea. This species also inhabits Cape York, North Australia.

The Bower of Sericulus melianus, or Regent Bird, obtained at the Eagle Farm Scrubs, about seven or eight miles from Brisbane, Queensland. It has four birds with it, two adult males, one male half changed in plumage, and one adult female.

In addition to the above specimens, purchased from Mr. Waller, Mr. MOORE also exhibited two specimens of the Spotted Bower-Bird, Chlamydodera maculata, and a fine example of the Bower, from Banana, Queensland, collected by Mrs. A. M. Frances, and presented by her sister, Mrs. H. McL. Powell.

Mr. F. P. MARRAT presented a communication on the Varieties of the Shells of the Genus Nassa.

* See Appendix.

SECOND ORDINARY MEETING.

ROYAL INSTITUTION, 3RD NOVEMBER, 1879.

EDWARD R. RUSSELL, PRESIDENT, in the Chair. Another Extraordinary Meeting preceded the holding of the Ordinary Meeting.

The PRESIDENT formally moved, on behalf of the late Council, the enactment of the law upon the proprietorship of papers read, as recommended in the Annual Report. He expressed, however, his dissent from the proposal. The motion was seconded by Dr. J. Campbell Brown, who strongly urged its adoption. After some discussion, the following amendment, proposed by Mr. Picton and seconded by the Rev. H. H. Higgins, was carried:-"That the proposed Law shall read as follows-Papers read before the Society are to be considered the property of the Society, for publication in its Proceedings, and no reader can withdraw his paper without the permission of the Council."

The Ordinary Meeting was then held.

Messrs. Emmanuel Faure and Daniel Dopson, and the Revs. Henry Varley and W. Luther Leeman were elected Ordinary Members.

Mr. PICTON read a

66 paper on Money, Coin and Currency Remarks on some recent fallacies connected therewith."

*

ROYAL INSTITUTION, 17TH NOVEMBER, 1879.

EDWARD R. RUSSELL, PRESIDENT, in the Chair. An Extraordinary Meeting was again held to consider for the second time the proposed new Law, as adopted at the last

*See page 49.

Extraordinary Meeting.

The amendment as then carried

was now moved for confirmation by the President, seconded by Mr. Picton.

Opinions were still very much divided as to the necessity for making such a law, and ultimately the subject was referred back to the Council for further consideration, on the motion of Dr. Drysdale, seconded by Mr. Isaac Roberts.

At the Ordinary Meeting which followed, the Rev. Thos. Lunt was duly elected an Ordinary Member.

The PRESIDENT drew the attention of the Members to the recent announcement of the death of Professor Clerke Maxwell, and spoke of the heavy loss which the world of science had thereby sustained. In the course of his remarks he made special reference to Sir Geo. Airey, Sir Wm. Thompson, Stokes, Adams, Cayley, Sylvester, and Todhunter, who, with Maxwell, formed a brilliant band of Cambridge men who had raised their university to a height of distinction which had not been attained by any other in the world.

Mr. C. H. STEARN exhibited some experiments on the Phosphorescence of Gems and other Minerals in High

FOURTH ORDINARY MEETING.

ROYAL INSTITUTION, 1ST DECEMBER, 1879.

EDWARD R. RUSSELL, PRESIDENT, in the Chair. The Rev. R. E. Long and Mr. Edmund Phipps Eyre were elected Ordinary Members.

* See page 139

Dr. SHEARER exhibited specimens of Turk's Cap Cactus and other Cacti, and gave an account of a recent example of prolonged vitality in seeds. In 1877 a large cesspool in the garden of his house (157, Upper Parliament Street), built about fifty years ago, was removed and replaced by a proper drain. In the following summer a fine crop of from twenty to thirty scarlet pimpernels (Anagallis arvensis) sprung up, and was succeeded in the next summer (1879) by a second crop. No such flowers are to be found growing in the neighbouring gardens, and the only explanation Dr. S. could give of such an unusual sight was this:-That the seeds were buried in the soil where they grew when the neighbourhood of Parliament Street was a country suburb; that they were preserved in the sandy loam and stiff clay for fifty years, under the rubbish left by the builders of the house; and that in the construction of the drain they were again brought to the surface, and germinated.

The Rev. THOS. P. KIRKMAN, M.A., F.R.S., then read the first part of a paper "On the Simplest Possible Experiment in Physical Science-an Elementary Study in Philosophy without Assumptions."

FIFTH ORDINARY MEETING.

ROYAL INSTITUTION, 15TH DECEMBER, 1879.

Mr. Stuart M. Johnson and the Rev. Robt. Stratten Holmes were elected Ordinary Members.

The HON. SECRETARY reported that the tickets taken at the doors on the evening of the Third Associated Soirée, held on the 10th inst., represented an attendance of 2,924 persons, and that the receipts exceeded £320. The balance in the hands of the Treasurer amounted to £64.