REPORT OF THE COUNCIL 



AT THE CLOSE OF THE 



TWENTY-SEVENTH SESSION. 



The Council of "The Leeds Philosophical and 

 Literary Society," in presenting, at the close of the 

 Twenty-seventh Session, a Report of the Transactions 

 (luring the past year, are enabled, with much satisfaction, 

 to state, that the proceedings have not been exceeded in 

 interest and variety by those of any former Session, 



The Papers read before the Society have been of a 

 very high order, some of them being contributed by 

 Gentlemen residing at a distance from Leeds, to whom 

 the Council beg again to offer the thanks of the Society. 



The following are the Titles of the Papers, and the 

 dates when read : — 



1. "On the Origin of Alphabetical Writing and Printing," — by 



the Rev. W. Sinclair, M.A. President— (Re^id Oct. 16th, 

 1846.) 



2. " Some Account of the following Papers, which had been read 



at Southampton — 'On Fauvelle's Method of Boring for Arte- 

 sian Wells,' — 'The Artesian Well on Southampton Common,' 

 — 'The Experiments for the Construction of the Tubular 

 Bridge over the Menai Straits,'— 'The Effect of Water and 

 Lead Pipes,' — 'On the Actinograph and Growth of Plants,' — 

 'On the Corrosion of Iron Rails,' — and 'On Professor Grove's 

 Experiments on the Decomposition of Water,'"— by Mr. W. 

 S. Waid~-(Read Nov. 6th, 1846.) 



