Scientific Intelligence. 42IB 



By Mr John Macpherson (of Smith's Heirs), Blair Street, and Mr 

 C. H. Smith, garden architect, Edinburgh, 



The Bath was heated in the rooms during the meeting, and the 

 following is the result of the trial, viz. the temperature of the water 

 in the bath before the fire was lighted was 51° Fahrenheit, and 

 after the water had been applied for forty-six minutes, the tempe- 

 rature of the water was risen to 110°. 



5. The Report of the Committee on Mr Edgar's Wooden Bridge 

 was read and approved of. 



The following candidates were admitted ordinary members : — 



1. Thomas Greig, Esq. 5 Buccleugh Place; 2. James Hunter, Esq. M* D. 

 2 Cassells' Place; 3. Grant S. Dalrjmple, Esq. 19 Broughton 

 Place : 4. Mr James Milne, Brassfounder, Chalmers' Close, 39 

 Lauriston Place ; 5. Mr Alexander Bryson, Watchmaker, 8 South 

 Bridge Street. 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



1. On the supposed Existence of a New Small Planet. By M. Cacch- 

 TORE, Director of the Observatory at Palermo. — On the 15th February, 

 M. Arago read to the Academy of Sciences, the following extract" 

 from a letter communicated to him by Captain Hall, and which had 

 been addressed by M. Cacciatore to Captain Smyth, '' I have some- 

 thing important to communicate to you. During the month of May 1835, 

 while I pursued observations, with which I have for a long time been oc- 

 cupied, on the proper movements of stars, I saw, near the seventeenth 

 star of the twelfth hour of the catalogue of Piazzi, another star, which 

 seemed to be also of the seventh or eighth magnitude ; I noted the dis- 

 tance which separated them. The weather did not permit me to observe 

 during the two following nights. It was only on the third that I agimi' 

 saw the new star ; it had moved a good deal towards the east and to-' 

 wards the equator ; clouds forced me to delay my observations for an- 

 other night ; but from that time till the end of the month of May, the 

 weather was dreadful ; the winter seemed to have recommenced at Pa- 

 lermo: heavy rains, and violent winds succeeded, and to such an es^tent/ 

 as to prevent all kinds of researches. Fifteen days afterwards, when I 

 was again able to proceed with my observations, the star was . immersed 

 in the twilight of the evening, and all my efforts to find it were fruitless; 

 the stars of that magnitude were no longer visible. Tlic estimated move- 

 ment, in three days, seemed to me 10" in right ascension, and about one 

 minute (or a very little less) in declination, towards the north. A move- 

 ment so slow, induces me to suppose that the star is situated beyond 



