Manawatu Philosophical Society. 43 



MANAWATU PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 



Fourth Meeting: Jlxf August, 1911. 



Captain Hewitt, R.N., in the chair. 



Exhibit. — A fine specimen of volcanic reck brought by the "Terra 

 Nova" from Mount Erebus, and presented to the Society by Mr. J. J. 

 Kinsey, was exhibited, and descriptive notes thereon communicated by 

 Miss Souper were read by the Secretary. 



The rock was described as an alkaline basalt or trachydolerite, intermediate in 

 type between ordinary basalt and phonolite, almost precisely identical in character 

 and chemical composition with the kenytes of Mount Kenya and the rhomb-porphyries 

 of .Mount Kilimandjaro recently described by Dr. Finkh. 



Paper.-' Memory : What is it? " By Sir Robert Stout. 



The paper defined memory as the storing-up of past impressions, including 

 therein not merely the impressions received by the individual, but those also 

 inherited from countless generations of ancestors. This was illustrated by instances 

 of the marvellous instinct shown by insects and larger animals, and also by the 

 transmission of special talents in particular families, such as those of Bach, Darwin, 

 and Gregory. Quoting Walt Whitman's saying that " Every hour of light and dark, 

 and every inch of space, w r as a miracle," the speaker laid stress upon the fact that 

 nature's methods were not only miraculous but very slow, and that any attempt 

 to unduly hasten them in the desire for progress was sure to end in failure. 



On the motion of the Chairman, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the 

 lecturer. 





Fifth Meeting : 28th September, 1911. 



Captain Hewitt, R.X., in the chair. 



The President announced that at the last meeting of the Council ten 

 new members were elected; and that, as the alterations in the fire-brigade 

 building kindly undertaken by the Borough Council were now nearly 

 completed, he hoped that the Museum would be ready to be opened in 

 the new premises by the end of October. Mr. Hamilton had very kindly 

 promised, with the permission of the Minister of Internal Affairs, to 

 superintend the arrangement of collections; and several firms and offices 

 had promised valuable additions, illustrating the different forms of local 

 industry. 



Paper. — Mr. J. E. Vernon, M.A., read a paper on " Recent Local 

 Weather," describing the different instruments belonging to the Society 

 which had been in his charge for the last four months, and giving 

 statistics of local rainfall, temperature, barometric pressure, and wind. 



