38 Proceedings. 



The "range" of the a particle, and the sudden cessation of its ionising jiower 

 when its velocity falls below a critical value, were then alluded to, and the aid which 

 this property gives in radio-active analysis was pointed out. 



An account was then given of the method employed by Rutherford and Geiger 

 to detect the ionisation produced by a single a particle ; to estimate by actual count 

 the number of a particles emitted per minute from a known weight of a radio-active 

 body, and thereby to determine the charge on an a particle. 



Reference was made to the methods adopted to discover the immediate forerunner 

 of radium in the uranium radio-active series, and to the consec^uent discovery of ionium 

 by Boltwood. 



The address corcluded with some reflections concerning the place which jthysical 

 hypothesis should occui)y in a truly j)liilosophica] system of thought. 



During the course of the address several points were iUustrated either ex])eriment?lly 

 or by means of diagrams. By the aid of a Wilson tilted electroscope and a lantern to 

 make the movement of the leaf visible on the screen, the ionisation due to uranium, 

 thoi-ium, and thorium emanation, together with the rapid decay of the latter, were 

 exhibited. 



Second Meeting : &h July, 1908. 



E. V. Miller, Esq., President, in the chair. 



Mr. F. E. Powell, C.E., delivered a lecture on " The Influence of En- 

 gineering upon Architecture." 



The lecturer attempted to show what effect recent developments in engineering 

 are likely to have on architectural art. The interde]iendence of the ornament and the 

 structural base is known to have existed in all architectural styles, from which comes 

 the natural deduction that a scientific knowledge of stresses and strains must lead to types 

 of buildings hitherto undreaint-of. Not only, however, is the structural part likely to 

 be modified in future edifices, but tlie introduction of new building materials ])aves the 

 way for an entirely different artistic treatment. Suggestions were advanced as to the 

 lin'fs on which such treatment may develo]). iSome consideration was also given to other 

 possible building materials and methods. Reinforced concrete, as the most notable 

 scientific production of recent years in this connection, was discussed and sho\«i to be 

 even more interesting in the possibilities it foreshadows than in its ordmary practical 

 uses. Various other scientific considerations, such for iiistauce as those connected 

 with sanitation and public health, were shown to have an effect on design, and it may 

 be considered as proved that the pi-esent indiscriminate imitation of earlier styles must 

 eventually give way to a new "style." representative of the age and of modem condi- 

 tions. The lecture was fully illustrated by lantein views and diagrams. 



Third Meeting : 3rd August, 1908. 

 E. V. Miller, Esq., President, in the chair. 

 New Memhers.—C. W. Garrard, B.A., R. T. lugHs, B.M. 

 Dr. R. BrifEault delivered a lecture on " The Problem of Cancer. 



?5 



The lecturer in the first place gave a popular account of the facts that have been 

 clearly ascertained res])ecting the nature and origin of cancer, and then jiroceeded to set 

 forth the various theories tliat have been projiounded respecting it, exjilaining at some 

 length the conception Jiow most widely held by experts. 



Fourth Meeting : Slst August, 1908. 

 E. V. Miller, Esq., President, in the chair. 

 Professor C. W. Egerton gave a popular lecture on Browning. 



The lecturer endeavoured to show from Browning's poetiy his ])osition as an hiter- 

 preter of the inner life ; to illustrate his views of human nature from his own utterances ; 

 to trace through his poems the grounds of his oi)timism, and discuss in that light his 

 delineation of the passions, and more especially to exhibit him as the poet of asjuT-ation. 

 love, and death. 



