346 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



W. M. Wheeler, A Study of Ants in Switzerland. 



N. L. Britton, Recent Explorations in Jamaica. 



H. E. Crampton, A Second Journey to the Society Islands. 



E. B. Wilson gave a brief account of the summer work at Woods Holl, and 



described some interesting observations made by him on 



the structure of living cells. 



Brief reports were also made by several other members of the Section. 

 The Section then adjourned. 



Roy W. Miner, 



Secretary. 



SECTION OF ASTRONO^IY, PITi^SICS AND CHEMISTRY. 



October 21, 1907. 



Section met at 8: 15 P. M., Vice-President Trowbridge presiding. 



The minutes of the last meeting of the Section were read and approved. 



The following program was then offered: 



L. B. Morse, The Selectr^e Reflection Shown by Carbonates 



in the Infra-red Spectrum and its Relation to 

 the Atomic Weight of the Bases. 



C. C. Trowbridge, The Decay of Phosphorescence in Gases. 



William Campbell, Some Temperature Measurements Taken in the 



Steel Works with the Wanner and other 

 Pyrometers. 



Summary of Papers. 



Dr. Morse discussed his paper in two sub-divisions as follows: 

 I. The Selective Reflection of Carbonates as a Function of the Atomic 

 Weight of the Base. — Polished plane surfaces of (Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn, Sr, 

 Ba and Pb) CO3 were prepared, and the ratio of the reflected to the incident 

 radiation was measured at short wave-length intervals between 4 /x and 

 15 //. The following are the principal conclusions reached: 



1. The reflection curves for all the carbonates examined show between 

 4 /£ and 15 ft three, and only three, bands of abnormal reflection. Abnor- 

 mal reflection interpreted means a free resonance period of the molecule. 



