320 



" Proceedings of the Royal Society " ... The Society. 

 " Proceedings of the Ealing Natural) 

 History Society" ... ... ... J 



The Secretary said that after some unavoidable delay the 

 Journal was now in the hands of the Members, but it should 

 be noted that the date had been printed on the cover by error as 

 July instead of April. 



Mr. C. L. Curties exhibited a new lamp with bull's-eye, which 

 admitted of being readily centred. 



The President thought this would prove to be a very con- 

 venient form of lamp. In his own form he had a sort of double 

 action arrangement, but in this all was done by one move- 

 ment. There was always a tendency on the part of the oil to 

 creep down the side, and, therefore, when one was working with 

 the microscope the less a paraffin lamp was touched the better. 



Mr. Karop said lamps of this sort always would " creep," in 

 spite of all dodges to prevent it. 



The President said that when he first designed a lamp, in 

 1875, what gave him the idea of the square form was one which 

 was originally made for use with Sir William Thompson's re- 

 flecting galvanometer, by White, of Glasgow. This was square 

 in shape, made of tin, and held enough oil to enable it to burn 

 for 24 hours. Instead, however, of placing the burner in the 

 centre he put it at one corner, and had the filler at the other 

 corner. Thompson's lamp cost 4s. 6d., but when he ordered one 

 to be made for use with his microscope the bill came in for six 

 guineas. His own lamp had been in constant use for 18 years, 

 but he did not see why it should not have been made much 

 cheaper. 



Mr. Ingpen said this was another illustration of what they 

 so often found, namely, that all things intended for scientific 

 purposes were contrived to cost a great deal of money ; and, 

 therefore, it was often desirable to use some cheaper substitutes 

 which might practically answer the same purpose. It would 

 be found that the bottom of a broken tumbler, which originally 

 cost 2d., would make as good a shallow cell for dissecting as a 

 thing which was made to cost half-a-crown. 



Mr. Karop said that no matter what they gave for a lamp, 

 whether several pounds or only a few pence, the burner was 

 sure to be of the commonest description. 



