•JRANSACTiONS OF SOCIETIES. 387 



the rirst time undertaken. Public supply of electricity in the City of 

 Cape Town w;is not started until 1895, several years later than in the 

 southern suburbs. The first Central Station, near the Molteno Reservoir, 

 was then opened. The present Central Power Station in the Dock 

 Road was opened in 1904. There are at present seven central stations 

 between the docks and Kalk Bay. Great changes were about to take 

 place and the Dock Road Power Station would increase its output from 

 six million units during 19 12 to nine millions during 1913. 



Capf. Chemical Society. — Friday, April 19th: Dr. C. F. Juritz, 

 M.A., F.LC. President, in the chair. — " Investigation of chemical 

 problems in a new country" (Presidential address): Dr. C. F. Juritz. 

 Chemistry bears a constant and intimate relation to every aspect of 

 individual and social life, and needs patience and promptitude in dealing 

 with its various aspects. To direct the course of enquiry men of eflficient 

 chemical vision and the best brain power were needed. The author 

 referred to the position of chemical research in England, America, and 

 Australia, contrasting therewith the position in South Africa, where 

 chemical research was almost impracticable except with respect to agri- 

 cuture. In the latter there was a wide field, but euphemism with regard 

 to the work done thereon was apt to distort the view : to attain success 

 co-ordination of etifort and unity of plan were necessary. The Bureau 

 of Chemistry of the United States Department of Agriculture was cited 

 as an example of this. 



Royal Society of South Africa. — Wednesday, April 17th: .S. S. 

 Hough, M.A., F.R.S., President, in the chair. — " Some recent improve- 

 ments m transit observing" (Presidential Address): S. S. Hough. 

 The address was intended to illustrate how, in connection with meridian 

 observing, personal errors of Right Ascension observations could be 

 eliminated. In connection with the new transit circle of the Cape Ob- 

 servator}^ the erection whereof was begun in 1901, Repsold's single moving 

 web system of observing had been introduced, in conjunction with a 

 mechanical method of driving the moving wire at a speed capable of 

 adjustment to correspond with that of the moving star in the telescopic 

 field. During ion com.parativc observations were made systematically 

 by seven observers, and as a result the author stated his conclusion thot 

 practically the problem of the elimination of personal errors had been 

 solved, all observations having been made by means of an equal number 

 of transits in each direction, right to- left and left to right, the out- 

 standing personal discordances being of a scarcely detectable character. 



Wednesday. May 15th: L. Peringuey, D.Sc, F.E.S., F.Z.S.. President, 

 in the chair. — "A revision of the genus /J/?^?V/('a, Delaroche" : R. Dummer 

 Twenty-three known species of the genus were described. ile\en heinr; 

 new. — " Positive electrical change in isolated nerve '" : Prof. W. A. Jolly. 

 The theories regarding causation of positive electrical change in isolated 

 nerve are critically discussed, and the results obtained by different in- 

 struments and methods of investigation correlated. The positive after 

 variation is differentiated from positive change produced during a period 

 of stimulation, and regarded as dependmg on two factors: fi) A process 

 occurring in the uninjured part of the nerves subsequent to excitation, 

 and (2) increase in demarcation current. — '" Note on the occurrence of 

 a leucocytozoon infection — host — the ostrich " : J. Walker. The author 

 proposes to name the parasite Leucocytozoon strnthioiiis, and describes 

 its microscopical appearance in stained Idood smears collected from sick 

 ostrich chicks on a farm in Middelburg, Cape Province. — " Valency and 

 chemical affinity": Dr. J. Moir. The author had previously shown thai 

 atomic H'cights could be fairly exactly calculated by assinning a proton 

 of atomic weight .009. It is now suggested that tins proton may be the 

 true cause of valency and chemical combination. Practically identical 

 values of this proton are given by the three most exact determinations 

 of molecular ratios that the author is acquainted with. — "A new species 

 of Trygon from South Africa": Prof J. D. F. Gilchrist. Three species 

 of Trygon (Sting ray) from South African waters liad been recorded. 

 The author described a fourth — apparently a new species. 



