1865.] 29 



Stated Meeting, March 17, 1865. 



Present, twelve members. 



Dr. Wood, President, in the Chair. 



Letters were read from A. Erdman, Director-in-chief of 

 the Geological Survey of Sweden, dated Stockholm, Novem- 

 ber, 1, 1864, and from Dr. W. Merkel, Secretary of the 

 Natural History Society at Nurnberg, dated June 15, 1864, 

 both announcing donations for the Library of the Society. 



Donations for the Library were received from the Royal 

 Geological Society, the Society of Arts, the Royal Institu- 

 tion of Great Britain, the Royal Society, the Director of the 

 Magnetical Observatory at Toronto, Canada West; the En- 

 gineers of Mines at Paris, the Natural History Society at 

 Nurnberg, the Director of the Geological Survey of Sweden, 

 the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg, Pro- 

 fessors Silliman and Dana, Messrs. Blanchard & Lea, and 

 Mr. C. H. Hart. 



The death of Dr. T. B. Wilson, a member of the Society, 

 on the 15th instant, was announced by Dr. Bridges, and Mr. 

 Lea was appointed to prepare an obituary notice. 



Mr. Briggs referred to machinery used for extracting gold 

 from the ores of Colorado, and described the construction and 

 operation of some modifications recently introduced. The 

 ore is quickly reduced to an impalpable powder, and very 

 minute atoms of gold are readily separated from the matrix, 

 largely increasing the product. He also referred to the use 

 of the vapor of mercury, instead of the metal itself, in the 

 ordinary process of amalgamation for the separation of gold. 



Pending nominations, Nos. 534 to 537 inclusive, and new 

 nominations, Nos. 538, and 539, were read. 



And the Society was adjourned. 



