44 [Nov. 1. 



Institution, London, Oct. 15, (101, Cat. Ill); the Royal 

 Astronomical Society, Oct. 18, (101, Oat. Ill) ; the Society 

 of Antiquaries, London, ( >et. 14, (101, Oat. Ill); and the 

 Boston Public Library, Oct. 17, (Cat. I, II, III). 



Letters of envoy were received from Sir Lewis Mallet, 

 India Office, Oct. 11, 1878; Physical Society of Bordeaux, 

 Oct. 15 (acknowledging also the receipt of Proc. 95, 96, 

 98, 99); Meteorological Office, London, Oct., 1878; and Mr. 

 E. Steiger, 25 Park Place, New York, Oct. 23, 1878. 



Donations for the Library were received from the Acad- 

 emies at St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, and Brussels; the So- 

 ciete Vaudoise ; Geographical Society, School of Alines, and 

 Revue Politique, Paris; Commercial Geographical Society 

 at Bordeaux ; Observatory at San Fernando; Harvard Col- 

 lege Library, and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cam- 

 bridge ; E. Steiger; Entomological Society of Brooklyn; 

 Engineers Club, and Historical Society, Phi la. ; Museum of 

 Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn. ; Public School 

 Library, St. Louis; and the Argentine Society of Sciences 

 at Buenos Ay res. 



Prof. Chase read a "Note on the density of the Kinetic 

 Ether." 



Prof. Sadtler read a paper u On the Electrolytic Estima- 

 tion of Cadmium, by Edgar F. Smith, Ph.D."" as a contribu- 

 tion from the Laboratory of the University of Pennsylvania. 



Prof. Sadtler presented to the Society a chemical prepara- 

 tion obtained by a new and interesting reaction from Penn- 

 sylvania petroleum. 



The presence of Olefines or unsaturated hydrocarbons in Petroleum has 

 been proved by Prof. Schorlemmer, who obtained bromides of these hy- 

 drocarbons by the action of bromine upon the several fractions of petro- 

 leum. This reaction lias only proved the presence of the lower boiling 

 members of the scries however. 1 had given to me by Dr. C. M. Cresson 

 a thick viscid liquid said to be mainly made up of higher olefines. Now 

 the following reactions have been carried out with Ethene C, II,— 



OH. 

 CI. 

 OH C II, CI 



C 2 H 4 + C10H = C 2 H 4 | C 



c ii ((m 1-0 ' " ' ' II o 

 T endeavored to apply these reactions to the mixture of higher olefines' 



