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Ordinary Meeting", April 16, 1861. 



Dr. J. P. Joule, President, in the Chair. 



A letter having been read from Dr. Schunck, tendering- 

 his resignation of office as Secretary of the Society, it was 

 unanimously resolved, " That the Society desire to express 

 their regret at the resignation by Dr. Schunck of the office of 

 Secretary, and to offer to him their cordial thanks for the 

 valuable and efficient services which he has rendered to the 

 Society during the six years he has held the office." 



Mr. E. W. BiNNEY exhibited to the meeting two specimens 

 of peat obtained by himself from the low mosses adjoining the 

 sea near Southport. One was a dull brown substance, having 

 an imperfect conchoidal fracture, and which burnt and smelt 

 like Derbyshire bitumen. This he called blazing peat. 

 The other was of a bright black colour, with a perfect con- 

 conchoidal fracture, which looked like pitch and emitted 

 scarcely any flame whilst burning. This he called non- 

 blazing peat. He said that bitumens and coals were generally 

 supposed to have been formed under an elevated temperature, 

 something analogous to the production of tar and pitch by the 

 distillation of wood in close vessels at a high temperature. 

 Now, the specimens exhibited showed that vegetable matter 

 could be converted in a peat bog into an inflammable bitumen 

 in the one case, and, in the other, into a bright substance 

 resembling anthracite coal, thus showing that high tempera- 

 ture was not absolutely requisite for the production of either 

 bitumens or coals from ligneous fibre. 



A Paper was read by the Rev. T. P. Kirkman, M.A., 

 F.R.S., entitled, "Theorems on Groups." 



PaoCEEDiNGS— Lit. *S; Phil. Society— No, 13.--Session, 1860-61. 



