Clifton College Scie.nttfc Society. 105 



Petroleum has ako been found iii silurian rocks, which existed long 

 before our coal-fields were pi'odnced. Reicheubach made a theory 

 on the origin of i)eti'oleum, wliieh has since been proved to be 

 erroneous. Tlie petroleum he examined contained no paraffin, and 

 at the time he made his exjijeriments (1833) no petroleum had been 

 found in coal-beds which had been exposed to a high temperature. 

 He also obtained an oily liquid, resemblin<>; petroleum in appearance, 

 by distilling coal with water, but which smelt of turpentine oiL He 

 concluded from these facts that petroleum was not a product of the 

 distillation of coal, but a constituent of it, and that it was probably 

 the turpentine oil of primeval forests. 



MEETING, December 3rd, 1874. 

 The President in the Chair. 



The sixth meeting of the term was held in the Physical Lecture 

 Room. There were Twenty-nine members and visitors present. 



M. Heard then read a paper upon " the Cairngorm mountains." At 

 the conclusion of the paper the President complimented the writer 

 upon the excellent English in which the paper was written, and on 

 the love of natural scenery which lie had displayed. The President 

 also made some remarks upon the points of interest touched upon in 

 the paper. 



A vote of thanks to M. Heard terminated the meetino; 



MEETING, December ISth, 1874. 

 The President in the Chair, 



The seventh meeting of the term was held in the Physical Lectm-e 

 Room. There were Seventeen members and visitors present. 



H. P. Burt read a long and interesting paper upon " Polar Explo- 

 ration." At the conclusion of the paper G. H. W(jUaston, Esq., Presi- 

 dent, spoke at considerable length upon the subject of the paper. 



The meeting, the last for the year 1874, closed with an unanimous 

 vote of thanks to H. P. Burt. 



LENT TERM, 1875. 



MEETING, February 4th, 1875. 

 The President in the Chair. 



The first meeting of the term was held in the Physical Lecture 

 Room. There were Forty-five members and visitors present. 



After some introductory remarks by the President, J. E. Pearson, 

 Esq. (O.C. and hon. mem.), read a paper upon the Transit of Venus. 



