The Augasma Light. 23 



W. Meek was elected member of the Society. 



The following exhibitions were made : — 



Some Fossils of the Chalk and Upper Greensand, Sea Urchins, Ammo- 

 nites, etc. 



A Cast of a large Ammonite from the Gault. By R. B. IIatwahd. 



A Calculating Machine for Addition, made by Dr. lloth. 



A model Armstong Gun. 



Forty Photographs of Guns and Mortars . . By W. Jekyll. 



An Ammonite embedded in stone . . . . By G. T. Pilches. 



A large Fossil Nautilus from Harrow Weald . . By A. J. Evans. 



A specimen of the Snake Nut of Demerara, belonging to the Nat. Ord. 

 Laposidaca; — an order represented in England by the Horse 

 Chestnut . . . . . . . . By T. G. Rooper. 



A. W. Welch then read an interesting Paper on the new light 

 invented and patented by his brother Mr. E. J. Welch. The paper 

 was illustrated by a beautiful working model, without which it 

 would hardly be intelligible, except with the assistance of elaborate 

 drawings. The following abstract will give a general explanation 

 of the principle on which the light is produced : — 



THE AUGASMA LIGHT. 



This light is produced by forcing atmospheric air through an 

 apparatus where a large surface of a volatile hydro-carbon liquid is 

 exposed, and the air, in its passage, takes up a large quantity of 

 the liquid in the form of vapour. The apparatus, which gives the 

 pressure to the air, consists of a pair of inverted drums, suspended 

 at either end of a beam, which, being put in motion by clockwork, 

 causes the drums alternately to draw in, and force out the air into 

 a small gasometer, to which is attached a governor for regulating the 

 pressure ; from this gasometer the air is forced into the carburettor. 

 This carburettor consists of a metal case, the upper portion of 

 which is divided off to form the reservoir, and the rest is filled with 

 a system of trays, each of which is threaded up and down with 

 cotton wick. The liquid is poured into the reservoir, which is so 

 arranged as to allow a certain amount of it to descend into the 

 various trays, where it is drawn up by capillary attraction into the 

 wicks. The air passes diagonally across through the mass of wicks, 

 where it takes up a large quantity of the liquid in the form of 

 vapour, it then passes on, thus impregnated with hydro-carbon, to 

 the burners ; where it is consumed in the same manner as ordinary 

 gas, but iu its combustion giving nearly double the amount of light, 



