3 



that photogiiiphs taken directly from the luicroricopo 

 were sometimes nnsatisfiR*tory,and he would rather, 

 he said, see a drawiiii^ made by a skilled observer 

 and draughtsman. At present, in bacterioluyical 

 studies, phototjraphs were often xmsat is factory. 



At the conclusion of the proceedings a most 

 interesting collection of apparatus and obji'cts of 

 interest (kindly lent l>y Mr. Mann and Mr. Cozens) 

 were inspected witli keen intei-est. 



Mr. Lander had his wireless telegraph working 

 in the room, and during the evening received a 

 number of messages, including one from Mr. 

 Collard, of Wineheap, which was without difficulty 

 roiid as follows ; — " Heai-tiest congratulations to 

 the East Kent Seientifie Society at the inaugural 

 meeting of theii- jubilee year. Best wishes for a 

 good session." 



SECOND WINTER MEETING.— NOVEMBER 14th. 1906. 



•THE DIPL0D0CU3 AND OTHEK GIANTS."— By CAPTAIN McDAKIN. 



The second winter meeting was held on Novem- 

 Ix'r 14, when Captain McDakin, K.U.S.I., was the 

 lecturer. He took as his subject " The Diplodocus 

 and other Giants," and in his introductory remarks 

 made reference to the early discoveries of Dr. and 

 Mrs. Mantell in 1N22. The Iguauodon was taken 

 as a chara^^teristic type of the Dinosaiu-s, not only 

 because it represented the kangax'oo-like form of 

 these creatures, but also on account of the local 

 interest that attached to the three-toed footsteps 

 literally impressed on the sands of time in the 

 quarries of Maidstone and the Weald. The inven- 

 tive mind of man was regarded as the image of 

 the creative mind. Man seeks to bring about the 

 same results in a similar manner, for example, the 

 case of the hunting watch opening as the valve of 

 the cockle does when its muscle is released. In 

 the huge St^i'igosaurus the brain was companitively 

 smaller than that of any other creature, but it had 

 a supplementary bi-ain, or ganglion, ten times the 

 size of the brain cavitj', thus affording a pai-allel 

 to thi; invention of the relay battery in t^degiuphic 

 circuits. In the Brontosaurus, sixty feet in 

 length, we have a well-balanced animal like the 

 great Forth cantilever bridge, a principle that the 

 author had seen in old wooden sti'uctiu'es in the 

 Himalaya mountains nearly 50 years ago. These 

 giant animals had their parallel in the giant 

 architectui-al structiu'es such as our beautiful 

 Cathedrals and the Colosenm of Rome, and 



history its parallel when the early Christians were 

 confronted with the greatest military power the 

 world had ever known, tho most uncompromising 

 eeelesiastieal hate an<l social scorn, as in that 

 reptilial age the small warai blooded marsupial 

 ha<l to contend with fierce carnivorous monstei*s. 

 Was it possible that the weak would prove the 

 victors in the fight? — If it had not be* -n the will 

 and piu-pose of the trreat Creator that the type of 

 " the siu-vival of the fittest " in the strife, should 

 not be that of the di-;igon, but the lamb. 



The lecture was hirgely illustrated with numer- 

 ous slides of these hideous creatiu'cs, including the 

 giant Diplodocus, measiu-ing eighty feet in length 

 and fourteen feet in height. 



Mr. W. H. Hammond placed on thetableasimiU 

 collection of uncommon British phmts, the most 

 intei'osting Ix'ing the Polijgahi or Milk-wort family. 

 Among these were P. vulgaris, the milkwort, and 

 P. austviaca, a very rare species found in a few 

 places in Kent. For compaiison, the Yorkshire 

 sjKJcies P. amarella was shown, and a specimen of 

 P. serpyllacea from Cornwall, lately fo»md by Mr. 

 F. H. Davey, in full bloom in October; all the 

 others blooming in May or June. The collection 

 also included a few rare plants from Thanet — 

 Melilotus in'fica, Eri'jfvon canadense,Vlria hyhrida; 

 and from other i>arts of the country — Euphorhia 

 cyitarrissins, TrefoHum fesupinatuni, Corrigiola 

 Utioralis, Dnjas uftopetula, Habenaria vtridis.. 



THIRD WINTER MEETING.— NOVEMBER 28th, 1906. 



^'THE GRINDING AND POLISHING OF LENSES.'— By Mr. C. ROBEBTS. 



The third winter evening meeting was heW 

 in the Reference Libi-ary of the Beaney 

 Institute. Mr. Sidney Harvey presided. Mr. C. 

 C. Robei"ts,of St. Edmund's College.was tho lectiu'er, 

 and the subject : " Tho Grinding and Polishing of 

 Lenses." as illusti-atcd by the making of a large 

 reflecting telescope. The process was very clearly 

 described, and greatly interested those who at- 

 tended. The Lmtern was manipulated by Mr. A. 

 Lander in his lusixal successful manner, tho slides 

 shown Ijeing photographs of the machinery 

 employed in the manufacture. At the close an 



interesting discussion took pliicc with reference to 

 the matter of silvenng lenses and mirrors, and. 

 their great liability to tarnish rapidly, and owing 

 to this fact it was shown that they re(|uired frc'^ 

 quent re-silvering. A vote of thanks to tlie 

 lecturer was proposed liy Mr. Harvey ,and suitably 

 acknowledged. 



Mr. Lander described a remarkable exhibit — 

 tliat of a bunch of raspberries, which, owing t<> 

 the recent mild weather, had developed from a 

 new cane only planted a few months ago. 



