MINUTES. 
A The Twentieth Meeting of the Society was held on Monday, February 
2nd, 1874. 
The Rey. A. De M. Hensley was elected President for the year by 
acclamation. 
A vote of thanks to Mr. Bowyer, the late President, was passed 
unanimously by the Society. F. Podmore was re-elected Secretary; and 
B. K. Bourdillon, L. 8. Milford, and W. E. Smith on the Committee. 
E. R. Penrose, C. M. Sumner, and W. C. Walker were elected Members. 
S. R. James’s resignation, in consequence of stress of work, was announced 
to the Society. ‘ 
The paper of the evening was then read, by C. C. Arxrnson, on Telegraphy. 
It would, perhaps, be not out of place to offer a few remarks on the substance 
of the paper. It commenced by giving a short sketch of the progress of 
science in general, and proceeded to trace the history of Telegraphy from 
Mr. Edgeworth’s semaphore down to more modern and improved systems. 
The lecturer then, by means of a looking-glass, exhibited a telegraph of his 
own construction, with mercury commutator, similar to those used in India. 
There were sixteen members, eight honorary members, and two visitors 
present at this meeting. 
The Twenty-first Meeting was held on Monday, February 16th. 
This meeting was devoted to the exhibition of specimens. 
The PresipEnT delivered a short inaugural address ; at the commencement 
of which he humorously stated that he was about to open his presidency by 
saying something unpleasant, but, as he had a precedent for this in some 
remarks of the late President’s, and as he had been assured by an officer of 
the Society that no one could give utterance to unpleasant truths with a better 
grace than himself, he felt encouraged to proceed. The Society had been fed 
upon pork, and had found it remarkably indigestible, instead of the succulent 
mental mincemeat which was fitted for infant digestions. The fault lay, it 
was true, in their own ignorance, and not in their teachers, but he thought 
that the readers of papers should not, in the plenitude of their superior know- 
ledge, overlook the capacities and stomachs of their weaker brethren. 
The speaker was vehemently applauded at the conclusion of his speech, and 
those present proceeded to examine the specimens laid for exhibition on the 
tables, including some fossils from the Museum, and some of A. Anson’s, two 
live snowbuntings exhibited by H. A. Macpherson, and some coins kindly 
lent for the occasion by W. H. W. Searle. 
The attendance at this meeting, the first of its kind, was fairly numerous. 
The Twenty-second Meeting was held on Monday, February 23rd. 
H. A. Phillips was elected a Member. ; 
W. E. Smiru then reada paper on Air, in his usual lively and lucid style, 
illustrating it by experiments to show the elasticity and other properties 
ot Gases. 
