544 The British Association. [October, 
Professor Osborne Reynolds read a paper ‘‘ On the Refraction of Sound by 
the Atmosphere.” By means of an electric bell, the author found that with 
a cloudy sky and no dew the sound; could be heard farther with than 
against the wind; but with a clear sky and a heavy dew, the sound could be 
heard as far against a light wind as with it. 
Mr. J. A. Fleming read a paper ‘‘On the Decomposition of an Electrolyte 
by Magneto-Ele¢tric Induction.” This paper appears in full in ‘“‘ The Eleérical 
News and Telegraphic Reporter.” 
The Rev. S. J. Perry, of Stoneyhurst College, made some remarks on the 
transit of Venus. With regard to the stations in the North, Father Perry said 
they were left to the care of the Russians, and the English, Americans, 
Germans, and others confined their observations to the southern hemisphere. 
As it was mid-winter the sun was very nearly on the line of the southern 
tropics and nearly vertical over the eastern border of Australia. There were 
primarily five English expeditions, but as these were subdivided, there were 
nearly 20 stations of observation. His station was Kerguelen, to the south- 
west of Australia. On the morning of the transit they divided into three par- 
ties, and were so placed that, with the Americans, they formed four parties, 
about eight miles distant from each other. They saw the sun very well until 
almost the time that Venus was coming on to the sun’s disc, and they had 
the external contaé& as well as could be expected, for there never could be 
absolute certainty with regard to such a point. They continued very well 
until they had taken the bisection by the planet of the sun’s disc, but then 
there was just one little cloud that came and placed itself right over the 
planet and remained till 10 minutes after the commencement of the transit. 
At the other stations they were able to make observations of theingress. At 
his station they were able to get very good observations and photographs of 
the internal points of contact and also of egress. The results of the obser- 
vations would not be ascertained for at least 7 years, the determination of 
their longitude occupying a very long time. 
M. Janssen contributed a paper on the same subject. By using coloured 
glasses, so selected as to allow the light of the corona to pass, he succeeded in 
seeing the planet for 10 minutes previous to its entering upon the sun’s disc, 
His observations establish the existence of an atmosphere to Venus. 
Sir William Thomson illustrated by diagrams the description of his experi- 
ments ‘‘ On the Effects of Stress on the Magnetism of Soft Iron.’ With steel 
wire the magnetism diminished when weights were attached to the wire and 
increased when they were taken off, but when iron wire almost as soft as lead 
was used these results were reversed. 
Professor W. F. Barrett read a paper on the Effects of Heat on the Molecular 
Stru@ure of Steel. In the course of experiments he had found that steel of any 
thickness, if heated to a certain temperature, ceases to expand, and the steel 
wire does not increase in temperature. The length of time during which this 
abnormal condition lasts varies with the thickness of the wire and the rapidity 
with which it can be heated. No further change takes place till the heat is cut 
off, and then when the point is reached at which the change took place, an 
actual increase in temperature occurs sufficiently great to cause the wire to glow 
with ared heat. It was strange that this afterglow had not been noticed before. 
Some interesting experiments on magnetised rings, plates, and discs of 
hardened steel were exhibited by Mr. P. Braham. 
Mr. Glaisher presented the report of the Committee on Luminous Meteors. 
A mass of meteoric iron fell on the 24th August, 1873, at Maysville, Califor- 
nia, and was one of the very few pieces of metallic iron the actual descent of 
which had been witnessed. In the following month a number of meteorites 
fell near Khairpur, in the Punjaub, and it is also related that in the month of 
December, when the British army halted on the banks of the Prah, an aérolite 
fell in the market-place at Coomassie, and was regarded as a portent of evil by 
the natives. On the 14th and 2oth of May aérolites fell at Castalia, in North 
Carolina, and the last stone fall of the present year took place on the 12th 
February, 1875, near Iowa. In England no detonatory meteor had been ob- 
served this year, and the brightest meteor occurred on the 1st September, 1874. 
