270 



PROCEEDINGS OP SECTION B. 



itself a convenient food, or even sufficiently nutritious for all 

 the requirements of man. Under normal condition the 

 average man requires daily 4 • 2 ounces of albumenoids. To 

 obtain this quantity from the banana fifteen pounds' weight 

 of the fruit would have to be consumed — a quantity alto- 

 gether excessive and decidedly inconvenient, containing no 

 less than nine pints, or over a gallon, of water. 



In nutritive properties the Cavendish banana bears a 

 resemblance to the potato, as will be seen from the comparison 

 following. It may be described as a very unevenly balanced 

 food, not suited alone for the diet of man, but an excellent 

 and wholesome addition to a diet rich in nitrogenous sub- 

 stances. 



Comparhon Analysis. 



Water 



Albumenoids ...■■ 



Total Carbonaceous matter (non-nitro 



genous) 



Other than Woody Fibre 



Ash 



Cavendish Banana. Potato. 



7.— NOTE ON AN EXAMINATION OF WATER 

 FROM LAKE GORAN GAMITE, VICTORIA. 



By A. W. CRAIG, M.A., and N. T. M. WILSMORE, B. Sc. 



This examination was undertaken with the object of ascer- 

 taining the presence or otherwise of the rare alkalies, as, so 

 far as we are aware, these have not yet been noticed in the 

 mineral waters of the Australasian Colonies. 



The sample was collected in a large demijohn, and with 

 the usual precautions, by Dr. S. A. Ewing, ofCobden,in 

 the Western District of Victoria, closed with a good cork, 

 sealed, and forwarded to the University. 



For various reasons it was not examined till about a 

 month after collection, being kept in the meantime in a cool 

 place in the laboratory. 



Preliminary Examination. — On opening the vessel there 

 was a strong smell of sulphuretted hydrogen, which was 

 present in sufficient quantity to blacken lead paper. The 



