Ixi 



ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS, OCTOBER, 1905. 



A meeting of the Eoyal Society 

 Avas held at the Museum on Tu8e>- 

 day, the 10th inst. His Excellency 

 the Governor (Sir Gerald Strickland, 

 K.C.M.G.) presided, and among those 

 present vrere Lady Edeline Strickland, 

 Miss Drummond, Capt, Griffith, A.D.C., 

 Sir Elliott Lewis, K.C.M.G., Mr. A. G. 

 Webster (.chairman of the coiincil). Dr. 

 Elkington, Messrs. A. 0. Green, Lomas 

 Smith, and a number of ladies and gen- 

 tlemen. 



The first business was the balloting for 

 a new member, Dr. E. M. Owens being 

 unanimously elected. 



Two Noteworthy Exhibits. 

 The secretary (Mr. Alex. Morton) apolo- 

 gised for the absence of Messrs. Eussell 

 Young, Bernard Shaw, I.S.O., Thos. Ste- 

 phens, M.A., and Professor Neil-Smith, 

 M.A., and drew attention to two very 

 noteAvorthy exhibits. One Avas a fine speci- 

 men of a rainboAV trout, Aveighing 4Ub., 

 Avhich had been placed in Lake Dulver- 

 ton, an inch in length on November 21, 

 1903. The rainboAv trout (Salmo iredeus) 

 Avas especially abundant in the mountain 

 streams of California. Its size depended 

 upon its surroundings, the volume and 

 temperature of the water, and the amount 

 of food it contained. In some of the 

 cold mountain streams of Colorado their 

 average Aveight Avas not more than 6oz. or 

 8oz., but in lakes in the same State, Avhere 

 the water Avas moderately Avarm in sum- 

 mer, they reached 121b. or 131b. The other 

 exhibit AA-as a specimen of wolframite 

 (tungstate of iron), which had recently 

 been found at Ben Lomoud, and would 

 probably prove to be one of the most 

 A'aluable minerals ever disooA^ered in Tas- 

 mania. This mineral had recently be- 

 come of considerable commercial import- 

 ance for the production of tungstic aicid, 

 Av^hich Avas principally used to give great- 

 er hardness to st^l and aluminium. Rus- 

 sia Avas about to spend tAventy million 

 sterling to rebuild her ships, and Krupp 

 had sent out an expert to search for this 

 valuable mineral, which Avas noAV 

 largely used for the manufacture of Avar 

 material. 



The Activity of Science. 



An important circular was read from 

 Sir Norman Lockyer, president of the 

 organising committee, stating that an as- 

 sociation was being organised under the 

 name of the British Science Guild, with 

 the object of insisting upon the import- 

 ance of applying scientific methods to 

 every branch of the affairs of the nation. 

 The accompanying memorandum stated 



that it had been a frequent subject of 

 comment that the English people did 

 not manifest that interest and belief 

 in the powers of scienc-e, which Avere 

 noticeable among the peoples of the Con- 

 tinent or of America. In spite of the ef- 

 forts of many years, the scientific snirit 

 Avas still too rare, and Avas often lacking 

 in some of those Avho Avere responsible for 

 the proper conduct of many of the na- 

 tilii's activities. It Avas proposed, there- 

 fore, to establish a British science guild, 

 which Avould be entirely disconnected 

 fi-om party politics— (1) To bring together 

 all those throughout the Empire inter- 

 ested in science and scientific methods, in 

 order, by joint action, to convince the 

 people, by means of publications and 

 meetings, of the necessity of applying the 

 metho'ds of science to all branches of 

 human endeaA'our, and thus to further 

 the progress and increase the Avelfare of 

 the Empire; (2) to bring before the Go 

 vernment the scientific aspects of all mat- 

 ter affecting the national AA'elfare; (3) 

 to promote and extend the application of 

 scientific principles to industrial and 

 general purposes; and (4) to promote 

 scientific education by encouraging the 

 support of universities and other institu- 

 tions Avhere the bounds of science were 

 extended, or Avhere new applications of 

 f-.cience were devised. 



Another important circular Avas a pre- 

 liminary announcement of an Australian 

 Journal of Science Avhich it Avas proposed 

 to issue monthly, edited by Professor 

 Liversidge, M.A., LL.D., E.E.S., of the 

 Sydney University, to commence next 

 January. 



A Difficult Subject. 



The Chairman then called for a discus- 

 sion on the Philological paper read at the 

 last meeting by Professor Hermann Eitz, 

 of the Tasmanian ITnivensity, 



Mr. E. M. Johnston, Government Statis- 

 tician, said that the subject was a very 

 difficult one to follow, too difficult, indeed,, 

 for anyone to criticise Avho had not made 

 it a special study. They felt very much 

 indebted to the professor for having given 

 them the results of his researches. While 

 they might not, perhaps, folloAv him in 

 all his conclusions, they appreciated the 

 value of his labours. He specially agreed 

 Avith the professor on one point, and that 

 Avas that the need for expression must 

 have preceded the expression itself. 



A New Eange Finder. 



Mr. H. C. Kingsmill, M.A., then read a 



short paper, entitled "A NeAV Eange 



Finder." Although range-finding was 



commonly regarded as a military art. 



