1 60 Annals of the Philosophical Club 



June igth, 140 th meeting. Sir R. Murchison stated that 

 a rich bed of graphite had been discovered on the banks 

 of the Lower Tunguska River, one of the principal tributaries 

 of the Yenesei in Siberia. It must, however, be transported 

 to the mouth of the latter river, and then by sea to Russia, 

 before the discovery would be of any commercial value. 

 Hitherto no ship had succeeded in making the sea journey, 

 but the discoverer of the deposit, M. Sideroff, attributed 

 this to their commanders having always taken the Kara 

 Strait, to the south of the two great islands of Novaya 

 Zemlya, or the Matyushin Shar between them, both leading 

 into the Kara Sea, which is always full of ice. But he 

 believed that the route to the north of Barents Land would 

 prove practicable, and had offered a reward to the first vessel 

 that should be successful. 



Oct. 3ist, I4ist meeting. Mr. Gassiot mentioned recent 

 experiments with his large water-battery of 3400 cells. At 

 first he had simply repaired the loss by evaporation. En- 

 couraged by the results, he had recharged the whole set with 

 salt and water, and improved the insulation by mounting 

 each jar on rails of shellac, when the current was sent 

 through the exhausted tubes as distinctly as with the 

 Ruhmkorff coil. In a perfect vacuum neither discharge 

 nor heating of either electrode occurred till heat was applied 

 to the fused potash, but as the temperature of that was 

 raised, a cloud of vapour was formed, the negative electrode 

 became heated, and a continuous action carried off a large 

 quantity of platinum. With one tube, a distinct singing 

 sound was produced, when the discharge took place. 



Nov. 27th, I42nd meeting. Sir H. James stated that 

 photozincography, which hitherto had been restricted 

 to subjects expressed by definite lines (such as maps, 

 manuscripts, etc.), had now been applied to reproduce 

 ordinary photographs, where tints had to be rendered, 

 with good results, as the specimens, which he exhibited, 

 demonstrated. 



Dr. Hooker described that strange African plant, the 

 Welwitschia, of which additional specimens had recently 



