ORDINARY MEETINGS. xlix 



FOURTH ORDINARY MEETING. 

 City Council Chamber, Halifax, 12th February, 1900. 



The PRESIDENT in the chair. 



A paper entitled : " Nova Scotian Minerals collected for the Paris 

 Exhibition," was presented by EDWIN GILPIN, JR., ESQ., LL. D., F. E. 

 S. C., Inspector of Mines. DR. GILPIN answered a number of inquiries 

 made by those present, relative to the minerals of the Province. (See 

 Transactions, p. 248.) 



A communication by HENRY S. POOLS, ESQ., F. G. S., entitled 

 " Notes on the Periodical Appearance of Ants in a Chimney, and on 

 an Unusual Site for a Humble-Bee's Nest," was read by the RECORDING 

 SECRETARY in the absence of the author, as follows : 



" For many years, possibly fifteen, a flight of ants has annually 

 tumbled down a chimney in the office of the Acadia Coal Co., at 

 -Stellarton, N. S., generally on August 24th, sometimes a day or two 

 later, and occasionally a few ants again appear as late as the niiddle of 

 September. Fires are used in the chimney each winter. A tinned roof 

 has been put on the office since the ants first were seen, and the top of 

 the chimney has been thoroughly repaired by masons without finding a 

 nest. The habitat selected seems unusual, and so far has not led to the 

 similar adoption by colonies of other chimneys in the same building. 



" In a grove of young fir trees, about eight feet from the ground, I 

 noticed one autumn a la^ge robin's nest in unusually good repair. On 

 pulling down the tree-top the nest was found to be full, with a dome 

 shaped cone. It was occupied by humble-bees and a small comb with 

 larvae in it. Such a situation for a humble-bees' nest, I am told, has 

 been seen before, but apparently it is unusual." 



FIFTH ORDINARY MEETING. 



City Council Chamber, Halifax, 12th March, 1900. 



The PRESIDENT in the chair. 



It was announced that CHARLES PICKFORD, ESQ., had been elected a 

 Corresponding Member. 



A paper by C. M. PASEA, ESQ., of Dalhousie College, " On a relation 

 between the lonization Coefficients of Electrolytes, and its application 

 as an Interpolation Formula," was presented by DR. J. G. MACGREGOR. 



