vi PROCEEDINGS. 



the London Exhibition of 1851 as recipient of one of their Science 

 Scholarships. This scholarship, of the annual value of one hundred 

 and fifty pounds sterling, is tenable for two years on the condition that, 

 during his tenure, the holder shall devote himself wholly to study and 

 research, more especially in some branch of science, such as physics 

 mechanics or chemistry, the extension of which is especially important 

 to our national industries. The Senate's nomination to the Royal Com- 

 missioners was accompanied by a copy of Mr. McKittrick's paper from 

 the Institute's Transactions to show the author's capacity for research 

 work. 



Mr. D. M. Bliss, electrician, Amherst, in a paper titled, " The coming 

 development of artificial illumination," set forth a number of interesting 

 facts and problems that are now engaging the attention of electrical 

 engineers, and that are not only of scientific interest, but also prospec- 

 tively of economic importance to civilized communities. 



Mr. John Forbes, whose mechanical inventions in connection with 

 iron manufactures have brought fame to our city, presented us with a 

 review of some modern methods in manufacturing, with suggested analo- 

 gies from a study of the evolution and nature of some of the processes 

 employed. The reading of this paper led to an interesting discussion on 

 the processes of manufacture of the different kinds and qualities of iron 

 and steel, the observations of the speakers being well illustrated by a 

 series of samples exhibited by Mr. Forbes, which showed the several 

 progressive steps in the processes of manufacture. 



Our April meeting was held in the Church of England Institute 

 building ; the attendance was unusually large, both of ladies and gentle- 

 men, notwithstanding the disagreeable weather. The evening was 

 entirely devoted to a paper by Dr. D. A. Campbell, titled, " General 

 considerations concerning Bacteria, with notes on the bacteriological 

 analysis of water." Dr. Campbell had studied Bacteriology at Johns 

 Hopkins University, where unusually ample facilities are offered, and he 

 has continued the investigation since his return to Halifax. In this 

 paper he gave a clear exposition of the most important results of bacterio- 

 logical enquiry up to the present time. He described the principal 

 forms of bacteria, with respect to their characteristic features in form and 

 size, the changes which they undergo, the parts they play in the economy 

 of nature, as in putrefactive processes, in converting organic substances 



