1 82 Annals of the Philosophical Club 



Its texture is very thin but extremely tenacious, and whei 

 rubbed it is highly electric, Mr. Busk, in a discussioi 

 about its nature and origin, remarked that he had seei 

 material from Mexico very similar but yellow in colour, whicl 

 is said to be made by spiders and found hanging from trees 



Nov. 26th, ig6th meeting. Mr. Busk, reverting to the 

 above-named tissue, said that Mr. Stainton x had suggestec 

 it might be the work of a small Tineina, and similar cases 

 had been previously observed. 



1869. Feb. 25th, iggth meeting. Sir W. Armstroi 

 described a machine invented by Captain Andrew Noble 

 for measuring very minute intervals of time, which We 

 being employed to measure the velocity of a projectile ii 

 passing through the gun. The principle of the machine 

 was that an electric spark, emitted by a series of pointec 

 wires, arranged at fixed intervals, marked the circumference 

 of a number of smoke-blackened discs, which rotated wit 

 a high velocity about an axis. It had proved remarkably 

 successful in measuring even the smallest variations in the 

 time occupied by the shot in passing through successive 

 intervals of the gun. It had also been observed that 

 much milder kind of gunpowder had been found to give 

 higher average pressure than that generally used, notwith- 

 standing its lower maximum pressure. This probably was 

 due to the fact that the higher temperature, accompanying 

 more intense pressure, caused greater absorption of heat 

 by the gun, with a consequent loss of propelling power. 



March i8th, 2Ooth meeting. Mr. Gassiot spoke of a very 

 powerful electrical machine by which a spark could be 

 obtained 19 inches in length. 



April 26th, 2Oist meeting. Dr. Hooker exhibited drawings 

 of some curiously-shaped stones, found by Mr. W. T. L. 

 Travers, F.Z.S., on the isthmus between Lyell's Bay and 

 Evans' Bay, near Wellington, New Zealand. They have 

 a strong resemblance to works of human art, occur in great 



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1 Henry Tibbats Stainton (1822-1892), a distinguished entomologist, 

 -author of papers and works on British insects, Secretary of the Ray Society 

 1861-1872, F.R.S. 1867. 



