Pboceedings of the Polytechnic Association. 1065 



E'ortli Pass. These and nianj other sublime sights can be seen from 

 these lofty elevations. 



Adjourned. 



April 22d, 1869. 



Professor S. D. Tillman in the chair. Sir. C. E. Emery, Secretarj'. 



The chairman opened the proceedings by reading the following 

 notes on new inventions and discoveries : 



Cement for Bottles Coxtainixg A^olatile Liqueds. 

 Chemists who have used a luting of melted sulphur for sealing 

 bottles containing ether, benzole, bisulphide of carbon, and other 

 volatile liquids will find it much more convenient and quite as elfec- 

 tive to mix finely ground litharge and concentrated glycerine and 

 apply the mixture as they would paint around the cork or stopper. 

 The coating soon becomes extremely hard and air-proo^ but it can 

 be easily removed with a knife. 



A Xew AViiite Paint. 



At a recent meeting of the French Academy of Sciences, M. Sace 

 called attention to the fact that tungstate of baryta forms an excellent 

 white paint which has as good a tone and depth as white lead, and 

 has the advantage of not becoming blackened by exposure to the 

 atmosphere. Sulphate of baryta or heavy spar has of late been used 

 to adulterate white lead. Tungsten or wolfram is a metal often 

 found with tin, and its production is cheaper now than formerly. 



The Yak. 



This animal, of the bovine family, inhabiting Thibet, has been 

 subjected to a series of experiments in France for the purpose of 

 ascertaining vvdiether its propagation can be made profitable. Some 

 years since, the French consul-general of Shanghai brought home a 

 herd of yaks, which were placed under the charge of the Societe 

 d' Acclimation, which at its last sitting offered several prizes for 

 rearing and training this animal. The yak combines some of the 

 characteristics of several domestic animals. It resembles the ox, but 

 has a bushy tail like the horse ; its hair curls like some kinds of wool, 

 and it indulges in a peculiar grunt, which might easily be mistaken 

 for that of a pig. The wandering tribes of Tartars hold the yak of 



