President's Address. 3 



We had several interesting and important papers on Geo- 

 logy and Palaeontology, communicated by our indefatigable 

 Members, Mr Charles Peach, Dr James C. Howden, Mr David 

 J. Brown, Dr Ptobert Brown ; and a most original one " On 

 Fused Stones showing Columnar Structure from a Pictish 

 Tower," by the Piev. James M. Joass; and, as bearing on 

 some of the unsolved problems in Geology, I would draw 

 especial attention to the valuable and original series of " Ex- 

 periments regarding the rate of Deposition of Sediment from 

 Fresh and Salt Wetter," made by Mr David Eobertson, Mr 

 Joseph Somerville, and Mr William Durham. It is highly 

 desirable that these experiments should be continued, as 

 it is in this direction that more definite expressions 

 in regard to geological time may be hopefully looked for. 

 Two papers of considerable public interest were brought 

 forward by Mr John Falconer King ; the first, " On a ISTew 

 Method of estimating the amount of Colouring Matter in 

 Water;" the second, "Eecent Modes of determining the 

 Impurity of Milk;" and we had an able resume of our present 

 knowledge of " Meteoric Chemistry," by Mr Andrew Taylor. 

 Zoological papers of interest were communicated by Mr 

 Charles Peach, Mr Archibald F. Grieve, Dr John A. Smith, 

 Dr James C. Howden, Dr F. W. Lyon, and Dr James 

 M'Bain. 



It is thus evident that we are well supplied with work- 

 ing Members, and there is every reason to anticipate for 

 the Eoyal Physical Society a long continued and useful 

 career. 



Obituary Notices. — A melancholy duty in connection with 

 the President's address, is that of having to announce the 

 deaths of Members of the Society, who have fallen from our 

 ranks, and who, while in life, promoted its prosperity. 



I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without a brief 

 notice of the loss the Society has sustained by the death of 

 two of our Ordinary Members, viz., Mr Kobert M. Stark, and 

 Mr Thomas Edmonston, of Buness, in Unst, the northernmost 

 of the Zetland Islands. 



Mr Stake was one of our old Members, who, some years 



