512 
NATURE 
stitution, the author pointed out that the dispersion equivalents 
can be similarly used. The author also discussed the refraction 
and dispersion equivalents of the turpenes, citrenes, camphor, 
and of some other members of the group of essential oils, and 
showed how these values were of service in determining the 
constitution of these bodies. 
An Abparatus for Maintaining Constant Temperatures up 
to 500° C., by G. H. Bailey, D.Sc., Ph.D.—The substance to 
be heated is placed in a glass tube, together with the bulb of an 
air-thermometer, which are inclosed in a wider tube resting on 
the iron casing of a furnace. The air-thermometer serves to 
measure the temperature, and is connected with a gas regulator, 
by which means the temperature may be kept constant at any 
desired temperature below that at which combustion-glass 
softens. 
Treatment of Phosphoric Crude Ironin Open-Hearth Furnaces, 
by J. W. Wailes.—The process is similar to the ordinary 
puddling operation, and is conducted in a furnace with a basic 
lining ; the metal is, however, removed from the furnace in a 
molten condition. 
Notes on the Basic Bessemer Process in South Staffordshire, 
by W. Hutchinson.—The process described differs from the 
ordinary basic process inasmuch as the converting is conducted 
in two stages: (1) desiliconising of the metal in an acid-lined 
converter; (2) the dephosphorising in a converter with a basic 
lining. 
Production of Soft Steel in a New Type of Fixed Converter, 
by G. Hatton.—Description of a converter, which is claimed to 
have many advantages over the Bessemer converter. 
T. Turner, Assoc. R.S.M. (Mason College), read a series of 
papers relating to the chemistry of iron and steel. The first was 
On the Influence of re-melting on the Properties of Cast Iron. 
No general rule can be laid down as to the influence of re-melt- 
ing on the properties of cast iron ; chemical changes take place 
during the melting: the amount of silicon is reduced whilst that 
of the sulphur is increased, and the effect of re-melting will be 
dependent upon the proportion of these elements present in the 
cast iron; a single melting will be sufficient to produce a 
deterioration in the qualities unless the silicon is in excess. A 
second paper was Ox Silicon in Cast Tron. Addition of silicon 
to hard white iron causes it to become soft and grey, and too 
much silicon makes the iron weak ; by adding silicon in right 
proportion cast iron can be made of any desired degree of hard- 
ness. The third communication was one On Silicon in Lron 
and Steel. 
The author has succeecled in making a steelin which | 
the carbon is replaced by silicon, which can be hardened like | 
steel, is very tough when cold, and is well adapted for tools, | 
but is difficult to work when hot. The author gave a short 
description of a method for estimating carbon in iron or 
steel. 
A New Apparatus for Readily Determining the Calorimetric 
Value of Fuel and Organic Compounds, by W. Thomson, 
F.R.S.E.—The apparatus-described is an improved form of 
the calorimeter due to Lewis Thompson; the substance is 
burnt in a stream of oxygen instead of mixing it with potassium 
chlorate, as recommended by Thompson. ; 
On some Decompositions of Benzoic Acid, by Prof. Odling, 
F.R.S.—When benzoic acid is heated in sealed tubes at about 
260° with an aqueous solution of zinc chloride, it is decomposed, 
and yields chiefly benzene, together with a small quantity of 
diphenyl. 
On the Methods of Chemical Fractionation and The Fractiona- 
tion of Yttria, by W. Crookes, F.R.S.—In the Presidential 
address this subject was referred to, and in this communication 
a detailed account of the operation of ‘ fractionation” is given. 
Fractionation, briefly, consists of first fixing upon some chemical 
reaction in which there is a likelihood of a difference existing in 
the behaviour of the elements under treatment ; this is then per- 
formed in an incomplete manner, so that only a portion of the 
total bases present is separated, the object being to get part of 
the material in the insoluble and the rest in the soluble state. 
In the second communication the author described the fractiona- 
tion of the earth yttria; in this case the fractionation has been 
greatly facilitated by the use of what the author styles the 
“‘radiant-matter test,” which is dependent upon the spectra 
given by these earths when phosphoresced iz vacuo. It would 
appear that there are certainly five, and probably eight, con- 
stituents into which yttrium may be split. 
| manganese bed are erroneously marked on the Geological Survey 
| maps as mineral veins, though Sir Andrew Ramsay was of 
| show plainly that the deposits are truly stratified beds, or pos- 
SECTION C—GEoLocy 
Geysers of the Rotorua District, North Island of New Zealand, 
by E. W. Bucke.—The author of this paper has recently re- 
turned from the Lake district of New Zealand, where he spent 
eighteen months, and had exceptional opportunities for making 
observations upon the volcanic phenomena of the district. The 
largest geyser in New Zealand, that of the White Terrace of 
Rotomahana, is now destroyed. The author determined by 
soundings the depth of the tubes of several geysers of thls 
district, and in the case of an extinct one, that of Te Waro, he. 
was let down the tube. He found that this tube, 13 feet va 
[Sepz. 23, 1886 
| 
| 
the surface, opened into a chamber 15 feet long, 8 feet broad, 
and 9 feet high, from one end of which chamber another tube 
led downwards to an undetermined depth. Living among thes 
natives for months, and speaking their language, the author was 
convinced that by constant observations on the direction of oe 
wind and the condition of the atmosphere they have learnt to 
prognosticate the movements in all these hot springs with — 
wonderful accuracy. He was also able to prove that during the 
whole time of his residence in the district certain of the geysers 
were only in eruption when the wind blew from a particular 
quarter. 
On the Glacial Erratics of Leicestershire and Warwickshire, 
by the Rev. W. Tuckwell.—Gives evidence of a south-western” 
dispersion from Charnwood. In Stockton, a village midway be- 
tween Leamington and Rugby, is boulder-clay containing abund- 
ance of Mount Sorrel granite, of so-called gneiss from Charnwood | 
Forest, largely decomposed ‘‘ pockets ” of red sandstone, blocks — 
of grey sandstone highly glaciated, Bunter pebbles, flints, Car- 
boniferous limestone, Lias rock of a different texture from that 
native to the district. Lying loose in the village street, recently 
inclosed and inscribed, is a fine boulder from Mount Sorrel, 
glaciated, of nearly two tons weight. The author notes extra-_ 
ordinary profusion of Mount Sorrel erratics as far as Leicester ; 
at Rothley, Thurcaston, Anstey ; ‘‘Stone,” or ‘‘Ston,’’ is 
suffix of nearly all the villages along the line. The largest 
boulder found in Leicestershire is near Humberston, estimated 
at twenty tons, partly embedded in boulder-clay which is fille 
with Bunter pebbles and rolled slate from Charnwood. Charn= 
wood stones re-appear north and south of Coventry, at Eathorpe, 
6 miles south-west of Coventry, at Stockton, completing evi- 
dence of a south-west stream from the Charnwood elevation 
throughout the two counties. 
Manganese Mining in Merionethshire, by C. Le Neve Foster, 
D.Sc.—Manganese ore is now being worked in the Cambrian 
rocks at several places near Barmouth and Harlech. It occurs 
in the form ofa bed varying from a few inches to 3 feet in thick- 
ness ; the average thickness is 1 foot to 14 foot. The undecom- 
posed ore contains the manganese in the form of carbonate, with 
a small proportion of silicate; but at the outcrop it is changed 
into a hydrated black oxide. Some of the outcrops of the 
opinion that the deposits were not true lodes. Recent workings. 
sibly various outcrops of one and the same bed, extending over 
a considerable area. The ore contains from 20 to 35 per cent 
of metallic manganese, and is despatched to Flintshire and 
Lancashire for the manufacture of ferro-manganese. The new 
Merionethshire mines are the first instance of workings for cai 
bonate of manganese in the British Isles. 
On the Silurian Rocks of North Wales, by Prof. T. McKenny 
Hughes, M.A., F.G.S.—The author begins by describing some 
sections in the Silurian rocks of North Wales, giving lists of 
fossils from the various horizons in each. He then, by means of 
these and by what he calls syntelism, that is, the occurrence of 
similar sequences of beds of the same characters, lithological or 
other, points out the corresponding parts of the various sections 
described. He then does the same for the Silurian of the eastern 
borders of the Lake district, and, having in this manner con- 
structed a vertical section of each, compares the two districts and 
shows that there is an identical series in each, with all the 
important zones of one represented in the other, except that i 
the part of North Wales which he has worked out he has no} 
yet detected beds as high as the newer part of the series in the 
Lake district. 
Nite to accompany a Series of Photographs prepared by Mi 
Fosiah Martin, F.G.S., to illustrate the Scene of the recent Vol- 
canic Eruption in New Zealand, by Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S.,; 
Pres.G.S.—Owing to the great enterprise and energy shown by 
