288 Obituary. 



no longer retain locked up in his own mind snob, an invaluable store of 

 knowledge, but will forthwith hasten to render it available for the 

 edification of the geological world. 



I am, dear Sir, faithfully yours, 



Jas. Geikie. 

 Kilmarnock, 13^7^ Map, 1867. 



3yciso:BXjX..A.nsrjEOTJS. 



On the " Occlusion " of Hydrogen by Meteoric Iron. 



At a meeting of the Eoyal Society, held on Thursday, May 

 16th, Thomas Graham, Esq., F.E.S., F.G.S., read a paj)er, the subject 

 of which was suggested by a previous one communicated to the 

 Society in Jime last.^ The author has now examined the " natural 

 gases " of meteoric iron. The Lenarto iron, when distilled in vacuo 

 (by means of Sprengel's Mercurial Exhauster), gave 2-8 times its 

 volume of gas — 85 per cent, of which was pure hydrogen. It is 

 evident that the iron must have " occluded " its hydrogen from a 

 similar atmosphere to that proved by Messrs. Huggins and Miller 

 to surround many of the fixed stars, of which Alpha Lyrse is the 

 type. The discovery is a remarkable coafirmation of the results of 

 Spectrum analysis. — W.C.E. 



Dr. James Black. — We regret to have observed the notice of the 

 decease of Dr. James Black, an old geologist, at Edinburgh, on April 

 30th last, at the advanced age of 79. He formerly resided at 

 Bolton-le-Moors and Manchester, where he was widely known 

 and generally esteemed. He was a graduate of the University of 

 Glasgow, and Fellow of the College of Physicians of London, and 

 actively engaged in scientific pursuits, in addition to his profession, 

 but chiefly devoted himself to Geology and Antiquities. He joined 

 the British Association for the Advancement of Science at its com- 

 mencement in 1831, and had the honour of being elected a Fellow 

 of the Geological Society of London in 1838, and that of France in 

 1848. When residing in Manchester he belonged to its Geological 

 Society, and took an active part in its proceedings, both as member 

 and office bearer, and also to the Philosophical Society of that city. 

 He contributed numerous papers to each, those to the latter being 

 chiefly archgeological, and among those to the former may be men- 

 tioned — " On the Object and Uses of Geological Kesearch," in 1841 ; 

 " View of the Geology of the Isle of Arran," 1846 ; " Eclectic View 

 of Coal Formations," 1847 ; " Submerged Forests of Great Britain," 

 1843 ; " On the Diluvium of Bolton," 1845 ; "On the Elevation and 

 Depression of the Crust of the Earth," 1851. He was an assiduous 

 collector of rock and fossil specimens from South Lancashire, and 

 presented a large number to public museums, besides keeping up a 

 considerable private collection. — J.W.B. 



1 On the absorption and dialytic separation of gases by colloid septa. 



