25 



Mr. Kane announced the death of Col. John Trumbull, a 

 member of the Society, who died recently at New York, 

 aged 87. 



Professor Bache presented observations of meteors on the 

 mornings of the 12th and 14th of November, from midnight 

 until 2 A. M,, those having been the only clear mornings from 

 the 9th to the 17th of the month. He submitted also some 

 observations made by him in conjunction with Mr. Espy, for 

 the parallax of meteors on the night of the 14th; the evening 

 of the 13th having been so cloudy as to prevent observations. 

 The numbers were below the ordinary average for a clear 

 night. 



Mr. G. W. Smith had also made observations on the nights 

 of the 12th, 13th, and 14th, with results corresponding gene- 

 rally to those of Prof. Bache. 



Dr. Hays gave an account of a case of spontaneous combus- 

 tion, which occurred in a heap of Virginia coal lying in the 

 yard of the Northern Liberties gas works, soon after a fall of 

 rain. Dr. H. exhibited specimens of the coal partially convert- 

 ed into coke, and adverted to the circumstances under which 

 the combustion had occurred, whicli justified the conclusion 

 that it was spontaneous. 



Dr. Patterson mentioned a work executed by Dr. Joseph 

 Rhoads, at the farm of his father at Haverford, near Philadel- 

 phia, for procuring a supply of water for the house, which he 

 thought might be imitated in many other situations. There 

 were wells at the house and barn, cut through rock, and thirty- 

 five feet deep. It occurred to Dr. Rhoads that water might be 

 found, higher up the hill, at such a level as to give a supply at 

 or above the level of the house itself; and he fixed, for this 

 purpose, upon a bed of sand at the side of the road. Here he 

 found water at the depth of five feet, and an abundant supply 

 by digging seven feet deeper. From this source the water 

 was conveyed to the house, at such a height that it might have 

 run into the mouth of the old well, and it furnished a constant 

 stream of a gallon per minute. The water in the old well was 

 hard, that from the new source, soft. The whole cost of the 

 operation was but thirty-five dollars. 



Dr. Hays exhibited a piece of iron, weighing fifteen grains, 

 VOL. IV. — D 



