47 



Published Quarterly. Vol. I. No. 3. Jan. 1844. London. 

 8vo.— From the Editor. 



M'Elroy's Philadelphia Directory for 1843. 8vo. — From Mr. Du 

 Ponceau. 



ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY BY PURCHASE. 



Astronomische Nachrichten. Nos. 491 & 492. 4to. 



Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Seances de I'Academie des 

 Sciences. Tome XVII. Nos. 22 to 26, inclusive. Tables des 

 Comptes Rendus. Tome XVI. Paris, 1843. 4to. 



Mr. Kane announced the death of Mr. Nicholas Biddle, a 

 member of the Society, — who died at Andalusia, Bucks County, 

 on the 27th of February, — and referred at some length, to the 

 character of the deceased, and to the services which he had 

 rendered to the literature of his country. 



Mr. Smith presented, for the inspection of the members, a 

 piece of the gun, which had recently burst on board the 

 Princeton. 



He exhibited it for the more especial purpose of showing the 

 changes that wrought iron undergoes under particular circumstances. 

 He presented specimens of iron which were fibrous, and which, after 

 having been cold-swaged, became crystalline. When the iron was 

 annealed, the fibrous arrangement again became manifest. The 

 properties of wrought and cast iron have only recently attracted the 

 attention of philosophers. 



Mr. Smith referred to the accident on the Versailles railway, and 

 to the report of the French savans on the subject. He observed that 

 the iron on railways becomes crystalline, under the jars to which 

 it is subjected. He stated, that various causes had been assigned to 

 the explosion on board the Princeton ; and remarked, that if the iron 

 had been originally fibrous, it certainly is crystalline now, the crystals 

 being readily distinguishable even by the naked eye. He remarked, 

 farther, that the defect was supposed to be in the original formation 

 of the piece, which had become granular, perhaps, in the forging; 

 and it has been supposed, that the crystalline texture may have been 

 favoured by the repeated firing of the gun. Mr. Smith thought that 

 the accident suggested the importance of occasionally annealing 

 pieces of ordnance, as had been found necessary in the case of rail- 

 way axles, which are annealed periodically. 



VOL, IV,— 6 



