12 The Royal Society of Canada. 



SECTION III — MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL 



SCIENCES. 



Mr. Sanford Fleming made some remarks on the adoption of a 

 universal meridian for the regulation of time, and pointed out that 

 the memorial of the Society at its last meeting, requesting that 

 Canada should be represented at the International Conference to 

 he held on this subject, at the invitation of the President of the 

 United States, had not been responded to. 



A motion was adopted, recommending to the Council the 

 appointment of a committee for the purpose of co-operating with 

 other societies and carrying out this system, and the adoption of 

 a memorial to His Excellency, asking that the Imperial govern- 

 ment may be moved to have Canada represented at the conference 

 in question. 



Prof. Johnson, of Montreal, gave an account of the preparations 

 which were made at McGill University for the observation of the 

 late transit of Venus, and read a report from Prof. McLeod of 

 the observations which were successfully made at Winnipeg. 



The secretary, Prof. Cherriman, read a report from Mr. Carp- 

 mael of Toronto, to the Minister of Marine and Fisheries on the 

 same subject, recording the preparations made in Canada and 

 including the reports of the observations at Cobourg, Ottawa, 

 Kingston and Winnipeg, which were the only stations where the 

 observations were wholly or partially successful. 



Prof. Williamson gave a verbal account of the observations 

 "which were made by him at Kingston. 



Dr. Ellis, of Toronto, gave an account of a remarkable sulphur- 

 spring near Port Stanley, and also an explanation of the method 

 by which the tannin-determination of Lowenthal might be made 

 valuable for the detection of impurities or adulterations in spices. 



Mr. F. N. Gisborne read a paper on recent improvements in 

 practical telegraphy. 



Mr. T. Macfarlane read a paper on the decomposition of zinc- 

 sulphate by common salt. 



Dr. T. Sterry Hunt discussed the mechanical transfer of matter 

 in the process of segregation, on which an interesting discussion 

 arose, Mr. Macfarlane illustrating the subject by reference to the 

 kernel-roasting of copper-bearing iron-pyrites as seen in the ore- 

 heaps at Lennoxville. 



