EDITOE'S PEEFACE 



The publication of the Transactions of the Society having 

 been delayed, from unavoidable causes, for a period of four 

 years, some deviation has, during that time, been permitted 

 from established rules, in allowing original papers to be 

 removed for the purpose of making abstracts for the public 

 press, such having been done to meet the wishes of authors 

 and members for immediate publicity. 



This deviation from rule has (owing chiefly to the several 

 changes of office-bearers in the interim) been developed into 

 an irregularity of such an extent, that some of the original 

 papers have been lost, and it has been necessary to supply 

 their places (as in the cases of Articles 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 and 17) 

 by brief abstracts, which the authors in the majority of 

 instances have been kind enough to furnish : whilst in some 

 few others, abstracts have been written up by the Editor 

 from such accessible data as were available. 



Of these latter are the Articles on Dry Rot — The Nitella 

 — and Kerosene, whilst Mr. Ellery has kindly furnished the 

 abstract of Professor Neumayer's paper on an Improved 

 Pendulum. The abstract of Mr. Christy's paper on 

 Irrigation and Mr. Smith's paper on Underground Drainage 



