170 Proceedings, &c, for 1884. 



(1.) The steam between the governor and the piston is beyond 

 the control of the governor. To remedy this, we must make this 

 distance as short as possible. 



(2.) Irregularity in driving power and resistance. This is the 

 great difficulty which the governor has to overcome. Perhaps the 

 most we can do is to assist the governor as much as possible by 

 making the fly-wheel much larger than is usually done. 



(3.) Loss of time in the governor, arising from friction, &c. 

 We should therefore relieve it from as much work as possible. 

 In this respect, the gas-engine governors are the best with which 

 we are yet acquainted. 



(4.) The governor is not isochronous. 



This may be corrected, very approximately, by giving the arms a 

 short range, and using. a high-speed governor. 



Where a very delicate governor is required, Mr. Booth advocates 

 the use of a combination of the Cross-arm and Porter governor, 

 having a very small range, which may be attained by using the 

 gas-engine link motion to regulate the supply of steam. 



It will be noticed that this form possesses all the necessary 

 qualities mentioned above. 



A short discussion followed, most of those present agreeing with 

 Mr. Booth's views. 



Professor Kernot then laid Mr. Mais' report on the table. 



August 21th, 1884. 



Mr. Steane gave the dimensions of the new girders, and details of 

 the sizes of iron used, at the Victoria-street Bridge. After going 

 rapidly through the calculations of the stresses on the various 

 parts, a conclusion was arrived at, that these girders do not seem 

 to have been designed in accordance with the result of accurate 

 calculation. 



October 1st, 1884. 



Mr. Fraser read a paper on " The Sources of Unexplained 

 Strength in Cast and Wrought Iron Beams." 



In all physical investigations it may be taken as an axiom, that 

 we must introduce no new law to account for an apparent anomaly, 

 until we have made a complete examination of all aspects of the 

 case in the light of laws already known, and still fail to account 

 for the peculiar case. 



