42 



race existed 500 B.C., and Dr. M'llwaine gave some interesting 

 facts from recent authorities, which seemed to indicate that this 

 Celtic race had come in contact with the pre-historic one under 

 consideration. 3. This race was unmistakeably human. The 

 skulls discovered of its date had no approach to those of the 

 Quadrumana. On them not the slightest argument could be 

 founded for the alleged " development " of the genus homo. 

 4. There was, therefore, the strongest presumption that this race 

 was generically identical with our own. It touches the bronze 

 period in its implements and remains, as the latter does the iron 

 period. We can, moreover, perceive the same advance in intelli- 

 gence and civilisation in progress, even in our own day, as the 

 collection of bone and other implements in the " Christy Collec- 

 tion" illustrates the earlier advance of civilisation within the his- 

 toric period. 



On Wednesday evening, 7th February — Mr. John Anderson, 

 F.G.S., Vice-president, in the chair— Mr. M. M'Minn read a 

 paper, entitled " Remarks on Cometary Bodies." 



Mr. M'Minn, in the opening of his paper, referred to the great 

 interest connected with the " cometary bodies," and the important 

 discoveries that have recently been made respecting their physical 

 constitution. He then went on to relate some of the superstitious 

 ideas which have been recorded regarding the appearance of 

 comets in the early ages, in which he said that they were regarded 

 as omens of pestilence, wars, famines, dethronement of monarchs, 

 and dissolution of nations. The reader proceeded to explain the 

 structure of a comet, and stated that the brighter part was called 

 the head or coma, and that it contained a still brighter portion, 

 called the nucleus, and then gave an account of the manner in 

 which the coma and nucleus were developed. Having remarked 

 that the tail of a comet was the most conspicuous object connected 

 with these anomalous bodies, and that, therefore, it deserved a 



