152 Eev. Fr. Lafont — JExTiihited ttvo 3Iicro_pJiones. [July, 



Major T. H. Lewin, Deputy Commissioner, Darjeeling, (for re-elec- 

 tion), proposed by W. T. Blanford, Esq., seconded by A. W. Croft, Esq. 



t)r. E. Laurie, Medical College, Calcutta, proposed by Dr. Partridge, 

 seconded by Capt. Waterhouse. 



The Council reported that Mr. Medlicott had undertaken the duties of 

 General Secretary during the absence of Capt. J. Waterhouse on leave. 



The Eev. Fr. Lafont exhibited two microphones and explained their 

 construction and working. He said — The Microphone of Prof. Hughes 

 consists essentially in the introduction of an imperfect contact at a point 

 of an electric circuit comprising a telephone. Two pieces of carbon loosely 

 connected by a third j^iece and supported by a thin board on a sounding- 

 box, form a very delicate transmitter of sounds. The vibrations communi- 

 cated to the loose picee of carbon, produce variations in the points of 

 contact and this causes similar variations in the current passing through 

 the telephone thus reproducing in the latter instrument the original 

 sonorous vibrations. 



In its present crude state the microphone may be extremely useful in 

 any case where a monotonous or periodical sound is to be sent to a distant 

 station. It might for instance be used for placing any station in direct 

 communication with the chronometer of an Observatory and thus facilitate 

 astronomical operations in the determination of Longitudes. 



The microphone when reduced in sensitiveness and rendered more man- 

 ageable by the addition of two very delicate springs to the loose piece of 

 carbon, could be employed for articulated speech, and produced these sounds 

 very much louder than the Telephone. A person standing some 15 or 20 

 feet from the microphone and speaking towards it, was distinctly heard in 

 the distant Telephone. 



Two different kinds of Microphones were then circulated, and afterwards 

 used to convey the ticking of a watch from one of the rooms to another, dis- 

 tant about 40 yards : one of the instruments had a vertical piece of graphite 

 between two carbon blocks ; the other consisted of five small pieces of carbon 

 enclosed in a glass tube and mounted on a sounding-box. 



The President said that considering the very short period — only a 

 month — that had elapsed since news of the discovery of the microphone had 

 been received from Europe, the meeting was greatly indebted to Father 

 Lafont for an opportunity of examining this remarkable addition to the 

 series of interesting inventions of which the telephone had been the origin. 

 The following papers were read — 

 1. J!iotes on a 3£ap of the Mughal Empire. — By H. G. Keene, 



C. S., Agra. 

 The accompanying map* is an attempt to show the arrangement of the 

 various Provinces at some central period, say in the early years of Aurangzib ; 

 * The Council do not think it necessary to reproduce the map. Ed. 



