386 Proceedings of Learned Societies. 



BRITISH METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY.— Nov. 19. 



Meteorological Disturbances during the Storm of Oct. 30, 

 1863. — At the meeting of the British Meteorological Society, Mr. 

 Glaisher exhibited an elaborate diagram showing the unusual dis- 

 turbances that occurred during the great storm of October 30, 1863. 

 In the neighbourhood of Greenwich the greatest intensity of the 

 storm was at half- past three in the afternoon, the period when the 

 engine-house at New Cross Railway-station was blown down. At 

 the Observatory at Greenwich it was noticed that the barometer 

 suddenly fell to 28*7, whilst the thermometer as instantaneously rose 

 to 53° Fahrenheit. At the same time the wind, which had suddenly 

 veered round from south to nearly due north, instantly increased in 

 pressure from a very moderate amount to 29| pounds on eveiy 

 square foot, being a greater degree of pressure than has occurred in 

 this country for thirty years. In describing these phenomena, Mr. 

 Glaisher asserted very strongly on the extreme importance of self- 

 registering instruments, as these registrations could not have been 

 obtained without their aid. 



Mr. Glaisher also made some observations on the shooting 

 stars of August 10, and exhibited a model illustrating the mode 

 in which their height above the earth's surface was computed. This 

 is done by observing their angular altitude at different situations 

 simultaneously, and then calculating their height trigonometrically. 

 The large meteor of August 10 last was, when first observed, 130 

 miles from the earth's surface ; it rapidly approached within a dis- 

 tance of fifty miles, and then vanished. The light emitted hj these 

 shooting stars was attributed to the friction and compression of the 

 air by the rapid passage of the body through it, the velocity having 

 been computed as amounting to 60 miles per second. 



CHEMICAL SOCIETY.— Nov. 19. 



Vanadium in English Pig Iron. — Mr. Riley read a paper on 

 the detection of the rare metal, vanadium, in English pig iron. 

 Vanadium was originally discovered in the iron produced at Jaberg, 

 in Sweden, and subsequently in the form of vanadiate of lead at 

 Zimapan, Mexico. It has more recently been detected in a variety 

 of iron ochre, and in the French mineral, Bauxite, now so largely 

 employed as the source of aluminium. 



Vanadium has an important practical application in the prepa- 

 ration of an improved form of writing ink. Ink of the very finest 

 and most intense black may be prepared by adding a very minuto 

 portion of vanadie acid or vanadiate of ammonia to a solution of nut- 

 galla. Tins ink is indelible by the ordinary agents that destroy the 

 colour of the iron ink in common use, and it resists a very high 

 leniperatm-c. Hence it lias been suggested as peculiarly adapted for 

 special purposes, and therefore a new source of vanadium is con- 

 sequently a matter of considerable practical as well as scientific 

 importance. 



