Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles, 319 



special system for the purpose of observing them according j to a 

 uniform plan and with improved test-methods." 



Mr. Schwendler concluded by saying that, based on the facts 

 above stated, he had proposed to the Council of the Asiatic Society 

 to urge on Grovernment the introduction of a system of measure- 

 ment of earth-currents ; that the Council had received the proposal 

 most warmly, and had appointed Colonel Hyde, Mr. E. S. Brough, 

 and himself to work out a practical system ; and that Colonel Ro- 

 binson, the Director-General of Telegraphs, had intimated his kind 

 cooperation in the matter. 



EXPERIMENTS ON THE DISSIPATION OF ELECTRICITY BY FLAMES. 

 BY J. W. FEWKES. 



By means of an electrometer made on the principle of Sir 

 William Thomson's quadrant, I have been able to perform a few 

 experiments in relation to the dissipation of small quantities of 

 electricity by different kinds of flames. 



These experiments were conducted with such small quantities of 

 electricity as could be obtained by rubbing a vulcanite plate six 

 inches square with a catskin. The sensitiveness of the electro- 

 meter to the electricity thus formed was very great. The experi- 

 ments are given below. 



Experiment 1. — An alcohol lamp, carefully insulated, was con- 

 nected with the electrometer. The sections of the quadrant to 

 which it was attached were then charged by means of the vulcanite 

 plate, the opposite sections being at the same time in connexion 

 with the earth. The lamp was then carefully lighted. The spot 

 of light, which had been deflected to the edge of the scale by the 

 change, quickly retured to the zero-point, indicating a quick dissipa- 

 tion of the electricity by the flame. 



Exp. 2. — The same conditions as those in Exp. 1 were observed, 

 with the exception that a Bunsen burner was substituted for the 

 alcohol lamp. The dissipation of electricity was the same as before, 

 and took place, as near as could be observed, at the same rate as 

 before. 



Exp. 3. — I then substituted for the Bunsen flame a very fine jet 

 of light, obtained by passing the gas through a finely pointed glass 

 tube. The results obtained from this experiment indicate that the 

 rate of dissipation is in no respect related to the size of the flame. 



Exp. 4. — The end of the wire connected with the quadrant was 

 then placed so that when the gas was lighted the wire point would 

 be in the flame. The quadrant was then charged and the gas 

 turned on without being lighted. The spot of light had no move- 

 ment, and gave no sign of any loss of electricity by the quadrant. 

 An artificial current of air across the wire point likewise had no 

 effect in dissipating the charge. 



Exp. 5. — The end of the wire was then placed in the jet of an 

 atomizer, the same conditions being observed as in Exp. 1, The 



