ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS. XXX111. 



standard of excellence which he has always maintained and which 

 has been so widely recognised; also of the value of his written 

 contributions made to the scientific journals not only of this State 

 but also of Europe." 



It was also moved that a copy of this resolution be 

 forwarded to him. 



THE FOLLOWING PAPERS WERE READ I 



1. "Ethnological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of New 



South Wales and Victoria," by R. H. Mathews, l.s. 



The paper treated of the grammars and vocabularies of 

 some of the native languages, the complicated laws regu- 

 lating marriage and descent, as well as several customs 

 relating to the quest for food, punishment for breaches of 

 the tribal laws, burial and mourning rites, initiation cere- 

 monies, some peculiar superstitions, folk-lore, etc. 



Some remarks were made by Dr. Walter Spencer and the 

 President. 



2. Preliminary Observations on Radio-activity and the 



Occurrence of Radium in Australian Minerals," by 

 D. Mawson, b.e., Junior Demonstrator, and T. H. 

 Laby, Acting-Demonstrator of Chemistry in the Uni- 

 versity of Sydney. [Communicated by Prof. T. W. E. 

 David, b.a., f.r.s.] 



A brief summary of observations on the radio-activity 

 of minerals and occurrence of radium is given, showing that 

 comparatively intense activity is only found associated in 

 minerals with thorium and uranium. Bottwood and Strutt 

 have independently shown that usually radium and uranium 

 content are proportional. In these experiments the ionssa- 

 tion produced in an air gap was determined by measuring 

 the saturation current across it, first with the mineral anci 

 then with black uranium oxide. Thus the activity com- 

 pared to black uranium oxide was obtained. The presence 

 of radium was looked for by Strutt's application of Ruthei - 



c-Oct. 5. 1904. 



