258 H. C. RUSSELL. 



persons saw and reported the meteor without giving the details 

 as to direction, altitude, and time, and in regard to the appearance 

 there is a still more remarkable agreement of observers, making 

 it appear that the meteor came from the west and travelled 

 towards some point between east and south-east, that just before 

 explosion it seemed to become momentarily dim as if it went 

 behind a cloud, coming out brightly and then exploding into 

 thousands of falling stars. 



Mr. Pemberton as a contractor and builder is very familiar with 

 blasting, and is therefore able to give a valuable opinion as to the 

 distance and direction of the explosion ; subject of course, to the 

 fact it may have been a much louder explosion than he took it to 

 be, and therefore further off. I met Mr. Pemberton by appoint- 

 ment on the ground, got his exact position on the road and a land 

 mark six hundred feet away and thus got a bearing by azimuth 

 compass, also, I saw Mr. Bucknell and Mr. Hooker, and by means 

 of a chart of the city verified the directions given by them. The 

 direction given by the Rev. Mr. Hargrave, eighteen miles away, 

 cuts the other bearings at angles of from 40° to 70°, it was fortu- 

 nately fixed by local objects, and subsequently verified by 

 azimuth compass ; so that the evidence is very strong that the 

 meteor fell within the area already defined. 



REGENT RESEARCHES in the TESTING of CEMENT. 



By W. S. de Lisle Roberts. 

 [With Plate XXXVIII.] 



[Read before the Royal Society of N. 8. Wales, September 5, 1894.'] 



The composition of Portland cement being of such a complex 

 nature, the present crude method of burning the material is liable 

 to vary its character considerably, unless great care is taken to 

 maintain the temperature necessary for the formation of the 

 proper compounds of silica, alumina, and lime. 



