Royal Physical Society. 57 



Thursday, 2&th February 1856. 



Robert K. Greville, LL.D., in the Chair. 



Andrew Wilson, Esq., 18 Young Street, was balloted for and elected 

 a Member of the Society. 



Dr J. A. Smith said the Society was most anxious that members would 

 put on record all rarities which came in their way , he would therefore allude 

 to two captures which had come under his notice. The first, a specimen of 

 the Short Sun-fish, Orthagoriscus mola, Cuv., was brought up with the 

 lead-line of H.M.S. cutter Woodlark, at the mouth of the Firth, off the 

 Isle of May, on the 17th of October last. The men on hauling in the line 

 were astonished at the immense weight they felt, and found, on its 

 approaching the surface, they were bringing up a huge fish, — the line 

 being over one of the large fins, and the fish apparently simply resting 

 against it. The following are its dimensions, for which he was indebted 

 to Mr John Anderson, fishmonger, George Street : — From the snout to 

 the middle of the tail, 5 ft. 4 in. ; across the tail, from the extremities 

 of the elongated dorsal and anal fins, 6 ft. 4 in. ; and it was 1 ft. 6 in. in 

 thickness. Its weight was about 500 lbs. The second, was a Porbeagle, 

 Lamna cornubica, Flem., taken in a herring-net on the morning of the 

 17th of November last, near Inchkeith ; it measured 6 ft. 11 in. in 

 length along the lateral line ; the dorsal fin being 1 foot in height. 



The following Communications were read: — 



I. On Uigite, a new mineral (?) By M. Forster Heddle, M.D. 



Sixteen miles north of Portree, in Skye, lies the farm town of Uig. 

 At about the fifteenth milestone, the road makes an abrupt turn to the east, 

 before descending the hill ; and just at this spot a small quarry has been 

 opened for the purpose of obtaining road-metal. In this quarry I obtained 

 indifferent specimens of Faroelite, a single crystal of Analcime, and a few 

 pieces of a substance which, being unknown to me, I analyzed, and which 

 may be considered new. Should this be admitted, I would propose for it the 

 name Uigite. It occurs in small nests in the amygdaloid, which is here very 

 vesicular, is not distinctly crystallized, being in radiated sheafy plates , some- 

 what resembling the structure of a plumose mica, but in general appearance 

 intermediate between Faroelite and gryolite ; colour white, slightly yel- 

 lowish ; lustre tremulous and pearly : hardness, 5'5, brittle ; specific gra- 

 vity, 2-284 ; before the blow-pipe fuses readily and quietly, with strong 

 reaction of soda, to a white opaque enamel, which is not frothy. On ana- 



