58 



The second region comprises the country of ostracite limestone 

 and feldspath pyroxenic rocks, in the valley of Ghuidaries and the 

 Aphrean, having a mean elevation of 450 feet. This district is ex- 

 tremely fertile, for the most part cultivated, and inhabited by agri- 

 cultural Kurds. 



The third region is the lacustrine plain of Umk, elevated about 

 305 feet above the Mediterranean, and covered, for the most part, 

 v^^ith the gramineous plants which feed the flocks of the pastoral and 

 nomadic Turcomans. 



The fourth region, formed by the valley of Antioch, is rocky, 

 irregular, and varying from elevations of 220 to 440 feet. It com- 

 prises also the alluvial plain of the Orontes, v^^hich gradually sinks 

 to the level of the Mediterranean. This latter district is covered 

 with shrubs, which are chiefly evergreens ; and inhabited by a few 

 families of Syrians, who, in these picturesque solitudes, chiefly fol- 

 low mysterious rites, presenting a mixture of Mahomedanism and 

 Christianity. 



It appears, from the examination of this line of country, that 

 there here exist two distinct regions, the one low and already fur- 

 nished with the means of water transport ; and the other elevated, 

 where the waters, which are lost in the valley of Aleppo, might be 

 turned with facility into an artificial channel. Both regions are re- 

 markably level, and present, when separately viewed, very few diffi- 

 culties to be overcome for the construction of artificial roads. 



May 3, 1 838. 



FRANCIS BAILY, Esq., V.P. and Treas., in the Chair. 



Thomas Burnet, D.D., Sir James Rivett Carnac, Bart., John 

 Merewether, D.D., Benjamin Fonseca Outram, M.D., Jonathan Pe- 

 reira, Esq., and Edward Hamilton StirHng, Esq., were severally 

 elected Fellows of the Society. 



A paper was read, entitled, ** Supplementary Note to the Thir- 

 teenth Series of Experimental Researches in Electricity." By Mi- 

 chael Faraday, Esq., D.C.L., F.R.S., &c. 



The author describes, in this supplementary note, experiments 

 made with the view of determining the specific inductive capacities 

 of dielectrics, by means of an apparatus of the following form. Three 

 circular brass plates were mounted, side by side, on insulated pillars; 

 the middle one was fixed, but the two outer plates were moveable on 

 slides, so that all three could be brought with their sides almost into 

 contact, or separated to any required distance. Two gold leaves 

 were suspended in a glass jar from insulated wires, connecting each 

 of the leaves respectively with the adjacent outer plate. The amount 

 of disturbance in the electric equilibrium of the outer plates pro- 

 duced by interposing a plate of the dielectric substance to be tried, 

 after charging the middle plate, was taken as a measure of the spe- 

 cific inductive capacity of that dielectric. By varying the size and 



