316 Prof. W. Ramsay and Mr. M. W. Travers. 



January 20, 1898. 



The LORD LISTER, F.R.C.S., D.C.L., President, in the Chair. 



The Right Hon. Sir Nathaniel Lindley, Master of the Rolls, one of 

 Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, was balloted for and 

 •elected a Fellow of the Society. 



A List of the Presents received was laid on the table, and thanks 

 ordered for them, 



The following Papers were read : — 



I. " The Relations between Marine Animal and Vegetable Life." 

 By H. M. Vernon, M.A., M.B. Communicated by Professor 

 J. Burdon Sanderson, F.R.S. 



II. " The Homogeneity of Helium." By William Ramsay, Ph.D., 

 LL.D., Sc.D., F.R.S., and Morris W. Travers, B.Sc. 



III. " Fergusonite, an Endothermic Mineral." By William Ramsay, 



Ph.D., LL.D., Sc.D., F.R.S., and Morris W. Travers, B.Sc. 



IV. " On the Modification of the Spectra of Iron and other Sub- 



stances, radiating in a strong Magnetic Field." By Thomas 

 Preston, M.A. Communicated by Professor G. F. Fitz- 

 G-eralu, F.R.S. 



" The Homogeneity of Helium." By William Ramsay, Ph.D., 

 LL.D., Sc.D., F.R.S., and Morris W. Travers, B.Sc. Re- 

 ceived December 2, 1897— Read January 29, 1898. 



About a year ago, a paper by Dr. Norman Collie and one of the 

 authors (W. R.) was published, bearing the title " The Homogeneity 

 of Helium and of Argon." In that paper* various reasons were 

 adduced to show why an attempt to determine whether or no argon 

 and helium are homogeneous was worth making. The results of the 

 experiments at that time indicated that while it did not appear 

 possible to separate argon into two portions of different densities, 

 the case was different with helium. Samples were obtained after 



* ' Roy. Soc. Proc.,' vol. 60, p. 206. 



