470 British Association for the Advancement of Science, 



and nephew to Mr. Smith, the father of EngHsh geology, de- 

 livered a lecture on some of the geological phenomena of York- 

 shire. The next day the first regular meeting was held, to 

 form the association ; about three hundred and fifty persons en- 

 rolled their names. Lord Milton, who is the eldest son to Earl 

 Fitzwilliam, was placed in the chair. The Rev. Vernon Har- 

 court, Vice President of the Yorkshire society, delivered an 

 able address, which was ordered to be printed. At 5 P. M. they 

 dined together, and in the evening re-assembled, when Mr. Abra- 

 hams, of Sheffield, delivered a lecture on magnetism, illustrated 

 by curious experiments. On the 28th, a paper by Dr. Brewster 

 was read, on the progress of mineralogy and on the crystallo- 

 graphic system of Mohs. On account of the great number of 

 mineral structures discovered by the agency of polarized light, 

 he proposes a " composite system,^^ w^here the crystalline forms 

 which cannot be taken into any of the received systems, may be 

 classed. To this succeeded the reading of a valuable paper on 

 the philosophical character of Priestley, by Dr. Henry of Man- 

 chester. In the evening Mr. Potter, of Manchester, exhibited 

 his improvement on the reflecting microscope of Nevi^ton. Dr. 

 Brewster also communicated an account of the theory and con- 

 struction of a lithoscope, to characterize precious stones, by the 

 colours reflected from their surfaces. 



On the 29th, the organization of the association was com- 

 pleted. , Lord Milton was chosen the first president by acclama- 

 tion. Oxford was fixed upon as the place of the next meeting, 

 and Dr. Buckland was unanimously chosen President elect. Dr. 

 Brewster, of the University of Cambridge, and Professor Vi^hewell, 

 were also unanimously chosen Vice Presidents elect ; and Dr. 

 Daubeny of Oxford, Secretary. Mr. Dalton read a paper " on the 

 quantity of food, and insensible perspiration.^^ He afterwards sta- 

 ted, that it contained a series of experiments made upon himself 

 forty years ago, relating to the weight of food taken, and the 

 secretions, insensible perspiration, and other animal products. 

 He pointed out the utility of such inquiries to physicians. This 

 important paper is to be published in the transactions of the 

 Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Mr. Potter 

 then read a paper, the object of which was to point out objec- 

 tions to Fresnel's Theory of Light, deduced from certain experi- 

 ments on light reflected from metallic surfaces both simple and 



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