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is called galvanized iron. He entered fully into all these 

 subjects, but our space will not allow us to give a full 

 detail of these interesting matters ; indeed, it is not so 

 essential we should do so, as, we believe, Mr. Roberts 

 intends publishing a detailed but popular explanation of 

 the several applications of Electricity to the Arts. He 

 next showed the action of an electric current running 

 parallel to a magnetic needle, by which the needle tends 

 to place itself at right angles to this current ; this portion 

 of the subject was illustrated by numerous interesting 

 experiments, the more interesting as they explained the 

 principle of Cooke and Wheatstone's Electric Telegraph, 

 the action of which Mr. R. afterwards described. He 

 then explained the electric clock, the formation of magnets 

 of soft iron by electricity, motion of machinery by electricity, 

 all illustrated by many conclusive experiments. 



At the conclusion of Mr. Roberts's paper, the Noble 

 Chairman called upon Professor Phillips to give his paper, 

 of which the following is an abstract : — 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE PROCESS OF PETRIFACTION. BY 

 JOHN PHILLIPS, ESQ., F.R.S., F.G.S., ETC. 



The observations which he should have the honour to 

 address to the meeting related to a class of phenomena 

 amongst the most frequent in Geology, — amongst the most 

 interesting in that important science, and upon which a 

 great variety of important facts were collected. He had 

 to speak to them on the subject of the petrifaction of 

 fossil and organic remains. He believed that there was 

 no person who had inquired into the science of Geology 

 but would be ready to acknowledge that one reason 

 for the slowness with which Geological truth made way, 

 was the inherent difficulty connected with its explanation. 

 Things clear as the light, when they saw them in nature, 

 were often rendered extremely difficult when they came to 



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