viii Transactions of the Boy at Society of South Africa. 
F. E. Kanthack was introduced to the President and signed the 
Fellows' Book. 
Dr. Bayon gave an exhibition of Phosphorescent Bacteria from sea- 
water round Kobben Island, and showed a trypanosome and a haemo- 
gregarine from the mole shark. 
" Phosphorescent Bacteria from the Sea round Robben Island." 
Pure cultures were exhibited, showing various degrees of luminosity. 
The identification of the bacteria not being completed, Exhibitor was not 
ready to state that these vibrios differed sufficiently from the micro- 
organisms observed in other parts of the world, to allow the classification 
of a separate variety. 
Attention was drawn to the various conditions under which these 
bacteria lost and acquired again their luminous properties, both in relation 
to special media and aerobic conditions. 
"A Trypanosome and Haemogregarine from the Mole Shark [ScilUo- 
rhimis Edivardsii).'' 
Microscopical specimens of these two new blood parasites were 
exhibited and their life-cycle and transmission through an intermediate 
host (probably of the nature of a leech) were explained. 
The following papers were read : — 
1. " Properties of Pfaffians and their Analogues in Determinants," by 
T. MuiR. 
2. '* The Secular Variation of the Magnetic Elements in South Africa 
during the period 1900-1913," by J. C. Beattie. 
The annual changes in the magnetic declination vary from an average 
decrease of 1*5' of westerly declination at Mauritius during 1900-1909 — a 
change which has turned into an increase of 1-4' per year between 1907- 
1909, to a decrease of 14' per year in the neighbourhood of Durban ; from 
the latter place the decrease becomes less as we go in a north-westerly 
direction and attains a value of 5' at Loanda ; the decrease as we go west 
or south-west is also quite definite, though not so great, and at Cape Town 
has the value of 8'. It appears also that the absolute value of the decrease 
is increasing all over South Africa at the present time. A comparison of 
the results given in the paper with those of the American and British 
Admiralty declination charts for approximately the same epoch shows no 
continuity between the land values of the secular change and those over 
the sea ; the high values over the land find no place over the sea except 
in the case of the results obtained from the "Gauss and Carnegie" 
observations. 
The greatest annual change of dip is found in the south-western part 
of the continent in the neighbourhood of Cape Town ; it amounts to an 
increase of southerly dip of 8' per year. The line of no change passes 
through Madagascar, east of that there is a decrease of southerly dip. 
