Ordinary Meeting, November 18th, 1873. 
E. W. Binney, F.R.S., F.G.S., Vice-President, in the Chair. 
Mr. Arthur William Waters, F.G.S., Professor Arthur 
Gamgee, F.R.S., and Mr. Arthur Schuster, Ph.D., were 
elected Ordinary Members of the Society. 
“ On the Bursting of Trees and Objects struck by Light- 
ning,” by Professor Osborne Beynolds, M.A. 
In a paper on this subject read at the last meeting of this 
society I stated that the tube winch was burst by a dis- 
charge from a jar would probably withstand an internal 
pressure of from 2 to o tons on the square inch ; and I made 
use of the expression the tube might be fired like a gun 
without bursting. These statements were based on the cal- 
culated streno^th of the tube, and with a view to show that 
there was no mistake, I have since tried it in the following 
manner. 
I made 3 guns of the same tube. No. 1, which was 6 
inches long, had its end stopped with a brass plug containing 
the fuze hole. No. 2 and No. 3 were 5 inches long and had 
their breeches drawn down so as only to leave a fuze hole. 
These tubes were loaded with gun-powder and shotted with 
slugs of wire which fitted them, and which were all f inch 
long. 
No. 1 was first fired with | inch of powder, the shot 
penetrated ^ inch into a deal board, and the gun was 
uninjured. 
No. 2 was then fired with IJ inches of powder, and the 
shot went through the 1 inch deal board and ^ inch into 
some mahogany behind, thus penetrating altogether 1-| 
inches ; the tube, however, was burst to fragments. Some 
of these were recovered, and although they were small they 
Proceedings— Lit. & Phil, Society. — Vol. XIII —No. 4— Session 1873-4. 
