592 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
iron and steel by examining polished sections under the Microscope. 
The progress which has been made in micro-metallography since that 
time is well shown in a recently published monograph by M. F. 
Osmond.* The author explains how the polished section of steel is 
treated with suitable reagents in order to reveal the five main con- 
stituents. He shows how complicated is the structure of ordinary steel, 
and points out that although a micro-section of a mass of steel closely 
resembles a rock-section, yet its investigation under the Microscope is 
rendered much more difficult by reason of the various allotropic forms 
in which iron itself can occur. Diagrams are given showing the effects 
of annealing steel. The author considers that the method of microscopic 
analysis is capable of wide application in metallurgy, and that it should 
take its place in the ordinary routine of every steelworks laboratory. 
The late Frederic Kitton, Hon. F.K.M.S. — We regret to have to 
record the death, on 22ud July last, of Mr. Frederic Kitton, one of our 
Honorary Fellows since 1876. 
He was the son of Samuel Kitton, and was born at Cambridge on 
24th April, 1827. Although placed in business at Norwich before he 
was 20 years of age, mercantile pursuits were most uncongenial to him, 
and his natural inclination was in the direction of science, especially the 
study of the Diatomaceae, in which he soon distinguished himself. 
The following is a list of Mr. Kitton’s contributions to the Trans- 
actions of the Society : — 
1873. Prof. Smith’s Conspectus of the Diatomaceae. (Monthly Micr. 
Journ., ix. pp. 165-7.) 
Kemarks on Aulcicodiscus formosus, Omplialopelta versicolor, &c., 
with Description of a JNew Species of Navicida. (Op. cit., x. 
pp. 6-9, pi. xxi.) 
Description of some New Species of Diatomaceae. (Op. cit., 
pp. 205-7, pi. xxxviii.) 
1874. New Diatoms. (Op. cit., xii. pp. 218-20, pis. lxxxi. and lxxxii.) 
1875. Number of Striae on the Diatoms of Moller’s Probe-Platte 
(Op. cit., xiv. pp. 45-6.) 
187 6. Diatomaceae in Slides of Sta. Monica Deposits. (Op. c., xvi. p. 232.) 
1877. An Essay on the Classification of the Diatomaceae. By P. Pettit. 
Translated by F. Kitton. (Op. cit., xviii. pp. 10-14, 65-77, 
pis. clxxxvii. and clxxxviii.) 
New Diatoms from Honduras. Described by A. Grunow. With 
Notes by F. Kitton. (Tom. cit., pp. 165-86, pis. cxciii.-cxcvi.) 
1878. On some New Genera and Species of Diatomaceae. By P. Pettit. 
Translated by F. Kitton. (Journ. E. Micr. Soe., 1878, 
pp. 237-45, pis. xiv. and xv.) 
1879. The Thallus of the Diatomaceae. (Op. cit., 1879, pp. 38-40.) 
New Species and Varieties of Diatomaceae from the Caspian 
Sea. By A. Grunow. Translated with Additional Notes by 
F. Kitton. (Tom. cit., pp. 677-91, pi. xxi.) 
1881. The Diatoms of the London Clay. By W. H. Shrubsole. With 
a List of Species, and Kemarks. By F. Kitton. (Op. cit., 
pp. 381-7, pi. v.) 
* Bull, de la Soc. d'Eucouragement, x. (1895) p. 460. 
