WELLINGTON PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3110, 30 January 1871, Page 2

WELLINGTON PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

«. I A general meeting of the members of the above Society was held at the Maori House, on Saturday evening. The Hon. Mr Mantell (president), occupied the chair, and after ex- j plainting the nature of the business for ! transaction, called on the Secretary to read the report for tho past year. BEPOBT. From the report we gather that during the \ past year eight general meetings and one special meeting have been held,und that communications on fifty-nine subjects have been made, the greater part of which has been placed in the hands of members in a printed form, the remainder being about to be distributed in the course of a few days. Of these forty-four have been forwarded to the Governor of tho New Zealand Institute for publication in the third volume of the transactions, now in press. Subscriptions during the year amount to £97 12s, showing an increase of £25 3s over the previous year. The statutory contribution of one-sixth of tho year's income (£l6 5s 4d) has been made towards the maintenance and extension of the Museum. £50 has also been devoted from the funds of the Bpciety to the improvement of the Botanic Reserve. £20 has been expended in procuring additions to the library, and arrangements hare been made for receiving the following publications :— " Quarterly, " " Journal of Science," " Popular Science Review," " Nature," " Australian," "Field," " Gardeners' Chronicle," " Builder," v Engineer," and " British Meohanic," which may be consulted

in the reading room at any time by members. The balance in the hands of the Treasurer is £60 10b 7,d. The number of members to whom the Becond volume of the Transac-, tions wa3 eenfc in May lost was eightyfive. One hundred and three members are now on the roll. ■> !. . ELECTION ON OFFICERS. The term of office of the President of the Society for 1870 having expired, the Hon. W. Mantell vacated the chair in favor of the newly inaugurated President for the ensuing year, W. T. L. Travers Esq., F.L.S. W. .Buller, Esq., F.L.S., F.G-.5., and J. 0. Crawford, Esq., F.GhS., are elected Vice-Presidents for the ensuing 3 r ear, with the following members of Council — J. Hector, Esq., M.D., F.R.S., J. Kiibbell, Esq., W. Lyon, Esq., F.G-.5., Robert Hart, Esq., W. Skey, Esq. ; Secretary and Treasurer, F. M. .Ollivier, Esq. NEW MEMRBBS. The following new members wero announced — G-. A. Allen, Esq., W. Oolenso, Esq., James Prondergnst, Esq., and Dr F. Knox. A KATIFO. Mr Travers then called the attention of the meeting to a live katipo (a poisonous native spider) which had boon sent from Wanganui by Mr Waller Buller. A NATIVE BEETLE. Mr Travers also called attention to a curious kind of beetle sent from Wanganui by Mr Duigan, and a communication recording an extraordinary flight of an army of these beetles, from which the sample had been captured, in the Patea district. The paper Btated these beetles travelled with marvellous speed, as they went over forty miles of country in one night, and that a similar irruption had taken place on the coast in 1853. Mr Travers said the beetle was very like a beetle that made its appearance in Canterbury, the larva of which was most destructive to the griiesj and he believed it originally came from Tasmania, where it proved very destructive to gruss and crops. The most effectual remedy for the plague in that colony was found to be flooding the earth, as after the water passed off the larva was to be seen in the ditches in incredible quantities. Among some interesting particulars respecting this unwelcome stranger. Mr Travers said it was nocturnal in its habits, being very seldom seen in the day ; and he thought it was much to be regretted that it had found its way across the strait. MOEIOBI CANOES. Mr Travers read .an interesting paper by Mr Shand, formerly Resident Magistrate at the Chatham Islands, on the different kinds of canoes formerly used by the Morioris, of of which a am nil model of one of them is to be seen in the Museum. The canoes described were four, but built on two plans only, on one and two keels, the structure being of wickerwork, the floating power being derived from a layer of kalp bladders. THE METEOR. T"r. Hector gave a very interesting discourse on the mefcor seen recently throughout New Zealand ; and in order, to convey to his hearers an er-ict idea of the course travelled by it, the moat northern and southern points from which it was observed were marked on a large map of New Zealand, intersected by an intermediate line of red tape to represent the flight. It appeared that from the inacouracy or carelessof the observers who recorded the phenomenon it was impossible to arrive at any thing like a clear understanding. The area over which observations had been made showed a length of about 700 miles, and a width of 250 or 300. There existed amongst them considerable difference of opinion as to the exact direction, but the general opinion pointed to a course north by west, and from observations made at the instruments both in Wellington and Nelson, Picton would appear to be immediately below the zenith point. Several sketches of the meteor as Been by different observers were exhibited, one of which by Mr W. Pharazyn showed a girdle of radiating sparks backwards from the head of the meteor, much like the pectoral fins of a fish and giving a blurred appearance to the body of the meteor. He accounted for the apparent bursting with which the inetor disappeared to the view of each observer by the supsosition that the sparksof the so-culled bursting meroly marked the vanishing point to eaoh observer. As the phenomenon was seen almost simultaneously over a distance of seven hundred miles, and as the vision of each observer could not exceed 250 miles, it was very likely that the bursting was bub un optical delusion. There was also room for doubt as to whether the phenomenon was a true bolis or fire ball, or merely the r»Bulfc of atmospheric and electrical agency. The altitude was fixed at 55 miles, as on this point the observations were tolerably conclusive. It also appeared that the detonations were not hoard at all the stations where the meteor was observed. Dr Hector said he was still engaged in correspondence with a number of observers on the subject. The discourse on the meteor wus followed by several gentlemen giving their account of the phenomenon as it appeared to them, one gentleman declaring that he was confident he felt the heat of the meteor on his face. Dr Hector read a couple of papers by Mr Skey, on a series of electric experiments he was engaged on. The experiments have an extremely practical bearing, and will probably throw some valuable light on the mineral lodes of this country, and on the causes of the disposition of auriferous deposits generally. This closed the special business of the meeting, and Mr Travers announced that no further meeting would be held before next season (June next), without special notice being given. The meeting then broke up.