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ANNUAL REPORT

FOK

MDCCCLXII.

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1

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE COUNCIL

OF THE

YORKSHIRE

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

FOR

MDCCCLXII.

PRESENTED TO THE ANNUAL MEETING,

FEBRUARY, 1863.

YORK:

H. SOTHEEAN, BOOKSELLER, CONEYSTREET.

1 8 6 3.

«

TEUSTEES

OP

THE YORKSHIRE MUSEUM,

APPOINTED BY ROYAL GRANT.

HON. AND VERY REV. HENRY HOWARD, D. D.
SIR WILLIAM LAWSON, BART., F. S. A.
ROBERT DENISON, ESQ.

REV. WILLIAM VERNON HARCOURT, F. R, S.

PATEONESS

OF THE

orfest)iw ^f)ilt)scip})tcal Society

♦

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN.

PATEOXS.

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURA^

THE ARCHBISHOP OF A^ORK.

THE DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND, F. R. S.
THE EARL OF CARLISLE, K. G., F. R. S.

THE LORD PETERSHAM.

OFFICEES OF THE SOCIETY, 1863.

PEESIDENT :

The Earl of Carlisle, K. G., F. E. S.

YICE-PEESIDENTS :

The Earl of Zetland, K. T.

The Lord Londesborough.

The Hon. & Very Eev. the Dean of York.
William Eudston Eead, F. L. S.

John Phillips, F. E. S.

Eev. W. V. Harcourt, F. E. S.

Eev. Canon Hey.

Thomas Allis, F. L. S.

Eev. John Kenrick, F. S. A.

William Procter, M. D., F. C. S.

TEEASUEEE :

William Gray, F. E. A. S., F. G. S.

COUNCIL .

Elected 1861 . . . Eobert Davies, F. S. A.

John Ford.

Eev. W. E. Harrison.
Elected 1862 . . . Edwin Wade.

Eev. Eobert Daniel.

W. E. SwAiNE, M. D.
Elected 1868 . . Eev. G. H. Philips.

Edward Smallwood.
William Matterson, M. D.
S. W. North.

(for 2 years ) J. H. Gibson, M. D.

(for 1 year) Joseph Wilkinson.

HON. SECEETAEY:

T. S. Noble, F. E. A. S.

6

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY.

CUEATOES :

Geology and Mineralogy . Wm. Procter, M. D.,F. C.S.
Comparative Anatomy . . Thomas Allis, F. L. S.

British Ornithology . . W. Eudston Eead, F. L. S.

Insects and Crustacea . . Eev. Canon Hey.

Antiquarian Department . Eev. John Kenrick, F. S. A.

Library . Eev. John Lees.

Botany . William Matterson, M. D.

Eev. W. V. Harcourt,F.E.S.
W. Gray,F.E.A.S., F. G.S.
John Ford.

Eev. Canon Hey.

T. S. Noble, F. E. A. S.

\Eev. John Lees.

Observatory & Meteorology,
under the Care of a Committee \
consisting of

KEEPEE OF THE MUSEUM:

William S. Dallas, F. L. S.

SUBCUKATOE OF THE MUSEUM & GAEDEHS :

Henry Baines.

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL

OF THE

YOEKSHIEE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

Feb. 3, 1863.

In bringing before the Annual Meeting the Eeport of the
Yorkshire Philosophical Society for the past year, the Council
beg to congratulate the Members upon the Institution having
now attained the fortieth year of its existence. To those who
remember its foundation the retrospect must be gratifying,
whilst its present prospects afford ample evidence of public
approbation and zeal in the pursuit of knowledge, and confirm
the hope that the Institution will always receive that support
which for so long a period has enabled it to render good service
to the cause of Science.

Following the ordinary course the Council will first record
the operations of the Society for the past year, and then set
forth the Financial Statement.

The additions to the Geological Collection during the past
year have not been numerous, and none of them call for special
mention, with the exception of two series of Animal Eemains
from the Coal Measures of North Staffordshire and South York¬
shire, presented to the Society by the Eev. William Vernon
Harcourt and John Bainbridge, Esq. These specimens, many
of which are of great beauty, will assist greatly in filling up
one of the most defective portions of our Collection of Fossils.

8

REPORT OF THE

The Mineralogical Collection has been enriched with some
line specimens of Haematite and Associated Minerals from
Dalton, in Furness, presented by Dr. Gibson. No other
minerals of importance have been acquired.

The Curator of Antiquities has little to report, except the
addition of a few Coins to the Society’s Collection. The Lease
about to be granted by the Crown of a large part of the ancient
Close of the Abbey of St. Mary will realise a wish long enter¬
tained, that all which remains of the Church should be included
within the grounds of the Society.

The recent restoration of a Tomb in the North Aisle of the
Minster excited a hope that an examination of its contents
might afford some information respecting the personage who
had been interred there. From the small size of the sepulchral
chest which the tomb contained, it was evident that the bones
deposited within it had been removed from their original place
of interment, and the remains of a vestment of cloth of gold
indicated that the relics were those of a person of high ecclesi¬
astical rank, — probably an Archbishop. The tradition of the
Church, which cannot, however, be traced higher than the end
of the seventeenth century, assigns the tomb to Archbishop
Roger, who died in 1181, having occupied the See from 1154.
He was the founder of the Chapel of St. Mary and All Angels,
close to the door of which the tomb has been placed ; subse¬
quently to the erection of the Nave this body may have been
removed from that Chapel into the Church : there is, however,
no record of a burial there, or a removal. The style of the
tomb seems to refer it to the end of the fifteenth or the
beginning of the sixteenth century.

The Curator of Comparative Anatomy reports the addition
of only one specimen to the Collection under his charge,
namely, a Skeleton of the Iceland Falcon, purchased by the
Society.

The Curator of British Ornithology has to report no
additions to the Collection during the year 186^. He hopes
in the course of the present year to see the commencement,
at least, of a Collection of British Mammalia, the formation of
which he urged upon the Council in his last Report.

9

COUNCIL FOR 1862.

The Curator of Entomology much regrets that increasing
duties have, for some time past, prevented him from devoting
so much time as he could wish to the Collections under his
charge.

Some time ago he suggested that the Insects should be
re-arranged more in accordance with the system and nomen¬
clature generally adopted hy scientific men at the present day.
He has now much gratification in announcing that, since the
last Report, two Members of the York Entomological Society
have undertaken the task of re-arrani^in^ the Collection of
British Lepidoptera. These gentlemen, Messrs. Birks and
Anderson, have already commenced their labours, by the
arrangement of the Butterflies ; and are now engaged upon the
larger Moths. The Curator hopes that when the arrangement
of the Collection is complete it will receive many additions, and
in the course of a short time constitute a standard cabinet of
reference for local collectors of Lepidoptera. He will himself
endeavour, with such assistance as he can procure, to re-arrange
the Collection of Coleoptera, and he trusts that means may be
found to classify and name the Insects of other orders in the
Society’s possession, a consummation which would, undoubtedly,
exercise a most beneficial efiect upon the study of Entomology
in York and its neighbourhood.

The Council have to report that in addition to his other
valuable services, Mr. Baines, the Sub-Curator, has carefully
cleaned and arranged the whole of the Society’s Botanical
Specimens during the past year.

Of the additions to the Library during the year 1862 there
are few that require special notice. The Treasurer of the
Society, Wm. Gray, Esq., has presented a copy of the fine work
of General Boy on the Roman Military Stations in Britain,
and also a complete set of the Microscopic Journals and Trans¬
actions, all of them valuable and important works. The new
book cases prepared in 1861 have afibrded facilities for the
re-arrangement of the Library, in such a manner as to classify
the books contained in it, and a new Manuscript Catalogue,
adapted to the present arrangement, is now in course of
preparation.

10

EEPORT OF THE

The Curator of Meteorological Instruments has furnished
the following Reports. The mean height of the mercurial
column for 1863 was 39’803 inches, a little below the annual
mean for York. The highest point, 30*43 inches, was reached
on January 3nd; the lowest, an extraordinary depression,
accompanied with a heavy gale, was on October the 19th ; the
mercury then sank to 38*556, making a range of 1*86 inches in
the year.

The Rain-fall, 33*11 inches, was greater than that of 1861,
hut still nearly one inch below a mean of 30 years. Westerly
winds were largely prevalent, S. S. W. and W. numbering 189
days ; of these 118 were west.

The temperature of the year, notwithstanding the wet,
ungenial summer, was 48*5 degrees of Fahrenheit, being one
degree above a mean of twenty years. The year has, neverthe¬
less, left an impression on the mind of having been colder than
usual. The annexed Table will explain this apparent discrepancy

METEOROLOGICAL REGISTER, YORK, 1863.

BAROMETER.

RAIN.

THERMOMETER.

0

0

.

0 0

C<l

PO

02

-(J

bo

• pH

a

Prevailing Wind.

O

to

* pH

-4-5

02

o

d

c5

O

m

o

o

d

H- i

m

cS

p

Average Max.

j Average Min.

Mean Temp.

02

0

rd

to

• pH

a

4-3

02

0

0

P

Jan.

30-422

29-110

29-723

1-99

13

41-7

33-6

'37-6

53

23

10

W.

Eeb.

30-650

29-290

29-986

0-64

12

45-5

37-6

41-6

55

22

5

E.

Mar.

30-274

29-154

29-596

3-43

16

45-1

37-3

41-2

57

21

4

E.

April

30-362

29-386

29-874

1-30

15

54-0

1

41-1

47-5

68

28

3

I

W.

May

30-276

29-428

29-768

2-19

15

61-3

48-6

54-9

74

33

j

1

S.W.

June

30-164

29-226

29-706

2-59

18

62-6

50-1

56-4

71

41

W.

July

30-194

29-364

29-764

1-58

17

65-5

50-6

58-0

75

44

—

W.

Aug.

30-336

29-238

29-843

1-90

15

65-8

52-7

59-3

73

46

1

W.

Sept.

30-542

29-458

29-919

2-51

16

61-1

48-7

54-9

68

40

—

N.E.

Oct.

30-486

28-556

29-719

2-80

18

56-1

43-8

50-0

66

29

3

W.

Nov.

30-520

29-122

29-870

0-83

15

43-8

32-1

38-0

59

23

18

W.

Dec.

30-312

29-284

29-863

1-35

20

46-7

38-5

42-6

52

31

1

W.

29-802

23-11

190

48-5

44

COUNCIL FOR 186:2.

11

between facts and impressions. It will be seen that May, June,
and July, the months when high temperatures are expected,
were all below a mean, and that two of them. May and June,
had an excess of rain. Furthermore, the highest temperature
registered was 75 degrees.

On the other hand, eight months of the year had an excess
of temperature, and thus more than counterbalanced the
ungenial summer. The range of temperature for the year was
54 degrees, — from 21° on March 4th, to 75° on July 25th.

Thunder and lightning were noted in May, August, Septem¬
ber, and October, but there were at York no storms of peculiar
severity.

RAIN-FALL, 1862.

Near

Helmsley.

1

Malton.

Wheldrake.

York.

Ackworth.

Sheffield.

Settle.

Jan.

2-20

1-64

1-33

1-99

1-13

2-01

3-36

Feb.

0-82

1-21

1-05

0-64

0-49

0-81

0-84

Mar.

3-56

3-85

3-73

3-43

3-29

4-53

5-38

April

1-60

1-77

1-27

1-30

1-26

2-36

2-83

May

2-46

2-08

2-59

2-19

2-53

3-87

3-89

June

3-16

2-76

2-47

2-59

1-68

2-17

3-60

July

2-97

3-01

2-15

1-58

2-14

2-08

3-52

Aug.

3-03

1-92

2-33

1-90

1-53

1-84

2-98

Sept.

2-25

2-80

2-30

2-51

3-55

3-85

1-95

Oct.

3-11

2-33

3-01

2-80

2-61

4-41

8-43

Nov.

0-93

1-18

0-70

0-83

0-46

1-32

2-30

Dec.

1-86

1-74

1-25

1-35

1-16

1-62

3-69

Totals

27-95

26-29

24-18

23-11

21-83

30-87

42-77

(25-94 27-35 23-94 23-90 24-28 30-81 40-53

Annual Means < — -

( 3 yrs. 4 yrs. 9 yrs. 32 yrs. 22 yrs. 10 yrs. 26 yrs.

12

REPORT OF THE

The Council beg to draw the attention of the Members of
the Society to a matter incidentally mentioned in the Keport
of the Curator of Antiquities.

The lease of the land and premises now occupied by the
representatives of the late Mr. Bearpark being nearly tenni-
nated, the Council for some time past have been in communica¬
tion with H. M. Commissioners for Woods and Forests, to
ascertain upon what terms the possession of the land and
premises could be secured to the Society. The land comprises
an area of upwards of three acres in extent, and is the only
portion of the Manor Shore Estate now undisposed of either by
long lease or iinfee, and, therefore, the only land available for
the extension of the Society’s grounds. Although, at present,
the state of the Society’s funds will preclude the Council from
incurring further expense in adding the whole of the land to
the grounds of the Museum, the Council hope that at no distant
period this great improvement will be carried out. The Com¬
missioners have offered the Society a lease of the land and pre¬
mises for thirty-one years at a rent of £120 per year, and this offer
has been accepted. It is estimated that the houses and buildings
will alone realize an annual rental of upwards of £60, and the
Society will be able to let off the remainder of the land as
garden ground at a fair rental, with the exception of a portion
which the Council propose to offer to the Trustees of the Blind
School, in exchange for the land comprising the site of the
Abbey Choir, so as to include the entire remains of the Church
within the grounds of the Museum. This scheme has been
mentioned to the Chief Commissioner for Woods and Forests,
who has expressed his readiness to co-operate in carrying it out.

The Financial affairs of the Society have, in a certain degree,
been affected by the general depression prevalent during the
past year ; yet the Council have much satisfaction in reporting
that no material decrease has taken place in the Income of the
Society. The main Income, derived from the Subscriptions of
the Members, is maintained in a most satisfactory manner.
The deficiency of Income in 1862, as compared with former
years, occurs solely in the two items of Money received at the
Gates and at the Swimming Baths, the former being only

COUNCIL FOR 1862.

13

£180 Is. Td., against £195 11s. 4d. in 1861, and the latter
only £72 5s. lid., or but £7 8s. 4d. more than the expenses.
The decrease in the amount received at the Gates may be
accounted for, partly by the distress which has existed in some
of the manufacturing districts, preventing the visits of excur¬
sionists to York, but chiefly by the attraction of many people
to London by the Exhibition.

The new Tent, purchased in 1861, has been lent out several
times, and produced the sum of £26 10s.*; thus, with the £9
received in 1861, repaying more than one-third of its purchase-
money in a year and a half.

The Total Income from all sources, including arrears, is
£1190 17s. 4d., being about £10 less than that of 1861.

The Expenditure of the year 1862 calls for little remark; it
is of about the averag^e amount, and consists of the usual items.
The only point which seems to require explanation is the charge
of £29 17s. 2d., for alterations in the cases containing the
Bird Skeletons, and for cleaning the Skeletons. The beautiful
Collection of Skeletons of Birds, prepared with so much labour
by our Vice-President, Mr. Allis, and regarded by most scientific
visitors to our Museum as one of the most valuable portions of
its contents, had for some years been much impaired, chiefly
owing to the imperfect construction of the case containing it.
As the only means of preventing the access of dust to the
specimens, the Council ordered a wooden back for the case,
and the insertion of this furnished an opportunity of making
other improvements in its fittings. The specimens have been
carefully cleaned and re-arranged in the case, and the improve¬
ment in their appearance, which the Council hope may be a
permanent one, is certainly well worth the money expended on
them.

The Total Expenditure of the year is £1119 18s. lid.,
leaving an excess of Income of £70 18s. 5d., which reduces the
balance against the Society to £333 17s. 8d.

The number of Lectures delivered in the Theatre of the
Museum during the year 1862 was eleven. For three of these

* Of this sum £12 are still unpaid ; the amount placed at the credit of the
Society’s account is therefore only £14 10s,

14

REPORT OF THE

Lectures the Society was indebted to Mr. Procter, and for two
of them to Mr. S. W. North ; the remainder were given by the
Kev. Canon Pohinson, the Lev. John Lees, the Pev. James
Paine, the Pev. George PoAve, Mr. Davies, and Mr, Dallas.
Abstracts of the Papers read at the Monthly Meetings will be
appended to this Peport.

During the year 1862 twelve new members were elected into
the Society, whilst six were lost by death, and five by resigna¬
tion. Of the members deceased one had compounded for his
subscriptions, and as his widow continues a member of the
Society, and a member who had resigned two years ago has
renewed his subscription, the actual increase in the number of
subscribing members is fourteen, with a loss of ten. Of lady
subscribers five have been admitted, and two lost, during the
past year ; and of associates two have been elected, and one has
resigned. Thus there appears to be a gradual but steady increase
in the number of the members of the Society.

Amongst the members deceased in 1862 the loss of Mr.
Oswald Allen Moore Avill be most felt by the Society. Brought
up to the Medical profession, Mr. Moore early exhibited a strong
inclination for the study of Natural History, and in Botany,
especially, acquired considerable proficiency. He was for many
years Honorary Curator of the Society’s Botanical Collections,
and served repeatedly on the Council. During the latter years
of his life Mr. Moore’s attention Avas more particularly directed
to the phenomena exhibited by Glaciers, and their action
upon the valleys through which they pass. For the purpose of
personally investigating these he made several journies to
Switzerland, and he was looking forward to the completion of
his researches by another visit to that country, with a view to
bringing the results before this Society, when his life Avas
suddenly and prematurely brought to a close by disease of
the heart.

Mr. Moore’s representatives have kindly presented to the
Society the Herbarium, Collection of Peptiles, and Diagrams,
belonginoj to their late relative.

D O

The Council propose to the Annual Meeting the election of
Pear- Admiral Fitzroy as an Honorary Member. The Voyage

COUNCIL FOR 1862.

15

round the Globe which he performed in H. M. S. ‘estab¬

lished his reputation as a skilful navigator and a scientific
observer. His labours as presiding over the Meteorological
Department of the Board of Trade have contributed greatly to
the advancement of science, and the value of his system of
storm signals cannot fail to be appreciated in a County like
Yorkshire, bordered by a long line of dangerous sea-coast.

The Council propose Lord Londesborough and Mr. Procter
as Vice-Presidents of the Society, and the Bev. G. H. Philips,
William Matterson, Esq., M.D., Edward Smallwood, Esq., S. W.
North, Esq., Dr. Gibson, and Joseph Wilkinson, Esq., as New
Members of Council, in the room of Bobert Denison, Esq.,
F. W. Calvert, Esq., W. D. Husband, Esq., the Bev. John Lees,
and the Bev. Canon Bobinson, who retire by rotation, and
William Procter, Esq., proposed for election as Vice-President.

THE

TREASUEEE OF THE YOEKSHIEE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

IN ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR 1862.

RECEIPTS.

1862. £. s. d. £. s. d.

Annual Sttbscriptions, Sfc. :

Members

-

- 607

0

0

Ladies -

-

- 40

1

0

Associates -

-

- 20

0

0

Aireai'S

-

- 59

0

0

Admission Fees of New Members :

Paid in full -

3 0

0

Paid by Instalments -

29 0

0

Keys of the Gates

«

Rents :

Miss Briskham’s house

50 18

8

Prof. Phillips’ House -

15 0

0

Cottages in Mai^gate -

26 18

2

Money received at the Gates -
Swimming Bath (Gross) - . -

Sale of Guide to Antiquities -
Use of Tent . . - - .

Temporary Subscriber - . .

Composition in lieu of Subscription

726 1 0

32 0 0
42 15 0

92 16 10
180 1 7
72 5 11

9 7 0
14 10 0

10 0
20 0 0

Fermanent Debt :

Yorkshire Insui’ance
Company - - £1900 0 0

Due to Five Members,

£50 each - . - 250 0 0

- 2150 0 0

Balance due to Treasurei’, at 31st

Dec., 1861 .

404 16

1

2554 16

1

Excess of Income over Expendi-

tui'e for the year 1862 - - .

70 18

5

£2483 1 7

8

EXPENDITURE.

1862.

£.

s.

d.

Crown Rent - - -

1

0

0

Corporation Rent -

48

2

6

Rates and Taxes

8

13

1

Insurance & Water Rent

18

4

6

Salaries and Wages:

Keeper of the Museum

200

0

0

Sub-Curator

100

0

0

Servant

20

0

0

Lodge Keeper

26

0

0

Attendant (Museum) -

35

6

0

Attendant (Hospitium)

7

14

0

Collector . - .

pm

t

1

0

Labourers -

155

2

0

Interest on Debt to Insurance Com¬
pany to 31st December, 1862
Interest, &c., to Bankers, 31st Dec.,
1862

Museum Gardens, ;

General Expenses and
Repairs - - - 117 8 11

Cost of backs to cases
containing skeletons
of birds, cleaning
skeletons, &c. - - 29 17 2

Purchase and Preparation of Speci¬
mens .

Librai'y, for Books and Binding
Swimming Bath :

Keeper’s Salary - - .30 0 0

Water Rent - - - 20 2 0

Repairs and Incidental
Expenses - - - 14 15 7

Miscellaneous Expenses :
Printing Report -
Printing, Stationei-y,
&c. - - . .

Coals and Gas
Expenses connected
■with Band
„ Lectures -
„ Obsei-vatory
Garden-seeds, &c.
Postages and Petty
Expenses

Excess of Income, 1862

19 16 0

12 14
75 12

31
11
3 14
5 0

13 II
0 7

8 13 2

Dr.

£. s. d.

76 0 1

551 3 0
73 3 0
10 17 6

147 6 1

3 6 *0
25 0 6

64 17 7

- 168 5 2

£1119 18 11

- 70 18 5

£1190 17 4

Permanent Debt :

Yorkshii'e Insurance
Company - £1900 0 0

Due to Five Members
at £50 each - - 250 0 0

2150 0 0

Balance due to Treasurer
at 31st Dec., 1862 - 333 17 8

£2483 17 8

28th JanuaiY, 1863, Audited by me,— WILLIAM PROCTER.
W. GRAY, Treasurer.

17

MEMBERS

ELECTED IN 1862,

1 8 6 2.

John Casson, 30, St. Marys.

William Drawbridge, Clifton.

Louis Drouet, 6, Michlegate.

James Augustus Erskine, Bootham Terrace.
Rev. A. R. Fausset, St. Mary s.

John Hoggard, Clifton.

The Lord Londesborough.

W. J. S. Morritt, M. P.

Joseph Rowntree, Bootham.

The Hon. Capt. St. Clair, Clifton.

John Winn, Coney Street.

Marcus Worsley, St. Marys.

ASSOCIATES.

1 8 62.

Rev. M. R. Bresher, Park Street, Mount.
John Stephenson, 70, Michlegate.

LADY SUBSCEIBEES

ADMITTED 1862.

Mrs. Charles Bankart, St. Clave s Terrace.
Mrs. Collins, De Grey Street.

Mrs. Creery, Blake Street.

Miss Henrietta Forge, St. Marys.

Mrs. Hey, New Walk Terrace.

B

18

EESOLUTIONS

PASSED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, Feb. 3rd, 1863.

1. That His Grace the Archbishop of York be elected a Patron of
the Society.

2. That the Laws of the Society be altered pursuant to the following
Notices.

“ Whereas, by a Resolution passed at the Annual Meeting
“holden at the Museum on the 6th day of February, 1849, the
“number of the Vice-Presidents of the Society was limited to
“ eight, notice is hereby given, that at the next Annual Meeting
“ it will be moved that the number be limited to ten.

“Dated this first day of January, 1863.

“(Signed) W. V. Harcourt,

“John Kenrick,

“John Ford,

“Thos. Allis,

“Robt. Denison.”

“ It will be proposed at the next Annual Meeting, that if a
“ Member of Council die or resign during the term of his ofiice,
“ the Council shall have power to elect a Member to supply the
“vacancy for the remainder of the term, and that one of the
“ Members of Council to be elected at the next Annual Meeting
“ shall be elected for the term of one year, and another for the
“term of two years only, and that the Alembers so elected to
“ supply such vacancies shall be re-eligible.

“Dated this first day of January, 1863.

“ (Signed) W. V. Harcourt,

“John Kenrick,

“John Ford,

“Thos. Allis,

“Robt. Denison.”

19

3. That Rear-Admiral Fitzroy be elected an Honorary Member of
the Society.

4. That the Report of the Council now read be adopted and printed
for circulation amongst the Members, Lady Subscribers, and Associates
of the Society.

5. That the Council be empowered to obtain the remainder of
the Manor Shore Estate, on a lease for 31 years, at an Annual Rent
of £120.

6. That the thanks of the Society be given to tbe Members of
Council retiring from office, also to the Treasurer, Secretary, and
Curators, for their valuable services.

7. That authority be given to the Council to hold Horticultural
Meetings in the Museum Grounds, and to give Admission to the
Public to the Museum and Hospitium, on Whit-Monday and Tuesday,
under the same regulations as last year.

8. That the thanks of the Meeting be given to the Chairman.

20

LECTUEES

DELIVERED DURING THE YEAR 1862.

Feb. 19. — On some recent applications of Chemistry to the Arts;
by William Procter, Esq., F. C. S.

Feb. 26. — On Alcuin of York ; by the Rev. John Lees, M. A.

March 6. — On the early Christianizing of the North; by the
Rev. James Raine, M. A.

March 19. — On the Guildhall of York; by Robert Davies,
Esq., F. S. A.

March 26. — On the Relation of Man to the Lower Animals ; by
S. W. North, Esq.

April 2. — On the Settlement of the Saxons in England ; by the
Rev. Canon Robinson, M. A.

Oct. 17. — On the Structure and Habits of Spiders ; by W. S.
Dallas, Esq., F. L. S.

Oct. 29. and Nov. 12. On some common Fossils ; by W. Procter,
Esq., F. C. S.

Nov. 26. — On some of the lower Forms of Life ; by S. W. North,
Esq.

Dec. 10. — On Ceylon ; by the Rev. George Rowe, M. A.

COMMUNICATIONS

TO THE

MONTHLY MEETINGS,

1862.

March 4. — The Rev. J. Kenrick made some remarks on the Coins
presented by Mr. Noble, and found in Pavement, near the end of All
Saints Church. They are all of the age of Constantine and his family,
two of Constans, the Emperor’s third son, two of Maguentius, who
assumed the purple in 350, and put himself to death three years later
at Lyons, after having been defeated by Constantins. The rest are all
of Constantins, probably Flavius Constantins, son of Constantine. The
legend Felix Temporum Reparatio, which appears upon them, seems
to have reference to the re-union and re-organization of the empire
effected by Constantine. It is often accompanied by the phcenix, a
symbol of revival.

W. Gray, Esq., F. R. A. S., F. G. S., then read a paper “ On the
Present Appearance of the Planet Saturn.”

April 1. — The Rev. J. Kenrick presented an impression, received
from the Rev. W. V. Harcourt, of the Seal of the Priory of Augustin ian
Monks, commonly called Black Canons, at Drax, in the West Riding,
in the Hundred of Barkston Ash, and near the confluence of the Aire
and the Ouse. The lands of Drax, or as it is called in Domesday, Drac,
formed part of the large possessions of a Saxon thane, named Merlesuen,
which by the Conquest fell into the hands of Ralph de Paganel, a
Norman Chief. From the Manor of Drax he made a grant of a site
called Nesse, or Rednesse, to the church of St. German, now the Abbey
Church of Selby. He also re-established and re-endowed in 1089 the
Priory of the Holy Trinity in Micklegate, which had been in ruins
since the Conquest, and among his gifts to it was the fishery of the vill

22

of Drax. Wm. Paynell, his son, in the reign of Henry I., founded a
priory of Black Canons, dedicated to St. Nicolas, near the village of
Drax, endowing it with the draft of nets in the Ouse, advowsons of
Churches, bovates of land, and the various particulars of which such
grants are usually made up. At the dissolution of the Monasteries
the revenues were estimated at £121 8s. 3d.

The seal of the Priory exhibits a figure of St. Nicolas in his episcopal
habit and crosier, giving his benediction. The legend is “ S. Monasterii
de Drax ad causas,” implying that it was specially used for legal
proceedings. That given in the last edition of Dugdale’s Monasticon
has the same device, from a deed in the records of the Duchy of
Lancaster, but the legend is “ Sigillum Sancti Nicolai Episcopi.” The
matrix from which the present seal was taken is in possession of
Col. Thompson, of Kirk-Hammerton, to whom Drax Abbey belongs,
and was exhibited to the meeting with some other articles found on the
site of the priory. Its arms are three sheldrakes, allusive to the name
Drax.

In the volume of the Proceedings of the Archseological Institute at
their Meeting at York in 1846 will be found an elaborate paper by
the Hon. Mr, Stapleton, who followed the descent of the Paynells to
his own time, and found that Lord Arundel of Wardour and Lord
Clifford of Chudleigh were the existing representatives of the founder
of the priory of the Holy Trinity. The granddaughter of the founder
of Drax married Robert Fitzharding, of the noble Gloucestershire
family of that name.

W. S. Dallas, Esq., F. L. S., then read some notes on Zoological
Specimens recently presented to the Museum. In reference to the Sea
Snake, presented by Mr. Thomas Robinson at the last Meeting, he
gave an account of the characters and habits of those Serpents, and
added some considerations on the general belief in the existence of
gigantic Sea Serpents, especially in the Northern Seas. The so-called
“ pens” of the Calamary, presented by Mr. North, were described, and
the general habits and structure of the animal indicated, and, in con¬
nexion with these, the occurrence of gigantic species of Mollusca, allied
to the Calamary, was mentioned.

May 6. — W. Procter, Esq., M.D., F.C.S., read a paper, illustrated
by experiments, “ On Liquid Diffusion and Dialysis.” After some
introductory observations it was stated that this subject had occupied
the attention of Mr. Graham, the Master of the Mint, for a number of

years, and had resulted in the discovery of some facts of the highest
scientific interest and greatest practical importance. These experiments
were made with very simple apparatus ; the first he used consisting of
a small jar containing the solution for difi'usion, placed within a larger
one into which the difi'usion was to take place. The solution in the
phial is thus allowed to communicate freely with the water in the jar,
and diffuses itself into the water against its own gravity. The extent
to which this goes on varies with solutions of different salts, and is
ascertained, after a given time, by estimating by evaporation or other¬
wise, the amount which has passed into the outer jar. In his later
experiments he simply uses a jar divided into sixteen parts, fourteen
of which are filled with water, and the whole quantity is made up by
introducing, by means of a pipette to the bottom of the jar, the proper
quantity of the solution to be tested. The results arrived at were
given in detail and illustrated by tables. By this process chemical
affinity seems to be overcome ; but the important fact is, that whilst
all crystalline substances possess a high but varying power of diffusion,
such substances as gelatine, albumen, &c., are almost devoid of this
property, and this has led Mr. Graham to divide bodies into two
classes in relation to their diffusiveness. He calls the former Crystal¬
loids, the latter Colloids. It was found that a crystalloid will diffuse
in a colloid nearly as well as it will in water, which a colloidal substance
refuses to do, being obstructed as well by a thin layer as by a large
mass. Paper sized with gelatine, starch, and a variety of similar
substances, produces the same results ; but the material which is the
most useful for this purpose is the recently-introduced “parchment
paper.” When the separation of a crystalloid from a colloid is effected
by diffusion through a septuan of this kind, it is called Dialysis. The
apparatus used in the process is called a Dialyser, and is made by
stretching a piece of parchment paper over a hoop of gutta percha, and
retaining it in its place by an outer loop. It is thus like a tambourine,
and being put to float on water in a suitable vessel, the liquid is poured
in ; it is pervious to crystalline, but impervious to colloidal substances,
the former passing into the outer liquid, and the latter being retained
—a separation of the two is in this manner effected. After considering
some matters of scientific interest connected with the subject, the
paper concluded with a detail of the applications of dialysis. One
of the important uses is its employment for the separation of animal
and vegetable poisons from the organic matter with which they are
usually combined in toxicological analysis, thus placing in the pos¬
session of the chemists a ready, certain, and expeditious method of

24

separating poisons without the liability to error, produced by the
introduction of materials of impurity which may be present in the
chemical re-agents used as tests, as well as av’oiding complicated
processes. By its aid the more active crystallizable constituents of
vegetables may be separated from moist colloidal matter, and in
this way may be produced a new class of medicines containing the
active principles of plants in the state of combination in which they
exist in nature ; it will, at the same time, make us acquainted with
the special mode of combination of many proximate principles of
which we are at present in ignorance. By means of dialysis a number
of chemical substances have been separated in a state in which they
have not hitherto been obtained. Such substances as silica, peroxide of
iron, and alumina, hitherto reputed insoluble, are obtained in a state
of solution. But the solutions are very prone to decomposition,
depositing, after a time, these colloids in a gelatinous condition, called
the pectous. These are facts well deserving the attention of the
geologist, who will derive important aid from them in the explanation
of phenomena occurring in his department of science.

June S. — The Secretary (T. S. Noble, Esq.) read a letter
addressed to him from Paris by the Rev. J. Kenrick, giving an account
of the Museums of Boulogne and Amiens, and especially of their
Roman Antiquities ; of the Campana Museum at Paris, then recently
opened, with some remarks on the state of archeeology at the present
time in France. Under the immediate patronage of the Emperor,
M. Renan has lately been exploring the sites of the Phoenician cities,
but has been able to find little that illustrates the history of the coun¬
try, or its state of civilization during the period of its independence.

Oct. 7. — The Rev. J. Kenrick read an account of the IMuseum of
M. Boucher de Perthes at Abbeville, and of the progress of his dis¬
covery of the flint implements in diluvial gravel in the neighbourhood
of that town.

From early life M. de Perthes occupied himself with speculations
on the race by whom these implements had been formed, and the ques¬
tion whether they had been contemporaneous with the extinct animals
to whose fossil remains Cuvier had called the attention of the
scientific world. His opinions for a long time met with opposition or
neglect ; he had unfortunately mixed with his facts some very doubt¬
ful speculations. But neither ridicule, nor neglect, nor the imputation
of irreligion, shook his own faith. He undertook distant journeys and

25

found every where the evidence of the wide diffusion of the use of
flint implements in historic times. Still the decisive proof was wanting
that the men by whom these implements were used, found in deep
seated beds of gravel, had been the contemporaries of the mammoth
and the extinct rhinoceros. The antiquity of the beds was denied ; the
implements were alleged to have been forged by the workmen or to be
the result of accidental fractures. The discovery of similar remains in
the same beds at St. Acheul, near Amiens, furnished a strong corrobo¬
ration of M. de Perthes’ opinions ; many additional specimens were
brought to light by the excavations for the Northern railway, and he
gradually obtained a few converts. In 1859 Dr. Falconer, who had been
engaged in exploring the cave at Brixham, where flint implements
were found in conjunction with human bones, and those of extinct
animals, visited Abbeville, and being himself convinced, induced
many other eminent English geologists to visit Amiens and Abbeville.
They have found specimens under circumstances which preclude mis¬
take or forgery, and have been unanimous in concluding that the flint
hatchets are really works of human art, and that the race by whom
they were used were the contemporaries of the extinct Pachydermata,
with whose remains the implements are associated.

Nov. 4. — The Rev. J. Kenrick read a paper on some Waxed
Tablets recently discovered in the gold mines of Transylvania, of which
he exhibited photographs.

In the year 1842 Professor Massmann of Munich published, with a
learned commentary, facsimiles of some waxed tablets with Latin
inscriptions, which had been discovered in Transylv^ania in 1788. Their
genuineness had been disputed, and in particular Sir F. Madden had
pronounced two tablets ofiered for sale to the British Museum, and
supposed to be the same as these, to be forgeries. By others they had
been received as genuine. Reasons were produced by the author of
the paper in favour of their genuineness, of which this additional
discovery furnished a confirmation.

These waxed tablets correspond with the known custom of the
Romans to use a thin board of wood coated with wax, for the purpose
of writing on them with a stylus of bronze. They are written in a cur¬
sive Roman hand and are the only specimens extant of that character.
According to Massmann they exhibit in duplicate a notice from the
manager of a burial club, that the funds in his hands were exhausted ;
and that no further payments could be made. The date is ascertained,
by the mention of Lucius Yerus and Quadratus as consuls, to be the

26

year 164 a. d. The tablets, of which photographs had been sent by
Mr. Paget, the author of Travels in Hungary, had not then been
decyphered.

Dec. 2. — The Rev. J. Kenrick made some remarks on the Coins
presented by Mr. Hopkins. That of the Emperor Hadrian exhibited
on the reverse the legend Restitutio Hispanic and the figure of the
Emperor standing, with Spain kneeling and a rabbit at her feet.
The origin of this symbol is said to have been the abundance of rabbits
on the south coast of Spain. The people of the Balearic Islands are
reported to have sent an embassy to Rome, requesting that another
residence might be assigned to them, as the rabbits had made the
Islands uninhabitable.

The abundance of rabbits in Spain has suggested a plausible
etymology of the name Hispania. Shaphan, in which the three radi¬
cals are the same, is the word which in Ps. 104, 18, and in Prov. 20, 36,
our translators have rendered conies. Our rabbit, however, cannot be
meant, as it does not inhabit mountains, but sandy plains or hills. It is
probably the Hyrax Syriacus, which sufliciently resembles a rabbit in
shape and habits to be confounded with it in the looseness of
ancient zoological nomenclature. The Romans called an elephant hos^
and the hyrax is much more like a rabbit than a hippopotamus is like
a horse. The Phoenician language -is almost identical with the Hebrew,
and it is not improbable that when these eastern visitors found the
country swarming with rabbits, they called it the Land of the Shaphan.

DONATIONS TO THE MUSEUM.

GEOLOGY AND MINEEALOGY.

Bainbridge, John, Esq . Fossils from the Coal Shale between

Leeds and Wakefield.

Bean, William, Esq., f Scar- Two Fossil Plants from the Oolitic Car-

horough ) . j boniferous Shale, near Scarborough.

Bolckow &;Yaugh an, Messrs. ] Fossils from the Ironstone of Eston
( Middleshro -on-Tees ) ) Mine, Cleveland.

Gibson, J. H., Esq., M.D.... Specimens of Hjematite.

Harcourt, Rev. W. Vernon A Series of Fossil Fishes and Shells

from the Coal Measures of North
Staffordshire.

Walker, J. F., Esq., (Gillg- ^ Minerals from a Copper Mine in the

gate ) . j New Red Sandstone at Alderley, in

Cheshire,

Fossils from the Inferior Oolite of

Gloucestershire.

Watkins, Mr. T . Stalactite from Cuba.

Wightman, J., Esq . Specimen of Chromite from New

Zealand.

ZOOLOGY.

Cooke, Rev. R. B., (Whel- ^ Female Cape Francolin ( Francolinus

drake ) . j capensis ).

Moore, O. A., Esq., (Repre- Collection of British Reptiles and Ba-
sentatives of the late) ... ) trachia.

North, S. W., Esq . Specimens of British Shells.

28

Procter, Wm., Esq., M.D. .

Purchased .

Robinson, George, Esq.,

(' Clifton ) .

Robinson, Thomas, Esq.,

( Petergate ) .

Walker, J. F., Esq .

Watkins, Mr. T .

Two specimens of the “ bone ” of the
common Cuttlefish.

A Skeleton of the Iceland Falcon.

'I Specimens of the Shells of a large species
; of Oyster, eaten by the Chinese.

j A Sea Snake from Bangkok, in Siam.

Specimens of Pyrula and Dolium,
Specimens of Snakes, Insects, Zoophytes,
&c., from Cuba.

BOTANY.

Moore, O. A., Esq., (Repre- An extensive Herbarium of British and
sentatives of the late) ... j Foreign Plants.

ANTIQUITIES.

Dale, Robt., Esq . A Vase, found in Museum Street.

Harcourt, Rev. W. V . Impression of the Seal of the Priory of

Drax.

Hopkins, — Esq . Roman Coins.

Noble, T. S., Esq . Roman Coins, found near the East end

of All Saints’ Church.

Walker, J. F., Esq., f ) Fragments of British Pottery, found

gate ) . ) buried in Bradford Clay, near Ciren¬

cester.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Fowler, B., Esq., Fragment of the Cable of the Russian

Ship “ Twelve Apostles,” sunk in the
Harbour of Sebastopol during the
Siege of that place.

Moore, O. A., Esq., (Repre- | Numerous Diagrams and Plates of
sentatives of the late) ... j Plants, Reptiles, and Alpine Scenery.

29

Hobinson, George, Es(|.,

( Clifton ) .

Whitaker, W. W., Esq.,
(Wetherhy) . .

A Brick from the Great Wall of China.

Specimens of Horse Shoes and Horse
Shoe Iron.

A Whip-lash from Swedish Lapland.

LIBEAEY.

Admiralty, the Lord Com¬
missioners of the .

Greenwich Observations for 1860.

Association, British, for the ^

. Report for 1861.

Advancement of Science )

The Author . A History of Kirkburton and the

Graveship of Holme, by J. Morehouse.

The Author . . An Account of the Colony of South

Australia, by F. Sinnett.

The Author . . Flint Implements in the Drift, by John

Evans, F.S.A., &c.

The Author . Maes-Howe; Notice of Runic Inscrip¬

tions discovered during recent exca¬
vations in the Orkneys, by James
Farrer, M. P.

Boucher de Perthes, M. ... Memoires de la Societe d’Emulation

d’ Abbeville, vol.

India, Geological Survey of Memoirs of the Geological Survey of

India, vol. ii., part 2, and vol. iii.,
part 1.

Palmontologia Indica, part 1.

Annual Reports, 1859 — 61.

Lloyd, Miss, (Pease7iolme\'Regm^di Scott’s Discovery of Witch-
House) . . j craft, 1584.

Sir Isaac Newton’s Optics, second edi¬
tion, 1718.

A Collection of Speeches and other
Tracts, published between 1603 and

1644.

The Manuscript Account Book of
Thomas Brisco, Seneschal of Trinity
College, Cambridge, for the year
1643.

30

Peacock, John, Esq. (Hough \ Engravings of Ecclesiastical and other

Green^ Chester) . . j Coins found at Chester.

Read, W. H. R., Esq . Proceedings of the Linnean Society,

nos. 21, 22, 23, 24.

Smithsonian Institution ... Report for 1860.

Society, Chemical . Journal for 1862.

Society, Manchester Liter- | Memoirs, 3rd series, vol. i.
ary and Philosophical ... ) Proceedings, 1857 — 60.

Rules of the Society.

Society, Liverpool Literary | Proceedings for 1860 — 61, and 1861 —
and Philosophical . ; 62.

Society, Royal, of Edinburgh Transactions, vol. xxii., part 2, xxiii.

part 1.

Proceedings, 1861 — 62.

Tyneside Naturalists’ Field

Club .

Walker, J. F., Esq . The Romans in Gloucestershire, by the

Rev. Samuel Lysons.

j Transactions, vol. v., parts 2 and 3.

SERIAL WORKS SUBSCRIBED FOR.

A Monograph of the Trochilidse or Humming Birds, by John Gould,
F. R. S. (completed).

Birds of Australia, by the same, supplementary parts (3 published).

Birds of Asia, by the same (i2 parts published).

Exotic Butterflies, being illustrations of New Species chiefly selected
from the Collections of W. Wilson Saunders and W. C. Hew-
itson. By W. C. Hewitson. (23 nos.)

Fauna Antiqua Sivalensis, or Geology of the Sewalik Hills, in the
North of India, by Dr. Falconer and Major Cautley. (Parts 1
to 9 of Illustrations, and part 1 of Letterpress.)

Proceedings of the Zoological Society, with Illustrations.

Publications of the Palseontographical Society.

Publications of the Ray Society.

Sowerby’s Thesaurus Conchyliorum, col. plates (20 parts published).

Crania Britannica, or Delineations and Descriptions of the Skulls of
the Aboriginal and early Inhabitants of the British Islands, by
J. B. Davis, F.S.A., and J. Thurnam, M.D., F.S.A. (5 parts
published.)

31

London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine.
Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte.

The Geologist.

Archaeological Journal, 1862.

Gentleman’s Magazine, 1862.

13 MAR 1886

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