to appear till the fourth day if the earth had been for ages covered with vegetation, which, according to this theory, it must have been, the plants having been made on the third day. In the opinion of the lecturer, geological evidence drives us to the conclusion that former systems did exist prior to the biblical chronology, and that this view is in accordance with, rather than repugnant to, the Mosaic narrative. Moses only records the present condition of the earth, and whether it was formed from the wreck of former systems inhabited by animals is left entirely an open question. About six thousand years have elapsed since light was commanded to descend, at which period the Mosaic chronology, and consequently our world, commenced; but is there no intimation given that a material substance was formed at a far prior date. The lecturer remarks, " The book of Genesis opens thus: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." It is worthy of remark that the Gospel of St. John opens in language strikingly similar, "In the beginning was the word." If we place, in any degree, a similar interpretation upon similar words, we are here afforded some clue-a clue, indeed, which, while it may direct, at the same time must overwhelm the mind with its immensity; for it places the first creation of the heavens and the earth in the deepest recess of time, subsequent only to the one Eternal, by whom all things were made.'" The lecturer then proceeds to examine closely the two first verses of Genesis, acknowledging that a part of the following argument is taken from a note in Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater treatise. "The point upon which the interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis appears, in the opinion of many persons, to turn, is this, whether the two first verses are merely a summary statement of what is related afterwards in detail, in the creation which took place in the six days; or whether they contain in themselves an act of creation prior to, and distinct from, what follows. The latter seems to be decidedly the correct opinion, and for these reasons: There is, in the first place, no other account of the creation of the earth, except in the first verse; in the next place, the second verse describes the state of the earth at some period after it was created, and before light was commanded to descend upon it. Some persons hold that the act of creation recorded in the first verse constitutes a portion of the work of the first day, but reflection leads to a different conclusion; for you will observe that each separate day's creation commences with the words 'And God said;' and therefore the very form of the narrative seems to imply that when the creation of the first day began these words were first used-i. e., with the creation of light in verse the third. Accordingly, in some old editions of The Bible, where there is no division into verses, you actually find a break at the end of what is now the second verse; and in Luther's Bible you have, in addition, the figure 1 placed immediately before what is, at present, the third verse, as being the beginning of the account of the creation of the first day. Of the fathers, Augustine, Theodocet, and others, have confirmed this view by their testimony; indeed, I could produce the

be prevalent among engineers on the western waters of the United States, that, provided a full supply of water is kept in a boiler, there is no danger of explosion from increasing the steam pressure.*

To set this question at rest, two cylinders-one of iron and one of copper-were partly filled with water and exposed over a fire, so as to increase the pressure of steam within; the greatest amount of this pressure, before the cylinder gave way, being registered by a spring

gauge. The material facts attending the bursting of the iron boiler are thus stated by the Committee :

"The explosion tore off one of the heads, b c, of the cylinder, projecting the other parts of the boiler in an opposite direction, carrying with them, for a portion of the distance, the iron cylinder forming the furnace, and scattering the fuel in every direction. The boiler head was thrown fifteen feet, the boiler and spring register about six feet, and the furnace, weighing about forty-five pounds, was overturned and carried four feet. The pressure indicated by the register was 11 atmospheres. The circumstances

of this experiment show that the steam rose quite gradually on account of leaks in the boiler, increasing, probably, more rapidly as the quantity of water diminished, the intensity of the fire, meanwhile, increasing; that, at a certain period, the tension within had attained about eleven atmospheres, when the boiler exploded violently."

"As before, nothing remarkable occurred previous to the instant of explosion, and the members of the committee employed in the experiments were engaged in observing the boiler at the instant it exploded. A dense cloud of smoke and flame, capped by steam, rose from the pit; the stones and combustibles were widely scattered, and the boiler was thrown, in a single mass, about fifteen feet from the furnace. The noise attending this explosion was like that from the firing of an eight inch mortar.

"The boiler was rent as shown in the accompanying figure, giving way in an irregular line, just above the probable water-line on one side of the boiler, but not conforming to it. d and b were the lowest points in the two heads

This same opinion we see in the evidence of one of the parties examined before the coroner's inquest in relation to the late accident at Hull.

Having concluded this part of his subject, he illustrated the close connection between natural philosophy and religious devotion by quoting the views entertained of the nature and attributes of the Deity by the ancient philosophers, of whom he remarked-" The ancients were deeply versed in most of those arts and sciences which could be obtained without the assistance of scientific instruments; and the extraordinary talents of many of their philosophers, and their eminent proficiency in Natural History, abstract reasoning, and Metaphysics, opened to them as clear and comprehensive a view as reason, unenlightened by revelation, could attain of the nature and attributes of the Deity. Aristotle says that God appears the cause of all things and a first principle; he also describes him as immortal, incorruptible, uncreated, and self-existing. Plato, although convinced of the unity of the Deity, frequently speaks of him in the plural number, out of indulgence, perhaps, to the prejudices of his countrymen. The following is a remarkable view which he takes of what constitutes blasphemy :-the first species is denying the existence of a Deity or Gods;' the second, admitting their existence, but denying that they care for man;' the third kind of blasphemy was that of men attempting to propitiate the Gods towards criminal acts, such as murder, &c., by prayers, thanksgiving. and sacrifice, thus making those pure beings accomplices in their crimes.' The first two of Plato's doctrines cannot be impeached; and how exactly should we agree with the last view of the great heathen in contemplating alone the purity of God! but thankful ought we to be that he has condescended to reveal to us the blessed truth that his love and mercy are equal to his justice." After quoting some fine passages from Epicurus, Plutarch, Seneca, and the elder Pliny, expressing their full belief in the omnipotence and unity of the God of Nature, the lecturer proceeds: Thus, then, have these wondrous men bequeathed us in their works a proud memorial of genius inspired by the contemplation of external Nature, and thus on every page have they engraved an inscription imperishable as that on the Athenian altar, to the unknown God.' Something, however, was still wanting: it was the light of revelation to pierce that mental cloud which philosophy alone was unable to dispel-it was the voice of an apostle, to declare unto them that Being whom they ignorantly adored. I will not describe, for it must be obvious to all, in how beautiful and comprehensive a manner the Deity whom we meet in every path of Nature is shadowed out to us in the sacred writings, and with what enthusiasm the ancient philosophers would have hailed that delineation as the fulfilment of their deepest speculations and fondest hopes. From the eye of every christian the veil has been long withdrawn which separates anxious doubt from the glorious certainty; and it is our privilege to peruse with unsatiated delight the works of Nature, and to rest with humble confidence on the written word of God." The lecturer then goes on to describe, with much enthusiasm, the elevating tendency of the contemplation of Nature, from the glorious objects

being, however, of the same form-disk valves. This form is stated to have been selected as most applicable to practice, from the ease with which the touching surfaces can be ground into contact, and the impossibility of tightening by friction, as in the case of the cone. The observed pressures at which the valve rose were uniformly below the calculated pressures at which, allowing for the weight, leverage, and friction, the valve would have been expected to rise; the mean ratio being as 1 to 1.035. In no case was any undue adhesion observed. While these experiments are favourable to the use of the safety-valve, when well constructed and kept in good order, they cannot be considered as justifying that feeling which imagines a valve to be a security, without inquiring into its condition. On the contrary, we find in this Report a well-authenticated instance of great adhesion of the valve to its seat, requiring, when the pressure of the steam was above that which should have raised the valve, considerable force applied at the end of the lever to open it.

Besides two safety valves, the regulations for the safety of the steam engine, until lately in force in France, required that fusible plates, or plugs, should be placed in or over an opening into the boiler. These, giving way when the steam within reached the melting point of the alloy constituting the plate, allowed the escape of steam. These plates were intended besides to apply to a case in which the safety-valve is inoperative, namely, when, from a deficiency of water in the boiler, parts of the metal have become highly heated, and thus have heated the steam above the temperature corresponding to its density. The experiments made on these plates were numerous, and lead to a conclusion of considerable interest as affecting their use. It was found that the alloys composing the plates soften, in part, before they reach the temperature of fusion of the whole mass, and that liquid portions are forced out through the holes of the brass plate which, in practice, covers them, leaving a less fusible mass. In the case of one of the alloys, which melted above

*

That steam thus surcharged with heat may exist within a boiler which yet contains some water, appears to have been generally assumed. The fact was made the subject of experiment by the Committee, who found it to be as assumed. The steam was produced and kept up by a charcoal fire placed under a boiler, while a similar fire above the boiler surcharged with heat the steam produced. The committee found that the elastic force of the steam calculated on the supposition of its expanding by heat as a gas agreed very nearly with the observed force, differing but .05 of an atmosphere at the temperature of 533°. The thermometer giving the temperature of the water in the boiler had become deranged during the course of this experiment by an accident, but this close coincidence certainly rendered a repetition of the inquiry unnecessary. On these experiments, our good-natured cotemporary before referred to remarks: The Sub-committee did not make one experiment on this subject; they decide upon the uncomfortable experiments of the preceding investigation, &c." Which uncomfortable experiments, as he facetiously (?) terms them, were quite as directly to the point as if they had been intended solely to apply to it, to the exclusion of all other deductions.

the chair. H. Strickland, Esq., read the Annual Address of the Council, which, after alluding to the numerous and liberal donations to the museum and library, exhibited the labours of the Society in the advancement of science during the past year. The follow. ing is a sketch of the proceedings of the different Committees devoted to the several branches of science. In Meteorology, two valuable papers have been received, one by W. Addison, Esq., of Great Malvern-the other by John Williams, Esq., of Pitmaston, on the weather of 1836 compared with 1837, and the Influence of the late severe Season on Vegetation and the progress of Diseases. At the desire of the Statistical Committee, the Revs. Thos. and John Pearson have just published the Statistical History of Great Witley, preparatory to a general history of the country; and Sir Thomas Phillips is now preparing a similar account of the vicinity of Broadway. The Botanical Committee record their gratitude to Mr. Phipps Onslow for a liberal offer of specimens, and to the executors of the late Mr Purton, for a collection of Cryptogamia made by that eminent botanist. In Geology, several important discoveries are announced. The new Red Sandstone, which was long considered to be devoid of fossils, has been found by Mr. Amphlett, of Dunclent, to contain an abundance of vegetable remains at Hadley and Elmley Lovett. Similar fossils also occur at Breakback Hill, near Bromsgrove. Another stratum of sandstone near the top of the red marl at Birghill, near Eldersfield, has been found to contain bones and bivalve shells, and as this stratum is quarried at Ripple, at Inkberrow, and other places, it is recommended that further search be made for these curious remains. Some interesting observations have also been made on the superficial gravel of this county. This gravel is supposed to have been deposited partly by marine currents and partly by ancient rivers. If this view be correct, every gravel pit in the county may be expected to yield either marine shells or bones, and fresh-water shells. Jabez Allies, Esq., has found the former in the gravel at Kempsey, and the Rev. W. Parker has discovered bones and fresh-water shells at Bricklehampton. The Council conclude their address with recommending the Society and the public to make further search for these fossil remains, and to ascertain whether bones and fresh water shells are ever found in the gravel on the top of hills, or only, as seems to be the case, in the immediate vicinity of existing rivers and streams.

After a series of resolutions had been passed, the Rev. John Pearson rose to read his paper on British Ornithology. The lecturer remarked that "between the limited faculties of man and the boundless range of omnipotence there is an impassable gulph; and while we stand alone in our insignificance, and every movement we make is calculated to add humility to the humble and to strike with dismay the arrogant and presuming, we are allowed to follow the works of creation with admiration of their beauty, with amazement at their gigantic structure and correctness of order, and with deepseated gratitude for the benefits and advantages they are calculated to afford. Religion approves and philosophy promotes these generous