The Sun.
London, England, 1837-09-13 00:00:00

BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.

LIVERPOOL, MONDAY NIGHT.—The Seventh Annual
Meeting of this Association commenced here this morning.
Every necessary arrangement to promote the comfort and
convenience of the members visiting Liverpool has been
adopted by the Local Committee. The various institu-
tions, public, commercial, and other buildings, manufac-
tories, &c., and everything worthy the inspection of the
curious, have been thrown open for gratuitous inspection.
The Sections were held in their respective meeting-
rooms this morning at the usual hour of eleven o'clock, the
Committee having met the hour previous to decide upon
the papers to be read.
SECTION A.—MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE.
—Sir David Brewster in the Chair. The subjects dis-
cussed were the report on tidal observations, by Mr. Lub-
bock ; Mr. Bird on aerial ascents ; Colonel Gould on
telegraphic communication ; Mr. Cunningham on mag.
netism ; Professor Whewell on an anemometer ; Mr.
Osler on the same ; and Professor Powell on the dispersion
of light.
SECTION B.—CHEMISTRY AND MINERALOGY.--Mr.
Crane, of Inyscydiou Iron-works, read a paper on the use
of anthracite coal in the smelting of iron, by which it ap-
peared that there were advantages in a considerable saving
of' fuel, whilst the quality of the iron was improved. Dr.
Kane made a communication on pyroacetic spirit, in which
he established analogy with alcohols, and illustrated nu-
merous forms, both in elementary and compound bodies, by
which their analogy is proved ; and Mr. G. Bird read a
paper on the crystalization of metals by voltaic action,
independent of the proximity of metallic electricity.
SECTION C.—GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY.—Professor
Sedgwick in the chair. The communications were a report
by the Rev. Professor Whewell on the relative level of the
land and sea ; the Rev. James Yates, a report on mud in
rivers ; Captain Denham, a report on the tidal capacity and
deposit of the Mersey ; the Rev. James Yates, a report on
the fossil vegetables in the new red sandstone of Worces-
tershire ; and H. E. Strickland, Esq., on gravel.
SECTION D.—ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY.—W. S. MaCleay,
Esq., in the chair. Dr. Traill exhibited a specimen of the
Argos Persicus, or poisonous bug of Mianneh, in Persia,
an insect to the bite of which is attributed fever, and not
unfrequently death. It is positively described by Sir R.
Kerr Porter and Dr. Morier, and a messenger was sent
after General White, who was Envoy to the Persian Court,
to warn him against sleeping in a part of the country in-
fested with the insect, from the almost certainty of death.
Mr. Gray described a new water lily from Guiana, and also
made some remarks upon the production of insects from
silica, ascribed to Mr. Cross. He had, along with Mr.
Children, repeated the experiments in the manner described
by Mr. Cross, but without any result, and his opinion,
which was supported by that of the Chairman and other
members, was that they had been produced from the water
employed in the experiment. The Rev. Mr. Hope read a
communication from Sir Thomas Phillips on a mode of de-
stroying book-worms.
SECTION F.—STATISTICS.—CoIoneI Sykes in the Chair.
A paper was read by the President on the Statistics of
Deccan, embracing the extent and physical features, the
geology, climate, botany, zoology, &c., with the adminis-
tration of justice. In geology it is remarked that 205,000
square miles belong to the trap formation, and 700,000
square miles of igneous rocks and granite, the latter for-
mation extending from the 25th degree of latitude to Cape
Comorin, and including the island of Ceylon. Agricul-
ture, though rudely conducted, is very productive, and in
one particular head of corn 61,380 grains were produced
from one seed. Vitality is stronger than is generally be-
lieved ; even during the cholera the deaths were one in 39
only ; and during six years the author lost none of his at-
tendants, whilst in a native Regiment in that period, the
deaths were less than one in 100. Dr. Taylor read an
abstract of the Annual Report of Regents of the University
of the state of New York on the progress of national edu-
cation, made to the Legislature March 1, 1837. The whole
number of students belonging to Academies, under
the controul of the University, was stated as 6,056, of
which number 4,590 had pursued their classical studies in
the higher branches of English education. Mr. Ashworth
read a Report on the state of education in the borough
of Bolton, in 1837. In that town are twenty-one Sunday
Schools with 9,867 scholars, being 191 per cent, of the
school-going population, of whom about 2,000 may he
estimated as being in attendance, both at daily and
Sunday-schools, leaving the number of 7,867 receiving in-
struction at Sunday schools only. In the Sunday schools
there were 2,014 scholars in four schools connected with
the Church Establishment ; 1,085 scholars in one Roman
Catholic school, and 6,768 scholars in sixteen schools be-
longing to various departments of Dissenters. There are
also five charity schools, with 692 scholars, including the
two infant schools, and likewise a grammar school, where
scholars have been entered at 120, according to the Report
to Government. Mr. G. R. Porter read a paper on the
Growth, Progress, and Extent of the Trade between the
United Kingdom and America, from the beginning of the
eighteenth century to the present time, illustrated by ex-
tensive tables. The shipments of British produce and ma-
nufacturers in the year 1836, amounted, according to the
value declared by the shippers, to 53,368,5711., of which
sum America took 12,425,6051. or 23. 28 per cent. The
total shipments in 1835 amounted to 47,372,270/., of
which America took 10,568,4551., or 22.31 per cent., the
difference between the two years being on the total ship-
ments, 5,996,301/„ and on the shipments to America,
1,857,150/. It was very obvious, not only that the habits
and predelictions of the citizens of the United States lead
them to give a preference to British goods, but that ours is
the cheapest market in which they can procure many arti-
cles necessary to them, whilst we are out of all pro-
portion the best consumers for the raw produce of their
soil. The average annual value of articles of British
growth and manufacture to every citizen of the United
States is 16s. 94d.
SECTION G.—MECHANICAL SCIENCE.—Dr.: Robinson,
of Armagh in the Chair. The papers read were Mr.
Williams's account of a new pump, which he calls Treffo's
process,
the chief merit of. which appears to consist in the
steadiness of action and continuous flow of the water, on
which some discussion ensued as to its being merely a mo-
dification of the common fire-engine, and from Mr. Russell,
of Edinburgh, an interesting paper on the Mechanism of
Waves, considered in relation to steam navigation. At the
last meeting the author had been appointed by the Associa-
tion to institute along with Mr. Robinson a series of expe-
riments upon the subject. The paper was illustrated by a
series of well executed drawings, but without detailing the in-
teresting elucidations, the following results were arrived at :
That the wave which Mr. Russell has named the great wave
of translation, and is the great impediment to the progress of
vessels in rivers and canals, is materially diminished by atten-
tion to the form of the banks and bed of the river. He had
found that the parallelogram was the best form to obviate that
resistance, which was corroborated by Mr. Fairbairn, who
had seen in one instance in the Forth and Clyde canal,
when a vessel was going at the rate of seven miles an hour,
the stern actually touched the ground, proving the great
opposition occasioned by this wave to her progress. He
likewise noticed the gradual alteration that had taken place
in the form of steam-vessels in the River Clyde, which has
undergone a complete revolution, the stern being now nearly
the shape of the stern formerly, and now of a very acute
make, whilst bulging out of the centre of the midships
which is now the greatest breadth, the effect being that
they produce very little wave towards the side.
THE DINNER.-At five o'clock, 500 members of the
Association sat down to dinner at Lucas's Repository. The
Marquis of Northampton presided. On the removal of
the cloth,
The Noble CHAIRMAN rose and said that that meeting,
although not a political assembly, but a scientific one, yet
he was sure there was no one present but would respond to
the toast he had the honour to propose—" Her most Gra-
cious Majesty the Queen."—(Cheers.)
" 'The ocher members of the Royal Family" was the next

toast.
The CHAIRMAN afterwards proposed " The Mayor and
Corporation of Liverpool."

The MAYOR returned thanks.

The Noble MARQUIS, in proposing prosperity to the
British Association, said he rejoiced exceedingly when he
looked round the room and saw such a brilliant assembly ;
that he, as their viceroy, might consider himself as dining
in great state, surrounded as he was by such a body of dis-
tinguished gentlemen. That was his " last dying speech,"
and in the evening he was to be " turned off," and to give
his sceptre into more worthy hands. They would then say
—" The king is dead—long live the king."
The " Health of the President elect," and other toasts
were then drunk.

A general meeting of the Association took place at eight
o'clock in the evening, at the Royal Amphitheatre, when
the Marquis of Northampton resigned his office of Chair-
man in favour of the Earl of Burlington.
The annual report, which was very elaborate, was read
by Dr. Trail, and a statement of the finances of the so-
ciety was made by the Treasurer, by which it appears that
the society have a balance in hand of upwards of 5,0001. A
large addition is expected to die funds from the number of
tickets sold, which even now greatly exceed the number
sold in Bristol last year.

The foundation has been laid of the first house in
Wellington-street North, in the Strand, of the range of new
houses that is to complete the street, which will be a con-
siderable improvement in the neighbourhood when finished.
On Thursday a man named Isaac Bairstow ate, at
the Angel Inn, Lee-bridge, in this town, 40 raw eggs, and
drank nine noggins of rum ! He seemed very anxious
to finish his proposed quantity, 100 eggs, but the person
who " stood treat" declined the offer,-..Hal Express.