Scientific Society

Cbc %cientific

President—The Headmaster.

Secretary—R. P. Warin.

Very little, in the way of lectures, has been done this term, as Exhibition Work has taken up most of the time.

On Saturday, February 18th, L. A. Little gave us a lecture entitled " Chile Saltpetre." In this lecture he showed how the raw material is mined and worked up to the pure product.

Mr. Ping gave a lecture on Saturday, February 11th, on " Water Supplv." He explained, with the aid of excellent slides, the passage of the water from the clouds to our taps.

That the society is still flourishing is shown by the fact that we have a record membership list.

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The exhibition was opened by the president, The Headmaster, on Friday, March 24th, in the Big Hall.

In his opening speech he mentioned the remarkable progress science had made during this century, and said that now-a-days science from nearly every aspect is taught thoroughly in practically all schools. He referred to the work of Joseph Priestley, whose centenary is being celebrated this year, and said that his pioneer work in chemistry had led up to many more discoveries, the ultimate effect of which no one could prophesy. He then went on to congratulate Mr. Featherstone on his excellent work in connection with the exhibition, and recalled how the idea of an exhibition had been started and how it had been carried on, each occasion showing an advance on the previous one.

The exhibition was divided up into the following sections :Geography, Botany, Physics, Chemistry, Natural History, and a Junior School section.

The Geography section contained some most interesting models and maps, of which the most noticeable were a model of Mount Everest, illustrating the recent expedition, and maps made by Dodd, N. L., and Smithson. An interesting series of specimens from the wool trade was sent by J. E. Priestley, an Old Peterite.

This section deserves the greatest credit for their display, and especially for their hard work during the unfortunate absence of Mr. Greenway, owing to illness. We offer our heartiest congratulations to Mr. Rhodes who most splendidly filled the gap during Mr. Greenway's absence.

The Physics section,' which covers many departments such as the high frequency and cathode ray demonstrations, and the ultra violet light experiments, are to be complimented on their work.

Amongst the exhibits were model locomotive and marine engines by J. N. Emery, working- models of road and railway automatic traffic signals by G. C. Smith and N. Smithson, and the " Phantom Coin," which caused much amusement. The Wimshurst machine, in charge of R. H. Chapman, went well and was very popular.

Short wave transmission and reception was conducted by H. K. Worsley, by the kind permission of the G.P.O., aided by C. H. Perry. Worsley also managed the loud speaker announcing system.

In the Chemistry section the most popular exhibits were the demonstration of the manufacture of artificial silk by Douglas, Vasey, and White, and processes of fat extraction and of hydrogenation of oils by R. E. Campbell.

Mr. Ping showed a collection of local flowering plants, mosses, and liverworts, and of tree twigs, in the Botany section.

The Natural History was divided into two parts. One in the Biology Laboratory, which, amongst many other exhibits, contained a collection of shells arranged by our curator, L. A. Little. A very good model of a housefly, done by Mr. Milnes, attracted much attention and made an excellent exhibit. Freshwater aquaria were displayed by P. D. Johnstone.

The other portion of the Natural History was in Mr. Sykes' room, which also contained many enlargements done by the Photography section. In it were collections of Birds, Birds' Eggs, and Butterflies, identified and arranged by R. P. Warin and our editor, R. W. Moore.

The junior School section put up a very creditable show, the most noticeable exhibit being an electric sign, which was worked by a steam engine.

During the evenings three lectures were given :-

THE LIQUEFACTION OF AIR W. H. G. Milnes, Esq. MUSHROOMS AND TOADSTOOLS A. W. Ping, Esq. SUGAR, ITS FORMATION AND

TRANSFORMATIONS C. R. F. Featherstone, Esq.