Page:Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute - Volume 1 (2nd ed.).djvu/501

Rh the vessel was about to visit White Island, and that it possessed great interest, for the care with which the altitudes and soundings of the warm lake and the temperature of the springs had been ascertained.

The Secretary proposed that Dr. Rolston and Lieut. Edwin should be written to, thanking them for their contribution.

The motion was carried unanimously.

The President said he thought it should be decided at that meeting whether they should unite with the New Zealand Institute.

Mr. Peacock moved that they be incorporated with the New Zealand Institute.

Captain Hutton seconded the motion.

Mr. Gillies said he hoped they would resolve upon joining the Institute. While in politics they fought for their local advantages, they should show that when it came to a matter of science they recognized no distinction.

The motion to incorporate with the New Zealand Institute was carried unanimously.

1. "On the Mechanical Principles involved in the Flight of the Albatros," by Captain F. W. Hutton, F.G.S.

The author commenced by remarking that though most other branches of ornithology had been treated of, that of "flight" had received little attention, though it was a subject of considerable difficulty and importance. His first illustration was that of an albatros, 17 pounds in weight, poised in mid-air ready for flight; the temperature of its air cells, as scientifically ascertained, being 108°F., and that of the surrounding air 48°F. In that case it would require a sphere of more than 15 feet in diameter to contain the quantity of air necessary to render the specific gravity of the bird equal to that of the atmosphere. Taking its under surface to be 8 feet in all, it would require a pressure of 2.12 pounds per square foot to support it, and an upward velocity of 20 feet a second to sustain the bird in the air. If the breeze were blowing with a velocity of 100 feet a second, the bird would be forced backwards and downwards in the direction of the wind. The essayist, having proceeded to show, in algebraic formule, the