loving friends who knew them intimately the duty of enrolling in the proceedings of the Association a fitting memorial of their worth.

Gentlemen, I fully appreciate the honor conferred in selecting me to preside over your deliberations. I beg you to accept my sincere thanks and the assurance of my best endeavors to meet the responsibilities of the position. I ask for your kind indulgence and cordial co-operation, and trust that this meeting may be entirely successful, and prove a benefit to us and to the public as well.

COMMITTEE ON PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS, WITH REPORT

THEREON.

On motion, President Vanderpool's address was referred to a committee of three (Messrs. M. S. Greenough, W. H. Denniston, and D. D. Flemming), for consideration and report. The committee recommended that 700 copies of the address be printed. Adopted.

REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

The following report of Executive Committee was read by the Secretary. On motion, the report was accepted and its recommendations adopted.

CINCINNATI, OHIO, Oct. 21, 1885. TO THE MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN GAS LIGHT ASSOCIATION. Gentlemen-Your Executive Committee would respectfully report the following acts and recommendations for your approval:

The hours for holding the sessions during the present meeting to be as follows: Wednesday, meet at 10 A. M.; adjourn at 12 M.; reconvene at 2 P. M.; adjourn at 6 P. M. Thursday, meet at 9:30 A. M.; adjourn at 12:30; reconvene at 2 P. M.; adjourn at 6 P. M. Friday, meet at 9 A. M.; adjourn at II A. M.; reconvene for final adjournment at 5 P. M.

Recommended, that the salary of Secretary and Treasurer be fixed, until further action of the Association, at $500, and his expenses in attending the meetings of the Association.

The following papers have been approved: "Natural Gas," by W. H. Denniston; "Stoking Machines," by M. S. Greenough; "Improved Furnaces," by Austin C. Wood; "The Result of a Month's Working with Limed Coal," by James Somerville; "The Thermophote, or Self-Registering Photometer," by T. O'Conor Sloane; "The Present State of the Gas Business," by J. C. Pratt; “Difficulties Encountered in the Construction of a Gasholder Tank," by Emerson McMillin; "Automatic Street Main Governors," by Wm. Enfield; "The Relations of Corporations to Municipalities," by J. B. Crockett, Jr.; "Naphthaline," by J. H. Walker, Sr.

Your Committee, taking cognizance of the fact that we are honored this year by the presence at our meeting of R. P. Spice, Esq., Past-President of the Gas Institute of England, take pleasure in proposing him as an honorary member of the Association. For the Committee,

A. B. SLATER, Chairman.

REPORT OF FINANCE COMMITTEE.

Mr. John Andrew, Chairman of the Finance Committee, read the following report, which was, on motion of Capt. W. H. White, received and ordered spread on the minutes.

CINCINNATI, OHIO, Oct. 20, 1885.

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN GAS LIGHT ASSOCIATION. Gentlemen-Your Finance Committee would respectfully report that they have examined the books and accounts of the Secretary and Treasurer, C. J. R. Humphreys, for the year ending Sept. 30, 1885, and find the same to be correct.

REPORT OF SECRETARY AND TREASURER.

Mr. C. J. R. Humphreys, Secretary and Treasurer, read the following report for the year ended Sept. 30, 1885 :

Interest on the funds of the Association, 88 60

Deposit in South Brooklyn Savings Institution, $1,115 89

Deposit in Williamsburgh Savings Bank,

744 28

On motion of Mr. A. B. Slater the report was received and ordered spread on the minutes.

COMMITTEE ON NOMINATIONS.

The President appointed Messrs. W. A. Stedman, G. A. Hyde, Thomas Turner, T. Littlehales, and D. D. Flemming a committee to nominate a board of officers for the ensuing year.

COMMITTEE ON PLACE OF MEETING, 1886.

On motion, Messrs. W. H. White, I. N. Stanley, W. H. Pearson, Walter Wood, and J. P. Harbison were appointed a committee to name a city wherein to hold the fourteenth annual meeting of the Association.

Pressing routine business having been disposed of, the President announced that reading of papers was in order. Mr. Emerson McMillin, of Columbus, Ohio, thereupon read the following paper, entitled,

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF A

GASHOLDER TANK.

The members of our Association are profited at every session by hearing of the successful experiments and undertakings of their fellow members; but, believing that we may be equally profited by recounting our mistakes and failures, I have thought it advisable to give a short history of difficulties encountered, and mistakes made, in the construction of a tank during the year 1884.

That you may better comprehend the remarks, I present a topographical survey of the ground, also plan and sectional elevation of the tank.

The city of Columbus is located on "drift" formation. The drift deposit is from 60 to 120 feet deep. It is chiefly composed of a greenish blue clay, thickly interspersed with lime boulders. The surface, in many places, is covered with a few feet of gravel; and at a depth of 25 to 40 feet, another seam of gravel and sand is reached.

The plot of ground in which our tank was excavated was barely large enough to contain it, the brick wall on three sides of the tank touching either alley or street lines.

You will notice, by the topographical survey, that quite a depression in the ground existed near the center of the lot. This depression was originally caused by a stream flowing through the grounds, and which had, ages ago, deposited sand and gravel to a depth of 10 to 20 feet. On this deposit, in the lowest place, had been carted earth removed in the construction of neighboring streets and in grading lots. On the south side of the tank, however, was found solid, greenish-blue clay up almost to the level of the streets.

The excavation was commenced on the south side, going down in nearly a semi-circle, and the earth was carted to the north side. Fearing that sand or gravel might be reached before we had