224 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



pectation of increased price,, which at present is about seventy 

 cents. Sodium, in consequence of M, Deville's experiments, 

 is now abundant at a low price, and the list might be extend- 

 ed; proving that, when demand arises for any product like 

 aluminium, the cost of production can be surprisingly reduced. 

 As the metal has many special applications, hardly a doubt ex- 

 ists of its extended consumption. 



Dr. A. A. Gould referred to the loss which the Acad- 

 emy had sustained in the recent decease of Dr. Thaddeus 

 William Harris, and offered the following resolutions : — 



" Resolved, That the Fellows of the Academy deeply deplore the 

 recent decease of Dr. Thaddeus William Harris, one of the older and 

 most distinguished of their number, and would mingle their sympa- 

 thies in the sorrow of his bereaved family. 



" Resolved, That as a bibliographer and an archseologist, in rela- 

 tion especially to the history of our own country, he held a distin- 

 guished rank ; that as a naturalist he has not been surpassed by any 

 of his countrymen, and has exhibited a patience, thoroughness, and 

 accuracy of observation in the various departments of Natural His- 

 tory, a truthfulness in the delineations both of his pencil and his pen, 

 and a singular facility in employing language intelligible to the com- 

 mon reader and at the same time fulfilling all the requirements of 

 science, which render him a model for the interrogator of Nature ; 

 and that, through a long life of untiring industry, he has accumulated 

 and published a mass of original observations, of an eminently prac- 

 tical bearing, which have won for him high consideration both at home 

 and abroad, and will constitute for him an enduring monument. 



" Resolved, That while both the scientific and the practical world 

 are largely indebted to him for his published papers, it is to be re- 

 gretted that very many others of equal importance, which are known 

 to have been prepared, or are in process of preparation, remain un- 

 published ; and that the Academy tenders its assistance in their pub- 

 lication. 



" Resolved, That in view of his unobtrusive and virtuous life, and 

 the eminent though unclaimed distinction due him as a man of science 

 and letters, a committee be appointed to prepare a Memoir of his 

 Life and Labors, to be published by the Academy." 



The resolutions were seconded by Professor Agassiz, who 



