46 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA 



Catalogue of British Hjmenoptera, by F. Smith, M.E.S., 1 vol., 

 8vo., from R. H. Stretch. Catalogues of the School of Mines of 

 Columbia College, N. Y., for 1868-9, 2 pams., 8vo. ; Queries on 

 the Red Sandstone of Vermont, etc., by Rev. J. B. Perry ; Ann. 

 Rep. of Trustees of Mus. Comp. Zool. of Cambridge, Mass., 1867 

 and 1868, from the authors, etc. 



The subject of a committee on Meteorology was introduced by 

 the President, having been proposed at the last meeting. Dr. 

 Henry Gibbons stated that no part of the world occupied a position 

 analogous to California, as we had three climates — one in Southern 

 California, near Mexico, one in the Northern portion of the State 

 adjacent to Oregon, and one in San Francisco. It was seldom that 

 so long a mountain range was found parallel to the meridian line. 

 The telegraph, he thought, could be made useful in San Francisco 

 as an indicator of storms. He spoke of an occasion when he was 

 at the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, where daily or hourly 

 reports of the weather are received from all parts of the Atlantic 

 States. On that occasion he sat down with Prof. Henry before a 

 large relief globe and located the storms as they were reported. 

 In this way they traced a storm as it was approaching, hundreds of 

 miles away, until it finally burst upon the city. He said that had 

 he been placed five hundred miles above the earth, looking down 

 upon the atmosphere, he could not have obtained a better view of 

 it than he did on that occasion. The phenomenon of storms was a 

 most interesting one, particularly here, where the prosperity of the 

 whole State depended on rains. An almost certain prognostic of 

 rain was the occurrence of three hot days in succession. We had 

 just experienced three hot days, and the rain he expected Avould 

 soon be here. Three hot days always followed a Norther, and rain 

 followed the three hot days. 



At his request the appointment of a committee was postponed. 



Donations to the Cabinet : Specimens of meat that fell " from the 

 sky " at San Jose recently were presented by Dr. Kellogg. He 

 gave an account of the fall of meat over twenty acres of ground, 

 as learned from an observer, Mr. Houck, and said he was informed 

 that nerves, muscle, and bone were found, some imbedded in the 

 soil, belonging to either small animals or fish. This meat was al- 

 leged to have fallen about 3 o'clock p.m., when the sky was clear, 



