ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 49 



Address of L. P. Smith before Alumni of Ilaverford Coll., Philad., 

 pam. 8vo, 1869, from the societies and publishers. Catalogue of 

 Reptiles and Batrachians found near Springfield, Mass., by J. A. 

 Allen, from the author ; 1 vol. 8vo. 



Professor George Davidson described his operations for the de- 

 termination of longitude bj telegraph. The former mode was by 

 chronometers carried to different points ; also bj eclipses or the 

 moon's declinations. After repeated experiments, Mr. Davidson 

 made the circuit between San Francisco and Cambridge, Massachu- 

 setts, and back, in eighty-two hundreths of a second, the distance 

 being seven thousand two hundred miles. The calculations of 

 former moon determinations were found to have been nearly correct 

 by the electric observations, the difference being only one second 

 — equal to a quarter of a mile of longitude. The exact difference 

 in time was found to be three hours and twenty-five minutes. 



Regular Meeting, April 19th, 1869. 

 President in the Chair. 



L. A. Gould of Santa Clara, and Capt. Edward Pinnor, were 

 elected resident members. 



Donation to the Cabinet : Saline incrustations from Mono Lake, 

 by T. A. Mudge. 



Donations to the Library : Bulletin of Essex Listitute for 1869, 

 1 vol. 8vo. ; Trans, of Edinburg Geol. Society, 2 vols., 8vo., 

 1868 ; from the publishers. Catalogue of the Meteoi'ites of Yale 

 College Museum, pam., 8vo., 1868; Address of the President of 

 Peabody Institute, Baltimore, Feb., 1869, pam., 8vo. 



Dr. A. Kellogg exhibited and remarked upon several new and 

 beautiful plants discovered by him near the mouth of the San 

 Joaquin River. 



A letter from W. F. Stewart on " sun dogs" as seen in San 

 Jose caused a discussion on this phenomenon, as to whether it is 

 from refraction as usually believed, or magnetic influence as Mr. 

 Stewart suggested. 



