American Scientific Association. 2S9 



ARTICLE XXII. — American Association for the Advancement 

 of Science. 



This body held its annual meeting at Springfield, Mass., under 

 the presidency of Dr. Alexander, during the week commencing 

 August 3rd. There was a good attendance, and many interesting 

 and important papers were read ; the whole number registered 

 being 1 08. On Tuesday the 9th, after having chosen Dr. Isaac 

 Lea of Philadelphia to be president, and Dr. B. A. Gould, jr., of 

 Boston, to be vice president for the next year, the association ad- 

 journed to meet at Newport, Rhode Island, on the 1st of August, 

 1860. 



It is chiefly from the reports of the meeting published in the 

 Springfield Republican, that we extract the following abstracts of 

 several papers, which may prove interesting to our readers. 



METEOROLOGY. 



The first paper was by Professor Henry of the Smithsonian In- 

 stitute, on Meteorology. He said that extensive operations had 

 been made in Europe and in this country, by the British admi- 

 ralty, the French government, the States of New York and Pennsyl- 

 vania, and by the Smithsonian Institute. The Institute had pur- 

 chased many hundred instruments which had been distributed 

 over the country, but only a series of observations extending over 

 many years eould be of value. Prof. Coffin of Lafayette College 

 had been especially employed by the Institution : he was abun- 

 dantly qualified to execute the work. The labors performed had 

 been immense, and an idea of what progress had been made would 

 be given. There are 350 observers in the United States who 

 make observations three times a day. To arrive at satisfactory 

 results the observations must also be carried on at sea. This 

 would be done eventually, especially if the public should demand 

 it. It was a science which required time. It was impossible, he 

 said, to make any advance in science if it had no hypothesis. We 

 could collect facts, but to use them we must have a place. In 

 studying nature, we soon learn to reject what is not true and pre- 

 serve what is true. 



He proceeded to give some general views of meteorology. The 

 general idea of the motion of the atmosphere was from Hadley. 

 The moving power in meteoric changes was the sun. It wa . origin- 

 ally supposed that the currents of air flowed from the equator to the 

 Canadian Nat. 4 Vol. IV. No. 4- 



