THE 



CANADIAN NATURALIST 



AND 



^uiulcvly f auvnal d ^dtiut 



ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH 

 ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF 



SCIENCE, 



At its Forty-First Meeting, at Edlnhirgli, August, 1871. 



The Presidency of the Association was resigned by Prof. Hux- 

 ley, and assumed by Sir William Thompson, who delivered the 

 usual Presidential Address. 



After dwelling on the origin of the Association, and the emi- 

 nent scientific career of several of its early founders, the Presi- 

 dent gave a review of the present work of the Association, and 

 suggested, in connection with it, the importance of establishing a 

 British Year Book of Science. He also urged upon the Govern- 

 ment the necessity for the foundation of National Colleges of 

 Research, on a scale commensurate with the importance of Scien- 

 tific Education, and in some degree corresponding with similar 

 institutions on the continent of Europe. He then proceeded to 

 give a general sketch of the recent progress of Physical Science, 

 from which we o-ive the followino; extracts : — 



1. SPECTRUM ANALYSIS. 



The prismtitic analysis of light discovered by Newton was 

 estimated by himself as being " the oddest, if not the most con- 

 siderable detection, which hath hitherto been made in the oper- 

 ations of nature." 



Had he not been deflected from the subject, he could not have 

 failed to obtain a pure spectrum ; but this, with the inevitably 

 Vol. VI. A No. 2. 



