34 COLUMBIAN INSTITUTE FOR THE 



be furnished with stoves and shelves, while on January 14, 1826, it 

 was ordered that the room of the Institute be warmed at its own 

 expense. Two years later, May 5, 1828, a resolution was recorded 

 to the effect that the board of administration be instructed to take 

 measures for obtaining of the proper officer a room in the Capitol 

 suitable for the purposes of the Institute. This was owing to the 

 fact that in consequence of certain structural changes in connection 

 with this part of the building it became necessary in 1827 to divide 

 the large room. No evidence of a change in location has been dis- 

 covered, however, and the double room was undoubtedly continued 

 in the occupancy of the society during the remainder of its existence. 

 Some of the important public meetings of the Institute were held 

 in the hall of the House of Representatives. 



MEETINGS, COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS. 



Meetings. — The constitution provided for only two stated meetings 

 annually, on the first Monday of October and April, respectively, 

 though special meetings might be convened by resolution of the In- 

 stitute, or by the president with the concurrence of five members of 

 the general committee. The constitutional ordinance of 1820 stipu- 

 lated an annual meeting on the last Saturday of each year, a stated 

 meeting on the first Saturday of each month, and special meetings 

 whenever three members concurred in. a request to that effect. Later 

 the meeting day was changed from Saturday to Monday. From the 

 beginning there was difficulty in securing programs for the meetings 

 and on December 25, 1824, a report was submitted and discussed, in 

 which it was proposed that members be chosen by ballot to furnish 

 communications in turn on any art or science each may select, and 

 that a fine be imposed for failure to comply. 



By the standing rules amended May 6, 182G, " Weekly sittings of 

 the Institute, at which scientific and literary productions may be 

 read, shall be held during each session of Congress; for the rest of 

 the year only stated meetings shall be in order, and the increase and 

 arrangement of the library, cabinet, philosophical apparatus and 

 botanic garden be special objects of attention." These weekly meet- 

 ings, however, evidently began as early as December, 1825. The 

 method of procedure in obtaining papers for them was defined by 

 the rules, as follows: "At the first meeting after the rising of Con- 

 gress the names of the members who are expected to prepare papers 

 for the next winter shall be entered on the minutes. The specific 

 order in which they are to be produced shall be determined only four 

 weeks previous to the reading of the papers; that is, on the stated 

 meeting in the month immediately preceding each session of Con- 

 gress, four of the papers shall be assigned to be read in the four 



