EEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 19 



observations, while his own rare administrative capacity always gave 

 them opportunity for the exercise of their abilities. Himself an 

 admirable observer and well trained in the use of instruments, he 

 was always at hand to direct or to assist, as the occasion might require. 

 The labors in physical observation of Dr. Kane and his associates 

 had few parallels when the difficulties to be surmounted and the 

 results produced are considered." 



The magnetic observations were projierly placed in the hands of Mr. 

 Schott for discussion, as he had been selected for similar service by 

 Dr. Kane himself, and felt a strong interest in the work. The prin- 

 cipal magnetical results were obtained on the coast of Greenland 

 during the years 1853-'54-'55, and in regard to the high magnetic and 

 geographical latitudes in which the observations were made, as well as 

 the completeness of the observations for diurnal changes of the hori- 

 zontal needle at a station before unknown to geography, " they 

 deserve," says Professor Bache, " the attention of those engaged in 

 the study of the law of the changes of the magnetic elements in the 

 Arctic regions." At a late meeting of the British Association reso- 

 lutions were passed making application to the English government to 

 send a vessel to the vicinity of Mackeozie river to institute obser- 

 vations with special reference to the determination of the laws now 

 known to govern the magnetic storms. The resolutions also insist on 

 the importance of observations in the northern regions. Captain 

 Younghusband, of the royal navy, remarks, in his discussion of those of 

 Sir John Richardson, that "so few observations of the diurnal variation 

 of the declination in high latitudes are up to this time at command, 

 that not even an approach can be made towards indicating a general 

 law of the phenomena in such localities." 



The Winter Quarters at Van Rensselaer Harbor, where most of the 

 observations of Dr. Kane were made, is in latitude 78° 37', to the 

 northward and eastward of Cape Alexander, beyond Smith's sound. 



The following is an outline of the discussion and of the results 

 obtained by Mr. Schott from Dr. Kane's magnetic observations at 

 Van Rensselaer Harbor. The diurnal ranges of the declination were 

 deduced from observations on seventeen days in January, February, and 

 March, 1854. The mean diurnal range or motion of the needle was 

 found equal to 2° 29', and the greatest range observed amounted to 4° 

 52'. The results were compared with similar ones at Lake Athabasca, 

 Fort Simpson, and Port Bowen. A classification was made of the 

 observed ranges according to their frequency and magnitude. The 



