PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY OF GENEVA. 237 



ence of a solar atmosphere and on the eclipse of 7th September, 1858; 

 those of M. "Wolf, of Zurich, on the relation which exists between 

 the annual mean of the magnetic declination and the abundance of the 

 solar spots, and of the influence of certain planets on those spots; 

 recent investigations relative to the moon, namely, those of M. Adam 

 on the ellipticity and inclination of the moon 7 s orbit, and the series of 

 observations made at Greenwich under the direction of M. Airy on 

 the movements of that planet. M. Gautier has dwelt particularly 

 on a very important inquiry of M. Airy relative to the progressive 

 movement of the sun in space, an undertaking in which, by the em- 

 ployment of a new method, the learned English astronomer has suc- 

 ceeded in finding a movement somewhat less in quantity than that 

 indicated by M. Meedler, and a direction for that movement slightly 

 different. Finally, I must not omit the exhibition by Professor Plan- 

 tamour of a very beautiful relief of the. crater of Copernicus, executed 

 on a scale of yooVoo" from the photographed plates of Father Secchi. 

 This relief, when illuminated by a bright artificial light properly dis- 

 posed, represents perfectly the appearance of the crater in the differ- 

 ent phases of the moon. 



Meteorology and terrestrial physics border as much on astronomy as 

 on physics, and establish a very natural bond between them. Thus 

 it is to our learned professor of astronomy, M. Plantamour, that we 

 owe several communications on the meteorological peculiarities of the 

 years 1857 and 1858. Independently of his meteorological resume 

 of 1858 for Geneva and the Great St. Bernard, he has brought to the 

 notice of the society the extraordinary dryness which prevailed from 

 the last months of 1856 up to the middle of 1858, and the anomaly of 

 temperature exhibited at Geneva and in a great portion of Europe at 

 the commencement of November, 1858. From the 28th of October, 

 before which it had been higher than its normal rate, the temperature 

 began rapidly to sink, and the depression became particularly re- 

 markable at the Great St. Bernard. It would seem that this anomaly 

 was caused by a northeast wind, which in the northern regions was 

 superposed on a southwest current, but in the regions of the south- 

 west of Europe descended to the level of the earth's surface, where it 

 produced the extraordinary refrigeration which was generally ob- 

 served. M. Plantamour noticed, moreover, the extremely mild tem- 

 perature of the 25th of December, 1858, (Christmas day,) and in refer- 

 ence thereto took occasion to state that the extremes of temperature, 

 as observed for the same day, were the maximum of -f- 17°. 4 in 1857, 

 and the minimum of — 21°. 7 in 1830. 



Professor De Canclolle has given the society interesting details on 

 the organization of Russian meteorological observatories, in particular 

 that of Tefflis, whose director is M. Moritz. This latter savant fur- 

 nished observations to M. Candolle, and besides gave him information 

 with regard to an ascent of Mt. Ararat, during which efforts were 

 made to ascertain the depth of the cap of snow which covers the 

 mountain, a depth which was found to exceed 30 feet, and is perhaps 

 still more considerable. 



A quite remarkable fact noticed by M. Chaix is the absence of 



