30 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



peers. * * * A more proper person than Professor Harvey could 

 not have been selected for the elaboration of a ' Nereis B or eali- Ameri- 

 cana,' and most honorable is it to the directors of the Smithsonian 

 Institution of North America that they should have selected this gen- 

 tleman for the task of which we have now the first fruits. The trus- 

 tees of that establishment are pursuing a course which is sure to do 

 much towards the wholesome development of science in the United 

 States. In the present instance they have done what is both wise and 

 generous, and, in seeking the best man to do the difficult work they 

 require done, have recognized nobly the truth that science belongs to 

 the world, to all mankind, laboring for the benefit of all regions and 

 races alike." 



Professor Harvey has lately returned from an exploration around 

 the shores of the Pacific ocean, and has promised to complete the 

 third part of the work during the present year. It will include an 

 account of the Aiga3 along the coasts of Oregon and California. The 

 labors of the author, including the drawings of the plants on the stone, 

 are entirely gratuitous ; yet the publication of the work is very ex_ 

 pensive, and it is proposed to lessen the cost to the Institution by 

 striking off a number of extra copies for sale to individuals. This 

 may be done without risk, since a growing taste is manifested in the 

 study of this interesting branch of botany, and a number of copies 

 have already been ordered by booksellers. 



The three papers mentioned in the report for 1855, on surface 

 geology, by Professor Hitchcock, are now in the press. By a reduc- 

 tion in the size, and a re-arrangement of the plates under the super- 

 intendence of Professor Baird, the cost of the publication of these 

 communications will be much diminished. The plates require to be 

 colored, and the reduction of expense, as well as an increased beauty 

 of effect, is produced by adopting the chromo-lithographic process. The 

 author proposes to apply to the legislature of Massachusetts for an 

 appropriation to purchase copies of this work as a supplement to his 

 report on the geology of that State. 



Since the last meeting of the Board, the paper previously men- 

 tioned on the " Relative Intensity of the Heat and Light of the Sun, 

 by L. W. Meech," has been published and partially distributed. The 

 following propositions are discussed in this memoir, viz : The propor- 

 tion of a planet's surface which is irradiated by the sun at a given 

 time, as deduced from the relative size and distance of the two bodies. 

 The sun's intensity upon the planets in relation to their orbits. The 



