CONTENTS. 



KEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



Pag«. 



Letter from the Secretary to Congress 3 



Letter from the Chancellor and Secretary 4 



Officers and Regents of the Institution 5 



Members ex officio and Honorary members of the Institution -. 6 



Programme of organization 7 



Report of the Senate Judiciary Committee 12 



Report of the Secretary for 1856 17 



Report of the Assistant Secretary — 47 



List of Meteorological Stationsand Observers -- 69 



REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. 



Report of the Executive Committee 78 



R^ort of the Building Committee 84 



BOARD OF REGENTS. 



Journal of proceedings from Jmae 18, 1856, to January 28, 1857 86 



APPENDIX. 



Lectuees. — On "A Collection of the Charts and Maps of America." By J. G. 



Kohl - 93 



On the " Progress of Architecture in relation to Ventilation, Warm- 

 ing, Lighting, Fire-proofing, Acoustics, and the General Pre- 

 servation of Health." By Dr. D. B. Reid 147 



On "Physics." By Prof. Joseph Henry 187 



On "AcousticsApplicd to Public Buildings." By Prof. Joseph Henry. 221 

 Directions for collecting, preserving, and transporting specimens of natural his- 

 tory. By Prof. Baird. 235 



On the Fishes of New York. By Theo. Gill... 253 



Ancient Indian Remains near Prescott, Canada West. By W. E. Guest 271 



Phonography. By T. Shabpless and R. Patterson 277 



Report of the Survey of the Economic Geology of Trinidad. By G. P. Wall and 



Jas. Sawkins - - 281 



Tables of the Constants of Nature and Art. By Chas. Babbage 289 



On the Mode of Testing Building Materials, and an account of the marble used in 



the extension of the United States Capitol. By Prof. Jos. Henry , 303 



Description of the Observatory at St. Martin, Isle Jesus, Canada East. By C. 



SiLA-LLWOOD •'•^■^ 



On the Relative Intensity of the Heat and Light of the Sun upon Different Lati- 

 tudes of the earth. ByL. W. Meech -- 321 



• Report of Recent Progress in Physics— Electricity. By Dr. J Muller 357 



