Proceedings. 71 



Ordinary Meeting, December 27th, 1888. 



Dr. James Bottomley, B.A., F.C.S., in the Chair. 



The following communication from Mr. James Nasmyth, 

 F.R.A.S., &c., was read : — 



" Hammerfield, Penshurst, Kent, 

 "December 21st, 1888. 

 "Dear Sir, 



" Under the impression that the accompanying photo- 

 graph, taken from my original drawing of a group of sun- 

 spots may interest the members of the Manchester Philo- 

 sophical Society, I have much pleasure in sending it for 

 their acceptance, 



" The remarkable objects seen in the photograph which 

 form the light-giving constituents of the solar surface, were 

 discovered by me on June 5th, 1864, when the condition of 

 our atmosphere happened to be in a most favourable con- 

 dition for my observation of such comparatively minute 

 details of the sun's surface. 



" My discovery of them has been amply verified by Sir 

 George Airey, the then Astronomer Royal, as also by 

 Mr. Stone, Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory, 

 Greenwich, and by Mr. Warren de la Rue, and others. 



" Believe me, 1 am, 



" Yours very respectfully, 



"James Nasmyth. 



" To the Secretary of the 



"Manchester Philosophical Society." 



