LXXVI ROYAL SOCIETY OK CANADA 



Assistant Librarian — Z. M. Collins. 



Director of Photography — D. J. Howell. 



Other Members of Council— J. B. Collins, Rev. C. H. Shx)rtt, ALA., 

 G. G. Pursey, A. T. DeLury, B.A. 



The following papers, etc., were communicated to the society during 

 the year 1898. 



A detailed description of the society's astronomical lantern slides 

 was presented by Mr. D. J. Howell. The collection includes many 

 drawings of thé solar corona and several reproductions of star clusters 

 and nebulae, made by Mr. Howell from photographs by Dr. Isaac Roberts, 

 F.R.S. 



The " History of the Greenwich Nautical Almanlac " was continued 

 by Mr. Lindsay. It had been possible to present a very full list of the 

 early assistants and co-workers of Dr. Maskelyne in the preparation of 

 the almïïnac. Prof. Nevil Story- Maskelyne, of Swindon, Eng., the 

 grandson of the founder of the Almanac, had very kindly made many 

 extracts from original note books, and had also presented to the society 

 a photograph of the crayon drawing of Dr. Maskelyne which is now at 

 Swindon. This was reproduced very fairly, and illustrates the chapter 

 in Mr. Lindsay's sketch which deals with the lunar distance problem. 



Observations of Mira (Omicron Ceti) were reported to the society 

 by Mr. David E. Hadden (and M. François Libert ; there was a very 

 general agreement m the recorded magnitudes as observed by these 

 gentlemen ; Mr. Hadden observed at Alta, loAva, and M. Libert at 

 Havre, Fi+ance. 



Mr. R. F. Stupart, Superintendent of the Meteorological Service, 

 read, by special request, a very interesting and instructive paper on 

 " Seismological Phenomena," illustrated by tracings of the earthquake 

 records made by the seismograph at Toronto Observatory. 



Mr. David Brown communicated a short paper on naked-eye obser- 

 vations, which occasioned an interesting discussion on keenness of vision, 

 during which several instances were named of the satellites of Jupiter 

 having been seen without optictal aid, and among these one by the 

 president. 



Mr. Geo. E. Lumsden read, by special request, a paper on the subject 

 of " Popular Observatories." A great deal of information had been 

 collected from various sources as to the )>est method of constructing an 

 observatory for work, not strictly of the highest class, but rather for the 

 purpose of affording îhe people opportunity to observe the heavens and 

 learn something of the wonders of the telescope. In the course of the 

 paper it was stated that for an observator}' to be really successful it is 



