1887.] NEW TOEK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 109 



The Report of the Recording Secretary, Prof. H. L. Fair- 

 child, for the past year is summarized as follows : 



The Council held nine meetings, and the Academy held 

 thirty-five meetings, including nine business meetings and three 

 popular lectures. 



Six regular meetings had over one hundred persons present. 

 Only one meeting had so small an attendance as eight. The 

 average attendance (not including the popular lectures) was fifty. 

 (The average attendance the preceding year was thirty-eight.) 



The list of resident members numbers three hundred and one. 

 During the year, seventeen persons have been elected, of whom 

 thirteen have qualified. Eleven resignations have been accepted, 

 and three members have died. 



The number of formal or announced communications is 

 thirty-one. (The number the preceding year was twenty-six.) 

 They may be classed as follows : Mineralogy, 7 ; Geology, 3 ; 

 Archaeology, Astronomy, Bacteriology, Engineering, Hygiene, 

 Meteorology, Seismology, 2 each ; and one each upon Botany, 

 Chemistry, Ethnology, Geography, Palaeontology, Physics, and 

 the '^ History of the Society." 



The informal communications are numerous and wide in 

 range ; the larger number upon topics in Ethnology, Geology, 

 Mineralogy, Meteorology, Seismology, and Zoology. 



The Librarian, Dr. A. A. Juliex, reported an increase in 

 the library for the past year of 1,062 numbers, making a total of 

 9,335. These arranged in volumes, make the library as follows : 

 bound volumes, 4,482 ; unbound volumes, 2,197 ; total number 

 of volumes, 6,679. 



During September, the library was transferred from the Amer- 

 ican Museum of Natural History to the Herbarium Room in the 

 Library Building of Columbia College, where it is accessible 

 every day of the year, except Sundays, from eight o^clock a.m. 

 to ten P.M. The College authorities agree to bind and care for 

 the books equally with their own. The transfer was made under 

 the authority delegated to the President and Recording Secretary, 

 June 9th, 1884. Notice of termination of the contract with the 

 Museum was given August 14th, 1885. The moving of the books 



