ADDRESS BY PROFESSOR TRAILL. XXXIl 
on this subject, I must not omit to state that the Statistical Societies of 
London and Manchester trace their origin to this Association ; and that 
the laborious investigations of Colonel Sykes, on the Statistics of India, 
founded on materials chiefly collected by himself, and undertaken at the 
request of the Association, are now happily brought to a close, and will 
be presented to the Association. 
These appropriations are exclusive of several minor sums devoted to 
the encouragement of investigations into various branches of Physics, 
Chemistry, and Natural History ; making an aggregate of upwards of 
26591. set apart from the funds of the Association, in the past year, for 
scientific objects—a larger sum than has been appropriated, in so short 
a period, by any other Society, to purposes purely scientific. 
While stating these facts, we ought not to conceal a circumstance, cre- 
ditable to the disinterested zeal for the cause of science elicited by these 
grants. Though the voteshave been liberal, this circumstance has never 
induced inconsiderate expenditure. In many instances, far less than the 
sums appropriated have been actually expended ; and in various in- 
stances, the individuals intrusted with the funds have refused to draw 
on the Association, when their own labour could save its finances. 
It has been usually considered a part of the duty of the Local Secre- 
tary, to give a short account of the Reports which are just published. 
‘The first in the volume is the masterly report ‘On Mineral and 
Thermal Waters,’ by Dr. Daubeny. After glancing at the nature of 
atmospheric water, the author has pointed out the connexion of the 
foreign ingredients, detected in the atmosphere, with the production of 
meteoric stones, the formation of nitric acid under certain circumstances, 
and the presence of the organic principle found in air, even when col- 
lected on great elevations, to which the name of Pyrrhine has been 
given. He considers the existence of the elements of meteoric stones 
in the atmosphere as doubtful. The nitric acid may sometimes arise 
from the effects of electric explosion on its oxygen and nitrogen; at 
other times this union is seemingly produced by causes not yet ascer- 
tained. ‘The researches of the celebrated Ehrenberg have shown, that 
py:thine probably owes its origin to the ova of polygastric infusoria, 
raised by evaporation and by atmospheric currents induced by changes 
of temperature. In considering the ocean, the author directs particular 
attention to its gaseous contents; as confirming or invalidating the opi- 
nion of Arago, that oxygen predominates in all waters, even to con- 
siderable depths. This law is well known to hold good in the more 
superficial portions of the ocean, and seems intended to support the 
respiration of aquatic animals; but the preponderance of oxygen at 
VOL. Vie 1837. c 
