PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 
consequence, our facilities for affording the student of any special 
branch of knowledge an acquaintance with what the rest of the 
world is doing in it, are much improved. It may also be stated, 
that arrangements have been made whereby it is expected that a fuller 
and more regular printed report of our proceedings will be given to 
our members. 
It seems to me that it would be inappropriate not to say a word on 
this occasion about the results that have flowed from a proposal made 
by Mr Sandford Fleming in a communication read before the Institute 
two or three years ago. I refer to the proposal to adopt certain 
meridians as standards of time—a proposal which is to take practical 
effect during the present month over a great part of this continent. 
The members of the Institute, seeing that they have in their corpo- 
rate capacity twice memoralized the government, and taken other 
action in this matter, and in their separate capacities have seconded 
Mr, Fleming whenever they have had opportunity to do so, cannot 
but feel pleased that so much has been accomplished ; and while I 
give utterance to that feeling of pleasure, I am sure that I am also 
speaking the mind of the Institute, when I express the hope, that 
this partial adoption of Mr. Fleming’s scheme on this continent, may 
be but the prelude to its adoption in its entirety throughout the 
world. 
Some years ago I had the honour to communicate to the Institute 
the general views at which I had then arrived in regard to the very 
difficult subject of the relations of complexion and climate. Though 
I cannot pretend that the partial solution which I then offered, was, 
even as far as it went, entirely satisfactory, I still think that it em- 
bodied an element of truth. Since that time, I have gained, if not 
increased light, at least additional information, and it has occurred to 
me that a new paper on the subject, written, not so much with the 
object of advancing any special views which I may hold, as with that 
of pointing out the nature of the difficulties which crop up when one 
attempts to elucidate it, and the character of the questions, with the 
solution of which its elucidation is connected, might prove to be of 
some popular interest. 
This topic belongs to the domain of Anthropology, a science which 
has lately come into existence. The anthropologist might take for 
his motto that oft-quoted line of Pope’s 
**The proper study of mankind is man,” 
Ml Ad ats 
