Miscellanies. 179 
” February 15, 1839.—The officers and council to whom was refer- 
red the letter of Doctor Warren, of Boston, inclosing a circular from 
amecting of gentlemen at Boston, on the subject of the formation of 
an American Association for the Promotion of Science, submitted 
the following resolution, which was adopted by the Society. 
Resolved, That the American Philosophical Society, having given 
the most respectful attention to the letters laid before them by Doctor 
W. E. Horner, and to the circular Jetter from the Committee of 
gentlemen of Boston, by referring the first letter to a Special Commit- 
tee, and the second, with the circular, to the Board of Officers, are of 
the opinion, founded on the Reports of the Committee and of the 
Officers, that itis inexpedient for this Society to undertake the organ- 
ization of an Association, such as is alluded to in these communications. 
Doctor Patterson read an extract from a letter from Mr. T. R. Peale, 
dated November 13th, 1838. 
In this letter Mr. Peale states, that observations had been made on the 
night of the 12th—13th of November, on board of the exploring ves- 
sel, the Peacock, (place not given,) relating to the number of meteors. 
The greatest number supposed to have been observed in any one 
hour was seventy-one. Mr. Peale expresses his doubts whether, from 
the motion of the vessel on the night in question, it was possible to be 
accurate on this point, and believes the number to have been much 
overrated. . 
A display of the Aurora Australis had been witnessed a few weeks 
before the date of the letter. 
Professor A. D. Bache called the attention of the Society to a very 
convenient method for determining the magnetic dip and intensity, 
by one instrument, proposed by Professor Lloyd, of Dublin, and used 
by him, Major Sabine, and Captain James Ross, in the recent mag- 
hetic surveys in Great Britain. 
The approximate dip is observed without disturbing the magnetism 
of the needle. The angle with the horizon, when the centre of grav- 
ity of the needle is removed from the axis by a small weight, is also 
observed, the needle being in the plane of the magnetic meridian. 
To the first observation, a correction is applied, from observation 
at a station where the dip is accurately known, to obtain the true dip. 
The second being repeated at different places, the elements nec 
to determine the relative intensities are known ; and the approximate 
formula, connecting these observed elements with the relative intensi- 
ties of the magnetism of the places where the change of intensity is 
Not great, is very simple. 
Prof. Bache showed an instrument, made by Robinson, of London, 
of the usual construction, for determining the magnetic dip, with nee- 
dles for the employment of Professor Lloyd’s method. He also re- 
* 
