156 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. (FEs. 
matics in the Lyceum of Nimes, Secretary and Supplemental Pro- 
fessor of Philosophy of the Faculty of Letters of the Acudemies of 
Gard, Nancy, and Turin. Nimes, Madame Veuve Belle ; & Paris, 
Madame Veuve Courcier. 
The physical and mathematical works presented to the Class are 
always enumerated in the accounts of the meetings, faithfully and 
honourably placed in the library, letters of thanks are sent to the 
authors, and complete lists of all these presents are printed in 
several of our volumes. But these lists can only contain the titles 
of the works, the names of the authors, and the time of their 
reception. ‘There are, however, productions, and especially col- 
lections, which would deserve a more particular notice, either on 
account of their importance, or of the names of their editors. Such 
in particular are the Annals of Mathematics, the idea of which has 
been conceived, and the execution followed up, with a perseverance 
worthy of praise, by two distinguished members of the University 
of France, MM. Gergonne and Lavernede, powerfully and use- 
fully seconded by several of their worthy colleagues or other pro- 
fessors of celebrity, such as MM. Kramp, Frangais, brothers 
Encontre, Du Bourguet and Servois; and likewise by several cor- 
respondents of the Institute, among whom we may mention 
MM. Tedenat, Flaugergues, and Lallemand. 
These Annals are chiefly devoted to pure mathematics, and espe- 
cially to researches having for their object to perfect and simplify 
the method of teaching the science. Nothing is excluded which 
may give an opportunity of applying them to the different branches 
of the exactsciences. Articles occur which will interest the mecha~ 
nical philosopher in general, and likewise on optics, acoustics, 
astronomy, geography, fortification, seamanship, 
Each number gives one or more theorems to be demonstrated, 
one or more problems to be resolved. Likewise a list of the new 
mathematical books, both foreign and domestic. 
To the memoirs which they insert and the solutions that are sent 
them, the editors often add their own reflections and interesting 
researches. A part containing 32 pages appears each month. ‘Two 
years form a large quarto volume, and the work is now in its fifth 
year. Among the great variety of objects discussed in this work, 
and among which it would be difficult to make a choice, we’ shall 
satisfy ourselves with pointing out for the meditations of mathema- 
ticians, the memoir of M. Servois on the different systems explain- 
ing the principles of the differential calculus, and several memoirs 
in which M. Kramp gives new analytical solutions of the most 
important problems of astronomy. What he proposes for the 
comets or planets newly perceived has this in particular, that it 
informs us whether the orbit be elliptical,- parabolic, or hyperbolic. 
The author applies these formulas to the comet of 1781, calculated 
in the parabola by the method of Laplace, and he obtains very 
different results. These orbits conduct him to a hyperbolic orbit. 
The distances of the aphelia and perihelia are 1,633934, and 
