﻿ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES. 
  259 
  

  

  At 
  a 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  Academy 
  in 
  November 
  last, 
  photographs 
  

   of 
  hieroglyphics, 
  cut 
  in 
  wood, 
  and 
  found 
  on 
  Easter 
  Island, 
  were 
  re- 
  

   ceived 
  from 
  Mr. 
  Thomas 
  Croft, 
  of 
  Papeite, 
  Tahiti. 
  From 
  vague 
  

   traditions 
  among 
  ^e 
  natives, 
  they 
  were 
  supposed 
  to 
  represent 
  the 
  

   written 
  language 
  of 
  some 
  pre-histOxic 
  nation. 
  The 
  stone 
  idols, 
  and 
  

   other 
  relics 
  found 
  there, 
  indicate 
  that 
  the 
  present 
  population 
  is 
  lower 
  

   in 
  the 
  scale 
  than 
  its 
  predecessors. 
  In 
  the 
  letter 
  accompanying 
  the 
  

   hieroglyphics, 
  Mr. 
  Croft 
  stated, 
  from 
  the 
  best 
  information 
  he 
  could 
  

   obtain, 
  that 
  none 
  except 
  the 
  priests, 
  and 
  a 
  chosen 
  few, 
  could 
  de- 
  

   cipher 
  these 
  strange 
  characters. 
  A 
  letter 
  was 
  now 
  read 
  by 
  the 
  

   President 
  from 
  Mr. 
  Croft, 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  stated 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  found 
  a 
  

   native 
  of 
  the 
  island 
  who 
  could 
  read 
  them, 
  and 
  who 
  was 
  going 
  to 
  

   teach 
  him 
  the 
  language, 
  so 
  that 
  he 
  will 
  shortly 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  translate 
  

   them. 
  Mr. 
  Croft 
  thinks 
  that 
  he 
  has 
  discovered 
  the 
  relics 
  of 
  a 
  

   Malayan 
  empire, 
  which 
  extended 
  over 
  that 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  at 
  

   some 
  former 
  period. 
  

  

  Regular 
  Meeting, 
  February 
  16th, 
  1874. 
  

   President 
  in 
  the 
  chair. 
  

  

  Forty-nine 
  members 
  present. 
  

  

  George 
  W. 
  Beaver, 
  George 
  Oultbn, 
  and 
  G. 
  Niebaum, 
  were- 
  

   elected 
  hfe 
  members. 
  Dr. 
  J. 
  C. 
  Moore, 
  John 
  C. 
  Merrill, 
  Carlton. 
  

   Newman, 
  Thos. 
  B. 
  Bishop, 
  Frederick 
  Mason, 
  John 
  R. 
  Sharpstein, 
  . 
  

   J. 
  E. 
  Squire, 
  H. 
  F. 
  Cooper, 
  Emanuel 
  Newman, 
  F. 
  C. 
  DuBrutz^ 
  

   and 
  James 
  S. 
  Gillam, 
  were 
  elected 
  resident 
  members. 
  

  

  Donations 
  to 
  the 
  Library 
  : 
  American 
  Journal 
  of 
  Science 
  aud 
  Arts, 
  Feb., 
  

   1874. 
  Dreiunddreissigste 
  Versammlung, 
  am 
  20 
  Dec, 
  1873. 
  Verhandlungen 
  der 
  

   Gesellscbaft 
  fur 
  Erdkunde 
  zu 
  Berlin, 
  Dec, 
  1873. 
  American 
  Chemist, 
  Jan., 
  

   1874. 
  Annals 
  aud 
  Magazine 
  of 
  Natural 
  History, 
  Jan., 
  1874. 
  Annalen 
  der 
  

   Physik 
  und 
  Chemie, 
  Band 
  VI, 
  No. 
  10, 
  Leipzig, 
  1873. 
  Annals 
  of 
  the 
  Lyceum 
  

   of 
  Nat. 
  History 
  of 
  New 
  York, 
  Vol. 
  X, 
  Nos. 
  6, 
  7, 
  8, 
  9, 
  10, 
  11, 
  1872-3. 
  Ameri- 
  

   can 
  Naturalist, 
  Vol. 
  VIII, 
  No. 
  2, 
  Feb., 
  1874. 
  Proceedings 
  of 
  the 
  Boston 
  

   Society 
  of 
  Natural 
  History, 
  Vol. 
  XVI, 
  Part 
  1, 
  May, 
  June, 
  1873. 
  Mittheil- 
  

   Proc. 
  Cal. 
  Acad. 
  Sci., 
  Vol. 
  V.— 
  17. 
  Apbu,, 
  1874. 
  

  

  