KEW OBSERVATORY 157 



the building in Richmond Park formerly occupied 

 as a royal observatory, but recently dismantled.' 

 It was clearly urgent, if the building was to be saved 

 for any scientific purpose, that prompt action should 

 be taken. The Council took such action -or directed 

 the President and General Secretaries, Whewell, 

 Murchison, and Sabine, to do so with a commend- 

 able decision which did not even wait for an estimate 

 of the annual cost to the Association. This was in 

 March : in the following May the building was 

 handed over to the trustees ; and at the ensuing 

 annual meeting the Council, in its report to the 

 General Committee, pointed out the facilities 

 which [the observatory] would afford for the prose- 

 cution of experimental inquiries in the physical 

 sciences, for which its locality is peculiarly suit- 

 able, as a place of reception for instruments and 

 apparatus . . . and as a depository for the books 

 or other property of the Association.' The Council 

 hoped that its action would ' meet with the appro- 

 bation of the General Committee,' which it did; 

 and the Committee caused to be conveyed to 

 Queen Victoria ' the dutiful and grateful thanks of 

 the British Association for Her Majesty's gracious 

 patronage and encouragement of science.' The sum 

 of 183 4s. Id. was spent by the Association during 

 the year 1842-43 on the observatory the first dis- 

 bursement out of a total of 12,300 down to 1872, 

 to which reference has been made already. A com- 

 mittee was formed to supervise the arrangements at 

 the observatory : relying on the help of some of 

 the members of the Association in ' keeping the 

 monthly meteorological terms,' they furnished a 

 bedroom there for 15. This is a single instance of 



