1890.] 



91 



U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Bureau of Ethnology, Inter- 

 state Commerce Commission, Washington, D.C.; Kansas Acad- 

 emy of Science, Topeka ; University of California, Berkeley ; 

 Observatorio Meteorologico- Central, Mexico ; Museo Nacional 

 de Buenos Aires, S. A. 



Mr. Phillips exhibited and presented to the Cabinet of the 

 Society a bottle of " Earthquake sand from the Geysers at 

 Summerville, S. C., August 31, 1886." 



Mr. Yaux read an obituary notice of the late Franklin B. 

 Go wen. 



An obituary notice of the late Henry S. Frieze, LL.D., by 

 Hon. James B. Angell, was presented by the Secretaries. 



The death of Martin B. Anderson (formerly of Kochester, 

 N. Y.) was reported as having taken place at Lake Helena, 

 Florida, on February 26, 1890 (born February 12, 1815). 



Prof. Barker exhibited to the Society four stellar photo- 

 graphs taken by Prof. Pickering, Director of the Harvard 

 Coll ege Observatory, as a part of the Henry Draper Memorial. 

 The photographs were of the spectrum of the star /3 Aurigae, 

 and showed the K line single in the first set and double in the 

 second, although taken only about seventeen hours apart. 

 This result appears to show that this star is binary, its com- 

 ponents revolving about each other in somewhat less than 

 four days. From the displacement of the components of the 

 K line, the change in wave length and the velocity of motion 

 may be calculated. Prof. Pickering finds this velocity to be 

 150 miles per second. The distance apart of the components 

 he estimates to be eight million miles, and their joint mass 

 about 2.3 times that of the sun. Since the spectrum method of 

 detecting binary stars is independent of distance, it must 

 always have an advantage in detecting such stars over the 

 'telescopic method. 



Dr. Brinton offered the following resolution, which was 

 adopted : 



Resolved, That the Committee on the Commemoration of the Death of 

 Franklin be instructed to select all speakers on that occasion from mem- 

 bers of the Society, and if engagements of others have already been made, 



