THE ROYAL SOCIETY AND THE STATE 



support of the view that this deadly disease is caused by 

 the entrance into the blood, and thence into the cerebro- 

 spinal fluid, of a species of Trypanosoma, and that these 

 organisms are transmitted from the sick to the healthy by 

 a kind of tsetse fly, and by it alone ; Sleeping Sickness is, 

 in short, a human tsetse fly disease. 



In 1897 the Council was requested to assist the Board 

 of Trade in drawing up Schedules for the establishment of 

 the relations between the Metric and the Imperial Units 

 of Weights and Measures. A Committee was appointed, 

 which, after devoting much time and attention to the 

 matter, drew up Schedules which were accepted by the 

 Board of Trade and incorporated in the Orders of Council. 



A Coral Reef Committee has been in active existence for 

 some years, and has directed the attempts to pierce, by 

 boring, the atoll of Funafuti, towards the expenses of which 

 grants have been made by the Council. The results of the 

 work have appeared in a large volume, giving a description 

 of the whole core from the points of view of the naturalist 

 and the chemist ; and a list, with critical remarks, of the 

 species of animals and plants collected. 



Soon after the reports were received of the appalling 

 volcanic eruptions and the loss of life which took place in 

 the West Indies in 1902, the Council received a letter from 

 Mr. Chamberlain to ask if the Society would be willing 

 to undertake an investigation of the phenomena connected 

 with the eruptions. The Council, considering that such 



an investigation fell well within the scope of the objects of 



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