cxxxu 



toward India. Judge Holmes thought that the origin of man 

 could be traced to an East Indian centre, somewhere near the 

 island of Borneo, and that the distribution took place from that 

 centre. Dr. Maughs stated that the differences in the races were 

 as great in the remote past as they are at the present day, and 

 that there is no evidence that the negro ever came from India. 



Dr. Engelmann spoke about the meteorological conditions of 

 the past winter. 



He remarked that the commonly expressed opinion, that it was a very 

 mild winter, one of the mildest we ever experienced here, only proved how 

 short our memory was, and how soon we forgot what was not of immedi- 

 ate interest and experience. The past winter was indeed a mild one if we 

 compare it with the one immediately preceding it, for that was together 

 with the equally cold winter of 1S55-56 the coldest in a series of 40 years, 

 as far back as his observations reach — 26°. 3. But, compared with the 

 average of our winters, the last one was only half a degree above the 

 average, and we have had in the above specified period eleven winters 

 which were milder than the past; the very mildest was that of 1844-45, 

 with 40°. 4; the average is 33°. 6, and last winter showed 34°. i. The sub- 

 joined table will more fully^explain these conditions : 



Mean Lowest mean. Higliest mean. 

 December, 1873 35°.9 •• for Dec. 33°. 4 23°. 3 1872 4i°-4 1862 



January, 1874 33°.9 . • " Jan. 32°.o ... i9°.3 i857 • • • • 40°-5 | IgsS 

 February, " 34°.5 .. " Feb. 35°.3 . . .. 20°.8 1838 . - . • 44°.i 1845 

 Winter 34°.8 .. "Win. 33°.6 .... 26°.4 { ;s72-73 | 40°.4 '44-45 



February, usually the warmest of the three winter months, was colder 

 than either December or January eiglit times in thirty-eight years; of 

 these eight winters, four were very mild and four very cold. 



Within the last forty years we have* had December milder than in the 

 past winter nine times; January was fifteen times and February was twen- 

 ty-three times milder than last month. 



I ought to have stated that we ought not to be blamed too much if we 

 considered the past winter an unusually mild one, for not only, compared 

 with the immediately preceding one, was it very mild, but it was milder 

 than the eleven preceding ones; we have to go back to that of 1862-63, 

 with 38°. 2, to find one so mild or milder. This period of eleven years 

 might possibly be brought in connection with the well-known period of 

 the sun-spots, and the phenomena now usually connected with them.' — I 

 may however be permitted to state that such general cosmic causes would 

 exert their influences over the whole globe, while we find the temperatures 

 of continents or even parts of continents greatly at variance; the past 

 winter was a mild one in Central and Western Europe, while in Southern 

 Europe it was very cold, and to our very cold preceding winter corre- 



