634 report — 1884. 



SATURDAY, AUGUST 30. 



The Section did not meet. 



MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1. 



The following Papers and Reports were read : — 



1. On the Connection between Sunspots and Terrestrial Phenomena. 

 By Professor Arthur Schuster, F.B.S. — See Reports, p. 446. 



2. On certain Short Periods common to Solar and Terrestrial Meteorological 

 Phenomena. By Professor Balfour Stewart, M.A., LL.B., F.B.S. , 

 and Wm. Lant Carpenter, B.A., B.Sc, F.C.S. 



In 1879 it was shown hy one of us that the diurnal temperature ranges at 

 Kew, Utrecht, and Toronto appeared to exhibit common periods around 24 days, 

 and that similar phases occurred at Toronto eight days before they occurred at Kew. 

 Using a method of analysis detecting 1 the existence of unknown inequalities having 

 apparent periodicity in a mass of observations previously described (' Proceedings 

 Royal Society/ May 15, 1879), the authors have now made a detailed comparison 

 between sun-spot observations extending from 1832 to 1867 inclusive, Toronto 

 diurnal temperature ranges from 1844 to 1879 inclusive, and Kew temperature 

 ranges from 1856 to 1879 inclusive. As Professor Stokes has pointed out, it is not 

 necessary for present purposes to discuss whether these sun-spot inequalities have 

 a real or only an apparent periodicity. The results of the comparisons made by the 

 authors appear to justify the following conclusions : 



(1) Sun-spot inequalities around twenty-four and twenty-six days seem to 

 have periods very nearly the same as the Toronto and Kew temperature ranges. 



(2) In the sun-spots and Kew temperature ranges there is only a single 

 oscillation in the period, while there is evidence of a double oscillation in the 

 Toronto temperature ranges. 



(3) The solar maximum occurs eight or nine days after one of the Toronto 

 maxima, and the Kew maximum occurs about seven days after the same Toronto 

 maximum. 



(4) The proportional temperature range oscillation is much less than that 

 exhibited in the case of the solar inequalities. 



3. Second Beport of the Committee for the Harmonic Analysis of Tidal 

 Observations. — See Reports, p. 33. 



4. Beport of the Committee for reducing and tabulating the Tidal Observa- 

 tions in the English Channel made with the Borer Tide-gauge, and of 

 connecting them with observations made on the French Coast. — See 

 Reports, p. 37. 



■5. On the Importance of Tidal Observations in the Gulf of St. Bawrence, and 

 on the Atlantic Coast of the Bominion. By Professor Johnson, BL.D. 



The object of this communication is to draw attention to the fact that a 

 considerable number of wrecks in past years, involving great loss of life and 

 property, were probably due to want of knowledge of the Tides and Tidal Currents 

 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the adjacent Atlantic coasts, and to suggest 

 that some means be adopted by the British Association to urge the Canadian 

 Government to establish a series of stations where systematic Tidal Observations 



