REPORT OF THE KEW COMMITTEE. XXXI 



Report of the Council of the British Association, presented to the 

 General Committee, Wednesday , September 14, 1864. 



1. The Council have receiyed the Eeport of the Kew Committee for the 

 past year, which will be laid before the General Committee on Monday. 



2. The Report of the Parliamentary Committee has been received, and the 

 CouncU recommend the adoption of this Eeport by the General Committee. 



3. The Council have added to the list of Corresponding Members the names 

 of the following Poreign Men of Science, who have been present at Meetings 

 of the Association : — 



Dr. Torell, Dr. Buys Ballot, M. Des Cloizeaux, and Prof. Adolph Steen. 



4. The CouncU have received invitations to hold the next Meeting of the 

 Association at Birmingham, and another to hold it at Nottingham. An in- 

 vitation has also been received from Dundee for the year 1867. 



Report of the Keiv Committee of the British Association for' the 

 Advancement of Science for 1863-1864. 



The Committee of the Kew Observatory submit to the Association the fol- 

 lowing statement of their proceedings during the past year : — 



A set of SeK-recording Magnetographs, of the same pattern as those at 

 Kew, have been ordered by the Italian Government for Professor Donati 

 of Florence ; these have been completed by Adie of London, and despatched 

 to their destination. 



General Sabine has received letters from Mr. Meldrum, Director of the 

 Mauritius Observatory, and from Mr. EUery, Director of that at Melbourne, 

 from which there seems to be a good prospect that at no distant date Self- 

 recording Magnetographs may be in operation in these locahties. This 

 would be a result of very great scientific importance, since there are as yet 

 none of these instruments established in the southern hemisphere. 



The Committee have lost with regret the valuable services of Mr. Cham- 

 bers, who left the Observatory about the middle of November last for an 

 appointment in India. His place as Magnetical Assistant has been supplied 

 by Mr. George Whipple, who has given vaxxch. satisfaction in his new office. 



The sum of =£.50 has been received from the Government Grant Pund of 

 the Royal Society for the purpose of obtaining printed copies of magnetic 

 curves. This has been spent in procuring photolithographic copies of a 

 number of the most interesting traces simultaneously produced by the Mag- 

 netographs at Kew and Lisbon. These have been published by the Kew and 

 Lisbon Observatories, and distributed to scientific men likely to take an in- 

 terest in the subject. 



A Unifilar and Dip Cii'cle have been verified at Kew and forwarded to the 

 Lisbon Observatory, and a Self-recording Electrometer, on Professor W. 

 Thomson's principle, has also been despatched to that institution. 



Two Unifilars and two Dip Circles have likewise been ordered by Colonel 

 "Walker, Director of the Trigonometrical Sui'vey of India, and they are at 

 present in the hands of the opticians. 



The usual monthly absolute determinations of the magnetic elements 

 continue to be made at Kew, and the Self-recording Magnetographs are in 

 constant operation as heretofore, under the superintendence of Mr. Whipple, 

 Magnetical Assistant. 



Advantage has again been, taken of these automatic records of the earth's 



