liv KEPOUT — 1870. 



No. 3. 



Memorandum containiug extracts from the Minutes of the Kew Committee 

 relating to Magnetic Reductions, and containing also an estimate of 

 the probable Expense of carrying out the list of suggestions (paper 



No. 2). 



Eew Observatory, 



4tb March, 1870. 



My deak Sie, 



In accordance with the wish expressed at the last Meeting of the Kcw 

 Committee for full information regarding the present state of the magnetic 

 reductions, I beg to send you the following statement : — 



The first extract bearing on this subject is one from the Report of the Kew 

 Committee to the Aberdeen Meeting of the British Association. It is as 

 follows : — 



" As the staff of assistants at the Observatory is not sufficiently large to 

 " undertake these tabulations, General Sabine has undertaken to have the 

 " results tabulated at "Woolwich for every hour." 



. In a scheme for the working of the Observatory after it became the cen- 

 tral Observatory of the Meteorological Committee, I suggested that it would 

 be very desii'able to undertake the tabulation and reduction of the magnetic 

 curves. 



Simultaneously with this scheme, their Report to be presented to the 

 Meeting of the Association in 1867 was discussed by the Kew Committee, 

 and in the Report the following statement occurs ; — ■ 



" The magnetic curves produced at Kew previously to the month of 

 " Jauuarj' 1865 have aU been measured and reduced, under the direction of 

 " General Sabine, by the staff of his office at "VYoolwich ; and the results of 

 " this reduction have been communicated by General Sabine to the Royal 

 " Society in a series of interesting and valuable memoirs. It is now pro- 

 " posed that the task of tabulating and reducing these curves since the above 

 " date be performed by the staff at Kew working under the direction of Mr. 

 " Stewart." 



In accordance with this resolution, the magnetic tabulations were proceeded 

 with as fast as the funds at the disposal of the Observatory would allow, and 

 the exact progress made was from time to time reported to the Committee. 



In my Report to the Meeting of the Kew Committee held on June 18, 

 1869, the following passage occurs : — 



" In the present organization of the Observatory, it is the surplus funds 

 " that are devoted to magnetic reductions; but it will hardly be possible be- 

 " fore the yearly accounts are closed to state the probable amount of the 

 " sm-plus. 



" It is, however, imagined that if the probable sur^dus for the year 

 " 1869-70 be anticipated and devoted to tabulation while the summer wea- 

 " ther lasts, then before the end of next whiter session the reductions will 

 " be very far advanced for all of the three magnetic elements." 



At the same Meeting the following resolution was passed : — 



Resolved,--" That Mr. Balfour Stewart be authorized to apply the eur- 

 " plus funds iu his hands to tho tabulation and reduction of the magnetio 



