REPORT Ot TflE KEW COMMITTEE. xlv 



subsequent to January 1865 is in progress under the direction of Mr. 

 Stewart. Considerable advance has been made in these reductions during 

 the present year, and it is hoped that during the next session of the lioyal 

 Society a paper may be commviuicated to that body b}- Mr. Stewart, giving 

 certain results of these reductions, as well as results of the absolute magnetic 

 observations made eveiy month. 



Lieut. Elagin has communicated through Mr. Stewart to the Eoyal Society 

 an account of observations made at the various European observatories, bj' 

 means of a Dip-circle which had been lent to him from the Kew Observatory. 



Mr. Stewart has likewise communicated to the Eoyal Society a short paper 

 by Senhor Capello " On the reappearance of certain periods of Declination- 

 disturbance during two, three, or several days;" also a joint paper by the 

 Eev. W. Sidgreaves and himself, embodying the results of a preliminary 

 comparison of the Kew and Stonyhurst declination-curves ; also a paper em- 

 bodying the magnetical results obtained by Lieut. Kokeb}' at the island of 

 Ascension, reduced by Mr. Whipple, Magnetical Assistant at Kew. Finally, 

 Mr. Stewart has communicated to the Eoyal Society a paper containing a 

 preliminaiy discussion of the peaks and hollows of the Kew magnetic curves 

 for the first two years during which the Magnetographs were in operation. 



2. Meteorolor/ical ivorh. — The meteorological work of the Observatory 

 continues in the charge of Mr. Baker. 



Since the ISTorwich Meeting, 157 Barometers have been verified, and 27 

 have been rejected; 1153 thermometers have been verified, and 24 have 

 been rejected. Two Standard Thermometers have been constructed for the 

 Standards' Commission*, one for Stonyhiirst College, and nine for Professor 

 Tait. 38 Hydrometers have likewise been verified. 



The progressive nature of this department of the Kew work will be seen 

 by the following statement of the numbers of Barometers and Thermometers 

 verified during the last few years : — 



Barometers. Thermometers. 



1863-64 97 389 



1864-65 88 420 



1865-66 126 395 



1866-67 89 608 



1867-68 78 1139 



1868-69 157 1153 



The self-recording meteorological instruments now at work at Kew will 

 be again mentioned in the second division of this Eeport. These are in the 

 charge of Mr. Baker, the photography being superintended by Mr. Page. 



A Self-recording Barograph verified at Kew for Messrs. E. & J. Beck has 

 been disposed of by these opticians to Mr. Meldrum, of the Mauritius Obser- 

 vatory. A Barograph and Thermograph have been verified at Kew and dis- 

 patched to Mr. Ellery, at Melbourne, and a Barograph has recently been veri- 

 fied for Mr. Smallcy, of Sydney. 



At the request of Mr. O. J. Symons, the old Kew Thermometer frame has 

 been lent to him for certain experiments, which are being carried on by him 

 in conjunction M'ith the Ecv. C. IT. Griffith, at Strathficld Turgis. 



The attention of meteorologists is directed towards an instrument devised 

 by Mr. Beckley, mechanical assistant at Kew, for the piu-pose of registering 



* While this Eeport wns being printed, an application was received from the Warden of 

 the Standards, through Lieut.-Gen, Sir Edward Sabine, for an Air Thermometer, 



