112 BULLETIN OF THE 



the night maximum and morning minimum I find* little or no re- 

 tardation ; this is what we might expect from the fact that at this 

 time there is little or no change in temperature. 



The President, Mr. Taylor, called the attention of the Society 

 to the remarkable halo witnessed by many people in Washington 

 last Thursday, June 15, saying that in some respects it was remark- 

 able, and presented some theoretical difficulties. While it had 

 been seen by a number of those present, none had made any scien- 

 tific observations of it or taken any measurements. A number of 

 other halos were mentioned which, like this, occurred between 10 

 and 11 a. m., and it was thought worth while to consider whether 

 halos appeared oftener at those hours than at others, and if so, 

 why. 



221st Meeting. October 7, 1882. 



The President in the chair. 

 Forty-one members present. 



The consideration of the minutes of the last meeting was post- 

 poned. 



The President welcomed the members to a renewal of the meet- 

 ings of the Society after the summer vacation. 



He also announced that vacancies had been created in the Com- 

 mittee by the resignation of Dr. J. J. Woodward, a Vice-President 

 of the Society, on account of prolonged illness, and of Mr. Marcus 

 Baker, one of the Secretaries, by reason of assignment to duty in 

 California. The General Committee had elected Mr. E. B. Elliott 

 a vice-president in place of Dr. Woodward, and Dr. J. S. Billings 

 a secretary in place of Mr. Baker. The vacancies resulting there- 

 from in the membership of the Committee had been supplied by 

 the election of Dr. D. L. Huntington, U. S. A., and Prof. C. V. 

 Riley. 



Mr. A. S. Christie made a communication 



ON A SYSTEM OF STANDARD TIME. 



A prime meridian (say Greenwich) time would, in general, give 

 the hours of the local natural day dissymmetrical with respect to 



