PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 41 



Mr. J. E. HiLGAED gave a detailed 



ACCOUNT OP PROGRESS OP THE INTERNATIONAL METRICAL COM- 

 MISSION, 



of which he is a member. 



Mr. J. J. Woodward read a brief 



EXPLANATORY NOTE IN REGARD TO THE DIAGNOSIS OP BLOOD- 

 STAINS, 



by Dr. Jos. Gr. Richardson, of Philadelphia, from the American 

 Journal of the Medical Sciences for April, 18T5, p. 575, and 

 said that he had requested permission to read this note, because 

 in his paper " On the similarity between the red blood corpuscles 

 of man and those of certain other mammals, especially the dog," 

 etc., read before the Society a few months since, he had criticized 

 a previous paper by Dr. Richardson (see American Journal of 

 the Medical Sciences, July, 1814, p. 102), and that gentleman 

 was very anxious that his defence should also be heard by the 

 Society. 



It would be noticed that in the explanatory note just read, 

 the facts on which Dr. Woodward's criticism was based were 

 substantially conceded, and Dr. Richardson's defence hinges en- 

 tirely on the notion that it was his duty not to state these facts. 

 This question had been so fully discussed in Dr. Woodward's 

 former paper, however, that he did not think it necessary to say 

 anything further on the subject at present, except that his views 

 as then expressed are not modified by Dr. Richardson's note. 



Mr. S. Newcomb, in a communication 



ON THE transit OP VENUS, 



gave a summary of the results obtained by the different parties, 

 so far as the reports have come to hand. 



A memoir of Mr. Robert Ridgway, entitled 



OUTLINES op a NATURAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE FALCONID^, 



was read and commented upon by Mr. Gill 



(TAis has been published in the Bulletin of the U. S. Geographical and 

 Geological Survey of the Territories. Secoud Series.) 



