158 Proceedings of the British Association. 



Art. XVII. — Abstract of the Proceedings of the Twelfth Meeting 

 of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. 

 Condensed from the Report in the London Athenceum. 



Continued from Vol. xliii, p. 376. 



Sir J. Herschel stated, that the committee for revising the no- 

 menclature of the stars, deferred reporting till the catalogue of 

 stars, now in preparation under the auspices of the Astronomical 

 Society, was ready for publication ; and that the committee for 

 the reduction of meteorological observations, in consequence of 

 the illness of Mr. Birt, had been unable to make any considera- 

 ble progress. 



Sir D. Brewster gave a provisional report respecting the erec- 

 tion of one of Mr. Osier's anemometers, at Inverness. He also 

 made a provisional report on the hourly series of meteorological 

 observations made at Inverness from Nov. 1, 1840, to Nov. 1, 

 1841. The mean temperature of Inverness for the summer 

 months was 52°.258 ; the mean temperature of the winter months, 

 40°.287; and the mean temperature of the whole year, 46°.272. 

 This mean temperature occurred at 8h. 33m. A. M. and 7h. 42m., 

 the critical interval being llh. 9m., differing only a few minutes 

 from the result obtained by similar hourly observations made at 

 Leith. The observations made with the barometer, when redu- 

 ced to the level of the sea, and to the temperature of 60°, indi- 

 cate very distinctly the daily variation, with its two maxima and 

 minima. The mean annual average of all the observations was 

 29.680 inches. The monthly mean indicated a maximum in 

 December and in June, and a minimum' in March and October. 



Prof. Phillips called attention to the remarkable character of 

 the curves of barometric oscillation which appeared derivable 

 from these observations. As he understood the statement, the 

 hours of maximum and minimum were found to be very differ- 

 ent from, and even in contrast with those at which the oscilla- 

 tions occurred further south, as for example, about London. He 

 pointed out the support which these observations lend to the for- 

 mulae of barometric oscillations in various latitudes and at different 

 elevations, given in the Edinburgh Philosophical Transactions. 



Mr. Scott Russell presented a report on the abnormal tides of 

 the Frith of Forth, containing the results of his very elaborate 



