130 
By relative gravity measures, M. Schu- 
mann has connected Konigsberg, Gulden- 
stein, Copenhagen and Christiania with 
Potsdam. 
M. Borrass has connected Bucharest with 
Potsdam ; M. Nagaoka will soon connect 
Tokio with Potsdam; and M. Putnam has 
recently connected Washington with Lon- 
don, Greenwich, Kew, Potsdam and Paris. 
The funds of the association will be used 
to effect other connections of the principal 
gravity stations of Europe. 
M. Helmert continues to keep up com- 
plete statistics of relative gravity stations. 
The actual number of these stations is now 
1,450, of which 83 are connection stations. 
The results are very numerous, and the 
exact connection of the principal stations 
is an accomplished fact. M.Helmert hopes 
to be able, in 1901, to give a comprehen- 
sive discussion of all the results so far ob- 
tained. 
A report was made upon the observations 
already made at international latitude 
stations, and the provisional calculations 
of the observations so far made have given 
satisfactory results. 
General Bassot suggested the desirability 
of making similar observations on a parallel 
in the Southern Hemisphere. 
The labors of Albrecht and Chandler 
have made great progress in developing 
the theoretical question of the variation of 
latitude. The first, from observations at 
13 stations in Hurope and America, from 
1890 to 1897, has shown that the pole of 
rotation of the earth has described in that 
space of time an irregular spiral about a 
mean position, with a maximum elonga- 
tion of 0.30. The second, after a pro- 
found discussion of observations made 
between 1825 and 1893, represents this dis- 
placement by an expression of two terms, 
periodic functions of time. The period of 
the first oscillation covers 429 mean days, 
that of the second 365. These terms vary, 
SCIENCE. 
[N.S. Von. XIII. No. 317. _ 
respectively, from 0.085 to 0.185 and 
from 0.115 to 0.135. The mechanical 
causes of the displacement of the terrestrial 
axis of rotation are still far from being 
known. 
A resolution was passed requesting Pro- 
fessor Gore to prepare a new edition of his 
Bibliography of Geodesy, issued by the Coast 
and Geodetic Survey in 1889. 
A special report on triangulation was 
made by General Ferrero, and on base 
lines by General Bassot. 
The French Geographic Service has un- 
dertaken a revision of all the French tri- 
angulation, with the aid of the instruments 
and methods of high precision used in the 
New Meridian of France; and work is ac- 
tually in progress on the parallel of Paris. 
In Italy the geodetic junction of Malta 
and Sicily has been made. 
Roumania submitted her first report of 
geodetic work. The are of the parallel al- 
ready measured between the Atlantic Ocean 
and the Danube has been extended across 
Roumania to the Black Sea, and the merid- 
ional are measure by Struve between the 
Arctic Ocean and the Danube has been ex- 
tended entirely across the country. 
In Russia the recomputation of all trigo- 
nometric points upon the same spheroid has 
been undertaken. A determination of the 
terrestrial elements from Russian ares alone 
shows that the elements of Bessel conform 
more nearly to the curvature within the 
boundaries of Russia than those of Clarke. 
Two proposed operations were submitted 
to the Conference : 
The Observatory at Nice will undertake 
experiments. to determine the velocity of 
sound and light, using the distance between 
Mt. Mounier, near Nice,and Mt. Rotondo, 
in Corsica. This distance will be redeter- 
mined with modern precision by the French 
and Italian geodesists. 
The difference of longitude, Paris-Green- 
wich, will again be determined according 
