53 



At the instance of the Hydrographcr, a circular had been Circular sent 

 sent out to United States consuls in foreign countries re- stat<-&° consuls 

 questing information concerning the magnetic and meteoro- netfc^nd" uTete 

 logical observations made by other countries; copies of mation? 0,1 1 " t " 

 newspapers, or publications containing notices of ship- 

 wrecks, discovered dangers, changes in channels, light- 

 houses, buoys, or beacons, &c, and in reply valuable data 

 was received, through the State Department, from a num- 

 ber of consuls at little known places. 



FISCAL TEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1883. 



The unsatisfactory character of the charts produced by 

 the process of photolithography, and the enormous labor 

 entailed upon the Office by the necessity of keeping them 

 corrected by alterations made by hand on each chart, 

 caused the Hydrographer to decide to abandon that process 

 as soon as possible. The matter was laid before Congress, 

 and in August, 1882, an act was passed appropriating Appropriation 



to ' ' * vr l & for the trans f er 



$15,000 to begin the transfer of photolithographic charts ofphotoiitno- 

 to copper plates; also one of $14,000 to complete the sur- to copper, 

 vey of the west coast of Mexico. The work of engraving 

 was at once commenced, and by the close of the year several 

 of the finished plates had been received at the Office. 



Our naval vessels cruising on the several stations, con- 

 tinued active in supplying hydrographic information to the 

 Office. 



The Banger, Commander Philip, the only vessel engaged Reports of sur- 

 almost exclusively as a surveying ship, continued to for- Dy y navai vessels. 

 ward the results of the survey of the west coast of Mexico. 



On the Pacific Station the Lackawanna, Captain Henry 

 Wilson, reported the non-existence of a supposed danger in 

 the South Pacific ; the Pensacola, Captain Fyffe, and the 

 Hartford, Captain Carpenter, forwarded valuable data re- 

 garding the Straits of Magellan and the west coast of 

 South America. The latter vessel also made a survey of 

 Caroline Island in the South Pacific, and the Iroquois, Com- 

 mander J. H. Sands, reported information concerning the 

 coast of Ecuador. 



On the European Station, the Lancaster, Captain G-her- 

 adi, communicated hydrographic matter regarding the har- 

 bor of Cadiz ; the Juniata, Commander Harrington, for- Discovery of a 

 warded information of a rock in the Red Sea; and the 1°^ in th * Red 



