for the year 1874. xvii 



Islands, Pekin, Nagasaki, and 1 station in Siberia. The 

 French parties will occupy Campbell Island, St. Paul's 

 Island, Pekin, Yokohama, and Saigon in Cochin China. 



Most of these observing parties are now in course of 

 taking up their stations, and all the southern parties of 

 British, American, French, and German are expected to be 

 at their respective destinations within the next two months. 

 Our own preparations are in a forward state, and some of 

 the special instruments required, which were ordered from 

 England, have arrived ; but our preparations cannot be 

 completed till others, shortly expected, arrive. 



An apparatus very similar to that used in England for 

 representing as nearly as possible artificially the various 

 phases of the Transit has been constructed at the Observa- 

 tory, and is now in this building for your inspection. It is 

 intended that all who are likely to be engaged in observing 

 the transit at any of the four Victorian stations shall be 

 practised thoroughly with this apparatus, so as to train the 

 eye as much as possible for the appearance of the natural 

 phenomenon. 



A prominent example of a field for scientific research 

 which concerns all civilized nations alike, and in which the 

 joint labours of all are necessary to further knowledge and 

 progress, is meteorology. 



In my last address I referred at some length to the 

 organization in Europe and America of a very complete 

 system of meteorological work, in which immediate trans- 

 mission of observations from different parts of a country to a 

 central office, there to be combined so as to enable the chief 

 meteorologists to make deductions from them, for weather 

 forecasts, storm warnings, &c, formed the principal basis of 

 operations. This work has been carried on steadily, and with 

 most remarkable and satisfactory results. Some volumes 

 have been lately issued from the meteorological bureau at 



