177 



alcohol from sulphuric acid and nitrate of potassa,* if the process were 

 continued beyond certain limits. 



Mr. Lea exhibited a specimen of photographic represen- 

 tation of a plant which had been coloured, together with the 

 original plant, and made some remarks on the useful purposes 

 to which this art might be applied in facilitating the objects of 

 the botanist, &c. 



Dr. Patterson, from the committee appointed to correspond 

 with the Secretary of War relative to a system of magnetic and 

 meteorological observations, reported that the subject had been 

 referred to a select committee of Congress, in consequence of 

 the representations of the Secretary. 



Mr. S. C. Walker communicated an extract from a letter 

 received from Mr. Edmund Blunt, detailing his observations 

 of the Solar Eclipses of May 14th, 1836, and September 18th, 

 1838. 



These were made at his private Observatory, Brooklyn, New York. 

 Latitude 40° 42' 0". Longitude 4h. 56m. 0s., nearly, west of Green- 

 wich, being 4.36s. east of the City Hall, New York. They are given 

 in mean time of the place of observation. 



Begin. Solar Eclipse, May 14th, 1836, 



End „ 



Begin. „ Sept. 18th, 1838, 



Formation of Ring „ 



End of Eclipse „ 



)5 55 



Mr. Blunt used a five feet Dollond's achromatic belonging to the 

 coast survey. Mr. Page saw the end of the eclipse of 1836 with an- 

 other telescope, within half a second of the time stated by Mr. Blunt. 

 In the eclipse of 1838, the time noted for the formation of the ring 

 was when the cusps were separated only by a few dark intervening 

 spaces. Of these, Mr. Blunt counted six in number. The instant of 

 rupture of the ring was not noted. Mr. Blunt thinks that the luminous 



* One of the members of the Society, J. Price Wethevill, Esq. whose know- 

 ledge and skill, as a manufacturing chemist, are well known, informed Dr. Hare 

 that in the manufacture of sweet spirits of nitre upon a large scale, he had 

 always been careful not to have the process continued after the products began 

 to show a certain degree of acridity. 



h. m. s. 



19 10 1.30 



E. 



Blunt. 



21 40 31.20 





?J 



3 17 18.80 





5? 



4 36 47.30 





5? 



5 48 23.63 





J5 



5 48 17.63 



T. 



I. Pao-e. 



