185 



gress of Preparing Standard Weights and Measures. December 

 30, 1839. — From the same. 

 A Bill to Provide for the Disposal and Management of the Fund be- 

 queathed by James Smithson to the United States, for the Esta- 

 blishment of an Institution for the Increase and Diffusion of 

 Knowledge among Men. Reported to Congress by Mr. Adams. — • 

 From the same. 



FOR THE CABINET. 



A Specimen of Native Platinum, from Russia, weighing one ounce and 

 twenty grains. — From Col. Melnikoff, of the Russian Service. 



The Committee, consisting of Professor Henry, Dr. Patter- 

 son, and Mr. Walker, to whom was referred a paper entitled, 

 " Observations of the Magnetic Intensity at twenty-one Sta- 

 tions in Europe. By A. D. Bache, LL.D. President of the 

 Girard College for Orphans, &c," reported in favour of the 

 publication of the paper in the Society's Transactions. The 

 Report was adopted, and the publication ordered accordingly. 



The stations at which the observations, recorded in this memoir, 

 were made, were twenty-one in number : three in Great Britain, and 

 the others on the continent of Europe. They include Edinburgh, 

 Dublin, London, Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Vienna, the Flegiere,. 

 Brientz, the Faulhorn, Geneva, Chamberi, Chamouni, Lyons, Milan, 

 Venice, Trieste, Florence, Turin, Rome, and Naples. The author 

 remarks, that the magnetic dip and intensity are so well known at some 

 of these places, that he produces his results for them, in order that, 

 by comparison with those of other observers, the value of his determi- 

 nations for other places may be judged of. The observations were of 

 the horizontal intensity and dip, except in the comparison of the in- 

 tensities at London and Paris, where, in addition, the statical me- 

 thod devised by Prof. Lloyd was used. At three of the stations the 

 dip was not observed. The horizontal intensities were generally com- 

 pared by oscillating two different needles in a rarefied medium, ac- 

 cording to the method described by the author in a former paper 

 (Am. Philos. Society's Transactions, Vol. V). At London and Paris, 

 two additional needles were employed. The dip was observed in the 

 usual way, with an instrument by Robinson, by whom also the nee- 

 dles for Prof. Lloyd's method were made. The corrections required 

 for temperature in the horizontal needles had been previously obtain- 



