1875] President's Address. 41 



The result will obviously tend to lower the tariff to such rates as will 

 hereafter enable telegraph communication to be used as a rule in many 

 ordinary transactions, instead of as at present in exceptional cases only. 



Mr. Schwendler informs me that he has the matter under close consi- 

 deration, and hopes to be able during this year to lay before you his experi- 

 mental results. 



Transit of Venus. — From time to time the Society has been informed 

 of the arrangements that were being made for observing the transit of Venus 

 in this country. There has not been sufficient time to obtain the result, 

 but I may note that Col. Tennant's party have been most successful, 107 

 six-inch Photographs and 5 Janssen plates have been taken, while in Calcutta 

 39 Photographs were taken: 



Zoological Garden Scheme. — I regret to state that this question has 

 not advanced during the past year. 



The Committee appointed for the purpose resolved to adjourn the 

 meetings until the calls on the Government for the present extraordinary 

 expenditure were over. 



In addition to this the difficulty of providing a suitable locality has 

 acted as a cheek and since this no action has been taken. 



I may, however, express again my opinion how desirable it would be to 

 have an institution of the kind for the Capital of India, an institution which 

 if put on a proper rational footing would be especially cherished both by the 

 European and Native communities and which I trust will have the atten- 

 tion of both Imperial and Local Governments as an institution that will con- 

 tribute largely towards education and the recreation of the public, and which 

 can be very usefully connected with an acclimatising establishment of 

 animals. 



JEarth Currents. — In my last annual report I mentioned this interesting 

 question at some length. Action has been taken on Mr. Schwendler's sug- 

 gestions and the Earth-current Committee assembled for the first time on 

 the 2nd February, when it was resolved to draw up a detailed scheme based 

 on the preliminary report of the Select Committee which was prepared in 

 June last year. 



This final scheme will then be laid before the Government of India for 

 sanction. 



The very great importance of a system of Earth-current measurements 

 has been mentioned by Sir Wm. Thomson in his last annual address to the 

 Society of Telegraph Engineers and has been also clearly indicated in a 

 paper read before this Society in June last, from which it is most satisfactory 

 to learn that we shall begin our work resting on a basis consisting of more 

 than 10,000 quantitative measurements made all over India, Ceylon included, 

 during a period of more than 7 years. These large number of observations 

 wait only calculation and compilation. 



