21 [ 108 *J 



appropriation was made to furnish a larger number of stations than prer.i- 

 ously with barometers and thermometers, by distributing these instrume nts 

 in some cases entirely at the expense of the Institution, and in other*' s by 

 selling them to the observers at half their original cost; but the demand 

 was so great, and the loss by breakage in transmitting the instruments so 

 frequent, that the appropriations were soon exhausted, and until we can 

 afford to devote a large sum to the object, and employ a special ageii t to 

 transport the articles to their destination, it will be inadvisable to atts mpt 

 anything more in this way. 



Though the instruments employed by these observers in some case/ ; can 

 not be relied on for giving absolute results, yet they serve a good pu/ pose 

 in determining changes of pressure and temperature, and the returni give 

 all the varying phases of the sky. 



Thus far, the returns which have been received from this systeuj . have 

 been arranged in folio volumes, and a beginning has been made in tl/ e way 

 of deducing general conclusions from them, which may test the value of 

 the observations and lead to their improvement by suggesting other/ objects 

 "of inquiry. The results already obtained give promise of interesting and 

 valuable additions to our knowledge of the nature of the storms wl ich tra- 

 verse this continent during the winter seasons, and will probably serve to 

 settle definitely several theoretical questions of much interest to the meteor- 

 ologist. 



The meteorological correspondence of the Institution is princ ipally at- 

 tended to by Professor Foreman, and the labor which this involvi js is suffi- 

 cient to occupy the greater portion of his time. The letters reef ived from 

 this class of cooperators are not confined to the subject of me teoroloo-y, 

 but include the whole domain of physical science. We cons ider it, as 

 before observed, a duty in all such cases to give the informatio n required ; 

 and if this is not in' the possession of the officers connected wit h the Insti- 

 tution, it is procured from other sources. 



For the details as to the management of the meteorologi cal affairs of 

 the Institution, see Professor Foreman's report on this subject . 



Library and Collections. — It will be recollected that the i ncome of the 

 Institution was, by a compromise alluded to in a former report, , to be divided 

 into two equal parts, one part to be devoted to the formation of a museum, 

 a library and a gallery of art, and the other to publications, researches and 

 other active operations. The terms of this compromise ha - ye been rigidly 

 adhered to, as will be seen by a reference to the general si atement of ac- 

 counts given in the last report. Up to the date of the appc antment of Pro- 

 fessor Baird, in July, 1850, the part of the income devoted to the collections 

 was expended on the library, or on objects pertaining to it. Since that 

 time, a portion has been devoted to the museum. 



It is proper to remark that this compromise was founclod upon another, 

 namely, that the cost of the building and furniture should be limited to 

 two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. But in order to the better security 

 of the collections, the regents have since found it necessar y to add, in round 

 numbers, fifty thousand dollars to this sum, which must of < course diminish the 

 income which would otherwise have been devoted to the ; active operations. 



It is evident that one spirit, if possible, should pervach ) the whole organi- 

 zation, and that the same policy should be adopted with reference to all 

 parts of the plan. Among the maxims which have been acted upon, that 



