BEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 27 



proach of storms. "We hope in the course of another year to make 

 such an arrangement with the telegraph lines as to be able to give 

 warning on the eastern coast of the approach of storms, since the 

 investigations which have been made at the Institution fully indicate 

 the fact that as a general rule the storms of our latitude pursue a 

 definite course. 



The materials which have been collected relative to the climate of 

 the North American continent are as follows : 



1st. A miscellaneous collection of MSS. and other tables relative to 

 the climate of the United States. This series will be enriched by a 

 reference list to all the meteorological records, which are to be found 

 in the extensive library of Mr. Peter Force, of this city, and other 

 accessible sources of information. 



2d. The observations made under the direction of this Institution 

 since 1849. 



3d. A series of observations made by Dr. Berlandier in Mexico. 

 4th. Observations made in the British possessions. 

 5th. The record of observations made by government and other 

 exploring expeditions. 



6th. Copies of the observations made under the direction of the Sur- 

 geon General at the military posts. 



7th. Copies of the observations made at the expense of the States 

 of New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maine, and Missouri. 

 8th. A series of observations from Bermuda and the West Indies. 

 Besides these, the Institution is endeavoring to obtain, by means of 

 its exchanges, a full series of all observations which have been made 

 in foreign countries,, and to form a complete meteorological library. 



Complaint has been made on account of the delay in publishing 

 deductions from the materials which have thus been collected, but, 

 with the limited means of the Institution, it should be recollected that 

 all objects enumerated in the programme of organization cannot be 

 simultaneously accomplished. The reductions have been steadily pur- 

 sued for the last five years, and all the funds, not otherwise absolutely 

 required, have been devoted by the Institution to this object. 



It will be a matter of astonishment to those not practically ac- 

 quainted with the subject, to be informed as to the amount of labor 

 required for the reduction of the returns made to this Institution for 

 a single year. During 1856 the records of upwards of half a million of 

 separate observations, each requiring a reduction involving an arith- 

 metical calculation, were received at the Institution. Allowing an 

 average of one minute for the examination and reduction of each 



