REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 27 



rain in the monthly report on the state of the crops and the weather, 

 issued by the ^Agricultural Department, between which and this In- 

 stitution the relations mentioned in the last report have been main- 

 tained through the past year. To save postage, the blank forms 

 have been sent out and the registers returned through the frank of 

 the office of the Commissioner of Agriculture. The monthly bulletin 

 above referred to, which is printed at the expense of the same de- 

 partment, continues to be received by the public with much favor ; 

 and, by means of its extensive distribution, presents the meteorolo- 

 gical tables to a much larger circle of readers than is comprised in 

 the list of our observers, awakening, to a corresponding extent, an 

 interest in the subject of meteorology. This branch of science is 

 receiving increased attention from year to year, and a larger number 

 of individuals are devoting time and talent to efforts for unfolding 

 the laws which control the formation and movement of vapor, winds, 

 and change of temperature in all parts of the world. Meteorology 

 has ceased to be a mere record of isolated facts. The special 

 characteristic of modern efforts in this line consists in extended co- 

 operation, and in determining the simultaneous condition of the 

 atmosphere over extended regions of country. It is only by this 

 means that the laws which govern the occurrence, motion, direction, 

 and propagation of the disturbances of the atmosphere can be ascer- 

 tained. By comparisons of this kind isolated observations of other- 

 wise little value become important, and afford an ample field in the 

 cultivation of which any person who will take the trouble to record 

 the direction of the wind, the beginning and ending of rain, snow, 

 hail, the time of blossoming of trees, appearance of birds, insects, 

 &c, may render valuable service. 



The daily record of meteorological observations telegraphed to the 

 Imperial Observatory at Paris, and published in a lithographed sheet, 

 continues to increase in interest and importance under the active 

 and enlightened superintendence of M. Le Terrier, director of the 

 observatory. From being the medium simply for the circulation of 

 telegraphic notices of the weather, it has' become, in addition, a 

 repository of valuable meteorological summaries, communications, 

 criticisms, and announcements. The outline chart of Europe, with 

 the curves of equal barometric pressure and direction of the wind at 

 the different stations on the day of publication, and also a table of 

 the estimated weather for the following day, continue to be inserted 

 in every number. The title of the publication is now "International 

 Bulletin of the Imperial Observatory of Paris.' ; It occupies more than 



