238 Scientific Meetings. 



ments which the Board of Trade have sanctioned, and "by which 

 the Kew Observatory becomes the centre of a system of observations, 

 constituting a " Meteorological Department," to be supported by the 

 Government, and to furnish materials for publication. 



The Council of the Royal Societj^, on the 13th of December, 

 1866, nominated the following Fellows of the Society as the Super- 

 intending Meteorological Committee : General Sabine, Pres. U.S., 

 Mr. De La Rue, Mr. Francis Galton, Mr. Gassiot, Dr. W. A. Miller, 

 Capt. Richards (hydrographer of the Admiralty), Col. S my the, and 

 Mr. Spottiswoode ; and on the 3rd of January, this Committee ap- 

 pointed Mr. Balfour Stewart as its Secretary, on the understanding 

 that he should, with the concurrence of the Kew Committee of the 

 British Association, retain his present office of Superintendent of 

 the Kew Observatory. 



It is proposed to have observatories in the following places : Kew 

 (central observatory), Falmouth, Stony hurst, Glasgow, Aberdeen 

 (probably), Armagh, and Valencia. 



Different branches of science were fairly represented in the 

 different sections, the general arrangements being the same as last 

 year, except that the Anthropologists, with whose shallow pretensions 

 the public are now pretty well acquainted, were not allowed a 

 separate section for their chief occupation of abusing the negro. 

 In the Physical section, Dr. Moffatt detailed some experiments and 

 observations on phosphorus, and stated that phosphorus in a non- 

 luminous state did not produce ozone, and looking at the sea as the 

 chief source of that substance, he asked if it could not be ascribed 

 to marine phosphorous which seems a doubtful opinion. Mr. 

 Spiller described the emplojanent of superphosphate of lime in 

 aqueous solution for the purpose of hardening Caen stone. It acts 

 upon the carbonate of lime forming Badiker's salt, 2 Ca 0, HO, PO, 

 +4t Ag. The igneous rocks of Scotland formed the subject of Mr. 

 Geikie's address in the Geological section, and Dr. Sharpey gave a 

 slight sketch of sundry physiological investigations. In the 

 department of Anatomy and Physiology, Dr. Richardson recounted 

 his aumoniacal theory of the coagulation of the blood. The 

 address of Sir Samuel Baker in the Geographical and Ethnological 

 section contained nothing worthy of note. In the Economic Science 

 section Prof. Levi read the report of the Committee on the Uni- 

 formity of Weights, Measures, etc., in which the completion of the 

 mural standard was announced. The Committee recommend 



making the metrical system compulsory, at no distant period. In 

 the Mechanical Science section, Mr. Fcvnie read a paper on the iron 

 and steel shown at the Paris Exhibition. He thought England ' 

 not been surpassed by Franco in any department. He mentioned a 

 process of stamping, by which a complicated article, composed"!' 

 several pieces were welded together, and stated that one English 

 house had specimens equal bo bhe French. The manufacture of 

 steel in large masses by Krupp, and the Boceum Company, excelled 

 anything of the kind done in England, the work of the hitter being 

 especially worthy of notice. Sir John Lubbock delivered an abl< 

 address on the antiquity of man. 





