122 



SCIENCE. 



We have received a copy of the Report made by 

 Professor S. W. Burnham, to the "James Lick Trust," 

 of Observations made on Mt. Hamilton, with reference 

 to the location of Lick Observatory, but we are com- 

 pelled by press of matter to postpone further refer- 

 ence to it until a future date. 



We have authority for stating that the Rev. W. H. 

 Dallinger, of England, has consented to become Gov- 

 ernor and Professor of Natural Sciences, of Wesley 

 College, Sheffield. We congratulate the trustees of 

 this establishment on having secured the assistance of 

 one who has done so much to elevate the standard of 

 scientific research. 



The published papers of Professor Dallinger are 

 models of their kind, and largely quoted by the high- 

 est authorities who write on the progress of Biology. 



We trust Professor Dallinger, in taking the manage- 

 ment of Wesley College, may still be enabled to pros- 

 ecute his exhaustive microscopical studies, by the 

 methods originally devised by himself, which have al- 

 ready been so fruitful of results, and promise to revo- 

 lutionize our knowledge of such forms of life. 



We are requested to state by the trustees of the 

 Lick Observatories that they will be glad to receive 

 the publications of Observatories, and of Astronomical 

 and Scientific societies, for the permanent library of the 

 Lick Observatory. They inform us that the prelim- 

 inary work on Mt. Hamilton has already been com- 

 menced, and will be prosecuted as rapidly as possible 

 under the circumstances. The small equatorial of 1 2- 

 inch aperture, has been ordered of Alvan Clark & 

 Sons, and will be placed in position early in 1881 ; and 

 the great equatorial, meridian circle, and other instru- 

 ments, will be contracted for at an early day. It is 

 not expected there will be any further delay in putting 

 the Lick Observatory in complete working order, 

 other than that incident to the importance and magni- 

 tude of the undertaking. 



AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE AD- 

 VANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.* 

 GENERAL BUSINESS— Monday, August 30TH. 



The fifth day of the meeting was devoted to general busi- 

 ness, to essays in the departments, and to visiting Salem in 

 the afternoon. In the general session some new members 

 were elected, and it was agreed that when the Association 

 adjourned, that it should be to Cincinnati, on August 17, 1881. 



The following reports were made : 



Mr. E. B. Elliott, on an uniform system of registering 

 deaths, births and marriages ; Prof. E. L. Youmans, on the 

 treating of science in public schools ; Mr. F. B. Hough, on 

 the preservation of forests ; Prof. Harkness also reported 

 certain amendments to the condition of the Association, to 

 be acted on next year. At present there are two full sec- 



* Continuation of Report from ScikncE, Sept. 4. 



tions in the association, and it is proposed to establish 

 eight, covering the following branches ; A, Physics ; B, 

 Astronomy and Mathematics ; C, Chemistry and its Appli- 

 cation ; D, Mechanical Science ; E, Geology and Geogra- 

 phy; F, Biology; G, Anthropology; H, Economic 

 Science and Statistics. A permanent sub-section of 

 Microscopy is also provided for. These changes will 

 bring the association in close resemblance to that of the 

 British association. 



The reading of the papers in the various sections was 

 continued, the subjects of which need not here be stated, 

 as we shall offer a full tabulated list of all the papers read 

 before this association, conveniently arranged for future 

 reference. 



Tuesday, August 31ST. 



The list of essays entered for reading was closed with the 

 number 280. The following officers were elected for the 

 Cincinnati meeting to be held in 1881 : — President, Pro- 

 fessor G. J. Brush, of Yale College ; Vice-President of 

 Section A, Professor A. M. Mayer, of Hoboken ; General 

 Secretary, C V. Riley; Secretary, Section A, Professor 

 John Trowbridge, of Harvard ; Secretary, Section B, William 

 Saunders ; Treasurer, W. S. Vaux, of Philadelphia ; Audit- 

 ing Committee, Henry Wheatland, of Salem, and Thomas 

 Meehan, of Philadelphia. Resolutions were adopted for a 

 social re-union of the various sections on the second even- 

 ing of future sessions. Resolutions were also passed recog- 

 nizing the services to science of the late General Myer of 

 the Signal Service, i.nd the providing for the appointment 

 of a committee to select a series of stars of stellar magni- 

 tude for standards, to be reported at the next meeting. 

 Cable congratulations were sent to Michel Eugene Chevreul, 

 senior member of the French Academy upon the comple- 

 tion of his ninety-fifth year. The reading of papers con- 

 tinued. 



Wednesday, September ist. 



The seventh and last day of the meeting was opened at 

 the Institute of Technology, which had been found so con- 

 venient and well adapted tor all purposes of the Association. 

 Mr. George Engelman, of St. Louis, Mo., was chosen vice- 

 president of the Natural History Section. The following gen- 

 tlemen were elected a committee on stellar magnitudes : 

 Professor E. C Pickering, chairman, L. Boss, S. W. Burn- 

 ham, Asaph Hall, William Harkness, E. S. Holden, Simon 

 Newcomb, C. II. F. Peters, Ormond Stone and C. A. Young. 

 The committee is to select a list of standard stars, to which 

 the magnitudes of other stars maybe referred. The follow- 

 ing gentlemen were elected a committee on standard time : 

 O. Stone, chairman, S. P. Langley, E. C. Pickering, J. R. 

 Eastman, L. Boss, Leonard Waldie, J. K. Rees, G. W. 

 Hough and H. S. Pritchett. The following resolution was 

 passed : — 



Dr. Charles T. Jackson, one of the founders and an early presi- 

 dent of the Association of American Naturalists and Geologists, 

 having, after many years of illness and seclusion, just passed away, 

 it is fitting that this Association express its high appreciation of his 

 long and valuable services, both as an original investigator in 

 American geology and mineralogy, and as a teacher of chemistry, 

 which will cause his name to be long held in honor and in grate- 

 ful remembrance. 



The following resolutions were passed on Tuesday : 



Resolved, That the American Association for the Advancement 

 of Science recognizes the value of contemporaneous observations 

 at numerous and well-selected stations, and wiih standard instiu- 

 ments, as a first and indispensable condition of converting 

 meteorology from a chaotic mass of useless facts into a science. 



Resolved, Ttiat this Association acknowledges its obligations to 

 the first secreta'y of the Smithsonian Institution tor originating, 

 supporting and cherishing such a system ol mctrorological obser- 

 vations throughout the vast domain of the United States until it 

 had outgrown the r< sources of the institution, had justified its con- 

 tinuance by provt d uselulness, and had awakened the fostering 

 interest of the government. 



Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Association, the welfare of 

 commerce and agriculture, and the comfort of every member of 

 the community have been promoted by the weather reports and 

 weather charts which have been issued by the chief signal service 

 at Washington, while they have, at the same time, furnished food 

 for scientific thought. 



