430 



Anniversary Meeting. 



[Nov. 30, 



and from printed books, together with a complete chronological list of a]l 

 the Fellows admitted since 1812 down to 1876. These, with other docu- 

 ments which he has added, enable Fellows to ascertain the names, and 

 dates of birth and death, of every person admitted into the Society since its 

 origin, and hence, to a great extent, supplies valuable data for determin- 

 ing the vitality of scientific men at different periods. In his letter 

 accompanying these very valuable documents Dr. Parr observes that the 

 records of the Royal Society were allowed for years to remain defective 

 as to particulars which were formerly accurately recorded, and that 

 Halley and others seemed to have been alive to the importance of such 

 facts relating to the scientific men of their age. In future, the date and 

 place of birth of Fellows will be registered regularly and accurately, in 

 accordance with Dr. Farr's excellent suggestion, for which, as for the 

 documents, a unanimous vote of thanks was returned by your President 

 and Council. 



The Catalogue of Scientific Papers. — In my last year's Address I 

 informed you that the Lords of the Treasury had granted the funds neces- 

 sary for printiug the decade 1864-73 of the Catalogue of Scientific 

 Papers ; and I have now to announce that the first (the seventh of the 

 series) of the two volumes of which it will consist is published. It 

 contains more than a thousand pages. The expediency of the Society's fur- 

 ther undertaking the compilation of an " Index of Subjects " having been 

 urged upon the Library Committee, was carefully considered by them. To 

 this end the members were supplied with printed specimens of a well- 

 considered plan adapted to the decade 1864-73, with the request that 

 they would favour the Council with their opinion upon it ; when it 

 appeared that, owing to the number of subjects often comprised in one 

 paper, and the differences of opinion as to which of these were worthy of 

 citation, and under what name, the task would be one of prodigious 

 labour and unsatisfactory result, and far beyond the Society's means. 

 The printing of the eighth volume is steadily progressing, together with 

 the compilation of the decade for 1874-83. 



T7ie Meteorological Council. — The Report of the Treasury Committee of 

 Inquiry into the working of the late Meteorological Office was published 

 last summer. It includes that of the Committee of this Society (none of 

 the members of which had served on the Treasury Committee) ; and the 

 recommendations of the two bodies are almost identical. As a member 

 of the former, and cognizant of the views of the Government as to the 

 future of tbe Office, I may state that those views were from the first, and 

 throughout, favourable to giviug a more scientific character to the work 

 than it had hitherto possessed, recognizing the principle, that its aim 

 and endeavour should be to advance meteorology as a science, while 

 directing and controlling all such practical operations as were required 



