1886.] 



President's A ddress. 



377 



explosion in New Zealand, of which we have read accounts in the 

 newspapers. We have received from Dr. Hector a series of photo- 

 graphs of the district, taken at no great length of time after the 

 explosion. 



The Krakatoa Committee, which was appointed at the suggestion 

 of our late President to collect information relative to the great 

 eruption, have now I may say completed their work. The Royal 

 Meteorological Society had appointed a Committee to get together 

 information respecting the remarkable atmospheric phenomena 

 witnessed after the eruption. It was thought desirable that the 

 two Committees should work in concert, and accordingly our 

 Committee was enlarged by the addition of two members of the 

 Royal Meteorological Society, even though they did not happen to 

 be members of the Royal Society, who undertook that share of the 

 work. The information collected under this head is naturally volu- 

 minous, since it requires no special training to describe the atmo- 

 spheric appearances. Our late Fallow Sir Frederick Evans undertook 

 the sea disturbance, and continued to work at it even in an advanced 

 stage of the disease which carried him off. Another fortnight, it was 

 estimated, would have enabled him to complete it. His account was 

 found to have been written in pencil on separate sheets of note paper, 

 but his successor in the office of hydrographer, Captain Wharton, our 

 Fellow, was so good as to take up the work ; and partly by the 

 use of materials left by Sir F. Evans, partly by his own independent 

 labour, he has now completed it. The report on air disturbance 

 was undertaken by General Strachey, and is ready. Professor Judd 

 undertook the geological part ; the materials are ready, and though 

 the actual report is not yet written, the writing would take but very 

 little time. Mr. Scott undertook to collect information as to floating 

 pumice ; but as it has been found that the Krakatoa pumice does 

 not possess distinctive features whereby it could be recognised, 

 and therefore the origin of the pumice that ships have encountered at 

 a distance from Krakatoa remains unknown, little trustworthy infor- 

 mation could be obtained under this head, and the report has been 

 handed over to Professor Judd to embody with the geology. The 

 heaviest part of the report, that relating to sunsets and atmospheric 

 phenomena, has been prepared by the Hon. Rollo Russell and Pro- 

 fessor Archibald, the two Fellows of the Royal Meteorological Society 

 who have been mentioned as having been added to the Committee, 

 and is ready, with the exception of a little revision, and it remains 

 only to prepare an introduction, index, &c. The w 7 hole report may 

 therefore be regarded as all but complete in manuscript, and it will 

 be for the new Council to deal with it. 



The Circumpolar Committee have now brought their labours to 

 a close, the report on the observations taken by Captain Dawson 



