604 
said,  wlioin  I have  been  seeking  for  a lotig  time;  and  3011  asked 
him  vvliat  lie  wonld  have  done  on  snch  an  occasion.  There  came 
no  veply.  That  is  beeanse,  as  a rnle,  agricnltnrists  did  not  know 
in  which  way  exactly  weather  intluences  tlie  cro[)S,  and  wliat 
varieties  of  |)lanls  are  most  resistant  to  special  weather  intluences 
— jour  researclies  have  shown  tliem  the  waj. 
In  the  mean  time,  jonr  office  grew  in  size  and  importance.  If 
we  onij’  look  at  the  weather  maps  of  1900  and  1923,  the  tirst 
consisting  of  4,  the  latter  of  10  pages,  showing,  beside  an  important 
increase  of  siirface  observations  of  the  British  Isles,  Atlantic  obser- 
vations,  free  air  winds,  and  sonndings  by  aeroplanes  and  other 
means  at  varions  [ilaces  in  Europe,  we  onderstand  wliat  amount 
of  national  and  international  cooperation  has  been  necessary  to 
allow  of  such  an  extension. 
In  mentioning  this  part  of  your  work,  I have  already  entered 
npon  the  subject  of  your  role  as  President  of  the  International  Meteor. 
Committee.  It  is  largely  dne  to  your  wise  policy,  that  onr  organisa- 
tion  has  snrvived  the  war  in  its  old,  world-embracing  forni ; and 
that  thoiigh  not  all  difticnlties  have  been  overcome,  the  scheme  of 
wireless  synoptic  reports,  drawn  up  in  London  1921,  hascomeinto 
operation  all  over  Europe  in  1922.  Your  work  for  the  “Réseaii 
Mondial”  1 have  already  mentioned;  only  a few  months  ago  yoii 
have  taken  froni  j'ounger  shoulders  the  task  of  reconstrncting  the 
cooperation  in  aerology  and  resiiming  the  compilation  and  publi- 
cation  of  the  enormously  increased  observations.  Hence,  while  1 
have  given  this  audience  a very  incomplete  bird’s  eye  view  of  your 
past  work,  dt  is  evident  that  another  important  task  is  awaiting 
yon.  1 end  in  expressing  the  earnest  wish,  that  it  may  be  given  to 
yoii,  dear  Sir  Napier,  to  fiilfill  tbat  task  in  the  way  in  which  j’ou 
have  earned  this  medal. 
Nadat  de  Heer  Shaw,  onder  applaus  der  vergadering,  uit  handen 
van  den  Heer  Van  Everdingen  de  medaille  in  ontvangst  genomen 
heeft,  vraagt  hij  den  Voorzitter  verlof  eenige  woorden  te  mogen 
spreken  en  zegt  hij : 
Mr.  President. 
This  is  an  occasion  for  very  few  words  from  me.  It  would  be 
equally  nnseemly  on  rny  [lart  to  spend  words  in  endeavouring  to 
convince  yon  that  the  very  genereus  address  of  my  friend  and 
colleagiie  Professor  van  Everdingen  onght  really  to  be  regarded  as 
flatlery,  or  to  waste  words  in  commenting  upon  the  action  of  this 
