544 
The British Association. 
fOdlober, 
Prof. Sir Wyville Thomson presided over Section E 
(Geography) : his address was listened to by a crowded 
audience. Prof. Ingram, LL.D., presided over Section F 
(Economic Science and Statistics) ; and Mr. E. Easton, C.E., 
over Sedtion G (Mechanical Science). 
At one of the meetings of the Geographical Section Sir 
Wyville Thomson read a paper “ On the Progress in the 
Official Report of the Challenger Expedition.” While the 
ship was at sea their time was entirely devoted to the 
registering of observations, and cataloguing, labelling, and 
storing specimens. With regard to the destination of the 
collection he proposed that in the first place each specialist 
should be required to set aside all unique specimens, and the 
most complete series possible of all species of which there were 
duplicates, which should be sent to the British Museum, and 
that afterwards duplicates should be arranged in sets and 
distributed to museums at home and abroad. From what 
he saw at present this difficult Report of the Voyage of 
H.M.S. Challenger would extend to from fourteen to sixteen 
quarto volumes of 500 or 600 pages. The whole would be 
illustrated by about 1200 plates and many woodcuts and 
photographs. The map of the first volume was nearly com- 
pleted, and the charts or ship’s course and the sections 
showing the natural distribution of ocean temperature. The 
second volume will consist chiefly of tables, and will include 
a report on the magnetic observations met during the voyage, 
drawn up under the superintendence of the hydrographer of 
the Navy, and a detailed report on the meteorology prepared 
by Capt. Tizard. Another volume would contain the dis- 
cussion of the nature of the bottom, the composition and 
specific gravity of sea-water and the composition of its 
gases, and a number of other general matters ; and the re- 
mainder of the book will be occupied by a series of memoirs 
by different authors on the various groups of animals which 
constitute the deep-sea fauna. 
