20 PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 
306th Meeting. . ‘ October 29, 1887. 
The President in the Chair. 
Forty-one members and guests present. 
Announcement was made by the President of the election to and 
acceptance of membership of Mr. Jesse Herman Holmes. 
The President also referred to the loss sustained by the scientific 
world in the death of Prof Spencer F. Baird, and announced 
that the General Committee had taken the preliminary steps for 
arranging a memorial meeting in commemoration of his life and 
scientific work. 
Mr. Cleveland Abbe read the following paper entitled 
THE SIGNAL SERVICE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF METEOROLOGY. 
Mr. Abbe stated that in 1872 he began, at his own expense 
and for personal use, a more systematic collection of the titles of 
Avorks bearing upon all subjects that he was interested in, especially 
meteorology. After corresponding in 1874 Avith the committee 
of the Royal Society as to the probability of the publication of 
their proposed subject-index to their Catalogue of scientific papers^ 
and being officially informed that this Avork Avould not be under¬ 
taken, he decided to complete his systematic examination of all 
the titles in that great Avork and copy the appropriate ones for 
his OAvn use. In 1878, AAdien this Avork Avas nearly completed, so far 
as regards the first six volumes, he addressed a note to Prof Hann,, 
of Vienna, stating what he had done and inquiring Avhether any 
one in Europe Avas similarly engaged. Almost simultaneously Avith 
this Prof. Hann received and published^ a letter from Dr. Hell- 
mann, of Berlin, dated January 10, 1879, urging the importance of 
a general index to the literature of meteorology. This letter had 
evidently been suggested by a circular issuedGn October, 1878, by 
the permanent committee of the first meteorological congress at 
Vienna, proposing a programme for the second, congress about to 
be held at Rome in the approaching month of April, 1879. In this 
circular the committee asked that the delegates prepare catalogues 
^Ztschr. Met., Wien, 1879, xiv, 96. 
