606 
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 
54th Meeting. October 16, 1889. 
The Chairman, Mr. Woodward, presided. 
Present, eighteen members and guests. 
The Chairman announced that both himself and the Secretary 
would soon depart for a prolonged absence from the city and 
suggested that the Section elect officers to serve for the remainder 
of the year. 
Accordingly Mr. G. W. Hill was elected Chairman and Alex. 
S. Christie, Secretary. 
Mr. G. W. Hill read a paper on A Reported Occultation of 
o Tauri by Saturn in 1679. 
Mr. A. Hall made a communication on The Resisting Medium 
in Space. 
Published in full in the Siderial Messenger, 8vo, Northfield, 
Minn., Dec., 1889, vol. 8, No. 10, pp. 433-442. 
55th Meeting. October 30, 1889. 
The Chairman, Mr. Hill, presided. 
Present, ten members and one guest. 
Mr. G. K. Gilbert made a communication on The Geometry 
of Shrinkage Cracks. 
Mr. Artemas Martin made a communication on A Method of. 
Extracting the Square Root. 
Published in the Mathematical Magazine, vol. n, 1890, p. 33-38. 
56th Meeting. January 8, 1890. 
The Chairman, Mr. Hill, presided. 
Present, seven members. 
The annual election of officers of the Section was held, and re¬ 
sulted in the choice of Mr. J. H. Gore for Chairman and of Mr. 
G. E. Curtis for Secretary. 
