424 
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 
579th Meeting. January 30, 1904. 
Vice-President Abbe in the chair. 
Twenty-four persons present. 
Mr. 0. H. Tittmann spoke on The meeting of the Inter¬ 
national Geodetic Association at Copenhagen, held last fall for 
nine days. Matters specially considered were longitude, gravity 
on land and on sea, and variation of latitude. [Not published.] 
In the following discussion Messrs. Fischer, Littlehales, 
Abbe, and Hayford took part. 
Mr. L. A. Fischer read a paper on The International Bureau 
of Weights and Measures, established at Paris in 1875 and sup¬ 
ported by 17 governments; the buildings, laboratories, and work 
of the Bureau were described. During the past summer the 
speaker had compared the United States prototype meter No. 27 
with the standards of the Bureau. [Not published.] 
Messrs. Littlehales, Wead, and Thompson discussed the 
paper. 
Mr. James Page then spoke on Ocean-currents. In the ocean 
there is a vertical circulation due to differences of temperature 
and a horizontal circulation due to the wind; the currents ordi¬ 
narily observed are of this latter kind. The velocity is slowly 
propagated downward, owing to fluid-friction. In the North 
Atlantic ocean it appears from plotting the currents observed 
by thousands of navigators that the surface-currents correspond 
in direction and force very closely with the prevailing winds, 
varying from day to day, and there is no “river in the ocean,” as 
some geographers have taught. 
Messrs. Abbe, Littlehales, Gilbert, Wead, and Harris 
made remarks on the paper. 
580th Meeting. February 13, 1904. 
President Marvin in the chair. 
Thirty-one persons present. 
Mr. Winston read a circular letter from a Committee in Paris 
composed of delegates appointed in the interest of an Inter¬ 
national Auxiliary Language. 
