52 
FIRST REPORT—1831. 
Magnetism . 
It appears to the Committee highly desirable that a series of 
observations upon the Intensity of Terrestrial Magnetism in 
various parts of Englandhe made by some competent individual, 
similar to those which have recently been carried on in Scot¬ 
land by Mr. Dunlop. 
Should the Committee succeed in finding some individual 
ready to undertake the task, they propose that an application 
should be made to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, for per¬ 
mission to make use of the Standard Needle belonging to them, 
and constructed under the direction of Professor Hansteen of 
Christiania. 
It appears to the Committee of considerable importance, that 
a certain number of observations should be made throughout 
Britain with the Dipping Needle, in order to reduce the Hori¬ 
zontal to the true Magnetic-Intensity. 
Note. The time of three hundred vibrations should be ob¬ 
served, and the methods of observation and reduction 
should be the same as have been employed and described 
by Humboldt, Hansteen, and others. 
Electro-Magnetism. 
The Committee recommend, as an important subject for 
further prosecution, the examination of the Electro-Magnetic 
condition of Metalliferous Veins. The Committee would refer 
for the details of what has been already done upon this subject, 
to the Paper of Mr. Fox in the Philosophical Transactions for 
1830; and would propose that the experiments should be ex¬ 
tended to veins which traverse, as in some of our mines, hori¬ 
zontal and dissimilar strata. 
Optics. 
That Dr. Brewster be requested to prepare for the next 
Meeting a Report on the progress of Optical Science. 
Acoustics. 
That the Rev. Robert Willis be requested to prepare for the 
next Meeting a Report on the state of our knowledge concerning 
the phenomena of Sound, and the additions which have been 
recently made to it. 
Heat. 
That Professor Powell be requested to prepare for the next 
Meeting a similar Report respecting heat. 
Electricity. 
That Professor Gumming be requested to prepare for the 
