The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-15 00:00:00

BRITISH 4SSOCIATION. ,„

Another conversazione on Tuesday night, in the
Music-hall, Jarratt-street, brought together the '..--i.‘-
savans from the different sections to discuss the
past proceedings and the prospects of the next
meeting at Liverpool. This was spoken of as
likely to prove a brilliant one, both as regards the •'"
attendance of visitors and the character of the
papers to be read. Unusual preparations are al-
ready being made to give eclat to the gathering.
On Tuesday a dinner was given to the medical
visitors, whom the Association has assembled at
Hull, by their professional brethren of the town.
Dr. Horne occupied the chair, and Mr. Munroe
acted as vice-chairman. To the general visitors
also the greatest hospitality has been shown.
The following " recommendations," involving
grants of money, were adopted by the general
committee of the Association at their meeting in
the Infirmary Library yesterday (Wednesday)
" That the sum of 2007. be placed at the disposal of
the Council for the maintenance of the establishment of
the Observatory at Kew : that the committee appointed
to investigate the physical aspect of the moon be re-
quested to endeavour to procure photographs of the
moon from telescopes of the largest size which can be
made available, with 251. at their disposal for the pur-
pose ; that the expense of certain thermometers con-
structed for the inquiry on conduction of heat, by Pro-
fessor Forbes, amounting to 4/. 25., be paid ; that Dr.
Hodges be requested to continue his investigations on
flax, with 20/. at his disposal for the purpose ; that Mr.
Rankine, Dr. Robinson, Professor Hodgkinson, and Mr.
Ward, be requested to continue the report on the cool-
ing of air in hot climates, with 20/. at their disposal for the
purpose ; that Mr. Fairbairn be requested to prepare a
report on the effects of temperature on wrought-iron
plates, with 101. at his disposal for the purpose ; that
Mr. Mallett be requested to continue his experiments
on Earthquake Waves, with 50/. at his disposal for the
purpose ; that Dr. Lankester, Professor Owen, and Dr.
Dickie, be a committee to draw up tables for the regis-
tration of Periodical Phenomena, with 107. at their dis-
posal for the purpose ; that Dr. Lankester, Professor
Forbes, and Professor Bell, be requested to assist Dr.
Williams in drawing up a report on British Aunelida,
with 10/. at their disposal for the purpose • that Mr.
Hyndman, Mr. Patterson, Dr. fickle, and if.r. Grain-
ger be requested to carry on a system of Dredging on
the North and East Coasts of Ireland ; that Mr. H. E.
Strickland, Dr. Daubeny, Professor Lindley, and Pro-
fessor Henslow, be requested to continue their experi-
ments on the Vitality of Seeds, with 51. 10s. at their
disposal for the purpose ; that the committee for pro-
viding a large outline map of the world be reappointed,
with the addition of Sir James Ross and Dr. Latham,
with 15/. at their disposal for the purpose."
The recommendations which were adopted, not
involving application to Government or public
authorities, were as follows :

" That Lieutenant-Colonel Portlock, Professor James
Forbes, Mr. Mallett, Mr. Phillips, Dr. Robinson,
Colonel Sabine, and Professor Stokes be requested to
consider and report upon the best form of apparatus for
registering the direction and amount of earthquake vibrie
tions ; that Dr. Gladstone be requested to continue his
inquiries on the influence of light on the vitality of
plants ; that Mr. Robert Hunt be requested to continue
his investigations of the chemical action of the solar
rays ; that the following gentlemen be a committee to
report on the best means of procuring pyritous and
other specimens of organic remains which are liable to
decomposition—viz., Mr. J. S. Bowerbank, Professor
Johnston, Mr. J. E. Lee, Mr. H. E. Strickland, and Mr.
J. Calvert ; that Mr. Spence Bate be requested to give
a report on the present state of our knowledge of the
lower forms of British crustacea ; that Mr. Fairbairn's
account of experimental researches to determine the
strength of locomotive boilers, and the causes which
lead to explosions, be printed, entire, among time
reports ; that the Kew Committee be requested to fur-
nish a report to the Council on the definition of the boil-
ing point of water at present adopted in this country, for
the thermometric scale, and that the Council be requested
to communicate with the President and Council of the
Royal Society, should any change in that respect be
deemed desirable ; that Professor Johnston be requested
to furnish to the committee a Report on the Relations of
Che misery to Geology ; that Mr. John Frederick Bate-
man, C.E., F.G.S., be requested to report on the State
of our Knowledge on the Supply of Water to Towns ;
that the thanks of the British Association be given to
the Parliamentary Committee for the unceasing atten-
tion they have paid to the interests of science, both in
communications to Government, and in proceedings in
the Houses of Parliament."
Several papers on local subjects are to be printed
in full in the Transactions of the Association. The
report states that the members of the British As-
sociation have learnt with satisfaction that it is the
intention of Government to direct that, in future,
daily meteorological observations shall be made at
sea, in correspondence with the plan adopted by
the Government of the United States, on the sug-
gestion of Lieutenant Maury, and to take such
further steps, in reference to the mercantile marine
of Great Britain as may be best suited to stimulate
and encourage the masters of British merchant
ships to take interest in investigations by which the
times of passage between different parts have
already, in many instances, been materially shor-
tened, and which may lead to other results of
the greatest importance to practical navigation.
The British Association entirely concurs in the
opinion that to make the observations thus con-
templated serviceablefor the purposes for which they
are designed, it will be necessary to make provi-
sion for their co-ordination, and for deriving from
them the instruction which they may be capable of
yielding, primarily for the advantage of navigation,
and secondarily for the benefit of science. In this
view the general committee requests that the
council will communicate on the subject with the
parliamentary committee, and will take such steps
either by deputation to Government or otherwise
as may appear to them desirable. As the greatest
annoyance is frequently occasioned by the injury or
destruction of instruments and specimens arriving
from foreign parts, arising from careless repacking
at the Custom-house--some striking examples of
which have frequently come to light—the council
are to consider of the best mode of representing
this to the Government.

In the mechanical section, Mr. Thomson, C.E.,
of Belfast, read a communication on an experi-
mental apparatus constructed to determine the
efficiency of the jet-pump, giving a series of the re-
sults obtained.

The Rev. C. G. NICOLAY discoursed on Tuesday
in the geographical and Ethnological Section upon
the importance of certain places in the Pacific with
reference to great circle routes across the ocean.
The general want of appreciation of great circle
sailing is evidenced by the routes selected by steam-
packet companies both to the east and to the west.
This has arisen from the habitual disc of Mercator's
projection. To facilitate the consideration of the I.
subject a stereographic chart of the Pacific show-
ing the linear concentricity of its shores, has been
constructed ; great circles have, been laid down on.
a Mercator's chart between many of the most im-
portant places in the world, and tables of distances
have been completely calculated. From these the
distances involved in the Pacific route to Aus-
tralia, via the Isthmus of Panama, appear to be
from Land's-end to Panama, 4,369 geographical
miles ; from Panama to Sydney, 7,6Bomiles ; making
altogether 12,049 miles. But from the Land's-end
to Hobart-town via the Cape of Good Hope, is
on 11,200 miles-849 miles shorter. The facilities
afforded on the route from Panama are,however'
great. The Galapagos Islands, where the existence
of coal is reported, afford a refuge from the
horri-
ble climate of the isthmus, and they offer every
advantage for a depot. The companybthec°inintinermuneideaite formed
, this
bf rt
therou tepuprproposeeses Taofehffietci astin
Tahiti lies far out of the shortest
Etract, and is dan-
olimnet,haende,asift.
gneeraorusest otfhaecdicersesefrt
wellds suitedpresent in
themselves other
as the
Easter Island lies
its harbour be suffi-
cient, cwi
enht ,
lisslanThe
im-
portant San-
dwich
insular position in most
l the North Pacific. They
are distant respect'
2,293
miles ;
St. ive y from Vancouver's Island,
Francisco, 2,083 ;. Central Ame-
rica, 4,023; Callao, 5,060; Valparaiso, 5,905 • Ja-
pan, !I lan
; Chusa 4 3 • 5 '832
Sidney, 4 n, ,01 ; Singapore, , ;
0500 ; Auckland, 3,817. The conclusions
come to by Mr. Nicolay are, that what is now called
the overland route to China ought to be the most
rapid, until one is opened across North America.
That by the Cape has the next preference, while
the advantages of that by Panama are alms ex-
clusively confined to the Southern States of the
ITnion and the West Indies ' • and, with respect to
them, it will be superseded by the overland route.
British North-west America Mr. Nicolay considers
more favourably situated than any other part of
the coast in the Pacific for commanding the trade
of that ocean, and the establishment of rapid com-
munication with it and the development of its
resources are therefore objects of the first im-
portance.
Papers were read in this section yesterday (Wed-,
nesday), prepared by Mr. R. W. Plante, descriptive
of a journey to St. Lucia Bay, and the adjacent
country in South-eastern Africa ; by Dr. R. G.
Latham, on certain localities, not in Sweden, oc-
cupied by Swedish populations, and on certain
ethnological questions connected with the coasts of
Livonia, Esthonia, Gormand, and Gothland ; by
the Rev. T. Rankin, on the Brigantes, the Romans,
and the Saxons on the Yorkshire Wolds ; and by
Don M. B. la Fuente, observations on the province
of Tarapaca, South Peru.
In section A, a general view of an Oscillatory
Theory of Light has been given by Mr. W. J.
Macquorn Rankine, C.E.
The business of the sections were concluded yes-
terday (Wednesday).

EDITORIAL FIGHTING ROI:YRS.—The editor of th
Elmira Republican notifies to his subscribers and other
that his " fighting hours are between 10 and 12 a.m.,
when he will be happy to see any one who wants any
thing."—American paper.