New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-08-03
ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT
Z OF SCIENCE.

sociSOn as 6sllotng for Elk menu Oh tue o'a'u
ipe Committee The baotipg, which lasted for more
than bour resulted IN the choice Of Professors w.
Is Rogers. Agsssiz. and Bache, John LIE Conte, b.
Silhmsn, jr., ard j. ID Whitney.
Tbe Asrocistion then adjourned for half an hour 10
organize in Sections
The Section OF Mathematics and Physics was Or
ganz'd by the election Of the following gsnilensn
Permanent Chairman, Professor Wolcott Gibbs
Secretary, Professor G. g. Lyman.
Standing Committee Professors Horsford OF Cam
bridge, Scofeld of St. Louis and the Hon. William
Mitchell of Nantucket.
Professor FaiIman Rogers of Philadelphia, Coffin
Of Annapolis and Schott of Washington were added to
the General Nominating Committee. The Standing
Committee were recommended by vote 70 hold oaly
general meetings for the present, without division INTO
Sections.
The Section of Natural History and Geology or
gained by The choice Of the following officers: Presi-
cent j. w Foster; Secretary, joseph Lesley OF PM
adelpha Standing Committee, j. 5. Newbery Of
Washington, the Rev. DIR. Morris Of Bal im)re, and
X w. Gibbes of South Carolina.
The Section then adourued TO meet with the Section
OF Msihems'ics for the day.
President Lea announced that MIR. Parish invited
the members Of the Association to his house on Friday
evening. -,
The standing Committee announced that there would
be morning session at 10 a. m which would continue
until = u. and all afternoon session NJ ~ p m
Prof. A. ID. Bache, of the u. 5. Coast Survey, ex-
planned TO the Association sundry diagrams showing
d results of further discussions OF the magnetic OBJ
seryatioDs made at Girard College during the i've
years. lS401s45. He remarked that at the time these
Oh servatns were made, II WAS impossible for HIN TO
fl, leisure to discuss Them and now the investigation
war made easier by the admirable models fouad ~ the
works VI G.n. SABINE Prof Lloyd, Prof Wolf aud Mr..
Kreil who have discuss d the magnetic observalons
MADE on the Continent of Europe, in Great Britain,
i,,L rtop,.a Ia inf
" foil wer in he path of these leaders, But all the
results obtained tend 10 chow that the Philadelphia
observations are Trustworthy, and may be confi-
denly used either test or basis Oh flrther nVes-
tgalOD.
Tie regular daily movement of magnetic needle Is
very small. The north end of needle IA inches In
lrDgth moves in Summer, about the one-hundsedth OF
inch eastward in the morning. and about the same
dlstsnce westward in the afternoon, making the whole
move mel about the ftie of an inch la Winter the
movement is only half great To trace the LAWS OF
motions very small is evidently delicate task, ana
is ade difficult fron the fact that theee la VS.
accomplished and frequently marked by disturbances;
AT previ us meeting he bad shown how the aurorai
disturbances eimiI ated and how the EXAMINATION
confirmed X VOLTS curious discovery OF ten or
eleven years period corresponding Win the Peroo Vi
the solar spo's He would now remark that mere was
Lew pOiit in his discussion compared with tle Euro
pean Ib sicists, namely the uee OF Perce criterion,
or ma fenatical Tuie fer determining when Tie oo-
servs'ion is he considered that OF disturbance,
and whe1 that of regular or normal position Wlta-
out this criterion the obs rvations from le40 10 iofo
wee insufficient to rect upon for accurate results,
hut with ii they were sufficient. lie showed oy
dlagan how the amount OF daily movement varied
from NH 10 month and how the law OF THIS Varit,
ii, obtained ON Phladelp phi observations compared
with that obtained at To Onto at st. Helena, and at
Hobart Town. The greatest movement 10 aboat ten
Gays al the sOsiice, and the least aOodt Ten Jays
after The Winter sylsce-the passage through the av-
eJsge movement 10 about Il days after the equnoxes
10 .arl 10 diam
about lob. 26m In the morning, and at It's furthest
westerly declination at H. l6m. p m. These times
vary but title i'll the of The year. aud womb De
the belt timer TO take observations The daily changes
for every day in the year were illustrated by diagram
Iepr.sei IT, curved surface the breadth OF the sheet
representing the Of the day. the length OF IT, the
days in tie year, and the hight or depression, Tue
6eciinacn Of the needle. The secular changes or
change from year to year lie very difficult to eliminate,
fr, LII certain physical reasons; but after eliminating
ar well il could be- done the ,suliing annual change
agrees well with that obtained by Prof. Lioyo from
the Dublin observations and also with the Toronto oo
serya IONS. From June 10 October the north end OK
the needle lie II It's petition, aud from October
t. June west. The amount of this range Is thought
increase or dnins with toe amount Of secular change
Prot. Joseph H. nry remarked that frof; biehe h4d
teen too modest in disparagng his own labors. lie
lenIy) considered this paper not only very iherest
ing bnt very marked insanc OF the triunpns Oh pa
tent, wisely drec ed labor over complicated
Mr.. Jas lily att suggested that connection might 10
traced hereafter bet secular changes III the seas
obs ana In magnetism. Might not kenou period OF
severe Winters, ouce in AZ AZ years. DO the quad
ripple Of the solar. spot perodf
The Association adjourned to A! p. m.
In the aflerroon President Hitchcock of Amherst
College exhibited Diagrams OF some gigantic foot-narks
" bicb be said, had now been discovered ia nearly AL
the form atoms of the fossil bearing rocks, although
they first discovered about 80 or 4o years ago.
He proposed to give some general consl teraons on
this subject He propos' Il at all animals known only
by their tracks to be placed la family TO be called
LiihcbHozoe. There sas very common source OF
err installing The PRINT OF The hind foot OF an an
al Tor that of the fore foot when superposed IL was
tfren suppose too apparently that bped tracks were
made Nv qua upeds the tracks Of the fore feet being
obhlerattd by The tracks of The hind feet lie had
spe cmeIs ia which the deeper track OF the smaller
fore foot was plainly under the large track OF the
bind foot but there only two or three tracks OF
the fore feet TO 80 or forty of the hind feet winch
show ed that animal rarely brought its fore feet TO
the ground. This should make geoogss careful about
corciu0rg Il at tracks appa emily made by brds were
Dot made ty quadrupeds.
Prot Hitchcock continued to discuss the character
is ics of number of the tracks on his dag ans,
especially iDquiriDg whether they were bros caIra-
cbisns or mafsupisls. The trace Of tail was not
ture indication that the tracks were made by reptile,
for be bad learned that the opossum left the trace OF us
sked tail on soft ground, and that by TINS II was
known.
Prof Agassiz said that be bad long ago expressed
his disagreement with some of these conclaslGnS
he did nos believe that the method pursued would LEAD
TO sasiac ory Iesus 10 the end He thought that the
only WAY 10 do was 10 do what man gong INTO
tie wooos who did not know what the animals living
in the woods we, e. would do; he would inquire VIVA,
we're the inhabitants of the forest, and II ne should
Learn that and deer lived there, and 10 the sahd
he sroud zee their trscks, he would make out very
protabe case that he had the tracks OF moose aud
deer. Now, in order to ASCERTAIN what these were,
be did not think that any comparison with animals
living wonld help u.s. Tne first thug to 40 was asr 70
spdr ding deposits We had many deposits OF bones IN
rocks OF similar age and should try to ascertain
w lar the animals known to have lived In tbs age