New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-10-24
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.
SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING.


TIE slGEs IL CoUNCIL-RrLATIoNs or 1HE SOLAR
sYSTEN-FARrm's TREMoRs-CoNPARIsoNs OF
CoLoRs-POS-IBLE ORIGIN OF HE SWIFT sAI"L'
LITE or MARS.
In regard TO its annual and semi-annuai
meetings the National Academy of Sciences n'y DC
compared with the ANGEL that had one foot on sea anu
tic other on dry land. Is two meetings take p"cC III
year they are really both scmiannuh; cut the Ap'l
gatherings known as the annual the October as 'he
scmiauuual The April one is determined by charter
and plants xcd foo; the larcs and nenateS OF
the Smithsonian Institution at Washington The October
meeting has "a nuctuatug base. and may he anywhere
along the Atlantic coast This year it is IN TINS CITY, az
Columbia College Toe sessions began yesterday.
The meetings OF the academy suffer from the in
convenicnces Of a crowd. II all the living members
could be assembled there would only be enough Of them
for an average ia militia regiment, though
doubtless they would look well in uniform; proba-
Div better at parade than at present arms, as
many OF them portly. As becomes their years ana
dirnitcs they are calm and serene. In their Autumn
meeting they are especially not apt to be numerous ana
the present instance IS exception TO the rule Inc
body over which venerable Professor Henry presided
yesterday showed less than score OF visible members
among them were Generals Henry J.. Abbot ana D. u
Barnard OF the United States Army and the following
Professors: Alexander Agassiz. Of Cambridge, Mass
stephen Alexander recently Of Princeton, n j. f. A l.
Barnard OF Columbia College; c. F. Chandler. OF Column
bia School OF Mines; Theodore Gill, or Washington
James Hall, OF Albany; julius T. Hgard OF Washing
ton George W. Hnl, of Nyack, y. Y. Samuel r. Lang
ley of Allegheny. Penn Elias LOOMS AMI o. e. Mdish'
of New-Haven; Alfred NJ. Mayer, OF Hoboken, N D.;
J. s Newberry, Of Columbia School Of Mines; Raphael
Pllmpeily Of Newburg n. " j. Lawrence smith, OF
XIV Being thus arranged Alphabetically, there VIII De
no question of precedence. which might be pHzze win
such grave and reverend segniors Science in genera
agrees with its votaries taking yesterday meeting as
IL stood they would have been accepted by ne lhsur
anee company as healthy risks after making due allow
ance for ages.
Only a few essays were disposed Of yesterday They
were chiefly technical in detail, and were not written
out Abstracts Of them given below, so far as the
Subjects can be treated without the aid of symbols and
diagrams.
HARMOSIFs or THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Professor stephen Alexander has for many years been
profoundly engaged in studying the relations OF
the various members Of the solar system, and has
detected many curious proportions between thein'
saowing that in their ORGANIZATION they nave
obeyed the rule OF law. The present essay sets
form one Of this OF proofs OF such rcltous
II is entitled Laws o. Extreme Distances (p'en OF
perihe.io) IN the Solar system" The following liD.tS
Give some the ats of this inquiry ii may bt men
oucd that .hc apeion ami perueou distances IN me
fable re those 20 the secular cccetrclN; me
second f.e as to the earth e. fact J IS tha WhcA IS
assigned as the maximum ecccuiucIty;