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lymnmim^m] ^;m ''-^Mmmm'u " '«>*; ^^t!^ .«<**' '^t?- -..^K- m •••s '«^. k*»" ^J a»»i 'j's3;r :«^ «»»?• f\^'fl 334 Of sciences PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. VOL. II. FROM MAV, 1S4S, TO MAY, 1832. SELECTED FROM THE EECORDS. ^ BOSTON AND CAMBRIDGE: METCALF AND COMPANY, 1852. PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, SELECTED FROM THE RECORDS. VOL. II. Three hundred and eighth meeting. May 30, 184S. — Annual Meeting. The Vice-President, Mr. Everett, in the chak. The Reports of the Treasurer, and of the Auditing Commit- in the absence of the Treasurer. tee, were read by Mr. Peirce, Professor Gray, from the Committee of Publication, stated that there were various papers ready for publication, and that the materials at the disposal of the Committee were likely to be sufficient to furnish a volume of the Memoirs annually. He also communicated a paper from Dr. John L. Le Conte, of New York, giving an account of a new fossil pachyderm, the Platygonus compressus, found at Galena, Iowa. Mr. Bond communicated the following "Observations on Mauvais's Cobiet of July 4th, 1817, Made at the Cambridge Observatory. of the (Continued from Vol. I., p. 1G9, Proceedings.) Uambriclge 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY was visible, it having been discovered in July, 1S47. When last seen, its distance from the earth was three hundred nnillions of miles, and the sun three hundred and millions it still from fifty ; yet was bright enough to admit of pretty good determinations. " A scintillation or twinkling of its central light was frequently re- marked, an indication, perhaps, of a solid nucleus." Professor Agassiz related some observations he had made up- on the form of the extremities in the embryonic state of birds. Dr. C. T. Jackson stated that he had obtained a considera- ble quantity of foliated tellurium from specimens of gold ore found near Frederick, Virginia. Mr. Cole read a letter from Mr. Spencer of Canistota, New York, detailing the history of his attempts at constructing achromatic microscopes, and of the improvements he had effect- ed : — referred to the Rumford Committee. Miss Maria Mitchell of Nantucket, the discoverer of the comet which bears her name (Vide Proceedings, Vol. I. p. 183), was chosen an Honorary Member of the Academy. Dr. Joseph Leidy of Philadelphia was elected a Correspond- ing Member. At the annual election, the following officers were duly elect- ed for the ensuing year : — Jacob Bigelow, M. D., . President. Edward Everett, LL. D., Vice-President. Asa Gray, M. D., Corresponding Secretary. A. A. Gould, M. D., . Recording Secretary. J. Ingersoll Bowditch, . Treasurer. John Bacon, Jr., M. D., . Librarian and Cabinet-Keeper. The Standing Committees were filled as follows : — Rumford Committee. Eben N. Horsford, Benjamin Peirce, John Ware, Joseph Lovering, Francis C. Lowell. Committee of Publication. Asa Gray, Louis Agassiz, W. C. Bond. Committee on the Library. A. A. Gould, D. H. Storer, Benjamin Peirce. OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 6 Three hundred and ninth meeting. August 10, 1848. — Quarterly Meeting, The Vice-President in the chair. Dr. Gould, from the Library Committee, presented a report on the condition and wants of the and the pressing Library ; annual appropriation for its care and increase was voted. Dr. Gray, from the Committee of Publication, submitted a statement of bills due, and an estimate of the expenses liable to be incurred during the year in carrying on the printing of the Memoirs and the of the and the Proceedings Academy ; annual appropriation was voted for the purpose. The Corresponding Secretary submitted a memoir on the development of the ova and on the diseases of Limnasa, by Dr. Henry L Bowditch. Mr. Epes Sargent Dixwell, Henry L Bowditch, M. D., and Mr. Edward C. Cabot, were elected Fellows of the Academy, John L. Le Conte, M. D., of New York, and Professor James Hall, of Albany, were elected Corresponding Members, Three hundrad and tenth meeting, October 3, 1848. — Monthly Meeting. The President in the chair. The Corresponding Secretary read letters from Messrs. E. S. Dixwell, Henry L Bowditch, and Edward C. Cabot, accepting the fellowship of the Academy. Also a letter from the Hon. Secretary of the Navy, requesting suggestions from the Acade- my in respect to the projected astronomical expedition of Lieu- tenant Gillis to some southern point in South America. Re- ferred to Professor Peirce and Mr. Bond. Mr, Everett stated that he had received information, through the Danish Charge d'Affaires at Washington, that the conditions of the award of the King of Denmark's medal for the discov- ery of telescopic comets would probably be so far waived in favor of Miss Mitchell, as to the time and mode of announcing the discovery, that she would receive the medal. 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY Mr. Everett, having alluded to the letter addressed to him- self, as President of the University, by W. C. Bond, Esq., Director of the Observatory, announcing the discovery, on the 16th of September, of an eighth satellite of Saturn,* read a short paper on the discovery of the other satellites by Huyghens, Cassini, and Sir William Herschel, and on the name proper to be given to the satellite discovered by the Messrs. Bond. Adopting the nomenclature proposed by Sir John Herschel, in his late work on the Cape Observations, Mr. Everett suggested that the new satellite, which comes next to lapetus, might be " called either "Prometheus" or Hesper," sons of lapetus: or, " if a brother of Saturn were preferred, it might be called Hy- Some discussion arose on this and a commit- perion." point ; tee, consisting of Messrs. Everett, Felton, Sparks, Peirce, and Bond, was appointed on the subject of the discovery, and of a name proper to be given to it. Professor Agassiz gave an account of the fossil Cetacea * Mr. Bond's letter is as follows : — " Observatory, Cambridge, Sept. 25, 1848. "Dear Sir, — " On the evening of the 16th of this month a small star was noticed, situated nearly in the plane of Saturn's ring, and between the satellites Titan and lapetus. It was regarded at the time as accidental. It was, however, recorded, with an estimated position in regard to Saturn. " The next night favorable for observation was the Idth, and, while comparing the relative brightness of the satellites, the same object, similarly situated in re- gard to the planet, was again noticed, and its position more carefully laid down. But still at the time we scarcely suspected its real nature. " From accurate measurements on the evening of the 19lh, the star being found to partake of the retrograde motion of Saturn, that portion of the heavens toward which the planet was approaching was carefully examined, and every star near its path for the two following nights laid down on a diagram, and micrometric meas- taken. ures of position and distance with objects in the neighbourhood were " satellite was found The evening of the 20th was cloudy. On the 21st the new the stars un- to have approached the primarj', and it moved sensibly among while of der observation. Similar observations were repeated on the nights the 22d and 23d. Its orbit is exterior to that of Titan. It is less bright than either of the two inner satellites discovered by Sir William Herschel. " Respectfully, " W. C. BOND." *' President Everett ." OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. O which have been found in the United States, and which are much more numerous than is generally supposed. He show- to ed nearly perfect sculls of four distinct species, belonging three different genera, and various parts of three more species. Of these seven species, six belong to the family of Zeuglo- donts, and one to that of the true Dolphins. They were all found in the lower tertiary deposits of the Southern States. The new types described by Professor Agassiz were discovered by Mr. Holmes of Charleston, South Carolina, and by Mr. Markoe of Washington. It is intended to publish extensive illustrations of all these fossils. Professor Gray, from the Publishing Committee, announced that a new volume of Memoirs was nearly ready for distribu- to fix tion, and proposed that a committee should be appointed some general rules for the disposition of the publications of the Academy. Messrs. Everett, Felton, Gray, Sparks, Agassiz, Walker, and Gould were appointed a committee for this pur- pose. Three humlred and eleventh meeting. November 8, 1848. — Quarterly Meeting. The President in the chair. Mr. Everett, from the committee appointed at the last meeting on the discovery of the eighth satellite of Saturn, to a and on a name suitable be given to it, read detailed report, which was referred to the Committee of Publication for the purpose of having it appended to the third volume of' Me- it in moirs about to be issued [where has been printed full]. Professor Gray presented a Memoir, entitled "Plantee Fend- lerianas Novi-Mexicanas : an Account of a Collection of Plants made chiefly in the Vicinity of Santa Fe, New Mexico, by Fendler with of the New Augustus ; Descriptions Species, Critical Remarks, and Characters of other undescribed or little known Plants from " and made some surrounding Regions ; general observations on the characteristics of the vegetation of New Mexico, now first brought to the notice of botanists. 6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY " Desirous to render the occupation of New Mexico by the United States troops subservient to the advancement of science, and to make known the vegetation of a region which had scarcely been visited by a naturalist, Dr. Engelmann and myself, with the cooperation of one or two friends who patronized the enterprise, induced Mr.

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