of the Century Dictionary, also author of many textbooks. *Winlock, Joseph, original member, astronomer, Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Observatory of Harvard University and consulting astronomer to the United States Coast Survey.

Wood, Horatio C, elected in 1879, physician, Clinical Professor of Diseases of the Nervous System at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, and one of the editors of the United States Dispensary."

*Woodward, Joseph Janvier, elected in 1873, surgeon, on duty at the Surgeon-General's office in Washington, and charged with collecting materials for a medical history of the civil war and for a military medical museum, also attending surgeon on President Gar

field.

Worthen, Amos Henry, elected in 1872, geologist, State Geologist of Illinois, and in charge of the State Mu

seum.

Wright, Arthur Williams, elected in 1881, physicist, Professor of Experimental Physics at Yale University, and in charge of the Sloane Physical Laboratory there. Wyman, Jeffries, original member, comparative anatomist, Curator of Peabody Museum of American Ethnology and Archæology of Harvard University, Cambridge, and long President of the Boston Society of Natural History. Young, Charles Augustus, astronomer, Professor of Astronomy at Princeton College, and author of "The Sun" and several astronomical text-books.

Thus the total membership has included 168 persons, of which 2 never accepted their election, 2 have resigned, 66 are deceased, 3 are on the honorary list, and 99 are active members; also there have been 47 foreign associates, of whom 22 have died.

Meetings.--Among the important provisions of the constitution was that the academy should hold one stated session in each year in the city of Washington, on the third Tuesday in April, and that another be held at such place and time as the council may direct. The latter, known as the scientific session, was at first called in August, but is now usually held in November. It has been convened in New Haven, Conn., Northampton, Mass., Hartford, Conn., Cambridge, Mass., New York, N. Y., Philadelphia, Pa., Newport. R. I., and Albany, N. Y.

Committees.-The constitution further gives power to the presiding officer to appoint all committees, which are of three kinds: Those of the Academy, such as On Ways and Means to provide a Fund for the Academy"; "On Weights, Measures, and Coinage"; "On the Election of Foreign Associates"; and "On Reserving Public Lands on and near Mount Whitney, Cal., for Scientific Purposes"; which are standing, or remain in force until the purpose for which they were appointed has been accomplished. Those designated as Government committees that are chosen to report on questions referred to the Academy by the Government and include, since 1886: "On the Astronomical Day, Eclipse of 1886, and New Observatory"; "On the Tariff Classification of Wool"; "On Opium"; and "On Sugar Determinations." Finally a series of committees on the various trust funds and medals in possession of the Academy.

Reports. - About fifty official reports on questions that called for special scientific advice! been made to the Government since 1864, and among them are: "On the Protection of the Bottoms of Iron Vessels" (1864); "On the Use VOL. XXX.-37 A

of Aluminum Bronze for Cent Coinage" (1864); the Preservation of Paint on Army Knapsacks "On Testing the Purity of Whisky" (1865); “ On (1866); "On Removal of Ink from Revenue Stamps " " (1870); "On Silk Culture in the United States (1870); “On Water-proofing of the Fractional Currency" (1876); "On Demerara Sugars" (1878); "On the Preservation of the Writing of the Original Declaration of Independence" (1879); "On Sorghum Sugar" (1882); "On the Separation of Methyl from Alcohol (1883); "On Glucose" (1883); and On Customs Duty on Philosophical and Scientific Apparatus" (1885).

Funds.-There has been received by bequest to the Academy the property of Alexander D. Bache in trust, the income to be devoted to the science by assisting experimenters and observers, prosecution of research in physical and natural and the publication of the results of their investigations. From this fund there is derived an annual income of $2,500, a portion of which was devoted to a magnetic survey of the United States under the direction of a committee of the Academy and continued until 1880, and its results published in the report of the United States Coast Survey for 1882. Among other researches that it has furthered were those "On the Velocity of Light," conducted by Simon Newcomb; “On Complex Inorganic Acids," by Wolcott Gibbs; and Investigations on the Sun," by Samuel P. Langley. In 1878 a sum of $40,000 was left to the Academy by Joseph Henry, the income of which goes to the daughters of Prof. Henry during their lifetime. There was received from the estate of James C. Watson an amount equivalent to nearly $14,000, from the interest of which a medal is to be prepared to be awarded to the person in any country who shall make any astronomical discovery or produce any astronomical work worthy of special reward and contributing to the progress of astronomy. There have been appropriations from this fund of various sums, including $300 in 1883 for the total solar eclipse of May 6 of that year; also it was recommended that $500 be annually set aside for work on tables of the small planets discovered by Prof. Watson, as expressly desired by him in his bequest to the Academy; and in 1887 the sum of $100 in gold from this fund was presented to Dr. Benjamin A. Gould, for his valuable labors for nearly forty years in promoting the progress of astronomical science. In 1889 this medal was awarded to Dr. Edward Schoenfeld, of the University of Bonn, and was accepted in his name by Dr. Wolcott Gibbs. The circumstance which led to the award of the medal was the completion of the "Durchmusterung," or a great star catalogue begun forty years ago by Argelander. The magnitude of the task of preparing this catalogue will be appreciated when it is understood that it includes every star in the northern hemisphere, and every star in the southern hemisphere above 30 declination from the tenth magnitnde upward-the number of stars in the northern hemisphere being about 300,000, and in the southern hemisphere nearly 150,000. In 1882, on the death of Henry Draper, his widow presented to the Academy $6,000 for the establishment of a gold medal, to be awarded every two years to the individual, in this or any country, who

makes the most important discovery in astronomical physics, the value of the medal to be $200. The first award was to Samuel P. Langley, in 1886, and the second, in 1888, to Edward C. Pickering. The sum of $8,000 was placed at the disposal of the Academy by the widow of J. Lawrence Smith as a memorial fund to promote the study of meteoric bodies. A medal was secured from this sum, and in 1888 the first award was made to Hubert A. Newton.

Papers. At each of the meetings papers are read descriptive of some investigation or discovery made by the author. A notice of such a communication must first be given to the secretary, and the Academy, while holding itself responsible for the propriety of the paper, disclaims any responsibility for the facts or opinions expressed. There have been 1,036 papers presented to the Academy since 1864, of which a full list of 777 titles appears in the annual report of 1883. Besides the memoirs by the members, there are also papers giving the researches of other scientists who have been specially invited to attend the sessions.

Publications.-These are of three kindsannual reports, memoirs, and biographical memoirs. The first are transmitted each year to the President of the United States Senate, and are published as octavo pamphlets containing the proceedings of the meetings held, list of papers read, and an appendix giving the special reports of the committees appointed to consider

OTHNIEL C. MARSH, President of N. A. S. since 1882.

subjects referred to the Academy by the Government. The memoirs are a series of quarto volumes, containing valuable contributions to science made by the members and originally presented to the Academy in the form of papers that were read at its sessions. Four volumes have been issued, and the fifth is ready for printing. The biographical memoirs consist of separate monographs of the members as they die, and contain usually a full history of the work and bibliography. Two volumes of these, including fifteen sketches each, have been published.

Officers.-The officers are chosen for a term of six years, and the first president was Alexander D. Bache. He was succeeded on his death in 1868 by Joseph Henry, who then held office until 1878. William B. Rogers followed, and on his death, in 1882, Othniel C. Marsh became president. The other officers at present are Samuel P. Langley, vice-president; Wolcott Gibbs, for

eign secretary; Asaph Hall, home secretary; and John S. Billings, treasurer.

Proceedings.-The stated session was held, during April, in Washington, under the presidency of Othniel C. Marsh. The following pa pers were read: "Effects of the Inhalation of Nitrogen, Nitrous Oxide, Oxygen, and Carbonic Acid upon the Circulation, with Special Reference to the Nitrous Oxides, Anæsthesia, and Asphyxia," by Horatio C. Wood; "Application of Interference Methods to Astronomical Measurements," by Albert A. Michelson; Physiognomy of American Tertiary Hemiptera," by Samuel H. Scudder; "Totality of the Eclipse of 1889, December 22," by David P. Todd; "The Budding of Salpa considered in Relation to the Question of the Inheritance of Acquired Characters," by William K. Brooks; "Recent Advances toward a Knowledge of the Fishes of the Great Oceanic Depths," by George B. Goode and Tarleton H. Bean; A System of Classification of Variable Stars," by Seth C. Chandler: "On the Spectrum of Metals," by Henry A. Rowland: "On the Cheapest Light," by Samuel P. Langley; "Relation of Secular Disintegration to Certain Crystalline and Transitional Schists" and "Structure of the Green Mountains," by Raphael Pumpelly; "Researches in the Double Halides" and "Researches in the Sulphinides," by Ira Remsen. At this session four new members were elected, as follows: Gen. Thomas L. Casey, Prof. Russell H. Chittenden, Prof. George L. Goodale, and Prof. Richmond M. Smith.

The scientific session was held during November, in Boston, when the following papers were presented: "On the Primary Cleavage Products formed in the Digestion of the Albuminoid, Gelatin," by Russell H. Chittenden; "On the Classification and Distribution of Stellar Spectra," by Edward C. Pickering; "On the Relation of Atmospheric Electricity, Magnetic Storms, and Weather Elements to a Case of Traumatic Neuralgia," by R. Catlin; "On the Growth of Children studied by Galton's Method of Percentile Grades," by Henry P. Bowditch; "On Electrical Oscillations in Air, together with Spectroscopic Study of the Motions of Molecules in Electrical Discharges," by John Trowbridge: "Some Considerations regarding Helmholtz's Theory of Dissonance," by Charles R. Cross; "A Critical Study of a Combined Metre and Yard upon a Surface of Gold, the Metre having Subdivisions to Two Millimetres and the Yard to Tenths of Inches," and "On Evaporation as a Disturbing Element in the Determination of Temperatures," by William A. Rogers; "On the Use of the Phonograph in the Study of the Languages of the American Indians," by J. Walter Fewkes: "On the Probable Loss in the Enumeration of the Colored People of the United States at the Census of 1870," by Francis A. Walker; "On the Capture of Periodic Comets by Jupiter," by Hubert A. Newton; "On the Proteids of the Oat Kernel," by Thomas B. Osborne; "On the Present Aspect of the Problems concerning Lexell's Comet," by Seth C. Chandler; "The Great Falls Coal Field. Montana-its Geological Age and Relations," by John S. Newberry; Notes on the Separation of the Oxides in Cerite, Samarskite, and Gadolinite." by Wolcott Gibbs; "On the Relationships of the Cyclopteroidea," by Theodore Gill; and "On the

Origin of Electro-Magnetic Waves," by Amos E. Dolbear. During the year the Academy has lost two of its members by death. These are John H. C. Coffin and Christian H. F. Peters. Sketches of their lives appear elsewhere in this volume. At this session five new members were elected, including Prof. Lewis Boss, Prof. Charles S. Hastings, Dr. Charles A. White, Prof. Sereno Watson, Prof. Arthur Michaels. This makes the list of membership number exactly 100, the first time in the history of the Academy that this number, which the unwritten law of the Academy fixes as a maximum limit, has been reached. NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR THE PROTECTION OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS, an organization incorporated by the State of New York, Dec. 24, 1889. The objects of the League are to secure constitutional and legislative safeguards for the protection of the common-school system and other American institutions; to promote public instruction in harmony with such institutions; and to prevent all sectarian or denominational appropriations of public funds. It is claimed by the League that the leading political parties in the United States have already committed themselves, in their platforms, to the objects of the League; and it is proposed to add an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that "No State shall pass any law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or use its property or credit, or any money raised by taxation, or authorize either to be used, for the purpose of founding, maintaining, or aiding, by appropriation, payment for services, expenses, or otherwise, any church, religious denomination, or religious society, or any institution, society, or undertaking which is wholly or in part under sectarian or ecclesiastical control." Several of the States already contain provision against the violation of religious freedom and the sectarian appropriation of the public moneys; but only a national provision, it is claimed, can set the question at rest. Therefore the foregoing proposed amendment to the Constitution is submitted by the League for the approval of statesmen, jurists, lawyers, publicists, clergymen, college presidents, superintendents of public instruction, and others engaged in educational work in all States of the Union. In proposing to resist assaults upon American institutions, upon the supremacy of the American people, and the authority of American law, by whomsoever made and under whatsoever pretense of liberty of conscience, the Constitution of the State of New York supplies this simple rule: “But the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of the State," a rule recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States when it adjudged that “Crime is not excused because sanctioned by any partisan sect which may designate it as religion." The adoption of this amendment, the League believes, will accomplish the end it has in view-to prevent the use of the money or credit of the United States by any State for sectarian or ecclesiastical purposes. It was not deemed advisable to make provision in the amendment in reference to local municipalities within the States, as these are gov

erned by the organic law or the statutes of the several States creating them; and the amendment as proposed gives a rule which in its proper exercise should prevent the application, in any way and in any State, of public moneys to the particular purposes prohibited. The League calls attention to the fact that in 1875 James G. Blaine introduced a similar amendment to the Constitution, proposed by President Grant, in the House of Representatives, and that it passed that body by a vote of 180 to 7. But the amendment was lost in the Senate by a vote of 28 to 16-not the requisite two thirds. On June 15, 1876, the Republican National Convention at Cincinnati declared: "The public-school system of the United States is the bulwark of the American republic, and, with a view to its security and permanence, we recommend an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, forbidding the application of any public funds or property for the benefit of any schools or institutions under sectarian control.” The Democratic national platform adopted at St. Louis, June 28, 1876, declared: “We do here reaffirm . . . our faith in the total separation of Church and state, for the sake alike of civil and religious freedom," and referred to "the public schools . . . which the Democratic party has cherished from their foundation, and is resolved to maintain, without prejudice or reference for any class, sect, or creed, and without largesses from the treasury to any."

The League's plan of action embraces the organization of auxiliary leagues throughout the country, without regard to creed or party, and the appointment of local committees to select the best-equipped persons as school trustees and superintendents, to decide upon the fitness of school-houses and appliances and the personal character and qualifications of teachers. These committees should scrutinize text-books to see that they contain nothing of a sectarian character likely to violate the American principle of a complete separation of Church and state. They also see that no public moneys are appropriated for sectarian purposes, and that the inmates of public institutions are subjected to no foreign or sectarian teaching. They remind party leaders, caucuses, and conventions of the pledges of their respective parties for the protection of American institutions; and they question all candidates for public office as to their standing on these fundamental principles. It is announced that the first business of the auxiliary or local leagues is the arousing of public attention to the subject of free public-school education, by inducing public-spirited men and women to consider this national question and to supervise at the same time their own local schools. An inspection of the latter may lead to the appointment of committees to examine and report to the auxiliary or local leagues what reforms are needed, and what steps should be taken to secure them. Consultations of this sort throughout the country, it is asserted, would lead to the development of effective plans for removing the public schools from party control. The League offers no opposition to private or parochial schools which do not attempt to draw their support from public funds or subject their pupils to un-American teachings; and, while disapproving of the predominant influence of any particular denomination in the public

school management, it also disapproves of the exclusion from a fair share in the management of those parents or guardians, of whatever denomination, who send their children to the schools. The headquarters of the League are at 140 Nassau Street, New York city.

T

A

divides through the wires a, c. When the two telescopes C and D stand at right angles to the base line, and hence parallel to each other, the bridge will balance and no deflection will be shown at the galvanometer. But if the telescope be moved out of parallelism with the other, then the bridge will be thrown out of balance and the galvanometer will be deflected. The extent of this deflection depends upon the length of are included between the two positions of the telescope, and will be greater as that are increases, so that with a battery of constant electro-motive force it becomes possible to determine the extent of movement of the telescope by simply observing the indicator of the galvanometer, which is graduated to yards. The resistance of the galvanometer has been neglected, and it has been assumed that the E, M, F, and internal resistance of the battery and the resistance of the various contacts remain constant.

NAVAL APPARATUS, NEW. Fiske's Range Finder.-A ready means for determining the exact position and range of an object to be fired at, whether from a fort or war vessel, is of the greatest practical importance in gunnery; and anything that can give this information at a glance, and at the same time be simple in construction and of easy manipulation, appears at once to the practical minds of the sailor and soldier whose duties are the pointing and firing of the guns. Lieut. Bradley A. Fiske, of the navy, has devoted considerable attention to this subject, and has produced an extremely ingenious instrument for use on board ship, called a range finder, and another somewhat similar instrument for army use, which is called a position indicator. A decidedly novel application of the Wheatstone bridge as a means of measuring the angles, and by means of which ranges or distances can be read directly from a scale, forms the principle on which the whole is based. Broadly considered, the method consists in determining a fractional portion of a conductor, bearing in length a ratio to the angle included between two lines of sight directed upon a distant object, and simultaneously causing a disturbance in an electrical balance, including the conductor in its circuit, proportional to the resistance of the fractional portion, and observing the difference in potential due to the disturbance. The accompanying diagram illustrates the simple and ingenious manner in which this is carried out. A B is the base line, T the position of a distant object, the range of which, AT, is to be determined. By trigonometry, in the triangle A А В TB, AT= x sin A B T. Let C and sin ATB D represent two telescopes pivoted at the points A and B, and sweeping over arcs E and F of conducting material, the arcs having their extremities upon the base line A B. Let the telescope C be directed upon the point T, assuming the position C' in dotted lines. Then, obviously, the angle C A C is equal to the angle A T B, and the portion of the arc E included between the positions C and C' of the telescope will measure the angle AT B. In the foregoing formula the base line A B is known by measurement, and the angle A B T may be observed; and if the angle A B T is, as shown in Fig. 1, a right angle, then the sin A B T becomes unity. It remains, therefore, to find the angle A T B in order to determine the distance A T, so that it becomes necessary to provide a simple and rapid means of at once determining what the angle A TB is. To this end, the conducting arcs E, F, are connected in the manner of a Wheatstone bridge, the four members of which are shown respectively at a, b, c, d. In this bridge is connected a galvanometer in the usual way, and also the battery h, the terminals of the battery wire being connected to the telescopes at their pivot points A, B, so that the circuit proceeds through the telescopes to the arcs, and then at the arc F divides through the wires b, d, and at the arc E

D'

d

FIG. 1.-RANGE FINDER DIAGRAM.

B

While this is not theoretically true, Lieut. Fiske finds that by using storage batteries and by mak ing the contacts carefully, no appreciable error is introduced. Careful experiments with this range finder at sea show that the errors of the instru ment are insignificant and the indications absolutely instantaneous. The telescope is mounted upon the top of a hollow pedestal, through which the wires are led, and as aluminum bronze and iron are the materials used, it can be left on deck without any protection other than that afforded by a cover placed over the telescope. These instruments are placed one at the bow of the ves sel and another at the stern, which gives a long base line; another pair are placed one at either end of the bridge, which offers a shorter base line, but one of sufficient length for the accurate

accuracy of the range finder is less than one half of 1 per cent. at three thousand yards.

A mere distance finder does not meet the necessities of a fort, as the men at each gun must know how far the target is from that gun and in what direction, and as it is absolutely necessary to locate and indicate the position not only of one, but of several ships, Lieut. Fiske conceived the idea of the "position finder" as the solution of the problem. One of these instruments is intended to be attached to each group of guns, then these different groups can be concentrated on one ship, or made to fire at different ships, according to the judgment of the commanding officer. In the figure A B represents a line of the defensive work. C, D, E, are guns commanding the area which includes the position F. The object to be attained is to lay all the guns correctly upon the target, although the persons in charge of the guns may be unable to see the target, and be ignorant of its bearing and distance. G and й are arcs of conducting material placed symmetrically with respect to a base line, I J. These arcs are located at stations distant from the positions of the guns, and so situated that a view of the area to be protected by the guns will not be cut off from the stations by smoke, points of land, or other obstacles. For this reason it is better that elevated positions should be chosen for the stations.

K and L are two pivoted telescopes, the free ends of which move over the arcs G and H, and constantly maintain electrical contact therewith. These telescopes may be directed upon the target, which will, therefore, be at the intersection of the two lines of sight of the telescopes. Located at a station distant both from the guns and from the positions of the arcs G, H, and usually at a place safe from the effects of the ene

K'

my's fire, there is established a directing station in which is a chart or map represented by a, b, c, d, and on which are lines drawn to correspond to the parapet of the fort, the base line, etc. and L'are pivoted arms similar to the arms K, L, the free ends of which pass over and make constant contact with the arcs G' and H'. Extending from the extremities of the arc G' are wires 1 and 2, and extending from the pivoted telescope K to the pivoted arın K' is a wire 3, which includes a battery; a galvanometer is also in the circuit. The wires 1, 2, 3, 4, the arcs G, G', the battery, and the galvanometer are connected in circuit in the form of a Wheatstone bridge, and the effect of moving the telescope to the right or left is to increase or decrease the resistance. If the two telescopes be sighted upon the target, and if a third observer moves the arms K' and L', and at the same time watches the galvanometers M, M', he will have placed the arms K', L'at precisely the same angles as the telescopes K, L, when both galvanometers show zero reading. Inasmuch as the chart bears a definite proportion to the area which includes the position of the target, it follows that if the axes of the arms K', L' be prolonged they will intersect at the position F', which on the chart would represent the actual position of the target. The latest improvement in this position indicator, and one which gives less than one third of 1 per cent. error, does away with the chart station and its appendages. The ground over which the batteries sweep is delineated on a brass plate, which is fitted inside the tripod of one of the instruments. Over the plate sweeps two pointers, one

FIG. 3.-FISKE POSITION FINDER IN USE.

of which is moved by the movement of the telescope overhead, to which it is parallel, the other pointer is in electrical connection with the second telescope at the other end of the base line. The distance between the pivots of the two telescopes represents the length of the base line, and the pointers the distance from either end of the base