The following officers were duly elected : Vice Presidents: Messrs. SOUlé, SchaeberLE and MOLERA. Treasurer: Mr. ZIEL. The President was authorized to appoint the various Standing Committees and accordingly made the following selections: Finance Committee: F. R. ZIEL, S. G. HILBORN and CHAS. BURCKHALTER. Library Committee: E. J. MOLERA, OTTO VON GELDERN and CHASE GITCHELL. The other Standing Committees are: Committee on Publication: Messrs. HOLDEN, KEELER, Yale. Committee on the Comet Medal: Messrs. HOLDEN (ex-officio), SCHAEBERLE, BURCKHALTER. The following resolutions were adopted: Resolved, That the Directors of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific sincerely regret that Prof. HOLDEN feels called upon to decline a further election as President of the Society, on account of his other pressing duties. Resolved, That they extend to him their thanks for his valuable services as President in building up and fostering the interests of the Society, and placing it on a basis where its success is assured. It was also Resolved, That EDWARD S. HOLDEN be and is hereby elected an Honorary Member of this Society. Mr. HOLDEN returned his grateful thanks for the honor conferred upon him but, for reasons satisfactory, begged to resign his honorary membership; and his resignation was accordingly accepted. ANNUAL MEETING of the ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC, HELD IN THE LECTURE-HALL OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN SAN FRANCISCO, MARCH 28, 1891. The minutes of the last meeting were approved. Mr. HOLDEN in the chair. The Secretary read a list of seventeen presents received, and the thanks of the Society were voted to the givers. The cordial thanks of the Society were returned to the California Academy of Sciences for their invitation to hold the meetings of March and November, 1891 and January, 1892 in the lecture-hall of the Academy building and the invitation was accepted. The list of new members elected this day was read to the meeting. The Committee on Nominations reported a list of names proposed for election, as follows: For Directors: Messrs. ALVORD, BURCKHALTER, HILL, HILBORN, Holden, Keeler, MoleRA, PIERSON, SCHAEBERLE, SOULÉ, Ziel. The polls For Committee on Publication: Messrs. HOLden, Keeler, Yale. Messrs. MCCONNELL and VEEDER were appointed' as tellers. were open from 8:15 to 9 P. M., and the persons above named were duly elected. The Treasurer then read his annual report, as follows: The Committee appointed to audit the Treasurer's accounts reported as follows, and the report was accepted and adopted and the Committee discharged. To the Board of Directors of the ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC: GENTLEMEN Your Committee, appointed to audit the accounts of the Treasurer, have made an examination of said accounts for the year ending March 28th, 1891, and report as follows: REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE LIBRARY, SUBMITTED MARCH 28, 1891. To the Board of Directors of the ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC: GENTLEMEN We, the undersigned, Committee on the Society's Library, respectfully report as follows:: The library consists, at present, of 491 volumes, 431 of which belong to the Alexander Montgomery Library, and were purchased by us with the Alexander Montgomery Fund, and 60 volumes derived from other sources, by contribution and purchase. The cost of the Alexander Montgomery Library to date, has been $1,017.24, thus exhausting that portion of the fund, viz: $1,000, which was directed to be invested in the library. There remains on hand the interest on $1,500, which amounts to about $75 per annum, which interest we are permitted to employ in adding to the library. Your Committee, in making investments in books for the Alexander Montgomery Library, have had in view the purchase of such books as would stimulate the study of Astronomy, rather than the more technical books which would be of service to the professional and veteran astronomer. The latter books, however, are indispensable, and we would recommend that hereafter the revenue derived from the remainder of the Alexander Montgomery Fund should be applied to the purchase of the more technical and recondite works on Astronomy. Respectfully submitted, E. J. MOLERA, The above report was accepted and adopted. Committee. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE COMET MEDAL, SUBMITTED MARCH 28, 1891. The Comets of 1890 have been: Comet a, discovered by W. R. BROOKS, at Geneva, New York, March 19. Comet b, discovered by J. COGGIA, at Marseilles, July 18. Comet, discovered by W. F. DENNING, at Bristol, July 23. Comet d, D'ARREST's periodic comet) re-discovered by E. E. BARNARD, at Mt. Hamilton, October 6. Comet e, discovered by T. ZONA, at Palermo, November 15. Comet f, discovered by R. SPITALER, at Vienna, November 16. Medals have already been delivered to Messrs. BROOKS, COGGIA, Denning, SPITALER, and ZONA. In November last, Mr. BARNARD addressed a letter to the Committee giving reasons why the medal should not be awarded for the discovery of periodic comets, especially as recent observations have made it at least possible that the brighter periodic comets may be followed throughout their whole orbits, and he signified his desire that the medal should not be awarded to him for the rediscovery of D'ARREST's comet, although the Committee was prepared to make the award. In some other respects also the rules were found to be cumbrous. They have accordingly been thoroughly revised and submitted to the founder, who has signified his acceptance of the changes, and in their revised form they were adopted by the Board of Directors on February 26, 1891, as printed in this number of the Publications. The amended rules take effect therefore on February 26, 1891. Copies of the new rules have already been sent to the principal astronomical journals and to all our corresponding observatories and institutions. Respectfully submitted, The following resolution was adopted: EDWARD S. HOLDEN, Resolved, That all the acts appearing in the minutes of the Board of Di rectors of this Society as having been done by said Board since the incorporation of the Society are here now by this Society approved and confirmed. Article IX of the By-Laws of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific as refers to the regular meetings of the Society was amended by the consenting votes of Messrs. ALVORD, BURCKHALTER, GRANT, Hill, Holden, Molera, PIERSON, SOULÉ, ZIEL, to read as follows: Meetings shall be held in the Library of the Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, at a suitable hour on the second Saturday in June and the first Saturday in September, and meetings shall be held in the rooms of the Society in San Francisco at 8 o'clock P. M. on the last Saturdays of January, March and November. It was, on motion, Resolved, That the President be authorized to appoint a committee of seven members to make arrangements for an astronomical exhibit at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The following committee was named: a. "The Fireball in RAPHAEL'S Madonna di Foligno," by Professor H. A. NEWTON, of Yale University. b. "On the Similarity of Certain Orbits in the Zone of Asteroids," by Professor D. KIRKWOOD, of Riverside. c. "Astronomical Observations during 1890," by TORVALD KÖHL, of Odder, Denmark. d. "Address of the Retiring President of the Society," by Professor HOLDEN, Mt. Hamilton. e. "A Few Hints to Beginners in Solar Observations," by Miss E. BROWN, of England. f. "Lunar Work for Amateurs," by THOS. Gwyn Elger, F. R. A. S., of England. g. "The Total Solar Eclipse of January, 1889," by Prof. H. S. PRITCHETT, Washington University, St. Louis. LORD ROSSE was introduced to the meeting by the President and gave an account of the working of his great reflectors with especial reference to certain physical researches-as in celestial spectroscopy and photography and in heatmeasurements. The performance of reflectors and of refractors in such work was compared and the conclusion was drawn that a large field of labor remains open to the reflector in spite of the admirable performance of great refractors, like that at Mount Hamilton. The thanks of the Society were returned to LORD Rosse. Attention was called to an interesting letter to be printed in the Publications, entitled "Who Discovered the Optical Properties of Lenses?" by Professor H. G. HANKS. The President then read his annual address. Adjourned. MINUTES OF THE THIRD AND FOURTH MEETINGS OF THE CHICAGO SECTION A. S. P., FEBRUARY 2 AND MARCH 2, 1891. The third regular meeting of the Chicago Section of the A. S. P. was held Monday evening, February 2, 1891 at the Sherman House, Chicago. The chairman presided. The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as read. The Secretary announced the receipt of a letter from Professor HOLDEN stating that an amendment to the Constitution of the A. S. P. authorizing the formation of Sections had been passed by the Board of Directors. A few unimportant matters of business were reserved for future consideration. A lecture on "The Astronomical Discoveries of the Spectroscope" was then given by GEORGE E. HALE. A general explanation of the principles of spectrum analysis was followed by an account of the methods used in comparing solar and metallic spectra. The prominences were then spoken of, and the spectroscopic method of observing them described, together with the measurement of motion in the line of sight by means of the distortion of lines in prominences and spots. Photography was next referred to, especially in connection with the work on stellar spectra carried on at the Harvard Observatory. The meteoritic hypothesis was outlined, and the discovery of the duplicity of ß Aurigae and the dark satellite of Algol explained. Illustrations were given by means of a lantern, the slides including a set from the Harvard College Observatory and several photographs of solar and arc spectra. After a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. PEARCE for the use of the parlors of the Sherman House the meeting adjourned. The following have been added to the list of members since the last meeting: Mrs. MARY H. WILLMARTH,* 222 Michigan Boulevard, Chicago. Mr. H. A. ALLEN, 396 Kenilworth Place, Milwaukee, Wis. Professor C. A. BACON, Beloit College, Beloit, Wis. Mr. OLIVER E. PAGIN, Room 40, Custom House, Chicago. Mr. A. L. SMITH, 23 Washington Street, Chicago. GEORGE E. HALE, Secretary. The fourth regular meeting of the Chicago Section of the A. S. P. was held Monday evening, March 2, 1891, at the Sherman House, Chicago. Mr. DOUGLASS was in the chair. The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as read. The Secretary opened a discussion as to an astronomical exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition, and held that apparatus as well as photographs could be secured. Prof. HOUGH followed with a few remarks as to the desirability of such an exhibit. |