Athens, as a rule, were not Greeks; they were barbarians, such as Phrygians, Carians, Thracians. And yet their children could not be distinguished from those of the descendants of the Autochthones. The obvious inference is, either that there was no great difference between the exterior of the Hellenes and that of the neighboring races, or that many barbarians might be taken for Greeks, and many Greeks for barbarians.

George Chillips

1

Professor Bond exhibited a diagram of the outline of the head of the great Comet of 1858, compared with a parabola having its focus at the nucleus, and its axis coincident with the initial axis of the tail, the curve touching the outline at its apex.

In this position the two curves should coincide, if we suppose the paths of the particles forming the tail, after being emitted with equal initial velocity in all directions from the nucleus, to be determined by the repulsive force of the sun, alone, or in conjunction with a repulsion from the nucleus, sensible only at a small distance from it.*

The Plate represents a group of normal outlines of the head of the Comet, with the position of the nucleus corresponding to each, determined from actual observations for the dates September 17 and 30, and October 7 and 14, 1858. The second group shows the curve of a parabola having its focus at the nucleus, and enclosing the normal outline of the Comet on October 4, with the curve of a catenary imposed upon it. The approximation of the latter to the outline of the Comet is remarkable. On the other hand, the divergence of the parabola is decided, and shows the necessity of some modification of the above hypotheses.

The existence of an atmosphere holding the particles in suspension previously to their being driven off into the tail would tend to contract its outline, and afford in this particular a nearer agreement with the observed figure; a similar effect would be produced if we suppose the initial velocity of the particles, on leaving the vicinity of the nucleus, to diminish when the angle between the direction of emission and that of the sun increases; or, again, if the direction of emission from the nucleus is limited to a comparatively small range on either side of the sun.

* Bredichin, Astron. Nach. 1291, p. 292. Norton, Am. Jour. of Science, XXVII. p. 87; XXIX. p. 384.

The observed outlines of the head of the Comet have been obtained by tracing the curve of the outer edge, and the place of the nucleus, upon slips of mica laid over the original drawings. The curves were then collected in groups and reduced to a common scale, and finally combined in normals. On comparing the groups, it was found that there was scarcely any change in the character of the apparent outline during the interval from August 24 to November 12, covered by the observations. From this it would seem that there was an actual change in the figure of the Comet itself, since the alteration of the inclination of the axis to the line of vision, which intervened, must otherwise have occasioned a considerable variation in the apparent figure, due to perspective foreshortening.

The original number of groups was six, subsequently reduced to four normals, as represented on the plate. At the date of the normal for September 30, the day of perihelion passage, the apparent figure was nearly that afforded by a section through the axis of the tail.

The drawings employed were made at the following places: —

A similar deviation from the parabolic figure is presented in the outlines of the head of the Comet of July, 1861, and in numerous other instances. The strongest case of divergence occurs in the singularly well-defined contour of the external envelope of the Comet of June, 1860.

Five hundredth meeting.

November 13, 1861. STATUTE MEETING.

The PRESIDENT in the chair.

The Corresponding Secretary read various letters of acknowledgment of the reception of recent publications of the Academy.

The President presented a letter from the Standing Committee of the Boston Athenæum, offering a renewal of the lease held by the Academy for three years ensuing. Voted, that the Finance Committee be empowered to renew the lease upon the terms offered.

Professor Eustis having declined to serve upon the Rumford Committee, Professor William B. Rogers was nominated and appointed to fill the vacancy.

Jules Marcou, of Boston, was elected a Fellow of the Academy, in Class II. Section 1.

Ezra Abbot, of Cambridge, in Class III. Section 2.

Truman H. Safford, of Cambridge, in Class I. Section 2.
Hon. Benjamin F. Thomas, in Class III. Section 1.

Chief Justice George T. Bigelow, of Boston, in Class III. Section 1.

The following, nominated by the Council, were elected Associate Fellows:

J. M. Gilliss, U. S. N., Director in charge of the Naval Observatory, Washington, in Class I. Section 2.

J. M. Ordway, of Manchester, New Hampshire, in Class I. Section 3.

Professor James Hadley, Jr., of Yale College, in Class III. Section 2.

Dr. F. S. Holmes, of Charleston, South Carolina, in Class II. Section 1.

The following, nominated by the Council at the Annual Meeting, were elected Foreign Honorary Members: Professor Bekker, of Berlin, in Class III. Section 2. Professor Trendelenberg, of Berlin, in Class II. Section 1. Captain Duperrey, of Paris, in Class II. Section 1.

Professor Peirce read a paper by Captain Anderson, of the British Mail Steamer Canada, upon a general plan of education for seamen, and their training in making scientific observations and collections. The advice and co-operation of the Academy being requested, a committee on the subject was appointed, consisting of Messrs. J. I. Bowditch, Felton, Agassiz, Rogers, Peirce, Lovering, A. Gray, J. Wyman, and C. W. Eliot.

Professor Agassiz presented a paper, entitled, Contributions to the Natural History of the Acalephs of North America. Professor Bowen read the second and concluding portion of a paper On Specie Reserves and Bank Deposits.

Professor Gray presented the following communications, viz.:

1. Notes upon a Portion of Dr. Seemann's recent Collection of Dried Plants gathered in the Feejee Islands. By ASA GRAY.

Dr. Berthold Seemann, who, as the naturalist of a former expedition in the Pacific of the British surveying ship Herald, had acquired a high reputation in scientific exploration, has recently visited the Feejee Islands, under a commission from the British government, to examine the productive resources and capabilities of that interesting group of islands. While attending to this duty he was able to gather specimens of above eight hundred and fifty species of dried plants; and a list of them, with such determinations as he could hastily make, was published by him, in the number for the 15th of September last of the well-known botanical periodical, the Bonplandia, of which Dr. Seemann is the editor. It being very desirable that this collection should be critically compared with that made by the Pacific Exploring