Front Matter

ADVERTISEMENT. The Committee appointed by the Royal Society to direct the publication of the Philosophical Transactions, take this opportunity to acquaint the Public, that it fully appears, as well from the council-books and journals of the Society, as from repeated declarations which have been made in several former Transactions, that the printing of them was always, from time to time, the single act of the respective Secretaries, till the Forty-seventh Volume: the Society, as a Body, never interesting themselves any further in their publication, than by occasionally recommending the revival of them to some of their Secretaries, when, from the particular circumstances of their affairs, the Transactions had happened for any length of time to be intermitted. And this seems principally to have been done with a view to satisfy the Public, that their usual meetings were then continued, for the improvement of knowledge, and benefit of mankind, the great ends of their first institution by the Royal Charters, and which they have ever since steadily pursued. But the Society being of late years greatly enlarged, and their communications more numerous, it was thought advisable that a Committee of their members should be appointed, to reconsider the papers read before them, and select out of them such as they should judge most proper for publication in the future Transactions; which was accordingly done upon the 26th of March 1752. And the grounds of their choice are, and will continue to be, the importance and singularity of the subjects, or the advantageous manner of treating them; without pretending to answer for the certainty of the facts, or propriety of the reasonings, contained in the several papers so published, which must still rest on the credit or judgment of their respective authors. It is likewise necessary on this occasion to remark, that it is an established rule of the Society, to which they will always adhere, never to give their opinion, as a Body, upon any subject, either of Nature or Art, that comes before them. And therefore the thanks, which are frequently proposed from the Chair, to be given to the authors of such papers as are read at their accustomed meetings, or to the persons through whose hands they received them, are to be considered in no other light than as a matter of civility, in return for the respect shown to the Society by those communications. The like also is to be said with regard to the several projects, inventions, and curiosities of various kinds, which are often exhibited to the Society; the authors whereof, or those who exhibit them, frequently take the liberty to report, and even to certify in the public newspapers, that they have met with the highest applause and approbation. And therefore it is hoped, that no regard will hereafter be paid to such reports and public notices; which in some instances have been too lightly credited, to the dishonour of the Society. I. Experiments to ascertain the ratio of the magnetic forces acting on a needle suspended horizontally, in Paris and in London. By Captain Edward Sabine, of the Royal Artillery, Secretary of the Royal Society. . page 1 II. On the resistance of fluids to bodies passing through them. By James Walker, Esq.F.R.S.E. Communicated by Davies Gilbert, Esq.M.P.V.P.R.S. . . 15 III. On the corrections in the elements of Delambre's Solar Tables required by the observations made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. By George Biddell Airy, Esq. M.A. Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge, and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in that University. Communicated by John Frederick William Herschel, Esq. V.P.R.S. . . . . . . . 23 IV. Experiments to determine the difference in the length of the seconds pendulum in London and in Paris. By Captain Edward Sabine, of the Royal Artillery, Secretary of the Royal Society. Communicated by Thomas Young, M.D. Foreign Secretary to the Royal Society, and Secretary to the Board of Longitude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 V. On the measurement of high temperatures. By James Prinsep, Esq. Assay Master of the Mint at Benares. Communicated by Peter Mark Roget, M.D. Secretary of the Royal Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 VI. On Captain Parry's and Lieutenant Foster's experiments on the velocity of sound. By Dr. Gerard Moll, Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Utrecht. Communicated by Captain Henry Kater, V.P.R.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 VII. An account of a series of experiments made with a view to the construction of an achromatic telescope with a fluid concave lens, instead of the usual lens of flint glass. In a letter addressed to Davies Gilbert, Esq. M.P. President of the Royal Society. By Peter Barlow, Esq. F.R.S. &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 105 VIII. A catalogue of nebulæ and clusters of stars in the southern hemisphere, observed at Paramatta in New South Wales, by James Dunlop, Esq. In a letter addressed to Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, Bart. K.C.B. late Governor of New South Wales. Presented to the Royal Society by John Frederick William Herschel, Esq. V.P.R.S. . . . . . . . 113 IX. An account of trigonometrical operations in the years 1821, 1822, and 1823, for determining the difference of longitude between the Royal Observatories of Paris and Greenwich. By Captain Henry Kater, V.P.R.S. . . . 153 X. On the phenomena of volcanoes. By Sir Humphry Davy, Bart. F.R.S. 241 XI. Abstract of a meteorological journal kept at Benares during the years 1824, 1825, and 1826. By James Prinsep, Esq. Assay Master of the Mint at Benares. Communicated by Peter Mark Roget, M.D. Secretary of the Royal Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 APPENDIX. Meteorological Journal kept at the Apartments of the Royal Society, by order of the President and Council. The President and Council of the Royal Society adjudged the Medals for the year 1827 as follows. A Royal Medal to Sir Humphry Davy, Bart. for his Bakerian Lecture "On the relations of electrical changes," considered as the last link, in order of time, of the splendid chain of discoveries in chemical electricity, which has been continued for so many years of his valuable life. A Royal Medal to M. Struve, Director of the Observatory of Dorpat, for his work entitled "Catalogus novus Stellarum duplicium." A Medal on Sir Godfrey Copley's donation to Dr. Prout, for his paper entitled "On the ultimate composition of simple alimentary substances, with some preliminary remarks on the analysis of organized bodies in general." A Medal on Sir Godfrey Copley's donation to Lieutenant Henry Foster, Royal Navy, for his magnetic and other observations made during the Arctic expedition to Port Bowen. A List of Public Institutions and Individuals, entitled to receive a copy of the Philosophical Transactions of each year, on making application for the same directly or through their respective agents, within five years of the date of publication. In the British Dominions. The King's Library. The British Museum. The Bodleian Library. The Radcliffe Library. The Cambridge University Library. The Royal Institution. The Royal College of Physicians. The Royal Observatory at Greenwich. The Society of Antiquaries of London. The Society for the Encouragement of Arts. The Astronomical Society of London. The Cambridge University Philosophical Society. The Geological Society of London. The Horticultural Society of London. The Linnean Society of London. The Royal Irish Academy. The Library of Trinity College, Dublin. The Dublin Society. The Royal Society of Edinburgh. The University of St. Andrews. The University of Glasgow. The Asiatic Society at Calcutta. Denmark. The Royal Society of Sciences at Copenhagen. The Royal Observatory at Altona. France. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Thoulouse. The "Ecole des Mines" at Paris. The Geographical Society at Paris. Germany. The University at Göttingen. The Palatine Society at Manheim. The Cæsarean Academy of Naturalists at Bonn. Italy. The Italian Society of Sciences at Modena. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Turin. The Netherlands. The Imperial Academy of Sciences at Brussels. Portugal. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Lisbon. Prussia. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin. Russia. The Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. Spain. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Madrid. Sweden. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Stockholm. United States. The American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia. The New York Philosophical Society. The Boston Philosophical Society. The Library of Harvard College. The fifty Foreign Members of the Royal Society. A List of Public Institutions and Individuals entitled to receive a copy of the Astronomical Observations made at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, upon application for the same directly or through their respective Agents. In the British Dominions. The King's Library. The Board of Ordnance. The British Museum. The Royal Society. The Bodleian and Savilian Libraries, Oxford. The Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. The King's Observatory at Richmond. The Observatory at Armagh. The Observatory at Cambridge. The Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope. The Observatory at Dublin. The Observatory at Oxford. The Observatory at Paramatta. The University of Aberdeen. The University of St. Andrews. The University of Dublin. The University of Edinburgh. The University of Glasgow. The Astronomical Society. The Royal Institution. The President of the Royal Society. The Secretary, and three Resident Members of the Board of Longitude. The Lowndes' and Plumian Professors of Astronomy, Cambridge. The Lord Bishop of Cloyne. Francis Baily, Esq. Thomas Henderson, Esq. James South, Esq. Edward Troughton, Esq. In Foreign Countries. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris. The Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Stockholm. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Upsal. The Board of Longitude at Paris. The University of Göttingen. The University of Leyden. The Palatine Society at Manheim. The Academy of Bologna. The American Academy of Science at Boston. The American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia. The Library of Havard College. The Observatory at Åbo. The Observatory at Altona. The Observatory at Cadiz. The Observatory at Coimbra. The Observatory at Copenhagen. The Observatory at Dorpat. The Observatory at Königsberg. The Observatory at Marseilles. The Observatory at Milan. The Observatory at Paris. The Observatory at Seeberg. The Observatory at Vienna. The Observatory at Wilna. Professor Bessel. Dr. William Olbers. The President and Council of the Royal Society have directed that the disposable copies which remain of the volumes of the Philosophical Transactions, prior to 1816, should be sold at one-third of the prices affixed at the time of publication. The undermentioned Parts may accordingly be obtained of the Society's bookseller at the annexed prices: | Year | Part | £ | s. | d. | |------|------|---|----|----| | 1801 | I | 0 | 5 | 8 | | | II | 0 | 5 | 10 | | 1802 | I | 0 | 3 | 8 | | | II | 0 | 5 | 10 | | 1803 | I | 0 | 4 | 2 | | | II | 0 | 4 | 6 | | 1804 | I | 0 | 3 | 6 | | | II | 0 | 4 | 2 | | 1805 | I | 0 | 3 | 4 | | | II | 0 | 3 | 10 | | 1806 | I | 0 | 4 | 6 | | | II | 0 | 5 | 10 | | 1807 | I | 0 | 3 | 4 | | Year | Part | £ | s. | d. | |------|------|---|----|----| | 1807 | II | 0 | 5 | 2 | | 1808 | II | 0 | 4 | 10 | | 1809 | II | 0 | 6 | 10 | | 1810 | I | 0 | 3 | 4 | | | II | 0 | 4 | 0 | | 1811 | I | 0 | 5 | 0 | | | II | 0 | 5 | 0 | | 1812 | I | 0 | 5 | 10 | | | II | 0 | 5 | 10 | | 1813 | I | 0 | 4 | 8 | | | II | 0 | 6 | 0 | | 1815 | I | 0 | 4 | 2 | | | II | 0 | 7 | 4 | CONTENTS XII. A description of a vertical floating collimator; and an account of its application to astronomical observations with a circle and with a zenith telescope. By Captain Henry Kater, V.P.R.S. . . . . . page 257 XIII. On the height of the Aurora borealis above the surface of the earth; particularly one seen on the 29th of March, 1826. By John Dalton, F.R.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 XIV. A comparison of the changes of magnetic intensity throughout the day, in the dipping and horizontal needles at Treurenburgh Bay in Spitsbergen. By Captain Henry Foster, R.N. F.R.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 XV. Experiments relative to the effect of temperature on the refractive index and dispersive power of expansible fluids, and on the influence of these changes in a telescope with a fluid lens. By Peter Barlow, Esq. F.R.S. &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313 XVI. On some circumstances relating to the economy of bees. By Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq. F.R.S. President of the Horticultural Society. 319 XVII. On the laws of the deviation of magnetized needles towards iron. By Samuel Hunter Christie, Esq. M.A. F.R.S. &c. . . . . . . . . . . . 325 XVIII. Description of a sounding board in Attercliffe church, invented by the Rev. John Blackburn, Minister of Attercliffe-cum-Darnall, Sheffield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 XIX. On the mutual action of sulphuric acid and alcohol, and on the nature of the process by which ether is formed. By Henry Hennell, Esq. Communicated by W.T. Brande, Esq. F.R.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . 365 XX. *Experiments and observations on electric conduction.* By William Ritchie, Esq. M.A. F.R.S. Rector of Tain Academy. . . . . . . . . . . . page 373 XXI. *On magnetic influence in the solar rays.* By Samuel Hunter Christie, Esq. M.A. F.R.S. &c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 APPENDIX. Index. *Presents received by the Royal Society, from 17th November 1827, to 19th June 1828.* *Meteorological Journal, kept at the Apartments of the Royal Society, by order of the President and Council.*