Resolved, That we offer our thanks to the Local Committees of Cincinnati for the admirable skill and system with which they have arranged every detail of plan for the accommodation of the Association; for their prompt and business-like executive work; indefatigable attention to both general and special objects, by which attention the meeting of 1881 has been the most successful ever held in the West, and the largest and most interesting ever held in America except the phenomenal meeting at Boston.

Seconded by Rev. Dr. J. G. MORRIS.

Resolved, That the hearty thanks of this Association be tendered to the citizens of Cincinnati for their bounteous hospitality, which they, through their Committees, have extended to this body; provided for the yearnings of our human nature; for the brilliant reception and entertainment at the Highland House; for the genial supper at the Zoological Garden; and for those daily lunches at the Hall which have contributed so much to our peace and comfort.

Seconded by Prof. Wм. H. Brewer.

Resolved, That the members of the Association are greatly indebted to the Commissioners of the Cincinnati Industrial Exposition for the use of their spacious quarters and for opening the Exhibition of scientific specimens and apparatus in advance, out of courtesy to this Association; and to the Ohio Mechanics Institute for the organization and arrangement of this most valuable and instructive Exhibition.

Seconded by Prof. H. CARMICHAEL.

Resolved, That we thank the Cincinnati Southern and the Cincinnati and Louisville Railroads for the great pleasure which is still in store for members of this Association in the invitations which they have tendered the Association, to visit Chattanooga and the Mammoth Cave. These invitations are accepted with a just appreciation of the magnitude of the courtesy extended.

Seconded by Dr. A. B. HERVEY and Prof. O. T. MASON.

Resolved, That the thanks of the Association are due to the Railroad and Express Companies whose lines enter Cincinnati, for the liberal concessions which they have made to members of the Association, to which the large attendance and success of the present Meeting have in a great measure been due.

Seconded by Judge J. G. HENDERSON.

Resolved, That the thanks of the Association are hereby most cordially tendered to the managers and proprietors of the Zoological Garden for excursions to their beautiful garden, the sight of their splendid animals, and the most pleasurable entertainment.

Seconded by Prof. G. C. SWALLOW.

Resolved, That the thanks of the Association be tendered to the members of the Literary and Scientific Society of Madisonville for their kindness in arranging for the visit to the very interesting and ancient burialplace at Madisonville, and for the cordial reception given to the large party accepting the invitation on Monday last.

And also be it Resolved, that this Association most heartily endorses the careful methods with which the explorations of the ancient cemetery have been conducted.

Seconded by Prof. F. W. PUTNAM.

Resolved, That the thanks of the Association are due to the newspapers of Cincinnati for their full and accurate reports of each day's session, and for the courteous interest in the aims and labors of the Association which they have shown in their editorial columns.

Seconded by Prof. E. T. Cox.

Resolved, That the thanks of the Association are due to the Western Union Telegraph Company and to the City and Suburban Telephone Association of Cincinnati, for their generous donation of the free use of their lines to the members of the Association during the meeting, by means of which the transaction of the business of the meeting has been greatly facilitated, and the comfort of the visiting members greatly enhanced.

Seconded by Prof. E. B. ELLIOTT.

Resolved, That the thanks of the Association are due to Mrs. Maria Nichols for her kindness in inviting members of the Association to visit Rookwood Pottery; to the First Presbyterian Church for the use of their building on the occasion of evening lectures delivered before the Association; and the University Club, Cuvier Club, Cincinnati Society of Natural History, Young Men's Mercantile Library Association, Young Men's Christian Association, Cincinnati Gymnasium, and the Merchants' Exchange, for the hospitalities which they have extended to the members of the Association.

Seconded by Prof. E. S. MORSE.

Gov. J. D. Cox then addressed the Association in the following words: I rise, Mr. President, to propose a sentiment which I fear may seem too strongly in contrast with the humorous and jocose vein which has naturally characterized most of the remarks at this evening meeting. But I have found my own feeling shared by so many others that I have been encouraged to mention a subject which I know has been much in the hearts and minds of the members of the Association during the session. I refer to the situation of the President of the United States. Day by day since we met we have followed the dispatches telling of his suffering and danger, depressed by threatening symptoms and cheered by

every hopeful turn in his case. Ought we not to record our feeling in the minutes of the Association, to remind us in the future of our sympathy and our anxious suspense, and so complete our recollection of the experiences of this work, both grave and gay?

A scientific association. should, I think, feel more than a common interest in President GARFIELD. All who have had former acquaintance with him know that a love for science was his earliest and strongest intellectual passion, and that during a quarter of a century of important and laborious public service, it has been among his chief delights to renew the studies of his youth, and to seek the society of those who have been devoted to their pursuit.

The earliest public address I ever heard him deliver, before he was engaged in any public office, was upon one of the branches of geology. In his grasp of the subject and in broad generalizations of fact and of theory, he showed the same strong and comprehensive mind which has always marked his career. That he would have been eminent in science as he has since been in statesmanship it is impossible to doubt.

In the turmoil of the era through which we have just passed, the country needed his services in other fields than those of science, and in obedience to the plain call of duty he threw his whole soul into his public work. But whether in the army or in the national legislature, I know that he often sighed for the delights of a studious and learned life; and though he has succeeded in keeping abreast with the progress of knowledge in a way that has astonished us all, he has constantly chafed at his inability to do more. Had he been in vigorous health we may be sure his sympathies would have been with the Association in this meeting, and we should have had some fraternal message from his pen.

By a strange Providence, what seemed the culmination of personal glory and earthly honor has proven only the threshold of a chamber of sufferings and of pains more appalling and protracted than human nature is often called to endure. Whether he shall fall a victim to the horrible crime committed against him and against humanity is perhaps as doubtful tonight as it was when we met a week ago. Each day it has seemed that the extent of his endurance and the limit of his heroic courage had been reached, and yet the crisis has prolonged itself till we hardly know whether fear or hope is in the ascendant.

Were he strong enough to hear a message from this Association, I am sure it would be a comfort to him to know that his own deep interest in science has made your sympathy more tender and earnest, and that your feeling is something more than that of the public at large, deep and strong as the public feeling is.

The hour when we separate is one when the thoughts will naturally take a serious hue, and it has therefore seemed to me that as a closing act in the session, it would be in accordance with all our feelings to unite in passing the following resolution:

Resolved, That we cannot close our annual session without expressing the sorrow and sympathy with which we have followed, from day to day, the sufferings of the President of the United States and the joy with which we have hailed the renewed hope of his recovery. His life-long interest in all learning adds a sentiment of brotherhood in science to the tender interest in him which we feel in common with our fellow citizens. It has increased our anxious solicitude when his condition was most discouraging, and has given great heartiness and depth to our thankfulness when the burden of our fear has been lightened.

The resolution was unanimously adopted by a rising vote, whereupon the PRESIDENT said:

Now, fellow members of the Association, it is my duty to adjourn this body. I wish you all a pleasant excursion and a safe return to your homes, after this delightful meeting at Cincinnati.

CHARLES V. RILEY,

General Secretary.

REPORT OF THE PERMANENT SECRETARY.

THE first western meeting of the Association was at Cincinnati in May, 1851, and a comparison of the record of that meeting, given in the fifth volume of the Proceedings, printed by the liberality of the citizens of Cincinnati, with that contained in the present volume, will show the immense advance which the Association has made during the thirty years that have elapsed since the first meeting was held in the "Queen city of the West." Then there were 87 members present, and 87 papers were read in the general sessions during the five days of the meeting. At the last meeting 182 papers were presented before the six sections and subsections, and over 500 names were entered on the register, while about 400 new members were elected.

Thirty years ago Bache, Henry, Agassiz and Foster offered their testimony to the high position Cincinnati had reached by her encouragement of education, and acknowledged the attainments of her citizens in science and art; and they thanked the citizens of Cincinnati for the hospitality extended to the members of the Association "taking it as an evidence of their interest in the progress of Science." In 1881, another generation of scientists gathered from many places, from the Atlantic to the Pacific-gave their testimony not only to the continued prosperity and extraordinary growth of the city, but to the noble development of many institutions of learning and culture, which, thirty years ago, called forth words of praise from the early members of the Association; while the cordial greeting and open-hearted hospitality extended by the citizens to the several hundred members during the recent meeting showed that these traits of character had been true to the law of heredity.

tance.

The thirtieth meeting of the Association was one of unusual imporThe changes in the Constitution, proposed at the Boston meeting, were agreed to, and as a consequence the next meeting will be held with

an entirely reorganized system of sections, extending the scope of the Association in accordance with the demands which the advance of science has made in various directions. This new organization will also cause nine important addresses to be prepared each year, which, added to the annual presidential address, will naturally result in increasing the interest in the Association, as these addresses will usually be of general interest and not often, probably, of the technical character essential to a large proportion of the papers read at the meetings.

In relation to this change in the sections, which can be best understood by reference to the Constitution printed in the present volume, it is only of importance here to call attention to the fact that each of the nine sections will be presided over by a vice president, and will have its own officers and sectional committee, who will be responsible for the character of its meetings. All the former subsections are given up, but provision is made for the temporary division of a section should the necessity arise. The Standing Committee is increased in size, but not unproportionally, when the extended scope of the Association and the large increase in members are considered.

Another matter of importance, which has been considered at several late meetings, was finally determined by the Standing Committee at the Cincinnati meeting voting that, beginning with the Montreal meeting, every paper read before a section should be entitled to appear by abstract in the volume of Proceedings, unless it was particularly requested by the proper Sectional Committee that it appear by title, and that only in exceptional cases, at the request of a Section, should papers be printed in full. It was thought by the Committee that this plan of publication would add greatly to the value and general interest of the printed proceedings. The general distress which prevailed throughout the country, owing to the critical condition of President Garfield, unquestionably had its effect on the meeting of the Association, and prevented many members, particularly those holding official positions in Washington, from being present, and the thoughts of members at the meeting were often turned from science to the contemplation of the sufferings of the President and the possible political complications that might arise.

By a sad and unfortunate coincidence the addresses which are usually given by the retiring president and the two vice presidents were not delivered. Mr. Morgan, who was in feeble health at the Boston Meeting, slowly declined during the following year and was unable to prepare the presidential address which he hoped to do even after he realized that he would be unable to go to the meeting. The sad note from him, which was read at the opening session on Wednesday morning, proved indeed his parting message to the Association.

Vice President elect, Dr. Geo. Engelmann, had early sent in his resignation, as he expected to be in Europe at the time of the meeting, but he was prevented by the state of his health from taking the voyage. The other Vice President elect, Prof. A. M. Mayer, was also detained at home by ill health. The vacancies in the offices of Vice Presidents were satisfactorily filled by election at the first session on Wednesday, but the new officers could not give formal addresses. The evening which otherwise would have been occupied by the Presidential address was filled by Capt. Dutton who delivered an instructive and highly interesting lecture on the Cañons of the Colorado, which was illustrated by beautiful lantern pictures taken from photographs. Another evening was assigned to Dr.