reports from Sydney and Hobart arrived, and early in the afternoon reports came in from 12 additional Australian stations. Ships' reports came in from time to time, and before 3 p.m. 24 New Zealand stations and Norfolk Island and the Chathams made reports.

“Hitherto this forecasting has all been done by two officers, and when one of them is away for a protracted period you can understand that to the other the weather ceases to be an amusing subject of conversation,” Dr. Kidson said. When the material had all been gathered the next thing was to plot it on a weather chart, so that it could be appreciated. Atmospheric pressures were indicated by drawing lines of equal pressure, or isobars, and it would be found that there was considerable system about them.

With the aid of a number of instructive slides the lecturer showed the movements and nature of cyclones and anticyclones, and of different types of clouds, and explained in detail the meaning of a number of typical weather charts. He said there was ample evidence that the 11 years' cycle of solar activity produced fluctuations of the same period in the earth's weather, but the relation between sunspots and weather was very complicated. He had found a close correspondence in the region from Eastern Australia to New Zealand between the extent of the northward and southward movement of the anti-cyclone centres or of the tracks they followed and the number of sun-spots.

In years when the number of sunspots was at a maximum the anti-cyclones moved further northwards than usual in winter and spring, and further southwards in summer. There was less westerly wind in the upper air at sunspot maximum than at sunspot minimum. We were just past a sunspot maximum now, and the year before last, and still more last year, were remarkable for the comparative absence of westerly wind. In Auckland the rainfall was 13 per cent. higher on the average in the three years surrounding sunspot maximum than in the three about sunspot minimum.

At the conclusion of the address a hearty vote of thanks was proposed by Mr. A. G. Lunn, and carried with acclamation.

The Chairman, Dr. Farr, then spoke of the functions of the New Zealand Institute, and afterwards expressed the very cordial thanks of the visiting delegates to the Auckland Institute, the Auckland City Council, Auckland Racing Club, and other individuals and societies which had contributed towards their entertainment and had added so much to the pleasure of their stay in Auckland.

Mr. Vaile, President of the Auckland Institute, replying to Dr. Farr, thanked him for his good wishes, and expressed the hope that Auckland might have the pleasure of welcoming the delegates again in the not too far distant future.

On Tuesday, 29th January, sectional meetings were held by the Physics and Chemistry, Geology, Social Science and Economics, and Anthropology and History sections.

At 11.30 a.m. a meeting of the General Committee of the Congress was held, Dr. C. Coleridge Farr, F.R.S., President of the New Zealand Institute, being in the chair.