Since the last report was made, 1250 copies of the Saratoga volume have been printed, and 866 have been distributed to members, 67 by vote of the Standing Committee as exchanges, &c., and 49 copies have been sold. Of back volumes, 9 have been distributed to members, 28 by vote of the Standing Committee, and 203 have been sold since the last statement was made. One copy of the Memoirs has been presented to the Woman's Club in Boston, and 3 have been sold. SALEM, Mass., July 18th, 1881. F. W. PUTNAM, Permanent Secretary. Dr. 1879-80. F. W. PUTNAM, PERMANENT SECRETARY, I have examined the above account, and certify that IN ACCOUNT WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. By Balance from last Account. Record Book for St. Committee 500 copies Constitution and List of Members, Cr. 1879-80. $187 91 $148 57 3 00 38 25 189 82 $1,673 88 389 00 10 00 Extra Copies of Addresses, and Reports 45 26 2,142 64 SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS OF BOSTON AND VICINITY.* BOSTON. IN Boston, the different societies are first mentioned; next, the educa tional institutions, excepting such as belong to Harvard University, which will be found under Cambridge, with the other departments of the University; a notice of the Museum of Fine Arts closes the list. AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded May 4, 1780, and is, with the exception of the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, which was founded a few months earlier, the oldest scientific society in America. The act of incorporation states that the "Design and institution of said Academy is to promote and encourage a knowledge of the antiquities of America, and of the natural history of the country, and to determine the uses to which the various natural productions of the country may be applied; to promote and encourage medical discoveries, mathematical disquisitions, philosophical inquiries and experiments; astronomical, meteorological, and geographical observations; and improvements in agriculture, arts, manufactures, and commerce; and in fine, to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people." The former Presidents of the Academy were Governor Bowdoin, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Charles Francis Adams, Nathaniel Bowditch, John Pickering, Dr. Jackson, Dr. Bigelow, and Dr. Gray. The number of Fellows is limited to two hundred. The rooms of the Academy are in the Athenæum Building on Beacon Street, Boston. Here will be found a valuable Scientific Library. The meetings of the Academy for the presentation and the discussion of scientific and literary papers are held once a month during the winter, and a volume of Proceedings is now published every year. By means of a fund left by Count Rumford, the Academy aids investigations on Light and Heat, and confers the Rumford Medal upon those who have made valuable contributions to pure science or applied science in the domain of light and heat. Prepared by the Local Committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, for distribution to Members of the Association, at the Boston Meeting. |