"In the South-East Dome, the alteration proposed last year for rendering the building fire-proof had been completely carried out. The middle room, which was to be appropriated to Chronometers, was being fitted up accordingly.--From the Report it appears that 'our subterranean telegraph wires were all broken by one blow, from an accident in the Metropolitan Drainage Works on Groom's Hill, but were speedily repaired.'--In my office as Chairman of successive Commissions on Standards, I had collected a number of Standards, some of great historical value (as Ramsden's and Roy's Standards of Length, Kater's Scale-beam for weighing great weights, and others), &c. These have been transferred to the newly-created Standards Department of the Board of Trade."--In the Report is given a detailed account of the system of preserving and arranging the manuscripts and correspondence of the Observatory, which was always regarded by Airy as a matter of the first importance.--From a careful discussion of the results of observation Mr Stone had concluded that the refractions ought to be diminished. 'Relying on this, we have now computed our mean refractions by diminishing those of Bessel's Fundamenta in the proportion of 1 to 0.99797.'--The Magnetometer-Indications for the period 1858-1863 had been reduced and discussed, with remarkable results. It is inferred that magnetic disturbances, both solar and lunar, are produced mediately by the Earth, and that the Earth in periods of several years undergoes changes which fit it and unfit it for exercising a powerful mediate action.--The Earth-current records had been reduced, and the magnetic effect which the currents would produce had been computed. The result was, that the agreement between the magnetic effects so computed and the magnetic disturbances really recorded by the magnetometers was such as to leave no doubt on the general validity of the explanation of the great storm-disturbances of the magnets as consequences of the galvanic currents through the earth.--Referring to the difficulty experienced in making the meteorological observations practically available the Report states thus: 'The want of Meteorology, at the present time, is principally in suggestive theory.'--In this year Airy communicated to the Royal Astronomical Society a Paper 'On the Preparatory Arrangements for the Observation of the Transits of Venus 1874 and 1882': this subject was now well in hand.--The First Report of the Commissioners (of whom he was Chairman) appointed to enquire into the condition of the Exchequer Standards was printed: this business took up much time.--He was in this year much engaged on the Coinage Commission.