ASTRONOMY. 77 



and is much abridged in what follows. For details the original re- 

 port must be consulted, or the excellent resumes in Andre and Rayet's 

 " Astronomie Pratique," vol. v. 



" In the course of my journey in Italy, I visited successively the ob- 

 servatories of Palermo, Naples, Rome (that of the Roman College as 

 well as that of the Capitol), Florence, Bologna, Modena, Padua, Mil- 

 an, and Turin, remaining some time at each. It is the intention of 

 the government to maintain all of them, each one being devoted, 

 however, to a different branch, so as to fulfil the various needs of 

 astronomical science, now become so complex. 



" Of these observatories, only that of Naples has a considerable num- 

 ber of assistants, and in no one is the work done under rigid regu- 

 lations ; each astronomer devotes himself, according to his predilec- 

 tions, to a special subject ; emulation and the desire to make a name 

 in science produce a continuity of effort, the result of which has in 

 the last few years been manifest in various brilliant discoveries. To 

 show this, it will be sufficient to describe briefly the situation of each 

 observatory, and the work upon which it is at present engaged." 



The Observatory of Palermo. 



M. Cacciatore, Director; M. Tacchini, Astronomer. 



" This observatory contains two important instruments : a Meridi- 

 an Circle, by Pistob, & Martins, and an Equatorial, by Merz, which 

 was mounted in 1865. The Meridian Circle is daily employed in 

 observations of the sun and the principal stars. The principal work, 

 however, of the Observatory of Palermo, which is specially under- 

 taken by M. Tacchini, is the daily study of the solar protuberances. 



" In Italy this research is most vigorously prosecuted, and, in order 

 to avoid the interruptions in a series of such observations which 

 cloudy days may occasion, the observatories of Palermo, Rome, and 

 Padua prosecute these observations in common. 



"Among the interesting historical instruments of the observatorv is 

 the Altitude and Azimuth Circle, made by Ramsdkn in 1788-89, which 

 served Piazzi in the preparation of his great catalogue of stars." 



The Observatory of Naples. 



M. De Gasparis, Director ; MM. Fergola, Brioschi, and Nobile, 



Astronomers. 



" The Observatory of Naples is the most important of those of Italy, 

 in its equipment and its personal establishment. It was founded in 

 1812 by Murat, and it is built in agreement with modern ideas. In 

 the west Meridian room are a Transit Instrument, by Reichexbach, 

 and a Meridian Circle, by the same artist. These are still in use. The 

 east Meridian room contains a Meridian Circle by Repsold, which 

 has just been mounted, and which is one of the best of the instru- 



