10 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 



Peabody, Esq., the eminent London banker, has given to the town of Dan- 

 vers, Mass., which is his native place, the sum of twenty thousand dollars 

 for the establishment of a lyceum and library and the erection of the neces- 

 sary buildings. 



The sum of $50,000 has also been given by Joshua Bates Esq., of London, 

 to the city of Boston, to aid in the establishment of a free public library. 



Dr. George C. Shattuck, of Boston, has presented Dartmouth College 

 with $7,000, to be used in the erection of an observatory, on condition that 

 the trustees of the college will raise the further sum of $8,000 for the pur- 

 chase of instruments. 



The sum of $1,000 has been given by Hon. Jonathan Phillips, of Boston, 

 to the American Academy, for the purpose of defraying the expense of its 

 publications. 



The expenses of a new Expedition in search of Sir John Franklin and 

 for Arctic exploration, are to be defrayed by Henry Grinnell, of New York, 

 and George Peabody, of London. 



Five hundred dollars have been voted by the Board of Underwriters to 

 the Geographical Society, at its solicitation, to be devoted to a series of 

 magnetic observations to be made under the direction of Dr. Kane, the 

 Arctic Explorer on his next expedition. 



Within a few years, a number of projects have been set on foot in New 

 York, for the establishment of an astronomical observatory in that city or 

 vicinity, but they have all failed, mainly from want of means and encour- 

 agement. A new enterprise has recently been started, with a fair prospect 

 of success. The "American Observatory Association," issue a prospectus 

 for the establishment of an Observatory on the Palisades, above Fort Lee, 

 on the basis of a joint-stock association, self-governed. Four hundred 

 shares are to be offered at twenty-five dollars each, and the names of many 

 prominent citizens of New York are pledged to the work. The originator 

 of the plan is Mr. Leon Lewenberg, of New York, who proposes to endow 

 the Observatory with a sufficient tract of land, one mile distant from Fort 

 Lee. He also offers a Telescope of his own manufacture, as an additional _ 

 donation. The building to be erected will be 150 feet in height; giving the 

 Telescope, with the elevation of the ground 320 feet above the Eiver 

 an altitude of 500 feet. This height will be sufficient to relieve the instru- 

 ment from the influence of a smoky or impure atmosphere, and will insure 

 a \vide range of vision. 



In relation to the progress of astronomy in England, Prof. Piazzi Smyth, 

 observes, that if it were not for private enthusiasm, England would be left 

 quite behind in some branches of astronomy ; for while the Russians, Ger- 

 mans, and Americans, are continually ordering for their observatories the 

 largest telescopes that can be made, the English Government will not supply 



