304- Royal Astronomical Society. 



to a vertical circle. Thus he may get rid of one of the principal 

 difficulties in measuring objects correctly, whose position is between 

 30° and 60° from the parallel, and which, I am persuaded, has had 

 a large share in producing the discordant results in the angles of 

 e Bobtis, 70 Ophiuchi, £ Bobtis, Canis Minoris 31, and others. By 

 simply turning round the eye- tube and its annexed prism, we may 

 place such oblique stars either vertically or horizontally, or we may 

 invert their relative situation ; and thus, by taking a few observations 

 in each apparent position, much may, I feel convinced, be done to- 

 wards destroying any bias of judgement which might arise from the 

 oblique position of the stars, or from an unconscious disposition to 

 place the threads of the micrometer in the direction of a tangent to 

 the discs of moderately unequal stars, and that principally on one side 

 of them." 



Measures of distance were usually taken alternately on each side 

 of the zero, instead of employing an index correction. They are 

 in most instances decidedly smaller than those of MM. Herschel 

 and South, Phil. Trans. 1 824, and somewhat larger than those of 

 Professor Struve. Distances often vary to an astonishing extent 

 when the stars are well defined : at other times the converse takes 

 place. 



A central disc on the object-glass was found to increase the 

 separating power of the telescope ; but the concentric rings round 

 bright stars were thereby multiplied, made more luminous, and 

 thrown further from the disc. 



The estimated weight of each observation was fixed upon before 

 the index was read off; and every suspected observation was re- 

 made. If the second observation decidedly agreed with other 

 measures, the suspected one was rejected ; but if not, both were 

 made to form part of the set. All the original observations of the 

 series, 4400 in number, have been preserved. 



Mr. Dawes makes several comparisons of his own observations 

 with those of others. With regard to some stars, he has found 

 reason to suspect some alteration j with regard to others, he can 

 give no support to surmises respecting their binary character. 

 Among the stars which furnished the former results, Mr. Dawes 

 mentions Ceti 292, y Ceti, 2 389, Tauri 34, 2 Camelopardalis, 

 38 Geminorum, H. I. 69, e Hydrce, 35 Sextantis, 44 Bobtis, £ Libra, 

 S. 757, H. 87, Pegasi 29, £ Aquarii, 2 3061 ; among the latter, 

 32 Eridani, H. L70, H. I. 84, H. III. 48, Canis Minoris 31, {Bootis, 

 B Serpentis, 2 2339, Tauri Poniat. 75, Cygni 280. 



III. List of Observations made with the Transit Instrument, from 

 April 10 to May 24, 1833, and with the Mural Circle, from May 16, 

 1832, to May 24, 1833, at the Cape of Good Hope. From Mr. 

 Henderson. 



The transit observations were made (with a few exceptions) by 

 Lieut. Meadows, and the circle observations by Mr. Henderson. 



IV. Apparent Geocentric Positions of Encke's Comet, deduced 

 from observations made by Mr. Henderson and Lieutenant Mea- 

 dows, at the Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, and by M. Mossoti, 



