REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON OBSERVATORIES 79 



fir. A valley where the cattle stand knee deep in grass has on one 

 side a line of hills as desolate as Nevada ; on the other side majestic 

 slopes of pines. 



Among the possible places for our purposes, a ' ' bench ' ' on Mr. 

 Cook's ranch seemed especially attractive and caused me to consider 

 most carefully the question whether it would be advisable to bring 

 the equipment to Palomar. Your Committee has had in my reports 

 descriptions of this place in some detail, and a balancing of the ad- 

 vantages and disadvantages of this site, the most promising in the 

 San Diego section, as against Mount Wilson, the most promising in 

 the Iyos Angeles region. This bench is situated at the southern 

 edge of the broad, rolling, open space known as Dyche valley. Its 

 contours adapt it admirably for all the requirements of an observa- 

 tory site. Covered as it is with a good stand of maturing grain and 

 fringed with magnificent oaks, its appearance is most inviting. 

 Springs of water are found in nearby knolls above it, and a hundred 

 feet or so below its edge an abundant stream breaks out that is said 

 to run without change the year round. However, with the long 

 California summer, no amount of irrigation could control the wide 

 pasture lands and secure the changeless green surface of Mount 

 Wilson. A few miles to the east, and less than 2,000 feet below, 

 stretches Valle de San Jose, which heats like an oven and leads 

 away toward the desert. The east winds in winter are said to be 

 furious and not infrequent. The summer climate is almost uni- 

 formly pleasant, and the nights are always cool. The school session 

 is a summer one, for snows in winter may block the roads and render 

 them impassable for children. On the days that I was there the sea 

 breeze was perceptible as early, certainly, as six in the morning, 

 and it grew strong by noon. However, the bench I have described 

 seemed especially sheltered by neighboring hills on the northwest 

 and on the east, and its trees showed very little effect of wind. As 

 soon as the sun was down, a decided chill was noticeable, and 

 though the days had been warm, Mr. Cook proceeded, as a matter 

 of course, to build a fire. The dews are heavy here, as at Cuya- 

 maca. These facts were not favorable to one's expectation of the 

 best seeing. The remarkable stillness, the steady temperature, and 

 the evergreen covering of Mount Wilson could not be found on 

 Palomar, though my judgment, from this cursory examination, 

 would lead me to expect steadier atmospheric conditions here than 

 at Cuyamaca. 



