New Zealayid Institute. 519 



telegraph-line was got rid of. After the completion of the 

 work Mr. Klotz came to Wellington and conducted with me 

 at the Observatory a series of observations for the purpose of 

 ascertaining the difference between our respective personal 

 equations. He also thoroughly satisfied himself as to the 

 adjustments of the transit instrument, with the view of taking 

 into account its several "constants of correction"; and he 

 similarly tested the striding-level. Details of my transit- 

 observations and level-readings, with the original chronograph 

 records and my full " scalings " of the same, and also a report 

 on the work, were handed to Mr. Klotz in January last, and 

 will in due course be incorporated in his general report on the 

 survey. Copies of these documents are attached hereto ; but 

 presumably they need not be printed, as the Canadian report, 

 which will cover the whole ground, will be forwarded to the 

 colony by Mr. Klotz as soon as it is published. In view of the 

 fact that the use of the siphon recorder in cable- work has 

 greatly increased the accuracy attainable in transmitting time- 

 signals for longitude purposes, it will be of interest to see how 

 Mr. Klotz's final results compare with those obtained in 1886, 

 when a very elaborate series of determinations was effected by 

 cable from Greenwich in the opposite direction (namely, east- 

 wards), across India to Madras, and from that point by inter- 

 mediate stations to Australia. 



On New Year's eve, at the request of the United States 

 Government, a set of signals was received from the United 

 States Naval Observatory, Washington, for the purpose of ascer- 

 tainmg the minimum time in which a signal could be repeated 

 over a long distance from station to station by cable. Owing 

 to hasty preparation the test was only partially successful; 

 but the last signal sent would appear to have reached Wel- 

 lington Observatory from Washington in about four seconds. 

 It was transmitted from Washington to Greenwich in l-3s., 

 and to Sydney in about 3'5s. Rear- Admiral Chester, Super- 

 intendent of the United States Naval Observatory, in a 

 letter addressed to Mr. W. Gray, Secretary of the Post and 

 Telegraph Department, expresses the opinion that, consider- 

 ing the short notice given, the cable and telegraph operators 

 did very well on this occasion. The experiment was an ex- 

 tremely interesting one, and there is a possibility that Admiral 

 Chester may propose a repetition of it at some convenient 

 iuture time. 



March, 1904. 



