48 CARNEGIE INSTITUTION 



surroundings, would have to be considered in an unusual degree 

 To recruit this staff all at once, for temporary service, from the 

 existing forces of astronomj" might prove to be a somewhat difficult 

 task. In case this project should be adopted, therefore, the Insti- 

 tution should be prepared for a somewhat gradual organization of 

 the observatory', extending possibly over four or five years, before 

 all its departments should come into full action. 



This dela}^ however, might prove unavoidable from another point 

 of view. The necessary provision for instruments and for their 

 proper installation on so large a scale is a matter which cannot suit- 

 ably be disposed of all at once. In the light of previous experience 

 it may be estimated that a period of three or four years, at least, 

 would be necessary before the means for observation could be pre- 

 pared in all its details. 



The Southern Observatory as an Expedition. 



An important part of the astronomical work of the southern hemi- 

 sphere has been the result of special expeditions. There are the 

 early expeditions of Halley and La Caille and the later ones of Sir 

 John Herschel to the Cape of Good Hope ; of Johnson to the island 

 of St. Helena ; of McClean to the Cape of Good Hope for astro- 

 physical work, and of others. The expedition of Captain Gillis to 

 Santiago de Chile in i85o-'53 resulted in several extensive series of 

 astronomical observations. The establishment of the Argentine 

 National Observatory originated in what was essentially an astro- 

 nomical expedition of the most fruitful character under the conduct 

 of Dr. B. A. Gould. The extremely valuable work of Stone at the 

 Cape of Good Hope was also virtuallj^ that of an expedition for a 

 particular purpose. Nearly all the other astronomers who have 

 done highly valuable work in the southern hemisphere have been 

 northern astronomers who went to southern stations for some special 

 work. 



The idea of a temporary observing station in the southern hemi- 

 sphere will not, therefore, seem to be in an)^ way strange. In one 

 respect it embodies an extremely economical principle — the observa- 

 tory would be maintained only for the accomplishment of works 

 deemed highly important. There would be no chance for it to pass 

 through stages of comparative inaction or to engage in work which 

 is comparatively' less pressing, or in undertakings equally well done 

 elsewhere. These are the dangers that may threaten a permanent 

 institution. 



