62 CORRESPONDENCE ON ASTRONOMICAL ANNOUNCEMENTS. 



to the date of discovery instead of to the midnight following the date 

 of the dispatch five days later.) 



If you could kindly give the date of the dispatch our difficulty would 

 be entirely removed, it being understood that the convention that the 

 position given should refer to the following Washington midnight will 

 be carried out in the case of comets as well as of minor planets. 



As mentioned in my former letter, the date of discovery is of less im- 

 portance and may well be omitted. 



W. H. M. Christie. 



Letter from the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution., December 3, 1879, 

 to Lord Lindsay, Dun Echt Observatory, Aberdeen, Scotland.. 



Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your circular of the 1st of November, 

 asking for the transmission of information respecting the occurrence of 

 comets and other astronomical phenomena ; and I beg to inquire whether 

 the present arrangements, established some years ago by my predecessor, 

 Professor Henry, do not answer your purpose. These consisted in an 

 arrangement with the inland and ocean telegraph companies, by which 

 all discoveries of this kind made in America were transmitted by the 

 Smithsonian Institution to certain observatories in Europe, from which 

 it was supposed they would be forwarded to the more important ob- 

 servatories within their respective districts. 



In return, these same observatories transmit similar information to 

 "Washington, which is then sent to a specified list of establishments 

 here and also published in the telegraphic dispatches of all the daily 

 papers in the country. 



As you will observe, the observatory at Greenwich receives these dis- 

 patches from Washington for Great Britain, and I would suggest that 

 arrangements be made with the Astronomer Royal for immediate trans- 

 mission of all such information to your observatory. 



Everything noteworthy in the line of astrohomical discovery is at 

 once sent to him. 



K you prefer to have a dispatch direct to Aberdeen, I will see what 

 can be done in regard to it, although the telegraph companies, which 

 perform this service gratuitously, only allow us one station in each 

 country. 



Very respectfully, 



Spencer F. Batrd. 



Letter from the Observatory, Dun Echt, Aberdeen, December, 1879, to the 

 Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 



Dear Sir: I am instructed by Lord Lindsay to thank you for your 

 letter and inclosure of December 3, in reply to the Dun Echt circular 

 of November 1, asking for information respecting the occurrence of 

 comets, &c. 



